The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-26
HARDWARE PRICES BOOMING.
NO LET Up IN THE sNYwARD MOVE
MENT, MERCHANTS SAY.

Than Year AgO-PiE Iron Worth
Twice as Much as 1t Was This
Time Last Year-COpper and Tin
Are Away Up-Trusts and COmbi-
nations Have Doubtless Had
Something TO Do with Advancing
Prices, But the Scarcity of Pig
Iron Is the Mali. Cause for High
Prices in Iron Manufnctures.
The prices of all lines of hardware still
continue to soar skyWard
This is the song which all the hardware
men are singing now. The advance IN
prices since Jan. l excels anything in the
history of the trade for twenty years.
Prices in some lines have advanced over
100 per cent. since Jan. l. Hardware men
who were seen yesterday, stated that
every thing handled by them has advanced
from p to 80 per cent, as compared with
year ago Prices have advanced so fast
that catalogues gotten out by manufac-
turers announcing increased prices are out
of date before they leave the hands of
the printer and have to be modified before
being sent out to the trade.
A Savannah hardware man showed a
Morning News reporter circular letter
received from a stove works concern show
ing the advance in the prices of the diff
ferent materials entering into the manu-
facture of stoves. The circular was got
ten out in June, but not being sent out
until July, changes had to be made to
meet the situation. AS originally printed,
the circular showed increases Of from 23
to Sc per cent since Jan. l. but as cor
rected the increased cost of material ran
from s. to ia per cent.
The general and very decided increase
in the cost of all lines of hardware is at
tributed partly to the trusts and combina-
tons and partly to the scarcity of raw
material. Nearly everything in the hard
ware line is now manufactured or con-
trolled by a trust and this would have I'M
doubtedly brought about an increase in
prices, even had the supply of raw mate
rial continued normal The reverse is
the case, however The supply has failed
to meet the demand and the result is
that pig iron is selling to-day a more than
double the prices of a year ago For
the last six months the advance has been
very rapid and all the indications point
to still further increase. Every fur
mace and foundry in the country, with
the exception of a few that are having
trouble with their employees, is working
full time, but the supply of iron in sight
Is barely sufficient for present demands
and leaves nothing for the future
The present state of affairs is attributa-
bic TO several causes besides the trust
one OF the chief of these is the very heavy
exports Of iron manufactures by the Amer
lean manufacturers. These exports have
been heavier than was ever known before
Russia alone is said to have taken 2 per
cent. of the annual steel output on one or
der for steel rails. The wave of prosper
ity which seems to have swept over the
country since the conclusion of the Span
ish war has had a great deal to do with
the increased consumption of iron manu-
features. This era of prosperity has been
marked by unusual building operations
and in large buildings structural steel is
now more largely used than ever before
Heavy consumption in these lines. togeth-
er with the limited production of pig iron
reduces the available supply for other
manufactures, with the consequence of a
heavy increase in price. 1t is not only in
the products of iron manufactures, but in
almost every other metal. the products of
which are handled by the hardware deal
ers, has shown a corresponding increase
in price. Copper is worth $3.50 per ton
as against $ll.50 a year ago. Tin reached
80 cents a pound in the New York market
last week, the record price for the pres
ent movement, and the highest price since
1888. This is a total gain for the year of
10l2 cents a pound and a total gain for
the last seventeen months of 16 cents
pound The American Tin Plate Trust
which has an absolute monopoly of the
business in this country, is believed to be
responsible to a large extent for this in
crease. Tin plate was recently advanced
50 cents a box. This was on the 14x20
plate. and not on the 2lx28 plates, on
which the advance amounts 10 81 per
box. The latter plates are chiefly used for
roofing purposes.
Owing to the limited supply of raw ma
terIal the iobbers report that it is hard
to get the factories to fill orders Orders
which were placed last January and Feb
ruary are still untitled in some few in
stances the factories anu agencies have
adopted subterfuges to avoid filing the
orders and in others have denied accept
ing the orders The case of a Macon
hardware jObber Is to the point. He had
ordered several casks of sadirons, not
specifying the exact tonnage but en-
pecting that the order would be filed in
the usual large casks holding about 11O0
pounds each. He got the number of casks
he ordered but instead of being hogs
size, holding hardly fourth as much as
the casks ordinarily used for this pur-
pose. The factory claimed that it had
filled the order literally and exercised it's
own judgment as TO the size of the casks
it should send.
The jobber who got in large orders sew
eral months ago at the then prevailing
prices now has a good thing of it. The
increase in price since the order was plac-
ed is in itself a larger profit than ne has
been accustomed to receive on most goods
and he has the prospect of a stll further
advance in prices so he does not need to
sell except upon his own terms.
THE jobbers are in a quaudry," one of
thein remarked IheY do not
know whether to buy heavily at present
prices or not. All the indications are that
prices will continue to increase, but with
prices as high as they are at present il
is wei to be cautious, There is no telling
when the market will take a turn the
other XVaV.H