The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-01-10

The announcement in the Intelilgea-
Ger OF the formation of a combine of
wire and cut nail manufacturers at
Pittsburgh. caused great deal Of dis
cussion about town. and last evening
a well known manufactures informed
reporter that the combine was not
new thing, but had been in existence
for several months. The Pittsburgh
meeting was important, however, rs
charging the scope OF the organiza-
ton. Il was stated in a Pittsburgh pa-
per yesterday that the nail mills OF the
country had been running TO about q
third OF their capacity. but as far as the
cut nah mills are concerned, this Is
greatly exaggerated statement. The
only Wheeling mill which has run to
any extent to speak Of lately Is the La
belle. The Laughlin. ut Martins
Ferry, has made a good many nails
compared to what II has been produce
ing at any time In the past two years,
but the product OF the wheeling DIS
trict has not averaged ten per cent OF
Its capacity, though It's capacity has
been greatly reduced In the last Few
years.
Those interested In the cut nall In
dustry, however, expect brighter times
soon, Il is said thai jobbers and brok-
ers had on hand large stocks OF nails
and the demand for them fell of. leav-
ing q surplus To reduce the price
would have been fatal to the holders,
and for this reason the wire and cut
nail makers got together in the present
combine.
It was stated yesterday that when the
Jefferson mill stock was being closed
out, thousands OF kegs OF cut nails
accumulated there. mainly left in stock
because they were OF odd sizes, were
bought by the La Belle company here
and worked over as scrap and made In
TO other nails. in order 70 keep them
from being thrown on the market at .
riInous price. Stocks have been some
what cleaned Up, however. and there
has been for some time q slow but
steady increase in the demand.
Cut nail makers say the consumption
ia not only drifting back from wire
nails to cut nails in appreclable proper
lions, but % some extent from steel
nails to the old Iron ones. The La Belle
mill, for instance. has had a number OF
small orders recently for iron nails, and
one very considerable order from South
America. II Is claimed by experts
that time has demonstrated the great
advantage OF iron nails over steel. and
TO some extent, at least. their claims
rest on scientific basis. When the
iron nail rusts, the oxidation eats the
surface and unless there Is a great deal
OF moisture, stops there, acting rs n
protection to the iron beneath the
coating. Steel, on the contrary, scales
off when 1t rusts. allowing new rust 70
form beneath. The superiority OF the
Iron nail may be d myth. but It i'm
presses d good many buyers 80 strong
~ that they insist on having them,
though the price Is necessarily higher,
owing TO the larger amount OF labor
pudding, heatlng. double rolling, etc
required. As to the wire and cut nail
there has never been any question as
10 superiority OF the latter, but the for
rner can be put on the market nj q small
fraction OF the cost OF the cut nail, 30
that except for the heaviest sizes the
wire nail will always be In greater de-
rIrand among contractors.
There are few nail mills to-day in
shape TO produce the iron null plate. for
the reason that nearly all have ahan-
doned their pudding furnaces. At the
LnRelle and some others furnaces have
been run on muck iron merely TO use
up the scrap, and they can therefore
run a few machines on iron nails ut any
time without Inconvenience. II would
be great thing for labor. however. II
the old Iron nall should be eventually
restored to public favor. The steel nail.
originated In Wheeling. has been on the
market now about ten years, just long
enough, say the iron nall advocates. 20
demonstrate its weak points for perma-
nent Use,