The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-11-02
part t''controlled'' = to IS or 80 per cent
Of our steel industry. sss55.ss 5f8s


Of our steel industry. sst
L Commercial and Financial Chronicle
Of April q, thus describes the proper
ties owned" by this monster:
The properties owned are described
unoficially in q general way. % follows:
Seventy -nine blast furnaces. with Z ca
spacftyes Of 6590,000 tons Of pig iron
'yearlYto half that Of the United States
sin 13Qosss no steel works and six flnish-
Stnga plants; 4ncl,ld dlng bar mills, struct-s
tral steel plants and plate mills, tin
plate, works, sheet, wire, rod and nail
mills. with an annual capacity Of about
s, 900 tons ot finished material; 49,
800 coke ovens. about 70 per cent Of
the ore mines Of the Lake Superior
region. producing, In 1900, 2,724, 800 tons.
70,830 ceres of coal lands, about $1,000
acres Of surface lands Ia the coke re-
gions, and 125 lake vessels, etc. : & Ys
It owns 1000 miles Of railroad and
about all the transport steamers on the
Great Lakes. It is independent in min.
ing and transporting its materials and
in all processes Of It's work. This. en-.
ables it to keep its books so that prof
Its will be. divided satisfactorily be-
tween all the Departments and compan-
les, and. when advisable. to fix prices
on some Of it's semi finished products
which will be prohibitory to the indus-
tries to which these products are raw
material. Thus, when the five-year
agreements with the manufacturers of
tin-plate machinery expire. 50 that it
will be. impossible for outsiders to OBJ
tain machinery to make tin plates, the
trust, which controls the output of bars
from which tin plate IL made, will
simply put up the price Of bars 80 that
outsiders cannot make and sell tin plate
at profit. The price, which it will
I fix on iron ore, at various times, win
depend upon many conditions and cir
Icumstances. It may allow it's mining
company So or $4sper ton profit. This
will leave $6 or. s. per ton less profit
for It's steel companies, and will dis
courage competition in finished pro-
ducts, without too much stimulating
production Of ore from the comparative
ly poor mines outside the trust.
The steel monster finds markets for
it's products in all parts OF the world;
though. because the markets of the rest
OF the world are not reserved to It BY
protective tariff duties, It cannot charge
monopoly. prices for them. Mr.. john
w. Gates: then manager Of the steel
and wire trust, testified, IN 1889. that
his company expor ted 100 tens OF wire
q day; that furnished England with so
per cent Of her supply; and that goods
were sold lower to foreigners. Presi-
dent schwab testified last May that
E='..export prices are made at a,very much
I lower rate than those for domestic
consumption; where a large business
Eis done. nearly all the people from ON
whom supplies are bought for that 70 9.
iHa.;XalIsa eRoS co. tl,s e
materisls thaf q 4, ,to' "
railroads will carry them ! little cheap
| er, and SO on down the line. !" s !, !.
! Our iron and steel exports amounted,
in 1900, to ,$12s, $4,000. Some Of the items
were: Machinery, SIG, $40, 900; steel rails
SO, ,ss5, 900: builders hardware. $s,S72. 900;
steam engines, &7,222.ooo; pipes and fit-
tings, $5,994,000; pig iron. $4,654, 600;
wire, $4,604, 900; sewing-machines, 4,-
1o,o0o; structural forms, $3.50, 900; bars
and rods, $3,4sS,000; billets, $2,915, 900:
typewriting- machines, $2.736,0o0: nails
etc., $2,443,000. The trust probably ex-
ports about one-half Of all these goods
The average prices for exports are
about Is per cent below prices to do.
mestic consumers. The export price OF
steel rails has averaged about 81 per
ton below the domestic price, though
when rails were selling at $35 here. they
were being exported at from sac to $24
In December. 1889, barb wire sold fol
export at $220 per hundred, when the
home price was $4.13. Wire nails then
sold at $2.14 per keg, for export, and
1888 to home consumers. On June e.
1901, it was reported that the United
States Steel Trust was offering billets
delivered in English "black country .
at $25 per ton. Allowing for freixhts
this is equivalent to about $3.50 per ton
at Pittsburg, instead of $24.50. the price
charged to Americans. 1y. ~ III 4;
For year or more the manufacturer
have been discussing the problem OF
whether to treat Hawaiians as foreign.
ers, and give them low prices. or al
Americans, and entitled to the highest
prices. In the Iron Age Of June a.
1901. a western manufacturer says:
1T SO happens that at present the price
of our goods is about 26 per cent hlghe,
for domestic consumption than for ex.
|port prices. We had an inquiry for ex.
lport prices which we quoted. The ord.
Ter now comes in to be shipped to, Homo.
lulu. Is it fair to consider the Hawai-.
ian Islands entitled to export prices
Our own opinion is that they have be.
come a part of the United States, and
should be considered domestic territory
as much as Alaska. Also. we under.
Istand our tariff applies to this territory
so that they are prohibited from buy.
ing outside, and we are thus enabled
/. to get domestic prices.''
Perhaps 225,0o0 persons are in the EN-
ploy of this billion dollar trust. Tht
wages paid probably exceed $1,000, 900 I
week. President Schwab testified tina,
the average wage paid, last year in thu
i Homestead works was nearly 81 q day
The average for all this class Of stee
i workers is probably about $s per day
The average in the wire and tin plate
mill is probably less than s. per day
The average in the coal and iron mines