146. ASSOCIATION OF IRON, STEEL AND TIN WORKERS [278 



It is significant that the views of the present officials of 

 the union do not greatly differ from these given. Both the 

 president and the secretary hold that the scale is fixed " on 

 a common sense basis." It is a matter of " give-and-take." 

 The association through its conference committee en- 

 - deavors to calculate the cost of production, although the 

 committee has no exact data. The main consideration is 

 this: If the price of iron advances, they feel the men ought 

 to have a " fair " share. Just what is meant by " fair " is 

 uncertain ; " they take what they can get."-* Accordingly, 

 it is apparent that the scale has not developed in accordance 

 with scientific principles. The scale was not made ; it grew. 



The base of the scale has been subject to relatively little 

 change. It has ranged from $4.00 (the lowest) to $5.50 

 (the highest). The progress due to science and invention 

 is largely reflected in the corresponding minimum selling 

 price. For example, the scale for boiling in 1865 was based 

 on a 2V2 cent minimum ; for 1887-1888, on a two-cent card ; 

 since 1901, on a one-cent card. In the present scale, the 

 differentials below the i^u ct. rate are small, because the 

 manufacturers claim they are either running the mill at a 

 loss or else they are barely covering expenses and keep the 

 mill running for the sake of the machinery. The union 

 accepts the truth of this statement. " We know," said one 

 union official, "that at one cent the manufacturer can't 

 make a profit; it isn't in the business." At i-i^o ct., it is 

 alleged, the employer begins to run the plant at a profit, 

 and the differential is greater. Instead of ten per cent, the 

 advance in wages is nearly twenty per cent of the increased 

 selling price. 



Until 1895 the market price was based on the card rate of 

 the Western Iron Association (an organization whose sole 

 function, it appears, was to fix prices). This scheme 

 caused considerable friction, because iron was frequently 



2* Interviews with President John Williams, and Secretary-Treas- 

 urer M. F. Tighe, September 30 and October 19, 1916. For an ex- 

 ample of an estimate of cost of production, see Proceedings, 1895, 

 pp. 4781-4782. 



