New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1919-02-27
Steel and
Iron MARI
The Iron Age Says:

Steel products do not looks
favor on the proposed scheme Oh
secretary of commerce to ''stab53
prices on q lower plane. AS st
before, it is more than matter7
price that is holding back busine
Buying of copper in the face of Oh
peated cuts has been negligible. d.
The industry believes that readjusA1
ment should be allowed to work itseIkA
out in a natural way. Slow though
the necessary liquidation of war laborg
| wage scales must be, what is re-
garded as the step likely to give
quickest and most direct results in q
relinquishing of government controls
of food products and reduction of
living costs beginning in the kitchen.
Current demands for mill products
nave been larger in the aggregate
than commonly appreciated. Those
plants which have had to shut down
outright or run in alternate weeks
have worked off the back log of &C
cumulated orders and others even
where 65 per cent. of capacity is en-
gagged are now almost wholly on new
bookings, which keep three to eight
weeks work ahead of the mills. 1t
is those mills which are equipped
more particularly to turn out railroad
material or are not adapted to supply
ing the automotive trade which en-
phasize the light volume of buying.
Stocks in hands of producers are
low. but distribution has not been af-
fected by manufacturing consumers,
| notably the agricultural implement
makers. Heavy buying is therefore
not to be expected in the immediate
future from such sources and it is
argued that this distribution should
not be embarrassed by injecting into
it drastic price cutting questions.
The governments price reducing
plans are meanwhile being developed
with the aid of arguments for CO.
operation and consultation of leaders
of industry, which are strikingly
similar to those denounced in past
years as illegal.
Under the free play Of buying and
selling tactics, there is further evil
dence of price shading. IN the matter
of 5000 tons of plates, part of them
for export to Canada. a cut Of 81 per
ton was made by three makers. Hard
steel bars have been sold at a con-
cession of So. Recent sales at IS be-
low the market for billets and sheet
bars have been for small lots
Bolts and nuts, for which demand
has fallen off, have been moved at
about 5 per cent. reduction, though
firmly held in some market centers.
Rivets are now quoted at 81 per ton
below last weeks levels. Several
kers of tool steel have reduced
prices 10c per pound.
Several bids on 10000 kegs of wire
nails for the government all named
$3.50 the only variations being due to !
the figuring on the freight charges !
The cut mentioned last week appears
to have been named on sticks out Of
jobbers' warehouses.
A new step in the governments
policy as to prices has been taken |
quietly in the naming by the director
of sales of the war department Of q
price below which the government |
will not negotiate for the sale of Ger |
tain kinds Of scrap.
Evidence accumulates that large
tonnage of semi finished and finished
material sold for export during the
war and not shipped on account Of in
ability to obtain vessels is being held
in New York, and on a large part OF !
this heavy warehouse charges have /
been piled up. In the case of 1000
tons of wire rods bought for France, |
it is stated that the price paid plus
warehouse charges amounts to nearly
double the present market price.