The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-01-09

all kinds of materials. In many
cases the usual foreign outlet for
our products was, perforce, neglect
ed by American producers, who
confined their efforts to supplying
the insistent domestic demand,
while in others foreign production
was called upon to reinforce the do
mestic output, with the result that
new currents and channels were Gre
ated in our foreign trade. The ex-
port trade, therefore, shrunk, while
imports expanded to unprecedented
proportions"
POSSIBLE TKUyT ECONOMIES. Il
A paper on the "Steel Trust" in
the December Century enumerates
graphically the economies possible
through such consultations as the
huge "trus" which continues to de-
YOUR competitors at rate that bids
fair to soon swallow them all. This
article gives the leading causes for
economies as: first. the lower cost
of production made possible by
combination; not one of the subsid-
larry companies possessing ore own
ed every kind of ore necessary in its
work, and was obliged to purchase
ores for mixing with their own. The
United States Steel Corporation
does not need to buy any ore. Sec
ondly, there is an enormous saving
in transportation. The Corpora
TONS great fleet sails about the
lakes, stopping both for loading or
discharging cargoes at any wharf
or furnace, as required, thus saving
time as against the old order where
boats belonging to different COM
panies had to wait their turn at both
ends of the trip, either because of
rail transportation or the furnace
not being in readiness to receive
the ore. Now the ore goes direct to
the furnace where it is needed and
the former waste is saved.
Another economy is the fact that
the Corporation owns a complete
equipment for both the iron and
steel business and orders formerly
taken by one mill can be distributed
among several which were once
competitors, thus securing prompt
ness IN execution and saving loss
of time where the machinery had to
be changed for making the various
sizes of rods, pipes, etc. There is
also economy in Administrations, no
waste in effort or men in COMPETE
ton for orders, the product former
ly sold through scores of men now
being disposed of by few.
But the chief advantage of this
combination is expected through
economy of production, not in the
salaries saved nor in the utilization
of present methods and means of
manufacture. Everyone knows that
competition means waste; the ques-
ton is whether the consumer gains
or loses by the struggle which re-
suits in this waste. 1t is fact that
those interested in the United States
Steel Corporation have been saved
enormous expense for material and
losses which would probably have
brought serious disaster to all de
pendent on the steel and iron bust
ness. No reason exists why those
controlling over 80 per cent of this
business should build a single mill
more than the demands of the bust
ness require, and when one recalls
the war which was in progress when
this corporation was formed, the
Importance of this point will be
apparent. The manner in which
the corporation is administered is
of the very first importance. The
question here is whether the men
who have thus combined are taking
every advantage of the opportuni-
ties for efecting the purpose which
they profess to have in mind.
The formation of new concerns
and the erection of new plants, such
as the one in Minneapolis, which
has already booked large and i'm
portant orders, indicate. that there
is still room at the top for: those
possessed of the exp -rience, enter
prise and capital to go into this line
of business, either for the manufac
ture of iron and steel or those lines
of industry requiring those materi-
ais for their products. e Just how
much farther this will go or how
long it will last time alone will dem
onstrate, but, with charging mar-
kets and demands the day seems
~