The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-26
CoMMANDING INDUSTRIAL 20
SITIoN HELD BY AMERICA.
The Iron-making Nations of Europe
Startled By the Rapid Growth of
This Country's Output.
New York SUM-

4
| exports of iron and steel have doubled.
Now the greatest ironmaker, America
| by great strides is taking her rightful
place with the ironmaking nations of
Europe in the iron trade of the world.
England and Germany, for century
! the ironmasters Of the world, the one
now slowly losing her grip on the
worlds iron trade and the other as
slowly gaining, are amazed by the com
plete reversal of Americas foreign
! trade within two decades
The London Economist, one of the
many journals which are discussing the
serious question of Americas usurpa-
ton of England's supremacy in the iron
trade, commenting on the increasing
cost of raw material, says;
1T must be remembered for how long
a period the mines in this country
! have been worked. The output of black
band ore in Scotland has been decreas-
! ing for years past, and the greater por-
! tion of the pig iron now made i'll that
| district is from foreign ores. Cleveland,
which has been one of the most prolific
districts in the country, has now been
worked nearly fifty years, and the best
ore having been taken out first, we may
soon have to fall back on the poorer
and consequently, costlier kinds.
England foresees the. result of Amer
| ica'S great iron production. The Econ
omist, in another issue, says:
! LAS the production of Great Britain
cannot very readily be extended, owing
to the difficulty of obtaining ore, 1t
seems probable that the United States
will have to supply the bulk of the ad-
ditional 5000, 600 tons of pig iron which
are likely to be required during the
next three years. Germany is the only
other country which has been incN IS
ing its output to any extent, but this
| has only been at the rate of 5000 to
400 900 tong per annum on the average.
During the past ten years the pro-
duction Of pig iron in this country has
been comparatively stationary, never
exceeding seven to nine million tons
during the periods of greatest activity;
whereas in the United States during
the same time the production fuctuat-
ed between three million tons in 1875
and ten million in 1897, and today the
production is at the rate of eleven mil
lion tons per annum.
American pig iron is gaining a, foot
hold in England, and before long viii
be going across in great quantities. The
inexhaustible supply, the lower cost OF
production and the cheaper freight
rates in this country make 1T possible
for our ironmakers to enter European
markets with profit.
America is only making a beginning
in the iron and steel export trade. The
bulk of the S75,000000 of exports this
year viii be machinery. American ma
chinery is now known the world over
and is crowding English and German
machinery in all the great markets
England's $50, 100000 worth of machin-
cry exports will very soon be equalleC
by the United States. Germany is al
ready in third place. American ma
chinery viii take care Of itself.
American iron and steel are booming
in the far east. Our nails have takeI
the place of the German and Belgian
Just now steamers for China are so wei
loaded with American products tina
the ironmakers can't get freight room
Recently an order came from Australit
for 1000 tons of steel plates. The man
ufacturerS find that wherever our irol
and steel products go there is very sooI
a demand for them. The foreign buy
ers had a bite of our good wares,
as one maker of structural iron put 1t
and they want more. Nothing can keel
this country out of the iron trade o
the world but high prices at home, ant
they do not seem probable, so great il
the production of iron. We have beer
keeping nine-tenths of our iron ant
steel at home. The percentage of ex
ports must steadily rise. England eX
ports 80 per cent of her finished irol
and steel and is per cent of her Dis
iron; Germany exports 20 per cent o
her finished iron and steel, Belgium +
per cent.
The Belgians are as badly alarmed
as the English over the wonderful
American advance in the iron trade
The Belgian ironmasters' association
. in its report for the year, says thu
about American competition;
zone of the most characteristic, and
7 al 10 10
, lures Of the past year has been tn
, invasion by American competition, no
: only OF Canada, Mexico, South am
Central America, India, Australia AM
: Japan, but Also Of Europe, and evel
: our oldest iron-producing countries. Il
the future we shall be compelled t
: figure with a competition which fou
or five years ago appeared aItoSethe
improbable Indeed, the American
protested so strongly against lower i'm
port duties on iron and rails, and feign
ed so great an apprehension that Euro
pean products would invade their mar
} ket, that they were not believed cap
) able to compete successfully in forelg
markets, and far less in the market
, of Europe Now we have to bow be
fore a reality, and there would be u
use in barren recriminatlon. 1t Wout
be better TO look for the means to figh
. the new competition which threaten
! US. These means would be the increaS
ing of capacity, and thereby cheaper
!, ing the cost OF production, cheaper ore
and especially lower freight rates, a
: things that have put the American iro
: industry on such a strong footing.
Coincident with our rise as an iron
! making nation must be our progress
in shipbuilding. We lead the world
every form of iron and steel construc
ton except shipbuilding, and we mus
regain our hold there. 1ronmakers sa
that our export trade depends on on
merchane marine. Andrew Carnegi
points out that a shipbuil1er in Amer
lea has 81 a ton advantage in steel ma
terial.
'sWhat is the use of sending thou
sands of tons of steel to Glasgow an
Belfast, as we're doing now, when W
might as well build the ships here an
send them?' asks Mr.. Carnegie in tn
Iron Age. "Steel is bound to be cheape
in this country than in any other. Grea
Britain has no supply of raw materis
to make steel; her coal is Settin
dearer; her ore is nearly exhausted. w
can never hope to have such ShiDDln
facilities as Britain, because Britai
imports so much Of bulky goods fror
various parts Of the world which W.
! fortunately, grow at home. Therefor
Britain's ships get return cargoes, an
the rates will be cheaper. But even thi
disadvantage we can overcome in tn
lower cost of our manufactures. If W
could restore to the United States It
rightful position as the shipbuilder c
the world. our attention would 500
be directed TO the establishing of regu
lar steamship lines. and this obstacl
would fade away. Even now the eX
port trade is becoming of such magni
tude as to justify several new steam
ship lines, and we viii conquer by an