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20 ee MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. REVIEW OF AMERICAN IRON TRADE, In a general review of the American iron trade the Bulletin of the American Iron & Steel Association gives the same con- servative note of warning that was given in these columns re- cently--that the wise man will not be unprepared for reaction. The general tone of the article, however, is confident. It says: "Tn our last annual report, which was printed in June, 1902, the opinion was expressed that, 'while a reaction from the great prosperity that now prevails is certain to come some day, from causes which no prophet can now foretell, it seems reasonably certain that the year 1902 will close under as favorable industrial conditions as signalized its opening and that they will be con- tinued far into 1903 and perhaps longer.' The reasons for this hopeful opinion were given in detail, particularly those which related to the iron trade. It is a pleasure to be able to say that the extraordinary prosperity which prevailed a year ago has con- tinued to the present time, and that it bids fair to continue for some time to come without serious interruption. No wise man will undertake to set metes and bounds to this prosperity. Upon the other hand a wise man will not neglect to observe the signs of overtrading or overproduction or be unprepared for a busi- ness reaction when it comes. Our annual reports during the past thirty years have chronicled many financial panics and visitations of hard times. Prosperous as this country is today and has been for several years it is not so prosperous that it can digest all the speculative schemes that are continually being offered to the credulous and unthinking. Nor is there room or excuse for bus- iness enterprises, otherwise meritorious, that are projected far in advance of the wants of the present generation. "The interruptions to the general prosperity in 1902 included a general strike in the anthracite coal region and the inability of many leading railroads to promptly handle all the freight that was offered to them. No other strike of the year was either general or of far-reaching effect. The anthracite strike, which virtually closed all the anthracite coal mines of Pennsylvania, began on May 12, 1902, and lasted until Oct. 23 of the same year. when there was a genereal resumption of work. During these twenty-three weeks little anthracite coal was mined and about 140,000 workmen were idle. The workmen lost about $25,- 000,000 in wages, the operators lost about $46,000,000 in sales, and the railroads lost about $28,000,000 in freight charges. 'These were serious losses. The shipments of anthracite coal in 1902 were 22,307,711 gross tons less than in 1901. The scarcity of an- thracite coal from May to October greatly restricted the oper- ations of eastern iron and steel manufacturers. "The railroad trouble mentioned was also of.a serious char- acter. Soon after the present boom in the iron trade got fairly under wav at the beginning of 1899 it became manifest that the railroads which haul most of the raw materials and finished pro- ducts of iron and steel were lacking in car and locomotive equip- ment, so that much of the freight to and from our iron and steel works could not be promptly shipped and delivered. Notwith- standing the efforts of railroad managers to meet this difficult) by ordering new rolling stock, the car and locomotive shortage continued and manufacturers' troubles increased. In Ig02, with thousands of new cars and locomotives in service, a fresh diff- culty presented itself, or, rather, a complication that had pre- viously existed assumed an acute stage--there were not enough tracks and yard facilities to accommodate the increased rolling stock. 'Throughout the greater part of the year and until March of the present year the congestion of freight on many lines of railroad, especially those which run into Pittsburg or which tap the Connellsville coke region, was a matter of daily occurrence. These lines had absolutely broken down. As one result of the inability of the railroads to promptly move coke, iron ore, pig iron and finished products many consumers of iron and steel were compelled to send abroad orders that could other- wise have been filled at home. Another result was, of course, a smaller production of some forms of iron and steel in 1902 than would have been possible under more favorable conditions. Blast furnaces were often banked for many days at a time because a sufficient supply of coke or iron ore could not be obtained, and the mills were often operated on short time because they could not obtain a sufficient supply of pig iron or billets. From this condition there was but little relief until the spring of 1903. 'The extraordinary efforts of railroad managers to meet in every way the increased demand upon their roads have at last resulted in the virtual ending of the congestion we have described. Other industries were but slightly affected by this congestion. "Tn May and June, 1902, so general was the opinion that the railroad managers would be able thereafter to supply the wants of the mills and furnaces, and thus enable our manufacturers to meet with promptness the extraordinary home demand for their products, that a further advance in prices, which had previously been of moderate proportions, was not generally expected. But stable conditions did not continue because the railroad problem was not solved. Prices for most products rose during the re- mainder of the year, but there was no sensational advance except for Connellsville coke, for some shipments of which raw material fabulous prices were paid. The present price of coke is $3.50 a net ton, which is somewhat higher than a year ago. 'The prices of iron ore for 1903 range from 25 cents to $1 a ton higher than in 1902. But the tendency has been toward lower figures since the close of 1902 for many iron and steel products, because, through improved railroad facilities and a steadily increasing [June 28, capacity of production, orders can now be more promptly filled than a few months ago. : "As already mentioned, there was an increased demand in 1902 for foreign iron and steel products to meet a deficiency in the home supply. There was also a further decline in that year in our exports of these products. With an active home demand and higher prices this decline in our exports was inevitable. The increase in our imports of iron and steel had indeed com- menced in 1899 and the decrease in our exports in 1901, but this turn in the tide became more marked in 1902 as the months passed. In the years immediately preceding 1899 our imports of iron and steel had greatly declined and until 1900 our exports had greatlv increased; now the conditions were reversed. The foreign value of our imports of iron and steel in 1902 exceeded that of any year since 1891. In 1902 we imported 625,383 tons of pig iron, spiegeleisen, and ferro-manganese, 109,510 tons of scrap iron and scrap steel 63,522 tons of rails and 289,318 tons of steel billets, bars, structural steel, etc. At the present moment, the indications are that in 1903 the imports of iron and steel will greatly decline as compared with 1902, but there is slight prob- ability that our exports will increase. The home demand still taxes the capacity of our iron and steel works in all lines. "Although, as has been explained, there was much interrup- tion in 1002 to the continuous operation of our iron and steel works, the year's production of iron and steel was not only larger than that of any preceding year, but it was very much larger, as was also the production of iron ore and coke. The shipments of Lake Superior iron ore in 1902 amounted to 27,571,- I2I gross tons, as compared with 20,589,237 tons in 1901, and the shipments of Connellsville coke amounted to 14,138,740 net tons, against 12,609,949 tons in 1901. 'The production of pig iron in 1902 amounted to 17,821,307 gross tons against 15,878,354 tons in 1901; of Bessemer steel to 9,138,363 tons, against 8,713,302 tons; and of open-hearth steel to 5,687,729 tons, against 4,656,309 tons. It will not be many years, probably only one or two years, until this country will make one-half of all the pig iron and one-half of all the steel that the world produces. "Labor in the iron and steel industries appears to be con- tented with its rewards, but in some other industries there is more or less discontent. In the iron trade, in the mining of coal, in the manufacture of coke, and in railroad transportation there have been material advances in wages in the last year." CUNARD LINE WITHDRAWS FROM AGREEMENT. The Cunard Steamship Co. has served the preliminary notice of its withdrawal from the North Atlantic passenger agreement. The line had already announced its intended withdrawal from the freight agreement and there is now little doubt that the company intends to seek business where and as it wishes without regard to the rates or sailings of other lines. There is no reason to be- lieve, however, that a rate war is contemplated. The reason for the action of the Cunard Line, as given pv practical men, is that the present service of the line is maintained by slower boats than the best of the German and some other vessels and that the line finds itself obliged to make concessions on. passenger' business. The International Mercantile Marine Co., it is pointed out, is handicapped in precisely the same way as the Cunard Line in bidding for the bulk of the year-round traffic. It has endeavored to maintain its prices relatively as high as those of the crack German steamships with the result tnat the latter have enjoyed the cream of the traffic. The new steamers of the White Star Line have proved exceedingly popular, their steadiness and com- fort especially commending them to summer tourists unaccus- tomed to ocean travel, but it is said that their other vessels have not fared well, while the decline in freights has seriously affected earnings. A report that the shipping combination was to undergo reorganization financially, however, met with instant denial at the offices of J. P. Morgan & Co. Meanwhile the Cunard company is strengthening its position. It has given an order to Jonn Brown & Co., Clvdebank, for a steamer 650 ft. long, which, while being as steady as the Celtic and Cedric, will have superior speed. Then there are the two steamships, to be built with governmental aid, which are to have a speed of 26 knots. George J. Gould, who has the turbine yacht Emerald under charter, is so pleased with her that he has decided to have a larger steamer that will better suit his requirements. Before placing his order, however, he will wait until the Lorena, the tur- bine steamer built for A. L. Barber, reaches this country. Mr. Barber has offered the vessel to Mr. Gould. The Emerald was built for Sir Christopher Furness and has done all that was ex- pected of her. She is not speedy but is steady and free from vi- bration. The turbines make no perceptible vibratory motion at 15 knots. The Tarantula, which was purcnased by Mr. W. K. Van- derbilt, is to come across the Atlantic shortly. International Mercantile Marine shares have fallen to 25 for the preferred and 7 for the common. The fluctuation 'in these shares is greater than that which has occurred in the shares of any of the various shipping companies. All of them show some decline but not such marked precipitation. Cunard shares have declined 4 points since 1900, Elder-Dempster 2 points, P. & O. 9 points, Allan Line 1 point and Royal Mail 16 points; while In- ternational Mercantile Marine preferred has declined 50 per cent. and common 75 per cent.