The Iron Age 1911-10-19: Vol 88 Iss 16

_ THE TRON = Established 1855 New York, October 19, 191 AGE — VoL. 88: No. 16 DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 239 West 39th Street, New York Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter Subscription Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 : 9.50 rma Oar Fore ate, S00 a amen” Usa u , none % s ’ ao os the wrapper of your paper. ‘or payment will be shown by extending the W. H. Taylor, - - - President and T 1. A. Mekeel, - . - - - First Vice-President Harold S. Buttenheim, - - Second Vice-President and Secretary | - Manager Assistant Manager Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building Pittsburgh, Park Buliding Cleveland, Ametican Trust Building Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Building CONTENTS. The Trend of Railroad Revenues..........cscseeeeeeeeereees 834 Overhead Expense and Cost Systems Correspondence What the Sherman Law Forbids Armor Plate Decision The Iron and Metal Markets Pittsburgh and Vicinity Industrial Notes Rail Branding and Heat Number Stamping = a Steel Company’s New Officers ersona Obituary The Connellsville Coke Trade National Implement and Vehicle Association The Lackawanna Steel Company’s Earnings...............-... 851 New Vessels for Panama atid Pacific Trade The New York Electrical Exposition Western Steel Corporation Receivership Steel _Works Labor Conditions The Frontier Iron Works Adds New Lines The Great Northern Iron Ore Lease The Machine Tool Dealers’ Meeting The National Machine Tool Builders Hagan Sheet and Pair Furnace Contracts Bretaud Steel Converter Installations The Lake Superior Iron & Chemical Company The American Shipbuilding Company’s Report Dodge Bearings in Long Service ze Storage Battery for the Steel Mill New Shuster Riveter Lamp Hangers for Mill Lights he Electric Lamp Combination Dissolved que Michigan Steel Company ane American Steel Foundries’ Earnings ory Illumination August H. Tuechter on European Conditions American Iron and Steel Institute The Besly Disk Grinder the hw Drying Oven nhe Philade phia Foundry Foremen ana ee Titaniferous Ores Used in the United States 4 merican Supply and Machinery Manufacturers’ / wood City, Pa., Gets a N rger Steel Storage Bins ee te tety Can for Gasoline table Electric Bench Drill McGowan Duplex Pump.... e Twisting Machine ‘te Giant Serial Ta Tisco Manganese rial Camera Louisville Steel & Iron Company : Testing Society’s Year Book ible Steel Company of America e Caldwell Air Compressor ¢ Cino Iron Bod licial Decisions of Interest to Manufacturers de PO sh cai huud sands dan cand and onedings seesees 873 . Machinery Markets 874 to 881 v'Tools and Appliances... 05... ds. dws.cst cence wee Wed e& + 881 Competition Growing Sharper Further Decline in Prices of Finished Products, Though Volume Keeps Up—Reduction in Tin Plates Active competition is steadily crowding prices of finished steel closer to the cost line. Any satisfaction manufacturers get from the sustained volume of cur- rent business is tempered by concern over diminishing profits. An important development of these conditions is that steel manufacturers in the Central West are ask- ing the railroads which haul their raw materials to adjust freight rates on these to bring them more in line with existing prices for finished products. The movement is of far-reaching import. It involves the long established rates on ore from Lake Superior mines to upper lake docks; but what is of even more significance is its bearing upon the relative ‘competi- tive ability of mills in the Pittsburgh, Valley and Wheeling districts, on the one hand, as against those in the Chicago, Buffalo and other districts. It brings up also the question of the relative advantages of the Steel Corporation, with its ore-carrying roads leading to upper lake and from lower lake ports, and the in- dependent steel manufacturers who pay existing freight rates. It would seem that this question of freight reduc- tion is just now given precedence with a number of steel companies over that of wage reduction, which only recently was being seriously considered. Wage readjustments seem less imminent than was the case a few weeks ago, when the market, so far as prices are concerned, was in better condition than it is to- day. The scarcity of labor in the coke regions is well known. There are signs in some iron and steel works districts that much of the surplus labor of a few months ago has been absorbed. The large number of vessels placed with Eastern shipyards is in part due to low prices for steel. The Maryland Steel Company in contracting this week to build four steamers for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company has filled its ways for nearly eighteen months. One and possibly two other vessels are planned by the same company for the Panama Canal. The New York Shipbuilding Company has taken three large steamers for the oil trade, and two vessels for the coastwise trade are pending. Pittsburgh mills have carried off nearly all the plates and shapes for the recent vessel lettings in the East. Steel for Section 12 of the Lexington avenue exten- sion of the New York Subway, 5000 tons, was placed this week. That for Section 15 will follow at once, while four sections remain to be let. The two bridges let by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, 4700 tons, show to what depth prices have gone, the successful bidder naming 2.05c. erected. Several railroads, ineluding;the Pennsylvania and -—- are, weer see et oe Mg Ma , ‘ oa se Dineen a ate oe * . ae € ren. te. Sen 834 THE IRON the B. & O., are figuring on rail requirements for 1912, which are now expected to be somewhat less than for this year. No change from the $28 basis for Bessemer rails is looked for. More railroad bridge work is projected and considerable steel car business is being figured on under the inducement of very low prices. The New York Central is taking bids on 1200 frogs, an unusually large single contract. Even at 1.10c. at Pittsburgh for steel bars, forward contracting is not heavy. Leading buyers are covered to July, 1912, and as the market declines these con- tract prices are readjusted in monthly settlements. The chief formal reduction in prices this week was that in tin plates from $3.60 to $3.40 per base box. This is $9 a ton lower than the 1907 level, which is in line with reductions in other products. Meat packers and other important consumers are expected to contract soon for the first half of next year. Pig iron markets have made no response in prices to the favorable statement concerning stock reduc- tions in September. In the Central West, where stocks declined very considerably, the weakness has been most pronounced. Southern No. 2 iron has sold at $9.75, Birmingham, for early shipment, and iron for the first quarter can be had at $10. Northern furnaces are more aggressive and lower prices have been made by Buffalo and northern Ohio furnaces. In steel making pig iron the largest pending busi- ness is 6000 tons of basic for eastern Pennsylvania delivery in the first quarter of 1912. Bessemer iron is weaker to the extent that at $14.50, the recent price for the last quarter, iron can now be had fer the first half of 1912. ——_+-+o—___ Steel. Makers Move for Lower Freights Manufacturers of iron and steel in the Pittsburgh, Mahoning and Shenango Valley and Wheeling districts are taking up with the railroads which haul their raw materials the question of adjusting freight rates on these so that they shall be more in line with existing prices for finished products. It would probably be more accurate to say that the movement is also as much concerned with bringing the rates on iron ore, coal and coke in the districts named into line with rates on the same materials shipped to other districts and, in some cases, from districts other than those which supply the iron and steel manufacturers of the Central West with their raw materials. It is stated that conferences have been held by important inde- dependent steel manufacturers and that the result of their deliberations will now be brought to the attention of railroad officers. The railroads chiefly interested are the Baltimore & Ohio, the Pennsylvania, the Lake Shore, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, the Bessemer & Lake Erie and the ore carrying roads of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The data gathered in support of the contention of the steel manufacturers show a considerable inequality in existing rates on iron ore, coal and coke. Com- parisons have been made between the rate per ton per mile on iron ore between Lake Erie ports and the Valley, Pittsburgh and Wheeling districts, and the rates on iron ore from Lake Erie to more remote pro- ducing districts. Other comparisons have been made between the ton-mile rate on Pennsylvania coal and coke to furnaces in eastern Ohio and western Penn- sylvania and the rates on Pennsylvania coal and coke to the Buffalo district, and on West Virginia and AGE October 19 iQIr Virginia coal and coke to the Chicago district. lese show, it is stated, that as against 8 mills per ti per mile for assembling ore and fuel at some plants :) the Valley, Pittsburgh and Wheeling districts, other djs. tricts have rates as low as 4% mills per ton-mile The movement referred to is like that whi pig iron manufacturers in the South have recently under taken for the lowering of freight rates on pig iron from Southern furnaces to Northern districts, in eing immediately prompted by the low levels to which prices have fallen. For some time, also, as already referred to in these columns, steel manufacturers jin the Central West have been considering seriously the necessity of a readjustment of labor costs. Thus jar, however, no wage reductions have been made either at the blast furnaces or the steel works of the Central West. The indications are, moreover, that such reduc- tions are even less likely to be made now than was the case a few weeks ago, when prices of finished steel products were from $1 to several dofars a ton higher than they are to-day. Every effort has been made by works managers to increase the efficiency of present operating forces, and some slight reductions in num- bers have been made, particularly in the various mechanical lines having to do with maintenance. So far as the main bodies of workmen at the various steel plants are concerned, however, they are at present quite well employed and no marked surplus of labor exists in the chief iron and steel manufacturing cen- ters. The attention of manufacturers has thus shifted rather toward freight readjustment than to labor readjustment. In view of the important interests involved and the intricacy of the problem of rate making, as well as the long history of existing conditions, it is a ques- tion whether the readjustment sought will come in the near future. It involves a new relation between raw-material rates in the various districts which, once established, would extend considerably beyond the life of present prices for finished product. It is stated that what is sought is a voluntary rearrangement of rates by the railroad companies, and that at present there is no plan for taking the matter before the Interstate Commerce Commission. ee The Trend of Railroad Revenues The Bureau of Railway Economics, maintained at Washington by the railroads, has issued its bulletin of railroad earnings for the month of July. Its reports are compiled from the same data as those of the Interstate Commerce Commission, but for a given month its report is made somewhat earlier than that of the Commission, probably because it does not walt for reports from some minor roads. The showing of rail operations per mile of road, the only fair basis of comparison of railroad operations, is as follows, with the difference from the preceding July indicated: July, 1911. Change. Total operating revenue.... $088 —$22 Total operating expenses.... 671 — 17 Net operating revenue....... $317 — $5 A comparison with July, 1909, is not possible, as when figures for that month were compiled the Bureau’s practice was to include roads over 500 miles long, whereas now it includes roads over 50 miles long, and on the latter -basis the general averages ar¢ slightly decreased, because the short roads ordinarily have lighter operations than the average. ctober 19, IQII The July comparison is a favorable one from the ewpoint of railroad economy, as there is a greater lative decrease in operating expenses than in total perating revenue, The total revenue decreased $22, 0.218 per cent., while the operating expenses de- reased $17, or 0.248 per cent., which left a decrease net operating revenue of $5, or 0.155 per cent. Normally it is expected that expenses will decrease iess rapidly than total revenue. . Since January revenues per mile have been falling ehind those of a year earlier; but the maximum loss was in March, each month since then showing a nar- rowing of the gap, until for July the loss from the previous July is very small in total revenue and almost negligible in net revenue. The year 1910, however, with which these comparisons are being made, com- pared very favorably with 1909 as regards total reve- nue but unfavorably as regards expenses; total reve- nues increased greatly, but operating expenses almost as much, so that the gain in net revenue was trifling. In general, then, the showing just made for July last indicates that the new fiscal year is running substan- tially as well as the average of the two preceding fiscal years. Taking the reports of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which antedate those of the Bureau of Railway Economics, comparisons can be made as far back as July 1, 1907, when the uniform accounting system went into effect. Last July does not compare altogether favorably with July, 1907, but the decline in total operating revenue is only $24, and the loss in net only $17. Compared with July, 1908, last July’s showing is very good indeed. Making a general com- parison of last July with the average monthly results in four preceding years, there is a very substantial gain in total revenue and also a very substantial gain in net revenue. The favorable showings just made mean more than the bare figures indicate, particularly from the iron trade’s viewpoint of regarding the railroads as a cus- tomer rather than as a public servant. These com- parisons are all per mile of line, which makes the railroad viewpoint, but comparisons of total operations must show very substantial gains, because each year the total railroad mileage of the country increases. (he Interstate Commerce Commission’s report for July, 1907, covered operations of 210,158 miles of road; that for June, 1911, covered 243,732 miles, the, increase in four years, less one month, being 15 per cent. Even lid the record of operations per mile of line remain stationary in that period, the total of railroad opera- tions would increase; more traffic would be handled, more train miles would be run and more rails would wear out. It may be added that statistics of the total freight ton-mileage compiled over a long period of years show that continuous growth in traffic is the almost invari- ible rule. In the period of 29 years from 1882 to i910, fiscal years, inclusive, there were only four vears, 1894, 1895, 1908 and 1909, in which all previous records for freight movement were not broken. The total increase in ton-mileage in the 29 years was 553 per cent., which represented an average gain, one car over the preceding, of 6.9 per cent., or an average ‘i one goubling in every period of between 10 and ‘1 years. The iron trade now fully realizes that rail- ‘oad consumption of iron and steel through the wear- ng out of material is much larger than formerly, vhile consumption for new erection is less important THE IRON AGE 835 than it was in the boom periods in which there was heavy building of new road; and it may be regarded as certain that with very slight backsets the wearing out of railroad material will continue to grow, through almost constant increase in the total volume of traffic. Overhead Expense and Cost Systems The theory on which the accepted cost systems of to-day are based has for its backbone the attempt to recover. through the selling price the expenses en- tailed in manufacture plus a legitimate profit. To accomplish this, there is added to the known cost of labor and matefial a certain arbitrary amount sup- posed to represent the overhead expense involved in the handling of the class of goods manufactured. The sum of these three quantities is accepted as the cost of production. This increment to cover overhead ex- pense bears a varying ratio to the labor and material cost, being in some branches of trade equal in amount to the sum of the labor and material. Evidently, then, it is an item of cost well worthy of consideration, being as important in any manufacturing establish- ment as any of the other things for which trained executives are paid large salaries. It is not the intention, however, to suggest that the general expense account is being neglected in the ledgers, for such is not the case. Nevertheless, strong grounds exist for the conviction that the widely ac- cepted method of recovering this general expense by a level pro rata apportionment on all goods manufac- tured works a serious disadvantage and makes subtle inroads on the year’s profits. Without doubt this pro- cedure is one of the direct causes for astonishment to the board of directors when the auditor’s state- ment shows less than the expected profit. Without doubt, too, it is a potent factor in a firm’s losing to a competitor a class of business which had gone through the works steadily for so many years as to be con- sidered standard. No one at all familiar with manufacturing will for a moment defend the principle of charging the overhead or general expense against all articles by a set rule regardless of actual conditions. Yet that very thing is done every day in many factories practically unchallenged. A class of goods which is easily handled and on which little trouble arises, which, per- haps, calls for almost no expense for tool work or for power, is loaded with what is in its case an abnormal overhead expense burden. And whenever it is necessary to make a new contract there may be great hesitancy in making a slightly lower price, be- cause the margin is so small between the selling price and the figured cost of production, as calculated by the prevailing system. Really good profitable business is known to have been turned away because of a nega- tive margin showing up from this same comparison of quoted price and calculated cost. One of the largest manufacturing establishments in this country does a business of which one-half is for standard apparatus and the remainder for special. Each year the proportion changes, the standard work giving way to the special. At the yearly meetings of the sales department the greatest pressure is put upon the salesmen to sell more standard product. The re- ply has always been that competitors continually under- bid, that the factory cannot build the standard appara- tus cheaply enough. There follows at once each RR MrT CERIN ET i SNE Ek = ba —on z * rs ue 4 ta * ; “4 | i 3 # t 4 ** ¥ ij TZ mis AS . ea hw Sam at $36 THE IRON AGE year an investigation as to design and productive labor cost. The material cost is reduced and a few cents are cut off the labor items here and there although the engineering and the shop force feel in their very bones that the design is as good as any on the market and that the labor cost is as low as can be expected to se- cure good workmanship. Moreover, going through in such large quantities, the best conditions for cheap manufacture exist. But when the revised figures have passed through to the selling department the whole thing has been “killed” by the addition of an overhead which, though figured strictly to rule, is entirely out of proportion. Small wonder, then, that every one throws up his hands and that the profitable standard business slips away, a big slice this year, another next year. Nor is there any good excuse for continuing in this error, nor reason why a more equitable scheme cannot be worked out. The present method, it must be admitted, is far in advance of the old “flat rate” system. Yet the practice of apportioning overhead expense on the basis of productive labor is to-day as obsolete, or should be, as the hand-loom. The cry for actual costs never was so loud as it is to-day, the need never so urgent. Still, although a man will grow sick at heart if he inadvertently omits from his labor cost an item of 10 or 15 cents per 1000 pieces, he will cheerfully add to his labor total an overhead which may be twice that too high. We have fallen into this habit principally to sim- plify our accounting, and partly because it was a satis- faction to get away from the previous crude calcula- tions. We have come to a time now, however, when by a very simple change in our cost accounting sys- tem we can let sound judgment dictate our selling prices, instead of weakly accepting as final the results of a calculation full of assumptions and averages. And that the industrial engineer of the morrow will solve the question we have strong belief. It is almost in our power to take only the business in which there is a profit; we shall soon be cured of the myopia which prevents us from recognizing a good paying proposi- tion from one that is not. Correspondence The Production of Vanadium Steel in 1910 To the Editor: My attention has been called to a com- munication from George E. Lees, of Pittsburgh, which ap- peared in The Jron 4Age for October 5, and which original- ly appeared in the Engineering and Mining Journal of September 30, in relation to the production in the United States in 1910 of vanadium steel. I have had the re- ports which we received from the steel makers gone over very carefully and give below the tonnage reported to us of all alloyed steel in which vanadium was used alone or in conjunction with other alloys. Alloyed Vanadium Steel: Gross Tons. Janadium steel rr eS ee ee a ec elle a . 9,049 Chrome-vanadium steel ingots See eee 7,335 Nickel-chrome-vanadium steel ingots and castings............ 8,971 Nickel-vanadium and nickel-molybdenum vanadium steel in- gots and castings I aN rr en ne 25,844 If Mr. Lees had read carefully the text und:r the first table in the article which appeared in the Bulletin of the American Iron and Steel Association for October 1, he would have noticed that the figures given for chrome- vanadium and nickel-chrome-vanadium steel, the produc- tion of both of which was included in the total of 30,816 tons given for “other alloys,” related to the production of chrome-vanadium and nickel-chrome-vanadium steel by the basic open-hearth process only. In addition, a small ton- October 19, | j11 nage of chrome-vanadium and _ nickel-chrome-vana: ium ingots and castings was made in 1910 by the acid cpen- hearth, crucible and electric processes. I have no knowledge of the production of vana‘ um in this country in 1910 or in any other year. My im- pression is that the production is not annually collecied, Nor do I know how much vanadium is annually (on- sumed by our steel manufacturers and by gray iron and malleable founders. But, as already stated, the figures given in the above statement cover fully, so far as re- ported to us by the manufacturers, the production of vanadium steel ingots and castings in 1910, when vanadium was used alone as an alloy or in conjunction with other alloys. I may add that in addition to the alloyed steel enum- erated above and in the table which appeared in the Bulle- tin, the steel manufacturers also reported to us the pro- duction of tungsten, nickel-tungsten, tungsten-chrome, aluminum, and various other alloyed steel ingots and cast- tings, the production of which is included in the drag- net phrase “other alloys” in the Bulletin tables. James M. Swank PHILADELPHIA, October 16, I9Q1I. The Production of Alloyed Steels To the Editor: In your issue of October 5 you give the statistics of alloyed steel production as made public by the American Iron and Steel Association for the year 1910. To the average reader I believe these statistics will be mis- leading, and I would like to make the following criticisms in the hope that they will clarify the subject. It is admitted by metallurgists and manufacturers in general that the so-called titanium steel is not an alloy steel. It may therefore be eliminated from the report, bringing the total production of alloyed steel for 1910 down to 241,503 gross tons. The figures given for nickel-chrome steel include 8760 tons of nickel-chrome-vanadium steel, and the total for chrome steel includes 6903 tons of chrome-vanadium steel. The report of the association is therefore misleading in both these items, and the production of vanadium alloys on this basis becomes: Tons. Straight vanadium steel.........cccrcccesevseves 9,049 Nickel-chrome-vanadium stee] .....++-+++++sseeees 8,760 Chrome-vanadium steel ...cceceeeeeeeereeeeenene 6,903 Total vanadium alloys...c<eessoecccccwcvewuce 24,712 Eliminating titanium steel for the reasons given above, the total alloyed steel production for 1910 was 241,503 gross tons, while the various types of vanadium steel ag- gregated 24,712 gross tons, or more than 10 per cent. o! the reported total. This does not seem to be a bad showing for a type of steel that is relatively new, especially when it is considered that the nickel-chrome steel, according to the report, is largely composed of a natural alloy steel made from ores containing both nickel and chromium, and that this steel is not, from the metallurgical standpoint, any- thing like the nickel-chrome steel that is built up in the furnace by deliberate additions of nickel and chromium. It is produced as an expedient and frequently sold with- out any mention of its chemical analysis. Even on the above interpretation of the report, the total production of vanadium steel, accepted at 24,712 gross tons, must leave a very notable amount of vanadium un- accounted for. A contribution to London Engineering in May, 1911, gives the consumption of metallic vanadium in the United States during the year 1910 ase 250,000 Ib., a figure we have no reason to doubt. On the average con- sumption of 5 lb. of vanadium to the ton, this would bring the total vanadium steel to 50,000 tons. Exaggerating the case, and assuming that all this vanadium had been used in tool steel, where the consumption would be about 20 Ib. to the ton, the production would have been 12,500 tons, while, according to. the report, vanadium steel, as such, is give” as only 9049 tons. The writer has been in communication with all the large steel producers in the United States, and is in pos- session of data bringing the tofal vanadium ste@ produc- tion in ingots and castings to a conservative figure of 40,000 net tons. When it is remembered that vanadium steel at present is too expensive to be employed for rails and struc- tural material, it will be seen that even to per cent. of the total alloyed steel production represents a very generous tober 19, IQII nsumption of vanadium steel as well as a very rapid »wth in its employment, considering the recent ‘date at lich it was introduced as a commercial alloy. Tendencies must be considered quite as much as facts, d the point that should be brought out in a comment of his kind is the rate of increase in the other alloy steels, smpared with the rate of increase in the use of vanadium -teels. On this basis I think it is certain that vanadium eels take the first place, as it is only within the last few vears that the element vanadium has been procurable at a price and in quantities that have made its commercial ap- lication possible. Its production and use, therefore, de- pend far more upon the availability of ferrovanadium than ipon the competition of some other alloy. G. E. Lees, Advertising’ Manager Vanadium Sales Company of America. PiTTsBURGH, Pa., October 9, 1911. Speculation by Makers of Scrap lo the Editor: Why is it that so many concerns work- ng in iron and steel speculate in scrap? Is it a con- tagion from the scrap dealer? I have seen staid con- servative business men who are producers of scrap and vho refuse to speculate in the raw materials which they nsume, buying only a little in advance of their needs r to cover contracts which they have taken, but who will almost invariably speculate in scrap. They cannot be as well informed on conditions in the old material market as a scrap dealer, whose business it is to be posted on that market every day. Nevertheless, I have seen such manufacturers hold their scrap through declines { several dollars a ton. Meantime it is exposed to the weather, which through disintegration causes a loss of 5 to 10 per cent., while the material which remains de- teriorates in value by a considerable amount. The scrap pile also occupies space which should be valuable in regu- lar manufacturing operations; and finally capital is tied up which should be worth 6 per cent. a year. Op MareErIAL. What the Sherman Law Forbids Not Restraint of Competition Without Resulting Restraint of Trade Interesting and doubtless to many readers surprising statements concerning the Sherman law are made by \lbert H. Walker, attorney, of New York, in a com- munication to the New York Sun. Mr. Walker is the author of the book, “The History of the Sherman Law,” and on his long study of that statute and of the litera- ture relating to its enactment, as well as of all the de- cisions of the courts relating to it, he bases six con- clusions, which are reproduced below from his article. [hey serve to clear up some questions which much of ie from high official quarters has only tended to Detog; I. The first section of the Sherman law prohibits re- straint of interstate or international trade or commerce, but it does not expressly prohibit restraint of competi- tion and it does not impliedly prohibit restraint of com- petition, except where restraint of competition results in restraint of trade or commerce, which is far from always being the case. For example, Section 1 of the Sherman law does not prohibit the formation of partner- ships or corporations or the consolidation of corporations, or the sale of the good will of any business coupled with 4 contract to refrain from competing with the business thus sold. In short, if anybody will present to me any ase in which a combination of men or corporations op- crates fairly and ethically I will undertake to show that ‘hat combination does not violate the Sherman law, and ack up my showing by statements and arguments which nobody can overthrow. 2. Section 2 of the Sherman law, in prohibiting mo- polizing and attempts to monopolize, is not violated Y any person or corporation which does not work by ‘he aid of impediments placed in the paths of competi- ‘ors, even if that person or corporation does acquire by means of superior skill or superior facilities more than alf or even the whole of a particular part of interstate T international commerce. THE IRON AGE 837 3. There is no difference between that limitation which Chief Justice White sought to insert in the Sherman law by means of the word “unreasonable” in his dissenting opinion in the Trans-Missouri case in 1897 and the limi- tation which he sought to introduce into that statute by the word “undue” in his obiter dicta in 1911 in the Standard Oil case and the American Tobacco case. Those words, if they had been really inserted in the statute, would introduce confusion instead of clarification. But the attempt of Chief Justice White to insert the word “undue” into the statute by his obiter dicta in the Stan- dard Oil case and the American Tobacco case was no more effective than his attempt to insert the word “un- reasonable” into the statute by his dissenting opinion in the Trans-Missouri case, for obiter dicta are like dis- senting opinions in having no binding force on anybody. 4. President Taft was not speaking accurately when he said in his recent Detroit speech that the decisions of the Supreme Court in the Standard Oil case and the American Tobacco case mean “that they find that any contract made for the purpose of excluding com- petition, controlling prices or of maintaining a monopoly in part or in whole is contrary to the statute,” for nobody can deduce from either of those decisions the proposition that every combination which “excludes competition” op- erates “in restraint of trade” and therefore violates the Sherman law. 5. The Sherman law originated with Senator Sher- man, but it was put by Senator Edmunds into the exact shape in which it was enacted by Congress; and being put into that shape it was unanimously approved by the nine members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1890 and by every member of the House of Representatives and by every Senator except Senator Blodgett of New Jersey. In the eye of the law of construction of statutes it is the clearest and most complete and accurate of all the mul- titudinous statutes which I during my long life as a law- yer and law author ever read. The “confusion worse confounded” which has been made to surround that statute for more than twenty-one years never had the slightest real necessity. Quite otherwise than this, it has been artificially worked up by the lawyers employed by violators of the statute and by numerous statesmen and other politicians who wanted to confuse the matter in order that they might avoid displeasing the people at the same time that they avoided displeasing the violators of the law, and by able editors of newspapers who discussed the matter in good faith but without time enough to separate the chaff of the lawyers and statesmen from the wheat of the statute itself, 6. Any really able lawyer who will impartially study the language of the Sherman law and then impartially study all of the one hundred decisions which have been ren- dered by the courts relevant to that law can reliably advise any person or corporation whether the business in which that person or corporation is engaged or concerned does or does not violate the Sherman flaw. But no such advice can be given by any lawyer whose mind is confused and distorted by the hundreds of unfounded and conflicting statements which can be collected out of the obiter dicta of courts or out of the speeches of lawyers or statesmen. ————_+-e—-—- Armor Plate Decision—A decision of importance was handed down by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia October 11, when it dismissed four suits brought by the Fried. Krupp Aktien Gesell- schaft of Germany against the Midvale Steel Company of Philadelphia to restrain the Pennsylvania corporation from infringing on patents for a process of manufacturing armor plate. The decision was given by Judge Joseph Buffington and sustains the opinion of the Circuit Court, which had decreed that the evidence produced before the lower court was “not sufficiently satisfactory either in quality or amount” to establish infringement. The appel- late court goes a step further and declares that two cer- tain claims in two of the Krupp patents are invalid and that, therefore, there could not be an infringement. a To take care of its growing business in the Philadel- phia territory the MacArthur Concrete Pile & Foundation Company,.11 Pine street, New “ork, N. Y., has appointed Louis E. Welsh district manager for New sylvania, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Colum- bia, his office being located in the delphia, Pa. i f eal iin sea wih ; anc ats Ba ‘ os fs r t * 2 838 THE IRON AGE The Iron: and Metal’ Markets October 19, ‘911 A Comparison of Prices Advances Over the Previous Week in Heavy Type, Declines in Italics. At date, one week, one month and one year previous. Oct. 18, Oct. 11, Sept. 20, Oct. 19, PIG IRON, Per Gross Ton: 1911. 1911. 1911. 1910. Foundry No. 2 standard, Phila- SEED ce 0000 x00 sees ad onee $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.75 Foundry No. 2, Valley furnace 13.50 13.50 13.50 14.00 Foundry No. 2 Southern, Cin- ROE: i. ono tatbnhinn ake whwae 13.25 13.25 13.25. 14.25 Foundry No. 2, Birmingham, Ala. 10.00 10.00 10.00 11.00 Foundry No. 2, at furnace, CNTY, Los on od taekemaed odie 14.50 14.50 14.50 16.00 Basic, delivered, eastern Pa.... 14.50 14.50 14.75 15,00 Basic, Valley furnace......... 12,50 12.50 12.60 13.00 Bessemer, Pittsburgh.......... 15.40 15.40 15.90 15.90 Gray forge, Pittsburgh......... 13.65 13.65 13.90 14.15 Lake Superior charcoal, Chicago 16.50 16.50 16.50 18.00 COKE, CONNELLSVILLE, Per Net Ton, at Oven: Furnace coke, prompt shipment. 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.60 Furnace coke, future delivery. . 1.55 1.60 1.60 1.70 Foundry coke, prompt shipment 1.80 1.80 1.85 2.10 Foundry coke, ieomas delivery. . 2.00 2.00 2.10 2.25 BILLETS, &c., Per Gross Ton: Bessemer billets, Pittsburgh.... 20.00 20.00 21.00 23.50 Open hearth billets, Pittsburgh 19.00 19.00 21.00. 24.00 Forging billets, Pittsburgh..... 24.00 25.00 26.00 29.00 Open hearth billets, Philadelphia 21.40 21.40 22.40 26.00 ire rods, Pittsburgh.......... 26.00 26.00 27.00 28.50 OLD MATERIAL, Per Gross Ton: BOG CR an a cc ccccese 13.50 13.75 14.50 16.00 Iron rails, Philadelphia........ 16.50 16.50 17.00 18.00 Car wheels, Chicago........... 12.50 12.50 12.75 14.00 Car wheels, Philadelphia...... kivs ive “3850 tte Heavy steel scrap, Pittsburgh.. 12.00 12.00 12.75 14.25 Heavy steel scrap, Chicago.... 9.75 10.00 10.50 12.25 Heavy steel scrap, Philadelphia 12.00 12.00 12.50 13.75 FINISHED IRON AND STEEL, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Bessemer rails, heavy, at mill.. 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 Iron bars, Philadelphia........ 1.22 1.22% 1.22% 1.40 Iron bars, Pittsburgh......... 1.20 1.20 1.25 1.45 -Iron bars, Chicago............ 117% 1.20 1.22% “1.35 Steel bars, Pittsburgh......... 1,10 2.15 1.20 1.40 Steel bars, tidewater, New York.. 1.26 1.31 1.36 1.56 Tank plates, Pittsburgh....... 1.15 1.20 1.30 *1.40 Tank plates, tidewater, New York 1,31 1.36 1.46 1.56 es es: eee 1.20 1.20 1.35 1.40 Beams, tidewater, New York.. 1.36 1.36 1.51 1.56 Ametes, Pittsburgh .....cecee. 1.20 1.20 1.35 1.40 Angles, tidewater, New York.. 1.36 1.36 1.51 1.56 Skelp, grooved steel, Pittsburgh 1.15 Bh) 1.20 1.30 Skelp, sheared steel, Pittsburgh 1.25 1.25 1.30 1.40 SHEETS, NAILS AND WIRE, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Sheets, black, No. 28, Pittsburgh 1.85 1.85 1.90 2.20 Wire nails, Pittsburghf........ 1.65 1.65 1.65 1.70 Cut nails, Pittsburgh7......... 1.50 1.50 1.55 1.65 Barb wire, galv., Pittsburghf... 1.95 1.95 1.95 2.00 METALS, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Lake copper, New York...... 12.50 12.50 12.60 12.87% Electrolytic copper, New York. 12.25 12.25 12.37% 12.80 Spotter, St. Liawls... cocci veces 6.10 6.00 5.90 5.45 i ee COME. ie csnn ak 6.30 6.15 6.05 5.60 NN SO eee 4.15 4.10 4.35 4.274 Ce OT WOT ccc es carbede 4.25 4.25 4.50 4.40 NO * WON. coe s wae oieas 6 41.45 41.25 38.8714 37.62% Antimony, Hallett, New York.. 7.70 7.70 7.75 7.75 Tin plate, 100-lb. box, New York $3.64 $3.84 $3.84 $3.84 *The average switching charge for delivery to foundries in the Chicago district is 50c. per ton. : *These prices are for largest lots to jobbers. —_4--e——__—_. Prices of Finished Iron and Steel f.o.b. Pittsburgh Freight rates from Pittsburgh in carloads, per 100 Ib.: New York, 16c.; Philadelphia, 15c.; Boston, 18c.; Buffalo, 11c.; Cleveland, 10c.; Cincinnati, 15c.; Indian- apolis, 17c.; Chicago, 18c.; St. Paul, 32c.; St. Louis, 22%c.; New Orleans, 30c.; Birmingham, Ala., 45c. Pa- cific coast, 80c. on plates, structural shapes and sheets No. 11 and heavier; 85c: on sheets Nos. 12 to 16; 95c. on sheets No. 16 and lighter; 65c. on wrought pipe and boiler tubes. _, Plates.—Tank plates, 4 in. thick, 6% in. up to 100 in, wide, 1.15c., base, net cash, 30 days. Following are stipulations prescribed by manufacturers, with extras: Rectangular plates, tank steel or conforming to manufacturers’ standard specifications for structural steel dated February 6, 1903, or equivalent, % in. thick and over on thinnest edge, 100 in. wide and under, down to but not including 6 in. wide, are base. Plates up to 72 in. wide, inclusive, ordered 10.2 Ib. per scuare foot, are considered %-in. plates, Plates over 72 in. wide must be ordered 4% in. thick on edge, or not less than 11 Ib. per square foot, to take base price. Plates over 72 in. wide ordered less than a r per square foot down to the weight of 3-16-in. take the price of 3-16-in. Allowable overweight, whether plates are ordered to gauge or weight, to be governed by the standard specifications of the Associa. tion of American Steel Manufacturers. Extras. Cents per Ib. Gauges under % in. to and including 3-16 in. on thin- ORE CN no's bb 50 X00 2.6 MERCER MLRAE cs RES Sele wee 0 .10 Gauges under 3-16 in. to and including No. 8........... 15 Gauges under No. 8 to and including No. 9........... .25 Gauges under No. 9 to and including No. 10........... .30 Gauges under No. 10 to and including No. 12.......... .40 Sketches (including all straight taper plates) 3 ft. and over in length.........-ssee8 Meee ed nemo ve Vad nae ves 10 Complete circles, 3 ft. in diameter and over............ .20 Boiler and flange steel... ..ccsesccccscsvcccvcsccccses 10 “A. B. M. A.” and ordinary firebox steel.............. .20 OEE) OCR ROME. « 0a 8 6inib'h.n. cbc eW's cece seen ee KeN bir ess .30 DR ET 5 4o'4 54h 0s en cab ees O58 068 asheons OKRA DUS o> .40 LgmemiOtiee Grebe whee assoc cic ses csphedssevcrdacece. .50 Widths over 100 in. up to 110 in., inclusive............ . 05 Widths over 110 in. up to 115 in., inclusive............ .10 Widths over 115 in. up to 120 in., inclusive............ . 15 Widths over 120 in. up to 125 in., inclusive............ .25 Widths over 125 in. up to 130 in., inclusive............ -50 Wee OO TOO Wes vnccd dice cackent eusieessckseteces 1.00 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 3 ft. to 2 ft., in- GEOG ido 0k as 0:0 cnn ene Min Rear 4 84) Head eee eh as 25 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 2 ft. to 1 ft., in- GUGIIO Si. sido 6.0 S000 esd aole eWan dws ebe Ueewenesacss cee .50 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 1 ft............. 1.55 No charge for cutting rectangular plates to lengths 3 ft. and over. Structural Material.—I-beams, 3 to 15 in.; channels, 3 to 15 in., and angles, 3 to 6 in. on one or both legs, % in. and over, 1.20c. Other shapes and sizes are quoted as follows: Cents per Ib. Dewees 0dr 35: GO. 6s ccc veins baeasot (ekaxavan 1.30 to 1.35 Reena ever 1B Wis sakes ins by tab edians eee ke 1,40 to 1.45 Angles, 3 to 6 in., inclusive, 4% in. and up...... 1.20 to 1.25 Ape Over 6 Whe si vcds dsiesiicd co0sed aesen 1.30 to 1.35 Angles, 3 in. on one or both legs, less than % in. thick, plus full extras as per steel bar eard ‘Sent. 1, OG s ivsciendscaceescaneeueres 1.25 to 1.30 Dees, JF iM, Me MBs. cake peace euna date hewenbe 1.25 to 1.30 Taek, (3. Ws COR Ws aa ies have eiesanes bn0 geen 1.20 to 1.25 Angles, channels and tees, under 3 in., plus full extras as per steel bar card Sept. I, 1909.1.25 to 1.30 Deck beams oar Se eee re,” 1.50 to 1.55 Feamd 206) BOOB o'n.c 00000 cc rescenceesa s)seee/e een 2.45 Checkered and corrugated plates..........5+eeeeeees 2.45 Sheets.— Makers’ prices for mill shipments on sheets of U. S. standard gauge, in carload and larger lots, on which jobbers charge the usual discounts for small lots from store, are as follows: : Blue Annealed Sheets. Cents per Ib. ee. Stak... ckcwkecdchsbans he teia rena 1.25 to 1.30 ae DP OM BO nce cd dbo rds nsdhacd ieeceen4 1.35 to 1.40 meee... SC - Wi ADs... oad cdnds sadnedacsne debkes 1.40 to 1.45 Dee. US MME BE iin da is bade cadass et4kxsbnen aoe 1.45 to 1.50 Bae, . 15. OR Bis ces nebecepecuny vas S4esunee 1.55 to 1.60 Box Annealed Sheets, Cold Rolled. One Pass. Three Pass. Se! Beh > Mee en eee en 1.50 te 2.58 oxeeseas ets Nos. 1.55 to 2.00. fm wewesnc see Nos. 1.60 to 1.65 1.70 to 1.75 Nos 1.65 to 1.70 1.75 to 1.80 Nos. 1.70 to 1.75 1.80 to 1.85 Nos. 1.75 to 1.80 1.85 to 1.90 No. 1.80 to 1.85 1.90 to 1.95 No. 1.85 to 1.90 1.95 to 2.00 No. 1.90 to 1.95 2.00 to 2.05 No. 3 2.00 to 2.05 2.10 to 2.15 Galvanized Sheets, of Black Sheet Gauge. Nos, 20: :GR Bhs xcd6 vodeicat at souvecavasvas 1.85 to 1.90 Nos. 12, 13 Otad 16600 cdecevcncevsadsassceact 1.95 to 2.00 Nos. 15, 16 8nd 17... cccccccescccctssesvies .« 2.10 to 2.15 Noa. 38 Ob (Biscsasaxas ch bakteds ofsWekeue ee eae 2.25 to 2.30 Nos, 23 Oe Deis canicdsahe dna esa oo ckeun canes 2.35 to Z 40 a ae oe i ee 2.55 to 2.60 IG. BP ocvc et oencbdndeweasdevseesadacvemen 2.70 to 2.75 We. OR bn 34. 63 Ke ak nbn ens hb ees 2.85 to 2.90 6.2 sk abicsgcns bo ekan deeb eed baka < ee eae 2.95 to 3.00 Ma. 20. bs vs nin bs ceed va nib ad Aedes eaeae een 3.15 to 3.20 All above rates on sheets are f.o.b. Pittsburgh, terms 30 days net, or 2 per cent. cash discount in 10 days from date of invoice, as also are the following base prices per square for painted and galvanized roofing sheets, with 214-in. corrugations: Gauge. Painted. Galvanized. | Gauge. Painted. Galvanized. a. ay tia eae | Boe yucune $2.35 $3.45 Be. ae $1.30 2.45 are 2.55 3.65 Wiis 430% 1.45 2.50 See cee 2.75 4.00 a eae 1.55 2.60 SES 3. 4.30 2h Wises 1.80 cae 2. Gee sesies 4. 5.65 2A. i igiee') ee R30. SRP. Visas 4.85 6.45 Wire Rods and Wire.—Bessemer, open hearth and chain rods, $26 to $26.50. Fence wire, Nos. o to 9 pet 100 Ib., terms 60 days, or 2 per cent. discount in 10 days, carload lots, to jobbers, annealed, $1.45; galvanize¢, $1.75. Carload lots, to retailers, annealed, $1.50; gal- ctober 19, IQII nized, $1.80. Galvanized barb wire to jobbers, $1.95; ainted, $1.65. Wire nails, to jobbers, $1.65. The following table gives the price to retail mer- hants on wire in less than carloads, including the ex- ras on Nos. 10 to 16, which are added to the base price: Fence Wire, Per 100 Ib. Nos. 0to9 10 11 12&12% 13 14 15 16 Annealed ...$1.65 $1.70 $1.75 $1.80 $1.90 $2.00 $2.10 $2.20 Galvanized .. 1.95 2.00 2.05 2.10 2.20 2.30 2.70 2.80 Wrought Pipe.—The following are the jobbers’ car- load discounts on the Pittsburgh basing card on wrought pipe, in effect from October 2, 1911: Butt Weld. 6 and BM fins 2 ehwitedes tee 73 53 68 48 H% iMivstecnnseccsevidseskean 74 64 69 59 1 Mseeusus eavecenvcvensede 77 67 75 65 Win. to 1% in... ce ceeseees 80 72 75 67 2 in. 00:3 Biseveccels cuassii.. 81 74 76 69 Lap Weld 136 an@ 296: Wis ii osadewencek. ap a 68 61 2 it.csx uakdhe ks thas eseneenn 77 70 72 65 2% to @: Wecces cs tevactises. 79 72 74 67 43% 00. O Ui ie hc ied cenincesde 78 70 73 65 7 to 32 Wisi hie is stad acneeus 76 66 71 61 13 to EB Btw aw ethaeseseaens 52 - 47 i Butt Weld, extra strong, plain ends, card weight. i, 86, OE liad ce eis aren ae 70 60 65 55 i Wi caches sedawddoae sane 75 69 70 64 H 001% im... cccecrcceseees 79 73 74 68 2 tO 3 Mon é Kcasenbevasenanee 80 74 75 69 Lap Weld, extra strong, plain ends, card weight. 1% fess vce dns <aneuiawae 6 cnten ee 66 60 2 ihe ccetnseas sane ee tan hews 76 70 71 65 2% 00 4 Mivicks canccueeteeeen 78 72 73 67 4% 00:6 Winstead vet ccdseewns 77 71 72 66 7 to © Wik adddkeenedaevie sacs 70 60 65 55 9 to BE Wisin nwapeveoreivw hae 65 55 60 50 Butt Weld, double extra strong, plain ends, card weight. Yo Wh ced cataes nas cen pewbeds e 65 59 60 54 3% ta 296 Bib ck edie ciwreduet 68 62 63 57 2 to 3 Wissiwasessvintiwreks :r++ 70 64 65 59 Lap Weld, double extra strong, plain ends, card weight. 2 instcsceeeeee odds awa 66 60 61 55 236 te 4: Mis svs cup cnekekasenn 68 62 63 57 43 00 6 Miss cedccdeiesacese 67 61 62 56 7 to 8 Iii. vies cvbweea teens 60 50 55 45 Plugged and Reamed. will be sold at two (2) points lower basing (higher price) than merchants’ or card weight pipe. Butt or tap weld, as specified. The above discounts are for “card weight,” subject to the usual variation of § per cent. Prices for less than carloads are three (3) points lower basing (higher price) than the above discounts. 1 to 1%, 2 to 3 in. Butt Weld 2, 24 00:4: Shican cs Lap Weld Boiler Tubes.—Discoynts on lap welded steel and charcoal iron boiler tubes to jobbers in carloads are as follows: Steel. Charcoal Iron. 1% to 334 itivs ivccmeencee 65 BOG Ts oi cdecareher ctcaceess 48 2% itt. <Secunns dleeweneees 67% Bn GOI BUG Bho isc actosiscées 50 2% to 334 iMisvccchovueney 72% 2 Ice cecvesecsccccceccess 55 334 to 4. Mss cuuses cannes 75 Bee Ore Sinaia sb 60 acta st aatew 60 S to 6 Mhssecccvbbebeeeaee 67% 7 to 13 Sm... Nscus avon ceeen 65 2% in. and smaller, over 18 ft., 10 per cent. met extra. 2% in. and larger, over 22 ft., 10 per cent, net extra. Less than carloads will be sold at the delivered discount for car- loads, lowered by two points for lengths 22 ft. and under to desti- nations east of the Mississippi River; lengths over 22 ft. and all shipments going west of the Mississippi River must be sold f.o.b. mill at Pittsburgh basing discount, lowered by two points. Pittsburgh PitrssurcH, October 18, 1911.—(By Telephone.) Pig Iron—No large inquiries are out. Consumers of iron are pretty well covered for the remainder of the year and do not seem disposed at this time to con- tract into next year, Owing to the uncertainty as to whether or not prices have touched bottom. We note a sale of 500 tons of basic iron for November and December at $12.50, Valley furnace; also a_sale of 1000 tons of malleable Bessemer iron to the Pennsyl- vania Malleable Company at a price reported under $13, Valley furnace, and 2000 to 3000 tons of Bessemer iron for forward delivery at $14.50, Valley furnace. We note also sales of small lots of Northern No. 2 foundry for prompt delivery at $13.50, Valley furnace. We quote Bessemer iron at $14.50; basic, $12.50; No. 2 foundry, $13.50; malleable Bessemer, nominally, $13; and gtay forge, $12.75, all at Valley furnace, the freight rate ‘o the Pittsburgh district being 90c. a ton. _ Steel—Occasional inquiry has come