The Charles Mix new era. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1???-1911, 1909-10-29
Cars Alone Cost
More Than the
Huge German
Army
One Third Of the
Product Of Our
Steel Mills
Used

for the big spenders-the railroads
are pouring In orders. And Ptttsburg
IL beginning to complain that the re-
bound IL too sudden and the pace too
swift.
Some conception Of the relation be-
tween the railroad business and the
steel industry ID had by taking an In
ventory of some OF the visible railroad
property made from iron and steel
the rails and rolling stock. the 70
newal Of which II the foundation OF
the steel industry. The rolling stock
consists Of 100000 freight cars. 5o.-
900 passenger cars and 5000 iocomo-
tives. The locomotives are worth An
average OF 3l2.0 900 each: the passenger
cars. 5000: and the freight cars
81. OO0-giving IN aggregate value OF
rolling stock Of more than $4,000. 0O0.-
600. The rails now laid-35. 000, 900
tons-cost about 81. 200. 00o. 900. 10 that
rails and rolling stock represent up
ward Of $4,000. 900. 900.
This four billions worth OF steel
made prodscts wears out rapidly un-
der our heavy American trafhc. Age
adds no luster to the materials OF In
dustry on this side Of the water Over
In England. when . locomotive gets
along in middle life. they begin to tie
ribbons on her. like . pet COW. and
proudly keep count Of her mileage
from year to year. This 10 nice for the
locomotive. but hard on the steel
mills and locomotive works. Over
here. to-day's giant Of the rails IL 10
morrow's candidate for the scrap heap.
To keep rails and equipment up to
the American standard of use costs
upward Of $40O. 0O0. 900 . year. while
additional equipment and new rail-
mileage II now costing around $780,
600. 900 q year-that 10, We have now
reached the point Of putting $700.o0o.-
900 q year-as much as the whole cost
Of running the government-into rails.
cars and locomotives. These are the
big items of railroad steel consump-
ton. Steel bridges. structural steel for
buildings and block signals m other
structures, steel tools and machinery.
and all the countless minor products
of iron and steel used on the railroads
add. perhaps. 5000. 900. 900 more.
Here, then, we and the railroads
now on q prosperity consumption basis
| Of 5000. 000. 900 worth Of steel products
q year. Small wonder that the news.
1.-The railroads are buying" vitalized
the steel industry this summer and
lifted the cloud Of gloom from Pitts
burg. Steel 10 = prince again; six
months ago It was pauper-or
thought It was.
What the closing Of the railroad
purse meant to the steel industry IN
the year following the panic OF 1907
ID strikingly shown In the slump In
the output OF rails and equipment. The
rail mills in 1906 rolled 1900. 900 tons.
sold for $1l2. o0o. 900; the . shops In
1907 turned out 29O. 900 cars. worth up
ward OF 5000. 0O0. 900; the locomotive
works output was $500 locomotives.
bringing In something like $50. OOO.O 700
ALI told, $500. 600. 900. Last year the
output fell away to 100000 tons OF
rails. $50. 00o. 900: 10000 cars. $50. o00.-
600. and $500 locomotives. 81. DOC. 900
i'm all. S160, 0O0. 900. showing q loss In
business to these three branches OF
the steel industry Of $40. ooo. 0oo.
One need 60 no further than the -
ports OF the big works to see the hav.
&C that was wrought In the steel trade
BY the closing Of the railroad purse.
The Steel Corporations' sales were
97ss. 200. 900 In 1907 and $4S3. 900. 900
In 1908. . loss Of $3S4.0o0.00 0 The
American Locomotive Company's
gross fell from $50. 0o0.O 900 to $4,000
900. One Of the car works reported .
decline IN income from $50. Oo0. 900 to
81. 900, 900. The car builders were the
worst sufferers. for the railroads q.
ways stop buying cars when tramc do
clines. In the dull times after The
bank panic the Idle cars on American
railroad sidings would have made ten
solid strings across the country.
Railroad buying to-day II enormous.
but men like Hin Of the Great North.
ern. and Brown Of the New York Cen
trail, predict that the railroad purse II
small compared with what II will be.
Hill says that the railroads haven't
grown AZ fast as the country. and that
we ought to build them twice a. fast
a. We are nov Five billions OF new
capital ought to be put into railroads
In ave years. he thinks. Brown be.
lieves that seven and q half billions In
Is years II . conservative estimate.
But this 10 too low q figure. We are
now on Z half billion q year basis for
new railroad capital. Four billions OF
new capital has been put into Ameri-
can railroads since the panic OF 80.
and half these years have been lean"
years.
One great industry that n just b.
ginning to feel the stimulus OF rail.
road buying. and that IL likely soon "a
be revolutionixed BY an era Of new
mnm~tpn~ttan L. the nnnMop &nAyatpv