The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-17
ROADS ORDER $4,000
MORE TONS OF RAILS
Advance in Steel Prices Fails
to Reduce tho Buying
Demand.

The rail- mills have secured additional
contracts for 10000 tons Of standard
and light section rails from domestic
railroads. including $500 tons for the
Grand Trunk. 1880 tons for the Eric.
1000 tons for the Louisville. Henderson
and 81, Louis Railroad and 1000 sddi-
ttona for the Cincinnati, Hamilton and
Dayton Railroad. All Of these orders
have been placed with the Steel Cor
poration subsidiaries al Pittsburs and
Chicago. and II IL understood that some
miscellaneous lots are pending In the
South. Industrial DAD In the central
West have also placed additional con.
tracts for about 5000 tons Of light Sec
ton which will be rolled by the Lorain
Steel Company. a branch Of the Car
nevte Steel Company. II 10 possible that
some OF these rails may be delivered In
the summer. but II will be exceptional.
as capacity is we'll sold into the fall
months. II Is expected that additional
contracts for medium section rails will
he Closed for export, especially FOR ship
ment To Russia. as soon as II is possible
to secure freight room o ocean boats.
Efforts OF the steel companies con.
tinue to be largely centred upon produce
ton and distribution rather than upon
sales. as previously noted. The volume
OF new business. however. Is still Of
i"iHV WV lipuS. VIC OTutTS COIll1R
mostly unsolicited. The demand for
small lots Of bars. plates and shapes
for shipment from warehouse IL espe-
clally active. Advances In prices appar-
emily have no effect In checking con
sumption. Since the Carnegie Steel
Company last week advanced warehouse
prices on plate to 3t,c. and on bars and
structural shapes 10 2.7Oc. per ID. the
demand has increased rather than other
wise. Some Of the large dealers who
make a speciality of selling to the Job
bling trade ind warehouse stocks re-
duced to a low point and great diff
Guilty encountered TO replenish supplies.
Fabricated structural steel contracts
continue unusually light and tho indi-
cation Is that February contracts will
aggregate considerably less than 1907
900 tons. Indeed II will be surprising II
cont for buildings and bridges call
for $4,000 tons of shapes during the cur
rent Month The Erie liailroad has
awarded a contract for a number of
small bridges. mainly for lines in 1ndi-
ana. to the American Bridge Company.
About 800 tons of fabricated shapes
are required. II Ia understood that che
American Bridge Company will furnish
$500 tons W structural steel for the city
dock TO 10 constructed at tho foot OF
West ~Forty-sixth street. dependent upon
the awaI being made to ". +. Plan 4
Co. who submitted m lowest tender
last week. The Jones 4 LauEhlin Steel
Company will fabr!cate tho 400 tons Of
steel shapes for the immigration sta
ton at Philadelphia for the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company.
The Smith Il CafYery Company have
received an order for 23J ton OF struc-
tura. steel for an extension TO colleSe
I h,Nl H..- ~ IT, ~
versity. The Heddeu Iron Construction
| Company will fabricate $50 tons OF
steel for GARAGES. half Of which will be
used in the building Of the Nicolini
garage a. II -chester. Mass. and the
~Gryzndsch garage at Aston. Mass.
The John Klein Iron Works will furnish
200 tons uf steel for the Palermo garage
To H. constructed at :l9 Fast Sixty
seventh street. The Communinaw steel
Company will supply 100 ton Of fabri-
Gated shapes for the Hackensack. ". j..
post office. Another interesting con-
tract. placed with the Hay Foundry and
Iron Company. IL for the Federal Re-
serve Bank. which will be located In the
Equitable Building Of this city. II IL
understood that the steel will he mainly
used in reconstructing the floor of the
present building. II IL estimated that
about 100 tons OF steel in all will be
required.
II Is an interesting fact that moro
| than 10 per cent. Of the fabricated struc.
tural steel orders placed in January was
derived from small projects. each of
which called for less than 200 tons. In
| deed. most OF the individual orders called
for less than 100 tons. In not Il few In
stances the steel has been withdrawn
from warehouses. as 1t is almost impos-
s.hle to obtain early shipments from
the mills. Since the first of February
probably Is per cent. Of the orders
placed have been Of the same char
acter and there are now numerous in
| quiries for lots running from 10 to 100
tons each for building improvements to
be made even outside OF the metropoli-
tan district.
A recent report from London con-
corning armor plate MANUFACTURED in
the United States created conside rable
amusement as we'll as interest In the
steel trade here. According to tho Lon
don report it Is - physical impossibility
for the United States to carry out the
naval programme advocated by Secre-
tary Daniels because of the inposslbility
Of securing an ample supply of metallic
tungsten. which. II is alleged. is indis-
pcnsable to the manufacture OF the best
grade OF armo plate and naval guns.
II seems too bad to puncture such a
good story. but It may he news ever In
this country that neither the Bethlehem
Steel Company nor the Carnegie Steel
| Company uses tungsten to manufacture
armor plate, and the armor plate pro-
duced In the United States Is equal to
any manufactured In Europe,
II Is presumed that the Midvalc Steel
Company also uses tho same practice as
do the other American manufacturers OF