The sun., 1918-09-09
WAR BOARD TAKING
STEEL INVENTORY
Ascertaining Amount ofStocks
in Hands Of Manufactur-
ing Consumers.
TO AID ESSENTIAL NEEDS
Aims to Speed Up Production
Of Coal and Ooke-Qual-
ity Of Latter Poor.
TO AID ESSENTIAL NEEDS

Special DsspatcA 10 TEE eus.
PIrrsBuRo, Sept s.-The inventory
Of the stocks Of finished rolled steel
products in the hands OF manufacturing
consumers, Just ordered by the War In
dustries Board, has no doubt been
brought about as the last resort to clear
the situation Of tho needs, demands and
filling of orders on the part of mill to
consumer. There are so many different
forms for use by manufa curing consum-
ers that II would be impossible to pick
out any particular item such as could bo
used: as, for instance. merchant bars
nre made in numerous shapes. each OF
| which carries a wide range of sizes.
Pipe does not carry SO many changes,
but there is no lack Of this commodity.
while beams, channels and other struc-
tural shapes. which are in great demand,
! carry a large number of sizes as also
do Sheets Indeed very little steel Is now
! being made up in forms that have been
heretofore distributed to manufacturing
! concerns, as the War Industries Board
! is in urgent need Of shell steel. rails and
plates, and none Of these is in the yards
| of manufacturing consumers There
! fore the inquiry OF tho board win doubt
less unearth quite a lot OF steel mat can
| be used to advantage in the manufacture
Of war material.
The Fuel Administration 10 a0o using
every effort to speed up the produotfon
Of coke and coal. as well as TO give ths
| blast furnaces a better grade OF coke.
| complaint having been made that, the
quality OF coke produced in the last few
months has fallen very low and become
| a detriment to the capacity production
SO much desired by the manufacturer.
With pig iron very scarce. the shortage
Is curtailing the production Of steel to
| considerable extent, which Is coming at
n time when the war estimates OF the
War Industries Board are climbing
every week. having now jumped to
23.000,000 net .tons. 1t Is believed by
steel men the present half years output
will be close to nineteen million tons, as
prospects look good for the autumn cam
| paign- Another feature of steel short
age is the fact that the railroads have
been furnished with good deal OF steel
in the form of rails, freight cars and To-
comotives which should have been done
earlier in the year but for the lack or
labor and cars In the spring. There Is
now a heavier production of rails. and
after a while when the railroad demands
have slowed down. which they undoubt-
eddy will, the situation will not be so
tense as regards steel supplies although
the war demands will show no letup.
ovens Arc Increasing.
Three batteries, 1as ovens each, are
now In operation al the Charlton bypro-
duct coke plant Of the Carnegie Steel
Company, with a fourth battery due In
three weeks, and a NTH later In the
year, so that $40 ovens are in prospect
before the end Of the year. The Sst
ovens In operation are not speeded up to
their full tonnage as yet and the coal
supply is far from abundant. On &C
count Of still more pressing war work 1t
has been impossible to complete the
barges destined to carry coal from the
Connellsville region to the Clarion coke
plant, which has had to depend largely
upon rail shipment Of coal The three
Clarion furnaces are fully supplied by
the present coke output, but there is not
a great deal In addition.
Reports from several large steel Inter
ests show a slightly heavier steel ingot
production in August than In July, an
increase slightly greater than the extra
length In August, which had no holiday
to balance Independence Day in July,
but had an extra Saturday. On tho
whole prospects are about even as to
whether August production of ingo;s
will show a greater OF less rate than
July production. The July rate was
about 42,250,000 gross tons year. June
having shown n maximum rate for tho
year of 43,500OOO tons. Even II the
output were slightly less IN August than
J In July, the showing would not be con-
sidered bad, the curtailment being less
} than usually occurs In the two months.
Production always speeds up in Septem-
Der and October, but this year tho gov
erning element will probably be the sup
ply Of coke, controlling the production
of mig IRON and lately there has devel-