Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-03-07
THE STEEL RAIL TRUST.

II Puts Up the Price of Rails-Great Prohtc
of the Rail Makers-Hlgh Protection and
What II Costs "A Strong Monopoly Which
Needs No Protection.
The steel rail manufacturing in the
United States has been consolidated
into fewer and fewer hands during the
past ten years Ten years ago there
were eleven companies engaged in
making rails; now there are only six,
and these are in a combination which
controls prices and output A recent
meeting of the manufacturers were
held, at which it was agreed to put up
the prices of rails to $50 ton, the
price having been as low as $3.50 at
the beginning Of the year.
The present price of the Besse-
mer steel rails in England
Is s2l ton, or 50 lower than
in the United States. Our total
production of rails last year is given by
the American Iron & Steel Association
as /, 797, 900 gross tons of 2,24O pounds.
If the present difference of 50 ton
should continue through the year, we
should pay SIG, ,173,00O more for our
rails this year than the same quantity
would cost in England.
In order to prevent us from buying
rails where we can get them cheapest a
protective duty of S134 A ton is placed
on rails, although the difference be-
tween the total labor cost Of production
in England and the United States has
been officially stated by United States
Labor Commissioner Carroll d. Wright
to be only a74 cents ton. This is the
difference in the entire labor cost, be.
ginning with the iron ore.
The entire cost of producing ton OF
rails In the United States is given by
Mr.. Wright as S25 n and the entire
European cost, as averaged from seven
establishments on the Continent and
two in England, is stated by the same
authority to be be Scarf. This makes
q difference in the total cost of produc-
ton of just S3-to cover which our tariff
grinders give a duty Of Sl3.44!
As the steel rail trust has fixed the
price Of rails at $50 ton, or S4.30 above
the cost of production, the total net
earnings of the six companies for this
wear on 1, 797, 900 tons will be S7,700, 900.
Our experience in the protection OF
iron and steel has been carefully studied
and the result reduced to figures by
David A. Wells in his Recent Economic
Changes" Mr.: Wells takes the figures
given out by the Iron and Steel Associa'
ton, of Philadelphia, covering the ten
years from 1878 to 1887, inclusive, and
shows that the consumption of iron and
steel averaged 100000 net tons pei
annum. The average price of anthracite
pig iron in Philadelphia was S21.S7; the
price of "Scotch" pig in England was
Sl2.94, which, allowing ample fol
freights, would make about SIS in this
country. The average difference was
about 81.
The average price of best rolled iror
in Philadelphia was 5000 per gross
ton; in England the corresponding iror
was S35. As, difference of over S14; but
Idklllp lllt loNtol Nlll'iNhNN W ~
then appears that the consumers here
paid on 60,0O0,O00 tons in ten years
S4eO, 900, 600 more than the English con
sumers paid; or, more accurately, more
than like quantity would have cost
taking the English price plus. the
freight . hJ
The aggregate consumption of steeI
was 20, 600, 900 tons. Taking then the
lowest form of steel-the rails-the
overage American price was S44; the
average English price $50. The in
creased cost to Americans was $3.50, 900,
900; but, deducting 81 per ton from the
iron used in making these rails, the dif
ference is S14O,OO0,0OO. The excess OF
price on iron and steel was then $3.50,
600, 900 for ten years, or S56, 100000 pei