The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-02
Work of Week by United States
manufacturers in 1874 Now Done
in a Single Day.
COST Is CERTAIN TO INCREASE
LACK OF RAW MATERIAL WILL
SOON BE A SERIOUS MATTER.
Question Which Many Manufacturers
Must Face-SteeI Corporation Sup
piled for Sixty Years.

BARROW-IN-FURNES England, Sept
1.-The autumn conference of the Iron and
Steel Institute opened here to-day, under
the presidency of Andrew Carnegie. Mr..
Carnegie, in opening, said the record in
iron and steel of England, "the great little
mother of nations" had not been equaled
by any of her children, although her Oldest
and biggest seems to inherit his mother 8
indomitable spirit and the ability to work
miracles. 'In all matters of iron and steel.
however" continued Mr.. Carnegie, ''the
child has been placed upon the shoulders
of the parent. If the Atlantic ocean had
been prairie land there would have been
little left in the world but the conquering
old lady and her family, all under one roof,
under one flag. self-sustaining empire
under free trade. with probably two hun
dred millions of our English-speaking race,
and a home market so big as to give control
of neutral markets. No question of protec-
ton or preferential tariffs then to disturb
us; beside all this we should have been able
to enforce peace among nations.
Gentlemen, unfortunately an ocean ex-
lists where we should have preferred prai-
ries, but it is traversed in about the same
time the 5000 miles of land between
Montreal or New York on the Atlantic and
San Francisco and Victoria on the Pacific.
Who is so bold as to predict that never
is our race to succeed in converting the
ocean, hitherto a barrier to your extension,
into the pathway TO reunion of the two
once united branches. Not L. My faith
is unshakable that some day this will
be accomplished and that instead of being
two small islands here alien to the Euro
pean continent you will look across the sea
TO your own children in Canada and in
the United States and become once more
the mother member of the dominant power
of the world"
held in Barrow twenty-nine years ago, Mr..
Carnegie said. in comparing a report sub
mitted by David Forbes:
THE work of a week then is now done I'm
a day, but, great as that contrast, here is
one still greater. There have been made
and sold, without loss. hundreds OF thou
sands OF tons of four-inch steel billets at
three pounds for a penny. Surely, gentle
men, the limit has been reached here. /
think ii has, and 1t is doubtful il ever a
lower price can be reached for steel On
the contrary, there is every indication that
the price of steel is TO become dearer owing
to the lack OF raw materials. To make that
three pounds of steel at least ten pounds
of material were required-three pounds of
coke mined and transported sixty miles 10
the works. one and one-half pounds OF lime
mined and transported l5O miles, and four
and one-half pounds or iron mined at Lake
Superior and transported 900 miles TO Pitts
burg, being transferred twice, once from
cars into the ship and again from the ship
into the railway cars. How IL was done
cannot pretend TO tell you. but know the
figures are correct. But every time 1 repeat
them / doubt their possibility. This was
done during the day of depression. when
everything was at the lowest. Costs are
several dollars per ton higher to-day, during
this period of boom In America.
Gentlemen, such is the contrast between
1874 and 1903 What is il to be twenty-nine
years hencey What changes are TO come
1 have tried to imagine some of it's features.
Ii Is scarcely possible that this country
can increase Its production Of iron and