The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-06-18
Value of
American Steel q
Wire Assets
ESTIMATED $4,000, 1000.
Over $4,000 Employees
Work in its
Plants.

In an article by Byron w. Holt, on
"Trusts-the rush to industrial monop-
oily" in the last issue of the Review
of Reviews the following story of the
way in which the American steel and
Wire Company was organized appears:
1.-THE new American Steel and Wire
Company was organized as a New Jer-
sey corporation on Jan. 10, 1899, 1t
has an authorized capital of $9O,0O000O
$40, O0O, 600 of which is per cent Gu
mulative preferred stock. 1t is real
ly but a reorganization Of the Illinois
trust of the same name, formed in
April. 1898, with $24OOO,OOO capital. This
Illinois trust contained IA mills, of
which constituted the Consolidated
Steel and Wire Company (barbed wire
trusD, an Illinois corporation, formed
in 1892, with $4,000, 900 capital.
With this latest combination, the
evolution of the wire trust would seem
to be complete; for this trust includes
practically Everything in sight'-26
mills-and, like the Federal Steel In
ternational Paper and many other
trusts, owns its own sources of supply
of raw materials.
The total value of the plants in the
Illinois corporation of 1S9SSalmost GER
tainly did not exceed $10,000,000 The
prospectus Of January, 1899, stated that
it was expected with 5000, 900 to ac-
quire the y new plants and to have
$l3,OOO,000 left over for working capt.
tai, Therefore, S25,000,000 in plants
and $13,000.000 in cash would seem to
be the maximum value of the assets in
this ninety million dollar corporation.
1t was generally understood that S.
100000 was paid for the Washburn-
Moen plants, whose capital was $4,000
900, and that two prices were paid for
each of the more important of the Il
properties recently purchased. 1t is
therefore probable that the plants of
this great trust could be duplicated for
less than 500 900, 900.
In April, 1899, one of the directors is
reported TO have estimated the yearly
net earnings of this company at $12,-
900, 900.
In a statement made about March l.,
1899 by the president, John Lambert,
the advantages of the company are
thus set forth:
These various plants are so located
that we can handle the business to best
advantage and save largely in freights
by shipping, say, from Joliet, Ill, 20
territory naturally tributary to it, and
by shipping from Worcester, Mass,
to territory tributary to Worcester,
and so on down the line; so that yul
will see that so far as the locations of
our plants are concerned we have al
the advantages that are possible to De
obtained. 1t will not be neces-
sary to make any further purchases,
| for the reason that we have all the pro-
ducing capacity that we need. 1t has
been our policy to so fortify ourselves
| that We are practically independent, or,
if you please, to put ourselves in A 70
sitiOn to take the ore from our own
mines, transport it in our own vessels,
convert it into pig iron in our own fur
naces, roll 1t into steel billets in our
own steel mills, roll it into iron rods in
our own rod mills and finish it in cur
mills into plain and barbed Wire and
all the different kinds of wire used not
only in the United States, but all
other countries where wire is used. In
this way we have succeeded, as we own
one Of the best ore mines in the Mesaba
range. We have our own coal mines
! and coke furnaces, so that you will see
that we start at the bottom and have
finished material. Our business is en-
tirely satisfactory and the company is
doing very well.
On March 1, 1899 all of the employees
of the American Steel and Wire COM
| pany who were getting less than 81 80
| per day had their wages advanced.
Those getting $3.50 or less got an ad-
vance of 10 per cent; those getting
| from $3.50 to 81 got an advance of TX
| per cent; those getting from S2 to $2.5U
| got an advance of per cent The COM
| pany is said to have $4,000 employees.
How many of these were affected by
the advance is not stated.
In July, 1898, the old trust reduced
wages in many, if not all, of its mills.
| In Newcastle, Pa, the reduction was IL
| per cent; in Cleveland Ohio, 80 1-3 per
cent for fine wire drawers; in Ander-
son, Ind, 10 per cent for the rod men,
| As per cent for the wire drawers, and
nail men required to run twelve in
J stead of seven machines. At Anderson,
, Ind, Findlay Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio,
| Salem, Ohio, and Beaver Falls, Pa,
| the mills were closed because the work
men would not stand the heavy reduc-
lions in wages. At Cleveland the men
We're still on strike in October, and the
trust, according to reports, was refus-
ing to arbitrate. At Duncansville, Pa,
| the recently acquired plant Of the new
Wire Trust suspended work indefinite
ly on March %, 1899, throwing large
force Of workmen out of employment.
When the Illinois trust was formed
the prices of wire were raised from 81
to IS per ton. The prices of wire nails
We're advanced 10 or 20 cents per key.
In September and October, owing to
competition from outsiders, prices had
| declined somewhat. On November 3
wire nails were selling in car lots at
Pittsburg at $1.80 per keg. Barbed
wire, painted at $40 and galvanized at
| $175 per hundred pounds.
Prices advanced rapidly when the
new trust was formed in January, 1898.
| On May 10 wire nails We're selling at
| $40 per key in car lots at PiJtsburg,
and barbed wire, painted at 1920 and
galvanized at $40.
CRUISE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.