The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1882-12-01
THE IRON TRADE.
II Is Represented to he ia a Very
Depressed Condition.
The s. eretary Of the American A,so.
station Thi ks the Reports
Exaggerated.

number of iron and steel mills in all
arts OF the country are to clio @ down with
In n month or two for reasons whic may be
div ded INTO two ella ses: Frst The depres.
sion in the iron and steel traffic; and, sec
ond, the anticipation OF free-trade legisla ion
on the Part OF the next Cong e-s As to the
hitter conside alton, Jude Kel ey, of Penn
svlvania sa,s that tn KIT SO s on OF Con-
grt rs can not extend beyond seventy DAYS,
AID tlat even were the Comm ttnc on
w W and Means Opposed to refo IN the tar
II IL w buil b. an impo 'siblity to get b |
tn ough N the time that would ne left ter
diSro ing 81 the appropria ion bi IL an the
undre OF IN assures that w ii esSarly
en- umber the Spe kerr, table. In references
{, he de. r sion N the b .sine-s Ethan A
Hitchcock, Pre- ident of the ST Louis Ore
ana Ste"i Company says: The price of st. el
rails has fa,len Il ON 500 &c s45 ner ton, AMI
Wig ir n on RON So % to S4 The fall
in st Il RAYS was due, he said. TO overpro-
dlction. In one year the estimated cap .ci Y
the steel IN lis OF the U Il 81 States had
increase1 9n,' 90 tons. The prob, bic de-
mand for n xt year would be about | ,0OO, coo
10 as against - possible output OF Z, lN, 90
TINS. III he land should prJve 10 be %
per cent. OF he capa Y, all the mills could
not work full time. And the probability was
that Hex year there would be but lit rail
road bui ny, AMI rails wou be needed for
reconstruction and repair alone.
q oomy apprehrnsions are entertained by
9th firms. The m mayer Of tue Bethleh m
pa IL on and steel orks lays tie materials
produced 1t his works sre about as low as
they go, and the outlook is dull one.
Gen Lilly, of Mauch Cnunk, says the bust
ress outloo Is gloomy, orders gwen for bar
iron having been counteTmanded in large
number of lnstan es, and there b ing uncer-
tain,y on all deS. he Presid mt of the
Thomas Iron Company, in Pennsylvania, re-
portS i'm lar condit on of things ~ Ca asa
qua am Hokcndauqua The larg. works of
the La * wanna Company, Scranton, Pc,
have shortened their ime schedule The
labOrers throughout the Lehigh valley are
anxi GUS alb nut ne future
The apprchension@ are not shared how
ever, bv all the manufacturers. The Tyrone
pa lorges resume operations next we X,
and viii run on fu tine. In Coatesvile,
Pa though the propr etors consider the out
look gloomy al, the mills are b sy and
plenty of orders are on hand The output
OF the Edgar Thompson steel works Pitts
burgh, has been red TO two thirds
their capacity, and the company say that
is the survival OF the fittest or,
rather, the latest rocket They
could sell at s42 ton if they could
get coke and ore and wages down, but had
n yer gone below s45. In Bridgeton, ~ j.,
the ron foundri,s are very busy The Cleve-
land (Oh o) rolling MILL are not to be shut
down. and the Bay WV works, near Mil
waukee, which have not made any steel rails
for SOL time and shut down the iron-rail
mill hree week. go, will not be affe ted
except through the sympathy inevitable to
all lines Of the iron business The North
Chicago, the Union Iron and Steel mills, the
Joliet and the Vulcan mil of St
Louis are still running but will have
conference with their hands about
III. rel tive to w ges for the ensuing year,
| w h. an will nbnI Il do
decrease OF from 20 to - per cent. on present
rates The trouble is attributed in Chicago
TO the Scra ton company, which cut pr ces
from s4j to s42 ton, since which time sales
have been made ut $40, the price at which
/ they are now quoted IN Eastern circulars,
and at VIII Oh the Pi e ident OF e Union Iron
and Steel Company says they cannot be made
! here
A Phi ladelphia DIP tch says: Thorough
inqui y al over the city aid in al tn. L. d-
ny man IA turin 'ente q OF the State o
not warrant the opini tina the iron aud
steel trade q in g bad condition as has been
represented Indeed James NJ s ank the
Secretary of the American Iron and Steel
| Ass CT ton, nd one Of the best-informed
me in the country, said toby: 1T has
b, en- gre Ily exaggerated Tie steel-ral in
| du Try is in very depressed condition, and
the mand 9th rir n and steel PFC ducts
Il not eq Ial o the expectations of few
months ago, b there is no occasion for any
eX it,ment or alar III. Prices ave been
gradually declining since last spring; there
mas been No su ,d'n de line, not even in
steel rails / do not he leve that the pres
ent Congress, nor he Congre which has
just been elect q, w II be so UNIV sc as great
~ TO rrdu e the duties upon iron and steel,
and lence iee entirely hopeful OF the fut-
ure Of tno.e indu tries. Low prices are not
n .ces-ari Y an evil
A Waehington dispatch states that it is
be eyed there by many Congressm n and
! others who favor revision OF the tariff
laws that the sensation / reports of q
gene al suspension of steel production are
de igned TO influence Congress aga nst
any reduct on of The enormous measure
o protection which the ron and steel in.
terests already enjoy. Indie ltions are not
lack ny t. show tnat there is a good deal OF
method and system in the attemp to right
EN- the country into tine cJnvic IN that moth
ing short of a prohibitory tariff will prevent
IA Gene al co lapse o the ron q ID steel M II