98 ASSOCIATION OF IKON, STEEL AND TIN WORKERS [23O 



early as 1S71 the national union upheld a local forge in a 

 dispute involving a differential price for a particular kind 

 of iron,** In 1874 workmen in the Pittsburgh and Youngs- 

 town districts demanded fifty cents extra for working 

 " hoop iron." By 1875 differential prices were paid for 

 working " castings," " hoop iron," and " scrap," and the 

 convention considered the question of making such rates 

 uniform. Uniform prices were not enforced until several 

 years later. In 1877 the price for working "physic iron" 

 was rated at one-fourth more than common iron.*^ From 

 1881 to 1916 five prices were added to the scale for mate- 

 rials rated higher than common pig iron, and, in a few cases, 

 prices were added for materials rated at less than the regu- 

 lar boiling scale of prices. 



The convention of 1894 enacted that the price for mixed 

 material not provided for in the scale should be the " mean 

 price " between those for the materials used.*^ Neverthe- 

 less disagreements as to the price for particular mixtures 

 have been frequent. 



In the finishing department, the question of rate differ- 

 entiation to meet a difference in materials was raised when 

 the practice of rolling steel in iron mills was introduced. 

 Attention was first given the matter in 1880, when the con- 

 vention adopted a resolution that in mills not working steel 

 as a specialty " price and one-half "" should be paid. In 

 1884 the scale provided that " iron mills [except sheet mills] 

 working steel " should pay " price and one-half for steel, 

 except mild steel," the output of which equalled that of iron 

 when working the same sizes. It was further provided that 

 the rule of price-and-one-half should apply "when the out- 

 put of steel is but three-fourths the output of iron."*^ 



** Vulcan Record, 1872, no. 10, p. 10. 



*» Proceedings, 1877, p. 83. The rule made was that boilers who 

 made four heats of physic iron should be paid the same amount as 

 for five heats of common iron. 



*" Proceedings, 1894, p. 4653. 



*'' Proceedings. 1880, pp. 411, 444. 



*^ Pittsburgh Scales of Prices, 1884-1885, p. 2, " Memorandum of 

 Agreement." 



