The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-02-10
THE IRON BOON.
How the situation Looks TO q Core.
spondent.

Bponuent.
E.y. smalley concludes a long letter TO
the Tribune, written In Philadelphia, and
giving a history Of the boom" in iron
and steel, as follows:
The English market began 70 feel the
effects Of the new life in the American
trade last spring, when some important
railroads sent over large orders fot steel
rails. Our mills could not deliver iume-
dia,ely the quantities the reads wanted, so
they sent abroad. By the latter part OF
the summer, when the English found that
there was really not enough pig and old
iron in this country 10 supply the demand
and that this increased demand showed
no signs Of abating, they began to putup
their prices. Then the English consum'
ers grew alarmed and rushed into the
market to buy large stocks before another
rise should take place, and this produced
the very result they had feared: AS an
indication OF the influences the high
prices in this country have. exercised
abroad, I will mention the single
article OF Bessemer rails, which q
wear ago sold at SO per ton at the
English works, and are now held at sos.
The high price OF old rails induced large
sbipmenis, and as they can be bought in
under q comparatively low tariff rate as
wrough iron scrap, great deal OF money
has been made In this line. ! hear oil o
Nav York man who netted $4,000 on a
single consignment which he was lucky
enough 10 buy Just before the great rise
set in. OF course the price Of ores went
IN with the price Of pig metal. Republic
ore. the standard Lake Superior ore, sold
on Cleveland docks year ago at ~ ton,
and ia now worth $3.50. Ship owners
were not slow to fud out that there was
money to be made by bringing over for
eipn ores, The English steamships brought
hematite to New York in. place OF ballast,
and sailing vessels went to Spain, Algiers
and me Island OF Elba for the rich ores oil
those regions. About $4,000 tons have
been brought to Philadelphia during the
past few months, and the quantity landed
In New York Ia doubtless much larger. In
II months OF 1879 Great Britain sent US
2Sl 900 tons pig iron against 20, 900 Tor the
entire year 1883, and 5000 tons Of rail,
way iron, against 700 In 1858. OF steel
rails during the same period she sent US
1900 tons, against 1856 in 1888.
Your manufacturers do not agree In
their answers to this question. All OK
pect to DO very busy for the next two or
three years at prices atfording ample profit,
hut thew do not know what the prices will
be. Under the stimulus OF the unprece-
denied demand long abandoned furnaces
are being equipped and put in blast Mills
that have been silent for years are getting
to,work, extensions arc being put upon
old mills, and many new concerns are pre-
pairing to start in. II the present tariff Is
retained, our iron-masters can hold their
own against foreign competition, but the
increased home production will pull down
prices before o great while. It will not
long be possible to sell a product for twice
what it costs to produce it. The present
rates are largely due to the eager.
ness Of consumers to be supplied al
once. It is they and not the
manufacturers that crowd the price
up, by outbidding each other for imme-
date supplies. As soon as the machine
shops, rolling mills, locomotive works and
other large consumers OF iron are pretty
well stocked and are less importunate 10
their demands, the price OF pig metal will
fall below $40 again; or even below $50
very soon, The estimate Of the number
OF miles OF railway to be built in 1880
vary from 1000 to 5000. A great deal Of
iron will be needed to build and equip
these new roads, great dealimore to fur
nish the old roads with facilities for their
increasing business, and much more still
for tho machines used in the mining re-
gions OF the West and the manufacturing
districts OF tho East and for the general
uses OF the community in the new epoch
OF business prosperity. ~