The Iron Age 1926-04-29: Vol 117 Iss 17

iE IRON a New York, April 29, 1926 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 117, No. 17 Chromium Plating Applied on a Production Basis From Left to Right: Rough, Polished, "Cop. for Various Automobile Parts at per, Copper Buffed, Nickel, Nickel Buffed, Chromium Olds Motor Works “ HROMIUM plating has been developed on a con The idea of plating with chromium not new, } mercial and production basis by Olds Motor but in the present development the effort has been to Works, manufacturer of the Oldsmobile Six, in’ establish the quantity production required in automo cooperation with the General Motors Corporation. At bile manufacture About a year ago experiments were the present time all radiator shells and caps, bumpers, started by W. M. Phillips, a member of the staff of motometers, gear shift levers and crank-hole caps on the works managers’ committee of the Genera! Motors Oldsmobiles are chromium plated and this method will Corporation. The problem was to obtain an anode be used on all Oldsmobile parts formerly nickeled as that was not soluble in chromic acid, a chromic acid quickly as necessary arrangements can be completed solution that would give continuous good results, and What is claimed for the chromium plate is high chemicals that could be obtained in sufficient quantities luster that requires no polishing, besides retaining its at reasonable prices. original brilliancy almost indefinitely. Being harde Literally hundreds of solution formulas, it is stated, than nickel, its wearing qualities are regarded as were compounded and many types of anodes and vary practically unlimited. Production cost is said to be ing electrical amperages were tried During this de about the same as nickel plating. velopment stage the plating department of the Old Tank Being at Center, With Hood Ventilator; Cleaning Tank at Lett: Fina Wash Tank at Right 1187 Chromium Plating Unit, Chromiun gs, ” ey tem anne: | | t f (i r¢Z ‘ mn s ‘ (oid ( ¢ 7 d inde ne ited part laliy re (} mium-plate Tri ast . 1 ) ae eiv) ( ( Is the Polishing of the Rau Vetal Radiator nu ger life I ! t I I rage fe of ar itomobile rhe first steps iz iromium p foll e ide rocess of nickel plating The radiator shell or ! rt to be plated is taken ; comes from n I ind is polishes n emery whee | irface as pm ble I he I { r eanse! r formula developed by Gene) M rs and Old bile and it differs but little from standard cleaners ed inder t if name This first cleanser ath has a small amount f pp alts added to it. After the article has bee: taken from the cleanser it is placed in a copper plat- ng tank containing a solution with a copper cyanid base and high electrical amperage. High amperag: ised to give a smoother, closer grain to the coppe oating. This tank is fitted with an automat col eyer set to take 20 min. for a trip through the solu tion. After being removed from the copper plating tank. the part then is washed in hot water to remove a trace of the copper cyanide solution At this point in | & & THE IRON laling | eration after the copper plating has been complet AGE April 29, 192; kel plating, the article then is buffed, but tl iminated in the chromium process and the taken from the hot water wash direct to the ting tank, which contains a hot chloride so nickel anodes. A conveyor similar to that the copper tank carries the part through the p 1) min., after which it is buffed. Up to this t onlv difference between the chromium and ni rocesses is the elimination of the buffing Following. the buffing, the article is again through a cleansing bath and then dipped in hot wat and placed in the chromium plating tank, wher left a short time. The chromium tank is of truction and is equipped with a ventilating | carry off the chromium acid fumes. This tank an the tanks used for cleansing and washing are located + n close proximity, so that one man takes care of bot! rrocesses \fter being removed from the chromium solutior e part is given a cold water rinse and the operatio! complete. A conception of the luster of the hromium plate can be gained from the fact that n fing or polishing is required. In fact, th hromium plate is found to be so hard that buffing uld have no effect on it. A glass-like finish de- ribes in a way the new plating surface. While the hickness of the plating is 0.0006 in., the hardness, it claimed, makes it virtually impossible to wear off the finish. The nickel plating is used both to give a smooth surface for the chromium finish and to afford a white ground color. Chromium over the nickel gives a clear blue-white finish of surprising brilliancy. All that is required is an occasional wiping with a rag to re move dust and water marks. It is not affected by water, alkali or any climatic condition. +h After the chemical and mechanical details of the os ee April 29, 1926 —_——- ~~ ae: er _ a Se + -_ gy ie«=' Zits .Se icon ; ll oe ew process had been successf lly vefore production started, Mr. Phillip ide an exhaustive investigation of the re and in Europe, of the raw materials They learned that there were ample suppli th an increased demand permitting larger of the materials required, the pric vould be lower in the future. The Olds M now is on a full production basis with the nrocess, New Use for Stainless Iron A new and highly interesting us¢ rustless iron has recently come to light. | thetic process of making nitric acid, as the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratories ngton, certain containers are necessary the acid on a commercial scale \ larg mpany, which is about to install this p1 } fairly large scale, has found that stainless ir tirely unaffected by any phase of the ee Buffing Is Not Practiced After THE IRON AGE the ’ it ith x gr t ed S B ron t ‘ The ta ] i if ta ar A 664 ¢ i IASU The 192 ‘ 7 : , Nickel Plat ng ’ en ¢ The ne 18s line I ‘ £ oO Mine rT i : ear tons. ’ US ( a : pare Making Headway in Foreign Trade United States Now a Seasoned Participant, with Business Well Above the Pre-War Volume, President Farrell Tells Charleston Convention BY JAMES l ng tne it K It foreign trade, we must é } f the world in general nishes the markets for our foreign trade; or rather what it was in the a what constitutes the basis of its ! I l elopment ‘ Ve tal ne me t examine in ‘ £ ! each of the 80 to 100 ter- ( ld which constitute our sep- el ] nal ratner content myself with ( pain to the Tac that the world \ t l ear the economic recovery ' " } marked its course steadily ( e of the war. It is evident in several ways e proc nulation which was interrupted I r yea gaining momentum each year by the ( orce of n annual ns Production is é rade he in trial nations, and most I en ( ! ne ternationa commerct A t al t t Nearly Back to Pre-War Volume The figures of exporting nations, not including he United States, for the last fiscal year, showed them be within 7 per cent of their pre-war volume of trade The United Stat Canada alone f all the trad- I natior nave mada i ibstantial increase over their pre-war statu If r figures are included in this cal il; n, the w vhole is shown to be only 2 pel ent under it pre-war volume at the close of the ( eal Ther ire some indications that this eficien ‘ e t recovered in the current ‘ One ich in n of special significance is the increased volume vy material imports, both by the United States ar evel f the industrial nations Eu I} rse ( ( < Impe nding rease nd cons¢ ently consuming ( trade for 1925 discloses some It wv irger both in value and in vol me than in any previous normal year. There were a \ fi ed by exceptional war or post-wa) conditior when it represented a larger number of dol- i } hose dollars represented so much less pur- chasing power that its physical volume was actually ‘ then than now Reasonable prices tend to extend mmerce maint roduction, lessen costs and in ease consumption at home and abroad. Department Commerce figure how a net gain of more thar 1,500,000 tons in volume last year, imports having in- ed by 2,361,000 tons while exports fell off 823,000 ! The tonnage figures, when issued, are likely to how a total for the year well in excess of 93,000,000 Our Large Exports of Manufactures Turning from the volume and value of this trade to its character, we find that of exports .271,000, the manufac almost 64 per cent and raw materials in examination ot aggregating s $4,818 products of ire constituted less than 30 per cent. These products of our industry omprise finished manufactures, which by themselves furnished a little over 38 per cent of the total, semi- finished manufactures, and manufactured foodstuffs. It is significant that finished manufactures continue to head the list of five great groups into which the De- partment of Commerce divides our exports Raw ma- FARRELL terials are second, and foodstuffs, which for so mar years held the right of the line, now bring up the rea There is an illuminating fact in the figures of ra material exports. It is that unmanufactured cotto constituted more than three-fourths of that group. | furnished 22 per cent of our total exports, and stand first in the list of commodities exported. All other ra naterials combined furnished only 7 per total exports. cent of o Heavy Imports for Industry Contrasting with this export showing is our impo materials for industry, crude and _ semi-finished They were 58% per cent of our total imports. To suc! an extent has our industrial establishment as a whol developed, that it is dependent, for the fulfillment of the fundamental condition of prosperity—occupation ipon a steady inflow of raw materials from foreign ources, aggregating at least $2,000,000,000 a year in value, and constituting three-fifths of our total imports. Curtailment of such supplies or abnormal prices for them inevitably affect industrial activity in all coun- tries and in this connection it is realized that national is the basis of national livelihood. The first 19 items on our export list last year ac- count for 60 per cent of our total exports. They in- cluded all the factors which contributed 1 per cent or more to our total. Of these 19 items, only five were materials, including raw cotton, tobacco, wheat, oal and crude oil. The remaining 14 were either fin- ‘ rude ished manufactures, such as automobiles, cotton cloth, wheat flour and agricultural machinery, or articles partly processed, such as refined oils, sawed lumber, leather and steel products. The next 83 items on the list furnished in the aggre- gate only 24 per cent of our total exports, their totals ranging in value from $25,000,000 down to $6,369,000, which was the figure for rubber footwear. Then follows an unnumbered and almost innumer- able group classified as “all other exports,” constitut- ing 15 per cent of our total. Not an item in this list was nearer the top than 100, or contributed as much as one-tenth of 1 per cent of the total. Yet their ag gregate value was $719,970,000. Our Larger Ideas of World Trade In these figures we have a glimpse of what has been going on in the way of development of our foreign trade in the last 10 or 15 years, and of what is before us for the next decade. Here stands clearly revealed the great change that has taken place since the placid days before the war. Then foreign trade was inciden- tal and occasional with all but a relatively small num- er of our manufacturing concerns. Then it was only here and there that a manufacturer gave steady thought to the advantages of sharing in foreign mar- kets, and our overseas commerce was spoken of slight- ingly as representing “only 4 per cent of the total.” Now far and wide throughout this country manufac- turers, agriculturalists, bankers and railroad and steam- ship men are awake to the importance of this develop- ment, eager to take their share and all building up the steadily increasing total. 3 We are reaching the stage of expanded interest and participation which tends to diminish the risk of the whole because of its widened distribution. No doubt 1190 eae 29 April 29, 1926 THE IRON AGE 1191 here will be setbacks, local depressions, and sit : heir pa ol f » commodi infavorable to a single line over an extended per ae S We } a : earned te fie iv the prob ; n c , ue a nfavorable to several lines over a shorter We rs e! ' a t ' t anand sie , ind have developed a mass interest and participation in iz re! n the ss where a } ; ; ‘ lt r ernational commerce which spreads and redu Bite eff os practical and hock of individual misfortune or lack of success . The complaint is occasionally heard t] There W , le is declining,” when in fact onlv an iz rl } ‘ we reac} ‘ oncern has been affected. There were ( 1 bank failures in the United States ‘F banking establishment of the 1 ed S vhole has not ceased doing business S America Best Equipped in Production flour, for example, have compla re O eir business is dead beyond possibi f re f ‘ ! rT e export figures for last year show, hows ‘ heat flour was number ten on the list, w ! l é ggregating over $85,000,000. \ 1 \ h did not contribute nearly so largs ir exports are all m ressing \ ed business and eagerly pre ring eff Problems Never So Well Studied . | developmen I ! l ! ( s the result of el € whicl nousands |! £ eal It is one of th ms ! —_ on eumane side Not Alone in Shipping Depression reign trade nventior The Na ( é steadfast] en rage ‘ } l ( f §. if ( } Ste \ i : ( f i f i he / ( i t é ] } ; a. ; pi é j hid Lime ved hie rT é Vr. F ( a ed : - ciel iaiiemealian — icturers in finding new markets and urg i her a , ersification of products for sale as disting It t confined 1 states. Gel e old method of exporting so-called eaking e fle rid So Satie ie council is by no means alone i \ I reo tk tha ral Phe ' nany organizations and groups a ! £ é I ervice r for the at interior points of production as wi at te Iter tne mistice, was I ports of sl ipment, which have made ex! ry U PiIcres rade , n to wed f principles and procedure in foreign trad D oe e hana ‘ ar therwis¢ ' on, debate. explanations and cor tat n perpi nder Ww! i nducted, more ps are now ng or difficult problems have gone on unceasing erating under the American flag and a larger pr erts in a line, a field, a market, in every as¢ I rt f American carg rriea American bot nteresting but sometimes complicated bu ave nal as tl ase before the war More trad reely given their advice to those of les kK perience rout re served | rival wned as well as Gov Today we are seeing the result. The gral rnmer VeESse it until there is an improvement in these conventions are no longer filled with eag el) the world freights the busine a who inlikely 2 searching criticism. The speeches conde! reach the ibstantial measure nnancia! succe r packing, quality, etc., disappeared fr n necessary if new tonnage to be bul os because we have become thorough in stud I I . ete cralit thie ; tice, competent in manufacturing, merchand g Meantime the great rplu nnage of all nation j shipping. The old criticisms of American met! ‘ y l ter than replacement is being made ; seldom heard of, and quality is understood Ou ! ind the industry is gradual reaching a point wher i ular service is on a higher plane and ir Departmer e § i tonnage wi more near) approximat f Commerce is efficiently managed. rg pportuniti Ever since the beginning of the Nar tne W nas been living on a lower plane than Helping Foreign Customers had been its custom. It is gradually getting back to a Salesmanship has had its share in this, advance, re-war status of production and cons ee one in E back of that the steadying and solidifying of a definite hat ue the hope of bette Fment The for ign trade ’ foreign trade policy. We are giving practical effect t itlook _cann yt be oe renee, but gen ore the sound and helpful belief that the best way to main signs of recup ration and strengthening in the whole tain our own success is to help our customers to su justria! fabri! 7 anganese Ore Output Is Large It Easily Can Exceed Consumption Now That Min- ing Is Resumed in Russia and Supplies Are Coming From New Sources : ' — 2 PAUL M. TYLER. rr t goes ul Labor Statistics for all iron and steel products, but t] ] higher than the index of 113 for nonferrous uy } + + } , , . re- modities. In common with most metals, however, ferr a nganese Ss] A Yr reiative to its positior * . } | e! m- 19] tnar tner commodities, the average price irticularly ’ h in December, 1925, was 56 per cent above cheape1 é measured by 1913 averages. Manganese Ore Prices Still Hig! Mar vyanese ore, on tne otne TVIE ind, even as measured in tern R. TYLER is kne for Nis inves- , aa 7 Vi 7 ( f other commodities, still cost l arions ror rhe rir yn mMmIs- re in the world’s markets the compel é e- OF the thon it ata ¢ ose a... ne ie al lid in 1913. The prese1 a dustry in various E ——— lotation of manganese oré He takes the é yp this article the Atlantic seaboard is 2 he potential ga times pre-war, having increas¢ ore esent price exrce f prob- from 17%e. to 40c. or more pe d is Brazilian output falls. nit, to which must now + { Russia promises to reach lara idded the duty of 22.4c. per unit yy +] inder the Tariff Act of 1922 ] and hie é ” é oT hie : bs : : which applies to imports fron Vest Cor i of Aft? nave ed put : rt P ; ill countries except Cuba. eas mucl Braz Prices are fixed by supply) Q and demand and, since world de- has varied relatively little the and since supplies were inter- 10 $0.65, or $71.50 rupted by the war, prices have followed merely their tons of coke and natural course. Since roughly one-half of the pre-war ense of running a furnace is supply came from Russia, the return to normal was r f ferromanganese than for plg iron, retarded after the war by the unsatisfactory politica ] needed to indicate that the tuation in that country. Less Call for High-Grade Ores Unite State nest produce! ne ause The demand for manganese ore is apparently sE5¢ In pre-war time, when it now than in 1913. Considerably more than 90 per cent ipplied wholly fror [f the consumption is in the steel industry and, since een British and German pr‘ 1915, the world production of steel has thus far faile the al to | than 340 exhibit a definite upward trend. The rapid growtl ! American output has larg V been offset by declines teel Corporation was making ferr« n other countries, so that 1925 was the first post-war he world total substantially exceede evel ipplied it regula t that of 191: Future growth in steel production is it ted greater economies in the use rely New Domestic Competition _ : ; ‘a from the angie of ore supplies diminished require- veve! amber n¢ ro- mer result from the fact that high manganese pig re to ar uu one one tel ron (which in this country is made from manganifer- t Pp tarted to flow more freely agai is Iron ores rather than from manganese ore) is dis- I Fut e { A the only on of these cing ferromanganese and spiegel more and moré erat t sul ed, and for almost fivs th in foundries and in steel works. Moreover, man- mest | came mainly from tl nt ganiferous iron ores are being substituted for manga G Bi Later, howev he E nese ores which were formerly used extensively it ! Sales ( entered U e! i, and till Ue Europe for bringing up the manganese in pig iror t m Steel Co., whic! e the United Stat here a large actual saving in manganese in making - ( rat been making terromang eel by the open-hearth as compared with the Besse- i vn use, began to offer it f . Sate he strug mer process, especially the basic Bessemer. A mucl ri 1 these competing I cs ‘wo Bt t business fror ne irger fraction of the world’s steel now comes fron , ( d from the English plants pre the United States, where the open-hearth process Is saab ager da seal ‘ rgely in vogue, and this process is now used mort \ newhat : n r situation obtall a ere xtensively abroad because of the greater employment new producers of ferromar v7 e, ¢ specially ' Poland, { scrap and, in Germany, because of the desire to get y ] no mr < ? t the old l ? ; ns ‘way from dependence upon Lorraine ore. y g way. ; . St : The price of $90 a ton, which was re ed early it Present Needs a Half Million Tons Below Pre-War An} is equivalent to $56.40, without duty, or roughlh Production asis of a probable average steel output of tons annually for the next few years, and manganese (i. e., 16 Ib. of ferro- calculated Dy the Unite state Burs iu of suming 12 lh. of oe) Ta bal sce April 29, 1926 manganese) will be used per ton, the world’s require- ments of manganese for steel making are approxi- mately 600,000 gross tons. After allowing for metal lurgical losses (which may be reduced because of th greater use of the electric furnace), this represent 1,600,000 tons of 50 per cent ore. Chemical uses and the increased demand for dry batteries may increas the total yearly requirements to a maximum of 1,750 000 gross tons. This figure compares with a pre-war production o 2,147,000 tons in 1913, of which Russia alone supplied 1,202,000 tons, the remainder coming principally fron India and Brazil, with only scattering amounts fron other countries. As a result of the war, mangan deposits in other parts of the world have been opened There are persistent rumors that still other deposits, especially a large field in Australia, soon will be pri vided with transportation facilities that will enabk them to be worked. Even without these probable ad ditions, the potential supply of manganese ore at pr: ent prices exceeds probable demands. Russian Output Soon May Exceed Pre-War Wide publicity has been given the exclusive contract entered into on June 1, 1925, between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Harriman interest The essence of this contract is that, in return for install ing modern equipment for economically mining, washing and transporting the ore, the American company conceded a monopoly of production of ore for export from the Chiaturi (Caucasus) district. The contract which calls for a minimum exportation of 16 millior tons in 20 years, virtually assures that export soon equal the pre-war rate. The lessees are obligated to install, within five years, facilities for ship] 2,000,000 tons annually, or substantially more thar total probable consumption of the world. The Soviet Government never was able to produce more than one-half the 1913 output, but the Chiatur field under competent management is fast regaining its place as the dominant factor in the world situati: Almost from the beginning of operations last summet production exceeded the contract rate (only 300,000 tons) set for the first twelve months, and a _ millior tons is expected for the current year. Caucasus Reserves Put at 250 Million Tons Apparently there is no physical obstacle to increa ing production beyond any previous record. Reserv are ample for many decades, the most recent Russian estimate placing them at 250 million tons. The ors which are rich in manganese and free from deleterious impurities, are well liked in all markets. That they can be mined easily appears from the fact that, ever in 1923, under Soviet management, the output pe employee was about 217 tons (13,000 poods) whicl according to European mining standards, is good I} tratir that year costs, especially overhead and concen expenses, were unusually high, amounting, if we ma credit Russian official reports, to $7.12 per ton (22 gold kopecks per pood), or more than 35c. a unit. The cost of mining and washing doubtless will go dow! materially, but the present operators are oblig pay royalties which are $3 a ton for metallurgical or and $8 a ton for chemical ore (peroxide) for the three years, after which they advance to $4 and $9 a ton, respectively. The $4 rate means a fixed cl at least 8c. a unit and, in addition to this, the Soviet Government is to receive a share in profit hen t price of ore exceeds a specified minimum While the Chiaturi mines are the most extensive and the best situated for export, averaging only 100 milk distant from the port of Poti, important mangans deposits are found in several other localities in Russia, notably in the Ural Mountains and in South Russia Those in the latter region, which comprises the Nikopo! district, are situated south of Krivoi Rog in the prov ince of Kherson and extend into the provinces Ekaterinoslav and Skalevatka. In 1913 21 per cent of the Russian output was de rived from three producing mines in this district. The ore is supplied in two export grades, one containing 50 per cent and the other 47 per cent of metallic man- arge THE IRON AGE 1193 ganese. Nominally there is a third grade, averaging 24 per cent, but it is practically unsalable, even locally. [his area suffered badly during the Russian civil war, but the mines were eventually opened up again and exports were resumed in 1921. According to the de- velopment program of the Soviet, this territory is ex- pected to produce ore at the pre-war rate of 248,000 tons annually by about 1927. It is reported that some 1600 persons are employed at the mines and production in the summer of 1925 attained an average of 30,000 ms a month, of which about one-half was exported. Very little Nikopol ore has ever been shipped to the United States; it is normally exported to Germany, England and other European countries. While much better situated than the Chiaturi deposits for supply- ng the limited requirements of the Russian iron and steel industry, these deposits are almost twice as far from seaports, the average distance being, roughly, 200 While the Nikopol deposits are nominally still con- 1 by the Southern Ore Trust, this Soviet organ! ration agreed early in 1925 to give the exclusive sale of the ore to a German concern which helps finance operatior at least to the extent of advancing 40 per f the \ re produced rrangement mu on It mmonly conceded that the deposits about Krivo Rog cannot be mined as cheaply as those of the Caucasus. Nevertheless, officiai figures, as recently iblished in the R an Review, show costs in 192: have been lower in the former region. The figure which are translated into American units below, are me tere 1 they show the approximate dis tribution if not the actual total of costs of prod iction n the tw ! 1 Ru in localiti es ! hiatu . si i ] tas : $7 Russian exports promise shortly to equal, if not xceed, pre-war While recently these have come partly from stocks, there is no cause to question the reported production of 531,000 gross tons for the fiscal year ended Oct. 1, 1925; this compares with the fol- led Better Transport Facilities in India Next to Russia, India has always been the principal! producer of manganese ore and, after conditions in the Caucasus became abnormal (and often before) the In dian output has been larger than that of any other ountry. Because of its marked ability to expand when required, India has been called the balance wheel f the industry. Mining began in 1892 and production reached a maximum of 900,000 tons in 1907. Even the British Imperial Institute reported in 1918 that the cher Indian ores were becoming less plentiful and ithorities, not so competent, have declared that the output was definitely on the wane. Latest reports, how- ever, promise the early completion of a standard gage railroad to replace the unsatisfactory transportation system which heretofore has been the only link be- tween the large deposits of the central provinces and the sea About a year ago the local government with- irew some of the restrictions that had hampered min- ing, although licensees must still turn over 25 per cent of their net profits as an extra tax in addition to fixed royalties. Evidently, therefore, India is not yet out of the running. The ore, while it carries a trifle too much iron to be used alone in making 80 per cent ferro- manganese, is lower in silica than that from the Making Headway in Foreign Trade United States Now a Seasoned Participant, with Business Well Above the Pre-War Volume, President Farrell Tells Charleston Convention BY JAMES A. FARRELL N discussing the outlook for foreign trade, we must I consider the condition of the world in general which furnishes the markets for our foreign trade; what that trade is today, or rather what it was in the immediate past, and what constitutes the basis of its future growth and development. Obviously we cannot take the time to examine in- detail the existing situation in each of the 80 to 100 ter- ritorial divisions of the world which constitute our sep- arate markets. I shall rather content myself with calling your attention again to the fact that the world as a whole continued last year the economic recovery and improvement which has marked its course steadily since the close of the war. It is evident in several ways that the process of accumulation which was interrupted for four years is gaining momentum each year by the added force of its own annual savings. Production is on the upgrade in all the industrial nations, and most of them have brought their international commerce nearly up to its pre-war level. Nearly Back to Pre-War Volume The figures of 33 exporting nations, not including the United States, for the last fiscal year, showed them to be within 7 per cent of their pre-war volume of trade. The United States and Canada alone of all the trad- ing nations have made a substantial increase over their pre-war status. If our figures are included in this cal- culation, the world as a whole is shown to be only 2 per cent under its pre-war volume at the close of the last fiscal year. There are some indications that this deficiency will be more than recovered in the current year. One such indication of special significance is the increased volume of raw material imports, both by the United States and by several of the industrial nations of Europe. That, of course, evidences an impending increase of production and consequently of consuming power. Consideration of our trade for 1925 discloses some striking facts. It was larger both in value and in vol- ume than in any previous normal year. There were a few years influenced by exceptional war or post-war conditions, when it represented a larger number of dol- lars, but those dollars represented so much less pur- chasing power that its physical volume was actually less then than now. Reasonable prices tend to extend commerce, maintain production, lessen costs and in- crease consumption at home and abroad. Department of Commerce figures show a net gain of more than 1,500,000 tons in volume last year, imports having in- creased by 2,361,000 tons while exports fell off 823,000 tons. The tonnage figures, when issued, are likely to show a total for the year well in excess of 93,000,000 tons. Our Large Exports of Manufactures Turning from the volume and value of this trade to an examination of its character, we find that of exports aggregating $4,818,271,000, the products of manufac- ture constituted almost 64 per cent and raw materials less than 30 per cent. These products of our industry comprise finished manufactures, which by themselves furnished a little over 38 per cent of the total, semi- finished manufactures, and manufactured foodstuffs. It is significant that finished manufactures continue to head the list of five great groups into which the De- partment of Commerce divides our exports. Raw ma- terials are second, and foodstuffs, which for so many years held the right of the line, now bring up the rear. There is an illuminating fact in the figures of raw material exports. It is that unmanufactured cotton constituted more than three-fourths of that group. It * furnished 22 per cent of our total exports, and stands ‘first in the list of commodities exported. All other raw materials combined furnished only 7 per cent of our total exports. Heavy Imports for Industry Contrasting with this export showing is our import of materials for industry, crude and _ semi-finished. They were 58% per cent of our total imports. To such an extent has our industrial establishment as a whole developed, that it is dependent, for the fulfillment of the fundamental condition of prosperity—occupation— upon a steady inflow of raw materials from foreign sources, aggregating at least $2,000,000,000 a year in value, and constituting three-fifths of our total imports. Curtailment of such supplies or abnormal prices for them inevitably affect industrial activity in all coun- tries and in this connection it is realized that national trade is the basis of national livelihood. The first 19 items on our export list last year ac- count for 60 per cent of our total exports. They in- cluded all the factors which contributed 1 per cent or more to our total. Of these 19 items, only five were crude materials, including raw cotton, tobacco, wheat, coal and crude oil. The remaining 14 were either fin- ished manufactures, such as automobiles, cotton cloth, wheat flour and agricultural machinery, or articles partly processed, such as refined oils, sawed lumber, leather and steel products. The next 83 items on the list furnished in the aggre- gate only 24 per cent of our total exports, their totals ranging in value from $25,000,000 down to $6,369,000, which was the figure for rubber footwear. Then follows an unnumbered and almost innumer- able group classified as “all other exports,” constitut- ing 15 per cent of our total. Not an item in this list was nearer the top than 100, or contributed as much as one-tenth of 1 per cent of the total. Yet their ag- gregate value was $719,970,000. Our Larger Ideas of. World Trade In these figures we have a glimpse of what has been going on in the way of development of our foreign trade in the last 10 or 15 years, and of what is before us for the next decade. Here stands clearly revealed the great change that has taken place since the placid days before the war. Then foreign trade was inciden- tal and occasional with all but a relatively small num- ber of our manufacturing concerns. Then it was only here and there that a manufacturer gave steady thought to the advantages of sharing in foreign mar- kets, and our overseas commerce was spoken of slight- ingly as representing “only 4 per cent of the total.” Now far and wide throughout this country manufac- turers, agriculturalists, bankers and railroad and steam- ship men are awake to the importance of this develop- ment, eager to take their share and all building up the steadily increasing total. We are reaching the stage of expanded interest and participation which tends to diminish the risk of the whole because of its widened distribution. No doubt 1190 April 29, 1926 there will be setbacks, local depressions, and situations unfavorable to a single line over an extended period, or unfavorable to several lines over a shorter time. We have developed a mass interest and participation in in- ternational commerce which spreads and reduces the shock of individual misfortune or lack of success. The complaint is occasionally heard that “foreign trade is declining,” when in fact only an individual or a concern has been affected. There were several hun- dred bank failures in the United States last year, but the banking establishment of the United States as a whole has not ceased doing business. Some exporters of flour, for example, have complained recently that their business is dead beyond possibility of reviving it. The export figures. for last year show, however, that wheat flour was number ten on the list, with shipments aggregating over $85,000,000. A hundred other lines which did not contribute nearly so large a proportion of our exports are all progressing, anticipating im- proved business and eagerly preparing for it. Problems Never So Well Studied This development of our trade, of which I have spoken, is the result of intensive study of the whole subject which thousands have been making in recent years. It is one of the aims and purposes of such meetings of men engaged in business as this national foreign trade convention. The National Foreign Trade Council has steadfastly encouraged the smaller manu- the war. THE IRON AGE 1191 ceed on their part in the distribution of our commodi- ties. We have learned to study the problems of our cus- tomers in other lands, and to apply our experience and ingenuity in their assistance wherever possible. It is the high art of service put to effective, practical and profitable use. There is still plenty to do. We must not fall into the error of thinking that because we have reached a creditable position by hard work and intensive applica- tion we can remain there without further effort. America Best Equipped in Production Of the four great factors which contribute essen- tially to the maintenance of our foreign trade—produc- tion, communication, finance and transportation—we are equipped best in the first. Improvement has been made in the other three, and you will hear something of that improvement, especially as to communication and finance at this convention. As to transportation, our railroad systems have attained a high efficiency. Attention is now being given to the development of our inland waterways which will supplement our rail trans- portation in keeping pace with the economic growth of the country and in assisting to solve the problem of economic distribution. Not Alone in Shipping Depression Our maritime situation, in certain important re- spects, is not much different from that of other coun- os and AALS AST DNATA EET AMAA RANA ANANTH AMANO AAA SAAD AA AA AMUUANUOOGODONOUDEAAUGQUUAASUSSOUSOUOVOGUNS OUNGDRSNAONLLOUYUOUHUUSUOOLTUURODOOOEUONODEEEPORMMOOGA ODN ANNHA HIS address, which analyzes the situation in our foreign trade and gives reasons for the progress the United States has been making, was de- livered at the opening session of the National Foreign Trade Convention at Charleston, S. C., on Wednesday, April 28. President Farrell of the Steel Corporation has been chairman of the National Foreign Trade Council for twelve years, or ever since the council was organized aft Washington in 1914. He has been the leading figure in all the thirteen conventions. have been held at widely scattered points—two on the Pacific Coast, two at New Orleans, four on the Atlantic seaboard and five at interior points. An address by Mr. Farrell has been @ feature of every convention program. He has dealt with many factors of the export problem—the relation of our industrial capacity to foreign trade, foreign investment of American capital, cooperation in trade after the war, also various phases of the American Merchant Marine situation as they have developed in the years since All these addresses have shown Mr. Farrell’s unusual grasp of These shipping and world trade questions in all their wide ramifications. UO UUQURROETSUNLALEOU TUOMAS UNA AATNELEYANORLEOUULUA GAARA NNRSNANAGEUUU HAAN UMMA MUNNAR EOL UOLASEALANOLGLOA UAPONONE OOH TOENEEOOOOODNTON ETD |G asveRU NEL ASEAUAALAUGALAUULGOUGUERLDUUOOAGAGRLUORAASUEGRUAUUOOELAUUUAUONE}OOGLAGGOEEUUOGOSRRSOUOUASE UU TULARE facturers in finding new markets and urged a greater diversification of products for sale as distinguished from the old method of exporting so-called staples. The council is by no means alone in its work. There are many organizations and groups all over this country, at interior points of production as well as at seaboard ports of shipment, which have made exhaustive study of principles and procedure in foreign trade. Discus- sion, debate, explanations and consultation on perplex- ing or difficult problems have gone on unceasingly. Ex- perts in a line, a field, a market, in every phase of this interesting but sometimes complicated business have freely given their advice to those of less experience. Today we are seeing the result. The programs of these conventions are no longer filled with eager, self- searching criticism. The speeches condemnatory of packing, quality, etc., disappeared from our sessions because we have become thorough in study and prac- tice, competent in manufacturing, merchandising and shipping. The old criticisms of American methods are seldom heard of, and quality is understood. Our con- sular service is on a higher plane and our Department of Commerce is efficiently managed. Helping Foreign Customers Salesmanship has had its share in this advance, and back of that the steadying and solidifying of a definite foreign trade policy. We are giving practical effect to the sound and helpful belief-that the best way to main- tain our own success is to help our customers to suc- tries. There is worldwide depression in the shipping business. It is not confined to the United States. Gen- erally speaking, the fleets of the world are carrying cargoes at less than the cost of operation. The ton- nage that was inadequate for war service, or for the period immediately after the armistice, was much too large for the restricted trade which followed: Despite all the handicaps, economic and otherwise, under which shipping is conducted, more ships are now operating under the American flag and a larger pro- portion of American cargo is carried in American bot- toms than was the case before the war. More trade routes are served by privately owned as well as Gov- ernment vessels, but until there is an improvement in the world freights the business as a whole is unlikely to reach the substantial measure of financial success which is necessary if new tonnage is to be built to re- place obsolete craft. Meantime the great surplus tonnage of all nations is wearing out faster than replacement is being made and the industry is gradually reaching a point where the supply of tonnage will more nearly approximate cargo opportunities. Ever since the beginning of the war the world has been living on a lower plane than had been its custom. It is gradually getting back to a pre-war status of production and consumption and in that lies the hope of betterment. The foreign trade outlook cannot be accurately forecast, but there are signs of recuperation and strengthening in the whole industrial fabric. Manganese Ore Output Is Large It Easily Can Exceed Consumption Now That Min- ing Is Resumed in Russia and Supplies Are Coming From New Sources BY PAUL M. TYLER. must come down. The essential truth of this homely saying has been widely lamented with re- spect to metal products, most of which came down more readily from their war-time levels than other com- modities. While certain ferroalloys, and particularly ferromanganese, long resisted this tendency, cheaper ferromanganese is now an estab- lished fact, the recent spectacu- lar drop from $115 to $90 or less placing it substantially in line with other iron and steel prod- ucts. The latter figure is cheap, not only relative to prices that have prevailed for the last year or two, but also relative to the cost of production. Imported manganese ore is still quoted at above 40c., which means about 65c. a unit delivered at the fur- nace, duty (22.4c.) and trans- portation paid. Since it com- monly takes 110 units of manga- nese in ore to provide the 80 units of manganese contained in a ton of ferromanganese, the metallic mixture costs nominally 110 x $0.65, or $71.50. Adding to the cost of roughly 2% tons of coke and considering that the expense of running a furnace is vastly greater for ferromanganese than for pig iron, no further calculation is needed to indicate that the making of ferromanganese for sale is not at present a profitable business in the United States. Competition among domestic producers is one cause for the present situation. In pre-war time, when in- dependent steel makers were supplied wholly from Europe, a price war between British and German pro- ducers brought the price of the alloy to less than $40 and even to $35 per ton, delivered at American ports. The United States Steel Corporation was making ferro- manganese then for its own use and has continued to do so; but it has almost never supplied it regularly to other consumers. [omnst is an old-fashioned rule that what goes up tries. New Domestic Competition During the war, however, a number of new pro- ducers appeared, only to drop out one by one later when British supplies started to flow more freely again. The Lavino Furnace Co. was the only one of these merchant operations that survived, and for almost five years the domestic supply came mainly from this firm or from Great Britain. Later, however, the Electro- metallurgical Sales Co. entered the field, and still later the Bethlehem Steel Co., which, like the United States Steel Corporation, had been making ferromanganese for its own use, began to offer it for sale. The strug- gles of these competing firms to get business from one another and from the English plants precipitated the drop in price. A somewhat similar situation obtains abroad where new producers of ferromanganese, especially in Poland, are causing some anxiety to the older firms in England, Germany and Norway. The price of $90 a ton, which was reached early in April, is equivalent to $56.40, without duty, or roughly 40 per cent higher than the price in the so-called “nor- mal” period of 1913. It is in close harmony with the index of 137 calculated by the United States Bureau of R. TYLER is known for his inves- tigations for the Tariff Commis- sion into the competitive line-up of the steel industry in various European coun- He takes the view in this article that the potential supply of manganese ore at present prices is in excess of prob- able demand. As Brazilian output falls, that from Russia promises to reach large proportions and the new mines of the West Coast of Africa have turned out nearly twice as much as Brazil. ee MUVLINUAAEYALQUUOUAALSNENQSTALUULAENEADSLDUOUOUAUNEENAAAUA OOO AETANEEAELUU UC ENENA NEUEN AGEN NASUANET TT NENT NTTNETA Labor Statistics for all iron and steel products, but very much higher than the index of 113 for nonferrous com- modities. In common with most metals, however, ferro- manganese is now cheaper relative to its position in ~ 1913 than other commodities, the average price of which in December, 1925, was 56 per cent above pre- war levels as measured by 1913 averages. Manganese Ore Prices Still High PTTL eee — eee Manganese ore, on the other hand, even as measured in terms of other commodities, still costs more in the world’s markets than it did in 1913. The present quotation of manganese ore at the Atlantic seaboard is 2% times pre-war, having increased from 17%c. to 40c. or more per unit, to which must now be added the duty of 22.4c. per unit under the Tariff Act of 1922, which applies to imports from all countries except Cuba. Prices are fixed by supply and demand and, since world de- mand has varied relatively little and since supplies were inter- rupted by the war, prices have followed merely their natural course. Since roughly one-half of the pre-war supply came from Russia, the return to normal was retarded after the war by the unsatisfactory political situation in that country. Less Call for High-Grade Ores The demand for manganese ore is apparently less now than in 1913. Considerably more than 90 per cent of the consumption is in the steel industry and, since 1913, the world production of steel-has thus far failed to exhibit a definite upward trend. The rapid growth in American output has largely been offset by declines in other countries, so that 1925 was the first post-war year in which the world total substantially exceeded that of 1913. Future growth in steel production is in part discounted by greater economies in the use of manganese. From the angle of ore supplies diminished require- ments result from the fact that high manganese pig iron (which in this country is made from manganifer- ous iron ores rather than from manganese ore) is dis- placing ferromanganese and spiegel more and more both in foundries and in steel works. Moreover, man- ganiferous iron ores are being substituted for manga- nese ores which were formerly used extensively in Europe for bringing up the manganese in pig iron. There is a large actual saving in manganese in making steel by the open-hearth as compared with the Besse- mer process, especially the basic Bessemer. A much larger fraction of the world’s steel now comes from the United States, where the open-hearth process is largely in vogue, and this process is now used more extensively abroad because of the greater employment of scrap and, in Germany, because of the desire to get away from dependence upon Lorraine ore. Present Needs a Half Million Tons Below Pre-War Production On the basis of a probable average steel output of 100 million tons annually for the next few years, and assuming 13 lb. of manganese (i. e., 16 lb. of ferro- 1192 April 29, 1926 manganese) will be used per ton, the world’s require- ments of manganese for steel making are approxi- mately 600,000 gross tons. After allowing for metal- lurgical losses (which may be reduced because of the greater use of the electric furnace), this represents 1,600,000 tons of 50 per cent ore. Chemical uses and the increased demand for dry batteries may increase the total yearly requirements to a maximum of 1,750,- 000 gross tons. This figure compares with a pre-war production of 2,147,000 tons in 1913, of which Russia alone supplied 1,202,000 tons, the remainder coming principally from India and Brazil, with only scattering amounts from other countries. As a result of the war, manganese deposits in other parts of the world have been opened. There are persistent rumors that still other deposits, especially a large field in Australia, soon will be pro- vided with transportation facilities that will enable them to be worked. Even without these probable ad- ditions, the potential supply of manganese ore at pres- ent prices exceeds probable demands. Russian Output Soon May Exceed Pre-War Wide publicity has been given the exclusive contract entered into on June 1, 1925, between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Harriman interests. The essence of this contract is that, in return for install- ing modern equipment for economica