The Washington herald., 1918-07-20
SCHWAB ISSUES
FIFTY MILLION
Bethlehem Steel Co. Sells
$500, 600, 900 Products
Last Year.

OF the Bethlehem Steel Corporation
to market at this time 80,000.O0o In
notes bearing seven per cent interest.
The Capital Issues Committee asserts
that this issue Is not compatible with
national interest
The War Finance Corporation goes
much farther, clearly intimating that
the proposition VIII be to the direct
ADVANTAGE Of the government This
intimation takes the form of an
agreenent to advance to the Bethle-
lem Steel Corporation 1000, 900. not
quite one-half Of the entire ts5ue,
through a purchase Of notes the ag-
gregate amount Of which is S20,cO0.ooo
Naturally, IL the War Finance Cor
poration buys so. .0o0, 900 Of these notes,
the Capital Issues Committee would
declare that this issue Is not incom-
patible with national interest In
stead OF being not incompatible, the
Ifoposition Is of direct advantage to
tlte government, since the $e0.oOo,Ooo
worth OF the notes which the War
finance Corporation win take viii be
expended so that certain conStruc-
ton which the government has re-
quested may be completed. and fur
thermore so that there may be
through this additional construction
secured a vast amount OF commercial
sieel products of which the govern
ment at this time has urgent need
The large figures, the direct CO.
operation Of the government through
the War Finance Corporation and the
B,agnitude of the manufacturing now
under way at this plant furnishes one
o. the most impressive of ihe Gbtect
lessons which the war has been
teaching.
Immense Gross sales
Here is a corporation whose gross
sales in 1915 were S1l6,O0o.0oo. and two
years later a trifie under 800. 100000,
which nevertheless Is so almost over
NheImed by the requirements the gov
ernment makes upon 1t that It Is
Compelled to borrow money even at
as high a rate as Z per cent IN
order that IL may secure the new
capital which is needed to complete
the construction work and to manu-
facturs the commercial steel products
Of which the government stands N
need.
1t might be thought that a cor
poration whose net income in 1911
was a, 900. 900, and. after allowing for
depreciation and depletion, was lit
tie over S27. .OO0. 900. would be able out
ever proposition was necessary with
out borrowing money. But it should
be remembered that this corporation
was overtaken at the beginning OF
the European war with orders which
in the aggregate were enormous. so
that additional capital was necessary
in order that they could be fully met
Now, or at least as soon as the
money obtained by the. sale Of the
$50. 900, COO of notes Is available, the cor
poration will have a capacity of 5000
40 tons of ingot steel per year, and
this represents almost exactly eight
Per cent Of the country's present ca
pacity. II has shipbuilding facilities
for 100000 dead-weight tons every
year. or almost exactly, one-third Of
the entire steel shfpbuilding capacity
Of the United States. Upon its books
Stand orders for commodities of the
money value Of $65O.OOO,O0o.
1t is due entirely to the magnitude
Of the operations OF this corporation
that it has been found necessary to
borrow money and to sell stock so
that needed capital can be provided.
The total of fresh capital secured
since the middle OF 1917 is SOS, ,Oo0, 900.
For the company sold for cash within
IS months s45.0o0. 900 worth OF new stock
and 1t is now with the aid of the gov
ernment and an underwriting syndi-
cate securing s., ,e00. 900. represented by
seven per cent gold notes.
A wonderful Growth.
Who would have thought when
Charles NJ. Schwab. after his COM
Daratiyely brief service as president
u the United States Steel Corpora
ton. took hold of the Bethlehem steel
property with intent to see what he
could do with il. and with the hope
that he could make it one of the
most important steel manufacturing
plants in the United States. that with
in ten or twelve years he and his
associates would be able to upbuild
and expand. the property 50 that the
corporation was able to sell in 1911
nearly 500. .O00, 900 worth of its COM
modities and to report net earnings
Of 54.000,0Oo in round numbers, and net
income, exclusive of depreciation and
depletion. Of $4,000. .O00i
These things Mr.. Schwab and his
associates have accomplished. Mr..
SChwab himself Is now in the service
"f the government, and. he could at
ford to undertake such service because
he has established as assistants very
able man who have been inspired by
his example and who have been able
to inculcate- the spirit which Is char
acteristic of Mr.. Schwab throughout
the vast body of employees.
Although this company now has
capacity equal to one third of the
entire steel ship-building capacity
Of the United States, nevertheless
Mr.. Schwab II now seeking by per-
sonal direction and by earnest en-
deavor to infue his own energy and
enthusiasm throughout all the ship
building plants of the United States,
so that by the end Of this year the
United States will have established
q new record. sure to become ira
ditional. for the magnitude and
sWiftness with which the building
up OF q great ship building activity
has been accomplished.
, After the war Is over Mr.. Schwah
and his associates will presumably
hnd abundant means for fully utiI-
izing the great and new plants
which the corporation has establish
ed since the war began. Mr.. Schwab
Is an enthusiastic believer in tho
ability Of the United States to main
tain and greatly to increase our for
eign trade after the war Is ended.
and much of this trade will be of a
Kind which will be represented by
demands made by other nations for
the commodities manufactured by
Air. Sehwsb's corporation.
q. HOLLAND.