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. The immense war profits piled up by the big company in the three years, 1916 to 1918, permitted more liberal distribution to shareholders, and for some time extra dividends were paid, making total disbursements 8¾ per cent. in 1916, 18 per cent. in 1917, and 14 per cent. in 1918. Throughout the whole period, however, the regular rate of dividends did not change from 5 per cent. which it still is. In 1918 the Steel Corporation’s sales grew to the largest volume on record, $1,288,029,255 or, including inter-company sales, $1,692,572,000. During the war boom the rights of the worker had not been forgotten. Early in 1916, as soon as the improvement in industry became evident, a wage advance of 10 per cent. was put into effect. Since the beginning of the war, and up to the date of writing, wages of common labor have been advanced as follows: CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE AS DATE OF INCREASE PERCENTAGE OF COMPARED WITH INCREASE 1915 WAGE