The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-05-09

OkE-fiG iliON.
The Cleveland Iron Trade Review =
resume oi the week in iron circles:
GENERAL FEATuEEs. "A comprehensive
view of the industries drawing upon pig
iron stocks shows that, while agricultur-
IA works arr very busy ear works and
ruch shops an depend largely upon rail-
rlnds iur orders are generally slack.
Rolling mills ARE turning out about two
thirds al their normal product, while IN
foundry lines nearly all melterS al IRON
extect "A better bu<iners further along Ia
the venr The general situation CON
tinues hopeful. Two weeks ~ warm set
tied weather havr put spring work well
forward The acrenge al crops will be
very large under the stimulus al high
prices. Railroad traffic IL mniniaIned
better than WAS expected, and increase
uf earnings IL general Some veteran
observers believe tinit we are in the very
worst as the depression, and that a
reaction cannot ba much longer delayed.
Others again fail to see daylight ahead.
The conspicuous feature oi thr Detroit
market. during he past Ncek. has b.wn
the gravity - TIE lahor situation. The
iron Dii~iuess1 in That eity hats been la q
state OF decided uncertainty, ewing TO
the street ear strike having leen assisted
fnundries in this city At this writing
the large car manufactures have a stiike
upon their hands. and IL j. uncertain, iu.
deed when these matters may be adjust
cd and satisfactorily Settled. certainly
not until some time alter May lSt. There
il some inquiry for Lake superior char
coal, from vHrinuS parts al the country,
aud Ia snnie cOnnidetn bleamnuntA, which
viii probably result IN the placing during
the next ten days or two weeks ~ "A con-
siderable Tonnage, and 10 Is hoped, relieve
the pressure al large stocks now ~ the
bands of the furnagemen Several addi.
tional SALES 81 large size have been nude
In the Chicago market, oi Lake superior
charcoal ou basis Of prices reported a
week ago II has been claimed hv vari-
Gus parties that figures OF St6.75. Chicn-
ga. have been made covering deliveries
during the last six months 81 lac present
wear. The explanation of these exceed
ingly low prices *, that several furnaces
81 this class have piled up heavy stocks
und have renChed the point where they
have been Obliged Co unload. nutnler
az the leading companies. however, have
declined to meet prices quoted, prcicrrug
to hold their metal indefinitely aud take
chances on better prices utter IA tlr~u
mer. Two or three stacks hive blown
cut already in consequence ut low mar
ket. and number Of others are certain
10 stop unless prices materially improve.
Ii Is evident that the low figures now be-
ing named con- certain brands cannot long
exist, and large consumers IN the Chicago
district realizing this. are anticipating
their wants and buving part 81 their
stock much ahead of their uslnh time
Local coke irons continue active and
some guod-sikcd sales are reported 10
this direction Southern coke brands re-
main quiet and sire held at unchanged
figures. The feeling Is generally gaining
ground that market has touched bottom
iS 20 prices. and that an Improvement
will occur ~ soon ~ theusual spring and
summer buying becomes general. The
Louisville pig iron market II one ~ un-
doubted dulluess. hut very few sales have
been made, aud there is but little inquiry. !
Consumers report q scarcity of work. /
There is very little iron in the hands 81
southern furnaces, old orders, and the
few being taken from time, about keep |
ing pace with the production OF those in
blast; STOPS birmingham. forgery forge, /
seems to Toe the nominal quotation. |
though sales are reported at less than /
SO. Although ~ cannot be said that
there has been any radical change of feel- |
ing among consumers al pig iron iu the
territory tributary TO Buffalo during the /
past few days. vet there certainly h 90
be seen returning confidence. IL * dif |
ficult 90 tell why this Is 80, but ~ the
conditions of tile market are practically |
n j. only fair Ca assume that
IL IL due 10 a better outlook for trade. !
The general ran oi buying still continues
to be Of hand-to-mouth character, in
dicating small stocks ia foundry yards |
Careful investigation confirms this
theory. II has been quite common al
late TO find large fonndries without more
than ten days supply of pig iron on
hand, where formerly the same fOundries
Carried from 600 Co | 900 tons az re-
serve. AZ Cincinnati IL IL noted that
there has been a little weakening in south
ern mill irons, but values are well mann.
tanned in foundry grades. An occasional
transaction Is reported where the object
was Co realize prompt cash for u round
lot oi iron. and this has been alta conces-
zion Charcoal iron values have declined
under the long period Of dizziness.
TnE LOCAL SITUATION. Despite the adj
vance 90 the season, there appears Co he
no manner ~ change in the situation,
and the trade j. az Hat and duh asst has
been az any time since this downward
began. The question that
lluzzlcs tho ore interests as well as the
zig iron makers, - the probematical dis
position uf the ore now ON hand. II
must be- remembered that the ore brought
down last season viii suffice Co supply
most 81 the furnaces Tor i've cor six
months. This ore, To be sure, war
bought at rate averaging "A dulltrmOfc
than IL would bring to-day. II there were
- market. and the iurnaeemen have writ
ten of this dollar when they made their
last inventories. The ftct 81 writing off
this amount does not, 81 course, lessen
the loss. but Il assists ia computing the
cost ui making iron on the basis al the
1891 prices This ore the fnrnacemcu
ARE more than anxious 20 turn intOcash I