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PART I.-GENERAL SURVEY OF THE IRON AND STEEL MANUFACTURING

INDUSTRY.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

The recent expansion of the iron and steel industry-Increase in the number of iron and steel workers-Definition of the iron and steel industry for the purposes of the investigation-Geographical areas studied-Households studied-Members of households for whom detailed information was secured-Employees for whom information was secured Comparative scope of the investigation-Method of presenting data collected-[Text Tables 1 to 13 and General Tables 1 to 3].

THE RECENT EXPANSION OF THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY.

During the past thirty years the iron and steel industry has had a very rapid development. In 1880 the amount of capital invested in blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills in the United States was only $209,904,965, and the annual value of the products of the iron and steel industry only $296,557,685, as contrasted with a capital commitment of $948,689,840 and an annual output to the value of $905,854,152 in the year 1905. The following table shows in detail the remarkable increase in capital and annual value of products which the industry has had during the period 1880 to 1905, both in the country as a whole and in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, the States where the greatest expansion in iron and steel production has occurred:

TABLE 1.-Growth of the iron and steel industry, by State, 1880 to 1905.

[Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills, forges, and bloomeries. Compiled from United States census reports.]

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TABLE 1.-Growth of the iron and steel industry, by State, 1880 to 1905-Continued.

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Supplementary to the foregoing table, the following table is presented. It shows the status of the tin and terne-plate industry which is of comparatively recent growth. The exhibit is made for Pennsylvania, the principal seat of this branch of the iron and steel industry, and for the country as a whole. For the country as a whole, the number of establishments, capital, and value of products is shown for 1900 as well as for 1905.

TABLE 2.-Growth of the tin and terne-plate industry, 1900 and 1905.
[Compiled from the United States census report on manufactures, 1905.]

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INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF IRON AND STEEL WORKERS.

As regards the immigration problem, the fact of greatest significance, however, in connection with the extraordinary development of the iron and steel industry has been the constant increase in the number of iron and steel workers. The successive increases in the number of employees during the period 1880 to 1905, are shown in the table following for the United States and for the principal iron and steel producing States.

TABLE 3.—Number of employees in the iron and steel industry, by State, 1880 to 1905. [Includes blast furnaces, steel works and roiling mills, forges and bloomaries. Compiled from the United States census report on manufactures, 1905.]

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a Figures compiled from United States census report on manufactures, States and Territories, 1905, 1900, 1890, and United States census report on manufactures, 1880. Includes only steel works and rolling

mills.

The table next presented exhibits the number of employees in the sheet and terne-plate industry in the United States in 1900 and 1905 and in Pennsylvania for 1905.

Table 4.—Number of employees in the sheet and terne-plate industry, 1900 and 1905. [Compiled from the United States census report for 1900 to 1905.]

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Upon referring to the foregoing tables, it is seen that the average number of wage-earners in the United States employed in the iron and steel industry increased from 140,798 in 1880, to 242,740 in 1905. It should be noted also that there were 4,847 persons employed in the sheet and terne-plate mills in 1905, all of which mills had practically been placed in operation since 1890. Among the several States, Michigan and New York alone show a decrease in the number of employees in 1905 as compared with 1880. All other States show steady increases in the number of iron and steel workers, the most notable being exhibited by Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and New Jersey.

A DEFINITION OF THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE INVESTIGATION.

The above showing as to the immense increase in the number of iron and steel workers led to an investigation of the employees of the industry for the purpose of ascertaining how far immigration had been drawn upon to furnish the necessary labor supply. After the presence of immigrants of recent and past years in the industry had been ascertained a detailed study was made of the extent of their employment and of the conditions under which they worked and lived. For the purposes of this study the iron and steel industry was arbitrarily considered to include all kinds of furnaces, rolling mills, Bessemer, open hearth, and crucible steel works, forges, bloomaries, and tin and terne plate works.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS STUDIED.

The decision to follow certain geographical areas, or in more accurate terms the geographical distribution of the industry, in collecting and presenting material, as in the case of other industries was mainly made for the reason that the various geographical divisions represent different conditions of employment. It was also thought that a comparison of the different steel-producing divisions of the country would not only furnish an instructive insight into comparative conditions and opportunities, but would also serve to exhibit the relative inducements and obstacles to immigration existing in various parts of the country. The geographical divisions thus selected for study were: 1. The East, including the States of New York, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

2. The Middle West, including the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

3. The South, including the States of Maryland and Alabama. The selection of States under the above general geographical divisions of the South, East, and West was based on a localization of the industry within the respective States. The situation may be clearly seen by comparing in the tables already submitted the capital invested, value of products, and number of wage-earners employed in the States selected with those for other States and for the country as a whole. The relative importance of the selected States as steel-producing localities may be better shown by the following table, which exhibits by State the number and capacity of blast furnaces, rolling mills, and steel works in the South, East, and Middle West.

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