The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-11-25
IRON AND STEEL q.

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IRON AND STEEL.
The papers are full Of talk just now
about a sudden depression in the iron and
steel trade, the squeeze being particularly
hard on the manufacturers of steel rails
The price has steadily gone down during
the last few years from about gre per ton
10 $43, and now the mill owners say they
can no longer keep their works going
without material reduction in pig iron
and wages. The Joliet, the North Chica.
go, the ST. LOUIS, the Cleveland and nu-
merous other steel rolling mills give notice
that they must shut down in January un.
less hands will submit TO material lower
my y. wages. WnIie III. man cause OF
The depression In the trade Is gene,s ally ad'
mltled to be heavy falling off in the de-
mand owing TO partial check in rail
ute ii to the anticipation Of free trade leg.
islatIOn IN congress on account OF the recent
democratic victories, though how thl.a can
be such legislation soon, seeing It VIII be
nearly two years before the democrats can
hope to perfect any measure in congress on
the subject is a question tnat no one at
tcmpts to answer.
| Another curious thing about 1t IS: Some
of the PIttsburg iron and steel men, as
well as those of Philadelphia, Harrisburg
snd numerous ether points in PennsJ w.
MIA, do not share the fears Of the western
men, but are running on full time and have
plenty of orders, though they admi. that
prices are down and reduction of wages
may be necessary. At the same time IT is
we'll known that the whole iron ard steel
business of the country is IN the hands of a
syndicate, representing all the producers
and the amount to be produced is determ.
lned and the number of workmen to be
employed settled each year. Such being
the case, how happens it .hat The western
mills arc so depressed while the eastern are
comparatively comfortable, all sailing in
iact III the same boa''
The nrh o. the business is that n ewopp.
IuE IcuucllOn OF wages mas been delermln.
eu upon, aDu ,nu depression in me trade
IS being grossly exaggerated to prepare the
work men quietly to submit. Steel rails,
no doubt have gone down. When they
were selling at $50 to 1914 per ton, congress.
man Hewitt, himself a manufacturer, ad-
mitted that the mill-owners divided 81 per
cent. on their capital stock. Didthey thlRk
of dividing any of these enormous profits
with their workmen them But LOW tina,
rails are down to $43@$45 per ton, and
profits may be cut down TO Is per cent. Of
less, they must squeeze the workmen.
Is $43 q ruinous price tor steel rails
In England the price for the past year ia.
ranged from s23 to $32. IsAmerican skill
so far behind England that 1t costs from
SIS to $25 per ton more to make steel rails
here than in England? Edgar Thompson
at Pitssburg says steel rails can be made a,
Q profit at $40 per ton, croakers TO the con
trary Notwithstanding; and A. +. Heating
President Of the Iron Association Of that
city, says steel rails can be made there fol
$32 and leave s. as margin for profit, and
then lets the whole cat out of the bag by
adding: THE Bessemer men made large
profits, but now when overproduction has
come, they find their first profits lessened
and their first object is 70 reduce the price
of labor. In order to do this they are en-
deavoring " show that the entire bottom
has dropped out Of the business"
SO, getting to Inc bottom Of 1t, the pres
ent outcry Is nothing but raid on the
workingmen! about whose protection
We have such pathetic walls at every cleo
ton time and In buncombe speeches in con
sress. Have any of the "bosses" ever vol
unteered to explain to the Tariff Commiss
ion the rate of percentage they divided
with the workmen of their enormous profits
when they amounted to 81 per cent Of theil
capital invested? Was one ever heard
of who was willing to divide even frac
ton of such profit with his workingman
There never was more arrant and die
graceful cheat than this cry of the tariff
mongers for protection" to the working
men. No wonder the Labor Congress, a
its session at Cleveland the other day
unanimously struck the resolution IN favo
lot protective tariff out of their platform,
Detective Miller" one of the men EN-
ployed by the attorney general at Wash
} ugton to hunt up evidence against the sta
route thieves, but who in fact sold himsel
to Dorsey and Ingersoll to act as spy Oh
/ the prosecution has just been convicted o
his treachery and been dismissed from tn
service. Miller WAS one of Dorsey's mos
active helpers IN Indiana IN 1880 and
, .>..hoi D., ,ha an 4. n nopll .,iva Gonna ram in