Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1885 — IRON AND STEEL. [ARTICLE]

IRON AND STEEL.

An Encouraging Outlook. The Age of Steel (St. Louis) publishe over 200 letters from prominent manufacturers, in all parts of the country—furnacemen, dealers in iron-working machinery, steam-engine builders, and editors of trade papers—on the state of trade last year and the prospect for the next six months. Taking the whole country together, the volume of sales in these branches in 1884 does not differ materially from that of 1883. There was, however, a depreciation of values in the neighborhood of 15 per cent., so that the margin of profits and the aggregate of sales were smaller than in 1883. The extensions of plants and improvement of facilities for manufacturing were also less than for the previous year. Manufacturers generally take a hopeful view of the future for the following reasons: The values of raw materials and of manufactured products are now at the lowest point, further depreciation beiug impossible: stocks in the country are unusually light, inquiries for spring delivery are numerous, and the production of pig-iron in the United States during the year was about 10 per cent, less than in 1883. The coke and charcoal furnaces in the South, having an annual productive capacity of 920,000 tons per annum, are not now making above 8,000 tons a week.

Ex-Senator Sharon’s estate, in which Sarah Hill—by the decision of the court, “Mrs. Sharon”—will share, is put down at $4,000,000. Ex-Judge George W. Tyler, Miss Hill's counsel, took the case for onehalf of what might be recovered. Tyler is said to have grown rich taking divorce cases on these terms. A man in York County, Pennsylvania, had his wife arrested for pouring a gallon of molasses on his head. He said he didn’t want his taffy that way. Electric breastpins are. the latest inventions for the benefit of hotel clerks.