The Iron Age 1890-04-03: Vol 45

THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1890. THE IRON AGE Novel Design for the Chicago World’s Fair. A most striking design for the World’s Fair building in Chicago has been pre- pared by Architect E. 8. Jenison, of 151 Monroe street. Mr. Jenison believes it will be feasible to put all the exhibits in one enormous irclosure. He proposes to build a huge tent, of iron and steel and stone, with glass roof. A central steel tower, 66 feet in diameter and 1100 feet high is to be built. This will contain eight elevators. From its top steel cables will be stretched to the circular side walls, which will be 1500 feet from the base of the tower. Upon these cables the glass roof will rest. This will give an enormous acre, the main building at Philadelphia $73,591 per acre, and the London Crystal Palace, $42,500° per acre. Of this cost about $1,000,000 could be realized from the use of the old material. The exhibits could be arranged in converging lines to- ward a grand amphitheater around the central pole. Mr. Jenison proposes also a large circular canal around the inside of the building for various purposes. This is certainly the most captivating of all the novel projects yet proposed in connection with the exposition. —$—$—$—$—— EE London Mining and Metals Exhibi- tion. — An international exhibition of mining and metallurgy will be held dur- ing next summer at the Crystal Palace, Air-Compressor Operated by Pelton Wheel. The transmission of power by com- pressed-air is awakening a new interest in railway work and for local distribution of power as shown in the success of the Popp system in Paris gnd in Birmingham, Eng- land. A street railway is now being con- structed in Washington, D. C., to be operated by compressed-air by tra nsmis- sion. Inquiry is coming from the West- ern States for air plants for street rail- ways, and inventors are taking a lively turn at new devices for its application. There is but little doubt that in a very few AIR COMPRESSOR circular building 3000 feet in diameter, which, with the ground floor and two OPERATED BY Sydenham. It has received most encour- aging and widespread support. The circular galleries 75 feet wide running a of the exhibitien will be sufficiently around the building. will provide 1933 acres of available space. By the aid of electric lights this enormous space would present magnificent vistas. Mr. Jenison asserts the practicability of such a struct- ure. A reference to the Brooklyn Bridge gives a comparison. That has a span of 1560 feet, while the cables of this building will be 1500 feet long. The bridge will support a moving load of 100 pounds per square foot, while here there will be only 10 — plus the wind pressure. his latter point has been carefully con- sidered. A round surface will offer less resistance than any other, and the wind pressure can be successfully sustained by carefully adjusted tension rods. The tower might be extended 500 feet above the roof, making it one-eighth of a mile higher than the Eiffel tower, and provid- ing a considerable revenue from the elevators. The cost is estimated at $5,865, - 000, or $36,204 per acre. The Paris Ex- hibition machinery hall cost $75,080 per | wide to enable a most valuable and inter- esting display to be made. The exhibi- tion will open on July 2 and close on September 30, 1890, and, besides several features of special attraction, important collections of exhibits are expected from the colonies and foreign countries. The honorary secretary is Mr. George A. Fer- guson, editor of the Mining Journal, 18 Finch Lane, London, E. C., from whom prospectuses and application forms for space may be obtained. — EE The steamship lines plying between European ports and South America find that the business is less profitable than it was a year ago, owing to the lack of return freights. The Hamburg South American Steamship Company report total profits in 1889 of only 1,780,619 marks, compared with 1,890,578 marks in 1888. The prospective abundant harvests in the Argentine Republic and Brazil encourage the hope of improvement. PELTON WATER WHEELS. years compressed-air will stand in* the front rank as a medium of transmission of power; while its hygienic nature recom- mends it as against all competitors. - i The loss of energy by air-transmission for long distances is in striking contrast with steam or even electricity. Five to 10 miles distance are practical pos- sibilities with a loss of small extent. The underground distribution of power in our cities by this means will become a source of comfort and freedom from the defects of the steam system, that should alone recommend it as the basis upon which future power distribution can rely. The use of compressed air in mines for operating rock drills, coal-cutters’ pumps, hoisting machines and for serving at the same time as an efficient medium for venti- lation, has increased apace with our vastly increasing mining industry. It has largely contributed to the success of deep mining and in excavating the great tunnels of modern times. The increasing demand for air-compressing appliances has stimulated manufacturers to meet every want and condition of power for such purposes. 542 THE IRON AGE. April 38, 1890 We illustrate one of the latest arrange- | ments of air-compressors for a South American mining. company, whose mines are located in the heart of the Andes of Peru; designed and made by the Ingersoll- Sergeant Rock Drill Company, of New York, consisting of a pair of sectionalized air-compressors with cylinders 10 inch diameter, 18 inch stroke, with water jack- ets for keeping the cylinders cool by ex- The Cameron Coal and Iron Company. The plan for the reorganization of the Cameron Iron and Coal Company pro- vides for the retirement and cancellation of all outstanding bonds, stock and in- debtedness of the company, as follows: $1,150,000, 6 per cent. first mortgage . VALVE SPINDLE TAIL RACE TAIL RACE VALVE SPINDLE Fig. 2.—Plan Showing Arrangement of Nozzles. ternal water circulation. The bed frames and fiy wheels are so divided that no sin- gle piece weighs over 300 pounds and is suitable for mule back transportation. The actuating power is a mountain stream, from which an available fall of 56! feet is obtained at a distance of 200 feet from the compressor. The water is con- veyed through an 18-inch spiral riveted tube 200 feet long, to which the four | nozzles under the wheels are fixed. The water is applied to each of the Pelton water wheels, which are 4 feet in diameter, by double nozzles, with a single gate for each wheel, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, thereby doubling the power of the wheel | by the double flow of water. The spout- ing velocity of the water under the above head is about 3500 feet per minute, yield- ing about 26 horse-power for each com- pressor at 120 revolutions per minute, using 550 cubic feet of water per minute, for which the stream is sufficient. The great elevation of the mine is a desideratum in proportioning the com- pressors for a specified amount of work— | or for running a given number of rock drills—these compressors being equal to supplying air at 60 pounds pressure, at an elevation of 10,000 feet above the sea. The advantage gained by placing the Pelton wheel upon the compressor shaft is a considerable item of economy in power and first cost for low heads and limited quantities of water. The readiness with which a compressor and its operating power may be set up for work in the mountain mining districts, as illustrated in this plan, will be not only much appreciated in the decreased freight and mule carriage, but the work of set- ting two machines and the maintenance of belt connections with its loss of power are matters of the greatest importance at mines where every pound of water must be made to do its utmost duty for all purposes. bonds, with interest to September 1, 1890; $350,000 secured and unsecured debts; $3,000,000 common stock—total, $4,500,- 000. In lieu of these new securities are to be issued as follows: $500,000, 5 per cent. mortgages 50-year gold bonds, dated The whole of the common stock, $1,500, - 000, to be given to present stockholders on payment of an assessment of $2.50 on the subscription of $9 per share, in the roportion of 50 per cent. of their present oldings at par. Present stockholders are to elect, at the time of depositing their stock, whether they will pay $2.50 per share assessment or a subscription of $9 per share. If they pay the former they will be entitled to 50 per cent. at par of present holdings in new common stock; if they pay $9 per share they shall receive a like amount of new common stock and $10 of the new first mortgage bonds at 90 per cent. for the amount of their subscription at $9 per share. Under the agreement the security holders and creditors give the committee full power to carry out the plan in all respects; also, to deposit their securities and claims with the Central Trust Company, receiving therefore nego- tiable certificates. Security holders and creditors will be required to deposite their securities, or file their claims, under the conditions prescribed and within the time specified, in order to be entitled to avail themselves of the benefits. I Substantial progress is being made in building up the town of Harvey, the new industrial suburb of Chicago, which is be- ing started under the auspices of the American Steel Car Company. Two other large manufactories have within a few days decided to locate there and the sale of the land to them has been closed. One is the Grinnell Agricultural Implement Com- pany. This company have been searching for a location since the first of the year. They have been reported as buying sites at various places, among others a 40-acre tract at Washington Heights. None of those deals evidently were completed, for it is now definitely stated that the com- yany have purchased a site for their factory in Harvey, just south of where the steel car works are to be erected. The works will employ some four or five hundred people. In the town of Harvey the plan of pro- hibiting the opening of saloons will be followed, the same as is enforced at Pull- September 1, 1890 ; $1,500,000, 5 per cent.|man. It is said that this fact is what in- preferred stock, non-cumulative; $1,500,- | fluenced the Grinnell Implement Company 000 common stock, to receive 5 per cent. dividends after payment of 5 per cent. on OR TIMBER to locate on the Harvey tract. They come from atown where prohibition has been OR TIMBER Fig. 3.—Elevation through Wheel and Nozzles. preferred stock—total, $3,500,000. The| enforced and they like the effect. preferred stock is to control the new com- pany for the first three years, after which control is to revert to all the stock. The new securities are to be applied as fol- lows: $200,000 bonds to be held in the treasury for future purposes of the com- pany ; $300,000 bonds to be given at 90 per cent. to present stockholders who elect to pay $9 per share subscription; $1,200,000 preferred stock to present bondholders and $300,000 to creditors. The other institution that is to locate at Har- vey is the wagon and carriage manufactory of Cramer, Steel & Austin. This company will immediately put up large wagon- shops on a site just west of that secured by the Grinnell Implement Company. This company now have orders ahead for 3000 wagons. They will build a factory from which they expect to turn out 10,000 wagons a year, besides a large number of carriages and light vehicles. April 3, 1890 THE IRON AGE. 543 Agricultural Depression. Brief extracts have already been made of Statistician Dodge’s report, to which we aad the following: AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION AND ITS CAUBES. There is almost universal complaint among farmers of all nations of the preva- lence of low prices. The agricultural de- ression of Great Britain has probably peen more severe than that of any other nation. A potent cause in this case is the competition from all parts of the world unrelieved by any taxation of imports. France and Germany are somewhat dis- turbed by similar complaints of unre- munerative rural industry. Italy has also had occasion to make official investigation of the causes of agricultural depression. Other countries are vocal with similar cries of dissatisfaction with the proceeds of agricultural labor. So the trouble ap- pears to be general in monarchies and re- yublics, whether the monetary circulation is gold or silver or paper, and under the influence of various and diverse economic systems. Not all countries are in the same depths of distress. In ours, farmers and farm laborers are doubtless better fed and clothed, able to maintain a higher style of living, and enjoy more of the benefits of civilization and culture than those of any other country. It may be said with abso- lute truth that in 30 years the scale of living has advanced immensely in this country, not equally in all sections, but manifestly everywhere. There is a ten- dency to extravagance in town life that has been imitated in rural circles, and the ambition for progress and precedence, when generally aruused, will express itself in dissatisfaction with prevailing con- ditions and determination to overpower all obstacles to advancement. This is a hope- ful sign. It is an indication of conscious dignity. It is a prophecy of progress While, therefore, our own country feels the effect of agricultural depression less than almost any other in the world, the reduction in prices of most staples, and in domestic animals and their products, forces a disagreeable comparison with agricult- ural values at their highest, compels re- duced expenditure to keep outgo subor- dinate to income, increases the number of unfortunates who cannot make ‘ both ends meet,” and reduces the protits of the enterprising and skillful who are still able to strike a balance in their favor. Re- trenchment is not an agreeable alternative, and 1s therefore delayed until its compul- sion is imperative and perhaps destructive. ‘The times” are universally regarded as ‘*hard” in comparison with more pros- perous eras of the past. It matters not that the prices of imple- ments, utensils and fabrics, of goods de- sired by the farmer, have been reduced - rtionately; his interest account, if e has one, is unreduced, and his mort- gage is a greater burden to lift. He naturally resents and deplores low valua- tion of farm products. What are the causes of low prices? They may be vari- ous, but the prime cause is the operation of the inexorable law of supply and de- mand. Abundance leads inevitably to low prices; scarcity to high prices. With either there is fluctuation, a see-saw of prices which increases cost and reduces profit. Medium and uniform values are therefore best for the farmer. PRODUCTION AND POPULATION, There has been an increase of production in this country even more rapid than the increment of population. America has long been the synonym of plethora. Her people probably consume more than these of any other nation, and have a larger surplus for foreign needs. Immigration has been heavy and unrestricted; railroad building has been stimulated until an em- pire of new and productive lands has been opened; and these lands have been given ad libitum to settlers of native or foreign birth. Speculation first, and profitable utilization afterward, have been the mo- tive for settlement and development which have astonished the world and caused over- production and low prices. The following statement shows the increase in 30 years in certain products of the farm, as reported by the census: 1849. 1859. Products. Bushels. Bushels. Cn i kcks cacseeeescc cee 838,792,742 Wheat - 100,485,944 173,104,924 Oats... an aa 146,584,179 172,643, 185 Potatoes.......... . 65,797,899 111,148,867 Bales. Bales. Cotton .. .... 2,469,093 5,387,052 Tons. ‘Tons. Hay sive od teakebeen 13,838,642 19,083,896 1869. 1879. Products. Bushels. Bushels Corn ... ee . 760,944,549 1,754,591 ,676 WORE... ccccs ae . 287,745,626 459,483,107 Ud cca vin ues Mi aeens 282,107 .157 407,858,999 Potatoes............-. 143,887,473 169,458,539 Bales. Rales. GOON: caicudvuddns cones 3,011,996 5,755,359 Tons. Tons. Hay . 27,316,048 35,150,711 If we extend the comparison to the present date, we find that the corn crop exceeds 2,000,000,000, wheat approxi- mates 500,000,000, oats exceed 700,000,- 000, and hay and potatoes have increased in similar proportion. While the product may be three or four times as large, the population 1s less than three times as much, though the proportion of workers engaged in agriculture was larger than now. THE COTTON CROP. During the 40 years from 1850 to the present time the cotton product increased from a little over 2,000,060 bales to more than. 7,000,000 bales Cattle have also in- creased very rapidly; cows from between 6,000,000 and 7,000,000 to about 16,000,- 000; other cattle from scarcely 12,000.000 to more than 36,000,000. While sheep have doubled in numbers, the wool pro- duction have quadrupled. While the milch cows are almost three times as many, their average rate of yield of milk has probably doubled. The improvement of other cattle, through breeding and feed- ing, has reduced the time required for ma- turity and increased the weight of carcass to such an extent that the amount of beef produced annually in proportion to num- bers of animals kept is immensely in- creased. Relative numbers, in comparison with the past, in all kinds of domestic animals, have far less significance than im provement in weight and quality, in thriftiness and early maturity. It is difficult to force a market abroad for a surplus of any product. Every na- tion is seeking to produce its own food, and, as far as possible its raw materials for extension in all forms of industrial pro- duction. The instinct of self-preservation compels the adoption of such a policy. This furnishes the motive for the corn laws of France and Germany and other Conti- nental countries, and the laws of European nations prohibiting the introduction of our pork products. We cannot sell our crops abroad, as a rule, except to fill the gaps in supply that are made by bad seasons or other results of the inevitable or inex- orable. In cotton, this country enjoys an ac- knowledged saperiority, and will doubt- less continue to hold it. It supplies to the cotton factories of the weld more than half their material. It can increase this supply, with the inevitable effect of reduc- ing the price. The sale does not depend on our purchases abroad. Its aggregate would not be reduced a pound if we should refuse to spend a single dollar for foreign products. The mills must have the fiber, and nowhere else can it be had of so good quality and value. We can manufacture | more of it here, and thus increase foreign competition for it, but the product cannot be enlarged beyond the current wants of the woild’s trade without reducing the price of the fiber and fabric. Thus, the law of supply and demand limits the ex- tension of cotton fields. In wheat overproduction has destroyed the grower’s profit. Wheat growing has become a philanthropic mission for sup- plying cheap bread to Great Britain and encouraging here manufacturers to keep wages on a low plane. The Northwes‘ern missionaries are still diligently sowing their seed and floating their bread across the waters, and mourning that the profits do not return to them after many days of weary transportation. The area of the crop of 1889 included about 10,000,000 acres more than the home consumption of the year will require; and the price in Liverpool has of late been the lowest for a century. We cannot force foreigners to buy our bread. There has been a mass of ineffable nonsense regarding ‘‘the markets of the world” for wheat. Less than a fourth of the people of the world eat wheat half of the people of Europe scarcely know its taste, while few of the nations of Asia and Africa have any knowledge of it. DECLINE IN LIVE STOCK VALUES. The production of meat has also ad- vanced faster than population. In 1880 the cattle of all kinds were returned as 39,675,533, and the numbers as now esti- mated, on farms and ranches, are 52,801,- 907, or 33 per cent. more. Excluding cows, the increase of other cattle, which includes the beeves, is equivalent to about 40 per cent. Then beeves are brought to maturity more rapidly than formerly, and more meat is made in proportion to num- bers, so that the beef supply is greater than in 1880 in proportion to population. The ratio of supply has been very greatly increased since 1850. Our export of beef has grown up in the past 13 years, and the export of cattle has not only in- creased, but its character has: changed from the shipment of Texas or Florida long horns to Cuba to the export of fat beeves to Europe, one of which commands the price of five of the original style of gulf coast cattle. This difference repre- sents not precisely the meat-making ca- pacity of the cattle of 1850 and 1890 re- spectively, but it suggests the wide disparity between the: ratio of meat to numbers of cattle at the two dates. (To be continued.) a A ‘‘Directory of Directors” is pub- lished in London, and its last issue has the names of 12,500 noblemen and gentle- men who may be called professional direc- tors, being paid in different amounts for their time, but particularly for the use of their names as managers, directors and promoters of companies incorporated for all sorts of purposes, for operating in all parts of the world, and of varying degrees of financial success. As the same directors appear as interested in different companies, the Railway News thinks that at least 25,000 companies are represented in the list mentioned. A small average payment of $500 per year for each company makes a total of $12,500,000 for the use of names of professional directors in England, and this by no means equals the probable sum paid. A. Fulton’s Son & Co., of Pittsburgh, shipped a church bell to Wheeling, W. Va., last week that weighed 2675 pounds. It is the largest bell ever cast in Pitts- burgh. The above firm have recently been reorganized and have concluded to enter more largely into the casting of bells of large size for ~hurches, schools, fac- tories, &c. 544 THE IRON AGE. April 3, 1890 were machined to suitable sizes for the The Gesner Rust-Proof Process. For some time past, G. W. Gesner has been experimenting with a process for giving articles of iron and steel a rust- proof coating. A plant has been estab- lished at South Brooklyn, which has been in operation for some time past. companying engravings shows its con- struction. It consists substantially of a bench of two ordinary gas retorts placed side by side in a furnace heated by a grate. The process itself is conducted in the following manner: The retort being carried to a temperature of 1000° to 1200° F., as may be determined by the character of the articles to be treated. The latter are introduced by means of a crane and pulley, care being taken that they do not touch one another. After closing and testing the retort, the heating continues for about 20 minutes. Then steam is in- troduced into what Mr. Gesner calls a hydrogen generator, shown in the draw- ings in Figs. 1 and 3. It is a simple pipe, open at the rear end. Mr. Gesner claims that in the passage of the steam through this generator hydrogen is generated, which fills the retort. This operation goes on for 35 minutes, at the end of which time half a pint of naphtha is permitted to flow into the retort for ten minutes. The flow of hydro-carbon is then stopped, and the steam which has been allowed to enter the ** generator” during the whole operation is continued for 15 minutes longer. The whole time employed in the operation is therefore one hour and 20 minutes. The ‘* purging pipe,”’ which dips into an open vessel of water, as shown in Fig. 1, to the depth of 14 inches, carries off any excess of gases produced 1n the operation. In cases where articles treated are orna- mental, such as art hardware, they are given a bath of cold whale oil or paraftine oil to render them more even in tone. In other articles no oilis used. The plant now established at South Brooklyn is rated at a capacity of 6 tons per day of boiler tubes, 7} feet in length, or 2 tons of ornamental hardware, the rate of pro- duction of treated goods depending upon the time required for handling them. The average cost of fuel per day is reported by Mr. Gesner to be $1.75, including coal for the boiler. To substantiate his claim that hydrogen has a function in the creation of a rust- proof coating, Mr. Gesner quotes the fol lowing analysis, made by Stillman & Glad- ding, of this city, of a sample of the sur- face of cast iron prepared by the process: Carbon, 1.01 per cent.; hydrogen, 0.22 per cent.; sand, 6.70 per cent., and iron, 66.10 percent. The chemists add that the iron is present as metallic iron and as ox- ides of various constitution. In order to determine whether the treat- ment had any adverse effect upon the strength and resistance of wrought iron and steel suitable for boiler, ship and bridge purposes, a series of tests were made by B. H. Coffin, in charge of the testing department of Henry Warden, Germantown Junction, Philadelphia, Pa. We quote as follows from this report, the test showing these results: Elon- Reduc- Ulti- gation. tion of Elastic mate Iron: Pr.cent. area. limit. stress, * t 10.5 12.9 350 45,040 Untreated.5 39°) 11.6 «=. 33,750 44,880 8.4 13.4 33,740 42,620 Freated...| 6§ 166 S640 48970 Steel : 7. ( 21.6 43.3 41,960 58,250 Untreated. 49°} 42.8 43,050 59,120 r 24.1 40.9 39,0E0 55,880 Treated... { 26.0 44.9 37,390 55,220 ‘* Five test pieces of iron were cut from a single plate 4 inch thick, and five more similarly from a £-inch steel plate. These The ac- | machine, standard 8-inch test piece, giving a section of about 0.71 square inch for the iron and 0.51 square inch for the steel. Three of each of these sets were forwarded to Dr. Gesner for treatment, who retained one and returned the remainder, The tests were made with a 200,000 pound Olsen and the measurements with Hydrocarbon to exist, would be of comparative unim- portance in affecting the value of the metal. The steel is benefited. The an- nealing nndergone during the treatment has softened it to some extent; it has lost about 5 per cent. in strength but gained 5 per cent. in elongation. This metal as originally would not have come up to specifications, being insufficient in ¢ GQ WY | Fig. 2.—Section through D D, Fig. 4. drogen Generator H SS SS ae nd SSS SS SS S SAQ@QQqQg4a De eee SS SS S SS WN SS Fig. 3.—Section through B B, Fig. 1. THE GESNER FURNACE, Brown & Sharp’s micrometer gauges, and are believed to be accurate. ‘The pieces were gauged both before and after treatment and showed no change. The tests show practically no effect what- ever upon the iron, with the exception of a slight decrease in the elongation. As the reduction of area is not reduced, it would be impossible without further evi- dence to say whether or no the ductility were affected. At any rate the ductility being so low, this small reduction if proved stretch. The treatment has not reduced the tensile strength below the assigned limit; at the same time it has brought the elongation up to requirements. Pieces of both iron and steel were bent cold to an angle of 45° without showing any fracture or scaling of the treated surface.” A large variety of iron and steel goods have been already treated in quantities by the South Brooklyn Rust Proof Iron and Steel Works, among them being builders’ and art hardware, roofing shingles, stove April 3, 1890 THE IRON AGE. 545 fittings, pipe and pipe fittings, parts of water meters, steam radiators, pistols and other articles. The color produced is a dark blue. I Trade on the Lakes. Vessel owners on the lakes are looking for an unusually prosperous year, as there are larger amounts of iron ore already waiting to be shipped, and larger amounts of tonnage already chartered than ever be- fore. One of the largest shippers in Chi- cago, on being questioned, said: ‘‘It is reported that 6,000,000 tons and even more are already chartered for iron ore, which is nearly equal to the total output of last year. As for grain, that is problem- atical, but it will probably be shipped in greater quantities than ever before in the history of the country.” The amount of tonnage chartered is various!y reported, as there is a tendency toward an attempt to Another said: ‘*The open winter leaves the yards full of coal, so that the supply on hand is already about equal to the probable demand. This will enable the vessels that take iron ore down to Lake Erie ports to return light, thus sav- ing two days usually taken up for loading coal and making quicker time. Iron ore is king now, as the mines are not on the trunk lines. Rates foriron are better than for the last few years, being about $1.10 from Escanaba, $1.20 from Ashland, and up to $1.40 from farther Lake Superior ports to Lake Erie harbors on charters for the season. These rates, in general, are about 15 or 20 cents higher than they were 12 months ago. If ore keeps on as it has opened, and as appearances tend to show it will, with the amount of grain in sight, there is no reason that can at present be sug- gested to prevent a remarkbly prosperous season on the great lakes. D Fig. 4.—Section through C C, Fig. 1. THE GESNER FURNACE. keep the exact figures quiet. The amount of iron ore waiting to be moved was put in some places as high as 10,000,000 tons as compared with about 7,000,000 tons last year. For the first trip about 70 per cent. of the total tonnage of Chicago for ore is already taken and about 80 per cent. of the total tonnage for grain. To increase the supply of tonnage to a figure commen- surate with this increase in the demand for it, the shipyards in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Bay City and Manitowoc have been busy all winter, and have more or- ders ahead than they can fill in two years. Captain John Prindiville considers the outlook in general better than for years. He said: ‘‘There is at least 60,000 or 70,000 new tonnage coming out this spring, and as so much is already chartered for the season, it will all be needed. Outside vessels usually get lower rates for transient omens. but it may be that they will get higher rates this year than the chartered tonnage.”” The amount of available ton- nage will also be increased about a third by the large supplies of coal already on hand. From the Duluth correspondent of St- Paul Pioneer Press we make the following extract: ‘*The prospects for the coming lake navigation season are unusually bright for vesselmen, who are assured of all they can do from the opening to the close. From present prospects Duluth will not see its first boat from the lower lakes much, if any, before April 25. It may not be until May 1, as the ice in the Sault canal is re- ported quite heavy. The new tonnage of the season will be quite large—probably 60,000 tons—but the effects on rates will be made up by the increased ore mined. The grain situation is much better than a year ago. The stock of grain on hand at the open- ing of navigation last year was only 3,300,- 000 bushels. At the present time there is a total of 6,550,000 bushels. The coal transportation will be much larger this year than last, vesselmen and coalmen estimating the total receipts at Duluth and Superior for the season at 1,500,000 tons, or about 350,000 more than in 1889. CORRESPONDENCE. Process in The Direct Bessemer Sweden. To the Editor: Having read your in- teresting account in The Jron Age of the 27th of the Bessemer process at Nischnje- Saldinsk, I beg leave to make a few remarks and say that, when we know with what skill and precision the direct pneu- matic process is making in Sweden, it is somewhat of a surprise to learn that our friends in the Oural Mountains have not tried to profit from the experience of their neighbors, instead of going to wcrk in such a rourdabout way as recorded by Dr. Miller. In regard to the tempera- ture of the iron, I can state, from several years’ experience of my own, that there is no difficulty in obtaining the iron suf- ficiently hot in the Swedish charcoal fur- naces, many of which are much smaller than the one operated at Nischnje-Sal- dinsk. But, of course, the furnaces must be run so as to give the direct result— viz., high temperature of the blast, rapid driving, comparatively small burden of ore, and a properly basic character of the slag, between 2 RO, Si0* aud RO, SiO’, or sometimes even more basic steel. To my knowledge this is really the simplest way to obtain the iron of sufficient initial heat in the small charcoal furnaces. A tem- perature of 1800° to 1500° C. at a hight of from 6 to 7 feet above the tuyeres is not uncommon in them. - The iron is tapped every six hours direct into a ladle and weighed before being poured into the con- verter. As a rule, about 1 per cent. of silicon is aimed at, but at some mills iron as low in sili¢on contents as 0.75 per cent. is worked regularly. In regard to the most desirable per cent. of manganese in the iron for the di- rect process the opinions are somewhat divided. As the manganese is more diffi- cult of oxidation than is the silicon, it fol- lows that an unduly large per cent. of the former element, per se unnecessarily retards the conversion, and also persistently re- tains the carbon. The manganese oxide is more difficult of reduction than the fereous oxide. If, therefore, as is most likely the case, the oxidation in the Besse- mer converter slso takes place through the medium of the slag, and we bear in mind that the rapidity of the conversion de- pends on the facility with which the slag delivers its oxygen to the iron, it follows that the slag must be more or less oxidiz- ing in proportion as more or less iron in it has been substituted by manganese. In cases where it is desired to produce high of carbon contents without recarbonizing, a certain amount of manganese in the iron may be desirable, as it makes the slag less oxidizing, and being more difficult of re- duction than iron, indirectly protects the carbon. Some works in Sweden have used pig iron with as much as 8 to 4 per cent. of manganese; others use irons with hardly more than traces of this element. Almost the very first experiments in Sweden with the direct process were suc- cessful, and the products from some have now for 30 years been unequaled by any steel except the more expensive brands of crucible steel made from Dannemora and Persbergs irons. The followin illustration of Analyses of File Metal. Swedish American American Bessemer. crucible. cast iron file. analyses may serve as an ifferent materials for files: oe 1.30 . 0.05 0.21 0.97 Manganese... .0.12 0.25 0.04 Sulphur........ trace 0.03 0.06 Phosphorus. .... 0.03 0.07 0.25 Yours truly, Wm. MOLIN. NEW YORK, March 31, 1890. 546 THE IRON AGE, April 3, 1890 he Merchants’ Bridge at St. Louis. At an early day St. Louis will possess what its business men and the community have long striven for—a second bridge across the Mississippi River. For many years St. Louis merchants and maaufact- urers have been keenly alive to the fact that the development of the city as a com- mercial metropolis and a manufacturing center was hampered by the tribute ex- acted by the Gould interest for the trans- portation of goods and passengers from one bank of the river to the other by that famous structure, the Eads Bridge. The owners of the bridge have for years levied a heavy toll upon the community. The Eads bridge is required to pay through its traffic 7 per cent. on $6,000,000 bonds, 12 per cent. on $2,490,000 first preferred of nearly $11,500,000 undoubtedly is in- flated. Aside from motives inspired by public spirit, an effort to compete with an enterprise earning 5 per cent. on $17,000, - 000 was certainly to be regarded as a promising business undertaking. Ac- cordingly, the Merchants’ Exchange, of St. Louis, inaugurated the St. Louis Mer- chants’ Bridge and its associate enterprise, the St. Louis Merchants’ Bridge Terminal | Company, to provide for cheap river transit and additional rail facilities. The com- mittee who had charge of the undertaking were 8S. W. Cobb, ex-president of the Ex- change, C. C. Rainwater, president of the Rainwater-Boogher Hat Company, John er for, its bond and share capital cis, of D. R. Francis & Bro, Commis- sion Company, and John Perry, of the | Standard Stamping Company The first | named is president, the second vice-presi- | dent and the last named treasurer of the stock and 6 per cent. on $3,000,000 pre-| company, John H. Overall being secre- R. Holmes, John Whitaker, of Francis | Whitaker & Sons, packers; D. R. Fran- | of the net income, which the Terminal Company may derive from the operation of the bridge, after deducting the amount of intercst maturing. Subsequently, the Terminal Railway Company increased their capital stock from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000. THE BRIDGE, The accompanying engraving shows the general features of the bridge, which con- sists of three main spans, respectively 521.5, 523.5 and 521.5 foot spans, six ap- proach spans of 125 feet each, four braced piers of 25 feet each and two pier spaces of 3 feet each, making the total length 2,422.5 feet. The clearance above the St. Louis directrix is 54 feet 3 inches, The contract for the main bridge and /425 feet of the steel approaches on each end was let to the Union Bridge Company ot New York City, and the bridge proper is now completed, only a part of the ap- proach work remaining to be finished. The work on both approaches, which has THE MERCHANTS’ ferred stock, or fixed charges of $828,800 annually, to which are added $23,888 taxes. In 1888, according to official re- ports, the structure earned $1,703,300 gross, while the operating expense was | $847,513, leaving net earnings of $855,787. The high charges have had the result that a large part of the freight destined for St. Louis itself, and of the freight shipped eastward from St. Louis, does not cross | the river on the Eads Bridge, but by| the transfer boats, car floats or ferry boats; nearly all thé loca’ freight des- tined for St. Louis is consigned to East St. Louis for that season. How large this volume of business is may be gathered from the following figures: In 1889 the total traffic over the Eads Bridge by cars | was 3,286,876 tons, and by teams 621,739 | tons. By boats, floats and ferries the ton- nage was 3,339,499 tons. Of the total of 6,626,366 tons therefore 41 per cent. avoided the bridge. treight traftic, there are transferred across the structure not less than 140,114 pas- senger express, mail and baggage cars. Even conceding that when it was built BRIDGE AT ST. tary. ary 3, 1887, an act of Congress authorized the construction of the bridge not less than two miles above or two miles below the Eads bridge Later in the year acity nect their tracks by switches and side tracks with any other railroad depot, warehouse, factory or commercial or manu- facturing establishment located adjacent passenger depot to cost not less than $200,000. The capital stock of the Bridge company was increased from $500,000 to $2,000, - 000, on January 21, 1889, and on the ist of February, 1889, the St. Louis Mer- chants’ Bridge Company leased its struc- ture for 40 years to the Terminal Com- In addition to the| pany, the latter paying as rental, first, in- terest on the bonds of the Bridge com- pany of the series, amounting to $2,000, - 000, provided that the amount of the | bonds to be used did not exceed the sum the Eads Bridge cost far more than a structure spanning the river could now be | of $1,500,000 before the 1st of June, 1890; ‘ second, all taxes, and third, three-fourths LOUIS. A charter under the acts of Illinois | been mostly let to various contractors, and was obtained May 11, 1886, and on Febru-| partly performed by the bridge and ter- minal companies themselves, will, no doubt, be entirely completed, and connec- | road tracks on certain streets of the city. | The Terminal Company is required to con- | tions made with the Terminal Company's tracks on the west, and the tracks of sev- ordinance authorized the building of rail- | eral railroads on the east, by April 1, ex- clusive of the elevated structure, which will be completed by May 1, this year. The contract for the double track ele- vated structure on the line of the Termi- nal Railway has been let to the Phenix | Bridge Company, of Philadelphia, Pa., to the railroad, and is required to erect a) who are now engaged in the execution of the contract. The terminal tracks have been laid from the Water Works to Biddle street, and it is expected that the elevated structure will be completed and all tracks laid and connections made with the St. Louis and San Erancisco Railroad and the Union Depot tracks by May 1, this year. The general plan of the bridge, and its approaches and most of the details that were recommended by the engineers, Morison and Corthell, have been followed in the actual construction of the work. Examinations made of the rock during the building of the piers, when all material overlying it had been removed, showed April 3, 1890 THE IRON AGE. 547 that in every case the piers rested on firm hard limestone rock. The rock, in every case, was leveled off, or stepped, for the jron cutting edge, and thoroughly cleaned of all loose shale, clay, sand, &c., and at least two holes were drilled five feet into it, to determine its character. The cais- sons were then solidly packed with con- crete. Limestone, from Bedford, Ind., was used to within 3 feet of the low water- Jine; above this level to the high water- line Missouri granite was used, and above this, Bedford limestone. The dimension THE TERMINAL CONNECTIONS OF THE stone was laid in Portland cement mortar, and the backing in Louisville cement. In order to make a less abrupt break in the grade between the level grade of the bridge and that of the approaches, the two river piers were raised so that the clear hight in the center of the central span is 52 feet above high water instead of 50 feet, as required by the act of Congress, and the hight at the end of the shore spans is about 4 inches below this hight. This gives a much better bride for navigation than the law contemplated. On the west end of the bridge the ap- proach crosses Ferry street twice. The crossing nearest the bridge is made by a viaduct resting on cylinder piers, the cross- ing furthest from the bridge is a deck span 125‘feet long resting on masonry iers. There is one other street over- ead crossing, which is made by masonry abutments and steel girders. The inter- mediate space between the rtructures are either solid earthwork or a substantial timber trestle. On the east end of the bridge, between the 425-foot length of permanent structure and the overhead crossing at the Chicago = Alton, Bee Line and Wabash Railroads, an spaces are filled with a wooden trestle. The bridge at the crossing of these three | d east of this last-named structure to | the earth embankment, the intermediate | gation of 10 per cent. before breaking. The structures are so proportioned that under all possible conditions the material cannot be subjected to injurious strains. CONNECTING RAILWAYS. | As the accompanying engraving shows, ‘there are at the end of the east approach 'three connecting lines, one to the north connecting with the three railroads above mentioned, and one to the east in the line of the east oes extended connecting with the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad, one to the south con- we Hanover T. Lous Rankin |railroads is made by two masonry abut- ments on which rest a 175-foot span and a 40-foot steel girder. The entire bridge and approaches is built for double track. The style of the three spans of the main bridge is a double intersection pin-con- nected truss with horizontal bottom chord and a curved top chord. The entire structure is of steel, except pedestals and ornamental parts, which are of cast-iron, and nuts, swivels and clevises, which are _of wrought-iron. The steel was required to stand an ulti- mate tensile strain in the sample bar of from 63,000 to 70,000 pourds per square inch, with an elastic limit of not less than 38,000 pounds. Finished bars, selected | by the engineer, were subjected to a break- ing test, the requirements being an elon- ST. LOUIS BRIDGE. necting with the Venice and Carondelet Belt Railway, and the East St. Louis and Carondelet Railway, through which belt railroads connection is made with the Vandalia, the Ohio and Mississippi, Louis- ville and Nashville and all other rail- ways which reach East St. Louis. Arrangements have been perfected by which the Terminal Company will have extensive rights on the belt railroads above mentioned. By these va- rious connecting lines the bridge will be closely and conveniently connected with all of the railroads that converge at East St. Louis, and it will also have a connec- tion through these belt and connecting lines with elevators, mills, warehouses, stock yards, railroad transfer yards and indus- tries of all kinds located in East St. Louis. 548 THE IRON AGE. April 3, 1890 A railroad has been projected, and is|and much more advantageously situated now under construction, leading from the | for all parts of the city, both north and east approach of the bridge to extensive coal fields about 20 miles distant. The mines and railroad will be owned and operated by a company closely allied to the Merchants’ Bridge and Terminal Com- panies. The coal is considered the best and nearest to St. Louis of any mines now worked. These coal fields are inexhausti- ble. This coal railroad will be opened for business this year. The west approach connects with the Wabash Road which enters St. Louis from the north on the west side of the river, and with St. Lous Transfer Railway. It will have a connection with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad on both sides of the river, and the Terminal Rail- way will, by its elevated structure, reach and connect with, by arrangements already TWENTY-TWO-INCH SWING POST made, the St. Louis & San Francisco Rail- way. It has the right under its amended franchise from the City of St. Louis to connect with the Union Depot tracks. It also is advantageously situated on the streets leading from the bridge into the center of the city, or connection with the various industries now in operation or contemplated. Parallel with and adjacent to the St. Louis & San Francisco tracks the Terminal Company has purchased, partly from this railroad and partly from private parties, an extensive tract of grounc for a local freight and passenger station more advan- south of the present Union Depot. The Terminal Railway Company have al- ready acquired by purchase lands and blocks of ground contiguous to their line, necessary for right of way, freight and pas- senger depots, yard room, machine shops, &ec., at a cost of $797,000; this was pur- chased or contracted before any advance on account of construction of the Bridge and Terminal Railway Company, and has very greatly advanced in value, and in addition is acquiring, by condemnation proceedings and purchase, land at a cost of $527,000 at resent market valuation, making a total of Bi 224,000 invested in real estate, located in the business or central part of the city of St. Louis, In addition a land improvement com- pany, formed of directors and stockholders Fig. 2. OR WALL in the bridge and terminal companies, purchased, mostly prior to the construction of the work, large tracts of ground in Illinois, for the line of the east approach and its connecting lines, and in the city of St. Louis, along the line ot the Termina! Railway, large tracts ot land now become very valuable by the raise of property, caused by the construction of this important work. This land improvement company is an organization closely allied to the Bridge and Terminal Company, and pro- | poses to hold the purchased lands for the tageously situated than any freight station | connected with the present bridge. These terminal grounds are, on Gratiot benefit of the Terminal Rail — The Pittsburgh Car Service Association, way Company. /embracing all the railroads entering Pitts- street, extending from Eighth street to) Twelfth street, being about 1400 feet long and 150 feet wide. The freight stations of the old bridge are in the low grounds of Mill Creek Valley and are difficult of ac- cess. burgh and Allegheny, have issued the fol- lowing circular to consignors and con- signees of freight within a distance of 40 miles from Pittsburgh: ‘‘ Notice is here- by given that, commencing at 7 o'clock, a.m., March 31, 1890, there will be a All of the freight stations of the | charge for the detention of cars and use ot Terminal Railway are on higher ground’ tracks of $1 per car per day, or any frac- tion thereof, if not loaded within 48 hours after being in position for loading or un- loading within 48 hours after arrival; not including Sundays or legal holidays,” The notice has been signed by all the rail- roads that enter Pittsburgh. Post or Wall Drill. The illustrations here presented show a new 22-inch swing post or wall drill, made by Boynton & Plummer, of Worcester, Mass. Fig. 1 shows the machine as adapted to the ordinary machine shop use, It is strongly braced, so as to prevent springing when being put in position, and, having strong heavy brackets, is very rigid when fastened to wall or post. It occupies very little space compared with its capacity, being but 28} inches from wall to front of table, a very desirable feature in many places where room is valu- able. It is furnished with screw and wheel feed combined or singly. It is fitted with a simple device tor operating the feed lever, by which the lever