Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-18
FEATURES OF TRADE.
0verproduction Is the Sole Cause OF
Business Depression, Hence
PRODUCERS CURTAIL THE OUTPUT.
The Edgar Thomson's Orders Are Sufficient
to Keep 1t Busy.
A CHICAGO VIEW OF THETRADE OUTLOOK
OFFICE OF TIKI DISPATCH,
PITrsBURG, TUESDAY, May IL.

P1TTSBURG, TUESDAY, may H.
The daily output of steel rails at the Ed
gar Thomson Works, of Braddock, is close
to 1,4O0 tons The capacity Of these
works is now close to 1900 tons and
more than that amount was turned out a
few weeks ago. The Edgar Thomson has
not of late been pushed to it's capacity by
reason OF a combine among American steel
rail manufacturers, which, by agreement,
has curtailed the amount of products to a
certain limit
The signs of the times few months ago
pointed to an overproduction, and to pre-
vent this the agreement to curtail produc-
tions was entered into by the leading man.
ufacturers Orders a. the Edgar Thomson
are so far sufficient to absorb the entire out
put of !, 400 tons daily, and sufficient orders
are booked ahead to insure a demand for all
produced for some months to come.
The present price of steel rails ranges
from $50 90 to $50 as per ton. The new i'm
provements in machinery introduced at the
Edgar Thomson Works last winter have re-
duced the native cost of rails 81 25 per ton at
least. This means gain of 81, $50 per day on
the present output.
The Leather Outlook.
representative of one of the Allegheny
tanueries in a recent interview had this to
say of trade in his line: There has been
little or no profit to the manufacturer of
leather the past few months. Margins were
never as close as they are at this time. 1t
seems that there has been an overproduc-
tion of leather. and the result is seen in
sharp competition to catch trade. which
means a downward drift in prices. For my
own part l am satisfied to come out even in
the present condition OF markets.
AT the present price OF hides 1 cannot
see how tanners can reap any profit for
their products. However we are assured
that bottom has been reached and that our
trade will show up better in the near future.
The fact that leading tanners OF the country
have entered into combination to curtail
production has already strengthened mar
kcts in shoe leather lines, and all signs
point to a curtailmen mt in other lines. Man.
ufacturers of leather have at last awakened
TO the idea that overproduction has been
the cause of low prices and narrow margins,
and are in search of a remedy for the de-
pressed condition of trade"
American Tanners Prospects,
The following editorial from the Hide and
Leather well shows up the situation in
leather lines:
Large bodies moves slowly. For years
and years it has been apparent that too
much leather was being made. 1t accumu-
lated, unless sold at constantly receding
prices. Once in O while an artificial "boomr
would be engineered but after brief exist
ence, the old stagnation. wsdld be more
marked than ever. On Saturday. May Z, IN
New York City a number of prominent tan
ners were present either personally or by
proxy al a meeting to discuss the wisdom of
reiTaining from soaking hides for not less
than 60 days. this period to begin not later
than July l. On April 80 the tanners of
California were called together and agreed
to restrict production. On Thursday, May
IL, many upper leather tanners and curriers'
gathered in Boston and followed the de-
cision OF the New York meeting. These
are ON inOus and imDOrtant Tan
ners are quiet, conservative body of men;
the slow processes of their business seem to
be reelected in their habits OF thought and
action.
What VIII the Harvest Be.
"The leading question of to-day is, will
the agreement be carried out? Will there
be unanimitye viii the accumulations of
leather be visibly decreased and kept in
healthy check?' The general impression
favors an answer in the affirmative. 1t is
true that some of the leading tanning firms
decline to promise to stop working-in hides
But, it is also true, that these heavy-welghts
have been curtailing production for a long
time. Then again, hundreds of tanners
absent from the recent trade conventions,
have tacitly acQuiesced in the scheme to
close down the beam-houses for the term
specified and thereby do their share toward
clearing the atmosphere. The new move
ment tends to become national and to in
clude all kinds of leather, excepting
morocco.
What will the harvest be? Already the
determination of the tanners has arrested
the usual summer advance in green-salted
hides. Already :he manufacturers of shoes
and cut soIes have awakened to the import
Rnce Of the situation and are treating the
leather markets with more respect
"The future is admittedly difficult to fore
cast. Meanwhile, good sense and cool judg-
ment will be extremely necessary, rs better
times are in sight for the leather men, and
they should govern themselves accord
ingly."