The Iron Age 1891-02-26: Vol 47

‘THE THURSDAY, FFBRUARY 26, 1891. IRON AGE Circular Milling Machine. THe Pratr & Watney Company of Hartford, Conn., have just placed on the market a circular milling ma- chine possessing many new and admir- able features. The machine 1s adapted for either inside milling or exterior circular milling. One aim which the builders had before them in the designing of this ma- chine was to insure absolute rigidity and to avoid lost motion in the driving mechan- ism. This they have succeeded in doing, and have produced a machine that will tind a wide acceptance. The spindle car- rying the milling cutter is unusually heavy even for milling: machines, and is mounted in bearings formed in pedestal projecting from a plate sliding on the bed plate of the machine, The machine is driven by a gear at one end, meshing with a pinion on the shaft carrying the cone pulley. At the other end of the machine 1s the chuck carrying the work, which is so mounted PS ee CIRCULAR MILLING as to move in a bed placed at right angles to the machine bed, so that work of any desired diameter may be milled either in- side or outside. The spindle carrying the face plate is provided at its opposite end with a worm wheel engaging with a worm driven from the gear shaft through gear- ing, as shown, change gears being pro- vided for different speeds. Provision is made for moving this table by the hand wheel shown. It is possible with this machine by means of an x shaped cutter to mill the face and both edges of the gear, the work done possessing most decided advantages over that done in the usual way in the lathe, since it is done at least five times as fast and much moreaccurately. So nicely are the gears cut and so rigid is-the ma- chine that it is possible to do the best work with the milling cutter running in such a direction as to cut into the scale instead of cutting down and lifting the scale. In circular work it is evident that not only ordinary inside circular work can be easily done, but also after a certain circular opening has been cut it is possible to cut recesses in the bottom of this open- ing by introducing the cutter through the opening formed and then bringing it to bear at the desired point on the bottom of the opening. Although themachine is a new one and only recently placed on the market, it has been thoroughly tested in faction of the builders. I Shipbuilding in New England. The Bangor Industrial Journal pub- lishes a special edition containing a sum- mary of the shipbuilding industry in New | were launched from the shipyards of the New England States and Maritime Prov- inces 313 vessels, aggregating 132,015.35 net tons. These, classified by rig, are as follows: Seven ships, 11 barks, 24 barken- tines, 10 hermaphrodite brigs, 200 schoon- ers, 30 sloops, 21 steamers and 10 barges. Of this large fleet New England contrib- uted 207 vessels, aggregating 99,842.35 tons and the Maritime Provinces 106 ves- sels of 32,173 tons. Of the New England contribution Maine leads with 125 vessels i i ei MACHINE, BUILT BY THE PRATT & of 74,465.87 tons. Massachusetts comes next with 54 vessels of 13,603.49 tons, and Connecticut follows with 82 vessels of 11,772.79 tons. In the Maritime Prov- inces Nova Scotia leads with 64 vessels of 23,779 tons, New Brunswick follows with 36 vessels of 6667 tons, and then comes Prince Edward Island with 6 vessels of 1729 tons. Of this grand total, Maine has contributed about two-fifths in num- ber of vessels and about three-fifths in tonnage. The record of 74,467 tons is a very material increase over the past few years, and only twice in the past decade, 1882 and 1883, has it been surpassed, and then only in a very slight degree, the record of those years being 76,055 and 74,708 tons. Of the Maine fleet the most notable is the magnificent ship Shenan- doah, which registers 3406.78 tons gross, and $258.58 net, and is the largest wooden ship afloat. Also of colossal a surpassed only by the Shenandoah, is the Rappahannock, registering 3053 tons net. Tne Parthea, 2371 tons; the St. Mary’s, 1943 tons, and the L. D. Carleton, 1788 tons, were among the finest clipper ships that ever left Maine stocks. The entire tonnage for the year in Maine represents an expenditure of about $4,000,000. Schooners continue to largely predominate among the vessels built in Maine yards, the Pratt & Whitney works, to the satis- | England. It shows that during 1890 there | a pay = \ o hn ! MT ML TT Co aE Hii: and big fore-and-afters seem to be as popu~ lar as ever. An estimate of the vessels now on the stocks or under contract in | Maine shipyards accounts for between ' 40,000 and 50,000 tons, and it is thus | evident that the coming season will not | be as quiet in shipb« iilding circles as;has | been predicted. rrr Canadian Progress.—Sir Charles Tup- per, the envoy from England who is ex- pected to pilot Canada through her troubles and who will especially see ‘that she main- tains her loyalty to the crown, grows elo- quent in describing her resources and that she is fast rising in the estimation of peo- ple in the United States. In an address delivered at Halifax he says: ‘‘ Five mil- lions of Canadian people had achieved greater results in pushing their transcon- tinental road than 40,000,000 to the south of them had with theirs. Canada was scarcely noticed or thought of in the United States a few years ago; now you NL WHITNEY €OMPANY. find the envious eyes of the people and the press attracted toward it, and a Sen- ate committee taking testimony on its trade with that country from San Fran- cisco to Boston. All this meant that we had assumed a place among the nations of the world.” —— — Pickands, Brown & Co., 1009 Rookery Building, Chicago, have issued an attract- ive brochure intitled ‘‘ Chicago Pig Iron.” It is printed on cardboard, and the leaves are bound together with blue silk ribbon. In it the special qualities of the pig iron produced at the Illinois Steel Company’s furnaces are set forth. The various grades enumerated are Bay View, suitable for general work; Milwaukee Scotch, a standard softener; ’ Gertrude, an ordinary softener; Union Bessemer, for best ma- chinery work; Standard Bessemer, for all kinds of Bessemer and open-hearth work. At a meeting of the Buena Vista Com- pany, Buena Vista, Va., the president, A. T. Barclay, reported that the receipts, including $72,565.12 stock subscriptions and $329,347.24 for town lots, were $583, - 980.92. The disbursements were $393, - 849.76, including $238,617.02 forsubscrip- tions to different-enterprises. on fs 3 | a pe is a - ~ bs i SVR WE A Remi Aw . -s - ; P= J \a Ae a 4 ae : “ 4 ant z. ad 4 * : . + : " é > a Aa ie oe $ ~ ye r 7 vy ve a -4 ? Ny i i cy ast, é A ste IP”. Spf am ee SS eee FF ae \ ‘ Mo EE Fee Oe 370 THE IRON AGE. February 26, 1891 SS llNSESSESES=E~E~ICESEEEE=anhnDA9AD)”A)A))A))))»»)~E ee ee ee The_Statute of Frauds.* The statute of frauds, as it is known to the,legal world, is a force in the commer- cial world which is very often felt by the business man, but which is evidently very generally misunderstood, or not under- stood at all, by men whose affairs are di- rectly affected by its operation. In the first place it is the provision of thestatute of frauds regarding contracts which must be in writing which often occasions trou- ble. Under the provisions of this statute, which is in force in nearly if not quite all the States, a contract which by its terms is not to be performed within one year must be in writing. But in order to make this provision effective, it must definitely ap- pear from the terms of the contract itself that it is not to be performed within a year. There are many contracts which in fact are not to be performed within a year which are not within the statute of frauds, because, by the terms as agreed upon by the parties, they might be per- formed within a year. A contract which is entered into at a specified date, to take effect at a future date, is not within the statute if between the time it is to be en- tered upon and the time of its termination a year does not elapse, although the time of the termination of the contract is more than a year from the time it was actually entered into. It is the period of perform- ance that determines whether or not it is within the statute. A very important provision of the statute of frauds, in its practical bearing upon commercial transactions, is that which re- quires that every sale of personal property of the value of more than a specified sum, in some States $50 and in others $100, which is not evidenced by written instru- ment properly spread upon the public records must, in order to be valid as against the creditors of the seller, be ac- companied by an actual and immediate change of possession, which change must continue unbroken. This is to prevent debtors from claiming, after a levy under execution or other process, that the prop- erty levied upon had been sold prior to the levy, and then is the property of an- other. The law is founded upon the rule that possession of personal property is prima facie evidence of title, and that change of possession passes title presump- tively. Inthe absence of notice or actual knowledge to the contrary, a man has a right to presume that personal property which he finds in the possession of another belongs to the one who has it in his possession. A proper instrument placed on file in the place provided by law is constructive notice to all.of the rights of others, but the law requires either this or actual possession. Another important provision of the statute of frauds is that relating to con- tracts of guarantee. It is a fundamental principle of the law of contracts that in order to be subject to enforcement in the courts of law it is necessary for a contract to rest upon a valid consideration, And so it is provided by the statute of frauds that every promise to become responsible for the debts of another must rest upon a consideration sufficient to sustain it as a separate contract. A consideration in law is the receipt of some substantial benefit, or the parting with some right or property of value. This consideration must pass between the one who seeks to enforce the agreement and he whom he seeks to enforce it against, subject, of course, to the rules of assignment of rights. One of the most common forms of this contract in business is that by which one person takes another toa merchant and guarantees that payment by the latter for any goods he may pur- chase. It very frequently happens that * Copyrighted, 1891, by the Law News Bu- reau. when the merchant is driven to the guar- antee as a last resort for his money, he finds that the statute of frauds stands as a bar to the enforcement of what he sup- posed was a perfect contract. If Jones goes with Smith into the store of Brown and says to Brown ‘‘ Let Smith have what goods he wants and I will see that you are paid,” the agreement is one which cannot be enforced against Jones, because the merchant relied upon the credit of Smith to some extent at least, and the law will not attempt to analyze the extent to which Brown relied upon Smith and the extent to which he relied upon Jones. But if Jones says directly and squarely ‘‘ Let Smith have what goods he wants, and if he does not pay for them I will,” that is a contract which is not within the statute, for it will be presumed that the merchant would not have parted with his goods ex- cept upon the agreement of Jones to pay for them. In order to make a valid con- tract of guarantee at the time the goods are sold, it must be an absolute agreement to pay for them, and if made at the time the goods are sold, the fact that the goods are parted with is a sufficient considera- tion. It is quite a different matter if the guarantee is made after the goods have been sold. Then it is necessary that there should be a separate consideration. The extension of a further credit to the original debtor upon the agreement of another guaranteeing both the new and the old credit will be sustained, and the for- bearance of the creditor from legal pro- ceedings against the debtor will be a good consideration for a contract of guarantee, but it must always appear that the thin claimed as a consideration was induc solely by the guarantee, and that no reli- ance was placed elsewhere, for if in the consideration there be any taint of reli- ance upon anything else than the guar- antee, it cannot be said that the guarantee has resulted to the prejudice of the creditor. In one form or another the statute of frauds affects the transactions of every business day, and it is impossible in a re- view of its provisions so brief as this necessarily is to give it anything like adequate treatment, but these suggestions are thrown out as being among the most common and ordinary points at which the business man comes in contact with the statute, and at most these suggestions can only be safeguards on the points sug- gested. It is a maxim of the law that ‘* Abundant caution does no harm,” and it isin line with the spirit of this maxim that these suggestions are made. oe For the first time to our knowledge figures have been gathered to give some conception of the quantity of pig iron which is carried direct, in a molten condi- tion, to the Bessemer converters in this country. John Birkinbine, in a lecture before the Franklin Institute at Philadel- phia, recently delivered, states that an in- quiry shows that the amount of direct metal converted last year was 620,000 tons. One large direct-metal plant was not in operation last year, since it was undergoing remodeling, while another plant began operations of this kind only two months before the close of the year. Two weeks ago the city of Philadelphia received proposals for a new pumping engine, having a capacity of 20,000,000 gallons a day, to be located at the Spring Garden Water Works. received, of awarding the contract. pany. opened there was some do to the facilities of the Southwark Com- pany for supplying the pump. Fitler, Director Wagner and Chief Ogden of the Water Bureau, visited the establish - ment for the purpose of satisfying them- selves. The officials were met by repre- sentatives of the company, and after being conducted throughout the entire works, returned to the City Hall and awarded the contract to the Southwark Company. Four hids were the lowest being that of the Southwark Foundry and Machine Com- pany, who offered to furnish the pumping engine for $72,500, to be placed in posi- tion in nine months’ time from the date The other bidders were the Holly Mfg. Company of Lockport, N. Y, the I. P. Morris Com- pany andthe Worthington Engine Com- At the time the ig see were u t expressed as Mayor WRIGHT’S REPORT. The Commissioner of Labor on the Cost of Production of Iron and Steel. We referred editorially last week to the report of Hon. Carroll D. Wright, com- missioner of labor. ceived an official abstract of the report in question, which we print below. what extent the generalizations are war- ranted by the detailed facts we have no present means of judging. The trade will receive the conclusions with reserve. We have since re- To The cost of production of iron and steel and steel rails is the subject of a report which Col. Carroll D. Wright, commis- sioner of labor, transmitted to Congress through the President on Saturday. report is the result of several years of care- ful investigation Europe, based upon an examination of the books of leading manufacturers and inquiries by expert special agents of the Department of Labor. This in this country and The inquiry was directed by the act establishing the de- partment, with a view to ascertaining the cost of producing articles dutiable in the United States in leading countries where such articles are produced, by units of production, in order to show the differ- ences in cost of production between this country and Europe and the possible bear- ing of these differences upon tariff rates. Colonel Wright has carefully refrained in his report from any discussion of the tariff or any other controverted question. has simply presented the results of his inquiries as to facts, leaving inferences to be drawn by persons who study the re- port. He The report covers three features, the first relating to the cost of production of the articles selected, the second relating to the rates of wages, time, earnings and efficiency of the labor employed, and the third relating to the cost of living and total earnings and expenditures of the men employed. The facts regarding wages and efficiency of labor were ob- tained from the pay accounts of the estab- lishments; those relating to the cost of living and expenditures were obtained from the men themselves, Colonel Wright intends to deal in future reports with the great textile industries. He has confined himself in the present re- port to iron, steel, coal, coke, limestone and ore. The first part of the report deals with THE COST OF PRODUCTION. In arriving at this, all of the expense for interest, insurance, depreciation of the value of plant and royalty to the owners of the soil have been excluded, as have also charges for freight of product to place of free delivery. The facts upon these points have been collected and are given more or less fully for those who wish to use them, but they are not in- cluded in the leading tables. Colonel Wright has proceeded upon the assumption that if these elements were readily deter- minable with precision they would usually offset each other and not alter the results of comparisons from which they are February 26, 1891 THE IRON AGE. 371 omitted. The essential elements of cost which are included are the cost of ma- terials, the labor, the salaries of officials and clerks, supplies and repairs and taxes. The labor which enters into the raw ma- terials is not classified as such in esti- mating the labor cost of a given article, but as a part of the cost of the materials. The labor which enters into the production of the materials is treated of in another part of the report. In spite of some opposition from the manufacturers to open their books and dis- close their methods, Colonel Wright was able to obtain the facts from 618 establish- ments manufacturing various kinds of iron and steel or its more finished products. This is about 200 more establishments than were covered in the brief preliminary report which he made public last summer. The facts regarding pig iron are given at greatest length, because they were ob- tained for a larger number of establish- ments, and investigation yields more pre- cise results than with more advanced products. Figures of 118 establishments manufacturing pig iron are given, of which about two-thirds are in the United States. The following table will show the comparative COST OF MANUFACTURING PIG IRON in different establishments in this country and Europe. The words ‘‘ Northern’ and ‘*Southern ” apply to the two districts into which Colonel Wright has divided the iron works of this country. The salaries paid to officials and clerks, the cost of supplies and repairs and the pay- ments for taxes cannot be given separately here, but are included in the total cost. Each line represents the work of a sepa- rate establishment, and of the 118 given in the report those are quoted here which fairly represent the highest, lowest and average rates of cost of materials, labor cost and total cost in each locality. The Cost of Manufacturing Pig Iron. ws << 8 » g se Locality. $8 3% 3 | Os - S = ad | Sees Tv otidscsscavewes $17.728) $3.589 |$23,165 pare 13.223) 1.194] 15.202 ccdetannn sven 7.757| 1.461); 10.279 PO 8k 6 ce beeecce de 11.991 975), 13.584 po ere 11.663 1.364) 13.483 NOON. 6.00: 68.445 - «e-| 9.559] .418]) 10,804 Ms eidirkenynseceis 12.228} .912)| 13.434 Great Britain.......... 9.280' —_.601!! 10.290 Great Britain.......... 9.308 .743)| 10.729 PD os tneucvews ee ceks 14.219) = .719), 15.075 Europe........ eck wie nike 6.785 470! 7.736 Fis ccivsdviavcce's 12.267} 2.135)) 15,258 Great Britain.......... 6.454 618 7.677 TN icc nzeisacde’ 11.147} 1.166) 12.820 re 7.173) 1.816) 9.634 RS Siidcdccweses 7.202} 2.608 10.267 IN, inane cas baees | 8.877) 1.218)| 10.822 NN Ws: SrsdvekeKes 8.164 .595,| 9.623 NE Siti xisennencens | 9.885) 1.414) 12.070 Great Britain.... ..... 9.529 .769 10.893 Ni cicccscvecuntanes 9.061 TU!) 11.107 BNR csctincs Wer kexel 7.327, .755!| 8.765 A comparison of the cost of materials used in the Northern and Southern dis- tricts of the United States shows that the difference in favor of the South in the cost of ore and of coal is very great, al- though the difference, so far as-the ore is concerned, is partially offset by its com- paratively higher per cent. of iron in the northern district. The ore used in the northern district costs per ton an average | the northern and southern districts of the United States: Summary of Cost of all Elements in Making Pig Iron. Northern Southern Items (per gross ton). district. | district. Establishments reporting the facts required for the statements below.. 26 24 Cost of all materials used in these establishments. $6,387,622 $5,450,459 Cost of labor, &c., in these establishments... 1,199,918 1,515,995 Cost of all elements in these establishments. . Tons of product in these establishments......... | Average cost of all ma-) terials per ton of prod- uct in these establish-| | EET Tee eee | $11,735 8,414 Average cost of labor,| &c.. per ton of product} in these establishments. | 2,204 2,341 Average cost of all ele) ments per ton of prod-| uct in these establish-| I iisins aicaveaceans | 7,587,540! 6,966,454 544,377, 647,728 13,988 10,755 Colonel Wright makes a careful effort to ascertain THE ENTIRE LABOR COST OF PIG IRON, the cost of each of the raw materials, as well as of working up the raw materials in the foundry. He says that if a com- plete analysis of such cost were possible, the result would show the whole charge- able to labor Yet if the inquiry is lim- ited to discovering what was paid directly for labor at each successive stage, and what for other important items, which in an ultimate analysis would be resolvable into labor, the result may throw some light on the comparative cost of production in different localities. He accordingly pre- sents tables in which the larger portion of the cost of pig iron is assigned to labor, and the smaller portion for the salaries of officials and clerks, supplies, repairs, taxes and transportation. The aggregate of these items shows a difference from the total cost of production, which may be ascribed to profit and royalties at different stages of the process of converting the ore in the ground into the finished pig- iron product. The following table shows the results of this analysis in regard to 13 establishments in the United States and Great Britain: establishments, although some mine their own ore and others purchase it and pay a ae which is partly disclosed in the ifference between the elements of cost and the total cost given. Important facts are given regarding the production of muck bar iron, finished bar iron, miscellaneous iron, steel ingots, steel rails, bituminous coal, coke, iron ore and limestone. The facts obtained by Colonel Wright in reference to STEEL RAILS do not represent so wide a distribution of factories, but very complete information was obtained from 13 representative es- tablishments in this country and Great Britain. The proprietors of several other establishments furnished important analyt- ical information or positive statements as to the cost of making steel rails. The other steel-rail manufacturers showed a sensitiveness about giving information which did not appear in any such degree among the manufacturers of pig iron. The following table shows the results of inquiries as to the cost of producing steel rails, the expenses for officials and clerks, fuel, repairs and taxes not being given separately, but, as in the case of pig iron, included in the total: The Cost of the Production of Steel Rails. Og | ~ Z Locality. og “a — ¢ - S 2 & = 4 . 1 United States......)$21.109) $1.540) $24.799 2|United States...... 25.114) 1.382) 27.687 3 |Continent of Europe) 17.672) 1.048) 19.576 4 |Continent of Europe! 18.066) 2.519) 22.184 5 ‘Continent of Europe! 18.066, 4.641) 25.652 6 Continent of Europe} 18.231) 2.583) 23.121 7 Continent of Europe) 18.103) 2.689) 23.190 8 Continent of Europe) 18.664) 2.974, 23.748 9 Continent of Europe; 18.808} 1.028) 22.439 10 Continent of Europe} 19.880) 2.160) 26.711 11 Great Britain...... 18.058} 2.548) 21.907 12 Great Britain...... 16°395| 1.368) 18.588 13 Great Britain......| 17.159} 1.583) 20.178 Colonel Wright states that THE LABOR COST OF STEEL RAILS, speaking of labor cost after all the mate- rials have been assembled and are ready to be subjected to the proper manipula- tions for the production of rails, should be less per ¢on relatively in this country Tota! Cost of 1 Ton of Pig Iron, From the Mining of the Materials to the Finished Product Inclusive. a ; Direct Officials Kind of iron. Solna and ? clerks. Northern District, U. S. : SI is. ciccennuences $9.446 | 80.175 Poi ciéancadsstanxs 4.412 220 je rr ee 5.733 510 Serre rrr re | 5.569 .327 EE 55 sas0c awe 5.274 398 Lk PE CCEET ECCLES Mee he aaseunsedts Hot-blast charcoal...... Gee lecade-conals Southern District, U. S. : Run of furnace.......... 7 5. 884 .285 Run of furnace.... ..... 4.312 453 7.598 269 | Run of furnace.......... 6.958 351 | Great Britain : DORN ove cic cscccts 3.329 .148 of $4.401; the cinder, scrap, &c., $2.631; | the limestone, 79.8 cents; the coke, $3.014, and the coal, $2.695. The cost in the southern district for the ore is $1.513; the cinder, scrap, &c., $1.031; the lime- stone, 70.1 cents; the coke, $3.084, and the coal, $1.566. The following table illustrates in gross the comparative cost of different items in Difference T > between Supplies, | {T@nsport foregoing | repairs a actual costs Total. and taxes. ™“ = and costs as | — charged by blast furnaces. | $1.552 21.697 $1.101 $13.971 1.359 5.316 3.922 15.281 2.108 4.992 3.134 | 16.503 1.493 5.322 1.7% | 14.518 1.389 3.545 5.063 15.823 waewauwras 6.040 3.944 13.685 peceaamens 6.311 3.159 16.207 .667 709 1.003 9.933 1.220 1.270 .502 9.161 1.282 1.555 2.071 | 9.623 1.181 . 360 .219 9.684 1.292 1.180 .819 10.610 1.543 3.237 1.739 10.216 4 This table shows the labor required to | produce in each case 1 ton of pig iron This involves, of course. the conversion of much more than 1 ton of ore and the trans- portation of more than 1 ton. The actual labor cost of mining and converting the ore is charged as reported by the different than in Great Britain or on the Continent of Europe, because American producers of rails dispense with at least one expensive process still adhered to by many foreign producers, aud materials in the United States are purer than those used in most other countries. Hence the quantity of r= * (LOO Ast: oh 4 we a . = B&B Bik » a pei eee wre eect ‘sary for the production of 1 ton of stan- w %2 THE IRON AGE. February 26, 1891 ore “requited for the production of a ton of rails is less in this country than in many places abroad, and the labor re- quired to handle the materials in a way to produce a ton is less. This is shown by the quantities of ore used in different es- tablishments. In an establishment given in the northern district of the United States 4137 pounds of iron ore were neces- dard rails, while in an establishment in Great Britain 5127 pounds of iron ore were necessary for the production of 1 ton of practically the same kind of rails, while on the Continent of Europe 5701 pounds of ore were necessary for the production of 1 ton of rails. These are the establish- ments numbered 1, 12 and 3 in the last Table, and are, Colonel Wright says, far more indicative of the true conditions sur- rounding the production of rails in tne respective countries than any of the others EARNINGS It was assumed by this manager, and he claimed to know, that during a greater part of the season ocean steamers and vessels transport rails as ballast and free of charge for freight, from Liverpool to New York or San Francisco. often made this statement, and it is given here for what it is worth. the statements are of great importance. The second part of the report deals with the time employed, and AND EFFICIENCY engaged in production. were copied in 99 representative establish- ments to show the length of period the establishment was in operation, the aver- age daily earnings of employees, the num- ber of employees, the total days of work done, the average time of each employee, the total earnings of all employees, the average earnings of each and the number The pay-rolls Others have If it is true OF WORKMEN The discussion of THE EFFICIENCY OF LABOR is one of the most important and novel features of the report. The term ‘ cfti- ciency of labor” is defined by Colonel Wright as but another expression for cost of producing a unit, like a ton of pig iron, in labor consumption—that is, the time cost of production. To reduce the mass of figures obtained with accuracy to these simple units required an almost infinite amount of labor. The imperfections and lack of uniformity in the terms used for occupations on the-various pay rolls, the irregular intervals of operation and stop- page of establishments and the varying character of the product upon which they worked, all caused differences which had to be carefully considered in calculating the labor units. The points upon which inquiry was ; given. The entire direct labor cost of }0f employees which would have been — - oe eeees a eae production in these three establishments | "ecessary to do the work if each had iS Say mene was $11.59 for the United States, $7.81 for | Served through the year, and the average labor in each occupation. Great Britain and $8.10 for the Continent |eatmings of an employee who served > Se’ Cah a ee ; . Rpg“ : , .|0f workmen in each occupation through of Europe, showing a difference as against | through the year. These facts are pre th ‘od the United States of $3.78 in favor of |Sented for each establishment separately | ‘© period. Great Britain and $3.49 in favor of the|#™d for each class of employees. The| 3. A statement of the rate of pay (when Continent of Europe. following table shows in a summary way | ll work at one rate), or the average rate = The section of the report relating to the results of these inquiries in regard to . pay (when they work at different rates), iaincteme pig iron for certain establishments in the | of those paid by the hour, day or week in 5 : northern and southern sections of this | each occupation through the period. has an important bearing upon the ques-| country and in Europe. Thetimecovered| 4. A statement of the average earnings tion of charges at different points, and} for all of the establishments in this coun-| per week, at full time, of those paid by shows that the difference in cost of deliv-| try is one yeart but in the foreign estab- | the quantity. , scan efrded Sy Sata Tose] uments tee mont 0 hatin | The, deputment ad, in dont canes the heavy freight cherge i. ae order to ee es e earnings of an employee, | these statements, the total tons of product rting iron and steel rails Seeuiis A mer- wg, engine eg tr oe Pe ae eee See ican manufacturers; in others it places ee Se = Ce aed the | period, which had been taken from the : urers, | | S| last column should be multiplied by four: oks of the firms. . them at a serious disadvantage at ports}. : 3 ; h : f handling this d 1 where there is water competition with Earnings of Labor in the Production of Ky 1e Pe andling ‘alt a. European manufacturers. As an illustra- Pig Iron. termine efilicsency ae —— aa ‘ ' tion of the practical working of freight |= wages of the entire oo. aa th mdi } rates with reference to steel rails, the re- + ee Bg oo og ft os 2 k port quotes the statement of the manager aa x ~, t a aes eran te of one of the largest steel companies in the é 3 z a ie = This oe watvided by the United States. He said that the difference a | 53 a per nour. = wes Give . , a. “ in cost of production of steel rails in Chi- eEil|« | 2iés e - f — yn ig - ree Y anets . cago, for instance, and in England, would = | a | = = gq | out for the ta . = a ne de ined : not exceed $3.50 or $4 per ton, and that : >| —€ | g 53 the snes, = ae a 7 pe the freight rate ($5 per ton) from Chicago Locality. ai} $8 |e ob orang gg rae Pi = - aie to New York offered a large protection to * 3 = So _ — m ane te siiake ow a. 7 his company. This manager also prepared - ° | 2 | we ag . ai ao onsttin aon rane the following statement showing the cost S| - i ae - aie ect en a ail ——— of transportation of steel rails per gross < icc.” : a vans SS ° b saadiebad ton from New York to San Francisco by ‘3 2 | not in any apparent degree be attribute 7 water : : q |to high or low wages. The difference ap- i Sitgesnns 80.50 me pears to be due to the manner of applying | ae nar ——|—— [tabard eneseanth qioes ani, oes ap- Three months’ interest.................+ 45)N ; istric ablishments appyling 1t most economically ¢ SS ee ee 10.0 ae % nited and others =u mens or less waste. It is » ———| _States......... 82.03 [852,238 | 8169 $735 | likely, Colonel Wright says, as a general Total... 20... ..eeeeeeeeeeeeeceeee os $11.40) Northern district | feature, that in establishments where high ian ‘New York oe a 7 Btatesse. ores: 1.673| 75,519| 149| 59g | Wages are paid the appliances of produc- ) Se : $| Northern district tion are of the best, and from this that — as against $17.92 per ton from] of the United high wages and high efficiency would Yhicago to San Francisco, and it has, as|_ States......... 1.5819) 42,371) 192) 574 | usually go together. A comrarison of the the same manager states, always been —a oo dass chows ial in pig come in the north- r ‘ cheaper to ship rails from Chicago to New > won 1.70 | 49.206) 154. 599 | ern district of the United States 43 of the : York, rate $5 per ton, andthen ship them| Northern district | © “ |45 establishments have an efficiency of from there to San Francisco than to ship| of the United | 0.08 of a ton or more, one ranging as high ti them directly from Chicago to San Fran-| . States......-... 1.58)¢| 58,272) 304 533 | as 0.16 and under 0.17; 34 being concen- —_ or in other words, that it is cheaper “ae United | trated in the four groups that begin with to ship from Chicago to San Francisco via] states.......... 1.47 | 31,598) 277) 529 | 0-08 and end under 0.12, while in the ) New York than it is to ship direct. The| Northern district southern district of the United States 14 same gentleman also prepared the follow-| of the United = | | | _ | of the 21 have an efficiency under 0.08, and : ing statements, based upon market values ee * “Gictrict 1.62 | 40,029) 288 569 | of theseven above this figure, five are under of rails in November or December, 1890: | "or the United 0.10. In the northern district for those \ Price of English rails, per ton, without tariff :| States.......... 1.34 | 44,327, 76! 490 of 0.08 and above the average earnings At Liver oa. SUN + Sees eb eD NEES a wie EM $25.00 a — | per man per hour range from 0.14,; _to at | lo ag alaaaedpleeemse sala 30-00 ie 1.23 | 44,956) 98) 426 ety coge gee ty _ sage — Ee ee eee 25.00} Southern district the increase of efficiency, while those be- Price of English rails, per ton, with tariff : of the United anal low 0.08 have carnings from 0.1175 to jv) ies i Sa 1.22 | 15,173) 131) 422 |0.12,4,. In Great Britain three establish- BE Wii ccncnckancacnssecccns © 39.09|Continent of, ments are given, two of which have a BE Ciba... 0.0050 oes vervecnesces 44.00 a A (ree) 70 1.895| 53 63 high efficiency, both being between 0.12 At Sen Francisco ae ee oe Bie wales 39.00 ees ~ — _ yO oe ” | and 0.14 tons, and accompanied by earn- — ee rails, per ton : 230.99| Europe (three ings of 0.09 and 0.10, while the remaining Bal lap ahaa tet ke iT op | cq Months). ...-...| 64 | 5,478); 50| 58 | one, with an efficiency between 0.07 and i er ee cd ot ete ¢ See ae —— Br a er a a ,, | 0-08 tons, has earnings of but 0.05,,. The | Giving English rails an advantage of $6.92 enn eens ate — 761) 52° 59 | five establishments for the Continent of ‘ — _—_ rails in the San Francisco (three months)..| .62 12,795 | 49| 55 | Europe have an efficiency rather lower market. than the northern district of the United February 26, 1891 THE IRON AGE. 373 States, agreeing more nearly with the southern. No connection between efli- ciency and earnings is traceable in them. In steel rails the difference in efficiency is very marked, The two establishments for the United states having an efficiency equal to between 0.12 and 0.13 tons of product per man per hour and the five for the foreign countries all fall under 0.06 tons, ranging down even to under 0.02 tons. The following table shows in an inter- esting manner the relative cost of produc- ing a ton of pig iron in money and in working hours in different establishments in the northern and southern districts of the United States: The Labor Cost of Pig Iron. | Total Money Time cost Locality. |productin cost per per ton | tons. ton. in hours. Northern. .... 8,296 | 2.069 16.11 Northern. ....| 29,390 | 1.983 14.41 Northern. ....| 32,633 | 1.268 8.92 Northern. ....| 2,447 1.990 14.76 Southern......| 34,506 | 1.359 11.34 Southern,..... | 82,921 | 1.4% 13.49 1.311 12.89 Companisons of this character could not be made for European establishments, but the average earnings per man per hour and the average product per man per hour in tons have been furnished for many estab- lishments, A few of these figures in ref- erence to pig iron in the northern and southern districts of the United States, in Europe and in Great Britain are given in the following table: Average Earnings and Product of Pig Iron. | Average |Average prod- Locality. | earnings | uct per hour | per hour. in tons. TROPGROTM 6cn6 cece $0.142 0.094 FROPGROPR 66 cccccses 0.134 0.085 POOPEOPD 66 ccccccs 0.187 0.162 PRROPUNEET 66 ccccccss 0.095 0.067 NOPCHERM 2... .cccece 0.140 0.081 DO 0.163 0.091 oy 0.131 0.072 Southern .......... 0.115 0,044 PD Sccwcnnces 0.131 0.076 Southern .......,.... 0.121 0.154 BOD di vesvcnacs 0.059 0.082 rer 0,045 0.105 MONO si piek.e snes 0.051 0.067 Great Britain...... 0.058 0.079 Great Britain...... 0.100 0.130 An interesting part of the report, which hardly permits condensation, is the closing one relating to the cost of living. The facts were gathered from the heads of families employed in the very establish- ments from which schedules relating to cost of production and pay accounts were obtained, but upon budgets uniform for all industries. These budgets compre- hended the constitution of the family; facts as the occupation of the house, whether owned or hired, or furnished by the employer; the cost of living, in item- ized accounts, and, wherever possible, with quantity and cost, with statements as to the yearly income of the members of the family, and the total cost of living in comparison with the total income. These facts were gathered from 3260 families, and present many suggestive facts The entire report will make a volume of about 1200 pages. ———— a Application has been made for a charter for the Ellwood Shafting and Tube Com- pany. The new concern will be located at the new town of Ellwood, Pa., near Beaver Falls. This concern will succeed to the business of the Union Drawn Steel Company of Beaver Falls, Pa., whose plant will be removed to Ellwood during the next two months. It is the purpose of the new concern to engage in the manu- facture of drawn seamless tubes, in addi- tion to the manufacture of drawn steel shafting. The production of steel tubes by drawing has never before been at- tempted in this country. —— Grant Locomotive Works. The plans for the grouping of the build- ings of the Grant Locomotive Works at Chicago have been completed by the architects and adopted by the directors of that company. The works will be bounded on the north by Twelfth street, on the south by Sixteenth, and will front on Robinson avenue, the office occupying a position about midway between the ex- tremities or about where Fourteenth street would be were it cut through. The plans were prepared by architects Raeder, Claflin & Crocker. There will be 12 main or principal buildings, three of the more important being the office, machine shop and foundry, having extended frontages on Robinson avenue. The entire plant has been designed with a view to doubling the capacity just as soon as such a step may become necessary, the capacity of the buildings as they will now be constructed being 250 locomotives a year. For this reason the ends of the buildings will not be built of solid masonry, but will be of wood and corrugated iron that the cost will be lessened when the extensions are made. The office and storage building will be two stories high, with a frontage of 130 feet and a depth of about 50 feet. The office and a storage room will be in the first story, while the drafting room will occupy the second story. The machine shop will be 370 feet long and 110 feet wide with walls 38 feet high. The erecting shop will be 225 feet long by 38 feet wide and 38 feet high and will be connected with the machine shop, making an L-shaped structure. The blacksmith shop will be 250 x 80 feet, 22 feet high, while the hammer shop will be 80 x 125 feet. There will also be a boiler and tank shop 100 x 250 feet, and a wood shop 70 x 230 feet. The main build- ing of the foundry will be 260 feet long by 80 feet wide and will have several annexes, including a cooling room, cupola and brass foundry. The paint shop will be 170 x 70 feet and 20 feet high, while the pattern shop will be about 130 x 60 feet. A thorough system of railroad tracks, connected at both ends with the railroad, will traverse the grounds by means of the nine switches, containing in all about 10,000 feet of track. In the center of the plant will be a transfer table about 40 feet long running in a pit of about 250 feet in length which will con- nect the tracks with the principal shops. The buildings will be constructed of brick and will be supplied with traveling cranes and all modern equipment for the expedi- tious handling of material. The details of the plans are now being worked out and the work of construction will be com- menced as soon as possible, it being the intention to have the buildings completed and ready for the equipment by July 1, the works to go into operation shortly after that time. The plant, with railroad tracks, will occupy about 33 acres of land. _ oe - The convention of the United Mine Workers in session at Columbus, Ohio, for some days, completed its work, and ad- journed on the 17th inst. The following officers were elected: John B. Rae of Pennsylvania, president; P. H. Penna, Indiana, vice-president; Patrick McBride, Pennsylvania, secretary-treasurer; Execu- tive Board, W. B. Wilson, Pennsylvania; John Nugent, Ohio; W. C. Webb, Ken- tucky, and John Kline, Indiana. Steel and Rail Output. PRODUCTION IN 1890. The American Iron and Steel Associa- tion has received from the manufacturers complete statistics of the production of Bessemer-steel ingots and Bessemer-steel rails in the United States in 1890. These statistics show very large gains in the pro- duction of both ingots and rails in 1890 over 1889. Our production of Bessemer- steel ingots in 1890 was the largest in our history of this great industry. The following table shows the produc- tion of Bessemer-steel ingots in the first half and second half of 1890, and the total production in 1890 compared with 1889. In the figures for the periods mentioned is included the production of ingots by the Clapp-Griffiths process, but we also add to the table a statement of the ingots produced by this process alone. The small production of steel by the Robert- Bessemer steel works of the country is also included in the totals: Ingots, | First | Second Total | Total States. half | half osar | +oSe 1390, | 1890, | 1890. | 1889. | Net Net | Net Net | tons. tons. | tons. tons. Pennsylvania.. | 1,275,616 1,239,808 |2,515,424/ 1,973,544 fllinois......... | 386,4 462,254, 848.751| 740,001 Ohio............| 204,088) 201,267 . 381, Other States..| 175,028) 178,967) 353,995) 236,985 a Tote) <.<<.: |2,041,239 2,082,206 4,123,535 3,281,829 Clapp-Griffiths | GET vi seveceis 39,627, 37,363, 79,990 82,850 In gross tons our production of Besse- mer-steel ingots in 1890 was 3,681,728 tons, against 2,930,204 tons in 1889, an increase of 25 per cent. The total production of Bessemer-steel ingots in 1890, as given in the above table, was not only the largest in our his- tory, but it was very much the largest. In the following table is given the pro- duction of ingots in the last six years, by States : Other ] | | Pennsyl-) tinois. Years. vania. | States. | Total. qe Net tons.|Net tons. Net tons.|Net tons. 1885....| 1,109,089 | 366,659 226,064 1,701,762 1886....) 1,507,577 535,602 498,314 | 2,541,493 1887 1,752,445 | 857,513 678,399 | 3,288,357 1888 1,592,629 | 620,856 599,015 2,812,500 1889...., 1.973.545} 740,001 568,283 3,281,829 1890..... 2,515,424) 848,751 759,860 | 4,123,535 ' The following table shows the produc- tion of Bessemer-steel rails of all sizes, in- cluding street rails, in the United States in the first half and second half of 1890. and the total production in 1890 and 1889. In this statement we do not include a few thousand tons of Bessemer-steel rails which were rolled in iron rolling mills from purchased blooms: Rails. tte | First | Second Total | Total States. \half 1890./half 1890.) 1890. | 1889. bea tons. |Net tons. Net tons.) N. tons. Pennsvl- ‘ | vania..| 738,931 657,529 | 1,396,460 |1,102,451 Tilinois..| 279,441 3L8,096 587,587 | 522,054 Other) | | States. | 14,286 14,905 29,191 22,194 ieamemimaabal | | | Totals.| 1,082,658 980,530 | 2,013,188 |1,46,699 j In gross tons our production of Besse- mer-steel rails by Bessemer steel works in 2a, A Sos o Nt eee Se ~~ Se me ee » = Ae _— anne as a oy | . 4 ‘ ~ . \ \ - R: ” = i LF a Ee 374 THE IRON AGE February 26,£1891 1890 was 1,797,498 tons, against 1,470,- 267 tons in 1889, an increase of 22 per cent. Our total production of Bessemer-steel rails by Bessemer steel works and by iron rolling mills has been as follows in the five years preceding 1890, to which we add the production by Bessemer steel works alone for that year by States: — Other | Total. Years. vania. | Dlinois. | states. | | | | Net tons.|Net tons. Net tons.|Net tons. 1885.... ..| 736,522) 308,742! 29, 1,074,607 | eee | 1,111,171] 430,975) 221,621) 1,763,667 1887... "| Te7e's5| 7285268 348.761) 2.354.182 1888..... | 980.146] 488.639, 133,852) 1,552,631 I a ants | 1,141,850) 522,054) 27,860) 1,691,264 hss kines | 1396,480| 587,537 29.191] 2°013,188 The steadily increasing use of Bessemer steel in this country for purposes other than the manufacture of rails has fre- quently been referred to in our statistical statements, but this use was much more marked in 1890 than in any preceding year except 1889. In 1890 about one half of the Bessemer steel ingots we produced were converted into rails, a Treasury Decisions. Among the recent decisions of the U. S. General Appraiser on a protest under an importation of flat wire, the articles in question were iron strips, varying from +, to t inch in width, and from 25 to 27 wire gauge in thickness. Duty was assessed at 45 per cent., that all wire valued at over 4 cents a pound shall pay a duty of not less than 45 per cent. ad valorem. Appellants claim that the merchandise is flat rolled iron, and should have been rated at 1 cent a pound, It appears from expert evidence, and an examination of the samples submitted by the importer, that the flat strips in ques- tion are ccld rolled from drawn wire, and subsequently drawn through dies or grooved rolls to give a uniform width and thickness and smooth edges, The mer- chandise is consequently dutiable under the provisions for wire, as above. . In the case of a protest against the assessment of duty on certain brass wire the appellants claimed that duty sbould have been assessed at 35 per cent., for manufactures, instead of at 45 per cent. T. L, 186, provides for manufactures of copper orof which copper shall be a com- ponent material of chief value. T. L., 216, makes provision for manufactures or articles composed wholly or in part of copper or any other metal. As either paragraph is applicable to the merchandise in question, the collector very properly assessed duty under that providing the higher rate. In a case of wheels for bicycles the ap- praisers say the goods are ‘‘ wheels” of steel for bicycles and tricycles, and are claimed by the importers to be dutiable as follows: ‘*‘ Wheels, or parts thereof, made of iron or steel, and steel-tired wheels for railway purposes, whether wholly or partly finished, and iron or steel locomotive, car, or other railway tires, or parts thereof, wholly or partly manufactured, 24 cents | per — * * *” It is plain thatthe | words ‘‘for railway purposes” impose a | limitation upon all the articles specified in the paragraph quoted. The intent of Congress is manifest, and we do not con- sider the language of the paragraph at all ambiguous. Wheels of the kind in ques- tion not being used ‘‘for railway pur- poses’ do not fall under this paragraph. The assessment of duty upon them at 45 per cent. ad valorem, is affirmed. In a reappraisement of value made by the U. 8S. General Appraisers on sundry invoices of steel needle wire from Sheffield, entered at 1s., 1s. 2d., 8d., 7d. and 64d. per pound there was no advance. Dis- count 6 per cent. carriage to Liverpool in- cluded in prices. omm — The Cost of Aluminum.—A. E. Hunt, of the Pittsburgh R