Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-07

through everything that they wished to
experts In the indust3ies (which they hays
and promptly the fun meaning Of ali that
'n AMONG asxe Numerous sssl graSb,e. o, s,m,,.,
correspondence that have appeared recent
ly In the German press there Is selected
for translation a rekOrt of an interview
r psn. the wse 81 a Tier stss
Tageblatt Of November 2, tNscourses as fol-
lows on the iron and ,stsel Industries of the
United States:
Permanent sConaition.
Being asked next cofAerning the sig.
nificance that the cofnHefeial museum ex-
position in Philadelphia bears from a Ger
man standpoint, the director stated that It
had by no means the anti ipated one-slded
character of sourea lof3 Information for
Americans only, but wis OF equal interest
to foreigners. Concerning the Industrial
situation In the United States, the impress.
sion derived by a foreigner Is that the
are solid, legitimate and likely to be per.
manent. This Is particularly true of the
mining and metal industries. An important
element in the present unparalleled pros-
perity of these interests In America Is the
strong. steady. continuous demand for
metals. particularly those used in electrical
machinery and installations. It is also true
tsat ia America s far SURPRISES h us in the use
"It Is undeniable that the American iron
works operate under decidedly more favor
able conditions of production than our own
An Important factor in these conditions is
the fact that the United States possesses
far richer and more widely distributed IRON
ore deposits, than Germany. While we are
largely dependent upon imported ores
especially Swedish - the American iron
works find their raw material at home To
this must be added the other important ad-
vantage. that the construction and equip
ANT nft hat tao. a oS
eel those Of Germany and, indeed every
other European country. In America we
ind what seems to US an astonishing SUBJ
stituton of machinery for manual labor.
Only in the most necessary details is hand
labor now employed. Such a vast and skill
full application of machinery offers especial
advantage in time like this when manual
labor is costly and difficult to obtain.
Low Freights.
Finally, comes the enormous advantage
which the Americans enjoy through the
high development of their railway system.
The industries have at their command a
railway system which far surpasses in
cheapness and efficiency of service any
thing known In Europe. The first sight of
the tracks and equipment of an American
railroad makes upon German an impos-
ing impression. Their freight cars of all
classes far surpaSS in size and carrying ca
pacity those of the German railways. Their
track system is relatively broader and
stronger than ours. Special tracks for
freight trains secure rapid almost I'M
broken traffic. A widely developed system
of branch and side railways (feeders) sus-
tains the traffic of the principal lines. The
rates for freight are excessively low.
While on the German railways the cost of
freight per ton kilometer is (excepting
some unimportant special TARIFFS % pfen-
nigs, in America the corresponding rate is
only 0.G pfennig per ton lilometer
Under these conditions the German iron
industry finds in that of the United States
its greatest, most important and most dam
gerous competitor. Just at present the full
force of this competition is not apparent
because there is an enormous home de-
mand for iron and steel in America. Sew
eral shipments of American foundry pig
iron to Germany prove, however, that We
have in future to reckon with the competiG
ton of American ifetaf here at home.
Those shipments Were ordered by German
consumers of pig iron be, anse they were in
urgent need of raw material. The belief
that the competition of the American iron
industry is not yet to be seriously feared
may still be cherished in spite of the great
development of trusts, concerning whose
productive capacity many large figures
have been published which it is impossible
ated. -
But where once a relapse occurs in the
American market or q weakening of de-
mand in the worlds metI markets, then
we shall have to reckon with a sharp and
powerful competition from America, espe-
IL on. and rails. for the production of all
these in the United States is on an enor-
nous scale Above ali ~ this true in re-
spect to rails, the, production of which is
developed to an astounding degree. Works
which produce only one type of rails are
not uncommon Nj irET
To the question, How can the German
market protect itself against the future
competition of America, the following an
sWer Wa given:
1.-The German iron and steel works must
follow the American example, and by a
greatly enlarged use of machinery reduce
the cost of production and protect them
selves from future contingencies in the
la Dor market. There is urgently re-
quired for our industry much lower freight
rates and the construction of special lines
and extra tracks for freight traffic. In this
respect, also. America is model and ex-
ample for to follow. The construction
of canais. which will offer cheaper
method of transportation, can indeed be of
advantage. but can only be considered
pallia tive, not remedy"