New-York tribune., 1883-06-16
TIE IRON INDUSTRY.

The condition If the iron industry is Mt all
times of great interest both because IL is gener-
ally regarded as q trustworthy index of the
public prosperity, and because IL discloses the
workings of the tariff. For some time past this
industry has been in bad shape. and several
failures of magnitude have called public atten-
ton to its misfortunes. But there have been
circulated some very erroneous reports regard
ing the business, which the American Iron and
Steel Association takes pains to correct IN the
latest number of its Bulletin. This gives de-
tailed statement Of the number of furnaces of
each kind in existence and in operation January
l and June /, in each of the States and Terri
tories. From this statement it appears that
sixty-six more furnaces have been blown out
since January 1 than have commenced work
during the same period and that twenty seven
more are expected to be blown out soon. In
all. ninety -one furnaces have stopped, or Will
soon stop, ont of GSS in existence-abont Is
per cent This would be a really surprising
change for five months, if the aggregate pro-
duction were fairly indicated by the number of
furnaces in operation. But all know that it
is not. The truth is that the decrease in pro-
duction Is very much less than these figures
alone would indicate.
In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, for in
stance. there are three moro furnaces at work
than were at work January 1, in Missouri three
more. in Shenango County, Pennsylvania, In
Alabama. Virginia, California and Washington
Territory, one each in all eleven new fur
paces. These are all presumably of the latest
style and the most complete equipments, and
there is no reason to doubt that in productive
~ nf nl
furnaces which have ceased work. In fact, the
average yield of Gas furnaces last year was
much less than 10000 tons each yearly, while
one of the new furnaces is producing at the rate
of over 80 900 tons yearly. The older, cheaper
and poorer concerns as a rule stop work first,
because the cost of production there is higher
than il is elsewhere. Consequently it may be
assumed that most of those that have stopped
are far below the average in productiveness.
But this is not ALL The record fails to show
exactly how many new furnaces have been
started, and in several States it is certain that
the mere increase in number at work does not
correctly indicate the number of new works put
into blast Thus in Alabama the increase in
number is only one, hut the Sloss, No. 2, the
Mary Pratt and the Coosa furnaces have been
started so that two old ones must have stopped.
In Virginia, the increase is only one, and yet
the Victoria, the Wines, and the Grocer fur
naces have gone into operation, and their
product exceeds by many thousand tons that of
the two that have ceased to work in that State.
The new Vulcan furnace in Michigan has
gone into operation, and yet the whole number
in that State is three less than 1t was January
/. Probably the one that has started will turn
out moro iron than the four that have stopped.
Ia AL twenty-six appear to have stopped, while
four have begun in Pennsylvania, four have
stopped in Connecticut, five in New-York,
three In New-Jersey, one in Maryland, one
in Georgia, two in West Virginia, three in
Kentucky, three in Tennessee, twenty-0ne In
Ohio. one in Indiana, two in Illinois, two in
Wisconsin, and, as just stated, four in Michi-
gan.
Considering all these circumstances, 1t may
be doubted whether the weekly product OF pig.
iron is not quite as large now as 1t was January
1. The new concerns are probably all of the
better and larger class, and some of them are
known to be very large and productive. Most
of those that have stopped are known to be
small, and the natural presumption is that very
few are of large production. at this time.