STEEL: Critical Stage

From the Commerce Department came a report calculated to throw a chill into both steel labor and steel management. During July, steel imports—which were pushing toward new highs even before the strike began—soared to a monthly record of 430,000 tons. The new imports brought the seven-month intake to 2.3 million tons, almost the equivalent of the output of a steel mill the size of Republic's 9,500-man Cleveland plant; foreign steel mills in 1959 had already sold U.S. customers more steel than in any full year in history. Republic Steel's Chairman Charles M. White warned that the walkout may well mean...