The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-27
PIG IRON REVIEW.
HEAVY cURTAILMENT IS NOT DE-
 = MORALIZING LABOR.
several Furnaces May start up Agaip SoOn But It is Rum0red That That Wages VIII Be Re-
 duced. {

SoOn 0ut It t1 Rum0red Tmat
 That Wages VIII Be Re-
 duced.
 Birmingham. & Nov. 25.-tSpecial.)--,
 The heavy curtailment of pig iron pro-
 auction in. the Birmingham district
 Is not demoraIixing the labor so great
 ly as was at first feared. as the work
 Ing men. both white and colored. have
 advices that the same conditions as
 prevail here are to be found in- other sections and there is much confidence
 that the plants in this section will
 shortly be in full operation again.
 Rumors have prevailed during the
 past few days that several or the fur- naces now cold in the general plan of
 curtaiiing the production. are to be put
 in action again shortly and for this
 reason the laboring men are remaining quietly at home There has been no
 mention of reduced wages in fhis dis
 trict but 1t Ia evident that some of the
 larger manufacturers will be willing cost of the product could be brought
 down some and the only way that this can be done is to make general reduc-
 ton In the wages of the employees. There has been no suggestion so far when inquiry Is made in regard to the furnaces resuming operations again such a proposition might be presented It Is not doubted in some circles that this reduction in wages win be con scented to if only steady work is given. with the understanding that when the high level Is again reached that the wages will be put up as they were be- fore October. The laboring men in the Birmingham district as a general proposition are in the main men who save their earnings pretty well so that I 1t can be stated that the curtailment of operations and the production can | be stood for a while at least.
 Those who watch industrial opera | tions, are happy over conclusions ar | rived at by the laboring clement not | to leave the district, but to wait around suntil the furnaces start up again and the mills get back to making l the usual amount of steel and other products. Just as long as the houses are occupied and the laborers remain
 here 1t is certain that better times are not far off
 | Two furnaces belonging to the Sloss- | Sheffield Steel and Iron Company have ' than nineteen furnaces are now rnak- f ing iron in this district, not including | the two charcoal iron furnaces. Out | of the nineteen furnaces six of them | are making basic iron. used in steel | making. The sales of iron now are
 very slow and in small lots. two car | loads of iron. less than 100 tons. being l considered good business. Alabama I furnace companies report cancellation | of orders as far as pig iron goes while | in some instances there has been delay | in filling old orders, at the request or | the consumers. The railroads are do- | ing all in their power to make prompt | deliveries for the iron men but the
 demand is not urgent.
 Operations in the steel interests in | this district have not been disturbed | any since the dullness came over the | iron situation. The plants of the | Southern Steel Company and the Ten
 nessee Coal. Iron and Railroad Com | pany are still producing quite an | amount of the various products A | most significant event during the past l week was the order given for con 1 struction work at Enslsy, where new | open hearth steel mills are being | erected. to be started up again. At | Ensley a large number of the crew of | construction forces were preparing 10 I leave the district when message was | received to start up the work again. I These hands were laid off in October. 1 The rumors still prevail around Bes- | semer, where are located five foundry iron furnaces. four of which are cold,
 that during the first week in Decem-
 Der there will be resumption of work. l Ore mines in that section of the dis | trict are still ip. operation and stocks | houses at furnAces are being filled
 in order that there should be no in- | terruption when. the times improve. 1 No quotations are given for pig 1 iron fin this district. It is reported
 that No. 2. foundry, iron is selling | under $l4 per ton. On this subject, | very little is to be learned from the manufacturers. A prominent iron in | terest in. this. district when questioned | gave out the following statement: Present conditions in the pig iron | market cannot continue much longer. | There Is bound to be change. There | Is going to be rapid recovery when once there Is a change. The financial | furry showing signs of coming to an | end. the conditions in the metal mart | will pick up and the once healthy de- | mand for iron will again be noted and the quotations will improve right | along. It is we'll that there is gen | eral curtailment of production. With l an abundance of iron on yards it might be a difficult matter to get any kind of price for the pig iron when l the improvement in demand Is noted. | A number of contracts in which iron 1 is necessary were cancelled or allowed | to remain half way flnished. When confidence is restored and the opera ttons begin to look up, there will be need for iron and the manufacturers will see the market pick up in leaps
 
 esting. The demand for steel rail Is still quite active! but 1t cannot be expected to be as healthy as 1t should be under ordinary conditions" Cast iron pipe plants in the Birming- ham district have lost but little time so far and are making steady ship ments of their products in all direc- tions. Several of the larger cities. in the country are still requiring q steady | delivery of pipe for improvements we'll under way. The Cuban order reported few weeks ago as being in the mar ket has not been landed as yet, but bids have been submitted thereon. Foundries and machine shops report conditions a little dull and the forces
 of employees are beginning to feel the
 dullness. Many of the employees of the
 Gate City Rolling Mills (Republic Com pany). which was closed down week
 before last, have left the district, though the majority of the men stated
 before going that they were going to
 other sections of the country to visit friends and relatives and to take a
 Iitt4e recreation trip. The first an- nouncement of intentions to resume op-
 erations will see a return Of these men. In announcing the reorganization in