Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-06
REVIEW OF
IRON MARKET
Strike of Miners Causes Much
UneasineSS.
GREAT DEAL OF ORE NEEDED
Another D.SQuieting Factor is the
Lataness of Opening OF
Lake Navigation
GREAT DEAL OF ORE NEEDED

New York. April Sin lis review Of
trade conditions the Iron Age vii. say
today: The most disqute-.-1 piece q news
during tne week has been the beginning
OF & strike among the iron miners o5 the
Marquette district on Lake superior. on
advices being that 5000 .-1ec have already
gone L The situation IS 3 delicate one.
The mining companies sold this years
output at an advance q only ~ cents per
ton before the upward movement in iron
and scael had become pronounced. They
share very little in the general prosperity
OF the industry and are reluctant TO sur
render that little. The requirements for
ore this season are 50 enormous that II
cessation Of mining operations. brief
though il may be, would push the whole
steel rad close TO a anime. All the
purchasers Of the ores from the mines
affected would have to submit to a pro
rata scaling down OF deliveries. Il is not
yet known TO what extent the Marquette
district union has succeeded in gaining
q f0othold in other ranges.
Another misfortune which may bear
fruit later on is the delay in the opening
OF lake navigation, which seems to be a
month later han it was last year. Under
the enormous strain under which the
whole industry is. the weakening of this
important link impairs the efficiency of
the whole. and may tell seriously upon an
output which is sorely needed. The in
terests at stake are SO great that it is
difficult to escape the conclusion that
some adjustment must soon be made.
In the foundry iron trade some symp-
toms of weakness have made their APP
p~earance. The publication of estimates
of pig iron capacity available during the
neNt three months has had it's effect. We
believe that these estimates will not be
realized as soon as expected. if our manu-
facturers do not get into blast as soon as
their managers had hoped TO have them.
Dur recent experiences with a number of
plants has proved that again. The prep
arations for resumption among idle fur
naces undoubtedly involve a large tom
mage, but it will not become available I'M
til many weeks after the time appointed.
In Bessemer pig the market has been
quiet. Our Pittsburg correspondent pre-
sents estimates according TO which the
plants of the Bessemer pig iron assOCia-
ton of the valleys has only about three
hundred thousand tons unsold for the
second half of the year. The raDld ad-
vance in and the scarcity of ferro-man-
ganese is leading to preparations for an
increased production. Two large steel
works are now getting ready TO produce
ferrO-manganese.
The steel market is very duh. For what
little business is coming VI $2o to 5000
in the west and $27,50 to SIS in the east
is being realized. Philadelphia has placed
about 5000 tons of plates for shipbuild-
ing and some business has been done in
the east. Beams have been advanced s.
per ton and quite a number of good con-
tracts for bridges and buildings are an
nounced, among them a lot of six thous-
and tons for a building in Newark, n. }.
The hoop and cotton tie consolidation
will be completed in a few days. The
Pomeroy mill has been added to the list
of plants conducted by the American
Steel Hoop company. The organization
of the Republic iron ana Steel company
is to be perfected this week. Rumor has
it that a large eastern cast iron pipe plant
is about to be absorbed by the consolida-
ton. Contrary to reports the merchant
pipe consolidation * not yet on the eve
! of contamination. The business in tins
| line is enormous and a further advance II
prices has just been announced.
Copper is frmer again. a gathering Oh
i the in this industry Is taxing
| D1opn in RDStOn.