The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-22
EXPORT BUSINESS TRADE FEATURE OF !. STEEL CORPORATION Report Shows the Gain Last Year to Have Been Ap- proximately 102Per Cent DOMESTIC GAIN
 FIFTEEN PER CENT Corporation Had Made Careful Prep-
 aration for Flood of Orders
 Which Came Last
Nv HOLLAND

By HOLLAND
 | New York, March 21.-(Specia1. .)-A1- | though all of the statements which are contained in the report of the United States Steel corporations business in 191E are spoken of as revealing an important relation between this industry and the re- vived prosperity of the country, neverthe- less the paragraph which has caused especial comment from those who have carefully studied the report is the brief statement that not at any time in the history of the corporation has it received demands so large in amount for export as was the case in 1915.
 In January of 1915, the export business of the corporation was regarded as the chief factor in preventing very great if not absolute collapse. In the early spring of 1915, Henry P. Davison of J. P. Morgan & Co. spoke of the unparalleled depressed condition in the business of this corpora tion, in the fall of 1914 and in the early weeks of 1915. This condition, MT. Davi- son felt justified in saying, Illustrated the general business depression. He spoke of the condition in January, 1915, as some | thing that would be alarming if there were not hope that an increase of busi- l ness would be observed in the latter part of the winter.
 Others, who learned of MT Davison' s view and of his opinion that increase in . the business of the corporation might be accepted as an infallible indication that the country was beginning to experience change from ebb to flood tide, said that it was the export trade of the corpora tion which was the chief feature of its business in those days of depression AT HOME AND ABROAD The export trade could not have been built up had there not been a highly per- fected organization whose representatives were in all parts of the world and were skilled salesmen. Moreover, a great sales organization of this kind could not have been established had 1t not been for the unifyng under the supreme control of the steel concern of many organizations which were engaged in manufacturing steel and iron commodities.
 The export business continued and in- creased after about March 1 last year. But it ran along side by side with an increase in domestic demands until at In st from domestic markets came demands for the products of this corporation unprece- dented in amount in it's history It was this demand and the fact that neither the United States Steel corporation nor the Independent companies or both combined could fully meet it which entailed the in crease in prices, thereby Illustrating the business law of supply and demand The domestic business increased in 1915, as compared with 1914 by $5SO00, 900, round numbers, and curiously enough the export business increased by almost exactly the same amount or, to be precise, $52, ,379, ,302 nevertheless further comparison shows a remarkable difference For the domestic business was increased by about 15 per cent as compared with the preceding year, although it should be borne in mind that the increases were not observed until about three months of the calendar had passed. On the other hand, the export business increased by 102 per cent and the total value of that export trade was little in excess of $95000,0Oo.
 AN EXCEPTIONAL REPORT
 Many of those who have carefully scru- tinized this report have called attention to an exceptional feature of it. In the autumn of last year, one of those asso- ciated with the management of the asso- citation said that while the policy of the corporation had been steadfastly main tained. so that it accepted no orders for munitions or material of war, neverthe- less it had been possible to trace the ccn- modities sold by the corporation to other manufacturers, and it was discovered that about 62 per cent of them were materials which were afterward used In manufac- turing equipment and material for war That. however. was something with which ch the steel corporation had nothing, to do. Those who have criticized American man ufacturers for accepting orders for mu- nitions and equipment of war on account of the allies cannot criticise the United States Steel corporation and this is spoken of as one of the peculiar features of it's report
 JUSTIFIED PREPARATION
 Suddenly in the spring of last year, this corporation realized that it was about to be flooded with demands for the commod- ities which it manufactures. That was a moment which the management long ago foresaw to be a possibility, and to meet which it began preparations. Some have spoken of the skill and wisdom with which these preparations were made as furnishing an excellent example of wise discrimination between justifiable im- provement and expansion and reckl ess undertakings of this kind. Reckless ex pansion is a rock upon which not a few corporations have foundered. The Steel corporation's expansions were carefully planned. They were paid for out of money that had been earned, and when the rush came in the spring of 1915 the various plants operated by the company were prepared instantly to handle this great demand and to do it promptly and with characteristic efficiency.
 The expectation is that in the year 1916 export business may in the aggregate amount to considerably in excess of s10o.- O00.000 If that proves to be the case, then this single corporation within 12 or 13 years will have exported commodities of a greater money value than the aggre- gate exports in 1903 of commodities of that kind by all of the American steel and iron manufacturing industries. Were the Interna tional Harvester company able to export it's apparatus in 1916 as it un- doubtedly would be able to do were it not for the war the money value of the ex- ports of these two corporations would probably be in excess of $150.00O,0OO.
 Local Pride
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