The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-02

Affairs in steel rail circles are far
from being as smooth as the recent dis
patches that have been going the
rounds of the newspapers would indi-
cate. The following from the Iron Age,
an authority on the steel and iron
trade, under the caption of "The Steel
Rail Fight" indicates that there Is a
prospect ahead of very lively times:
During the last ten days since the COLI
lapse of the plan of handling the steel
rail business by a common sales agency,
there have been interesting developments
in that trade which have not been brought
out in the many reports in the daily press
and In the technical journals. The inn
preston has been created that a compre"
hensive pool has been formed which has
parceled out the country and has decreed
an advance in prices. That is only par
tially true.
The fact Is that there is q lively strug-
gle going on between the two groups of
rail makers. those of the east on the one
hand and those of the central west and
far west on the other. The latter have
reached a general understanding by which
their home markets are to be divided ter
rtorially, and certain prices are 20 be
maintained. These are S17 at Pittsburg,
SIS at Chicago and $20 at Pueblo, Col
Tho territory east of the Allegheny
Mountains is free field for them and
that was to be made the battle-ground
for any additional tonnage needed.
FOUGHT THE INVADERS.
The eastern mills have fought the in
vaders. so that practically the whole of
the New England trade, that of many
trunk lines, that of some of the coal
roads and of considerable number of
the leading Southern roads has been Sc
cured. In the aggregate the business so
placed has amounted to about 125.000 TO
10000 tons. OF this quantity only one
lot of 1900 tons for n trunk line and
1900 tons for New England road has
gone to the central west. Some of the
large orders, notable that of the Penn
sylvania railroad, have not yet been TAX
en-.
In the meantime the western mills sue
ceeded in placing a very considerable tom
| mage. Among the orders placed in the
Chicago district are the Chicago and
| Northwestern, 5000 tons; the st. Paul.
| 81, 900 tons the Illinois Central, $1,000 tons;
! the Rock Island. 5000 tons.
1t is estimated that the total tonnage
placed TO date is not far from $4,000 to
| 100, ,0O0
The eastern mills retaliated by invading
the western field and several large orders
have been captured by them, while other
| buyers have withdrawn temporarily from
| the market to await developments. Under
| the circumstances prices have been un-
settled and very irregular.
| When the Contending forces met low
| figures have been made; in fact, they
| have zone below any on record. 1t is
| true, however, that in most cases, east
| and west, the business has been placed
at only slight concessions from the nom-
| inal quotations which have been ruIing
for some time past.
To talk of an advance under these cir
| cumstances is premature TO say the least,
| particularly since rails are being Offered
| in the east at low prices by western mills,
| and in the west by eastern producers
In fact. it is understood that in some in
| stances railroads have been urged to place
| their requirements for 1900 in addition Ia
those of 1899.
NEW YORK VIEW.
The New York letter on the trade in
| the same issue says
The eastern mills have placed n vety
| considerable tonnage, taking nearly al
| the orders in their territory and a num-
her of contracts from sou,heln and west
| ern roads Prices have been Irregular
but, on the whole, have been close tC
| $3.50 to SIS at eastern mills.
| The following is from the Pittsburg
letter in the same issue:
| We understood that the local mill have
entered orders in the past week or two
| for fully 10000 tens of rails, and ii may
considerably exceed that amount. The
| outlook is that the tonnage in rails fol
next year will be the heaviest ever known
Somewhat under SIS has been done on re-
cent contracts.
Edtorially, the Iron Age says about