The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-01
INDUSTRIAL NEWS.

The Wall Street Journal says:
 Reports of the Tennessee Coal and Iron company and the sloss-shenield Steel and Iron eompany-the two most impor- tant concerns in the south-indicate a degree of prosperity for the year wholly opposed to recent pessimlstic views as to the general iron and steel trade.
 Both companies show large increases in gross and net earnings over corre- spending periods last year, and in other quarters business Is reported equally good
 The Alabama Steel and Wire company is building a stockade at Gadsden ad- jacent to the site of it's furnaces and steel mills for the purpose of housing one hum l dred convicts which the company expects to lease from the state. This departure is being made on account of the difficulty in securing sufficient cheap negro labor for common utility purposes in the con- struction of the various plants, matter that has caused the constructors con- stant delays. The plants of the. company are now showing above ground and everything possible is being done to en- sure the manufacture of pig iron this | fall and that of steel early in 1904. The Chicago Record Herald says: The | semi-annual report of the Republic Iron and Steel company, covering it's opera 1 tions from January to June SO will be is- sued about August B. It Is stated officially l hot 4ho In ha will be practically the same as those in the statement covering the last half of 1902. The surplus after the payment of | dividends will probably not vary more than $1OOO0 to $15OOO.
 | The second half of 1902 produced a sur plus of $67i. .6St after paying the preferred stock dividend. Allowing s6500OO as the surplus for the six months ended June | 30, makes the surplus for the fiscal year | $1,321,631, or nearly per cent on the com mon stock. The company's balance of surplus December 3l 1902, was s2,6O6,O2O. The addition of the surplus earned in the half year ended with June will raise the total to about $3,256OOO. This figures prac- tically 12 per cent on the common stock which Is now selling In the market around SIP share.
 Officials report that the company has or ders enough booked to keep the mills busy for several months, and they are not look | ing for new business at present prices. | Work in the Kinney mine has just com menced and some of the furnaces that have been out for repairs will soon be in operation again.
 R. H. Pritchard has posted a notice that the men in all the departments of the rolling mill at Gate City will go to work Wednesday, August 5. There are $50 men employed In the mill.
 The following dispatch has been re- ceived from Chattanooga:
 George D. Lancaster has returned from Birmingham where he went to look af- ter the interests of the local creditors of the Southern Car and Foundry company which recently went into the hands of re- ceivers.
 The liabilities exceed two million doi- lars, half of which amount is secured by warrants issued by the storage company where the car and foundry company has the greater part of It's stock and material
 The creditors, through their attorneys have asked the courts to grant an order authorizing the receivers of the company to resume operation of the different plants which are located at Birmingham | Anniston and Gadsden, In the state of Alabama, and Memphis and Lenoir. fin the state of Tennessee. The creditors be- lieve that if the plants are properly run | !. ..tt1t la due them, with interest.
 The Iron Age Age will say today:
 Tn the foundry trade the great ma jority of buyers are clinging to the hand to mouth policy and buying for forward delivery is very much limited. Prices in the meantime have weakened further, and business has been done on the basis of SIP for No. foundry at Birmingham, Ala. Northern foundry No. has sold down to st6.5O at tidewater.
 Tn pig iron for steel making purposes the leading consumer is reported to be running very close. and yet no immediate purchases of Bessemer pig are being con sidered. In the valleys some Bessemer pig is offered for August delivery at s17. 50 valley. In the east the principal makers of basic pig have in the aggregate sold about 4O,OOO tons.
 During the past two weeks very large billet tonnage has been placed, the figures at which the business was done being reported as under the pool level. One interest took about S2,oOO ton in the aggregate
 From Chicago comes the report that some large contracts for steel bars have been entered. The bar trade generally Is, however, weak in the central west and in the east. The sheet trade continues very dull but the reports from the tin plate industry continue satisfactory. The steel merchant pipe industry is in very active condition The plate trade, how ever, is rather dull. 1t being difficult to keep the greatly increased capacity busy , VIII Pay Officers. Washington, July 3i.-The secretary of