The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1899-04-21

DIIuU craze. lfFHua tur HiIu.ug
Of he plauIs have DsHn % .alEa lunuf
The bet year Tlo lrIn Ars says Of
them.
TO greater Uf loss extent the pro.
mJtcrs have sI.rH ded IN transferring
20 tho general pIb. r holdings which
oan'alIss we're rhI % part will who
had Ba..n long Identified with iron and
s,.ol Manufacture. IN ltself there IL
something Suspicious 10 such eager
u.ss 10 z-l. although % j. only fair
20 state that insiders have In some
uonsDlidat .uns put every additional
dollar they could raise into Tho
soh0mos Yet 81 IL a fact that 10 a
considerable extent she outside inyos-
tor and Spectator has seized quit"
eagerly property which men Of long
experience in the industry were
prompt to sell. at the price, when the
opportunity offered. Confident insid-
crs and a sangulne public have thus
become partners.
1T may srrv" q good purpose to
study the question on what grounds
the outsider has plunged 80 suddenly
and so deeply into a business with
which few are thoroughly familiar.
We believe that the principal reason
/ Is that business men and financiers
generally have become thoroughly
convinced that the American iron in
dustry Is on the eve OF period Of
unusual prosperity. and that American
iron masters can now command a
large share of IN" worlds business
. share which will grow with every
year In fact. the future is Icing dis
counted, and We are now capitalizing
our supremacy. Let It be acknowl-
edged that some. IL not all consolida-
tions. are ovcr-capitalized. what diff
ference does It make II our resources.
our skill and our energy will rnahl"
us to earn good money on the valua-
lions established? That is 'ho argu-
mcnt, and il may a. well b" ucknuw,-
edged that th-r" Is -Omc s.rrnE,h in
sucn pea. II cnn prJdUct or ono
.roun,ry has special advantages and
lean market at lower Ggur" than
Io.hrr-. then hat ldau.ag" rrlrc.rh.s
an a7-ur,d profit, - long as rhcsa
.cDndi! on5 lat. CIp.Il .ssu.d - r,.p.
'rrscn, Dhat profit may be regarded as
invested under more favcgab' cir
|cumataucos than Is Usual with ri-tv
| 'industrlals'
"WhiIc this principle may BE- ur-
Icnptrd as correct, very wide differences
may exist as TO the degree Of It's appl,-
cation. In that respect the general
.GcnHotion IN the iron trade Is that
however present values may be- justi-
fed by present earnings and by the
chance 5 Of large income in the near
future. they are in many cases far
above the earning capacity in the
many lean years which in tn" iron
trade drag down the records of tn"
few good ones. In other words
in the series of recent consultations
in the iron and allied trades there are
enterprises good bad and indifferent.
Those in the trade are even more dis
eliminating. but it VIII take much
longer time before the general public
will learn to pick out those which are
too heavily loaded to stand the stress
of bad times"
The knowing ones in the iron trade
realize the difference between the lean
and the fat years. The public are
all years are fat. The history Of the
iron trade shows large number Of
lean years. in spite of the fact that
the making Of iron does not depend
upon rainfall, and It's production is
under an absolute control. II was
said in 1873. by the iron men, that
there were 40 iron furnaces in the
country, while 200 of them could sup
Iply the demand for pig iron. The fur
naces remained idle, and the work
men scattered. Twice since 1873 has
there been similar experience in this
trade.
The difference between the iron and
sugar industries Is that the iron pro-
ducers quickly glut the market while
the sugar producers do not rhero
often come periods in the iron trade
when iron cannot be sold at cost.
There rarely comes pn.i0d in the
sugar trade OF the United SAt"5 when
sugar cannot be sold NJ SOM nroht.
But the promoters OF tao iron and
steel corporate ns show that the
crowd" has s,ampeded on bu'l
moN Cmcnt, AVID nothing can hold t
back