Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-09
THE FUTURE OF IRON.
Leading Manufacturers and Experts
Review the Situation.
STEEL is GROWING In FAVOR,
But as Yet the other Product Is Fairly
Keeping Pace With It
FIGURES THAT ARE OF INTEREST NOW

w nile III may Uc true tHdt Cuere is nOtn-
ing like leather" yet it would seem that,
for some purposes, iron is also equally in
dispensable. notwithstanding the alarm
ing intimations lately thrown out that
some 5000 or 5000 puddlers and as many
helpers would soon find their occupation
gone on account of the encroachment of
steel making. 1t does not seem that any
rhapsody is necessary to prove that iron is
the most useful of all minerals, as, notwith-
standing the intrusion of its partially de-
carbonized relative, there was more iron
made in the United States last year than
ever before.
Many people in the business were asked
during the past week what they thought Of
the future, but most of them evaded with
maiden coyness an answer, and actually
some manufacturers didn't seem to know
anything about the matter, and more than
one affirmed positively that he knew not
the extent to which steel had taken the
place of iron. Now there is some excuse for
this ignorance on the part of some whose
sole object is to get product sold, as it ap-
peared on full investigation that while steel
had invaded iron manufacture to more than
half its volume, vet the manufacture and
consumption of the latter during late years
has been so great that iron makers have had
all they could do anyhow.
The Increase of Furnaces.
Mr. Joseph ID. Weeks states that if the
puddler's occupation Is vanishing the de-
cadence must be quite recent, and cites
figures to prove his position. Thus in No
vember, 1887, there were 1852 pudding
furnaces in operation; in November, 1889,
4,914, and In January of this year 5, 120, so
that while the abolition of several score
within a week or two may be a significant
symptom of future readiustment it has not
yet made any material difference.
1t is quite evident that for many pur-
poses steel will displace iron, and of course
make inroads on the pudding industry to
an extent that viii! injure it materially If
the growing volume of trade in wrought
iron shall be arrested. To make steel re-
quires better quality of pig iron than for
making muck bar, and of course costs more,
but the difference In cost of making steel
and muck bar is great The conversion of
pig iron into steel ingots costs, say 50 to
s. 25 per ton, and this includes cost of
keeping furnaces in repair, while the cost of
pudding alone is S. so per ton.
NJ. K. Moorhead, President of the Moor
head-McLeane Iron and Steel Company,
stated that he did not expect to see iron
displaced to an extent to injure workers
materially, as it is probable that the de-
mand for gas pipe and wrought iron pipe |
for other uses will grow rather than dimin- |
ish, and in this connection it might be |
stated that while the wrought iron pipe in |
dustry may receive checks from time to
time, the demand for such pipe is constantly |
spreading over a wide area, and manufac- |
tured gas will be the fuel of the interme
dlate future-between the time when |
eleceric heating shall come or scient-
lists discover way to store solar heat.
Effect of the Use of Gas.
The utilization of natural gas goes far to |
explain, in the absence of satisfactory |
statistics, whv it is that while steel work |
ing has grown from a comparatively insig- |
fcant part of metal working to per cent |
of its entire volume in the United States, |
the iron output has grown also to propor- |
tions greater than known In times past |
Old people can remember time when the
entire iron manufacture Of the world could
not have supplied the wrought iron pipe
used in the past eight years 1t was thought
few months ago that these hundreds of
miles of wrought iron pipe would be junk
in short time, but that opinion is not
entertained at present, even though the
expectations of fuel gas manufacturers may
not be so sanguine at present as they were |
Is months ago.
There are still many cases to which iron |
is put and probably will continue to be put |
for generations to come. Assistant Presi- |
dent Garland, of the Amalgamated Asso-
citation of Iron and Steel Workers, states |
that while he cannot tell the present rela- |
tion between the iron and steel output, sta |
tistics taken prior to July last showed that |
SO per cent of the business of the country |
was iron and 81 per cent steel, and vet the |
iron output of last year was the greatest to |
date il the United States, so that steel max |
ing does not seem to be displacing iron |
making, though the growth of steel manu-
facture is much greater than that of iron.
Between the reticence of some who should |
be authority and the contradictions of others |
it is difficult to get satisfactory figures as to
Structural work is largely |
made of steel, and hoops are now rolled out |
of steel to large extent, but it is said that |
blacksmiths cannot be induced to use steel |
shoes for horses, and horse fancier states |
that he would not allow horse to be shod |
with steel shoes, as he saws steel will not |
conform with motion as iron does
One Feature for Consideration.
He urges the same objection that is made |
to metal railway ties. Wooden ties accom-
modate themselves better to the swaying
motion of heavily laden trains than do !
metal ties. In the latter case the mother |
of invention will come to the rescue after
the earth has become bald. 1t is also SAID |
that steel shoes polish and become slippery.
1t is said by some that owing to the oxida-
tion of steel being greater than iron, it is
not good for rails in coal mines, but others
saw the difference in corrosion is inappreci-
able. Since steel rails can be put on the
market % per cent cheaper than iron, it
would seem strange that any iron rails
would be made, unless there were some
special adaptability in them to certain e1-
igencles not found in steel.
Not exactly in the same line, but pertinent,
are the observations of George b. Thurston
on the policy Pittsburg iron makers should
pursue in order 10 make this city the seat of
the iron industry, rather than the nursery
thereof. sending out colonies from time to
time to subsist at the expense of the parent
hive. Mr.. Thurston regards the policy of
iron makers in the past as one of
cutting their own noses off He says they
once controlled the nail manufacture
Of this country, but rather than yield to
he inevitable allowed factories to be built
in other places until competition has run
he mother out of business. Mr.. Thurston
argues that smaller profits, though it were
to double or trebble the output to
make business paw, would have been good
policy. He held this doctrine a quarter of
, century ago, but more manufacturers be-
ieve him to-day than did then.
Competition From the South.
As to Alabama competition, Mr. Thurston
avs il will not hurt Pittsburg if the manu-
acturers have the nerve to compete A