The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-01-26
Schwab Optimistic About Iron
 and Steel Trade
ORDERS ARE BOOKED AHEAD
slater of New Construction One of lmportanee-Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company Plants
 to Be Improved.

The New York Commercial says:
 Charles M. Schwab grows more optirnls- tic regarding the steel and iron situation as time goes on. He sees no reason for thinking otherwise, in the face of the fact that, as he asserts. the boom has not more than begun. He does not call 1t boom, however. He says that nat ural results are just beginning to make themselves manifest.
 What Mr. Sehwab says is almost eager ly read for the reason that he is regarded as one of the best posted men on iron and steel conditions in the United States.
 '4The steel and iron business Is not only good, but improving" said MT. Schwab yesterday. Those who think they begin to see the limit of 1t are deceiving themselves. Steel and iron are the life of the country; you may say they are the life of the world. They are now be- gining to enter fields where, few years ago. no one thought of seeing them. They are being put to every conceivable use. The only difficulty experienced now is to supply the demand Every plant is be- ing worked to It's capacity, and new plants are being arranged for. It is the matter of supply that is bothering the steel and iron men now. They have more orders than they know what to do with.
 Ut may safely be said that there is not a steel and iron company in the United States that Is not booked for months ahead, This Is unfortunate, because it tends to retard many contemplated oper- ations, but 1t cannot be helped. No one could have definitely foreseen such a state of affairs. although every man of ex- perience and judgment must have felt that it was coming. Now that 1t is here, and here to stay, the steel and iron pro- ducers are doing their best to meet the situation. and are expending millions of dollars In new construction.
 'srhis matter of new construction is most important one, and will continue for some time to come. There is no danger that it will be overdone, for the reason that when 1t is finished the demand still will be in excess of the supply. There is no reason for being timid about the fu- ture. It will be better than the present, just as the present is better than the past"
 In the matter of expenditures for new construction, the Bethlehem Steel corpo- ration, of which MT. Schwab Is president, has created bond issue of $12. .0OO,0OO for the purpose of making the Bethlehem cor ? poration one of the most perfect plants in the United States, or the world, for that matter, for the manufacture of high grade steel It is expected that the new works
 a year and half. Great results are ex- pected from the new process acquired by Mir. Schwab on his latest visit to Ger many.
 The United States Steel corporation pro poses to spehd about $1S,000,000 on its plants at Homestead, Braddock, Du- quesne, Etna, Youngstown, Vandearlft, Pencoyd, Conneaut, Johnstown. Allen town, Cleveland, Newburgh, Chicago and Joliet, H. With a long list of appropria- tions for water service extensions, power plant changes, etc. about s25, LOCO will be spent.
 The plants of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company are to be enlarged and rehabilitated, the capacity is to be largely increased and the coal and ore properties more thoroughly developed, which will mean an expenditure of at least $5,0O0,0OO The Republic Iron and Steel company, which now control the Tennessee company. will expend not less than s1O,O0O.OO0 during the present year.
 Other prominent organizations-includ- ing the sloss-sheffeld Steel and Iron com pany, Lackawanna Steel company. Cam bria Steel company, Pennsylvania Steel company, Colorado Fuel and Iron com pany, the Jones 6 Laughlin Steel com pany, Southern Steel company-will spend at least $l0,0OO. .Ooo in new construction.