Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-02-13

Mr.. l.. '. Smalley, staH correspondent oil
the New York Tribune, has letter in last
Saturdays issue of that paper in which he
| gives chapter of interesting facts in regard
to the amazing revival in the iron industry
which has taken place during the past s1
months. During the war there was greater
apparent rise in prices; but if allowance be
made for the coincident depreciation of the
currency, it will be found that the upward
movement during the past year exceeds that
of any year between 1861 and 1863. The re-
markable increase in the consumption of
iron and its products shows that new farms
are being opened which require ploughs and
agricultural machinery; that new railways
are being built, which demand rails and loco
motives that new buildings are going up,
which require nails and hardware that me-
chanics want more tools that old factories
are reviving and new ones going into opera
ton for which new machines are needed-in
word, that there are fresh vigor and ten
sion in all the muscles and fbres of the great
industrial giant.
About twelve months ago the steel rail
manufacturers began to feel an increased de-
mand for their product, which they attrib-
uted to the very low price operating as an in
ducement to railway managers to prefer steel
to iron rails in relaying worn-ou portions of
their tracks As the spring advanced it became
evident that the season was going to exhibit
an unexpected activity in the construction of
new roads, and the prices of rails began to
stiffen. The price of pig metal touched the
lowest figure in September, 1878, when No.
l Anthracite, which is the standard for quota
tions, sold at SlG.5O ton. From that date
the demand for iron grew rapidly, but it was
not until April, 1879, that the price of anthra-
cite pig showed the triAing advance to SIS a
ton, and after busy times set in it required
six months for steady and permanent stiff
ening of prices to become established Even
then the advance was slow at first. BY June
l the quotation had gone up to $50, from
which figure it slowly went forward during
the summer, until on September l, it reached
S22. 80.
In the last named month however, the
market began TO grow excited. Everybody
wanted iron and wanted it right away The
furnaces and mills were pushed to their ut
most capacity, and foreign iron poured in by
the ship load, but still the demand could not
be met. By October l, the price had gone
up by a series of daily jumps to S3l. Then
it steadied little while, partly owing to the
fear that the heavy foreign importations
might depress the market, and that the new
home establishments getting to work would
cause an over-production. At times during
the next three months the price would sag to
S27 and at other times it would go up to S32,
but the average was about S3l. Before the
LIST of January it was found that the demand
still increased in volume and urgency aud
that the foreign iron did not sensibly affect
the market, one reason being that purchasers
could not always find in the importers stocks
just the kind and quality of articles they
wanted. The "boom" began anew about
the beginning of the year. On January
the price took a jump to $35; week later it
climbed up to S37, and on the 18th to $4l.5O.
BY the 9th of January the extraordinary fig
ure of $43 was reached, and since then there
have even been sales at a higher rate
To illustrate how general has been the ad-
vance in the prices of the various forms of
iron, Mr.. Smalley quotes two articles
Nails at the lowest point of the depression
sold at $3.50 key now the price is 50. 20
an advance of 800 per cent. Steel rails
were yainly offered at S3S ton to the very
railways that are now eager TO get them at
$50. In fact Che says, the railway man
ayers may be said hguratiyely TO stand in line
in the manufacturers counting rooms anx-
iously waiting their turn to pay more than