Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-05-04
DIVERGENT VIEWS OF VARIOUS ENG
llsH OBSERVERS.
Belief in Some Quarters That American
Exports Are Due to Abnormal Copdi-
tions-The Question whether We
Shall Regulate Prices in Future.

and particularly the effect of recent AM
,riCan competition upon it, The present
extraordinary demand for iron and steel
for home consumption in itself invites
comment; but the inspiring cause OF the
three articles are the official returns OF
British exports and imports Of iron and
steel, raw and manufactured, for the first
quarter of the current year. 1t shows
material decline in the former ana still
more notable increase IN the latter In COM
parison with the return for the CORES
bonding quarter of 1925 and l$I-a change
that, while it may be due in part to the
remarkable domestic demand. springs al
80 from American competition.
The Manchester Guardian summarizes
thse conditions and comments upon them
as follows
"For the quarter Just ended the exports
of iron and steel from Great Britain show
u decline of 81. Dol tons compared with leeS,
and 1jl AZ tons compared with 1897 The
decline of our total iron and steel experts
for the first quarter of 1899 IT at the rate
of 36iO11 tons year compared with lSsS,
and at the rate of $4,000 tons a year com
pared with 1897 These are large varia-
tons; but they are not more portentous or
more apparently, menacing than the I'M
usually considerable increase in our i'm
ports. For the first quarter of the pres
cnt year our imports of iron Inf steel
have increased at the rate of more than
million and a half sterling for the Twelve
months-an increase which Is more thun
equal to the total value of our iron and
steel imports little more than a quarter Of
a century ago The chief items in this
rather alarming record are pig iron I'M
wrought steel and the nondescript item
described as unenumerated manufactures
of iron and steel All Of these are MOI G
or less easily accounted for. During the
greater part of last year and up to the
| ~. al,tt.
scarcity in this country of certain des-
, riptiors of Dig iron and other nations
notably the United States. have been call
cd IN TO make M the deficiencies in our
own supplies-not ALWAYS on the merits
of either quality or price. The came re-
mark applies to the demand for steel in
the form of blooms and billets, as re-
CARDS which sat one time there appearsd
TO he every prospect of "A partial famine
/ ''lt can hardly be laid that iron and
steel 81 introduced into our markets are
imported under normal competitive con-
ditons although this does not necessarily
mean that they might not also have been
imported on the merits of quality and
price-at any rate SO long as American
prices remained substantially lower than
our own What is peculiar, and more or
less misleading. about these inports is
that they are being received in greatly
larger volume now that American prices
have advanced to A level which makes
exportation from that country TO Europe
~, 81 s,rir, ,,ar;,s 80 ,,ioanr.c,i,,II,, IN
nnssih,o Sinno 10 herinnips ,,t No. yaar
prices of iron and steel in the United
60. t - ~ ~ -, - o. -,
IN 49, no,t go ~ We a. ,ha. ,ho
Dr,tt,,, i,,r1 ., ,,' ava '.,ao, fo' tho
n,.'., -, =, 1000 si,a,,1, r ~
80, 50 eS 90 abo,,t -e i..a,
~ ,, CO., w. r,.o.',,,,,I H.. ,-nr'
ga nr ,ant ,.ear +, IL, n,au ltn,.'n ,hnt .
i ~ % -, ~, i,'ons'a - H., -, ,so.1,
49, a., ~ ,n'o, ,,r,,'os 80 is"S ',G ni,
- ~, r,',' - ~ 80 49, y.
49, r Mi
, ;,,'t. ~" '.'' a. n,Tn'' -
~. '''''I 80. 49, 10
~ '', ,.i, ou' 81 ,t,' ~,
VI .u,u'S IN anu
. nc. ""n,'''s $500 ,tT az
ti''. Loi nc a.eoiIu n"t u III. go ~
90, ,i. G. ,.in ~ CIV l,,, ~ -
me Ci1,,eu 9.aee9 wv pe VI no
ne i.ies .io ii5 90 " .',o ae'.'i II
ahu amer J"h coinpe.'''on' aTtu'i anu i'o-
lehtIal' with d more app ehth'INe ~
our prices ana eApol's "i IRON anu S'ee',
II premises are not elllilvE NAeu ny
nome OF continental competition "9 'hey
uSeu 10 oe pul oS the PleNaiIihs 'oile Vi
'hc MAJ hctS anu i'iuus'il'l Hiu , ''oh sen
eraiIy ~ the Chit'u states ma. country
mas sCCh vast PRODUCTION OF all "eS'flp-
Mons Oh IRON ana steer that IL may III any
time swamp our own reiatiVeIy uhIhport-
ant supplies Inc article theh proceeus'
Inc SITUATION is truly serious lor brit
lsh manufacturers VINO are ASKING them-
selves TWO fundamental questlohs-~the
L,