The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-09
Wire Trust Buys "The
Sauntry,'
STEEL BILLETS UP.
Phenomenal Strength Of
Steel Industry at Present.


The Sountry iron mine on the Mes
aba range has been sold 10 the Amer
lean Steel and Wire Company for $50,
900 and other valuable considerations"
The actual value is said to lie 5000, 600
The mine lies one half mile north of
Virginia. The ore is Of mixed char
acter. The bulk of it is nom Bessemer,
but there are spots that contain good
Bessener efe.-
simultaneously with this announce
ment comes a dispatch from Pittsburg,
Pa, stating that steel billets took an
other jump upwards yesterday and sold
at $24 ton, the highest price since 1890.
Several large sales were made at that
price. This shows the present phenom-
email prosperity of the iron and steel
Industry Of the country, particularly
as bearing upon the affairs OF the
american Steel and Wire Company,
with its principal plants in Worces-
ter.
Notwithstanding the unparalleled ad-
vance in prices, there is an actual
scarcity of pig, and furnaces in differ
ent locations that have been idle for
years, and with little prospect of ever
resuming again, are repairing and get
ting ready to start up. Prices have
reached that point where even out-of-
date plants can make iron and market
1t at a profit. At the present time we
are making in the United States over
1,O0O9O0 tons of pig iron month, and
IN spite of this tremendous production
the largest on record, stocks of pig
nave been steadily decreasing every
month, and an actual shortage has de-
Neioped. The year 1899 promises to be
one Of the most profitable years for the
producer we have ever had and it will
also be record breaker IN the matter
of production.
Fully four-1fths of all the steel
made in the United States is Bessemer
or soft steel, made from. Bessemer pig
IRON, and from which steel rails, billets.
blooms and sheet bars are rolled. A
most remarkable change has come
over the-steel industry in the United
States within the last two months, and
conditions have been completely re-
Versed. The National Steel Company
has been organized with capital
stock of $60,0O0,000, and has taken over
the leading steel plants in the west
Following closely upon this consolida-
ION, has come the announcement that
the American Steel and Iron Company
has just secured possession, by pur-
chase, of the entire plant of the Sho-
enberger Steel Company, at Pittsburg,
also makers of Bessemer steel. The
minimum price today of this form of
steel Is, according to the above dis
patch, $24. =
In street rails a most prosperous con-
dition of affairs exists. The leading
rail mills have sold close to 1900, 900
tons of steel rails for 1899 delivery, this
tonnage being sufficient to give them
fun employment up to July and later.
The production of rails this year will
exceed 2500,000 tons, the largest out
put since 1892, which was the best year
the rail trade has ever known Our
rail mills are sending rails to all parts
of the world, meeting competition of
the best English and German mills in
their own territory.
In the rod, wire and wire nail
trades a most remarkable change has
come, and this important leading in
dustry Is now largely under control Of
the American Steel &, Wire Company,
which has taken over by outright pur-
chase the leading rod, wire and wire
nail mills in the United States. Smooth
wire, used exclusively for fencing and
other purposes, has sold very close to
81 per hundred pounds, while the price
today is $1.70 in large lots, being an
advance of about $14 ton. Galvan-
lieu pdTU wire, winch mas sofa at 3l.bU
per 100 pounds, is now 81, So minimum,
In large lots, an advance of SIS a ton.
The heavy advance in galvanized wire
is partly accounted for by the fact that
spelter has advanced fully $50 a ton
from the lowest price. Spelter has sold
in this market as low as 8. 35c per pound,
and recently up to 6.40c per pound.
Wire nails, which have sold down to
$1.f5 per key of 100 pounds, based on
an average of 13c, are now S1.S5 in
large lots. clean advance of S14 a
ton. Rods, from which wire products
are made, have sold at about 49, and
are now quoted at about $50, the entire
product of the country being under
complete control of the American Steel
e Wire Company.
1t is unofficially announced in Chica-
go that the directors of the new Ameri-
can Steel e. Wire Company will meet
in New York early in April, to declare
the first quarterly dividend on the
preferred stock. It is also unofficially
announced that dividend of probably
6 per cent will be ordered on the COM
mon shares on or before July l.
officers of the American Steel &
Wire Company. of the Federal Steel
Company and Of the newly organized
National Steel Company report orders
on their books which will keep them
engaged for several months. No con-
tracts are now being taken for deliN-
cry earlier than July l. John Lambert,
president of the American Steel & Wire
Company, says that in his opinion some
of the steel mills cannot complete their
present contracts, particularly in steel
rails, earlier than April of next year.
SO far as his own company is con-
cerned he says it is impossible to take
any orders for delivery for several
months. The mills included in the
American Steel & Wire Company have
an annual producing capacity of more