New Britain herald., 1918-09-19
Steel and
 Iron N
The Iron Age today sa.vs!

The Iron Age today says! .
 The close relation betweS
 works output in the United
 and the steady pushing forwar
 American lines in France has b
 emphasized in the past week. Ps Mal l11& Iacturers of barbed wire were caI1nJf to Washington to plan for quickDy in creaslng output, after many weeks of restricted production. The kntire capacity, which is 5O,00O tons a month, may soon be engaged Re- sides American requirements a. new call has come for 60,0O0 tdns for Italy and 65,000 tons Tor Great Bri- tln, and the latter amount may be increased to 9O,OO0 ons.
 One Pittsburgh mill on An urgent order for S0-lb. rails for 4rance re- celved last Wednesday roaed 10000 tons before the end of the week There is an entirely unpfecedented volume of shell steel ordehs; sheets are wanted in large qunhties for trench shelters and rolling kitchens. and in all ways the needs of the American army have been pressed upon the steel mills until for one week the incessant call for ship plates has become an undertone
 There has been a week of meet 1ngs in New York preparatory to the quarterly price conference in Wash 1ngton, now set for Sept. 19 instead of the day preceding. Lake Super for iron ore producers, particularly underground miners, have formulated their argument for a second advance. Eastern iron ore companies have come together for the first time and will be represented at the price table. Wire companies have agreed that barbed wire should be advanced $5 a ton and nails by a like amount. The smaller steel makers who buy their pig iron, and who represent about 10 per cent of the finished material out put in important lines will make a stronger appeal than at any previous conference.
 Foundry pig iron producers decided at their meeting last Thursday that their case must be presented separate ly at Washington and not through the general steel committed Regional prices are being agitated and the Southern furnace companies are cs- pecially insstent.
 At Washington, while the cry still goes up for greater production, there is little enCOurag cement to the pleas for higher prices, though some pro- [ ducers, both of pig iron and finished steel, are claiming that in the last quarter of the year their costs will be 1 higher than present prices
 Attempts to bring steel plants 1 under the rulings of the National War | Labor Board continue and the situa- tiOn is tense, not so much from actual | differences between the manufac- turers and employees as from the eff l forts from without to raise issues 1 that will bring government interfer- cnce.
 Chicago at last reports definite an nouncements of the prices secured by 1 agricultural implement buyers ! through government intervention, in cluding 25 per cent discount on shaft ing and disk steel at 7.5c. An order for 15,O00 tons of rivets is being placed this week for Hog Island. nut as well as rivct ouput iS more complete.
 Jobbors have not been encouraged by the weeks developments as to army requirements. Their B4 classi- fcation gives less and less promise of stock replacements as the revised schedule of imperative shipments to France keeps mounting.
 The price of domestic manganese ore is involved in conference being held today Wednesday, on the of Brazilian ore to be inn ported in the remaining months of the year. If these imports are re-