The Iron Age 1899-06-01: Vol 63 Iss 22

Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., FRON AGE A Review of the Hardware, Iron and Metal Trades. 232-238 William S8t., New York Vol. LXIM: No. 22. New York, Paiciilaie, Tull a Year, including Postage. = Copies, Ten Cents O @ wo: fuse WN MIF UOT Reading Matter Contents Classified List of Advertisers. .... a Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘ Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘: 158 53 New York. TUDOR IRON N WORKS. ST. LOUIS, Mo. MANUFACTURERS BOA! SPIKES. THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn. Bristol’s Recording Instruments, For Pressure, Temperature and Electricity. All Ranges, Low Prices and Guar- anteed. Send for y Circulars, “SAMSON SPOT CORD Z Also Massachusetts and Phenix Brands of Sash Curd. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, - Boston, Mass, TURNBUCKLES. BRANCH Orfice: 11 Broadway, New York. Cleveland City Forge and iron Co., - Cleveland, 0 TURN BUCKLES. Ke MILL CINDER. PILLING & CRAN Girard Bulidi peiede. Lewis Block, —__ Other galvanized ironsare streaked and spotted with goodness and _ badness; Apollo is uniform goodness. Apollo Iron and Steel Company, Pittsburgh. e6 Zt jo uneaqry FACTORY-LOADED SMOKELESS SHELLS ALWAYS RELIABLE AND ACCURATE. A NEW WORLD'S RECORD. At Peoria, Iil., May 8, 1899, Cc. A. YOUNG BROKE 213! TARGETS STRAIGHT with factory loaded ammunition made by the UNION METALIC CARTRIDGE COMPANY BRIDGEPORT, CONN. AGENCY, 313 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. WINNERS OF HANDICAP, 99, GAHALL BOILERS s% « CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS, BOSTON, DETROIT, CINCINNATI, SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, ORE., BUFFALO, BALTIMORE, NEW ORLEANS. THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COPIPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. WE CLAIM THE FOLLOWING MERITS FOR JENKINS BROS.’ VALVES. Manufactured of the best Steam Metal. 2° No regrinding, therefore not constantly wearing out the Seat of the Valves. a. « meee JENKINS DISC, which is suitable for all Pressures of Steam, Oil, and Acids. 4. The Easiest Repaired, and all parts Interchangeable, 5. Every Valve Tested before leaving the factory. 6 ALL GENUINE stamped with Trade Mark. JENKINS BROTHERS, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston. Brass Prices High, So Use Bright “Swedoh” Stamp- eg 14) ing Steel Easily Brass Plated and Save Money. al MAGNOLIA METAL Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery Bearings, Beware of Imitations. Genuine Magnolia Metal is made up in bars of which this is a fac-simile : The apes ont ele on cack EE SS box and $893, "94, °95, °97, "98, BRANCHES: in United "States and ted June DOr are stamped on the der ot ae of each cae MAGNOLIA METAL CO., (Szactcrtorn?) 266 & 267 WEST ST., NEW YORK. 21 DearbornS MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. ingot Copper. SOLE MANUFACTURERS Tobin Bronze (TRADE-MARK REGISTERED.) Condenser Plates, Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. 99 John Street. Waterbury Brass Co. Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, German Silver, Copper, Brass and Ger- man Silver Wire. Brass and Copper Tubing. COPPER RIVETS AND BURS. PERCUSSION CAPS, TAPE MEASURES, METALLIC EYELETS, Brass Kettles, Brass Tags, Powder Flasks, Shot Pouches, &c., New York. AND SMALL BRASS WARES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. PH LOWES HICK’S PRIMERS, BERDAN PRIMERS. ANDO § | Cartridge Metal in Sheets or Shells WATERBURY CONN, a Specialty. —_—-™M } cs OF= EPOTS: ‘ ee eee . 60 Centre St., New ‘York. 125 Eddy St., Provi- dence, R. |. 38 Mechanic St., Newark, N. J. 4EETIBRA sit COPPER. > .BRAZED BRASS &. COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES”38"DIAM * ac RN DEPOT, 226 LA Rese CHICAGO, ILL. ae MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN. THE NEW DEFENDER All Her BRONZE CASTINGS are made of ae Ordnance Bronze Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. MATTHIESSEN & HEGELER ZINC CO,, LA SALLE, ILLINOIS, SMELTERS OF SPILTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use Belected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. BRASS COODS M FOt GHBET ZINC AND FG. CO, "eo is aear ona ckeled ubber Moulds. Address all | a SPECIAL semmunica - GOODS tions to the MADE TO factory. ORDER, BRONZE DOOR ENOSBSB, Bronze and Plated Roses, Combined Rose and Escutcheon Plates, Socket Shells, &c., Patent Mirror Pin Cushion Business Cards, Mucilage Brushes. Novelties of new design made to order. SALESROOM: | 17 Chambers St., New York. FACTORY: 86-92 Third St., Se. Brooklyn, HENDRICKS BROTHERS, . Proprietors of the . ‘ Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Bramiecers’, Bolt and Sheathing COPPER. COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Dealers in THE PLUME & ATWOOD MFs. Co.. Sheet and Roll Brass WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kere- sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE 8T., CHICAGO. ROLLING MILL : THOMASTON, CONN. FACTORIES : WATERBURY, COWN. SCOVILL MFG. C0., Manufacturers of BRASS SHEET, WIRE, TUBES, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Nipples, Pumps and Oilers for Bicycles, Braziers’ Solder, Aluminum. Factories, WATERBURY, COMM. DEPOTS : New York, Chicago, Boston. JOHN DAVOL & SONS, AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co., DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, LEAD, ANTIMONY. 100 John Street, New York. WILLIAM §. FEARING, 256 Broadway, NEW YORK, SELLS TO THE TRADE Sheet Brass, Fancy Sheet Brass, German Silver, Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire, Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tubes, Brass and Cop- per Rods, Brass Ferrules, Pure Copper Wire, Sheet and Ingot Copper; Spelter, Tin, Antimony, Lead, &c. THE BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 19 Murray St., New York. 85-87 Pearl St., Boston. 17 N. 7th St., Philadelphia. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET TUBING WIRE. Lamp Geeds of all Kinds. BRASS AND COPPER GOODS In Great Varieties. Brass AND ; Copper tngot Copper, Block Tin, Speiter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 4¢ CLIFF ST., NEW YORK, ‘THE IRON AGE. THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1899. The Dallett Duplex Boiler Shell Drill. Thomas H. Dallett & Co. of York street and Sedgley avenue, Philadelphia, are building an electrically driven duplex boiler shell drill, as here illustrated, the first en- the bed all the holes in the longitudinal seams can be drilled. The machine consists of a cast iron bed, made of any length desired, on which is mounted an upright, the weight of which is carried upon roller bearings, thus en- est _ - —- SF ay Ladd ee SS THE DALLETT DUPLEX graving representing the drill at work, while the second shows the reverse side of the drill. In this type of ma- chine, as in their former rope driven type, the boiler shell is placed horizontally upon four or six rollers in front of the tool; then, by placing the spindles horizontally at the hight of the center line, or pointing up toward the center line and turning the shell, all the holes in the circular seams can be reached, and by moving the upright along BOILER SHELL DRILL. abling it, by means of a lever and ratchet arrangement, to be easily moved along the bed. The upright carries a swivel slide to which is fastened the drilling head, the whole being counterweighted so that it can be easily moved vertically upon the upright by means of a rack and pinion operated by a ratchet wrench. The drilling head consists of the electric motor, around the circumference of which are moved and fastened the ate ark aE ys \ fac AS = RS EE ae < \ =< bik 3 \ - 2 _ THE IRON spindle frames. The motor, being of the inclosed multi- polar type, is well adapted to boiler shop use, as it is practically dust and water proof. It is furnished with roller bearings and end ball thrust bearings, so that it can be run in the vertical position and is furnished with a starting and controlling switch by which, in connection with the back gearing, the spindles can be run at ten different speeds for different sized drills. The spindle frames are held firmly to the motor by V-gibs at the ends and bolts locked in T-slots around it. They are easily moved in setting by means of a ring gear around the motor and pinions on the spindle frames by which they can be moved either singly or both together. The spindles can be grouped in either the horizontal or the vertical plane or in any position between them, by which arrangement both spindles are always operative in drilling all the holes in the shell. Each spindle has an independent automatic feed arrangement, and there isa quick hand feed by which either spindle can be advanced separately or both together. This hand feed with a sliding sleeve socket can be used in the tapping and screwing in the stay bolts. The starting and controlling switch and rheostat is substantially made and coated with a water proof material so that it will withstand moisture. It is Fig. 2.— View of Driving Mechanism. THE DALLETT DUPLEX BOILER SHELL DRILL provided with a magnetic circuit breaker to guard against overloads, which is also used as a main switch, so that the current is always broken on a knife switch, thus pre- venting any burning of the contacts of the controller. By the arrangement of the controller a difference in ratio of speed of from one to two is obtained, and this variation is accomplished in such a manner that the full power of the motor is retained at all speeds. The controller is also furnished with a reversing switch by which the spindles of the drill can be reversed in such work as tapping. The drilling head, being mounted on a swivel slide, can be turned from 45 degrees above the horizontal to the vertical position, and thus can be used in drilling plates in the tiat. The machine has been carefully designed in view to rapid handling, so that the operator standing on one side of the upright has full control over its move- ments The principal dimensions of the machine are: Horizon- tal range, 20 feet; vertical range of drilling head on upright it¢ feet, the spindles in the highest position being 7 feet above the base of the tool; the drilling head is fitted with spindles 2 inches in diameter, bored to fit a No. 4 Morse taper shank. The spindles have a traverse of 15 inches, and are furnished with an automatic feed ar- rangement giving from 0.004 to 0.01 inch advance per revolution; they can be run at ten different speeds be- tween 35 and 150 revolutions per minute, and can be ad- justed between from 4 to 17 inches between centers. Net weight of the machine is 9000 pounds. AGE. June 1, 1899 Bridge Builders and the Prices of Materials. In order to test, in one important line of consumption of iron and steel. the question whether and in what degree the present price of iron and steel is adversely affecting consumption, we addressed letters to a number of the leading bridge builders and construction shops touching the following points: From New York and New England. 1. Whether in your experience the rise in materials has already had the effect of causing postponement of work, citing instances. 2. Whether the higher prices have had a serious effect upon the export business. 3. To what extent your capacity is now engaged, stated in percentages of your annual capacity. The answers have been numerous and frank, and since they come from the officers of some of the largest and representative shops their perusal will prove of great interest. A leading Eastern bridge works writes: ‘‘ We do not know definitely of any bridge or building work having been postponed by reason of the recent advance in prices. Several statements have been made to us that prospective work would be postponed because of the increased prices, but in one of these cases we know that the work has been contracted for and in the other case tenders have been invited. The volume of inquiry at this time is large, and in the writer’s opinion fully as great as at this season of the year for the past several years, when prices were | abnormally low. ‘** Our export trade has never formed a large percentage | of our product, but the inquiry from this source has shown no falling off. We have just completed a shipment of three bridges for the Imperial Railways of Japan and are receiving inquiries from Japan, East Indies, England and | the Continent of Europe. ‘* Our capacity for the present year is well sold up, but bridge works are like omnibuses and Oliver Twist—there is always room for more. Running single turn, as we are at present, about 80 per cent. of our capacity for the present year is sold. A double turn in some of the de- | partments could readily be organized and operated and our capacity largely increased should the demand war- rant it.” The president of a famous company writes: ‘‘ On gen- eral principles I feel certain that the present unsettled _ condition of the steel trade is having a bad effect upon | new enterprises, and the tendency of the mills is to execute recent orders at high prices at the expense of old orders, thus causing serious inconvenience and expense to the bridge building interests. Im the one case of a famous export order I teel very certain that orders for this country had to stand aside while that little piece of adver tising was = through. Our producers should certainly try to regulate prices, so that bridge manufacturers could have some confidence in the future of their business.’’ A New York plant makes the following points: ‘‘ We have met with several instances of the postponement of bridge work on account of the rise in the price of steel. A month or six weeks ago the city of North Adams, Mass., decided to postpone the construction of a street bridge for which they had received bids, hoping for a more favorable market. The State of New York has been unable to let contracts for four or more bridges for which bids have been received this month, owing to the advance in prices over the estimates on which the appropriations were based. We also know that the N. Y.C. & H. R. R. R. have determined to do no more bridge work than is absolutely necessary, which means the postponement of a large amount of work which that company have in view. Our own plant is at present occupied only to the extent of about 25 per cent. of its capacity.”’ A second New York shop replies: ‘“‘ Without going into detail or citing instances we know of cases in the highway bridge line where work has been put over on account of the recent increases of the price of metals. We think that a conservative estimate would place the per- centage of our inquiries that are thus far affected at 10. We also know of several large buildings which have been pat over for the same reason. Our works are now run- ning at their normal annual capacity, we having work on hand for three or four months.” A third New York firm say: ‘‘ Not the higher materia] prices have checked demand, but the inability of the mills to furnish the material promptly. Only about 25 per cent. of our capacity is engaged, trom lack of possibility to get material.”’ . A leading firm of builders of buildings report: *‘ So far this season we notice no postponement of work on account of the rise in price of material, but we fear the effect in this direction of any further increase in cost. We believe in some instances, however, that work has been abandoned for the present on account of the inability to June 1. 1899 complete within a certain time, due to delay in obtaining material. In reply to your second question we believe, as far as we are Ppl to judge, the higher prices have not so far seriously affected the export business. If it were possible to obtain promptly material which we have or- dered we would be working full capacity. As it is we probably are barely up to 75 per cent.” A New England builder reports to us: ‘‘ We know of a few cases in the vicinity of New York City where work has been postponed on account of the high price of steel, and two of the railroad companies in Boston have stated that they should buy no more bridge work than they were absolutely obliged to until prices came down. So far we have not found that high prices have any effect on the export business. We have enough business to keep us running until next fall.’ Another New England plant writes us: ‘‘ We know of no work which has been postponed in this vicinity on account of rise in price of material. Our plant at the present time is fairly busy, with prospects of further or ders in the immediate future.” An important firm in New England making a specialty of manufacturers’ buildings report: ‘*We do not know of any structural work which has been postponed on account of the present rise in the price of material, but we do know of quite a large number of structures which have been put over uatil next season on account of the parties being unable to get their work com- pleted in a reasonable time—all owing to the scarcity of material and the inability of the rolling mills to furnish material in a reasonable time. ‘Weare of the opinion that we can compete in the foreign market under the present price of raw material. but we believe that we are very near the danger point and that any further increase in the price will shut off this foreign market entirely. Our export business is princi- pally in steel buildings, and we are losing a good many nice contracts because present prices are so dangerously near the home prices in foreign countries. Any advance will surely kill this work entirely. **Our capacity is fully engaged at the present time; that is, we are running our works to their fullest capacity.” The Pittsburgh District. A plant in the Pittsburgh district reports: ‘‘ The only undertaking of any magnitude which has been postponed on account of the rise in material that has come to us is the Bellaire Bridge at Bellaire, Ohio. In this instance we are not positive whether it is the rise in the material or other conditions which prompts the projectors from discontinuing at the present. We expect that the present high prices will largely affect the export business. Our capacity is now fully engaged for a period of six months, with abundance of new work offering.”’ The president of another plant records the following: ‘* My impression is that up to the present time the advance in material has not retarded construction, for the reason that to a considerable extent the product of the mills has been contracted ahead, and parties were anxious to get their work under construction so as to take advantage of the prosperous season which was anticipated. I think that there will be something of a reaction and that it will be difficult to maintain the present prices. The present prices or higher ones will certainly have the effect of restricting the export business.”’ A third mill in the Pittsburgh district reports: ‘* The rise in the price of plain material has not to our know!l- edge, had the effect of postponing any considerable amount of contemplated work. The crowded condition of the bridge shops at the present time has probably more seriously affected the export business than the rise in price, although the latter bas no doubt checked the export business to some extent. Our tonnage records show that we have sufficient business on hand to keep us running steadily night and day for the next five months.” A fourth replies: *‘ 1. Our experience is that the rise in rices of materials has worked both ways; in other words, it has had the effect of causing postponement of work or other methods of construction, while at the same time it has placed work on the market which has been ‘ hanging fire ’ to our own knowledge in numerous instances for sev- eral years. 2. The volume of our export business during the past three months has doubled and we have secured a larger percentage of this class of work than heretofore. 3. Our works for the past month have not been engaged to their fullest capacity, not on account of a lack of orders on our books, but from the fact that we have been unable to obtain material as promptly as it can be worked up. We have had to turn orders down for very desirable work on account of our inability to secure the material promptly. Inquiries for new work are plenty with us at present. We have booked some very desirable work and at the present time have sufficient work on our books to keep us going to our fullest capacity for at least four months.” The Indiana Gas Belt. The president of a plant in the [ndiana gas belt writes: “‘It is our candid belief that the exceedingly THE IRON AGE. 3 great rise in the price of material in so short a time has had the effect of preventing a great deal of work being done which would have been done under conditions as they were at December 1, 1898. During the past ten vears we have done considerable of structural iron work throughout this gas belt territory, such as buildings for iron mills, glass factories and other like industries. We feit the effect of the sudden rise in 1895, as the busi- ness in these lines had been both pleasing and profitable for four or five years previous to that time. and was satis- factory after the price of material went back to what it was in 1894. But the shock was felt by us very percept- ibly in 1895. We do not care to be held responsible for particular instances where work may not have been done on account of the advance in material, but whereas, dur ing the latter part of the year 1898 and the early part of January, 1899, we had more inquiries on account of struc- tural building work than we have ever had in the same length of time, ever since the advance in metal began, about the middle of January, there have been fewer in- quiries for this class of work than we have ever had since we have been in business. ‘For three years last past we have been doing a great deal of structural work for the Steel Storage & Elevator Construction Company of Buffalo, N. Y., building for them a large elevator at Buffalo and another one at Ft. William, Ontario, and a smaller one at Glen Cove, L. I. During the last part of the year 1898 we had at one time as much as four contemplated jobs under consideration and on which we were making estimates. Up to this time only one of those contracts has been let. If the others have been built they have been built with wood instead of steel Probably on an average 60 to 70 per cent. of our business is highway bridges. We cannot see that this class of work has been much affected by the advance in material, as the variations, in trade of this kind are more likely to be affected by political influences than by advance or decline in price of material. In the amount of tonnage and con- tracts in dollars and cents we have more on our books at this time than probably we have ever had at the same time of year, but it is due more to the fact that we have been unable to get material with which to complete all our work, and therefore clear our books, than to the fact that we have taken more work.”’ Western Shops, A Western shop answers: ‘‘ We know of no work post- poned by reason of advance in cost of plain material. We have sufficient business on our books to run to our capacity, but our inability to secure delivery of plain material necessitates running at great disadvantage. New business is coming into the market with unusual activity. ”’ The secretary of another Western piant makes this reply: ‘‘ We are not aware of any work postponed in this section on account of the increase and do not think if prices stay about where they are it will stop consumption, but if they go any higher we fear it will have that effect. We are filled up with work for the next eight months and are now running ten hours per day and could ran 24 hours, provided we could get material, which is our greatest diffi- culty at the present time.”’ Another producer writes us: ‘‘ We have known of no cases where the rise in materials has had the effect of postponing work. Some work has been postponed or de- layed, but only by reason of inability to procure materials even at the present prices. **Our export business, which has thus far been con- fined to Mexico on the south, British possessions on the north and the Hawaiian Islands on the west, has been larger during the past six months than ever before. ** Our total capacity is now fully engaged or would be were we able to secure raw materials fast enough to keep our shop in operation. Our sales were larger in the month of April, 1899, than for any corresponding month in the history of our business. In our judgment the present price of structural iron and steel is not abnormallv high, with the possible exception of plates. We believe that the present prices would only yield a fair and reason- able amount of profit to the various hands_through which the product passes from the ore to the finished state if these profits were equally and equitably distributed. Up to the present time. however, it is possible that the ore producers have received practically little benefit of the advanced prices, and many of the rolling mills are stil] working on orders taken at the former low prices. ‘**In general we believe the present prices are about where they should be to insure reasonable returns for the labor and capital employed in the industry and are as low as the public good requires.”’ ; A builder in the Chicago district reports: ** There is no question but what a great deal of struc- tural work will necessarily he postponed which would be built during the present season if it were possible. We do not believe that this postponement, up to this time at least, is due to the appreciation in price, nor to any antici- pation of rising values, but rather to the inability of the rolling mills to give prompt deliveries of raw material. and the further lack of ability of the existing structural <a hana Cegidinighaa siitratone = ON epee mae —— it isi meee eens: — = ne ee eee — ~~ oe 4 THE IRON AGE. iron plants to fill the orders which they now have on their books promptly, even if the raw material were furnished promptly. If it is argued that the rise in price is due to the short supply, the one thing, of course, follows the other; but we do not believe that this is entirely, if at all, the cause of the rise in prices. We do not understand that the market prices have as yet had any serious effect upon the export business, at least not in our case. Our plant is now engaged to about 25 per cent. of our annual capacity.”’ —F—_——_ Dean Bros. Pressure and Speed Governor. {The combined pressure and speed regulator made by Dean Bros. Steam Pump Works of Indianapolis stops the pump when there is a tendency to produce overpressure, and sustains the desired speed for maintaining the re- r tj SHES ~~ 4 June 1, 1899 thus increasing the amount of steam admitted to? the steam cylinder and maintaining the desired speed. Finally, when the desired maximum water pressure is reached the steam is shut off by the collapse of the spring c and closure of the ports in the stationary valve o. Thus the governor controls both the pressure and the speed, of the pump. This pressure and speed governor is made in sizes from *%4 inch to 6 inches. Those 3 inches and below are of solid bronze, while the larger sizes are bronze lined. _ A New Chicago Record.—The South Mills of the Illinois Steel Company, at South Chicago, lll., broke last week the world’s record of steel making in a single run. The new record is 1310 tons. The former record of',1301 tons was alsc held by the South Chicago plant. The com- pany officials claim both records are far in excess of those held by any other steel milis in the world The men en- b aS ¢@ 4 Z =. SPAN AA fhe 1 SEPT Fig. 1.—The Governor. Fig. 2.—Governor Applied to Duplex Hydraulic Pump. DEAN BROS. PRESSURE AND SPEED GOVERNOR. quired pressure. If the hose or discharge pipe should burst, or if from any cause the water pressure should be suddenly released. the pump would not acquire a dan. gerous speed; on the contrary the governor would auto matically close off steam sufficiently to prevent the pump from running t& fast. It may be used either vertically or horizontally. The construction of the governor will be understood from Fig. 1. Steam enters at m and passes out atn. The water pressure pipe d is connected to the governor cylin- der a. The water pressure, acting on the piston b, though the piston rod e, cross head f and guide rods g. compresses the spring c and at the same time the valve rod i is moved, carrying with it the regulating valve p toward the left, thereby opening the casing ports u and admitting an in- creased amount of steam through the steam valve. When the valve p has moved a certain distance, by the compres- sion of the spring the ports through the stationary valve o are closed and the pump is stopped. Therefore, when the pump is running with a light load steam is throttled by the regulating valve p and the speed is reduced to the de- sired point. As the load or pressure on the pump in- creases the water pressure acts to open the casing ports u, gaged in this record breaking run were not selected for the occasion, but composed the ordinary night shift. << __—_ The annual meeting of stockholders of the William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company was held on May 25 at the company’s office in Philadelphia. The old directors were re-elected, with the exception of Ernest Thalman of New York, whose place was taken by Edwin 8S. Cramp. The Board is now made up of Charles H. Cramp, Thomas Dolan and Clement A. Griscom of Philadelphia, Henry Seligman of New York. and William H. Barnes. Henry W. Cramp, Samuel Dickson, Morton McMichael and win S. Cramp of Philadelphia. The annual report showed that the total gross earnings from all sources were in excess of $5,300,000, and the net earn- ings $707,832, an increase over last year of $138,991. The net earnings applicable to dividends were $400,067, out of which two quarterly dividends were paid, amounting to $121,200, leaving a surplus of $287,867. Ata meeting of the directors, held after the stockholders’ meeting, Charles H. Cramp was elected president, Henry W. Cramp vice-president, and Charles T. Taylor, secretary. June 1, 1899 Limestone Consumed in Making Pig Iron. _For the first time the American Iron and Steel Associ- ation reports the consumption of limestone for fluxing purposes by the blast furnaces in the United States. In 1897 in the production of 9,652,680 gross tons of pig iron it amounted to 4,247,688 gross tons, of which 3,680,666 tons were consumed by the bituminous coal and coke furnaces in the production of 8,464,692 tons of pig iron, 524.271 tons by the anthracite and mixed anthracite and coke furnaces in the production of 932,777 tons, and 42,751 tons by the charcoal furnaces in the production of 255,211 tons. The average consumption of limestone for the whole country per ton of pig iron produced in 1897 was a little over 44-100 ton. The total quantity of limestone similarly consumed in 1898 in the production of 11,773,934 tons of pig iron was 5,275,819 tons, of which 725,729 tons were consumed in producing 1,203,273 tons of pig iron made with anthracite and mixed anthracite coal and coke; 4,502,209 tons were consumed in producing 10,273,911 tons of pig iron made with bituminous coal and coke; and 47,881 tons were con- sumed in producing 296,750 tons of pig iron made with charcoal. The average consumption of limestone for the whole country per ton of pig iron made in 1898 was almost the same as in 1897, the figures being 448-1000 ton, or about 8-1000 ton more than in 1897. The average consumption of limestone to the ton of pig iron in the United States in 1897 and 1898 was a little less than 14 ton. _* -_ Self Traveling Trolley and Air Hoist. The Pneumatic Crane Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., are putting on the market self traveling trolleys and overhead traveling cranes using compressed air as a motive fluid. The trolleys, Fig. 1, are designed to travel any distance, turn corners, switch from one track to others, &c. They can be made to run at any desired speed, lift and transport light or heavy weights, switching automatically, stopping, un- loading and starting back automatically, being a mechan- ical means for doing away with the hand truck and tram system. The device by which compressed air is ccnveyed to the trolleys and overhead traveling cranes is shown by the accompanying drawings, Figs. 3 to 10, and is as follows: Along the runway made by I-beams a feed pipe is sus- pended and inclosed by a thin steel casing having a slot at the bottom, Figs. 7 and 9. The feed pipe is made of cold drawn tubing in lengths of 10 feet. The tubes are joined together by couplings, making one continuous pipe with- out surface obstruction. Each coupling also forms the THE IRON AGE. 5 traveling cranes, of such a diameter as to allow sufficient area between the outer wall of the feed pipe and the inner wall of the receiver pipe. The receiver is made long enough to more than cover two valves or couplings at one time, and the ends are = ama 7 = Fig. 2.- Self Traveling Air Hoist Fig. 1.—Self Traveling Trolley . SELF TRAVELING TROLLEY ‘AND AIR HOIST. body for a valve and incloses the valve operating mechan- ism, as is shown by the drawings, Figs. 8 and 5. Sur- rounding the feed pipe is a receiver, which is made flexible for trolleys required to turn corners and rigid for overhead closed by means of a stuffing box, making an air tight joint between the receiver and the feed pipe. The interior of the receiver pipe has a narrow ridge running from stuffing box to stuffing box, filling the space > — a ae ee 4 & —+*+ a: Ss ay ee —E rer 3 pa oe ‘ ah bro nner — +» ~~ ap cere m 3 6 THE IRON AGE. between the feed pipe and the receiver and along the path of the valve, opening tappets for the purpose of keeping the valves from closing while they are in the receiver. The receiver is made fast to the trolley or crane and of necessity moves along the feed pipe and through the cas- ing, automatically opening and closing the valves. From the receiver the compressed air is led to the trolley or crane motors, thus insuring a continuous flow of motive fluid from the generators to the crane or trolley as they travel along their runways. The feed pipe and receiver being inclosed in a casing for the purpose of preventing dust from settling on the feed pipe, connection is made from a trolley or crane June 1, 1899 space, which could be increased by 8000 square feet if a gallery were added, making the possible available floor space about 34,000 square feet. None of the funds of the United States Commission having been added to by Congress, no sum is available for this structure, and the meetings were called upon to express an opinion on the question of erecting this addi- tional building by the exhibitors at their own expense, distributed pro rata. Naturally there was much disappointment at the fact that the main exhibition of machine tools would thus be transferred to Vincennes, but there are two points which make it likely that the plan proposed is the best solution mo oe ’ Scones ‘eee | i ln RG \ 1 j ai. Zz LJ C T | = a : | . ¥ SS uN Fig. 3.— Valve Mechanism. through a hollow arm of elliptical section, the arm oeing a part of the receiver which extends through the slot of the casing, spreading it apart as it moves one way or the other. The receiver arm, Vig. 7. is provided with two passages, one to lead the air to the motors and the other to lead the exhaust air from the motors into the casing for the purpose of creating an outward current of air from the casing and also to catch the exhaust lubricants from the motor to lubricate the surface of the feed pipe and the sliding contact of the receiver with the casing. - — Pe Machine Tools at the Paris Exposition. When Francis E. Drake, director of machinery and electricity at the Paris Exposition, was abroad recently to study the situation from the standpoint of the American exhibitors, it became clear to him that the space available for the exbibits of the metal and wood working tools and accessories allotted to the United States in the Champ de Mars building was altogether inadequate to afford a solu- tion of the perplexing questions involved. He secured a concession for the erection of a building at the Vincennes annex to the exposition. After consultation with the lead- ing firms in England, France and Germany who repre Fig. 6.—Feed and Receiver Pipes. Ud Fig. 4.—Feed and Receiver Pipes. of the problem. First of all, it appears that the exhibits of all the countries of appliances of traction of all kinds are to go to Vincennes. This includes all automobiles, bicycles, street and railroad traction appliances. Since these branches are among the leading customers of Ameri- can machine tools and wood working machinery the exhibitors would be close to those from whom a heavy Le Fig. 7.—Cross Section Receiver Arm. SELF TRAVELING TROLLEY AND AIR HOIST. sent and market American machine tools, who assented to his plans, the latter were submitted to the American builders of machine tools, wood working machinery and accessories. Two meetings were called of the parties interested, the one at New York on May 17, at which 41 were present, and the other at Chicago on May 23, at which about 20 representatives attended, the total number of applications in the class being about 125. At Chicago Mr. Drake himself explained the situation, while at New York James S. Anthony, Eastern assistant director, ad- dressed the meeting. The original space available for this department of metal and wood cutting tools and accessories in the Champ de Mars is about 11,500 square feet net. The plan is to put upa building at Vincennes consisting of a main aisle commanded by a traveling crane and two bays. This would yield about 13,500 square feet net of additional floor part of their demand comes. Then it is proposed to equip the Vincennes building so that the tools may be shown in operation, doing actual work. In the space in the Champ de Mars section it is possible only in some cases to arrange for turning the machinery over. Tke idea is to allot to exhibitors in the Vincennes annex some space in the Champ de Mars section, which they may use either to show a few typical tools or which they may employ for headquarters to give information and direct visitors to the machinery at work at Vincennes. It is estimated that the pro rata cost to exhibitors in the Vincennes section, of machinery at work, will be about $1.25 per square foot of floor space. While the space,in the main building at the Champ de Mars is free there is a charge for flooring, railings, &c. Just what this will figure out it is difficult to state, but it is estimated that in any case it will be about 40 cents per square foot. ee ae | June 1. 1899 We understand that at the meetings referred to the representatives of the machine tool trade, after a full ex- planation of the situation, expressed their approval of the plan, and that since then assent to it has come from other interests not at the time personally represented. The Iron Works and Other Industries of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The commercial crisis that Brazil is even now passing through naturally affects the State of Sao Paulo, and in consequence there is still a great depression of business, but this is felt less in this State than in any of the others Fig. 5.— Valve Mechanism. forming the Union. The low price of coffee, the low rate of exchange and the extravagances of the Government have contributed largely to the suspension of commercial relations, but the crisis is but temporary. Recently established and projected large enterprises give the hope of a future revival all around. From an industrial point of view, and not least so in regard to the construction and operation of iron and steel works, Brazil is very back- ward, but Sao Paulo lays claim to being. and probably is, the most progressive in this respect, there being in and THE IRON AGE. Fig. 9. Beam and Pipe Casing. Fig. 8.—Section Fig. 7. - away at Ypanema in the municipality of Sorocaba, and to this day the only iron mining carried on in Sao Paulo is at Ypanema, although it has been proven that much finer grades of ore are to be found in richer deposits in the municipalities of Iguape, Parnahyba, Jundiahy and Sao Joao de Boa Vista, all in the State of Sao Paulo. After the death of Sardinha in 1630 the Catalan forges were abandoned until the year 1760, when new furnaces were built with leathern bellows and a trip hammer. In 1801 a blast farnace with band machinery to furnish the blast was erected. In 1811 the works became the property of the Government, and four Stickofen furnaces were erected for the making of bar iron, but the character of the ore from the old mine was so refractory that the yield was only 1 ton of iron for 41 of charcoal, making the value of the metal only two-thirds that of the fuel—need- less to say this did not last long. and blast furnaces were then decided on and erected with proper blast appliances, and as improvements have been made continually since then, the system now in use may be said to be almost up to date. Bar and pig iron are both made at these works, but in January of this year the works were practically closed, due to the poor quality of the ore and the seeming indis position of the Government to expend any money toward opening up any of the other and better deposits in the State. The State of Sao Paulo has an area of about 300,000 sq. km., and a population of 1,800,000, including a num- ber of Indians that still hang on in the northeastern por- tion of the State. The capital, Sao Paulo, is the dis- tributing center for the neighboring port of Santos. In 1893 the population of the capital was (by census) 143,- 000. and at present it is no less than 230,000. Five large railways connect Sao Paulo with Rio de Janeiro, with Santos and with the interior of the State; ) j \ } + ; cr a os, \ J - + 1 | \ "4 NS Fig. 10.—Sectional Elevation Fig. 9, SELF TRAVELING TROLLEY AND AIR HOIST. around the city of Sao Paulo quite a large number of manufacturing industries in which new and improved machinery and methods are employed. There are quite a number of iron works of various capacities in the country, among which may be mentioned the Hime in Nictheroy and that of the Cia. Nacional de Forjas e Estaleiros in Rio de Janeiro, the Usina Wigg in Minas Geraes, near the manganese mines at Miguel Burnier, two under German management in Porto Alegre, one in Bahia, one in Rio Grande do Sul, and the Kponame near the city of Sao Paulo, as the largest and est. The Ypanema are (the Brazilians boast) probably the longest established iron works in the Western Hemi- sphere, they having been built in 1590 by a Portuguese named Alfonzo Sardinha, who set up and worked until his death some 39 years later two Catalan forges. The iron ore employed was mined only a short distance the English Sao Paulo Railway with Santos, the Govern- ment Central Railway to Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes, the Brazilian Panlista Railway to Jaht in the northwest, the Brazilian, Mogyana to Mococa in the north and the Sorocabana to Itapetininga in the west. Two other short lines in the interior of the State are the Brazilian Ytuana, connecting Ytu and Piracicaba, and the Bragantina, connecting Atibaia and Braganca. These railways, excluding the Central, which should be consid- ered rather as belonging to Rio, have a combined mileage of about 1762 miles. Several concessions have recently been granted for the construction of new lines, the principal ones being from Ubatuba to Taubaté,a distance of about 150 km.; from Araraguara to Ribeirfio-Sinho. a distance of 73 km.: Rio das Pedras to Pederneiras, 35 km., and Engenheiro Mendes to S. Anna da Vargem Grande, 25km. Besides these new roads the Paulista Company are now engaged = bia | 4 2 ee ne 8 THE IRON AGE. in constructing 102 km. between Jaboticabal and Barreto and 47 km. between Dois Corregos and Porto Ribeiros; the Mogyana Company in constructing 250 km. between Ressacca and Santos and 110 km. between Sao Simao and Sertiosinho; the Sorocabana Company in constructing 263 km. between Itapetininga and Itarare, 334 km. be tween Rio Novo and Tihagy and 41 km. between Sao Manoel and Lencées. The English Sao Paulo Company are now engaged in completing the double tracking of their line from Santos to Jundiahy and the building of a large new station at Sao Paulo. These railway improvements and extensions alone should prove to American merchants and capitalists that Sao Paulo merits considerable of their attention. That the Germans and English realize the importance of the place is shown by the amount of their capital invested and the large and increasing number of German and English business houses located there. Both English and German capital is being largely invested in coffee planta- tions in the district, the English Fazenda Dumont being the largest coffee plantation in the world. The third largest coffee estate has just been purchased by a com- bination of English and German capitalists. Negotiations are now going on for the sale of the Penteado hessian (coffee bag) factory and woolen mill (recently bailt) in Sao Paulo to an English company. The control of the Cia. Viacio Paulista (Sao Paulo Tramway Company), that carried over 25,000,000 passen- gers in 1897, has just been obtained by French capitalists, who project the early altering of the system from animal to electric traction. The same interests have recently purchased two cotton mills near the city, so it can be seen that the French are also alive to their opportunities. As there are some 9V0,000 Italians in the State, it is only natural that quite a number of the smaller indus- tries should be influenced by them, but the large majority of them are employed as coffee pickers on the large planta- tions. Among the industries in tine capital in which they take a leading part may be mentioned furniture making, boot, shoe and harness making and the manufacture of macaroni, of which the Brazilians are almost as fond as the Italians themselves. The factory belonging to Ro- manelli & Co. is the largest engaged in the manufacture of macaroni, turning out about 5000 pounds per day. The machinery employed is of German manufacture, and the power is furnished by a Robey 20 horse-power motor. A factory for the manufacture of fine furniture has just been opened by Zurlindo & Irméo, with new and im- proved wood working machinery from Germany. Another increase to the industries of Sao Paulo has just been made by the establishment of a large cotton textile mill at Sao Bernardo, the most of the machinery having come from England. The monthly output of this mill is about 100,000 yards. In January last this mill re- ceived 85,453 pounds of cotton yarn from Germany and England. There are five other cotton textile mills in the State—namely, that of the Cia. Fabril Paulistana, that of the Cia. Industrial de Sao Paulo, that of A. Alvares Penteado, that of Santos & Co. and that of Enrique Dell Acqua. The last named are an Italian firm, who have four or five large mills in Piedmont, Italy, and one in Buenos Aires. All necessary machinery and materials are im- ported by them from Italy. Due to the large and numerous building operations and the sanitary improvements now in progress in the city, the quantity of cement needed is increasing constantly, so much so that a large plant with a capacity of 100 tons has just been started at Radovalho, about 5 miles outside of Sao Paulo, the machinery having been purchased in Ger- many. At Radovalho there are also large establishments for stone cutting, brick, tile and drain pipe making, sash, and door making and for the manufacture, on a large scale, of agricultural machinery (principally coffee ma- chinery). The machinery for the various factories is mostly from England and Germany, although a small portion is from the United States. In the manufacture of coffee machinery there are three other factories engaged, the most important of which employs about 550 hands and turns out about 500 tons per month More wrought than cast iron is used by these factories. The most important bag factory in Brazil is the Penteado, for the sale of which negotiations are now going on with an English company. This factory con- tains 600 looms, with a monthly capacity of 1,300,000 yards. The factory has two English steam engines of 350 and 100 horse-power, respectively, a large condensing tank and a railway siding. The present owner, a rich Brazil- ian, expects (if the sale is not made to the English syndi- cate) to largely increase the number of the looms, and is even now equipping a woolen mill (that has been erected alongside the bag factory) with 90 looms and a 300 horse power engine that were purchased in England. Should the sale not come off it is his intention to largely increase the number of looms and to install an electric light plant. It is asserted by persons in a position to know that the deal will not come off, due to the heavy price demanded by the owner, so it might be well for manufacturers sup- plying these classes of machinery and materials to com- June 1, 1899 municate with Senhor A. Alvares Penteado, Rua Florida- au-Braz, Sao Paulo, Brazil. : There is also a new and well equipped factory in Saéo Paulo for the manufacture of twine (from Italian hemp) for sewing the coffee bags. The machinery and two en- gines are all of English make. The brewing industry is finely developed in Sao Paulo, there being many breweries of various sizes working steadily on either the American or German plan, and a considerable portion of the machinery is of United States manufacture. The two largest breweries, the Antartica and the Bavaria, have an immense output of Pasteurized beer, which is as fine in quality as any of the imported beer. The two glass factories located in Sao Paulo have re- cently enlarged their plants, and now make and cut fine glassware,