The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-04-26
DOES CONGRESS- WISH TO RUN
 INDEPENDENT STEEL COMPANIES OF
 UNITED STATES OUT OF BUSINESS?
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Continued From First Pagel
 That none of these interests in the steel manufacturing business are ex- pected to suffer in any normal market from the importations of steel is made
 more than manifest by the way the | Wall Street quotations on steel securt- ties are booming during this tariff agi- are excessively low. Are they not discounting the future?
 PRICE WAR OBJECT.
 The makers of the present 'open market" extremely low prices on iron and steel products undoubtedly have a two-fold object in declaring a price | war.
 First: To finally satisfy the popular demand for low prices, especially dur l ing tariff agitation, in endeavors to forestal the development of any popu- lar demand for much lower duties, that the consumers might secure relief | thereby from the so-called trust con- l trol of the market, now so long rtg1dly upheld. even during the dull times. during and since the panic.
 | Second object. as openly claimed and spread broadcast by the big corpora | tions, to severely punish the so-called independents for selling these products | in competition with the so-called trust products and at the lower prices than l the combines; and which lower prices they could well afford to and did first make.
 | Now, how long will these low prices, recently established in declaration of an opec market. prevail, after the new | tariff bill is passed, and with the scrap due to the relative increase in | demand for the scrap as the result of l an increase of 800 per cent. in the pro | duction Of open-hearth steel in the with the production of Bessemer steel. The former process generally uses about one-half pig iron and one-half scrap in making up each open-hearth furnace charge. The Bessemer pro- cess uses no scrap.
 THE OPEN HEARTH PROCESS. The so called independents in the iron and steel business use almost ex- clusively the more modern and better open hearth process in steel making Whereas, such scrap, from five to ten years ago. used to rule in value at about three-quarters of the market p-fces of pig iron, it now often com | n-ands higher price than pig iron; sympathy with the advance in scrap also greatly enhanced in value as com pared with the general pig iron prices of five to ten years ago.
 The big steel corporation is not ap- preciably handicapped by f1uctuation in market prices of raw material, or increase In general market value of it's raw materials and supplies. in that possesses mines, blast furnaces, etc.; makes it's own scrap largely, practically controls the heavy railroad scrap. etc., and buys but little raw material in the open market.
 INDEPENDENTS DOMINATE
 NO RAILROAD cos
 Few of the Independents have their own iron ore properties and blast fur ma ,es. or any special or dominating in- f1uance in the directorate or manage meflts. of the great railroad systems who are the largest producers of iron an1 steel scrap. In consequence they are compelled to go into the oper ms rket to buy their raw material. In moi having molten pig iron to charge into their open hearth furnaces they are further compelled to use a larger proportion, for certain chemical and physical reasons, or iron and steel used in the open hearth furnace charge thsn the practice is with the large steel corporations.
 Now, with the growing scarcity of this scrap as compared with the rapid ly growing relative demand for scrap the prices are constantly increasing as coD,pared with the general activity and ma ket prices of finishing mill pro- dut ts in the iron and steel business; so with the consequent sympathetic in- crelfse in the pig iron prices. at the same time 1t is very obvious that the Ind epen0ent, or smaller iron and steel WOI ku}S companies, are l10 Die to be cro yded out of competition with the big corporations. as was the steel woI ks of Miliken Bros. in New York har Dor. and a number of others who have succumbed to the great handicap cent years: (materials now so power 'rec1nt years; (materials now so power fully controlled and frequently mani- | pulhted over a wide range of fluctua- lieves the condition by throwing the worlds markets for raw material, or | at least on iron and steel scrap. prac- ticatly open to importations free of duty.
 THE CANADIAN DUTY.
 Crnada has an import duty on iron | and steel scrap of but s1.OO per ton | whereas American mills. endeavoring | to take scrap. in from Canada under | the Dfngley tariff. have to pay s4.OO | Aldr ich duty or tariff s2.5o per ton; under the Payne Tariff 50 cents per ton
 Isis obvious that there is no recip- iron and steel scrap trade; for Canada can, and does draw on the United | States for large quantities of this scrap. and we cannot replace that ton- other countries. without paying a pro- hibitive tariff. if in excess of 50 cents a ton provided by the Ways and Means Committee of the House in the Payne
  ance Committee.
 TO PROTECT INDEPENDENTS
 If these Independent mills can be protected against the cornering of this scrap, to insure the better and ado- l; quate supply at a reasonable price, 1t will help preserve them as Independent competitors and aid in regulating fn- ishing mill market prices. The more business they can then do the greater the quantity. or tonnage. of domestic pig iron (still protected by a s2.50 per ton duty as produced in the Aldrich and Payne Bib they will require in making their steel: for this pig can not be dispensed with, and neither for chemical reasons. can the pig iron be replaced to any appreciable extent, by the scrap steel, in the open-hearth fur mace charge.
 This can but result in more business for the blast furnace and iron ore