128 



COMMERCE (INTERNAL) OF THE UNITED STATES. 



This great increase in the production of steel 

 has been attended by an increase in the exports 

 of steel and its manufactures, exclusive of tire- 

 arms, between the fiscal years 1873 and 1878, 

 of $181,613, or since the fiscal year 1872 of 

 $489,472, and a decrease in the imports of steel 

 and steel manufactures of $9,392,464 since 

 1873, of which amount $6,457,267 was the de- 

 crease in the imports of finished steel manufac- 

 tures. There has occurred a great decline in 

 the prices of steel products during this term of 

 years. 



The production of Bessemer steel has been 

 developed faster than other branches of this 

 great industry, owing to the preference which 

 is given to Bessemer steel rails for railway 

 tracks. In 1867 there were only 2,550 tons of 

 Bessemer rails made in the Uunited States. In 

 1875 the product had increased to 290,863 tons 

 and in 1877 to 432,169 tons of rails. The quan- 

 tity of pig and spiegeleisen converted into Bes- 

 semer steel in 1877 was 562,227 tons, against 

 539,474 tons in 1876, and 395,956 tons in 1875 ; 

 the consumption of spiegeleisen alone was 

 48,229 tons in 1877, 45,980 tons in 1876, and 

 33,245 tons in 1875. The quantity t of Besse- 

 mer steel ingots produced in 1877 was 560,587 

 net tons; in 1876, 525,996 tons ; in 1875, 375,- 

 517 tons; in 1874, 191,933 tons. The Besse- 

 mer industry was first established in the United 

 States in 1867, and during its eleven years' ex- 

 istence up to the end of 1877 the total product 

 of steel rails amounted to 1,595,197 tons. Be- 

 sides the consumption of Bessemer ingots for 

 rolling rails, there is a quantity, which is al- 

 ready considerable, used as a substitute for 

 wrought iron and for other varieties of steel ; 

 this use of Bessemer steel is rapidly increasing. 

 The number of converters in operation within 

 the year 1877 was 22 ; there are altogether ten 

 companies engaged in the production of Besse- 

 mer steel in the United States. There was a 

 marked decline in the prices of Bessemer rails 

 during the year 1878, the price sinking from 

 $49 per gross ton at the works, which was the 

 rate for the first four months, to $40.50 in No- 

 vember and December, the average rate for 

 the year being $45.58. In 1878, although the 

 prices remained low, an improved business was 

 reported by most of the makers. 



.At the monthly auction sales of coal in 1878 

 the prices brought were as follows per ton: 



The exports of coal in the first ten months 

 of 1878 aggregated 13,250,000 tons besides 

 3,345,000 tons furnished to steamers engaged 



in foreign trade. The largest quantity went 

 to France, 2,500,000 tons, Germany taking over 

 1,500,000 of the rest, Russia 1,000,000, Sweden 

 and Norway nearly as much, Italy also nearly 

 a million. 



Toward the end of the year 1876 speculative 

 operations drove up the price of petroleum to 

 a high figure ; 30c. a gallon was paid for large 

 lots on December, and $4.22 per barrel for 

 crude oil at the wells. In the beginning of 

 1877, with a stock of 3,000,000 barrels at the 

 wells and large quantities of fine oil ice-bound 

 on the route, and no opportunity to ship 

 abroad, there was a remarkable fall in prices, 

 17c. being the usual price in February. When 

 the spring opened, and for the rest of the 

 year, the prices ran lower still, 13c. to 15c. 

 being the usual range of quotations for stand- 

 ard white oil in barrels from May to Decem- 

 ber. The average price for the year 1877 was 

 15-92c., against 19'12c. in 1876, 12'99c. in 



1875, and 13'09c. in 1874; that of crude oil 

 in bulk was 9*12c. per gallon, against 10'50c. in 



1876, 6-59c. in 1875, and 9-12c. in 1874. The 

 low prices of freight and of oil excited an 

 unprecedented foreign demand. The orders 

 for export commenced early in the spring and 

 continued until the end of the year ; the total 

 shipments were 8,731,173 bbls. against 6,384,- 

 310 bbls. in 1876, and 5,810,295 bbls. in 1875. 

 The largest increase was in the exports to the 

 far East and the Levant ; the shipments in 

 cases, in which form the oil for the Oriental 

 trade is put up, increased over 100 per cent, 

 for the year. 



The exports of petroleum from all ports 

 from the 1st of January till the beginning of 

 December, 1878, were 302,823,588 gallons, 

 against about 329,500,000 gallons during the 

 same months in 1877, and 219,500,000 in 1876. 

 Of this, 199,000,000 gallons were sent from 

 New York, against 234,000,000 in 1877 and 

 125,000,000 in 1876; nearly 64,000,000 gal- 

 lons from Philadelphia, against 42,000,000 in 

 1876 and 59,000,000 in 1876; and 31,000,000 

 gallons from Baltimore, against 42,500,000 the 

 year before and 33,750,000 in 1875. 



The tobacco crop of the United States in 

 1876 averaged very poorly in quality ; yet the 

 large requirements of the European govern- 

 ment monopolies in 1877, and a considerable 

 speculative demand for export to Germany on 

 the prospect of the establishment of a monop- 

 oly or a high tariff in that empire, drew off 

 the larger part of the surplus, so that the 

 market for the year closed quite firm. The 

 year's business in 1877 was feeble and de- 

 pressed on account of the low quality of the 

 stock and the general mercantile timidity. 

 The prospects of an unusually fine crop in 1877, 

 which was estimated at 70,000 hogsheads in 

 Virginia and 60,000 in Maryland and Ohio 

 the best crop since 1866 increased the caution 

 of the buyers. The operations of the European 

 regies were thus a great relief to the market. 

 The exports of leaf tobacco in 1877 from New 



