The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-08-01

Cd so1Gcokior" sn" 1oN ~ uon Hss
-. he1t Je W than - any previous date I'm
" issi jbsP pa capacity Of active furnaces
cspscfk blast January I. 1891. the largest
. &C INV Eious date. Was l0S .261 gross tons.
| The toA production OF pis iron la the United
State during ths nrss six months Of 1891 WAS
aN77L556 tons. or I .331 3l8 tons less than the
firss SIX months OF 1890. At CINCINNATI there
were lev transactions TO give any special char.
acter TO the past week. One large Ohio asricul-
tural works has placed orders for It's seasons
requirements. A maiieable concern has con-
tracted for about 10000 tons OF Lake Superior
en-, 'oai iron. Rolling mills and ear works have
placed n lew moderate orders. Otherwise dull
ness has pervaded everything. The failure OF a
large car works having plants In Ohio aud Indi-
ana hardly caused a ripple. as IL had been doing
but little work aud purchased very little mater
Ial this year The usual midsummer quiet
characterizes the Chicago market. Carload
orders ARE numerous. but Few contracts OF any
size are being made. Prices northern aud
southern iron, both coke aud charcoal nrmain
unchanged. IL Is now conceded that the low
priced sellers OF Lake Superior charcoal have
nearly, II not quite all. withdrawn. The outlook
for the remainder Of the year generally healthy;
the large crops which are now nearly assured ARE
certain TO result In giving general Impetus TO
business starting first with the railroad lines
and then extending 20 all branches. Buying on
the part OF railroads, however, has not yet be-
gun. In "A general way. the transactions In pig
metal at Detroit, are confined To carloads aud
small lot orders. and we're Il not for few rather
large transactions IN Lake Superior charcoal,
the market would be entirely ieatureless Some
inquiry which came In during the week prior 10
the one under review. developed into consider
able actual transactions; the malleable iron
makers business must be very large, as these
deals were chiefly confined Co them, and some of
the buyers were those who contracted early IN
the season for all they presumably would ne
qure. but find themselves In need OF further
quantities with the season not yet hall gone by
IL is natural then To expect Others TO be In much
the same condition. and II is hoped aud believed
by the furnacemen that the most sanguine estim-
alters for large tonnage will only err Ia placing
the amount too low. The ear aud carwheel
makers getting more busy every week. and
with the developments Of wants on the part OF
railway companies when the crops commence
moving. a continued good business should be
seen during the balance Of the year. The CHAR
acter OF the buying at Louisville Is largely car
loads lots consumers reporting demand Tor fin
ished material as not being up 20 their expecta-
tions. and that IL il difficult where sales have
been made, To secure prompt settlement, This
has led TO unusual conservatism Ia placing
orders. and the quantity OF iron placed is very
small. Prices are being made that are regarded
by all as extremely low. but. no hstanding the
assurance OF heavy crops with fair prices for
same buyers OF raw material not willing to
purchase largely for the future. This Especially
true of car wheel irons that are offered In many
instances largely below cost for special reasons.
and yet buyers are afraid TO purchase heavily
though they realize that any change may cause
same to advance sharply and that IL cannot be
expected that charcoal irons for any length of
time can be bought at present, below cost.
| IL Is thought that this inactivity must change
shortly TO free buying as crops are largely ms.
surd. From Buffalo comes the report that
there has been quite "A satisfactory amount OF
buying during the week Agricultural implement
manufacturers, nearly without exception, report
business good; there works in many cases have
been kept running, by press OF business, much
onger than anticipated. Jobbing foundries
show more activity aud are purchasing more
freely. As the tendency now, however, is toward
overproduction, prices do not advance. An
extended trip through the Alabama iron dis
1
mainly 70 holding back OF deliveries on large
rolling mill and other contracts IL Is estimated
that the forward sales OF all the Alabama fur.
naces will reach close TO 200, 900 tons. while the
total of stocks on hand is probably 80, 900 tons.
Woodward. Alice and Thomas have each put
one urnace out for repairs, and no stacks have
gone ia their place One encouraging aud highly
important features TO the Birmingham district
il that the leading companies having mortgage
debts. are earning interest on bonds aud all fixed
charges from their coal aud coke business alone
leaving the furnaces free from that special load.
| The LOCAL SnUAuoN.-As matters now
stand, the conditions are such that the pro.
| ducers OF ore arc not DESTROYS OF selling any
more at the old prices or even at slight adj
| vance, while consumers are not ready TO take
any more ore at considerable advance so
that the business may be said TO be nj stand
still. Lake freghts have advanced rather more
quickly than was anticipated by the shippers
ia the fore part of the season, and they are
consequently losers by reason OF the low prices
they made on their earlier sales, which were
made with the expectation Of steadier lake
frclghts. In the meantime the merry war be-
tween the iron ore and coal shippers on the
oneside and the grain forwsrders on the other,
has broken out afresh and will have "a serious
effect on the market within the near future
Escanaba freights ARE very firm at eighty cents,
and one dollar has been paid for Marquette
freiehts, the Ashland rate remaining az the same
figure Up TO now. great many boats. despite
| the delays involved have taken coal up 20 bring
down ore, but during the past week there has
developed n feeling IN favor Of going up light 10
| bring down ore ut higher rate. so that the
coal freights a also on the advance Quite
naturally boats prefer 10 go to Marquette when
coal freights are low. but the present emergency
win take great deal Of tonnage Co the head OF
the lakes TOR grain, and the rush In that al.
rcction may play havoc with the later iron ore
sales. The strike at the mills OF the Pcnnsyi