Evening star., 1942-01-18
National Drive
For Steel Scrap
To Open Soon
CiviIiuns Who Fuce
Metal Shortage Will
Be Asked to Help
BY FRANK MAcMILLEN,


Wide World Business writer.
NEW YORK, Jan. 17.-Sometime
soon your local newspaper. your
public officials, and. ultimately,
Boy Scout or a member of a citizens
committee, will ask you to gather
up for the arms effort the old metal,
especially iron and steel. which lies
about your property be it farm or
city home.
Word came from Washington this
week that q country wide drive for
scrap for the roaring steel furnaces
was in the making, even while steel
centers, here and there, reported
shutting down Of a few facilities be-
cause the supply Of vital scrap was
short.
But, steel men here said, every
citizen ought to realize that he Is
helping his own situation as a con-
sumer Of many kinds of steel prod
ucts, as we'll as the armament ef-
fort, in responding to any general
drive to collect the country's enor-
nous hidden reserves of iron and
steel waste.
For, steel statisticians said, neither
now nor probably for year or more
to come, would any shortage Of scrap
metal cut directly into the forseeable
defense effort.
Civilians Affected.
It will, however, slice sharply into
the ever -dwindling amount of steel
left to make important products for
civilian use.
Competent steel authorities here
believe the country's ability to pro-
duce the basic metal of war in the
current year may be 1000, 900 tons or
so less than 194l's total of 83, ,OOO, 900
tons. and some Washington esti-
mates have set the deficit in produc-
ton at 100000 to 5000 900 tons, all
for lack of scrap
Normally an open-hearth (steeI-
making furnace Is charged with
about Is per cent pig iron (refned
iron ore) and SIS per cent scrap
steel. The resulting mixture. with
addition of small amounts of other
materials, Is melted and cooled to
become ingots, blocks of 81 to 18
tons Of raw steel
But even last year, when the pinch
on the scrap supply was beginninA
to be felt, the mills had about re-
versed their proportions of pig iron
and scrap; pig iron was about S.
per cent Of the steel-making ma
, .~1'ial, scrap As per cent.
That method of substitution can
not be carried much farther, steel
men agreed, for the pig-iron pro-
ducing capacity of the mills is al
ready about fully absorbed.
SO scrap apparently, at least for
some time, must take up the slack.
| Three Causes Seen.
The lack Of the vital waste steel
to pour back into the furnaces has
had several causes, among which
authorities list:
l. The country's steel industry has
been running now for over 16 months
at 95 per cent or more Of capacity,
using all materials at terrific rate.
2. Much scrap has been exported
for several years, a considerable part
| of it to Japan.
3. The collection of scrap, mostly
done by independent junk dealers,
has not grown in proportion to the
rising demand. In recent months,
steel men think, this has been due
to the Government "ceiling"-S2o q
ton at Pittsburgh for the No.
grade-which gives the junk man q
profit If he is near a steel mill, but
no inducement to collect at all In
whole areas Of the country where
freight rates eat up his profit In
fact. there actually are no scrap
steel dealers in many parts of the
country remote from the steel cen.
ters.
Assuming that steel mems predic.
tions are right. and that 1912 pro-
duction of ingots will be only little
less than last years, this is what the
picture will look like:
About 92500,000 tons of pig iron
and scrap will be dumped into the
furnaces there is about a 10 per
cent loss of material burned up" in
process.
OF that, about 81 900 900 tons will
be pig iron: Al 500 900 will be scrap,
If that much can be scared up.
Recoveries Smaller.
The steel mills themselves would
normally supply about $4,000 900
tons Of the scrap, through recoveries
from their processes, worn out ma
chinery, and the like. This year the
amount probably will be less. for
most mills are working on heavy"
steels now for war orders. and scrap
recoveries are smaller than when
making light steels.
| That leaves the crux of the prob
lem the 1880 900 tons or more Of
scrap which is normally purchased
in the open market.
Responsible steel men here do
not believe the open market will
provide that much scrap in the year
ahead, under present conditions and
at present prices.
Said one steel authority frankly:
There is only one hope for get
ting enough scrap to keep all the
mills going somewhere near capacity
flor the next year, and that is to
appeal to the country on q patriotic
basis. and to set up machinery with
Federal financial backing to get 1t
to the mills"
To the average citizen that
means: Look around the cellar and
attic, the barn-yard and the back
pasture; then you'll be ready when
your local authorities tell you what