New-York tribune., 1911-10-01
BR|TAIN'S IRON TRADE
rs Long Held Supremacy in That
Industry Has Vanished.
GERMANY IN FIRST PLACE
Since 1897 Latter's Exports
Have Increased 534,65O Tons,
While England Lost 145,440.

rlrdor Sept. THE large order for
,,os, which the Union or South Africa has
,,red with q Dusseldorf firm recalls to
r~p. standard" the fact that on tom
r,re basis Great Britains long held SUI
crsmaev in iron and steel exports lex
eus.ar machinery has been lost 30 Ger
many and at our present rate of prog
ress we shall soon be beaten in every sec
ton of the iron industry. from pig from to
machinery. 1t is time 10 take stock. for we
cannot AFFORD 20 De beaten in this particu-
lar trade
Let tile situation be clearly understood
On basis OF national production Of iron
and steel we have already been relegated
,-on FIRST 20 third position. That perhaps.
was inevitable. Germany is bigger than
,tis country and contains nearly 20.OOO 000
r,re inhabitants. The United States is far
ns-e~ than the United Kingdom. and that
eo-1try has nearly 5o,W0oo0 more people
,san we have. But neither size, population,
nor abundance OF natural resources even,
ovovsdas reason why any country should
heat Great Britain in the expectation Of
iron products.
II cannot be too strongly emphasized that
q big and progressive export trade i'm iron
and steel goods is Of far more vital impor-
lance 20 Britain than TO Germany or any
o+bar country. British supremacy in steel
svrorty is Just as vital on national and
economic grounds as is British naval su-
al
suprenacy is threatened. Since 1897. when
germany adopted the cooperative export
bounty policy. our increase has been less
than 81 per cent. while there has been a
German increase Of 600 per cent At this
rate what are We TO look forward TO in the
next ten 0r fifteen years?
Germany has beaten us i'm iron produc-
.or She Is making 100000 tons of pig
i-r annually. against our l0.90noJ tons.
Germany bias beaten us i'm iron manufact-
r-s she s. making 100000 tons of steel
"a ,a4~ AGAINST our 6OOo.Dlo tons. She sup
pHes her own market to such an extent
that sa. only imports half a million tons
.ffr8r and steel .u year. whereas we inn
nor. m HHr and a. quarter tons of for
sir- iron and steel annually. while many of
our furnaces and men stand idle. Germany
employs wen over 100000 men FIN her iron
and steel industry emu'Ogs them wcl at
good ar. rapidly rising gainst
5m I-.s" badly employed at stagnant
wages And now Germany has drawn level
vta u> a eNportatioH.
I'm Germany the iron ore is not quite so
good as 300 our country. Germary's coal
il not quite SO good as ours Germany s
nel is more costly than ours. Germany s.
coal and iron and limestone deposits are
widely separated. Germany assemblage
eharges are heavy. Germany manufact-
rrfrg plants are at long distances from
the sealoard. Germanys workmen are not
so skilled as ours. neither are they so
cheap But Germany is beating us from
tae bottom 20 the top of the iron industry.
Comparing the year 1910 with 1897 We lind
tlat while Germany's exports have in
creased bv 534 05o tons our own have de
c..red by 1870 tons. Although we have
coal supplies. iron supplies, manufacturing
plants and shipping ports all practically
side hv side, coupled with sound finance,
saLe. labor and superior management, We
are being beaten. If the conditions Of in
Irrational competition We're fair and
s7uaI we could easily beat every one Of
our rivals in the steel export trade. But
they are not fair and equal our great
natural and geographical advantages, our
almost bouudless opportunities for trade IN
our own empire and our inherent and su-
perIative manufacturing abilities are being
wartonIy and callously sacrificed on the
altar of " blackeg Free Trade. While
taxing our own industries mp 10 the hilt we
permit the free and unrestricted importa-
ton of competitive foreign products. Our
rivals who have light taxation and protec-
ton 40 home. coupled with Free Trade in
o.. markets. are going ahead rapidly
willie ue. with heavy taxes and no protec-
ton at home. coupled with hostile tariffs
abroad. are barely marking time. The les
sou plain and unmistakable.