The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-05
HEAVY PRODUCTION
 OF IRON LAST YEAR Amount Turned Out Was More Than In 1907 THE PROBLEM OF WAGES Manufacturers Say That Prices Can Be Reduced Very Little and Wages
 Cannot Be Reduced at
 Present
 
THE PROBLEM OF WAGES

Cleveland, January 4-(Special.)- Iron Trade Review tomorrow will say:
 Although the past year was marked by decreased consumption and lower prices than the preceding year, about a million and a half tons more pig iron and slightly more finished steel products were turned out than in 1907 the hitherto banner year. A
 During 1910 the mills and blast furnaces were not fully employed, but figures of the census and other favorable indica- tation that there will be no surplus ca- pacity when present unfortunate condi- tlcns, due largely to political agitation, are changed. The year was also remark able for heavy shipments. For exam ple 1t is estimated that the total sales of steel products in the Chicago terri tory for the year amounted to two mil
 lion tons, shrinkage of about 50 per cent compared with 1909 but shipments for the past twelve months were nearly equal to those of the preceding year. It is believed that In the west espe- cially stocks are low and that the book ing of heavy tonnages cannot be longer delayed.
 Early last year the Prick Coke com pany advanced the wages of all its em- ployes. and many steel companies soon after took similar action. At the begin ming of this year the most serious prob- lem that confronts employers and ems
 ployes is how to maintain the present scale of wages.
 There has been an average reduction of about g per ton in the price of fin- ished products compared with those of | 1907, although the cost of production has increased.
 Officials of the steel companies assert that no concessions in prices will be pos sible except through reduction in
 wages, which would be most unfortunate
 under present conditions of the cost of living and in view of the wage increases granted railroad employees would cause profound dissatisfaction among the work | ing men of the steel mills.
 At a meeting of the leading iron and steel executives in New YoPk within a | few days it developed that there Is a large following strongly opposed to any | price reductions, and 1t is by no means settled that any price cuts will be fa- vored at the general meeting of manu- | facturers January H.
 1 In fact, it can be safely predicted that
 no lowering of quotations will be recom-
 mended unless trustworthy evidence cah be presented that such action would stimulate permanent improvement. | Many leading producers and their sales
 men are opposed to any price changes
 until there are clear indications that buy
 CTS would order freely at lower prices.
 The total output of coke and anthra- cite pig iron in the United States in 1910
 was 26,S3S, ,3sO tons, the largest annual
 production in the history of the Ameri-
 can iron industry. The production for December was 1,772. 9s5 tons. the small
 est monthly total since April, 1sOs Review By The IrOn-Age
 New York, January 4.-(Special.)- The Iron Age will say, tomorrow: Pig
 iron output was sharply cut down in December and on January 1 the num-
 Der of furnaces in blast, 1SS, was p less than at the beginning of Decem-
 Der. The December production of coke
 and anthracite pig iron was 1,774.817 tons,k or an average of 57,252 tons a