The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1899-06-08
A GREAT INDUSTRIES DEVELOPMENT

One of the first acts of the manage.
ment of the gigantic steel trust, re-
Gently organized, was the placing in
effect of new wage scale affecting
1900 employees and giving them an
average increase of ten per cent. In
the face of such facts as this, and this
is but one instance of many, the anti
trust extremists will find ii no easy
task to convince the army of workmen
in the allied steel and iron industries
that trusts are altogether evil in their
tendencies. The organization of the
great steel combine affords timely
opportunity for brief review of the
development of one of the greatest in
dustries of the country, the effect of its
growth upon the country's internal
settlement and development, fastened
by the rapid construction of railways;
its influence upon the prices of steel
products and upon wages.
When it was proposed in 1865 to
stimulate the manufacture of steel rails
in this country by protective tariff,
the free traders argued that it would
prevent the rapid construction of rail-
ways and would greatly increase the
price of all steel products. Despite
their arguments, however, tariff was
enacted and special attention was given
to our iron and steel industries. The
production of pig iron increased in the
tariff period from 931, 582 net tons in
1865 to 5,17S, 122 net tons in 1882. In
1862 we manufactured 1850 tons of steel
rails, In 1882 we manufactured ,460, =
900 tons. No other country in the
world showed in that period such rapid
growth in steel industries. No other
country showed such activity in rail-
way building. In 1866 we had $4,000
miles of railway in this country. In
the period following the enactment Of
the tariff law, or up to 1882, the mile
age was increased to 10000. The Chi
cago Inter-Ocean says that the first
Bessemer steel rails made in the United
States were rolled at the Chicago roll
ing mills, May "a, 1865. In 1874 the
total production OF steel rails was 129,-
Ala tons. In 1890 the production was
1,867,S37 long tons. After the panic of
1893 the production was lowered some-
what, but in 1896 we produced l, 116, 95s
long tons. In the same year Great
Britain produced Sl7,476 long tons.
Our exports of iron and steel increased
from $l4, 185, 900 worth in 1871 to S4S,-
$4,000 worth in 1896. Under the Ding
ley lazy our exports of steel rails in
creased from % ,263 tons in 1896 to IO7,-
99l tons i'll 1897, and 229, 7S3 tons in
1898. For the nine months ending
March 81 the exports were 194, 976 tons.
Phe price of Bessamer steel rails in The
United States in 1867 was sl66 per t. n
After the enactment of the tariff law
this was reduced gradually to 1914 in
1877, to $45 in 1892, to S24.33 in 1895,
and sales were made as low as SIT.
American contractors secured, over
English bidders, the contract for the
great bridge across the Nile at Khar-
toum. In competition with the Eng
fish manufacturers they have sent steel
rails to Russia and other European
countries, and even to England. In
rails for street car lines the American s
compete successfully with all the man
ufacturing nations Of the old world.
Such are the facts. Where are the
theories that can wipe them out?