Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1885-12-30
= Review of the ITUp and teeI indus
try for the Past Year

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. Dec mber ga
review of the iron trade If 1885 has iuet
been prepared by jam VI. Swauk, gem
ersl manager of the n ericaa Iron and
Steel Association. Tee begiuniUg Of the
year was marked, @ says, NV a contin-
ua.lon of the dsp'-'siHg 4 1884. There
was a steady saEg 81 rrices from Janu-
ary to July, except tgr -u-i tiis, quota
tions for which improved q IL. In May,
July and Angu.t all Puc.5 sHtenej, and
IN September 4 -''pGt advance was estab-
llshed, steel nils king tie cad and con-
tinuing to advance UAji December Quo
tatioUs for thr tur irrGiu staple for
each month Il iAa year wi show that
prices az the CloIe al the yegc were more
favorable than at fH- ,los3 Il the 6 ST half
of the ysgr. : comparison yf prices shows
that pis ron vFs n m January. Sl7 IS in
July and SIS - ia De. p,nar $ eel rails
We're So in J uuaTy $50 iu April and
S3t 80 in December. B..r iron was $40 80
in January, SIS GS IA July ard S39 20 in
December. Cut ma Is We e - 10 in jan
uary, - 10 in August and s. 65 in Decem-
ber. lhtse quotations are monthly aver
agea Tor No. | anthracite foundry pig iron
and hest refined bar iron, per gross ton,
at Philadelphia; for cut nails per
keg Wholesale az Philadelphia, and for
steel rails per gross ton at Pennsylvania
greatest advance in price during the last
halt Of 1855. In April sales were made
At Pennsylvania mills at S26GG26 30, and a
few sales are said TO have been made at
the astontshingiy low price of S25 so.
These prices We're lower than foreign steel
rails could lave been delivered at At
lantic ports go the same date il entirely
trse of duty. In May quotations advanced
to S27, and the price mus established Was
substantially maintained until the last of
august, when further advance took place
IN consequence ola agreement among the
manufacturers to limit and distribute the
output for 1856, which wss fixed At 775.
coo tons, but no restriction was placed
upou the price. From August to Novem-
Der prices steadily advanced, "a result
partly OF the restriction OF production
which had been determined urnu and
partly of the general Improvement which
had TAKEN place in the business OF the
country, end in the last-named month
and December lots were made at
$50. In December the msnuf ,ct-
uTers enlarged the limit Of production
for 1856 to LOCO COO tons, "hut," says Mr.
swami ''aricas rf Pig iron baE IRON, ,.oilS
steel rails snd ctner forms of iron and
steel could not have advanced in the last
half of 1855 If there had not been an il-
creased demand for these products. After
September lst this increased demand bs-
came everywhere noticeable, and it he's
continued without interruption to the
present time. This is, after all, the most
gratifying feature OF the revival in cur
iron and steel industries. II
there were no threat to-day of tariff revis-
i'm the promise OF 1886 would be bright
indeed. Not 10 borrow trouble, however,
il can most positively be- said that feel
ing of CO tidenre in the future Of business
now prevails throughout the entire coun-
try. We have entirely recovered from the
vailed year or six months ago. The un-
cite financial circles, but il is ex-
erclsing no iojuriods etfset upon
general business. Although complete
statistics are not 10, II is certain that We
made almost SIS much pig iron and as
many steel rails in 1885 as Ia 1884.
Railroad building in 1885 was more active
than has generally been supposed il
would he. In 1884 We built 1850 miles
of new railroad, and ia 1885 we built over
5000 miles, which is 500 miles above esti-
mates foT the year that were made as late
as July. We shall do better in 1885. The
European iron trade exhibited no symp-
toms Of q revival in 1885, hut, on the con-
Irary, the backward movement, which hiss
from the first more than kept even pace
with our own depression, continued until
be close Of the wear. Taking the iron.
sakius countries Of Europe as a whole
trpn trade situation in that grand di
is much worse to-day than it was
Qpths sgn."