Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-12-11

the cat nails to the extent they nave.
Your last inquiry as TO whether there Ii
spy reasonable expectancy of u permanent
improysmsnt in the future 10 not vary
easily answered. In my opinion the VIE
nail will hold the trade to the exclusion OF
the cut nail for all time to come. The rev.
CLINTON has been 30 complete that there are
a good many dealers who now talk rf keep
ing only wire Fails in stock. StOald this
state of affairs come about, you can readily
see that the cut nail would be o thing Of
the past"
The Lehman Hardware and Implement
Company, Newton, .Kas write: "O!urisn-
sWer Is wire rails Seventy five per cent
of our trade ia now wire nails, and incress-
my constantly"
A large dealer il Darlington, H., writes:
II cannot answer your question concern
ing cut nails, unless it be that they have
besn largely displaced by wire nails. Ths
lerand for wire nails is largely on the In
cease, aud of course every key Of wile
nails used dlsplaces q keg OF cut nails
whether wire nails are permanently to
take the placs of cut nails remains 70 be
sseu; the present condit'O cs favor the idea.
A more difficult problem to solve IL, how
ST eli can be manufactured from the ore IN
TO wire and from wire into wire nails at
a less cost per nail than from tn ore into
nail plates and from them into cat nall?
If that can be successfully dOne, thty
may permanently displace the cut nail.
Il looks at present something like the sur
vival of the ittest."
A Pittsburg firm says: "The whole
trouble with the cot nail business is the
supply is ahead Of the demand-more nail
nachire in the country than can be run
At a profit ifthey are ran full time, say ten
months per year. We are safe in saying
that over half OF the product this year has
d. q made at q desd loss to the manutac-
rurer. In cur opinion, the oaly remedy
would be for the manufacturer to kill
one-half their machines for the next five
years, then tie balance could be run at q
fair profit"
The President of one of the largest
nail companies in the East wriies: I'm
response TO your question, What stte
matter with the cut nail market" we re-
oily in short, Much every way Some
shat in detail We would say it is due
very largely to, 6r.t, OverprOduction.
Second. brokers who have no in
lerest whatever in NALL. except 8 bro
kerase, bear the market for their
ustomers tor their commissions, regard.
less of the loss inflicted OF the mspufsc-
rurers. Third, infldelity Of purchasers,
Sho will not hesitate to abrogate a pur-
chase or contract when offered lower prices
- -.Ak,. ,,,rNxr anhaannaDt RI Ilmn nf
contract, but before delivery Of goods.
This il q great and growing evil which Is
oracliced by a number Of houses who re-
gard their honor and credit above Ieprosch
Fourth, wire nails are now used for many
urpose end 10 that extent the use Of cat
nails is discontinued. Fifth, bsrbed wire
fences have also cot off n large field Of sale
Of cut nails. Sixth, county fence laws,
which do not require fencing Of fields to
keep cattle ont, have also destroyed 4 wide
demand for fence nsils."
A gentleman who has tesa familiar with
the various phases of the nail trade for n
quarter OF . century, writes rs follows:
What is Il matter with the nail mar.
ketP" Too much enterprise on the part OF
the manufacturers. Competition is lively,
prices low and the margin OF profits re-
duced to q minimum. What has brought
about these conditional" The answer
sy4ir is too much enterprise. / will not
iil your columns with statistics, as manu-
fac:ureIs have had the figures regularly
TOR years of production, sales and stock on
hand, but Goa't seem to have made any
more uss of them than if they were the
terms of q complicated system OF Maltese
logarithms. We have not been close
students of the laws of trade. Instead Of
sdi ustiog production to the law Of natural
increase, we have sllowtd this eDtsrpris-
ing spfit to run away with rs TO the tx
IRENE Of increasing production 80 per cent.
in q year, whsn IN increase Of 5 Per cent.
would be fully up to the wants Of the
country.
1t is needless to givefurther evidences of
this enterprisiDg spirit, bat the record
would not be complete without referring to
the steel nail, which was net demanded by
any interest, and yet two ysars were con
sumed in forcing it on the market, durirg
which time margins were reduced, owing
to the resistance of q section Of manutac-
turers who lacked enterprise, considered
the iron nail good enough. and were IN
willing 20 rut their laSt dollar into a S'Gel
plant or borrow to & q: end. This to3h CT
brought about y division Of forces and cod
ed in the labor trouble of 'S5 and sc,
which resulted IN giving the wire raIl Q
position in the market which would have
taken years to attain under ordinary Cit
cumstancss. Tie nail business has for
years been subject to acute or periodic at
tscks Of ~surfsit, resulting from this re-
msrkable spirit OF enterprise. Since the con-
i,t Of '85 and 's6 they have fallen into
3 chronic state. The doctors say chronic
conditions are due 10 an irritsbt TIE iTri-
tant in the present. csss IS the wire ra J.,
which has come to stay, and if the cut nail
manufacturers would have peace with 8
mo;icum Of profit they must sdjust pre-
duCtion to make room for the wire nSil,
which takes 25 per cent of the consump-
tion on its merit. Dispense with the bro
ker and rely on the jobber, the true mid
diemsn. Make no delivery prcss. Make
no contracts for future delivery or with q
guarantee of price. Enforcs strictly the
law Of contracts and the market will in
time right itself.
The George Fritch Hardware Company,
Denver. Col write: 'Our opinion is that
the chief obstacle in the way Of better
prices for cut rails is due to the large aud
Increasing consumption of the wire nail.
Judging from our own. experience during
the past year, the wire nail is destined to
almost entirely take the place Of its older
competitor"
In order to avoid the great rush that
always comes q few days before Christmas,
we shall offer great inducements to per