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- MARINE REVIEW. [March 6, IRON AND STEEL WORKS IN NORTH AMERICA. SINCE 1898 THE BLAST FURNACE CAPACITY OF THE UNITED STATES HAS INCREASED 33 PER CENT.--ANNUAL CAPACITY IS NOW 24,000,000 TONS. Mr. James M. Swank, general manager of the American Iron '& Steel Association, has brought the statistics of the iron and steel works of the United States and Canada up to date in the fifteenth directory, just issued by the association. The preface to the volume gives a complete account of the important additions which have been made to the iron and steel industries of America during the past few years. The preface is, indeed, a complete epitome of this great industry 'and is as follows: The fifteenth edition of the directory to the iron and steel works of the United States presenis to the American iron trade a thoroughly revised description of all the blast furnaces, rolling mills, steel works, and tinplate works in the United States; also of the few remaining forges and bloomaries. The iron and steel works of Canada are also described. It was intended to have this edition completed and in the hands of the manu- facturers and others as early as Nov. 1, 1901, but unexpected difficulties arose while the book was being printed, resulting in serious delay in its appearance. These difficulties were of two kinds: first, notwithstanding the utmost industry upon our part, many manufacturers could not for many reasons promptly furnish us with the information they were asked to send us about their own works; second, changes in equipment, officers, etc., were constantly taking place, so that the printer's proofs had to be altered from day to day. Even after the principal part of the book had been completed and printed it was found necessary to add a supple- mentary chapter which would embody the changes that had taken place while it was going through the press. We have succeeded in giving to the iron trade a directory that is complete in all essential details down to the close of 1901, but at the sacrifice of the symmetry which we would have been glad to impart to it. On page 1, where the general descriptions begin, the reader will find the phrase, "corrected'to Aug. 31, 1901," and on page 389, where the supplementary chapter begins, he will also find the phrase, "corrected to Dec. 31, 1901." The supplementary chapter shows how numerous and important are the changes in the American iron trade that can take place in a few months. Indeed the whole directory is a record of marvelous changes and even upheavals in every branch of the American ifon trade since the appearance of its predecessor in the sum- mer of 1898. The present edition of the directory is divided into four parts, as follows: - Part I, occupying 151 pages, is chiefly devoted to the presentation of a full list of the consolidations and reorganizations that have taken place in the American iron trade during the last few years, with a full account of their capitalization and of the properties absorbed by them, mention- ing also the names of previous owners of the properties. The names of directors, executive committees, and other officers are given in full. Coal and iron ore mines, coke ovens, lake vessels, railroads, limestone quarries, and all properties other than iron and steel works that have been acquired by the consolidated or tfeorganized companies are fully described, as are the iron and steel works themselves. Some of the older manufacturing companies of the country, which have been neither consolidated nor reor- ganized, are also for special reasons included in Part I. All the iron and steel works and other properties of each 'consolidated, reorganized, or other company that is mentioned in Part I are».described in one con- nected narrative, no matter in how many states they may be situated, and under a displayed title. In other words, a chapter is devoted to each com- pany that is described in Part I. This is an entirely new feature of the directory. j Part II, occupying 164 pages, embodies a complete description of all iron and steel works in the United States that are not described in Part I. The arrangement in Part II is by states and districts, as in previous editions of the directory, but with this difference, that all the iron and steel enterprises in each state arid district are grouped together, the furnaces coming first and then the rolling mills and steel works and forges and bloomaries. A complete list of recently abandoned iron and steel works, classified by states, is a feature of Part II. Part III occupies seventy-one pages and is devoted to the classifica- tion by states of the iron and steel works of the whole country (except blast furnaces) according to their products--the Bessemer steel works, the open-hearth steel works, the crucible steel works, all the steel casting works, the iron and steel rail mills, the structural mills, the plate, sheet, and skelp mills, the tinplate and terne plate works, the cut-nail works, the wire-rod mills, and the wire-nail works. This classification will be found to be very convenient for ready reference. Part IV occupies thirteen pages. While Parts I, II and III were passing through the press in the late months of 1901 changes were taking place in the officers of many of the companies whose works are described in its pages and some new enterprises noted in the directory as having been undertaken were completed. All these and some other changes which had taken place prior to Dec. 31, 1901, are fully noted in this part of the directory, so that the whole book may be regarded as complete down to the date mentioned. We have even noted some changes in offi- cers, etc., that have since taken place. _ This edition of the directory also contains a complete account of the iron and steel enterprises in the dominion of Canada which had been com- pleted or undertaken down to Dec. 31, 1901, occupying eight pages. The names of officers, descriptions of plants, etc., are given in full detail, with proper geographical classification in each case. We have not thought it necessary in this edition to consider the iron and steel works of Mexico We know of only one addition to the list of iron and steel enterprises of that country as 1t was given in the directory for 1898, and this enterprise 1s not yet in operation. : It will be seen that the arrangement of the new directory differs in some material respects from that of its predecessors, but the innovations have all been rendered necessary by the radical changes that have taken place in the iron trade itself. All the essential descriptive features of pre- aS es aay retained. | 3 i __ Blast Furnaces.--In the edition of the directory for ibe 420 completed' furnaces as being then active or a tihng Beek tore to us as likely to be some day active. We added, however, thatmwé: felt certain that about fifty of these furnaces would never make another ton of pig iron, thus reducing the number of furnaces that were then active or likely to become active to 370. We gave the annual capacity of these furnaces as amounting in round numbers to 18,000,000 gross tons, not all of which capacity could, of course, be employed at the same time. In the present edition we describe 406 completed furnaces, either active or re- ported to us as likely to be some day active. Eliminating some of the furnaces in the latter category as being in Our opinion dead for all time there remain less than 400 live furnaces today. But many of these are fhe largest that the world has ever seen. Their annual capacity we place in round numbers at 24,000,000 gross tons, an increase since 1898 of exactly 331/3 per cent. Our actual production of pig iron in 1901 was 15,878,354 gross tons. Since 1898 we have transferred fifty-eight furnaces to the abandoned, dismantled, or inactive list. When the directory for 1898 appeared four furnaces were being built, two in Pennsylvania and two in Ohio. Today we enumerate twelve fur- naces as in course of erection, of which two are in New York, one is in New Jersey, three are in Pennsylvania, one is in West Virginia, two are in Alabama, one is in Michigan, and two are in Colorado. In these figures for both years we do not include merely projected furnaces, or furnaces that had been undertaken and work upon which had been suspended. ' Of the 420 furnaces described in the edition for 1898, seventy-nine used charcoal as fuel and 341 used anthracite and bituminous fuel. Of the 406 furnaces that are now described fifty-five 4re reported as using charcoal, five as using mixed charcoal and coke, and 346 as using anthracite and bituminous fuel. The decline in the number of charcoal furnaces will be noticed, but it is also worthy of notice that many of the charcoal furnaces that are still active are of large capacity. The annual production of char- coal pig iron is not decreasing, although it is decreasing relatively as compared with the production of pig iron with coke and other fuels. In 1900 Georgia and Tennessee produced 44,608 tons of pig iron with mixed charcoal and coke. This was a larger tonnage than the total production of pig iron in that year with anthracite alone, which amounted to 40,682 tons. In 1901 we produced 23,294 tons of pig iron with mixed charcoal and coke. The average annual capacity of the seventy-nine charcoal furnaces in 1898 was 12,119 gross tons, and the average annual capacity of the fifty-five charcoal and five mixed charcoal and coke furnaces that are now described is 14,179 tons. The average annual capacity of the mineral fuel furnaces in 1898 was 53,150 tons, and the average annual capacity of these furnaces today is 69,252 tons. Rolling Mills and Steel Works.--In the edition of the directory for 1898 we enumerated 504 completed rolling mills and steel works and four in course of erection. In the present edition we enumerate 527 com- pleted rolling mills and steel works, twenty-eight in course of erection, and one being rebuilt, making a total of 556. In addition the directory mentions one plant which is to be rebuilt and six plants that are projected. Puddling Furnaces.--The number of puddling furnaces in April, 1898, each double furnace counting as two single furnaces, was 3,889. In No- vember, 1901, there were 3,251 puddling furnaces. The highest number of puddling furnaces reported in any edition of the directory was in 1884, when 5,265 were mentioned. Bessemer Steel Works.--The total number of completed Bessemer steel works in April, 1898, including two Clapp-Griffiths plants and one Robert-Bessemer plant, .was forty-five, and the whole number of con- verters was 100. In November, 1901, there were thirty-five standard Bessemer steel works with eighty-one converters, one Clapp-Griffiths plant with one converter, two Robert-Bessemer plants with three con- verters, and nine Tropenas and "special" Bessemer steel plants with fifteen converters; total number of Bessemer plants, forty-seven; total number of converters, 100, the same number as in 1898. The increase in the number of small Bessemer plants in the last few years is noteworthy. Since April, 1898, seven standard Bessemer plants have been placed on the re- tired list, but the capacity of the remaining standard plants has been in- creased. The annual capacity of the completed Bessemer converters in April, 1898, was 10,633,000 gross tons; in November, 1901, the capacity of the built and building converters was 12,998,700 tons. Open-hearth Steel Works.--In the directory for 1898 we described ninety-nine completed open-hearth steel plants, with 281 completed fur- naces, and in the present directory we describe 112 completed plants, with 403 completed furnaces. In 1898 no new plants were being built. In November, 1901, twelve open-hearth plants with forty furnaces were building, one plant was to be rebuilt, thirteen plants were projected, and six furnaces were being added to existing plants. The annual capacity of the 403 completed and tHe forty-six building open-hearth furnaces, in ingots and direct castings, in November, 1901, was 8,289,750 gross tons, against 3,522,250 tons of the completed furnaces in 1898. Growth of Basic Steel--In the directory for 1898 we indicated the character of the product made at our open-hearth steel works, whether acid or basic steel, or both. Of the ninety-nine completed open-hearth plants in April of that year forty-three were prepared to make basic steel, and of ten open-hearth plants that were projected at that time a majority would probably make basic steel. In the present directory 167 open- hearth furnaces are described as making acid steel and 236 as making basic steel; total, 408 furnaces. The acid furnaces have an annual capacity of 1,874,650 gross tons of ingots and castings, and the basic furnaces of 6,415,100 tons. Crucible Steel Works.--In November, 1901, there were forty-five completed crucible steel plants, three building, and one plant projected. The number of pots in the completed plants was 2,896, and the aggregate . annual capacity of these plants was 175,000 gross tons of ingots and cast- ings. _ Steel Castings.--In 1898 there were forty-seven open-hearth plants which were prepared to make steel castings, and in November, 1901, there were fifty-six, but in the meantime the capacity of many of the old plants had been increased. The production of open-hearth steel castings has greatly increased since 1898. As already mentioned, the number of small Bessemer plants has also increased since 1898, all of which make steel cast- aings.' Steel castings'are also made by fourteen crucible plants. Rail Mills--In the edition of the directory for 1898 we enumerated . fifty-one rolling mills which were prepared to make standard, girder, light T, and other iron and steel rails, In the present edition we enumerate forty-five completed rail mills and three building. chs Os aa Structural Mills.--The whole number of works which are now equip-