The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-10-27
TRY To BOLSTER
UP THE SITUATION
Correspondent Tells of Condl-
tons in PittSburg
STEEL HAS HAD BAD YEAR
Producers Are Making Much of the
Increase In the Export Business
to Canada During the
Year.
STEEL HAS HAD BAD YEAR

Here In the very citadel Of the steel in
dustry of the United States-an industry
so highly protected that it Is able to make
an enormous profit while selling its pro-
duct to foreigners at a reduction of nearly
one-third of the home price-one does
not have to go far to find evidences or
the fact that a supendous effort Is be-
ing mande to make show OF abounding
prosperity out of percarious condition
of affairs. Everybody knows that the
steel industry, and particularly in so far
as it concerns the United States Steel
corporation, has had a vedy bad year.
Yet republican agencies are diligently
circulating the report among the labor
Ing element that after election another
period Of high wages and booming BUSH
ness Will be entered upon.
Pittsburg was the most vitality affected
district last year in the 80 per cent re-
auction in salaries Of employees OF the
steel company amounting to a total of
$4O,OOO,000 a year. A reduction Of 20 per
cent In the wages of still another class of
the employees amounted to an economy of
SSS,OOO,O0O. When to this fact Is added the
closing down and the reduction OF output
In considerable number of the mills
or the trust, it Is but natural that the
employees should wonder why 1t Is that
the high tariff for which they had voted
that their wages might be kept up above
the standard of those paid In Europe,
should not produce even permanent en-
ployment
1t should be stated here that in 1908 the
Homestead Steel company closed down its
mills for several months, throwing two
thousand men into idleness Seven hun
dred men were affected by the closing
down of the tin plate plant in Plttsburg.
The Cambria Steel company reduced the
working time of its force, and 1900 men
suffered a reduction of wages The Shen-
ango works of the Carnegie Steel COM
pany were closed down for several months
and the Pittsburg works of the Tin and
Sheet Plate company at New Kensington
were closed for four months, throwing
all of the workmen of both plants out of
employment.
Wage Reductions In 1904.
The Steel Car Forge company at FL
wood, Pa, was closed down two months,
resuming this year at reduction in the
wages of all employees of 10 per cent. The
Pennsylvania Engineering works at New
Castle, Pa, has cut the wages of skilled
labor per cent and of common labor IL
per cent.
The American Car and Foundry COM
any at Huntington, w. Va, has reduced
by 10 per cent the wages of 5000 men. The
National Tube company at Chester, Pa,
has scaled the wages of all employees by
from 10 to % per cent.
Similar reductions have been made in
the wages of the men employed in the
Mckinley furnace at New Castle, Pa,
the National Malleable Casting compa-
ny at Sharon, Pa, and the Aetna Iron
n a
members of Burns organization of glass
workers In Pttsburg have suffered re-
duction of Is per cent in their incomes.
The employees OF the All Union Sheet and
hin Plate mills in Pittsburg nave like
wise had to stand a reduction of 20 per
cent in their wages
Many Mills Idle.
To tell the story of the reduction of
wages through closed mills and reduced
output in the year 1904 would concern
almost every manufacturing plant in the
district The rod, wire and blooming
mills of the Carnegie Steel company and
the American Steel and Wire company
were shut down for three months this
year, throwing 1000 men into idleness. All
the employees of the Monongahela Iron
and Steel company at Rays station and
all the glass plants at Altoona and
Reynoldsville, Pa, were likewise thrown
OUT Oh WOTk through the complete SHUT
ting down of the mills.
The vast plant of the steel trust at
Homestead, Pa, was very largely shut
down for nearly all summer 1t remained
for date only four weeks prior to- the
presidential election to see this plant
resume its operations. Previously to this
date tho Bessemer plant, the thirty-three
inch mill, and many other departments
had been entirely Iule. The eghty-four
inch mill has been working on a single
turn. In starting the mills up again the
officials did not say how long they will
run. They simply report that they have
a sufficient number of orders to keep
them busy for some time
The Monongahela works of the Ameri-
can Sheet and Tin Plate, company and
the Star mill of the same concern, have
just been placed in commission after
long shut down. The hot mill departments
of the New Castle works, however, are
still Idle, although the report Is being
extensively circulated that they will re-
sumo operations shortly" Another re-
publican agency Is seeing to 1t that this
announcement is circulated among the
workingmen:
Work on the new plant of the Meyers
dale Sheet Steel company Is being rushed,
and the mill will open as soon as COM
pleted.'
Plant Cutting Down Running TIme.
On the other hand, the Edgar Thomp-
son Steel works at Braddock, Pa, are
even now cutting down their running
time and will run on not more than from
one-third to two-thirds time from now
until after the election. The reason given
is that the orders are not coming in
consumers waiting until the RESULT of the
election becomes known. 1t Is announced
| that the plant has orders sufficient to
run II on two-thirds time until Janury
1. although no information is vouchsafed
| as to the prospects after that time.
simultaneously with the announcement
from England that Mr.. Andrew Carnegie
was coming home to work for Roose-
welt. came the pronunciamento in Pitts
burg tht the Carnegie Steel company had
just started up two more open hearth
furnaces at South Sharon, Pa. But this
did not blind thase familiar with the sit
uation to the fact that four out of the
twelve furnaces at that place are still
idle. Promises are made that the entire
plant will be running in full by Novem-
Der g. and this might affect the votes of
some 1000 men who would get employ
ment by that time, and who don't have 1t
now.
From Connellsville Pa, comes the re-
port that the Humbert plant of the
American Sheet and Tin Plate company,
comprising six mills, is entirely Idle,
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