The sun., 1919-10-12
Furnaces Fairly Well Sold Up
and Customers Ready for
Limits of Contracts.
NO METAL rs TO SPARE
About As Per Cent. Of Tin
Plate Mills Are Operating
and Sheets Scarce.
Special Despotch to The Sun.

state Furnaces operating are fairly
we'll sold IT'D and are faced by prospects
that their customers will take shipments
TO contract limits and thus there 10 no
iron to spare. Idle furnaces do not
know when they will be able to carry
out contracts. The pig iron market may
work up to slightly higher levels when
the strike Is over. but there Is practically
no talk of higher prices and scarcely
any activity. The market Is quotable at
the same levels as for weeks past and as
follows: Bessemer, s27.eb basic, s2b.7b;
rnaileable. $2e.26 q 27.25 foundry. s2e.7e;
forge. S25.75. Those prices are {. o. b.
Valley furnaces freight to PittsburG
$40.
A careful investigation among inds-
pendent tin plate mills indicates that
about IS per cent Of them are in opera
ton. There Is no great change from
previous reports. although on Thursday
tho twenty-four mill plant at Yorkviils.
Ohio, went down because there have
been gains elsewhere. There IL prac-
tically full operation by the Bethlehem
At Baltimore: Jones & Laughlin at
Woodlawn; the Follansbee Company at
Follansbee; the Standard at Canons-
burg, and the National Enameling at st
Louis.
As to independent sheet mills the
number operating is almost 60 per cent.
Of the number operating Just before the
strike. At that time only 10 per cent. OF
the mills were operating and thus only
n trifle more than AZ PEI cent OF such
mills are working. Sheets are scarce
and all mills that the strike does not
keep from operating ought to be run
ming. But sheet bars are growing
closed sheet mills will soon be idle from
lack of steel instead Of from lack OF
men. The sheet mills are short OF COM
mon labor, having more skilled labor
than they can employ at regular jobs
At one plant two sheet mills less are
being operated than there were week
ago, skilled men being released for other
Jobs.
Scrap Values DO Not suffer.
In the regular market iron and steel
scrap values have not suffered particle
because of the strike, quoting the market
on the basis on which 1t should always
be quoted-between dealers and consul
mers The values are In sense nominal
because consumers are not buying. But,
so far as known. consumers, II they were
buying would not pay prices higher
than those OF just before the strike. On
the other hand, II Is certain that dealers
would not sell regular mill lots at less
than those prices.
Quotations on the market can be con-
sidered as unchanged, but 1t Is under
stood that prices are nominal, represent
ing appraised values rather than actual
transactions.
Tin plate mills operating are expert
encing heavy export inquiry for tin
plate but as their domestic consumers
are anxious to receive all tin plate that
can be made, export inquiry cannot be
given full attention. In the domestic
market nothing Is being done. Con-
Gumers are well covered by contracts
Mills are obligated for ms much as they
can deliver or more. Thus practically
no business Is being done. The Ameri-
can Sheet and Tin Plate Company has
been making steady operating gains
since early In the strike. Its position
Is different from that of the independ-
ents because with the latter they are
simply operating or closed, according to
location, such as the one at Baltimore.
which is working, while that in Warren.
in the Mahoning Valley. is closed. But
the American Sheet and Tin Plate Com
pany has mills in the Shenango and AL
legheny valleys. closed at the start OF
the strike, but which have resumed since
that time. 1t has 48 per cent of its tin
mills running, and thus the average Of
all mills Is about 80 per cent In opera
don @
{, Since the early days of the strike
sheet mill operations by the independents
have not changed very materially. At
plants running full shipments are being
made with facility and equal TO output.
but at a few plants operating in part
shipments sometimes fall short Of pro-
duetion. At closed plants none of the
stock can be shipped. although the COM
pany officials claim that that is of small
consequence as there are no stocks
amounting to any tonnages.
Customers Stand by Mills.
Sheet consumers must be getting very
short OF material. but there is very little
complaint and customers Of mills are not
asking for better shipments. Consumers
seem to feel as much interested in the
strike as do the mills and are aiding in
every possible way to pull the COM
panies through VIGOROUSLY.
Some steel mills which make finished
products are closed entirely and many OF
them crippled for help. Hardly any
steel is for sale because OF orders placed
before the strike and which have not been
filled in addition to regular contracts
OF old line customers. There is an oc-
casional exception with tho export bust
ness. A few sales have been de be-
cause in this branch of the trade 1t Is
necessary to render regular service or
the trade is lost entirely. The foreign
buyer likes to deal with the same seller
continuously, not being in position to
shop around as domestic buyers FIRE.
quently do.
The coke market is recovering from
the shock OF the strike and prices are
less irregular than they were a week
ago. There has been the double infiu-
ence In the last few days OF the de
creased production Of coke and of tho
resumption OF several blast furnaces
which the strike made idle In its early
days. The majority of blast furnaces
made idle by the strike are idle and
there are no predictions as to when they
may be expected to resume. few
furnaces have been put into operation
again. The demand for foundry coke
has not been affected a particle as nc
iron foundry has been affected by tn,
strike or shortage OF pig iron. Coke:
Of regular quality, though not OF the
best, are available at $3.50. which |,
the bottom Of the regular foundry COX,
market. The best brand Of coke, for
merry selling at $3.50 in box cars, are
available in all cases at 25 cents les,
and some can be he'd at 1915, regarded
as an Inside price for best brands
BilI Against Comptroller Lost.
SCRANTON. Pa. Oct ll.-Judge Wit
rner, in the United States Court here TO
day dismissed the bill In equity fled b,
REPRESENTATIVE nVia