We have examined the books and accounts of the Republic Iron & Steel Co. for the year ending June 30, 1911, and find that the balance sheet at that date and the relative income account are correctly prepared therefrom. During the year only actual additions have been charged to property account and sufficient provision has been made for depreciation and exhaustion of minerals. The inventories of stocks on hand as certified by the responsible officials have been carefully and accurately valued at or below cost; full provision has been made for bad and doubtful accounts and bills receivable, and for all ascertainable liabilities, and we have verified the cash and securities by actual inspection or by certificates from the depositaries. The deferred charges represent expenditures reasonably and properly carried forward to the operations of subsequent years. We certify that in our opinion the balance sheet is properly drawn up so as to show the true financial position of the company on June 30, 1911, and that the relative income account is a fair and correct statement of the net earnings for the fiscal year ending at that date. PRICE, WATERHOUSE & Co. BLAST FURNACES. At the furnaces no large improvements were authorized during the year, but all plants have been kept in good physical condition. A new gas washer has been installed at Pioneer Furnace No. 3, South, and a new hot-blast stove has been authorized at Haselton Furnace No. 1. The new blast furnace known as Haselton No. 4, mentioned in the last annual report, was put in blast in June of this year, the blowing in of this furnace having been delayed somewhat by reason of business conditions and poor demand for pig iron. Comparative figures for pig iron production are as follows: FURNACE CAPACITY. There has been no change in the theoretical capacity of the blast furnaces, which is as follows: There have been no large expenditures made during the year at the Bessemer Steel Works, this plant being already equipped with modern labor-saving devices and it only being necessary to keep the plant in good physical condition to insure maximum tonnage. Owing to the light demand for its product, the production shows a decrease, the comparative figures being as follows: In the last annual report, the company's new open-hearth steel plant was described consisting of a mixer, eight 60-ton open-hearth furnaces, a blooming and slabbing mill and a combination continuous sheet bar and billet mill. Work on this plant was actively prosecuted during the year and it was put in operation in June, 1911. Owing to the light demand for steel there was some delay in starting it, but at the present time it is operating to about 75 per cent of capacity. While the plant has been in operation only a short time the results so far shown indicate that the estimated full production of 30,000 tons of ingots per month, given in the last annual report, will in a few months be exceeded. As there was only about two weeks' operation of this plant during the fiscal year no production figures are given. ROLLING MILLS AND FACTORIES. Under date of November 4, 1910, the construction of a 14-16 inch continuous bar mill was authorized by the executive committee. This mill will have an estimated capacity of about 100,000 tons per annum of bars, structural material and skelp, the site chosen being adjacent to the company's new open-hearth plant. It is not expected that this mill will add much to the rolling capacity of the company's plants but it will take care of, in an efficient manner and at lower costs, the material now being rolled on old inefficient hand mills. This mill is now well on toward completion and it is expected to be in operation early in October of this year. Under date of January 17, 1911, the construction of a 90-inch sheared plate mill was authorized by the executive committee. This mill will have a capacity of about 5,500 tons per month and will provide sheared plates for the larger sizes of pipe which are being made in the company's tube works, as well as for the general trade. It is estimated that the plate mill will be in operation in November, 1911. No other important changes have been made at the rolling mills and factories except that there has been a continuation of the company's policy to keep the plants up to the highest state of efficiency, which involves also putting in new machinery and equipment at all points where substantial savings in cost can be obtained. The annual production as given below shows a decrease on account of business conditions: Exploration and development of the ore properties of the company, both north and south, has been continued during the year. A further increase in the company's ore reserves has resulted from this work. At the northern ore mines recent drilling has developed additional ore bodies at the Onondaga and Franklin mines. At the Kinney mine the old shaft has been abandoned because of its interference with stripping operations and a new shaft is being sunk on an adjoining 40 acres, leased for that purpose. At the Union mine, 50 per cent of which is owned by this company, stripping operations have been continued and by early winter the entire ore body will be stripped. At the Bray mine a new boiler house, machine shop, and coal docks have been erected. At the Lillie mine a new shaft has been sunk to reach an ore body not available from the old shaft. At the southern ore mines recent drilling at Tannehill and Houston mines has developed additional ore. At the Raimund division new tenement houses have been erected and the reconstruction work completed. As of June 30, 1911, there was in stock at the Pioneer furnaces, south, 25,000 tons of brown ore and 75,000 tons of red ore as a reserve supply to insure regular operations at these furnaces. At all of the ore mines, both north and south, every practical precaution is being taken against accidents. While operations at the ore mines, both north and south, have been restricted to blast-furnace requirements, the following table of production during the past four years shows a fairly good operation during the past year, and it is believed that the operating efficiency of the ore mines has never been so great as at present. Comparative figures are as follows: Reserves of ore, as estimated, are indicated by the following comparative figures for the past five years, showing a further increase, notwithstanding the year's consumption: Development and improvement of the coal and coke properties, both north and south, has been continued during the year. At the northern coal and coke properties 50 additional coke ovens have been completed and 12 double tenement houses erected at the Martin works. At the Republic works a new air shaft for ventilating the mine is in course of construction. At the southern mines a number of minor improvements have been made, consisting Every practical precaution against accidents is being taken, both north and south, The coal reserves heretofore reported have been based on estimates for the unex- LIMESTONE. No change has occurred in the limestone properties, and their operating efficiency has been maintained at a high standard. Limestone production.-1907, 118,219; 1908, 88,922; 1909, 134,001; 1910, 115,473; 1911, 88,239. Limestone reserves.-1907, 31,635,700; 1908, 31,546,800; 1909, 31,402,800; 1910, 31,287,500; 1911, 31,199,293. The addition to the products manufactured since the last annual report is open-hearth steel, so that the finished products of the company are now merchant iron bars, Bessemer and open-hearth steel bars, light structural and agricultural shapes, standard and hand spikes, bolts, nuts, turnbuckles, cold-drawn bars, tubular products, Bessemer and open-hearth billets and sheet bars, and foundry, Bessemer, and basic pig iron. Northern: Cambria No. 1, Negaunee, Mich. Lillie, Negaunee, Mich. Franklin, Virginia, Minn. Bessemer No. 3, Virginia, Minn. Bessemer No. 4, Virginia, Minn. Victoria, Virginia, Minn. Onondaga, Virginia, Minn. Pettit, Gilbert, Minn. Mariska, Gilbert, Minn. Schley, Gilbert, Minn. ORE MINES. |