The age-herald., 1898-11-15

Dccn Sitens Ane HAUL bhht Cs Os nAaphhJ cH active director of the Sloss Iron Company. has gone to Birmingham, Ala, with n repre- sentative of the Federal Steel Company, Is believed to be partial corroboration of the report.
 The above report emanates from a Wall street, New York. news bureau, and was published last Friday afternoon.
 For some time past similar rumors have been heard in Birmingham that the Fed eral Steel company intended absorbing these two big Birmingham concerns, but the above news from New York was the first tangible information that had been received on the subject.
 J. c. Mabin, who is referred to as being one of the directors of the Sloss, Iron and Steel company now in Birmingham, was seen yesterday afternoon. and he talked quite freely in regard to the New York report
 No Truth in It
 'I can state positively" said he, "that there is no truth in the report far as any negotiations having been made are concerned. I am probably closely con- nected with the Federal Steel people as any man not member of their corpora tion, and think can speak authoratively. They have made no proposition to either of the Birmingham companies mentioned. nor have either of the Birmingham com panies made any proposition to them. ''That informat ton from New York is also very incorrect, in that it states I came down here on any business connected with the Federal Steel company My only req. son for making the trip south was to att tend the meeting of the Sloss company's board of directors. The representative of the Federal company whom it is supposed that I brought south with me, was MT. Nestell, of New York, who owns shares in the Federal company. We travelled to- gether as far as Chattanooga. where he stopped to attend to some insurance busi- ness.
 Not in Condition to Do So "The truth of the business is that the Federal Steel company is in condition just at present to buy up any more compa- nies. They have just acquired four of the largest iron and steel interests in the mid- dle west-the Illinois Steel company. the big Wire and Steel Trust the Minnesota Iron company, all of the Johnson works at Loraine Wis, and at Cleveland, O.. and it has not gotten the business of these big corporations unified and systematized well enough to take in any new companies at present. The company has not even moved into it's offices in New York yet "I think, however, that 1t is only matter of time before the Federal Steel company will have to absorb all of the Birmingham companies that have any mineral lands, in addition to their furnaces. Nobody knows better than these same Federal Steel peo- ple that the cheapest iron and steel in the world Is beng made right here in Bir- mingham, and that the Birmingham com panies are the strongest competitors of the northern furnaces. In order to get rid of this trouble they will be compelled to take in the southern companies.
 'T don't think that now is the proper time but when that time dooeS arrive believe that consolidation will be the best thing for all parties concerned. Very few of them have ever made any money to amount to anything, and they must con- solidate in self-defense. This was the way with the sugar and other trusts.
 "As I said. however. I don't believe the Federal Steel company is in any condition to buy any of us out just yet"
 President Nat Baxter of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company could not be seen last night.
 The following is a description of the Fed eral Steel company, which bids fair to play such big part in the iron and steel indus tries of the United States:
 The company now owns the following properties:
 Practically all the stock of the Minnesota Iron company, namely, 163,147 shares, out of a total of 165,000 shares;
 Practically all of the stock of the Illinois Steel company, namely, 184,0S3 shares, out of total of 1S6, ,5O6.35 shares;
 All of the stock of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway company, namely, 60,0O0 shares;
 The Lorain Steel company, Lorain, O., which is unincumbered;
 The Johnson company of Johnstown, Pa., subject to s1 500 900 bonds only. These various properties are subject to S13, 200 900 debentures of the Illinois Steel company, $7.742, 900 bonds of the Duluth and Iron Range company, in the Minnesota iron property, and $1 .600.00O bonds of the Johnson company, making in all fixed funded in- debtedness outstanding and in the hands of the public of a trifle under s30,000,0 900, on which the fixed interest charge amounts to a, ,523 $50. In addition to this funded debt outstanding, the company has issued $52.- 767, 600 of 6 per cent. preferred stock, and $46, ASA 300 common stock. In order to com plete the exchange of Minnesota Iron and Illinois Steel stock there may be issued an additional -s3,400 of preferred stock, which will make the total issue of preferred under the present plan $53. .261 900. The dividend requirements on this issue amount to s.