Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-04-06
Whss All nen Say.

Whss All nea Ssy.
- o1tuation OF the iron industry,
ro1oulariy IN Fsnnsylvania, 10 exciting
- Wids attention, and there Is .
ns&ahls agresment in the opinion that
&otnilroadD must reduce their rates Of
1ght 70 give industry here fair chance
- ~ rivals elsewhere. There is no
>Gbt that Tie mineral resources Of Penn
y 1I1vontA, with their proximity to the
nofksk viii enable its iron manufac-
eEs % successfully compste with those
|k my part Of the country, II they are
= IVA - low freight rates upon their raw
GzosEiAls and product ~ the other
eo1lons aEs favored with.
N TAe furnaces In the Birmingham dis.
,H3ee q Alabama get their supplies of
}1ool, ore and limestone, within radius Of
- milss at . charge OF twenty-five cents
~ ~; and ct ave tons OF raw material
~ : ton Of pig iron produced, the freight
|nold By the makers Is but el.25 per
~. This constitutes the great advan.
- Of that district for cheap iron manu-.
! s1noture.
( II b, Of course, largely due to the close
Eoo1looation of the ore, fuel and flux used
a making iron but it is secondarily due
s - The policy Of the railroad managers in
oaxrying these materials to the furnaces
ot little over cost; and further,
IN taking away their pig iron product
z % IT. distant market at low charges. The
prices charged, according to the latest
ophedule Just issued, are TO Cincinnati,
~ miles, e2 rs per ton or Eve and four
tenth mills per ton per mile; to Louis
VILE, which Is soi miles, the charge is
e2.60 per ton or six and three-tenths
1nills per ton per mile. And the charges
I 10 other places are at about the same
rates.
The Iron Age and the Iron Bulletin
publish figures Of the charges made to
1'snnsplvania furnaces. One party in the
d Echuylkill valley pays rates for pig iron
carriage ranging from three quarters OF
! : cent TO SIX cents per ton per mile; for
! 3ron ore his rates vary from seven and
4 teven-ten.hs mills to sixteen and tenth
mills; for anthracite coal from twelve
4 End nine e.tenths to twenty-nine and four.
tsnths mills; and for limestone from
fifteen and three. .tenths 10 sixteen and
-Four. .teLths.
These rates vary greatly but never get
very low. Our railroads have fondness
Sor charging very high rates per mile
4 Tor short hauls, saying that the cost Is
: much moro for a short haul and they thus
sxcuse their low through rates from the
West. But whenever they get into close
ooruer from competition they are willing
\ - make very low charges for very short
hauls. Their policy clearly Is to get all
4 they can; and TO take little when they
= oannot get much. They are very amen
able to persuasion when they knew
: they are offered all they can get; and
!. thus 10 comes that their local rates ale
yssy uneven.
AZ an illustration of this readiness to
mako low rates when 1t Is necessary TO
get trade, We need but mention the rate
8 5ust posted at the freight stations for iron
ore from Erie to Philadelphia, Lancaster
md al points reached by the Pennsyl-
q vanis railroad, In this section. lt.is sl.75
1or . gross ton Of 2,240 pounds which
= but about Q half cent per ton per
Z mile. This ore comes to Erie from the
western end Of the chain Of great lakes by
boat. and 10 there transferred to the cars
BY elevators erected by the railroad com.
pany, which proposes to do large busi'
,isss In ore carrying, and puts Its charges
down to the lowest figure, because it
knows that it cannot otherwise get the
sre into the Eastern market.
Probably the fact that the Philadelphia
q Erie road Ii leased line, for which
at II not required to provide dividends,
helps the Penn,ylv ania railroad manage.
ment TO their willingness to carry on i,
Ut cost; but the:llustration remains
h's they are ready to carry fol-
-nen they cannot get more
4 md doubtless the Pennsylvania fur
mace aud mill rates will bs put down
1 - soon as 1t Is clear tothe railroad peopl,
that 1t must be done to keep the indus
1ries alive.
And 1t Is fair to remember, also, IL
! comparing the liberality of Southern
xatlroad directors with the disposition
OF our own roads, that the Southern
directors are personally interested in the
southern furnaces, and are naturally In.
elined to help them even at the cos
Of the railroad stockholders JUS
- the directors Of our roads have il
the past inclined to give express and ca
companies, in which they held stock
low charges for their railroad facilities
The Southern railroad directors may no
% altogether virtuous In their liberia
railroad policy, but 1t Is the good fortun,
OF their section Of the country that thei
s Interests run along with the interests O
the people.
He Is Tired.
The president is tired and seeks res,
We do not wonder at all, We have no