Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-01-17
NOT A HOPEFUL BODY.
Window Glass Manufacturers Asso-
citation Meets at Washington.
NATURAL GAS AND IMPORTATION
Cause Over Production, and the Prospect
is Discouraging.
WAGES WILL HAVE TO BE READJUSTED
In Order to Meet the Other Changes In the General
Situation.
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE pIsrArcH.I

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE pIsPATCH.I
WASHINGTON, January 16.-"I am
sorry have no cheering news to give you, "
said Mr.. Frank L. Bodine, of Philadelphia,
the handsome and genial President Of the
Association of Window Glass Manufact-
urers, "for know you would rather print
good news than bad, but there is nothing
encouraging to say in regard to the situa-
ton. If you will talk to glass manufact-
urer you will find you are talking to man
who is feeling pretty blue. We did abso-
lutely nothing at our meeting to-day but
simply hear reports and discuss the condi-
tion of business. Everybody agreed it was
bad, and not single resolution looking to
a remedy was introduced.
"We can't do anything. We must SIM
ply wait for the problem to work itself out.
Glass manufacturers are losing money.
They lost heavily during the last year. 1t
is very plain that something must drop if
we go on increasing the manufacture away
beyond the point of consumption, with for
eign competition growing fiercer and fiercer
every year, and the tariff not high enough to
check the impetus"
INCREASED PRODUCTION.
''Look at these figures" continued Mr..
Bodine, taking up little book. "Here you
will see that from 1880 to 1888 there was an
increase of from 700 to over !, 200 pots in
actual operation. The product of the blast
of last year is 100000 boxes greater than
that of the previous year, and that is all in
the hands of the manufacturers Of course,
the consumption increased also, but not to
keep pace with the production. The con-
sumption of both the American and the i'm
ported article was very large last year, but
the prices were ruinous on account of the
great output and the immense importations.
'The increase of importations last year
over the previous year was 100000 boxes,
and the total expectations amount
ed to more than 1900 boxss, which
tion. The stock in the hands of the Ameri-
can manufacturers is $4,000 boxes, as
against $50, 900 boxes for the previous year.
No, a higher tariff alone will not solve the
problem. The tariff is already high. We
must curtail the product and sell cheaper
glass. How to do that we have not devised.
We are selling cheap now, but it is at a
loss. We must sell cheap and make a
profit.
LOWER WAGES.
"While we do not want low wages, it is
my impression that there will have to be
rearrangement of wages. There has been
no material change in this department since
tha great advance of seven or eight years
ago, and think it will soon have to take
its share of the burden involved in the
changed conditions. Yes, fancy the bust
ness suffers very much the same drawbacks
in all its departments. Perhaps the flint
bottle trade is somewhat of an improvement
over the others
Have the manufacturers who use nat
ural gas any great advantage over those who
do not?" asked The DISPATCH reporter.
"Well, in some respects they have an
advantage, but I do not think it is what
was expected in the beginning of the use of
that gas. There are many other things to
consider. Most of the increase, in fact
nearly all of it, in the number of pots in
operation, which have cited to you, is in
the natural gas territory west of Pittsburg,
principally in Ohio and Indiana. When
the movement began in that direction 1 |
went and looked into the matter carefully
to see if 1 would be justified in transferring
my business to that field, and decided not
to do it." ..-..r.....
The session of the manufacturers was
very short, and final adjournment was
taken to meet at New York next July The
Pittsburgers in attendance are Messrs.
Thomas Wightman, j.. A. Chambers, G. W.
Phillips, Daniel Mckee, w. S. Cunning
ham, J. o. Campbell, John j. O'Learv,
William Loeffler, John L. Kennedy, w. K. |
Muir and j. X. Miller. The glass bottle !
will meet tomorrow.