The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
EXPLAIN ACTION IN STOPPING WORK Cause of the Action Taken
 at Corey
EFFECT ON THE SOUTH
Suspends Until Situation Clears or Until Effect of Congressional Action on Southern Senti-
 ment Is Evident

Regarding the suspension of work on the American Steel and Wire company plant at Corey the New, York Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin says:
 "Southern steel mills and northern steel works manufacturing rolled steel prod ucts for southern consumption are irri- tated apparently by the spirit of antag- onism that is expressed in the congress sional proposal to place steel products used mainly in the southern territory upon the free list.
 "The renewal of tariff agitation at Washington is seemingly regarded as det- rlmental to present interests and as menace to the future prospects of the steel manufacturing enterprises in the south. In consequence the recommends ton to the Steel corporation directors that construction on the bar and wire mills of the American Steel and Wire company at Birmingham be suspended is not much of surprise.
 "To appreciate the situation from the standpoint of the mills it should be re- called that it is proposed to eliminate all vestiges of the tariff upon steel com modities only for the benefit of the south ern agriculturist The following is the language of the congressional bill. It is designed to place upon the free list ''hoop or band iron, or hoop or band steel, cut to lengths, punched or not punched, or wholly or partly manufactured into hoops or ties, coated or not coated with paint or any other preparation, with or without buckles or fastenings, for baling cotton or any other commodity; and wire for baling hay. straw any any other agricul- tural products Barbed fence wire, wire rods. wire strands or wire rope, wire woven or manufactured for wire fencing, and other kinds of wire suitable for fenc- ing, including wire staples.
 Tt is stated that some of these provi- sions. even if they should be enacted into law. would be barren of any benefit to either the cotton grower or the country at large, because such articles as barbed wire and wire fencing. for instance. are not manufactured by European mills; but it is the spirit rather than the probable results of the proposed new tariff to which the steel companies take exception.
 "It is pointed out that the cotton growers already reap large and unusual profits from some of the steel products which they consume This is notably .he case with cotton ties, which sell to the farmers at D cents to so cents per bundle, equivalent to less than a cent a pound, and are subsequently, resold at the price of cotton-that is, from 10 cents to II cents per pound. Fifty thousand tons of steel cotton ties gre utilized annually by the planta- tions. of which it is estimated about 10000 tons are old material. upon which the profit is even greater. This resale of steel alone means a yearly profit of s1O,OO0,O00 to the cotton grow CTS
 "It has been claimed that with cot ton ties upon the free list much low CT price would prevail for this material n the southern markets because of the nominal freight rate that the cotton ships bringing return cargoes from Flu rope would demand, as the cargo could te utilized as ballast. On the other hand, the steel mills claim that prices of ties
  little or no competition from foreign material, with or without a tariff.
 "As already noted, neither barbed wire nor wire fencing is manufactured in Icu- rope, but wire rope which commands much higher price because of the guar antee exacted from the sellers, is in different position, and the same is true of hoop or band iron and steel.
 Since the Steel corporation secured possession of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad properties about s9,000,o00 has been expended in improvements and extensions, s3,sS7000 having been thus spent last year; but up to the present time the southern plants have yielded very small returns, last year paying only IL per cent interest on the investment Recently the American Steel and Wire company has been pushing construction on the Birmingham bar and wire mils which will have a rated capacity of 100,- OOe tons annually when completed. It is this work that it is now proposed to sus- pend until the situation has cleared CT until the effect of congressional action upon southern sentiment is evident"