The age-herald., 1899-01-08

business and for all others. has been very decisive. It has
 First-Permanently disposed of the threats of Spanish-Cuban war hanging over it.
 Second-By rapprochement between the two peoples of the Anglo-SaXon race, the danger latent in the Venezuelan war mes sage and others of that ilk has been re- moved;
 Third-By the elections of November last, past, the control of the three branches of the government has been again vested for the first time since 1892 in the hands of the party representing protection and sound money;
 Fourth-By the addition of Porto Rico and Hawaii to our territory. together with an open door fer our products into Cuba and the Philippines a new field of inn mense importance is opened to American commerce and manufactures;
 Fifth-The success of our navy and army, and the realization of the fraternity of our own people, regardless of section, have led to a consciousness of the greatness and strength of our own country, which can not be otherwise than conducive to the development of American energy in the un- dertaking of new enterprises both at home and abroad.
 In this memorable and decisive year of 1898 we have alTo imported and gained back again all of the gold which we lost during the years 1896 and and 1897, and the production of gold alone is today greater than was the combined production in the supposed halcyon days of free coinage. The newly awakened spirit of enterprise in our country has, therefore, the most solid financial foundation which to base its efforts.
 The restoration of destroyed railroad bridges, locomotives and cars in Cuba, and the rebuilding of ruined ma
 
 the making of roads for commercial pur- poses on that island and in Porto Rico, the provision of road bridges in connection herewith the increased necessities in our own coastwise shipping, and the provision of it's machinery, the remarkable expansion of electric railroads with the constantly in- creasing weights of their tracks. the grow ing tendency in general of railroading to the use of heavier locomotives, necessitat- ing again heavier rails, must lead to the consumption of very extensive quantities of iron and steel during 1899 and 190O In addition to this, somewhat strangely, there has been this year the smallest consumption for several years past of cast iron pipe for gas and water mains. If, as it is reasonable to suppose, this deficiency should average itself by normal consumption within the next year or two, then the resources of this country for the production of pig iron at the present line of prices will be fully taxed. The developments of the past two weeks appear to justify this view, for the traffic returns based on two consecutive and eX- cellent harvests have placed the steam rail- roads of our country in a good financial position and they have not been slow to take advantage of the present low prices of steel rails and to place orders for 1899 on a scale which already assures the full weight of that demand being felt in the markets.
 The fact that the shipyards of Great Britain and Ireland have at present under construction one and quarter million tons of displacement is also profoundly sugges- tive: and it is req asonabe to expect an in- crease of the shipbuilding facilities in our own country as I do not believe the facili- tles now existing can take care of anything like the business that this country will of- fer in this direction over the next few years.
 In this connection, it is fitting to refer to our export trade. So far as pig iron is cerned this export movement commenced when under the fire of the free silver panic in the summer of 1896, our prices were de- pressed to the bar cost of production. The flowing tide seems to have cut a channel for itself along which it might pour with increased momentum and strength. For eign orders booked between July, 1896, and December, 1897, inclusive, aggregate about 291 O00 tons. The figures for 1898 are not yet completed, but it is safe to say that had 1t not been for the interruption in the move ment of shipping from the Gulf of Mexico during the period of the Spanish war, the shipments would have sharply exceeded those of 1S97 At the present time it is no longer question, so far as southern pig iron is concerned, of finding a foreign mar ket; on the contrary, buyers are seeking to make engagements year in advance in some cases, and the persent movement is only being suspended for lack of pig iron itself, the accumulated stocks having been substantially cleaned up. Of shipments of steel from Chicago by the lakes, and from Montreal down the mighty St. Lawrence; from the Pittsburg district by Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore, and from the south by all the cotton ports of the South Atlantic and gulf, the United States gov ernment returns will tell the tale. Rails, pipe wire, nails, hardware, locomotives, etc., one after another, is added and one coun- try after another is added to our list of cus- toner's Pittsburg takes contracts for riv- eted steel pipe for western Australia; Phila- delphia takes contracts for the water mains of the city of Glasgow; and Alabama fur nishes basic metal for open hearth steel works in Finland, and cast iron pipe for Copenhagen and Honolulu.
 How long Is this to last? How long will the present worlds consumption of iron and steel go on exceeding the production and licking up accumulations of the past? I think no one can answer this question in advance The world at large within the past eight years has had to contend with the failure of Argentine finances based on cedulas, or currency based upon land val