The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-03-14

for considerable railway material besides
rails.
The LOCAL SuuAuoN.-1'he market re-
mains in state Of seeming apathy, ne.
lieved, here and there, by an occasional
sale. There IL no doubt OF the fact that
the supply al pig iron in sight rs getting
smaller day by day, bat the process ol
consumption In carried on SO gradually
that the report of the pig iron associa-
ton Tor February, when IL appears, viii
prove something OF surprise. The sales
have been SO small during the past few
weeks as TO impress the casual observer
with the idea that their aggregate is in
considerable. but the totals will befound
90 be much larger than was anticipated.
No one is watching this process OF rcdnc-
ton more closely than the coke syndi-
cate. The conference, this week, having
ended in an agreement to disagree, there
would seem at first sight To be little rea-
son 90 expect any sort Of activity among
the coke men; and yet they are watching
the market as closely as any body, IL
will be remembered that when the coke
strike went into effect, the Carnegie
Works were well supplied with stocks oI
coke. They are now i'm full blast, and
they have enough coke ON hand TO run
them until the end OF April, or even into
May. In the meantime the apparent
scarcity OF pig iron, made from Lake
Superior ore, has somewhat stimulated
the market, and the Carnegie furnaces
being in excellent condition 10 run, ar,
reaping the benefit OF the general shut
down. The Illinois Steel Company is also
well supplied with coke. and is turning
out pig iron as FAST Az ever. The valley
furnaces that went out of blast i'm order
to force down the price OF coke, thus fine
that their very competitors are still en-
abled TO make and sell pig iron, but that
they, themselves, are prevented from do
ing likewise. even II they had "A DISPOSE
ton to- start mp again. There is no ques
| ton that the recent advance i'm the price
OF Bessemer iron would have prompted
some Of the valley furnacemen To star,
up II they had had the material To do il
with. The coke men, having thus fai
had their own way, now apparently de
sire to put off "A settlement OF the strik,
for the next sixty days, even though al
the end of that time they should return
TO the scale al wages paid before tn,
strike They reason that 10y that tim,
[ the scarcity of pic iron will have bccom,
so great, that the advance in the pric,
will warrant them IN asking the present
prlce oil coke, or the price tnat was
$l.95-with a possible chance for an in
crease To the old figure, $210. That, al
least, IL the opinion OF one large COX,
opera tor, and there Is nothing SO very
! improbable in his method OF reasoning
| Whether cor not such n process would
work to the final advantage OF the entir
iron industry, il much To be doubted
however The general opinion seems I,
! favor reduction or contraction in the
cost OF production rather than an intla
! ton. and TO that end the iron ore auc
/ pig iron interests in the two valleys ar,
I practically unit The coke syndicat,
may be temporarily successful in carry
ing it's point, but il is believed that il
the end basis of production must b'
reached that shall be low enough TO NEE
and compete with southern iron and ye
yield IA profit.