Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1892 — Steel Rali Prices. [ARTICLE]

Steel Rali Prices.

Stories have been in circulation for several days to the effect that there was to be a break In the price of steel rails. These stories had their rise In the gathering in this city of a number of prominent rail manufacturers. They appeared here suddenly on Tuesday, disappeared mysteriously in a body on Wednesday, and reappeared yesterday, with the result that the alley fronting Trinity Church was full of dark rumors; They were, however, without foundation. , The manufacturers, who held a regular monthly meeting, had converted their June meeting into a picnic and gone down to. Sparrow Point, near Baltimore, to inspect the new Maryland' mill of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. During their trip they drank champagne, ate soft-shell crabs, and interchanged views on the iron and steel market, and agreed to maintain the price of steel rails which has prevailed for a year.

Steel rails now sell for S3O per ton, and the manufacturers declare that their profits are only of reasonable size. The manufacturers banded themselves Informally together ten years ago, but it was not until a year ago that they formed a east-iron verbal agreement to hold prices up. They control the situation, *snd are free from competition. Those composing the combination are the Illinois Steel Company, Carnegie Brothers & Co., the Cambria Iron Company, the Bethlehem Steel Company, and the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. The following tablo shows how the combination has been able to keep up the price per ton of steel rails in the face of a strong decline in the price of pig iron: 1889, 1890. 1891. 1892. Pig iron SIB.OO $19.85 $15.95 $14.00 Steel rails 29 23 31.75 2.1.92 30.00 The price of English rails, delivered in America (after paying the duty of $13.44 per ton) Is now about $35 per ton. The American manufacturers say their profits, at S3O per ton, is only from $3 to $2.50 per ton. It was said yesterday at the office of Carnegie Brothers & Co. that the price of steel rails would remain as at present. B. G. Clark, of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company, made a similar statement. “The market is not active." he said. “The six manufactories which control the situation have a combined capacity of 3,000,000 tons of steel rails per year. I shall be surprised if their combined output this year aggregates over 1,200,000 tons. The outlook is not bright. The trouble with the railroads is that they don’t seem to have money with which to buy rails.”—New York Times, June 24, 1892.