The Washington herald., 1915-05-10
Indications of Prosperity.

From time immemorial transactions in pig iron
| and fluctuations in the price of the commodity
have constituted of the principal barometers
of the country's business This is natural when
one considers the prominent part that iron plays
in the daily and yearly course of national industry.
Almost everything in business way harks back
to iron sooner later agriculture, for whose
use great amount of iron is necessary in the
manufacture of farm implements. 1t is needless to
say that railroads among the largest users of
iron and Steel and that heavy buying OF iron is
involved whenever the railroads enter the market
largely, the point OF doing SO, for cars,
steel rails and engines. Pig iron is the primary
form of iron manufacture, and the basic product
in the whole iron industry Increased buying Of
pig iron after long period of depression means,
and can nothing else except that the industry
is again picking up.
There those who of the opinion that
in recent years copper has taken the place of pig
iron barometer in the industrial manufactur-
ing world. We inclined to doubt this, although
we that during the last generation the use
OF copper has become diversified that it is
much indication of the present pros
pccive state of business than it formerly.
Be this it may, the last few weeks have pre-
sented abundant signs of movement Of I'M
usual dimensions in pig iron. A week or so ago
there heavy sales Of pig iron in the Buffalo
manufacturing district which attracted general at
tcntion. This was followed by large sales in
Youngstown and in other Central Western GEN.
tiers. More recently has the news that
Southern furnaces those located in and near Bir-
minghan, Ala. have taken contracts for foundry
IRON for shipment into Northern territory. to the
East and to the Southwest which have brought the
sales for the district during the month of April
more than ooo TONS This is of the
largest months business for long time past
and taken in connection with the Northern sales
is regarded by the trade important develop
mcnt.
This however is what we might expect from
the exhibition making by business in the
country generally for the first quarter OF the year
and it tcSties plainly enough to the fact that the
scope OF the iron and steel business is charging.
The December quarter was a poor for the
trade The earnings OF the United States Steel
Corporation in January the first month of the
new quarter. were only about 81 500 ooo but the
earnings in February much larger and in
March they were nearly s., 100000. According
to all accounts they were larger in April, the
first month OF the current quarter than they
were in March.
All this indicates that sleeping giant is awak
ching. There is vigorous business activity yet
nor, ndccu, any great activity WnatcNcr Dut IL IS
in the air that things are about to happen A note
OF preparation is being sounded everywhere. Last
year witnessed a great crop OF wheat and corn
sold at high prices and the history OF the present
year is seemingly about to repeat that OF the last
in this regard. Even the textile trade, which has
latterly been depressed because OF the condi-
lions that led to the low price OF cotton, has
become cnlivcned. 1t looks very much on the sur
face OF things if the story OF the iron and steel
trade in the future is about to be the same as
it has been recently for cotton namely, a sharp
recovery OF the industry after prices therein have
fallen below the cost of production