WIRE AND WIRE GOODS. 



163 



instance such a high duty had been levied, began to si-t up the machinery necessary 

 for the rolling of fine rod iron for which they had previously laid in a good stock of 

 material, and furthermore, they began to fit out their manufactories with new series 

 of rolling machines, raising in the mean time the price of the small rod iron. This 

 advance was greatly felt by the German manufactories, especially b}' those of West- 

 phalia, they being almost the sole contributors of that kind of iron to the Russian wire 

 mills and nail factories. Not vdshing to lose a good market, some of the most renowned 

 firms organized branch factories in Eussia on the western frontier, as well as on 

 the shores of the Baltic, furnishing them with the newest machinery. These new 

 manufactories, owing to their vast technical means, soon began to supply the interior 

 market with great quantities of rod iron at extremely low prices. As a result, the 

 Eussian manufacturers in no way profited by the great increase in the duty on im- 

 ported rod, but only succeeded in calling forth powerful and experienced competitors 

 to their speciality. The latter, besides the rolling of iron, began to manufacture nails 

 and other articles of wire in great quantities. 



In order to stop the building of new rolling mills the iron manufacturers sent 

 a petition to the Government, in 1885, asking to reinstate the tariff of 1882, that is, 

 the high duty of 1.10 roubles gold only on rod iron of a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter and under. Their petition was accepted, but owing to the great quantity of 

 wire iron already on the market the prices thereof fell considerably, and have thus 

 remained to this day. The low prices for articles made of wire afforded so little 

 profit to the manufacturers, who were obliged to buy rod iron for their purposes, 

 that many of them have closed their Avorks in consequence. Nevertheless, the large 

 manufactories, founded about 1880 and well fitted out in technical machinery, an- 

 swered very well to the requirements of the Eussian industry for this kind of ma- 

 terial, and aided the development of various kinds of wares made of wire, until then 

 produced in very small quantities. 



The amount of iron wire and wire nails produced by the manufactories from 

 1886 to 1890, according to the data collected by the Mining Department, is given in 

 the following table. 



To the last year's amount not less than 150,000 pouds of wire and over 

 350,000 pouds of nails, produced from imported iron, should be added. The wire 

 made of steel and cast iron is very little worked in Eussia because there is no de- 

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