V 4' " ,
' . * :
'Che Conservative.
ments and are inferior and chenp , the
most of them were good producing
mills. An average of somewhat les *
than fifty men to a mill were employed
iti these plants.
Prices nml Profits.
When the trust was being formed in
November , 1888 , what wore said to be
conservative and carefully prepared
estimates of sales , earnings and profits
for ] 898 were made public. These esti
mates were as follows :
The gross outputof the mills was.
stated to be 7G83 5SG boxes. On the
basis of the 1h n operating expenses n
profit of 85 cents a box , or § 2,671,754
was made by the mills when prices of
tin plate were lowest. Under the new
arrangement the operating expenses
were to ba reduced by § 1,000 000 mak
ing a total estimated profit of $3.671,754.
After deducting § 1.260.000 for dividends
on the preferred stock , $2,441,754 would
be left for dividends on the common
stork.
The prices at which the stock has
been sold on the N w York and Chicago
Exchanges show that in good business
circles these estimates were regarded as
reliable.
When these estimates were published
tin plate wns selling at $2.65 at the
mills , or § 2.80 in New Yoik for 100
pound boxes.
Average Prices of Tin I'lalu at New York.
Date
1898.
Juno
July
August. .
October.
November
December.
1800.
January .
February .
March. . . . . .
April. . . .
May
Juno
July
AURUflt. . . .
Sonteinber
Am or lean.
$ 2.85
2 80
2 80
2.b ( )
2 80
2 80
2 00
8.20
8 65
4 no
4.074
4.i5 !
4 ( ill
4 85
En il Nh
in Bond.
2.50
2.60
2.50
2.65
2 60
2.00
2.00
2.00
2 05
2.70
2.80
2 00
8 10
it. 00
it 70
! ! Co
Difl.
.80
. ! iO
.25
.80
.20
.80
.00
.HO
1 BO
1 2J
Thus not only did the trust advance
prices immediately , but in March , four
months after the trust was formed , it
had them within 1-5 of a cent a pound
of the importing point the duty being
] } cents. The trust raiped prices at
the mills on July 14 , to § 4.87) and
again on August 26 to § 4.65 which
price has since been firmly held.
Although this makes the price at New
York 80 cents under the importing
price for 100 pound plates , it is so near
the importing price for 80 pound plates
that the trust dares not mark up prices
again for the present.
Price Advances Not Justified by Cost of
Materials.
*
s
To what extent were the advances in
price justified by the increased cost oi
raw materials ? *
Iti the first place , it is not true , as
often asserted in protection papers , tha
lit * ' . :
the advances were caused by the in
creased cost of raw materials. On the
contrary the advances in price of tin
plates preceded the advances in billets
and tin. Thus from November 15 to
January 0 tin plate advanced 85 cents a
box , while the rise in raw materials
was only equal to about 14 cents. From
November 15 to February 17 tin plates
were'marked up 85 cents , while the ad
vance in raw materials was only 80
cents per box. From November 15 to
Mnroh 8. prices of plates were marked
up § 1.22) , less than half of which was
explained by the prices of materials.
From November 15 to October 6 tin
plate prices advanced just § 2.00 , although
the advance in prices of raw materials
justified a rise of only § 1.55 , or of § 1.75.
if , as the protectionists claim , labor had
advanced 20 cents a box. Thus it is
clear that the trust advanced prices
arbitrarily and with more regard to the
price at which foreign plates could be
imported under a protective tariff than
to the increased cost of Bessemer bars
themselves the product of another tariff
trust which as we shall see also arbi
trarily advanced prices.
The following are Pittsburg prices of
steel billets or tin plato bars and of
pig tin and tin plates at different dates ,
the first being two days before the
formation of the trust was announced
and the others those on which the prin
cipal advances in price of tin plates
were made :
Prices at I'iltslmrjj.
Date.
Nov. 15.
Jan.O . .
Feb. 17
Mur. 8
July 14
Auc. H. .
Oct. 0 .
Billets
pur ton.
$ 15.09
10 25
18. UO
2.1 00
ii ; : uo
80 OJ
HS ( II )
Tin Plato
per 100 Ibs.
$ 2 05
800
11.50
8 8TH
4 87 } |
4.Co
4 05
Because of false statements widely
circulated in protectionist organs it is
necessary to explain the above carefully
ascertained figures in detail.
About 2) < j pounds of tin are required
to coat 97) < < Ibs. of steel sheets and pro
duce 100 Ibs. of steel plates. The sheets
are rolled from Bessemer bars which
now sell at the same price as steel bil
lets. A ton of bars (2,240 ( Ibs. ) will
yield on an average 20 boxes (100 ( Ibs.
each ) of tin plates , about two of which
are seconds or "wasters" slightly in
ferior plates which sell for about 25
cents per box below the other price of
the other 18 boxes. The 290 pounds of
unused steel is valuable as scrap ant
sells somewhat higher than pig iron
having risen in value like other steel
The advance in the price of coke is said
to add about 9 cents per box to the cost
of producing tin plates. A claimed ad
vance of 20 per cent in the cost of labor
is said to add 20 cents per box , though
as the total labor cost was bolosv 75
cents a box in 1898 , it is not clear how
the 20 cents is reached , even if it is true
as is doubtful that a 20 or even 25
) er cent advance has actually become
effective in all departments.
Taking the prices of November 15
and the present prices wo obtain the C * A < j
\ * % * , '
following results :
Oct. 0 , billets | 88.00
Nov. 15 , billets 15.00
Risn in billets 23.00
Hiso in billets per box 1.15
Rise of scrap per box 085
tfot rise steel'per box 1.005
Oct. 0 , tin 1100 Ibs. i $ 82.25
Nov. 15 , tin (100 ( Ibs. ) 17 85
Rise in tin (100 ( Ibs. ) 1480
Rise in tin per box 8(5 (
Rise in steel per box 1.005
Rise in labor per box .20
tliso in other items per box 105
Total rise of all items per box 1.78
Oct. 0 , tin plates per box $ 4.05
Nov. 15 , tin plates per box 2.05
Rise in price 2.00
Increased cost of product 1 78
Rise in profit 27
Profit stated in 1898 85
Present profit 02
Profit on 7,500,000 boxes $ 4,050,000
7 per cent on preferred stock 1,200.000
8,800,000
12 per cent on common stock 8,800,000
Surplus 80,000
Percentage water in common stock 100
Percentage water in preferred stock 40
Percentage profit on value plants 40
The above estimate of profits does not
include the $1,000,000 which the con
solidated or trust method of production
was to save in expenses. That 62 cents
per box is not far from the present
actual profit is asserted by those in the
trade who have heard officers of the
trust say that the present cost of pro
ducing plates is close to $4 per box.
The Tin Plate liar Trust.
But the officers of this trust do not get
all of their tariff profits from this trust.
As stated before , they organised the
National Steel Company to control the
principal raw material of tin plates. It * #
matters but little whether they sell
Bessemer bars to themselves at a low
price and take all of their tariff profits
in tin plates , or whether they mark up . - " / . " , %
bars and get much of their profits from - . - > > -id : ?
that source. They have concluded that
it looks better to compromise and to *
take profits on both tariff trusts.
Last November tin plate bars were
selling in England at L4 15s § 28.08.
They are now selling at L6 5s $80.42.
Hence the foreign advance has been
only § 7.84 while the advance at Pitts-
burg has been § 28.00. While not all
this difference $15 66 is chargeable to
the tariff , it is evident that the present
high prices could not be maintained * - , A3
were there no duty on imported steel.
Again the price of English tin plates
in bond has gone up only $1.05 per box.
