The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-14
MABEN TALKS OF
 PIG IRON MARKET
IS OPTlMlSTIc-NO WEAKENING ISfN SIGHT-TELLS WHY SLOSS- SHEFFIELD COMPANY DOES NOT BUILD A STEEL PLANT.

President J. C. Maben of the Sloss- Sheffield steel and Iron company, who went to New York last Sunday for the purpose of attending the quarterly meet ing of directors, will return in few days. Several New York papers print in terviews with MT. Maben. To the Wall St. Journal he said:
 "The iron situation Is very strong. No weakening Is in sight This condition arises panty from the fact that pur- ohasers have been in the market, and partly because there has been but little pig iron for sale. The market Is quiet because consumers are holding off. The present quotations are high. but purely natural .Sloss- Sheffield is practically sold up through this year, and we are taking orders for delivery in the first quarter of 1908. We have $500 customers on our books.
 "The question has been asked: Why does not Sheffield branch out into steel manufacture? Why does 1t not di- versify it's products instead of depending entirely upon opeY To this we can an- swer that for the past two years there
 
 steel. certainly more than in rails So much iron is now converted Into steel that
 sort of vacuum is created in foundry
 iron. This has been a powerful factor
 in sustaining the price level.
 But should conditions change and
 make 1t advisable for Sloss-Sheffield to | enter the ranks of steel manufacturers, i we should be in an excellent position 70
 meet the exigency. Our surplus has been I accommodating and we are able to erect u steel plant without selling an additional | security. In the meantime we are stand ing aside and watching the experiments
 of others and beneiting by their experI- enoe.
 "Our plant Is in excellent shape Last year we opened large thoroughly
 equipped coal mine at cost of 22OOin; an additional ore mine which cost over
 si0O,OO0, and spent $14OO0O for more equip
 ment and machinery at the brown ore
 mines In consequence we produce all of the coal coke and ore that we use,
 and do not buy dollars worth "Our present output Is about 5000 tons of pig iron a month. When two furnaces, now undergoing repairs, are Dack In -|ape the production will reach about 42,00O tons a month. Labor conditions kp the south
 are getting better and railway facilities are improving. These wersAne most se- rious propositions that confDnted us last | year"
 l The New York Journal of Commerce I says MT. Maben authorizes denial of | the rumor in the Wall street district that | the International Harvester company, one of the corporations customers, has can | celled orders for iron. The orders of the
 Harvester company, he said. were coming
 along regularly and for just as large
 quantities as ever. Mr. Maben continues optimistic on the iron and steel situation and states he sees very little to war rant the impression in the financial dis trict that the business situation is on the down grade He asserts that all the con- pany's representatives are in close touch with conditions prevailing in different sec lions of the country and they all agree in saying that the position of the Iron and steel industry Is very strong. MT Maben continued: "The Sloss-Shef- field Is practically sold up through this year, and we are taking orders for de- livery in the first quarter of 1908. We
 have $500 customers on our books.