New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-04-20
STEEL AND WIRE WORKING.

Objections of Stock Exchange members to the
Steel and Wire management go deep just now.
That is partly because Wall Street rather than
the outside public has suffered, cynics may say,
but it would be more fair to realize that some
regard for the National welfare. and particu-
larly for the prosperity of the great industries,
strengthens the Indignation commonly eX-
pressed Among the thousands in the Street
even cynics must admit that there are some
patriotic men, and some whose sound business
sense foresaw evils more than year ago the
inevitable consequence of making great indus
tiles too much dependent upon stock jObbing
operations. They cared enough for the general
welfare then to refuse their countenance when
it would have been highly profitable for them.
and they too much now to exaggerate
magnify the evil consequences which to them
not unexpected. One remedy which is hotly
urged by some is the removal of the Steel and
Wire stock from the list because of the CON
Trajectory statements made about the business
Of the company That would not help anybody
except the gamblers and the scalpers. now that
the stock has been widely distributed. In some
fashion men would buy and sell ii and make
quotations for it, and the less responsible those
dealings the more would sharks find means TO
prosper
1t is not Of the least use to blink the fact that
there has been persistent and stupendous lying
about the business of this company The state
ment of its president. according to dispatches
published yesterday, singularly unites in
the two views which have seemed 10 most
people irreconcilable In sentence he says:
"Our plants have been working night and day
ION overdue contracts and TO meet current de
"mands." In the next he says: The tremendous
pace began to pile up stocks largely in excess of
the demand" Apparently he wishes people to
believe been
sciously increasing output at tremendous rate,
else that it has been poorly managed that
Il tremendous decline in demand has piled up
stocks largely before it was discovered. The
world knows that a nearer approach to accuracy
may be found in the statement by jobbers that
the demand has rapidly decreased and stocks
heavily accumulated because of the prices
charged. 1t recently shown In these col
umns that this company had much more
than doubled the margin between the cost of
material and prices of finished products in that
respect going beyond all other companies. 1t
would be strange if the demand had not de-
clined.
Fair Will admit that the company has
not taken the course calculated to help 1t out of
trouble. or to promote the general welfare 1t
might have reduced prices Of products when
materials declined and when the demand began
to shrink and would thus have encouraged
larger demand. That would have helped all
other industries. for congestion in any one part
of the system of connecting channels must al
ways affect every other part more or less But
if for reasons which the public cannot perceive
il essential TO hold prices to the top notch
which reached by an arbitrary advance
about January J. when other prices decln-
ing the only other course consistent with good
faith and good management was to curtail pro-
duction, as has been done row in q curiousy
fragmentary and scattering way. 1t looks If
there were two opposing forces in the manage
ment, one always disposed to hoist prices and
force markets and Jam it through" while the
other desires a more reasonable course Only
six weeks ago Pittsburg dispatches printed in
''Dun's Review stated that a further advance
of prices had been ordered at meeting there,
adding 81 more ton which was apparently re-
voked before 1t went into effect
The lesson of greatest public importance is
that the industries upon which millions of fami-
lies depend for their livelihood ought not to be
exposed to the hazards of speculation or the de-
vices of men to force stocks up or down. That
is an evil which ought to have been checked at
the outset by refusing TO admit stocks of such
corporations to quotations on any board But
no one thought that necessary years ago. The
evil might have been greatly limited had bank
ers and underwriters and promoters been wiser
one year ago. when almost everybody thought
he saw before him new and grander industrial
evolution. The remedy has now TO be applied
under conditions of increasing difficulty and
/ Congress may well consider in the action II is
about 10 take on the subject that far more
/ important evil than has heretofore been real
lied is the power Of stock iobbers and sDecu-
lative schemes to affect the welfare of millions
/ of workers.