The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-07
THE STEEL SWEDEN SHIPS.
It's High Grade For Tools, Tariff or No
 Tariff, Says the Maker.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun
 Axel wahlberg, broad thiekset Swedish steel maker, was at the Hotel Knickerboeker yesterday with some ideas in his head about the steel busi- ness In his country and in ours. He sails today on the Deutschland. He is general manager of the Fagersta Steel company one of the largest in Sweden.
 He hasn't been in the United States since 1892 and then he was here for only six months. Yet he is conyersant with the conditions in the steel mar ket both here and abroad. He came to the United States first as a metal lurgist and was interested in the man. ufacture of steel only as a branch of his science. Later, after he had taught meta1lurgy in the Royal Technical High school in Stockholm and had been chief of the Royal Testing insti- tute, he became the general manager of the Fagersta company. and since then he has been travelling over the world with his eyes on the markets for fine tool steel-high grade siemens- Martin steel. he called it-almost the only kind that his firm makes.
 We ship s5 per cent of what we make out of the country" said he. Tt is the competitor here of your crusi- ble steel. We don't make much of that over there. Most of ours is the Siemens- Martin steel.
 ''oh. yes, we get good deal of your steel in our markets. American steel goes everywhere. But most of it is beams and not much of it is fine tool steel. We make that ourselves Just now our ore is purer than yours. Everything has it's right market. you know--your I beams to us and our tool steel to you.
 How much tool steel do we ship to the United States? Oh, few thousand tons. As we say over there. that's only drop in the sea when one thinks of all the steel that is made in the United States. Twenty-four million tons isn't that it? Well, look that up in the book. I don't remember just what 1t Is.
 The tariff on steel? Yes some of my friends say that I am over here to look over the American market be- cause I think 1t will be a good thing for us if they take the duty off steel. No, I do not think that-not a very good thing. Just as I said a minute ago, everything has It's right market The economy of 1t is this, is 1t not that the American manufacturer will get the benefit because the price of Swedish steel will be cut down?
 Now let me tell you what I mean. I will take an example. We ship to you great deal of high grade wire rods for making piano wire. Suppose I ship 1t early in September and Just at that time the tariff Is taken off. I get the high price. But the next time the other Swedish manufacturers of steel want to get some of your busi- so low that they make no higher profits than they did before wh en the tariff was on. Do you see? The Amer ican manufacturer gets Swedish steel for the same price he did before, minus the duty. That is the economy of it, is 1t not?
 What do you say? Would the Swedish manufacturer get more busi- ness from America? Yes, I think he would, but then, as I have said be- fore. everything has a right market"
 MT. Wahlberg said that he didn't like to think how many Swedes there are in the United States. "A million and half, isn't it?" he asked. Those are a great many Swedes."