The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-07-05
GROWTH OF THE IRON
 AND STEEL INDUSTRY Statistics of the Production From the Various
 States.
THE WAGE EARNINGS
Blast Furnaces, Rolling Mills, Forges and Tin
 Plate Workings.

Bulletin seventy eight of the Census Bureau presents the statistics of the iron and steel industry and of the tin and terne plate industry for the cen- sus of manufactures of 1905. Both re- ports were prepared by Story B. Ladd under the supervision of William M. Steuart, chief. statistcian for manu- factures.
 Iron and Steel.
 The iron and steel industry is dis cusEed under the following heads: The industry as whole; the electro thermic metallurgy of iron and steel; blast furnaces; steel works and roll ing mills; and bloomeries.
 Since 1900 the number of establish ments has decreased from 669 to 606. At the same time ca pital increased from s59O,5SO4S4 to S948 ,689 $40; the average number of wage-earners from 222,6O7 to 242,74O; wages, from s12O,- SS6, ,SSS to $141, ,4S9, 1906; the cost of ma terials used, from s522, ,4S1 ,7O1 to $62O,- 171,8S1; and the value of products from $SO4,O34,91S to $9O5 ,S54152. The tonnage produced in 1905 was S4,S44,9S8, an in- crease of 1S1 per cent. since 1900.
 Each of the geographic divisions shows gain, whether measured by in- vestment of capital, by -earners employed, or by tonnage or value of products. The New England States reported 281, ,SO9 tons of products and $lS,S65, ,45O value; the Middle States, 191S9,5S2 tons of products and $526, ,355,- 772 value; the Southern States, 3,925,- 7S4 tons of products and $71,02S,747 value; and the Western States, 1,447,- sos tons of products and $2S9,5O4, ,1SS value. At each census since 1880 the Middle States or division has ranked first; the Western, second; the South ern, third: and the New England, fourth, with respect to products, whether measured by value or quanti- ty, in the industry as a whole and in each of the branches. In the case of each group of states the rate of in crease is greatest in the steel works and rolling mill branch of the indus try Pennsylvania Ohio, and Illi- nois,, with value of products of $471, 22S,844, $152,S59,124, and $S7352,761, re- spectively, were the leading states in 1865, as well as in 1900 and 1890. These thre9 states combined had 69.S per IS6nt of the total capital and 7S.5 per cent. of the total value of products In the quantity of classified products also the same states rank highest.
 The electric furnace does not figure in the census of 1905 as producing agent in the iron and steel industry, except in the manufacture of certain of the lloys-ferrochrome, fer rosilicon, etc.-the statistics of which are consolidated with those of like products of the electric furnace and included in the report on chemicals. Since the close of the canvass for that census, however, there has been con- siderable activity in the field of eec- tric smelting, and it Is likely to be- come an important feature of the iron and steel metallurgy of the future.
 Blast Furnaces.
 There were in 1905, 191 blast furnaces establishments, 14.7 per cent less than in 1900 The capital invested was $239, 559, ,194, an increase of 61,6 per cent. Materials cost $178,961449, 3s1 per cent more than in 1900; the ton mage of products was 16,62S,294, gain of 151 per cent, and the value $231 8S9, 126, 8 gain of f2.1 per cent.
 In the number of wage-earners; there was decline from 39,358 to 35- IFS in 1905, due chiefly to the use of pig iron casting machines in place of sand casting and to Improvements in charging devices and in ore handling machines for stocking and charging. The reduction in the labor factor through the improvements in equip ment as might be expected, is bal anced by corresponding increase in the capital invested The investment in buildings, machinery tools, and implements in 1905 in active establish ments averaged $S.24 per ton of pig iron produced, as compared with s5.48 per ton in 1900, an increase of 50.4 per cent.
 Considerably more pig iron was made with mixed coke and bituminous coal as fuel in 1905 than in 1900 and less with anthracite coal and with mixed anthracite coal and coke. The quantity of charcoal pig iron, although greater than in 1900, was relatively small Bessemer and low-phosphor- us, of which there were S,S94,5 ,5S4 tons and 192, ,795 tons, respectively, together formed 547 per cent. of all pig iron produced in 1905. Basic pig iron to the amount of 2,553,94O tons, 1724 per cent. more than in 1900, formed 15.4 per cent. of the total; and foundry pig, S,679,243 tons, formed 221 per cent. of the total None of the remaining grades reported -malleable Bessemer, forge, white and mottled, and miscellaneous grades, ferrosilicon, spiegeleisen, ferroman- Eanese, and direct castings-formed as rmEch as 4 per celll' ol tile lotdl'
 Iron for steel making-comprising Bessemer, low-phosphorus, basic, fer rosilieon, spiegeleisen, and ferroman- ganese-a aggregated 11,92157S tons, an Increase of 294 per cent over the pro- duction of like grades in 19OO The major part of the pig iron product-s,- 926,545 tons, or 59.7 per cent.-was ,nadn h,r eeta hlishnnents controlling