The Iron Age 1889-05-23: Vol 43

New Wheel Lathe. This machine is built from new and im- | proved designs, embodying the most mod- ern ideas for convenience in operating, and is made very strong and stiff to meet the demands for locomotive work of the heaviest class. This lathe will swing wheels 74 inches diameter over tread. The adjustable head is moved along the bed by an improved method that permits of its being located at the exact desired point in a much shorter time than by the ordinary method. The bed consists of three in- verted {J-sections, the two front ones of which are carried up much higher than is usual, and all are thoroughly united by cross-pieces of same section. This form of bed permits of the use of a very short itt righ So Tm SEVENTY-NINE-INCH WHEEL tool-post, thus materially lessening the strain which is common by reason of the leverage arising from the greater length of the long tool-post ordinarily used. This bed is of sufficient length to admit wheels on the axle fitted with the longest crank- pins without the adjustable head over- hanging the end. The tool-posts are furnished with compound slide-rests, and the feeds for the same are positive and uni- versal. The driving-cone has five steps for a 6-inch belt. Each face-plate has ten speeds, and they can be driven together or sepa- rately and at the same or different speeds. All gearing is cut from the soiid. The face-plate pinions and pinion-shaft are of forged steel, the shaft being of extra large diameter. The slotted hand-wheel on the end of the internal spindle screw, from which the feeds ure operated, is so locked to the main spindle that it is impossible for the internal spindle to back out and allow the axle to become loose on the centers. The countershaft is furnished with pulleys for two speeds, and is driven by a belt 6 inches wide. The 42-inch pul- ley should make 55 revolutions per min- ute, and the 30-inch pulley should make E es ———— et IRON THursDAY, MAy 23, 1889 90 revolutions per minute. Single and double quartering attachment can be fur- nished, and when this is done a positive device for locking the face-plate while boring is provided. This machine is built by the Pond Machine Tool Company, the agents in New York being Manning, Max- well & Moore, of 111 Liberty street. i eee The Cruiser Charleston. Although the Charleston is the third of the’ war vessels recently constructed, yet for several reasons her trial trip possesses a special interest and importance. Of her two predecessors one was classed only as a heavy gun-boat and the other as a pneu- matic torpedo vessel for harbor defense. The Yorktown is of only about 1700 tons Ath. al Siiemeeinsiisiee nase . i i i \ it y AG ‘Pacific Rolling These include stern-post weighing stem weighing 13,- 430 and a rudder frame weighing 9420. While the Charleston is the pioneer in ship-building for the Government on the Pacitic Coast, the still larger cruiser San Francisco is now under construction by the same firm, the Union Iron Works, and lately the contract for the coast-defense monitor has also been given to them. The great advance in construction indi- cated by this vessel is shown by the fact that whereas in the Atlanta the contractor only guaranteed, with 664 tons of machin- ery, to produce 3500 horse-power, in the Charleston the guarantee is with 710 tons came from the Mills, of San Francisco. such castings as a 11,130 pounds, a engines | of machinery to produce 7000 horse-power. . TT Ni) Mt ud ld PTTTTT ELL Leanna PT edb ——— —— MTC UL T jt a Mi Po AT wu — — LATHE, BUILT BY THE POND displacement, and the Vesuvius of about | In other words, the guarantee in the former half as much, while the Charleston is of 3730 tons. The Yorktown’s engines de- velop about 3650 horse-power, while those of the Charleston are guaranteed to pro- duce 7000 horse-power under forced draft, and have been confidently expected to reach double the Yorktown’s power. The armament of the Charleston will exceed that of the Yorktown by two 8-inch guns, the highest caliber as yet actually intro- duced into our war vessels. Thus a great interest is lent to the trials of the Charles- ton, it being evident that if she should come up to her contract speed there need be no anxiety as to the remaining cruisers of the new fleet now under construction. A second source of interest in the Charleston is that she is the first war ves- sel ever built on the Pacific Coast. With the exception of the crank and two shafts made by Krupp, at Essen, all the steel used in her is of domestic manufacture. The beams, outside plating for the bull and the plates for the protective deck were made at Pittsburgh, but the pistons and other forgings for the engines, MACHINE | four 8-inch and six 6-inch guns. the frames | the Chicago in offensive strength. TOOL COMPANY. case was to produce a little over 5 horse- power per ton of machinery, while in the latter it is to produce nearly 10 horse- power per ton of machinery. Originally the Charleston was meant to carry in her main battery two 10-inch guns and six 6-inch, which would have been an equiva- lent of the battery of the British-built Japanese vessel of which she is a copy. But finally 8-inch guns were substituted for the 10-inch, so that she is now to carry only the same battery as that of the Bos- ton and the Atlanta, which are of about 700 tons less displacement. The Chicago car- ries a still heavier battery, consisting of But, all things considered, the battery of the Charleston is no doubt as heavy as she needs, some of the new English vessels finding that they have gone too far in this respect. At all events, in the Charleston the new navy has a vessel of the highest engine-power yet reached by it, the “Chi- cago only developing a little over 5000 horse-power, and she is surpassed only by With and all the steel castings for the hull and | the Dolphin, the Atlanta, the Boston, the ee Sa it \ 7 a —— 4 ‘ : ~ = ve ie — <“ j ; * ”~ en tle ae $ eR agente sks “x : oa i) dec SA i 2a i, FO MEA G9 F 2 @ OE » o 766 Chicago, the Yorktown, the Charleston THE IRON AGE. markably strong wheel with good chill, and the Petrel, soon to be joined by the | 33-inch double-plate wheel, weight 569 Baltimore, idly taking on numbers and efficiency. a —— Pig-Iron for Car-Wheels. A. W. Whitney, chemist of the Whit- ney Car Wheel Works, of Philadelphia, has furnished to the Journal of the United States Association of Charcoal Iron- Workers the following reply to the ques- tion, ‘‘ What are the requirements as to physical characteristics and chemical com- position of pig-iron for the manufacture of chilled-iron car-wheels? ” It is, of course, impossible to lay down any strict rule in regard to the above re- | quirements, as the practice of wheel- makers varies much, some finding a few irons to give good results, while others use many and various irons. an iron may work well, and at another time with another mixture be worthless. It cannot be said of such an iron that it is not a good ingredient of car-wheel mixtures, but merely that it will not work well with the particular mixture with failed. It is largely the object of the chemist to ascertain with what irons it can be used. In general, in regard to the physical character of car-wheel pig-iron, the great requirement is uniformity. The character being once ascertained should not vary in different shipments. The chill test on the side of pig is useful; but would it well if furnacemen could apply Keep’s tests, or an equivalent, to their product? Small sample pigs might be run off from the larger pigs; 50 pounds or less melted in a covere d crucible would probably give chill tests and other test pieces which would be useful as an indica- tion of the quality of remelt of the larger pigs. Would not iron graded in this way give more uniform results? This would be an interesting question tor practical in- vestigation. In regard to chemical composition the same may be said. If uniform as received at different times, the wheel-maker will know from his experience, or perhaps in the future from his chemist, in what cases any particular iron may be used. As a rule, I should say that good chilling irons, exclusive of white or mottled, contain be- tween 0.56 and 0.95 per cent. of silicon, though there are some good ones silicon above and below these limits. White irons often contain less than 0.15 per cent. of silicon. Manganese may be between 0.08 and 0.90 per cent.; phos- phorus, 0.05 to 0.75 per cent. ; sulphur, 0.0 to 0.15 per cent., and total carbon always as high as the above-mentioned in- eredients will allow. There are, therefore, probably several proper compositions for wheel mixture, each of which depends for its physical success upomt the manner of working the iron as to fuel, blast, temperature, &c., and on the relative proportion of one element to another, as well as on the act- ual amount of each present. Thus some makers may allow as much as cent. silicon in a car-wheel by properly bal- ancing it with other elements, or by special methods. Others using different irons will keep the silicon even below 0.6 per cent. | As yet this is generally done empirically, not by deduction trom chemical analysis, which, however, within certain limits, as already intimated, can probably predict the results for any given method of work- ing. lam of the opinion that, other things being equal, a small change in chemical composition affects the result; and that a different mode of working affects the re- sult not only directly, but indirectly, by influencing the chemical The following is an analysis of a re our fleet of steel cruisers is rap- | In either case | at one time with one mixture which it | not be | further and | with | 0.95 per | pounds, cracked slightly at twentieth blow May 23, 1889 Petroleum-Burning Boiler. The boiler of whic h we herewith pre- | of a Pennsylvania r: iilroad test drop, not | sent an engraving is designed to carry 150 | broken at 425th blow of same drop. | then broke at the third blow of a | pound drop falling 12 feet. 600- The chill of | It | pounds of steam and is rated at 4 horse- | power. It measures 20 x 30 inches, Each head is formed of two steel plates placed = 2 oe THE OSBORN BOILER | this wheel was hard, } inch deep at root of flange and 4 inch deep in tread: Per cent. Maina binah st canes 0.754 Manganese............ 0,438 Phosphorus............ 0.428 PEN sos ano enis . 0,080 Total carbon.......... Graphitic carbon Combined carbon Copper 4.330 ? (approximate.) 3.083 2? (approximate. ) 1.247 ¢ (approxiinate.) 0.029 The Street Railway Gazette reports that the wire rope made by the Broderick & Bascom Rope Company, of St. Louis, for the Olive street road is running on its thirteenth month of continuous service and has never stranded or had a break. This |road runs trains of two coaches and a grip night and morning, and the cars are nearly always crowded, Some time ago | a very interesting competitive test of | cable ropes took place on the line of the Cincinnati Street Railway Company. Twenty-seven thousand feet of rope were spliced together and put in service, half of which, or 13,500 feet, came from the Broderick & Bascom factory and _ the other half from that of another works. The other rope wore out and had to be re- |newed three months before the St. Louis jrope showed the least break. On the | Grand avenue line in Kansas City one of | the Broderick & Bascom ropes is now in | se rvice that has outlasted by one-third in iii ant f a (NH i iii ii i d att wT un FOR STEAM YACHTS. 2 inches apart and riveted to a separating channel-bar, as shown, The.copper tubes have a shoulder formed on them, against which the inner steel sheets of the hes ids abut. The burner is intended for the use of petroleum, and is formed of a wrought- iron pipe, coiled as shown, having its up- per end capped and bent so as to.cross the center line of the coil. The under side of Fig. 2.—The Petroleum Burner. the cross-bar is provided with a small hole. The two burners are fed with oil from a tank preferably placed near the bow of the boat, and furnished with a small hand air- pump, by means of which an air pressure of a few ‘pounds ec: an be formed in the tank composition. \time the average term of five previous|to force the oil through the burner at -| ropes. starting. After the engine has been May 23, 1889 started it isintended that the small auxil- liary pump shall supply this pressure. The coil of the burner becomes heated in the downwardiy-spreading flame, and the pe- troleum forced through it is converted into a gas, in which state it is burned as it is- sues from the vent. It is claimed that this arrangement of the burner, while being exceedingly simple, will generate all the heat required for quick steaming, and is in no danger whatever of clogging. The boiler is provided with the usual glass gauge and water-cocks. The sole agent handling this boiler is J. J. Brockee, of 47 Dey street, New York. ome a Deep-Well Drilling Machine. In the construction of this drilling ma- chine the aim of the Wells Machine Works, of Fostoria, Ohio, has been to build a practical deep-well machine that would operate any tools which drill by rs} SSMU NTI ¥ (A th hha At DEEP-WELL DRILLING dropping of their own weight, and that would possess all the essential qualities of a drilling machine. The engraving we present shows the machine in position for work after the tool has been sunk beneath the surface. When starting the well the temper-screw is removed, the rope that suspends the drill passes over the sheave in the derrick and down through the rope grip attached to the crosshead of the ma- chine, so that at each downward move- ment of the crosshead the tools are lifted, and vice versa. The rope is readily fed out through the rope grip while in motion. This simple means of spuding, which, in the oil well vocabulary, means the starting of the tool at the surface, is valuable where heavy beds of sand or gravel have to be passed through, as self-pumping tools with drive-weight can be used and the casing kept in advance of the tools. To change from spuding to direct drilling with the temper-screw requires but a little time. The drill rope is held by clamps hinged to the lower end of the temper-screw and is inclosed within the U-shaped recess of the screw, so that it practically forms the center of the screw. THE IRON AGE. pended by a nut journaled in the cross- | head, a latch hinged in the the nut locks | the nut to the crosshead, and permits the | screw to feed out the rope or locks the nut | to the screw, leaving the nut and screw free to turn either way. This, it is| claimed, is the simplest device possible, | and possesses all the advantages of the | walking-beam, while doing away with its | unwieldy proportions. When the tools are | to be withdrawn the temper-screw and all | that projects in front of the pitman are hung on one side on a balanced hook. By | means of a lever attached to the eccentric | through which the shaft of the belt-wheel passes the pinion of the shaft is disen- gaged from the spur-wheel of the rope- | spool shaft. The front flange of the rope- | spool is also a worm-wheel, into which the worm is thrown to lock the wheel to sus- pend the tools. By turning the worm, slack or tension is given to the rope, as may | be required. To operate the sand-pump | MACHINE. spool, the pinion on the belt-wheel is placed midway between the spur-wheels. When in this position the friction-wheel of the sand-pump spool is brought in contact with the raised part of the belt-wheel. A powerful foot-brake is brought to bear upon the raised part of the belt-wheel when let- ting the tools down. With this brake the machine can be stopped almost instantly. The machines are built upon an iron frame, resting upon asolid timber bed thoroughly bolted. The iron frame and the feet of | the supports of the machine are planed, so | as to make a perfect fit of all the parts of | the machine. The shafts are steel, and | are strong enough to stop the machine | “made. | Mexican Central ~T The Coke Trade. Advices from the Connellsville coke re- gion are to the effect that the demand con- tinues fairly active, but present prices are far from satisfactory. The owners of a number of small plants in the region have decided that they cannot produce coke and sell it for $1 per ton, and as a conse- quence have closed down their ovens until an improvement takes place. This action 1as allowed the works which are still in | operation to make better time than they otherwise would have done. The H. C. Frick Coke Company and the McClure Coko Company, two of the largest firms in the region, have been operating their works full time for some weeks past. A general cut in wages has been made by the small operators, which has been accepted by the workmen. As yet this example has not been followed by the large operators, | but unless there is a decided improve- ment in the trade at an early date it is more than probable that a general reduc- tion in wages in the entire region will be For the week ending on the 11th inst. out of 13,266 completed ovens in the region there were 10,585 in operation and 2681 idle. The record for the previous week showed 10,695 in blast and 2571 idle. The active ovens averaged nearly 54 days, against 54 days during the pre- vious week and but 5 days for some weeks prior to that. The estimated pro- | duction was 99,621 tons, as against 97,151 tons for the previous week. Shipments were as follows: To Pittsburgh and rivers, 1376 cars; to points west of Pittsburgh, 3453; to points east of Connellsville, 1327; total, 6156 cars. The figures for the previous week were: To Pittsburgh, 1215; West, 3348; East, 1215; total, 5778. The shipments, it will be noted, have increased 378 cars. The increase is not confined to any one locality, but is pretty evenly distributed, indicating a faint, but general, revival in demand. Prices are now as low as they have been for years, and the prospect for an improve- ment is not encouraging. The following are the prices now ruling, f.o.b. cars at point of shipment: Furnace coke, $1; to dealers, $1.10; foundry coke, $1.25; crushed coke, $1.50, per ton of 2000 pounds. Freight rates from ovens to Pittsburgh, 70 cents per ton; to Shenango Valley, $1.35; Cleveland, $2.80; Chicago, $2.75; East St. Louis, $3.50; Philadel- phia, $2.39. Foundry prices at Western points are quoted as follows: Chicago, $4.15; St. Louis, $4.40; Louisville, $4.50; Kansas City, $6.75; Toledo, $3.85; De- troit, $3.95; Milwaukee, $4.20; Buffalo, $4. In the latter place Reynoldsville coke is quoted at $3.25 and at Chicago at $4.25. Walston coke is quoted at $4.15 in Chi- cago, and New River coke brings $4.25 at Louisville. I Inquiry was recently made at the Treas- ury Department as to whether railway iron can be imported from England for re- manufacture into frogs aad switches and re-exported to Mexico for use by the Railway without pay- ment of duty. Assistant Secretary Tich- enor has informed the inquirer that if the frogs and switches referred to shall be manufactured exclusively of imported ma- terial a drawback can be allowed on the instantly without damage in case the tools | exportation of the manufactured articles catch. The length of the stroke can be readily adjusted to suit the work. The derrick is made in halves for convenience, is hoisted in position by the machine driven by its own power, and where there equal to the amount of duty paid on the imported material used in their manufact- ure less the legal retention of 10 per cent., but that if any domestic materials what- ever are used in the manufacture of said is proper room one man can readily erect it. | articles no drawback can be obtained It is stated that these machines have been thoroughly tested in deep work with the thereon. He said also that there is no provision of law under which the imported heaviest tools used in the oil and gas|rails can be manufactured in bond into | region, and that they have proved superior | other articles and exported without pay- The screw issus-!to any other in their line. ment of duty. >= Bs 6 Rs 6 AP ono DNs a wi te Y Se ~~ a - Pa a aes 3 > = } pie ee pC Oe Sen Sr oy j » 2 A | me Jae Fae . ae Ae — a a ; ~ geet J Ak 2 RD BPS ee a , Be Waa, Se = Ne emp” : i oe > eu se ws ~ PAS ELS rete Cr eT we “en May 23, 1889 768 THE IRON AGE. | for a $45,000 cotton press, but, owing to |the uncertainty as to when the works | would resume, he was obliged to take it elsewhere. Large orders for sugar-making machinery have also gone elsewhere. Cruisers and Battle-Ships. Lord Armstrong contributes to the Nineteenth Century an article on the ad- | miralty’s ship-building programme which | contains many useful hints to Americans interested in the development of their! Water Cylinder of the Buffalo Steam naval resources. There is no greater Pump. authority in England on all practical ques- eee tions relating to modern war-ships, and the | Slaless etherviee codwel Gb at a importance which he attaches to fast | pumps of the Buffalo (N. Y.) Steam cruisers for defensive and offensive opera: | Pump Company are provided with the tions is a powerful argument in favor of | now water cylinder, of which we present increased appropriations by Congress for) » vertical longitudinal section, The im- this class of vessels. He considers that provement consists of an auxiliary sleeve the function of armored battle-ships, two | which supports and holds the removable of which ase. Sew building ” American water barrel or sleeve. It is bolted against navy yards, is to fight similar vessels. 5 For ordinary purposes of blockade cruisers would be much more effective than the | big armored vessels, and they would also | be superior for coast defense when trans- | ports conveying a foreign army were ap- | proaching a menaced port. Lord Arm- strong also lays stress upon the fact that while a battle-ship would be useless in | hunting down cruisers, the converse is not | equally true. Five cruisers, carrying col- lectively a most formidable armament and having superior advantages for outma- neuvring a battle-ship, could close in upon her with ram and torpedo and compass her destruction. In the judgment of this expert the presence of a considerable force | I - toward sending American worKingmen to the Paris Exposition with a view to ex- amining the advance of mechanical arts, this newspaper syndicate stepped into the breach and has undertaken the work which Congress overlooked. They pro- pose to spend anywhere up to $25,000 in paying all the expenses of 50 American workingmen chosen from St. Louis, Cin- cinnati, New York, Boston, Detroit, Cleve- land, Chicago and other manufacturing points. The details of choosing the men who are to accompany the expedition are now being arranged, and it is not unlikely that representatives from this city may be among those who accompany it. All trades will be represented, including iron- workers, car-workers, ship-builders, car- NEW WATER CYLINDER OF THE BUFFALO STEAM PUMP. of unarmored cruisers would compel a| the head of the water cylinder and is bored hostile fleet of armored battle-ships to} to receive the end of the water barrel. herd together for mutual support. It has| Lugs cast on the inside of the sleeve are been the habit of naval engineers and con-| tapped for set screws, which are set up structors in the United States to refer to | against the water barrel, holding it firmly the fast cruisers now under contract as} against the partition in the water cylinder, possible commerce-destroyers, but not in| which is bored and faced to receive it. It any sense as fighting ships. Lord Arm-| will be seen from this that the water barrel strong does not share this view. He be-| has two points of bearing, thus giving lieves that they can successfully attack, | rigidity to the barrel and holding it in when in sufficient number, the most!line. It is well-known that all working powerful battle-ships, whether of the) barrels wear on the lower side first; in this turret or of the barbette system. case the barrel can be easily turned so that . ee _ the wear will be alike on all sides. They Assets of the Reading Iron Works. | are made of iron for ordinary purposes —The appraisers of the property of the | and of composition when used for pump- Reading Iron Works are about completing | ing acid. The pistons, working barrels their work. It is found that the assets of| and auxiliary sleeves can be removed stock on hand will foot up more than was | without disconnecting the piping. supposed. Among the items are some ——— - 9000 tons of pig-iron, worth about $125,-' One of the most extensive newspaper ex- 000. By reason of the stoppage of the peditions ever projected in this country works many valuable orders are being lost. | is that which the Scripps League of West- A gentleman from New Orleans was here | ern newspapers will send out during the this week who would have placed an order! coming July. As Congress took no steps | penters, molders, printers, &c. All work- ingmen’s organizations are invited to cor- ‘respond with the Manager Paris Expe- ‘dition Scripps League, Detroit, Mich., concerning the selection of men. The Aurora Nail Works, one of the largest manufactories in the State of In- diana, has contracted to move to Merion to secure free gas. The factory expects to employ 500 men. Beginning June 1 the Canadian Pacific will put on a line of steamers from Chicago to Sault Ste. Marie and form a new sea- board line. The whole line will be out of the jurisdiction of the Interstate act and compete directly with the Grand Trunk. The latter line has a slight advantage, as its lake lines to Sarnia, Midland, &c., are longer. Chicago east-bound lines will get no export business while navigation is open. This looks like war between the Canadian Pacific and the Grand Trunk, as there is nothing to hinder cut rates. May 23, 1884 THE IRON AGE. 769 Automatic Trimming Machine. immediate vicinity. Charges of bad faith | dition of affairs has, no doubt, consider- initials have been made against certain members, | able to do with the present condition of The accompanying engraving represents and these have been followed by the resig- | the Western Cut-Nail ‘Association. a new machine for trimming lamp collars | nation of several firms, which has weak- uel at and other brass shells, pill and ointment’ ened the organization. It is claimed that! .. 5 : er The Lehigh Valley [ron District. \ \ A press dispatch from Allentown, Pa., \ quotes William Hl. Ainey, president of the Leaigh Iron Company, of Allentown, and a prominent banker, on the probable ef- fect of the reduction upon the smaller fur- naces in the Lehigh Valley as follows: The effect upon the smaller furnaces may be somewhat more hurtful than te the Thomas Company, but it is probable that all will be affected alike or substsntially so. The reduction had been largely an- ticipated, and many of the smaller fur- naces for several weeks past had been freely selling at about the figures now eee c ‘named by the Thomas Company, simply “EW.BLISSG rie = aK cach 2x because it was necessary because of South- BROOKLY NING : ern competition to sell at this price or not at all. It is not now thought that the re- duction will result in any furnaces going out that are now in. It seems to be the general feeling of the furnacemen here that they must hold their markets and meet Southern competition now or aban- dou the fight for good. In the hope and expectation that the railroads wi.l ulti- mately realize that it is in a large measure 5 their fight as well as the furnaces’, the / 3 battle is likely to go on, and any further reduction by the Southern furnaces will be met by a similar reduction here. The Lehigh Valley lost its prestige as the largest 1ron-producing center because of excessive freight charges and fuel cost. When the late David Thomas, of Cata- sauqua, first succeeded in using anthra- cite coal for smelting iron ores away back in the forties, hematite ore could be mined and delivered at the furnaces here at $1.25 oA : = - a ton, and other materials correspondingly se —— llow. The books of some of the furnaces |in this region show that anthracite coal AUTOMATIC TRIMMER. | cost them before the war only $1.75 to $2 }a ton delivered at their works, but coal boxes, covers for baking-powder and other | the influence of the association on the nail | combinations and the excessive and inor- round cans. The operation of the machine; market has been limited, and that the} dinate greed of the railroads changed all is entirely automatic, the shells, as they | members of the association are commenc-|this. These hematite ores now cost from come from the die being placed in a shute | over the feeding-disk, from which they | are taken one at a time, carried into posi- | tion in front of the trimming cutters, | securely clamped, trimmed, and thrown | out at the rate of 25,000 or more per day. | The makers claim that because of the per- fection and rapidity of its work this ma- | chine is invaluable to manufacturers who produce large numbers of the articles| above mentioned, and by reason of its rapidity reduces the cost of trimming to | & minimum, TRIMMING AND BEADING MACHINE. Among the latest machines put on the market for use in the manufacture of sheet-metal goods is the trimming and beading machine herewith illustrated. It | can be arranged to run by either hand or | steam power, and is used for trimming | and beading sheet-metal boxes, covers, collars, &c., 1 inch in diameter and larger. Round, oval, oblong, square or irregular shaped work may be done on this ma- chine provided the corners are round. With suitable rolls and gearing it may be adapted for crimping, swedging and mouthing, as well as trimming and bead- ing. The machine is very strongly built, has steel shafts, cut gears, and means of adjustment are provided to keep the cut- ters in proper position. Both of these machines are built by the E. W. Bliss Company, of Brooklyn, N. Y. a TRIMMING AND BEADING MACHINE. It is stated on very good authority that there are some differences in the ranks of |ing to realize it. There is not a nail | $2.50 to $3 a ton at the works. It is the the Western Cut-Nail Association, which | factory in the Ohio Valley being operated | superior quality of these ores which has is composed almost exclusively of nail | to its full capacity, and some of them have | given to the Lehigh irons their high repu- 5 manufacturers of Wheeling, W. Va. and|not made any nails for weeks. This con- | tation for excellence as foundry iron. But D t BEREs= i “a0 at ai ee, POLES é the fierce competition which has prevailed in the market has made it necessary to use less and less of these local ores. During the past year large quantities of Lake Su- perior hematites have been brought here. WRECK OF THE COMPTOIR. Its Relations with the Societe des Metaux. The report read at the meeting of share- holders of the Comptoir d’Escompte is a curious and instructive document. Being drawn up by judicial officers, it possesses a sincerity that would have been wanting in a report by the old directors, who would have been disposed to extenuate their acts; in fact, with the exception of the names of the parties who were behind the Société des Métaux on the formation of the ring, nothing of interest has been con- cealed or disguised. The report is of great length, occupying over 13 closely- printed newspaper columns. The London Economist gives a brief outline of the his- tory of the relations between the Comp- toir and the Société des Métaux. These commenced in October, 1887, with an operation in tin, the success of which in- d-ced the latter company to undertake a similar speculation in copper on a much larger scale. To obtain the control of the market the stocks were first bought up, and it was then necessary to secure the production of the mines; but the funds of the company consisted of only £120,000 out of the capital of £1,000,000, the rest being represented by the plant, buildings and good-will of the firms purchased on the formation of the Société des Métaux and £800,000 raised by debentures. M. Den- fert Rochereau, who was a member of the board, was also manager of the Comptoir d’Escompte, and it was to that establish- ment that M. Secrétan, director of the Société des Métaux, applied when the mines demanded a guarantee for the engage- ments entered into by him. The first sig- nature given by the Comptoir d’Escompte was in December, 1887, to the Anaconda mines. This was followed by others on January 4 and March 13, but no mention of these operations was made in the min- utes of the board meetings of the Comp- toir. The next step taken by M. Seerétan was to form a pees “me of capitalists, at first 16 in number, who undertook to aavance a sum of £2,800.000 for a period of one to three years. The Comptoir d’Escompte was to act as banker and call for the funds as required, 1eceiving the warrants from the mines, and holding them on behalf of the syndicate. Three members of the group, however, withdrew before February 1, 1888, when the arrangements were com- pleted, but the place of one was taken by a new adherent. The capital of the syndi- cate was, however, reduced to £2,210,000, and of that sum the Société des Métaux entered for £600,000 and M. Secrétan per- sonully for £480,000. Neither that com- pany nor M. Secrétan furnished their share of the capital when a first call of 20 per cent. was made on the syndicate, and the £216,000 they had underwritten was pro- vided by the Comptoir d’Escompte, and without any margin to protect the Comp- toir in the event of a depreciation in the value of the copper. In March five for- eign firms joined the syndicate, and the total of the advances to be made by the group was raised to £2,505,000. The Société des Métaux then increased its capi- tal by the issue of 50,000 new shares of £20 at £30; but in the meantime the Comptoir had made a further call of 20 per cent. on the syndicate. The minutes of the board meeting of the Comptoir THE [RON AGE. May 23, 1889 d’scompte, held on March 13, entered for the first time into details of the operations that had been apparently until then con- ducted exclusively by M. Secrétan and M. Denfert Rochereau. The director of the Comptoir then obtained authorization to guarantee two new contracts with mines in America, on his representations that it was a mere formality, as the Société des Métaux, with its new capital, possessed resources of its own amounting to 4,000,- 000 of frances. The risk, he said, would not exceed £80,000, and would be spread over a period of three years. This operation the judicicial administrators refer to especially as being a violation of the Comptoir’s statutes, which interdicted the management from entering into en- gagements for more than 90 days. A fortnight later the Société des Métaux asked the Comptoir to guarantee contracts with the Cape Copper, Mason & Barry, Rio Tinto, Tharsis and othermines. The copper was to be delivered to the agency of the Comptoir in London, and M. Denfert Roche- reau Comptoir would be secured against loss by the engagements of the Société des Métaux and by the possession of the metal itself. The embarrassments were already com- mencing, for besides the copper purchases, the speculation liquidated, and the Comptoir was exposed pointed out to the board that the in tin had never been to a loss of £880,000 under that head. A further call of 20 per cent. of the advances from the syndicate was made by the Comptoir, but at the same time a further fresh sum of £3,120,000 was guaranteed under a contract with the Rio Tinto Com- pany. At the end of May the effective advances by the Comptoir amounted to £5,554,000, of which £1,124,000 were unsecured. At the end of June the Comptoir was in such straits that it had to obtain from the syndicate permission to pledge warrants it held for them, and which represented the value received for the advances made by the syndicate. Those warrants were employed to obtain advances from the Bank of France and other estab- lishments. The syndicate which had en- gaged to advance the £2,480,000 to the Société des Métaux then demanded that the affairs in tin should be disjoined from those in copper, in consequence of which M. Secrétan engaged to transfer land of a value of £120,000, and the Société des Métaux acknowledyed its liability for a sum of £628,000. The Comptoir agreed reluctantly to guarantee new contracts presented by the Société des Métaux, while M. Secrétan endeavored to maintain the confidence cf his associates by assurances that the English fuunders had used up all the old copper and would be forced to submit to the conditions of the company. At the end of July the unsecured ad- vances of the Comptoir amounted to £2,320,000; at the end of October to £2,780,000. In December the negotia- tions with the object of forming an English company to take over the stock of copper had fallen through, and the Comptoir threatened in vain to refuse to make any further payments on beha'f of the Société des Métaux. M. Secrétan replied that such a step would bring about an immedi- ate collapse. At the end of December the advances amounted to £6,880,000, of which £3,480,000 were unsecured. In January the Comptoir was compelled to borrow £840,000 to continue the business of the Soci*té des Métaux. The next sacrifice it was called on to make was to part with warrants representing a security uf £1,520,000 to permit the Société des Métaux to raise a Joan of £1,000,000. This was on February 5 last. In return for that concession, M. Secrétan engaged to sell from March 1 12,000 tons of cop- per monthly by public sales, if unable to tind purchasers privately ; but that arrange- ment was superseded by the formation of the Société Auxiliare des Métaux, which was to take over 75,000 tons of copper at the price of £70 per ton, and pay over the value to the Comptoir d’Escompte. That contract was, however, only partially car- ried out, and as the Comptoir had sub- scribed a part of the capital of the new company, the effective reduction in the advances to the Société des Métaux was of insignificant amount. The events that followed are well known: A sudden drop in shares of the Comptoir d’Escompte led to withdrawals of deposits, the embarrassments of the Comptoir having become a matter of pub- lic rumor; next came the suicide of M. Denfert Rochereau and the run on the bank, At the end of March the total sum advanced by the Comptoir to the Société des Métaux was £5,860,000, against which there remained 67,827 tons of copper. If this were realized at £40 per ton the loss would amount to £2,713,000. If the price realized were lower the loss would be greater. Some minor endorsements of warrants would increase the loss to above £3, 200,000; consequently the entire capital of the Comptoir, which is £3,200,000, has been swallowed up. The Comptoir had further guaranteed the payment of future deliveries of 320,000 tons. The judicial administrators believe that those engage- ments may be canceled. The mine owners have no interest in insisting on the execution of the contracts of sale. As the re- port of the judicial administrators remarks, they are placed in the alternative of de- livering the copper and being paid a divi dend on the amount of their claims, or abandoning the contracts, in which case the guarantee of the Comptoir would be- come void ipso facto, The Supreme Court of Florida has rendered a decision of vital importance to the public and to railroad corporations, The Board of Railroad Commissioners in 1887 fixed the rates for the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad Company, which the company asserted were too low to enable them t» earn enough revenue to pay their operating expenses, and they refused to adopt the rates fixed by the commission. The State of Florida, at the instance of the commission, brought suit against the rail- road to recover the penalties provided by statute, and obtained judgments in the lower court for several thousand dollars. The railroad company appealed, and the Supreme Court now reverses the judgment of the lower court, holding that a re- duction by the Legislature or con mission of the rates ofa railroad to a point too low to permit them to earn operating expenses is a deprivation of property without due process of law and without just compensa- tion, and is confiscation and in conflict with the State and Federal Constitutions. This is the first decision of the kind by a court of last resort. Forest fires of unusual magnitude for the spring months have recently swept over various sections of the country. They have been particularly destructive of property in Michigan, Wisconsin and Min- nesota during the past week. Quite a number of iron-mining companies have been sufferers through the burning of tim- ber which had been cut. for use in the mines, the losses of single companies amounting in several cases to many thou- sands of idiein, which will seriously im- pair their chances for profits on the season’s operations, It is not known how far the stock of cord-wood has been dam- aged which had been secured by the char- coal furnaces, but it has not escaped. The fall of rain has been much below the average for the season, making the forests very dry, so that it is very difficult to check fires when once started. The Fassett prison-labor bill has gone to Governor Hill for his signature. May 23, 1889 THE WEEK. The complaint of hard times in Cali- fornia, heard for a few weeks past, 1s attributed to low prices of produce and holding for an advance. crop, which is a feature in California agri- culture, 300,000 cases are waiting ship- ment in consequence of high rates of freight. Viticulturists are discouraged by low prices for wine. On the other hand, the promise of extraordinary crops is very cheering. Even with lower prices for wheat and barley it is figured out that the returns will equal $67,000,000, nearly doubling the receipts of 1888. Chief Engineer R. L. Harris, U. 8. N., one of the officers designated to test the new cruiser Charleston, died at San Francisco the 16th inst. of pneumonia. The locomotive which the Pennsylvania Railroad Company imported from the shops at Crewe, England, and have been testing for the last two or three weeks, has not given satisfaction. It is in charge of an English engineer and a machinist from the shops at Crewe, and can make excellent speed with a light train, but with an average train, like the New York and Chicago limited, it is out-distanced by the Pennsylvania locomotive. Whena stop is made too much time is lost in get- ting the English locomotive under way again. Almost its only point of superiority is the contrivance for saving fuel. Princeton College has initiated a new course on electrical engineering. The President’s new appointments in- clude Solomon Hirsch, of Oregon, to suc- ceed Minister Straus at Constantinople, and John Jarrett goes as consul to Bir- mingham. Mr. Jarrett has been long known from his connection with the iron and steel industries. Thomas H. Sher- man, Secretary Blaine’s private secretary, takes the consulship at Liverpool. ; In Amsterdam, the world’s diamond market, the proprieters of the largest lapidaries report that America leads in buy- ing the choicest gems. . The ubiquitous ‘‘English syndicate” that is always buying up cattle ranches, mining lands, breweries, &c., has pur- chased 400,000 acres of timber land, mills and other property in Florida, paying up- ward of $1,500,000. The opinion is expressed that teyond a protest from the new Chinese Minister, who will arnve in Washington about September 1, that Government will acquiesce in the practical application of the Scott Exclusion act passed by Con- gress. More than 100 persons in New Haven were dangerously poisoned by eating cream from freezers which had been in dis- use since last summer and were much cor- roded. The scarcity of ships and continued high sales of freight operate to encourage ship-building in the Eastern States, which is receiving a new impetus. The hardships experienced by importers of merchandise and manufacturers in the ordeal of the Custom House is the theme of a New York commercial editor, who charges that the holder of a foreign in- voice is often treated as one having no rights. ‘‘Great as may be the frauds on the revenue at the hands of dishonest im- porters,” he says, ‘‘ we believe the total amount that is illegally exacted by over- estimates of value and unwarranted appli- cations of high rates exceeds the sum that is lost through the knavery of the dealer. The public hear mgst exaggerated stories of the one side, but the others are com- pelled to a great extent to suffer in silence. Of the fruit | THE IRON - AGE. Their story is not heard, and they have no| Maritime Provinces. |'way by which their wrongs can be re- | new line will be utilized for winter busi- dressed.” In all the processes of ware-| housing, appraising, &c., there is a strong | temptation to practices that savor of ex- | tortion. In consequence of the invention of im- proved machinery for the manufacture of | linen thread, a company has been formed | in New York which expects to compete successfully with foreign mills and to be at work in September next. The new yrocess is known as the Boyce process, and is very simple. The Spanish-American Commercial Union, lately organized, and which last week established headquarters in Wall street, expects to be recognized as a sort of | Spanish-American Chamber of Commerce. | It is the intention to establish frequent and speedy communication with South Ameri- can ports and direct banking facilities be- tween North and South America. The trade of the Spanish-American countries reaches the grand total of $450,000,000 per annum, and of this, at present, the United States has only about 11 per cent., England and Germany dividing the re- mainder. Themembers of the union will make an effort to bring this immense for- eign business to the port of New York. New Orleans is encouraged by the recent growth of her foreign import trade, which in April was larger than for any corres- ponding month since the war. The re- turns from the West Indies and Latin America are particularly satisfactory, the imports from these countries being $1,911, - 512, against $6,072,400 for the entire year of 1887. The exports are as large as ever and the coastwise trade as good. The site of Albany was originally called Oranje, not Aurania, as commonly be- lieved. An investigation of the subject shows that the blunder grew out of a similarity of sound, the name given by the Dutch having been in honor of the Prince of Orange. As it sounded when pro- nounced by a Dutch tongue like Aurania, many inferred that this was the orthog- raphy. The proceedings of the Samoan Confer- ence in Berlin give promise of an amicable settlement of all differences between the three nations there represented. The new Post-office and United States Court-house Building which has been erected in Baltimore at a cost of about $2,000,000, will be ready for occupancy next September. The superb new steamer, Connecticut, for the Providence line, will be completed at Cramp’s this week, at a cost of $625,000. There are 6,000,000 acres in the Chero- kee lands which the Government is nego- tiating to buy. At $1.25 an acre this will bring the tribe $7,500,000. The Chero- kees are not rich in invested funds, though notably thrifty in their tribal and indi- vidual dealings. All the funds invested for their benefit and held for them in the Treasury—national, school and educational —amount to about $2,500,000. The sale of the Cherokee outlet will at once in- crease their national wealth to $10,000,000 and make them the wealthiest tribe in the United States. The Canadian Pacific’s new line across the State of Maine is now virtually com- pleted, thus securing for that corporation a line extending from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The route is from Megantic, Canada, southeasterly across the State, around the foot of Moosehead Lake to a point on the Maine Central known as Mattawamkeag, about 60 miles from the New Brunswick line. From this point running rights were obtained over the Maine Central, with connections to the ~~] ~] — Next winter this ness, but during this summer only a fast mail service will be established, and an effort made to open up the coal mines of Nova Scotia. New iron bridges will be built, one by the Philadelphia and Read- jing Railroad on the Richmond branch, and another by the Lehigh Valley near San Ringgold. With well-directed efforts the island of Malta, according to a consular report, |might become a_ profitable market for American-made articles, such as very light plows, hardware, including mechanical tools, especially those used in carriage- making, cheap platform scales, clocks, | sewing-machines and oil stoves. Speaking in reference to a statement which appeared in a San Francisco paper to the effect that Esquimault, British Columbia, was being made into a second Gibraltar, a Cabinet minister at Ottawa stated that such a statement was untrue. ‘*What sensational nonsense,” said the minister, laughing. ‘‘If the United States have any objection to Esquimault being fortified they can retaliate by building a fort directly opposite.” The principal work in prcgress at Esquimault, he ex- plained, is a gearing dock for the repair of British men-of-war G. E. Ruther, of Bridgeport, Conn., claims to have discovered a new system whereby a material reduction of laber in the Fire Department may be brought about. It is called the electric fire-en- gine, and consists of a motor, to take the plac: of the present steam-engine. The motors would receive their power from the dynamos of the electric lighting companies. Mr. Ruther’s idea is to lay down wires from the n