The morning news., 1889-03-15
STEEL COMPANIES MERGED.
All Local Competition at Chicago
Wiped Out.

Wiped Out.
PHILADELPHIA March "A special to
the Inquirer from Chicago says: 1.-THE
most important deal in the steel trade ever
made in Chicago was announced to-day in
the consolidation of the North Chicago
Rolling Milling Company, the Joliet Steel
Company and the Union Steel Company.
Negotiations TO this end have been going on
for two months, and they were practically
concluded last week. The name of the new
company has not yet been decided upon
but it will be an entirely new one. The
capital will be 100000 600, of which be-
tween S5,000,000 and $6,O00.000 will be
issued for cash now in the treasures
of the respective companies, and the
balance will represent this valuation
of the three plants Stock in the new COM
pany will be distributed to shareholders in
the old ones upon the basis agreed upon in
their consolidation. The combined works
will form the largest steel plant in this
country, and will probably rank second
only to the establishment of Krupp in
Germany.
RAILS THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCT.
Steel rails are the principal product of
the mills, and in rai-making the new COM
pany, will have no competitor in the west
worth speaking of. The rolling mills at
st. Louis and Sringield, H., are not run
ming, and the Cleveland mill is work
ing on structural shapes and agri-
cultural implements The steel rail output
of the country is turned out at
nine mills, or at least so much of it that the
other concerns figure for very littls. They
are the North Chicago and the Union at
Chicago, Joliet, at Joliet, fl teen miles out
of Chicago; Edgar Thomson at Pitts
burg, Cambria Iron Company, at Johns
town, Pa, Pennsylvania Steel Company
at Harrisburg, Scranton and Lackawanna
mills at Scranton. and the Bethlehem works
at Bethlehem, Pa. There is only one west
of Chicago, the Colorado Coal and Iron
Company's mill at South Pueblo, Col, and
that is not of much account.
LOCAL COMPETITION DESTROYED.
By the consolidation of the three Chicago
concerns local competition will be destroyed
and better prices realized for rails. Already
plans are being formed for securing to the
utmost the advantages Of the union. The
North Chicago works have greater convert
ing capacity than its rolling department can
utilize while the Union and Joliet works are
better provided with rolls than converters
BY dividing up the work among these three
mills every department of each can be run
to the best advantage. Reduction of ex-
penses in other directions, such as clerk
hire, rent and commissions to agents, will
be effected, and is estimated that the cost of
producing steel rails can be cut down 81
per ten.
CAPACITY OF THE WORKS.
AS the combined works manufacture one
third of the total output OF the country, and
can turn out S00,000 tons a year without
much difficulty, besides l50,000 tons of other
steel material, this saving is of great inn
portance to the stockholders. Inventories
of the plant and assets of the three concerns
are now being made. Two fur
naces of the North Chicago
mill at Milwaukee, which have
a capacity of 50 900 tons Of pig metal per
year, are included in the deal. All the
companies are strong financially and their
plant has beel well kept up. Some i'm
provements and extensions are in contem-
plation which will be made at once. Al
though the stockholders of the three
mills have yet TO approve the plan,
there is no doubt it will SO through.
>as the largest stockholders in each are in
favor of the scheme A. T. Shoemaker has
been appointed sales agent at Chicago for
the consolidated companies.