Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-22
STEEL RAILS WILL STAY UP
They Are Not to Be Included in Price
Reduction.
PRESIDENT BROWN OPTIMISTIC
Head of New York Central Says
Cheaper steel VIII Mean an
Immediate Quickeninw
of Business.

NEW YORK. Feb. A.-Assurances that
the price of steel rails will not be cut as
a result of the price cutting in finished
steel products were given today by men
In high authority in the steel manufacture
ing business. The representatives of a
leading steel producer said that there were
only five rail producing mills in this coun-
try and that the United States Steel cor
pcration. the Cambria Steel company, the
Lsckawanna Steel company, the Bethlehem
Steel corporation and the Pennsylvania
Steel company are opposed to a reduction
In the price Of rails. It was stated by a
steel official today that the present sched-
uie OF wages in the steel mills will not be
changed until the new tariff rate on steel
Is known.
President w. c. Brown OF the New York
Central railroad believed good results
would follow the cutting of the prices Of
steel.
at regard the cutting of the price of steel
as of the highest importance to the bust
nessmen OF the entire country" said Presi-
dent Brown.
Whatever construction we are TO do in
the present year has been arranged for
and the contracts let, but 1t is not in this
respect chiefly that the railroads of the
&C untry are to benefit. II will be Increased
earnings with the return OF business ac-
tivity. This return has been slow enough,
but within the last few months II has
been marked, and the reduction in steel
prices ought to hasten II and help business
of all kinds. Our reports for the month
OF January, 1909, show that the entire New
York Central system, including the Michi-
gan Central. the Lake Shore and the Big
Four, handled 12S, 200 more loaded cars than
in the corresponding month of 1905. For
the first ten days in February / find an
Increase Of 1880 loaded cars over the
corresponding ten days of a year ago is
shown.
Now, when the builders and users of
steel and iron begin 10 place their orders
under the new prices ore and coal will
begin to move. More men will be put
TO work and more supplies will be needed.
The demand in other lines consequent
upon this resumption will put still more
men to work and the whole business SIT
uation will be helped in more ways than
l could undertake to enumerate."
Cleveland Memorial Meeting.
''The mayor of the city of New York. the
board of aldermen and the Cleveland me-
mortal committee request the honor of
your presence at the ceremonies in COM
m~emoration OF Grover Cleveland, the
twenty-seeond and twenty-fourth presi-
dent Of the United States, on the after
noon OF Thursday. March IS. 1903, at 3
o'clock. at Carnegie hail. is. in part. the
wording Of an invitation sent today to
some hundreds OF prominent citizens in
this and other cities.
Mayor Mcclellan will preside at the
ceremonies and addresses will be made
by President Taft. Chief Justice Fuller
of the supreme court OF the United states
and Governor Hughes.
Inquiry Into stock Exchange.
The committee appointed by Governor
Hughes to investigate methods of busi-
ness in the New York exchanges had be-
fore II today former Congressman Charles
e. Littlefield. receiver Of the defunet
brokerage firm Of A. o. Brown & Co.
who detailed an account of the trans
actions leading up to the firms failure
last August. The information was de-
sired to throw light upon all possible
] phases OF Stock exchange transactions