The daily gazette., 1882-11-22
THE IRON BUSINESS.
THE CAUSE OF THE APPARENT
DEPRESSION.
NOT DUE TO THE FALL ELECTIONS.
A Plain Statement From Mr. swank, tie
Secretary of the Iron and steel Asso-
citation. ~
rPhilndelnhia Record. j

Philadelphia Record.l
The threatened shutting down Of many
rolling mills and the current rumors that n
contract has been made for Vanderbilt Inca
for steel rails with the Lackawanna Com
pany at $40 per ton have attracted general
attention 10 the decline In the demand and
prices in the iron and steel market, which
has to a considerable extent affected the
stock market, especially In Reading. James
NJ. Swank, Secretary of the American Iron
and Steel Association, who has already
attributed the depression In the iron trade
to the poor harFests OF last year, the adop-
tion of conservative policy In the building
of new railroads and In improving the
efficiency and increasing the equipment Of
old railroads, the turning of the balance of
trade against the United tates through
heavy importatous of foreign products,
adds fourth reason, which he says is 1.-THE
grave dhuht as to the attitude the next Com
gress will assume upon the tariff question"
He ALTO mentions the weakness OF fhe iron
and steel market of Great Britain. That
there has been fall of prices from $50
ton for steel rails last December to $40 this
month seems to be clearly established by
the announcement OF the Vau.ierb 1t con-
tract. Mr.. Swank says that the iron and
steel trade is showing a similar. decline In
prices in all its branches.
WHEN asked yesterday by Record ne
porter how much, If any, of this depression
was due TO the results Of the late elections
Mr.. Swank said "The election has not in 1
any measure caused the crisis It perhaps
may have lrecipitated 1t, possibly may have
aggravated it, but the result Of the election
has neither been primary nor important
cause"
"Then," urged the reporter, "the decline
would have occurred whatever way the cleo
tious went2"
Certainly. Either now or soon. In
fact, the decline has been gradually going
ON for several months. II was anticipated
by me more than year ago, and is matter
Of record, Tor YOU will lind in my annual re-
port of last June that said, in the lace Of
the most prosperous year We have ever en-
joyed: 'The situation at the present
moment is far from encouraging and in
some respects discouraging. The fact may
AS well be accepted philosophieally, il re-
luctantly, that we have again entered upon
a cycle of low prices for steel.'"
AS remedy for the depression Mr. Swank
recommended a stoppage of the large i'm
portations from England, which come
despite such a duty as $28 ton on steel
rails, and said: slow prices may be q dis
tasteful remedy for our Inanufa eturers and
their workmen and for iron-ore producers
| to apply to the evil mentioned, but no other
| remedy is available. 1t is pity that good
use was not made Of 1t few months ago"
In previous paragraph, MIR. Swank had
| declared that ''were these importetions TO
| be continued for few years longer upon
the scale which has existed during the past
| three years our iron and steel Industries
| would suffer the most serious consequences,
| which would be felt tor generation"
"Then, Mr.. Swank, " asked the reporter,
| "all this was predicted, not upon the possi--
b'lity or probability Of the political eventsof
November T. but upon causes entirely ont
side of them"
ayes, sir; but regard the elections az
having some bearing at least upon the pres
| ent condition f the trade" said Mr.. Swank.
"You will find in an editorial written by me
in the Steel and Iron Bulletin of November
1.-THE day of the election-what l consider
| the remedy"
| The conclusion of that editorial Is as fol-
lows "Wages must be reduced. The
| reduction has already commenced. The
/ workmen connected with the Bessemer steel
works Of Chicago, Joliet and st. Louis have
| consented to reduction of 20 per cent.
| Reductions at other Bessemer works must
soon follow, if indeed they have not already
/ been made. A shrinkage in the price Of
| steel rails from $50 to less than S45 per ton
must be borne y labor as well as by the
| owners of the steel works. We trust that
the reduction in wages which has boen rem
dered necessary in our Bessemer steel works,
| and may be rendered necessary in other
branches of our iron and steel industries,
will be patiently accepted"
Mr.. Swank says, in respect to the effect
of the recent elections upon the iron and
| steel trade, that it can be justly claimed
and successfully established that protection
was not generally on trial at the late cleo
tions, but only in spots, and that wherever
It YVES an issue it won as frequently as it lost.
I a..,;li t,Na .n1n h..a
that the result may be construed to he un-
favorable to the protective policy not be-
cause it was leading issue of the campaign,
but because the Democratic party, which
was successful. is looked upon as tue party
that will give this country a taste
of free trade, If any party does.
A majority of the Democrats
elected to the next Congress are un-
doubtedly in favor of a revenue tariff, and
some of the Republicans. elected are also
tainted with the same heresy. In saying
this do not admit that majority of all
who have heen elected to the next Congress
are opposed to our protective policy or
favorable to any concession to British in
terests. There is no occasion for any panic.
Many Democrats in the next House can be
trusted to vote and work for protection, and
the Republicans in that body will not as
whole be fools enough to kick from under
them the best plank their party now has to
stand upon.
"Rut he fact remains that the result of
the recent elections has excited ap Jrehen-
sions in the minds of large and influential
classes of our people which did not exist
before. They fear reduction Of duties by
the Congress which has just been elected.
This dread greatly helps To make the situta-
tion of our manufacturing industries at the
present moment one of exceeding gravity.
Many Of them are now uniavorably affected
by shrinkage in both prices and demand,
arising from causes outside of political agi-
tation, and the prospect of reduction in
duties is calculated to affect them still more
uhiavorably. The only way by which these
industries and dependent industries can be
relieved of present or future apprehension
concerning a reduction of duties is for the
present Congress to give its earnest atten-
tion next winter to revision of duties In
the interest of protection to home industry"
| <-S@-~S
The Damaged Steam-hip Aigiers.
The steamship Algiers, from New Orleans
| II Il