Fortunately, Germany was not able to achieve complete success. And it was the United States Steel Corporation that, more than any other single factor in this country, stood in her way.
Many years before the war, the Corporation’s management, realizing the value of saving the by-products of coal, had itself started to develop this field, and it was therefore a comparatively simple thing for it to make necessary additions to by-product plants to turn out the benzol, toluol, and other products which go into high explosives. Within a comparatively short time after the conflict started the Corporation was producing these materials at the rate of 10,000,000 gallons a year, and by the time the war closed it had increased its capacity to around 40,000,000 gallons.
Hand in hand with the development of this branch of the steel industry the American dye industry grew. In this respect, at least, Germany benefited the world. But, it might be stated parenthetically, our dye industry is not yet strong enough to stand of itself against the German competition that will most certainly be renewed. It is to be hoped that the Government of the United States will never forget the lesson learned in the war, and will lend American dye manufacturers encouragement at least sufficient to make it certain that no possible future attack will find us unready in the matter of explosive production.
The years 1916 and 1917 were by far the most profitable ever enjoyed by the Steel Corporation. In the final quarter of 1916 net earnings reached the unprecedented figure of $105,917,438 while earnings for the year were $333,574,177.
And that earnings for 1917 did not exceed those of the previous year was due only to the imposition in that year of excess profits taxes. In 1917 the Corporation, after deducting over $233,000,000 from earnings to cover these taxes, showed a balance of $295,292,180. In other words, its earnings before taxes were close to $530,000,000.
On April 6, 1917, the United States became a participant in the struggle which had now come to be called the “World War.” And shortly after this occurred American steel manufacturers were called upon to sacrifice to patriotism part of their profits and to sell steel to the Government, its Allies, and the public at prices considerably lower than those which would otherwise have been obtainable in the open market.
J. Leonard Replogle was appointed Director of Steel Supplies, and he, in conjunction with the War Industries Board appointed by the President to regulate and coördinate for war purposes the supply of industrial products generally, met with the steel manufacturers early in September of that year and agreed on a scale of prices for steel which, in the case of some products at least, were less than half those quoted in the open market.
It is a matter of gratification that our steel manufacturers, nearly all of them, responded freely and patriotically to the Government’s request. And of them all there was none that showed more willingness to assist Mr. Replogle in his difficult task of fixing a fair scale of steel prices than United States Steel. As a matter of fact, the prices eventually agreed on were not very far away from those being charged by the big company, which had for many months been consistently below the market established by its competitors.
Throughout 1918 this scale of prices was maintained with no important change. On several occasions increases or adjustments were requested by various manufacturers, but never by the Steel Corporation. And there is ground for the belief that it was the assistance of this company that enabled the representatives of the Government to resist the pressure sometimes brought to bear to secure an adjustment upward. In any event, the profits of all producers during the period in which prices were fixed proved clearly that no such increases were necessary to permit the manufacturers substantial profits.
In fact, all steel companies enjoyed large earnings in 1918. United States Steel showed net profits for the year, after an appropriation for taxes of $274,277,835, of $199,350,680.