The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-02-17
COST OF IRON PRODUCTION.

rnents from various sources relating 10 the
comparative cost Of producing pig iron in the
North and the South. The amount that has
tobe expended in the process Is, as Is now
well known. very much smaller in this soction
Of the Union than in the Northern States. a
fact which IS already exercising momei rtous
influence upon the fortunes Of the SOUTH
We have in recent report Of the Ma -ional
Commissioner Of Labor Hon Carroll d.
Wright. which bears on this subject 1T very
considerable length, the following refer ences
which will be found to be Of very general
interest:
A comparison Of the cost Of materials
used in the Northern and Southern istrlcts
of the United States shows that the dii ference
in favor Of the South in the cost Of ore and Of
coal is very great although the difference. so
far as the ore Is concerned Is partially onset
by It's comparatively higher per cent. Of IRON
IN the Northern district The ore use d IN the
Northern district costs per ton III ~ erage OF
S440l: the cinder. scrap, &c. q 63l; the
limestone 79s cents. the coke. - Ola, and
the coal y 6gj. The cost IN the Soul hern diS-
trict for the ore Is Sl.5l3 the cinde r. scrap.
&C., II OBJ the limestone, 7O.l MIS- the
coke. 53Os4. and the coal +; l.jjG
In the Northern district the dra 4 cost OF
labor i'm the production IF Besse mer iron
ranges from 1870 to taif; for Of icials and
clerks from ~ 10 81 cents. supph =, repairs
and taxes from 1 u go 10 S532: tran sportaiion
10 point where used. elGQ 10 1892, difference
between foregoing actual costs An Il costs ~
charged by blast furnace. from I H. 10 10 1906.
The totals. therefore, range IRON 1877 per
ton to $3.50. IN the Southern district the
costs per ton OF run Of furnace rlnge ~ fol-
lows: Direct labor 1872 10 F159 officials and
clerks. 10 10 45 cents supplies, repairs and
taxes CGcents o. sl29. transported ION 20 points
where used 36 cents 10 Sl.55 ference he
tween foregoing and costs as char ged by blast
furnace. u cents 10 :2.07. Tho otals. there
fore. range from 80 rs per ton ID sos In
one establishment I'M Great Ri ain the total
cost Of these clements per ton /, '.lO.H.'
As the day must soon arrive when steel
rails Will bee manufactured in lAI &c quantities
i'm the Southern States tine fodb wing details
AS to the comparative cost Of producing this
article in the United States and in Great
Britain will bee Of interest.
In the United States, 50. the report Of
the commissioner, 1.-THE net cost of materials
was s2l.lO at one establishue at and SIS II at
the other The cost of lab,Yr wa, .l.a and
sl.3S Total cost at one ig4 20 and s270S at
the other. On the Continent. the net cost Of
materials varied from il763 ID sl9sS the
cost Of labor from sl.O2 20 t4.6i per ton. In
the three establishments in Great Britain the
net cost of materials yari,.l from 1863 10
$780,, the cost Of labor from 1896 10
:2.A. The totals thereto re, varied from
.lS5S to 521.s0.
The average daily earning of workmen en-
ployed in the pig iron establishments Of the
Northern States varies -om slf To .2.03,
in the Southern district from Sl22 to 51.3i;
on the Continent of Euro pr from Ga cents to
70 cents. and i'm Great Bra ain from 81 cents To
e. cents. In Great Britain and on the Con-
tinent Of Europe however, the workmen are
employed only about thr 'e months i'm year.
As to the efficiency of labor. the report
states that comparison ofthc figures shows
that in pig iron in theNor hern district of the
United States 43 If the A., Establishments have
an efficiency Of 0s Of a &c II or more, rang
ing as high as l6 and unde II. "a being con-
centrated in the four grou ps that begin with
.Os and end under y, Will q in the Southern
district of the United State Il of the 2i have
am efficiency under .OS, AZ d IF the above
this figure are under 10. In the Northern
district for those of .Os and above, the average
earnings per man peg hour range from IA 10
TO Is 40. increasing quite generally with the
increase of efficiency. whit those below .0S
have earnings from II 10 TO II $40
In steel rails the dilorcn ce in efficiency is
very marked The two Establishments for
the United States having efficiency equal
to between ~ and .l3 tons q pro-
ducts per man per hour. and the five for the
foreign countries all fall und er e tons, rang
ing down even 10 under & tons. Average
earnings per hour for workm ON range IN the
northern district from II &c nts to - cents;
in Europe from cents 20 cents, and in
Great Britain from 90 10 cents per hour.