New-York tribune., 1900-04-22
CUT IN STEEL PRODUCTS.
ACTION TAKEN BY THE WIRE COM
PANYs EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

Acting under the authority conferred upon
them at Fridays meeting of the Board Of Dt-
rectOrs Of the American Steel and Wire Com
pany the Executive Committee of the Board
yesterday announced that they had made sweep
ing reductions in the prices Of all the companys
common products, the PIttsburg prices. free on
board at mill, being as follows: Tenpenny
nails, 81 20 a keg; reduced from So 20; barbed
fence wire, s. 80 a hundredweight, equivalent To
SOB ton against $T3 formerly; plain annealed
wire 50 II a hundredweght. a reduction Of 81
cents; galvanized fence Wire 81 50 a hundred
weight. the former price having been 50 50.
With the announcement Of the new figures was
issued this statement:
The cuts made to reduce our stock, and
subject to change without notice"
The news that these large reductions in price
had been made. coupled with the fact that no
change in the management Of the company had
been made as a result of the directors meeting
Friday, caused a serious decline yesterday
in the prices of the Steel and Wire Company
issues and the stocks Of all the other steel COM
panies well. American Steel and Wire COM
mon closed at :}S5s a net loss for the day OF
sos per cent. and the preferred a -, net de-
cline Ia per cent. Federal Steel common closed
at 39as. 45s points lower than on Friday, and
the preferred stock lost 212 points closing at
90 National Steel common closed at 80. net
> American Steel Hoop common lost = points.
closing at -, and Steel Hoop preferred suf-
fered a loss for the day Of AZ per cent, the
closing price being T414. Republic Iron and
Steel common declined IA per cent and the pre-
ferred 3: Colorado Fuel and Iron. -, and Ten
nessee Coal and Iron, >.
President Gary, Of the Federal Steel Company.
yesterday issued the following statement, ex-
planatory OF his visit and that of Messrs. Bacon
W.
Company on Friday
The committee consisting of Messrs, Rogers,
Bacon and myself visited the Board Of Directors
Of the wire company for the purpose OF considering
questions growing out of the business relations be-
tween the wire company and one OF the constituent
wire company is under contract TO receive about
sixty thousand Of steel not yet delivered, and
tr@ for Steel already it-vered Ali quesci ms be
tween the TWO companies Were SATISFACTORILY adj
justed the Board OF Directors OF the wire COMPANY
acceding in every particular to the request OF me
promptly paid and an STTansemgns % I'm maae Tor
understand the wire company IS considering
the propriety Of making q substantial reduction in
the prices of of the finished materials for the
rea son that the quantities hand larger than
usual Such reduction can perRaps De @ maj 10 al al
vantage and vet leave prices large enough 10 en-
able the wire company TO realize reasonable ana
CiLed mink The business Of the wire company
is far from being in desperate condition LhoNSnt-
erty ana business of that company among the very
best steel Industries
The constituent company referred 10 pN
Judge Gary is the Illinois Steel Company and
the claim Of that company, payment Of which
was authorized by the Steel and Wire company
directors II is understood. amounted to SJtDOD.
Preceding the issuance Of the foregoing state
ment by President Gary, it reported, he had
a conference with President Lambert OF the
American Steel and Wire Company. Mr.. Lam
bert declined 10 see reporters yesterday, and
John W. Gates sent word to the Steel and Wire
offices that he wss going out Of town.
A Wall Street news agency yesterday came to
the defence Of Chairman Gates in this fashion:
It Is now in order for people who have been
treating Mr.. Gates unfairly to offer apologies Mr..
Gates may have acted wisely. HIS method of
dealing with the trade situation not COncilia-
fellow directors stockholders allied trade inter
ests The method employed such to invite
unfavorabIe criticism but far the fact itself
was concerned. Mr. Gates appears 10 have been
ing but it is perfectly that Mr..
Gates presented data and statistics in support OF
his position That these carried weight was demon
strated by the fact that the directors authorized
prices at discretion order 10 reduce stocks
hand Il point which would justify resumption OF
operations the mills
This is formal notice TO the world OF overproduc
the company's products. It means lower
prices and must in the end mean lower prices for
the terias which the company buys. In
other words the boom in iron which began 10 be
very pronounced the latter of 1897 has all
be more numerous than advances for some time. n
IS reasonable expect that this will have
effect speculative sentiment