The Iron Age 1899-10-05: Vol 64 Iss 14

if A Review of the Hardware, Iron and Metal Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., qAR BSS William St... New York. aa ” wWsupy ‘ Vol. LXIV: No. 14. New York, Thursday, October 5. 18¢0 ( U¥LHOSyATUEgS Toncete ee 3 Reading Matter Contents .. ..... ‘page 46 * : Classified List of Advertisers. .... “155 46 9 @ 66 Il # Aiphabetical Index to Advertisers ** 160 | dj. 1). g,. Sinokeless « Acme She $ Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘* == 53 With the Celebrated U. M. C. «« No. 3 Primers.” For For Dense Nitro Sep Powders. Powders. Republic Iron & Steel Co., CHICAGO MANUFACTURERS IRON SHEETS and PLATES. Bridgeport, : ' DISTRICT SALES OFFICES : More Reliable and Conn., eereee ae edad pal Accurate than any 313 Broadway, Cincinnati, O. Birmingham, Ala.| other shells of the New York. 425 Market St., San Francisco. same — upon THE BRISTOL COMPANY, | *O™ % Waterbury, Coun. Bristol’s Recording Instruments, Fer Pressure, Temperature and Electricity All Ranges, Low Prices and Guar- anteed. Send for Cireulars, SAMSON. SPOT CORD ' TURN BUCHLES. =e i MILL CINDER. PILLING & CRANE, fers Sicct!*thcsver Union IMerallic Cartridge 20. DAHALL BOILERS su ran se SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, ORE... BUFFALO, BALTIMORE, NEW ORLEANS. THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COPIPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. WE CLAIM THE FOLLOWING MERITS FoR JENKINS BROS” VALVES. Ww i ¢ i. senuteets d of the best Steam Metal. Tg ts partial ta regular 2. dig. therefore not constantly wearing out the Rome. of the V: 3. Gon JENKINS DISC, which is suitable for ail Pressures of a customer s—hate to Say it— 4. The t Repaired, and all parts Interchangeable, - . Eyery Valve Tested before leaving the factory. 6. ALL GENUINE stamped with Trade Mark. we want the irregulars too, ‘But galvanized > can’t make it go iron won't JENKINS BROTHERS, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boster. Brass Prices High, So Use Bright “Swedoh” Stamp- g¢5 ng Steel Bas Brass Plated and Save Money. ng BR any Be are stamped ou the ‘un- ; ** Magnolia Metal is still it has. TA C0., som ing Ssatuctaress’ } 166 & ‘Wars, WEW YORK 5 der side ie MAGNOLIA METAL S cet cnn npn | The name and 1 “e ape D> & “ ase AMBrandsof Sash Corde CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, - Boston, Mass. Oe a ps A ter cha be jh ng AY uf CHICAGO, é | Baan 1 Broadway, New Y SoeToR.” 2 Cleveland ane iF Ce., - lt hele 0. “ BU BRANCHES: DETROIT. | | Mt } ae se ae : THE ANSONIA Bress s° GOPPER CO MANUFACTURERS OF SS ee Ingot Copper. NUFACTULERS Tobin Bronze TRADE-MAaRK KEGISTERED. ) F late P Hexagor Rod Waterbury Brass Co. Established 1845. Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, German Silver, Copper, Brass and Ger- man Silver Wire. Brass an Copper Tubing. COPPER RIVETS AND BURS. PERCUSSION CAPS, TAPE MEASURES, METALLIC EYELETS, Brass Kettles, Brass Tags, Powder Flasks, Shot Pouches, &c. R ind, me er Lining Bars for P Bolt Forging to 99 John Street, New York. 8 ( AND SMALL BRASS WARES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. PH LOWES HICK’S PRIMERS, BERDAN PRIMERS. R ANDOLP Cartridge Metal in Sheets or Shells WATERBURY CONN, a Specialty. —MANUFACTURERS OF—__, DEPOTS: 60 Centre St., New York. 125 Eddy St., Provi- dence, R. |. 38 Mechanic St., Newark, N. J. MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN. NEW YACHT COLUMBIA All Her BRONZE CASTINGS are made of our... Ordnance Bronze Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. | EET: BRAS aa COPPER. S BRAZED BRASS & COPPER TUGES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES’38"DIAM. - stan DEPOT, 226 LA EST RHI CAGO,ILL ( MEW YORK, ROOM 202, POSTAL TEL EGRAPH OH 8L06, 253 BROADWAY “3 PHIL ADELPHIA, ROOM 320 PHILA BANK BLOG >» | NCINNATI, O. ROOM 308 NEAVE BLOG Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS, SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zine cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BaTTERY Hardware Store Business Methods. A book describing advanced and effective business methods, and full of practical suggestions, information and facts for Merchants, Buyers, Salesmen, Clerks and Accountants. A practical guide for the hardwareman in matters of business, and a valuable aid to the clerk in qualifying for a successful career. 200 Pages, Octavo, Cloth. Ps ONE DOLLAR, POSTPAID. DAVID WILLIAMS GOMPANY, Publishers, 232-238 William Street, New York, HENDRICKS BROIHERS PROPRIETORS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills. MANUFACTURERS OF Bolit and Sheathing Brazicrs’ COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. and Dealers in Spelter, my ‘ers Ingot Copper, Block 7 Lead, Antimony, etc. THE PLUME & ATwooD Me, tot MANUFACTURERS OF 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 ST., CHICAGO ROLLING MILL : THOMASTON, CONN. | FACTORIES ; WATERBURY, COhn SCOVILL MFG. CO., Manufacturers of BRASS SHEET, WIRE, TUBES, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Nipples, Pumps and Oilers for Bicycles, Braziers’ Solder, Aluminum. Factories, WATERBURY, CONN. 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 8. 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, Autimony, 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 Brass {SHEET AND TUBING Copper | WIRE. Lamp Goods of all Kinds, BRASS AND COPPER GOODS In Great Varieties. onne=) 7. 8 49 CL! ST., NEW YORK. WORK TO ORDER. SEND fon Ove tenn emmnguaT. WELCH MPG CO., 63 SUDBURY areaey, wosvo™ ‘THE IRON AGB. THURSDAY, OCTOBER The Bradley Compact Hammer. The compact hammer built by the Bradley Company of Syracuse, N. Y., is of somewhat less weight than the other styles of power hammers made by the same com pany of corresponding rating. While it has fewer parts the use of the highest grade of material and workman 5, 1899. working parts against jar and concussion that wear is 1 reduced to a minimum. The length of stroke is adjuste¢ by shifting the position of the~crank pin in the slot in the balance wheel. Sometimes short, quick blows are full length regulated required, at others the various thicknesses, by the strokes. The opening between dies is to accommodate work of slip sleeve and its lever, con- Enlarged View of Working Furts. THE BRADLEY COMPACT HAMMER. capacity and dur- by rubber springs hammer, but with ship has resulted in maintaining the ability. The cushioning of the blow or cushions has been retained in this less weight of rubber. The working parts of the ham- mer occupy but small space, and are in plain Force and elasticity are given the blow by the manner in which the head or ram is connected with the crank, aided greatly by the rubber springs, which add life and snap to the action of the hammer, and so cushioning the view. nected directly with the crank pin. There must always be some opening between the dies, varying with the size A foot treadle ex- and sides is used to bring the the The greater the foot pressure the When the treadle is released it causes a brake to act on the rim of the bal- The anvil block is a to which the work is to be finished. tending around the front idle pulley against the slack running belt, by which hammer is operated. greater the speed and force of blow. ance wheel, stopping the hammer. 2 THE IRON separate casting, circular in shape, so that by adjusting the bolts which hold it against the frame the dies may be aligned perfectly. These hammers are made in sizes from 15 to 200 pounds weight of hammer, giving average blows per minute from 400 to 200, working iron from *%%4 to 3 inches aud occupying a floor space from 22 to 44 inches square. OE The Industrial Growth of the United States. F'rom the presidential address of James Douglas be- fore the American Institute of Mining Engineers we take the following passages: Transportation and Transmission. The railroads, steamboats and telegraphs have been both the apostles and missionaries of free thought and free speech. But they have served another purpose which has vitally influenced the current of policy and the drift of the metallurgical industry. It is difficult to realize the diminutive proportion of wealth on this con- tinent in the first two decades of this century. In the first decade of the nineteenth century the population of this country was 7,239,000. There were 903 post offices, and only 21,000 miles of post roads. Four cities only boasted a population of over 10,000 inhabitants, and the post oftice revenue was the insignificant sum of $231,000. By 1830 the population had increased to 12,666,021, but the manufacture of metals was still a local industry, and so it continued for two more decades, while the railroad system of the country was expanding so as to link sec- tion with section and fuel with ore. The year 1830 was numerically the critical period of our history, for in it the railroad first appears as a factor in our industrial life: 23 miles of track had been laid. By 1840 locomo- tives were running over 4535 miles of railroad. In that year the first attempt was made to incorporate into our census industrial statistics by quantities—not by value. If we compare two items of statistics of 1840 with the items of 1898 we shall ascertain how potent the railroad is as a stimulant to mining and metallurgy, and what a revolution it has wrought. In 1840 there were 804 fur- naces which made 256,100 tons of cast iron. In 1898 there were 202 blast furnaces in operation, making 11,- 773.034 tons. 1f we multiply the number of miles of rail- road in 1840 by the number of tons of pig iron made the same year, we get as a product approximately the figures (fer iron) for 1898. The magnificent iron industry of the country has thus kept pace with the extension of its rail- road system. The lines of growth have not always been parallel, but the harmony between these two great fac- tors of our national progress is not accidental. Equally important in its bearing on the iron trade has been the development of internal navigation. In 1898 the ton miles of freight moved by steamer on the Great Lakes were 17,891,597,030. Of this freight 13,655,432 tons were iron ore from Michigan, Minnesota and Wis- econsin. When Lake Superior began to ship ore in 1856 the freight charged to Erie points was $3, while in 1899, from Duluth to Erie points, the rate was only 57 cents. To-day old advocates of navigation by canal are hesitat- jug to recommend further contributions of State money for their enlargement—hopeless of inland navigation be- ing able to compete with railroad rates at 4 mills per ton mile. This virtual obliteration of distance by steam power has altered completely the industrial methods of every section of the country. Before the railroad and steamboat produced the industrial unification of the con- tinent pot only were food and clothing the products of local and disseminated manufacture, but such a neces- sary metal as iron was cast in small furnaces or reduced in small bloomeries wherever ore and charcoal were found in even limited quantities pear a water power. To transport either iron ore or fuel any distance over bad country roads to a large central establishment was less economical than running the village furnace or forge. We find, therefore, that the furnaces and forges of 1840 were scattered over the land in every district. Soon after that commenced the concentration of ore mining and the shifting of the centers of metallurgical industry to a few favored localities—a process which has tended to the serious detriment and even destruction of some of the older mining and metallurgical districts, and the creation of prosperous communities in what was, a gen- eration ago, an inaccessible wilderness. This concen- tration has proceeded till, at present, there are virtually only three great centers of iron manufacture—Pitts- burgh, Chicago and the Middle Southern States—and two of iron ore mining, counting the iron mines around Lake Superior as one. And instead of erecting the furnaces near the ore the ore is carried to the fuel—in one instance 100 miles from the Mesaba range to Pittsburgh. By the agency of steam in the mining, hauling and transporta- tion of the ores, ores from the Mesaba range have been AGE. October 5, 1899 delivered at the Pittsburgh furnaces at $4 per ton, the transportation alone involving 50 miles of railroad haul to a lake port, trunsfer to steamers, 900 miles of water earriage, another transfer from boat to railroad and a further journey of 80 miles by railroad before delivery at the furnaces. Cheap transportation has not affected the iron indus- try only. It has made it possible to utilize the copper and lead ores of the West and to reduce the cost of their treating by taking advantage of neighboring natural con- ditions. For instance, Anaconda ores can be transported for a few cents a distance of 36 miles from Butte to the water supply at Anaconda, and it is advantageous to carry the crude ores of the Boston & Montana Copper Company over 30 miles of railroad so as to obtain the ad- vantages of the water power of the Great Falls of the Missouri. But the very romance of transportation was reached in the following instance: Matte was bought at full prices in Tennessee, transported by railroad to Nor- folk, Va., transshipped thence to Tampico in Mexico, car- ried half way across the Republic, saturated with gold and silver, concentrated into black copper, and then brought back by rail and water to a port in New Jersey for electrolytic treatment, and yet the operation was profitable. Everywhere the world over the same wonderful inter- change of products and transfer of energy from one part of the world or from one country to another is being effected through the same agency, making the whole world akin and more or less independent. And with the improvement of motive power, both by land and sea, the bettering of railroads, the deepening of canals, the in- creased security of the high seas, the present cost of transportation, low as it is, will be materially reduced till the day will come that the natural resources of every land will be the common property of the whole world, unless their utilization be restricted and protection be practiced against exports instead of imports. Already England, Germany and France derive their main sup- plies of ore from foreign lands. The great German iron works at Stettin, Germany, rely entirely on imported crude material. But the quantity involved is so great as to preclude all risk of industrial famine or exhaustion of such raw material. In the North of Sweden, within the Arctie Circle, are iron ores of phenomenal deposit, that of Gelivaara is already connected with the Baltic by a line of railroad, but it is small compared with the mountain of ore of the Luossavara, which is said to contain above water line 500,000,000 tons of 60 per cent. ore. The Hudson’s Bay Company have also on the shores of Hud- son’s Bay great masses of manganiferous magnetite, and these are excluded by the cold from the markets of Eu- rope for hardly a longer portion of the year than the ores shipped from Duluth on Lake Superior. But even the Lake Superior ores themselves may some day or other find themselves profitably brought into the European market. At present, through the deepening of the Ca- nadian canals, large Lake Superior steamers can dis- charge their cargo in Montreal, and steamers of the whaleback type load on Lake Superior for any seaport of the world. California has drawn on New South Wales for coal and on Japan for sulphur. Nature’s com- modities, now that we are learning how to control and use nature’s forces, are becoming the common property of all mankind. If this be so, and if the world’s re- sources of the future are to become more and more cos- mopolitan, the wiuners of the race whose goal is indus- trial prominence will not necessarily be those who, with- in their own national domain, possess the crude elements of industrial workmanship, but those who, by native wit and scientific learning and research, can, out of these crude elements, manufacture most cheaply and of best quality what the world at large wants. And if certain groups of the world’s inhabitants progress more rapidly than others, it is not primarily because they will possess an undue share of nature’s gifts, but because they will evince more aptitude in availing themselves of the oppor- tunities which nature offers them. This is one of the most important lessons the parting century teaches, and has received its most striking illus- tration from our own history. Our industrial growth has excited the wonderment of the world. As _ already pointed out, it has been rendered possible by the exten- sion of transportation facilities. It would not have been so rapid and far reaching in its influence had the nation not possessed within its own bounds natural resources of such variety and in such bountiful quantity. But in ad- dition to these political and social forces have concurred to facilitate our growth. Only two generations have passed since the era of rapid industrial wealth began. The period has been short and the material we have had to work upon superabundant. We have been able to draw on the untouched resources of a whole continent, itself marvelously rich. Never in the history of man- kind have so many favorable causes combined to further the growth of an industrial people. Nevertheless, but for certain qualities in the national character, or, perhaps, to- speak more correctly, in the spirit of our industrial October 5, 1899 THE classes, these bounties of nature and these acquisitions of science would have remained useless and neglected. The Substitution of Machinery for Labor, Yet when we try to distinguish the social which bave been the impelling influences in bringing about the rapid rise of this country in the industrial school, apart from its natural resources, we cannot but recognize as advantages certain points of difference which distinguish the conditions existing here from those of the older industrial centers of Kurope, which are here after to be our competitors, for as we have entered, po- litically, of late the community of nations, so, indus- trially, we have in almost every article of manufacture gone into the fight for our place in the markets of the world. Labor abroad has generally been superabundant, here scarce, and therefore dear. To this cause is due in part, if not altogether, the substitution of machinery for hand labor in every department of our life. It has be- eome the guiding and controlling principle with every American that it is more economical to use your wits, whether in the kitchen or in the workshop; that nature’s forces are less easily exhausted than your own, and that iron and steel can stand a heavier strain than human bone and sinew. Acting on this principle, wherever ma echinery can be made to do man’s work, the instinct of the American is to devise some means to bring this sub stitution about. The result is that more work is done with less expenditure of manual labor in this country than in any other. Half a century ago to make iron in the smail furnaces then in blast at least six days’ labor was expended per ton of pig metal. To-day at the large steel works 2 tons of finished steel are made from the ore per man employed, including the clerical force. In the field of copper the impetus set by the iron mas- ter has reached the more sluggish copper metallurgists. Instead of the small brick cupolas in which it was thought a feat to smelt 10 tons a day, furnaces are run- ning under high blast which consume 400 to 500 tons of ore per day and discharge their valuable contents into Bessemer converters which blow it into pure copper in as few minutes as it used to take days to roast and re- roast, to fuse and re-fuse the ores and the mattes when the cupola process of reduction was used. Machinery has not so completely taken the place of the man in our copper works as in our iron and steel works, but every year witnesses so steady an advance in that direction that to-day ore extracted in the morn- ing can be loaded as copper on the cars by evening. A secondary but important effect of the extended use of machinery is the necessity it forces on the manu- facturer of producing large quantities. Take, for in- stance, the Bessemer converter as applied to copper. The smallest converter now used will make from 1,000,- 000 to 1,500,000 pounds of copper per month from a 50 per cent. matte. If, therefore, this limit is reached, ne cessity almost compels a duplication of the output which would bring the production of a small works up to the total output of the whole country half a century ago. Machinery is, of course, used the world over, but it is nowhere so generally applied to the purposes of life as by ourselves. Nor is it elsewhere forced by the ingen- ious arrangement of parts and by urging it to its fullest capacity to do the work we demand of it. In this respect it is that the practice of our mills has become con- spicuous the world over. Take for comparison the work done per converter for the steel mills of Europe and here. By improved mechanical appliances and the arrange- ment of parts, converters as planned originally by Bes- semer, Holley and our other steel workers, have brought the capacity of a 15-ton converter up to a far higher point than in Europe. Our steel worker has the advan- tage over his European rival in the character of the pig he has to work with, but after making all allowances the claim must be admitted that by study and economy he has raised the capacity of his plant and reduced ex- penditure, in spite of high cost of labor, to an extent not yet achieved on the other side. To our discredit, our technical workers have made no important new application of metallurgical practice com- parable to the Bessemer or the Siemens-Martin or the Thomas process, nor were we even the first to apply the pheumatic method to the concentration of copper, but once an invention has been made, no matter what or where its origin, it is adopted with almost a reckless abandon and driven to do our work at a speed that is al- most appalling. In many respects, however, our rivals in trade are handicapped, and it is only fair to take credit for what credit is due us. In this country no local tie binds the employer and employee. In the Old World it is different. There certain branches of manufacture have been planted for generations in the same locality. The busi- hess conducted by the same families and the work done oy the ancestors is done by the proprietor of to-day. Thus has grown up a sense of general interest, if not Ownership, in the works, which makes it difficult to in- causes IRON AGE. 3 troduce modern methods and machinery which neces- surily involve a dislocation of old associations, to say the least. This militates against progress abroad in a way which is difficult to understand here. The position in which we stand at the opening of the twentieth century is thus outlined. We have a right to be proud of it and also of the part our institute has played in assisting the progress of the mining and metal- lurgical arts. Labor Unions Not Privileged. Under the above caption the Chicago Evening Post for September 29 editorially discusses recent develop- nents in connection with trades unions. A fall festival will be celebrated in that city thts month, the success of which was for a time seriously threatened by labor leaders because the stone on the new Government build- ing is alleged to be cut by non-union workmen. The Post says: There is something paradoxical and peculiar in the present phase of the labor organization movement, and the festival troubles serve to direct attention to the para- dox. We are all aware that prior to the advent of the in- dustrial trust or combination trades unions claimed spe- cial consideration from the public. Organization among wage workers was commended and encouraged by pub- lic men and even by the courts. Not only was the right of workmen to organize for self-protection and the pro- motion of their welfare conceded, but organization was deemed socially beneficial. Tyranny, abuse of power and lawlessness on the part of labor were always con- demned, but they were regarded as excrescences and unfortunate accidents. Since the appearance of the industrial combinations of capital there has been a change in the general attitude toward labor organizations, a perfectly natural change. It is perceived that a labor union is indistinguishable from a combination ‘‘in restraint of trade.” A _ labor union seeks to reduce competition in labor, to control the market, to regulate wages, and, in many cases, to restrict the output. Any proper definition of combinations in re- straint of trade would necessarily include labor unions. Of course there is reasonable restraint of trade and unreasonable restraint. To the former there is no ob- jection, and it may be contended that labor unions do not unreasonably restrain trade, since ordinarily they aim to secure nothing but fair wages and decent treat- ment. Grant this, and it obviously follows that the same allowance must be made for combinations of capital that do not unreasonably restrain trade and seek nothing more than a fair rate of profit. Some labor leaders ad- mit the justice of this conclusion and profess toleration for such combinations of capital as are not guilty of monopolistic encroachments. So far so good; but at this point the paradox appears. Combinations of capital have to defend their existence, to prove the “ reasonableness ” of their objects and prac- tices. They expect nothing more than the admission of their legitimacy. They do not, even in _ their dreams, demand official recognition, warm approval and laudation. Labor, on the other hand, is not satisfied with the recognition of the legitimacy of its or- ganizations. It expects the moral approval of govern- ment. It acts as if there were something hallowed, sa- ered and highly altruistic about trades unions. It asks signal official demonstrations in favor of such unions. It expects the President, governors and mayors to pat- ronize and sanction union labor by accepting cards of membership from unions. It expects discrimination against non-union labor on the part of cities and States. Where, pray, is the reason or rhyme in all this? Union workmen choose to combine for self-protection, as they have a right to do, while non-unionists do not care to combine, thinking combination either useless or unde- sirable. Are the latter guilty of any offense? Do they deserve reproach and criticism for their attitude? Have they not as good a right to compete as the unionists have to combine? Have they not equal rights to liberty and labor? The unionists never think of these questions, and imagine that they are invested with a peculiar and solemn moral importance. This is a strange paradox in these days of anti-combination agitation. — John Mitchell, national president of the United Mine Workers, says that all organized coal miners in the coun- try will demand a substantial advance in wages at the expiration of the present scale. The amount to be asked has not yet been decided upon, but Mr. Mitchell says it will not be unreasonable. A Havana dispatch says that Federico Kohley, repre- senting an English syndicate, has purchased 30 square miles of land in the Province of Pinar del Rio, contain- ing valuable iron mines. 4 THE IRON The Sao Paulo Hydraulic Plant. Twelve civil and electrical engineers sailed for Brazil last week under the direction of Hugh L. Cooper. They will disembark at Rio Janeiro and will then travel in- land to the city of Sao Paulo, where they will commence the tremendous undertaking of damming the Tiete River, 23 miles above the city, to obtain power for the operation of an electric plant. This plant will operate a street railway and electric lighting plant for the Sao Paulo Railway, Lighting & Power Company, Limited. This company were incorporated under the laws of Canada with $5,000,000 capital, which is controlled by capitalists in this country and Canada. Col. G. B. M. Harvey and Frederick S. Pearson of New York are largely interested in the project. The men backing the enterprise constitute the so-called Pear- son-McKenzie syndicate. William McKenzie, president of the Toronto Street Railway Company, is temporary president of the Sao Paulo Company. Frederick S. Pear- son, consulting engineer of the Metropolitan Street Rail- way Company. is engaged in a similar capacity in the Sao Paulo Company. He has just returned from Sao Paulo, where, in company with R. C. Brown, former chief engineer of the Metropolitan Street Railway Com- pany and now general manager of the Sao Paulo project, he has been inspecting the ground, preparatory to the beginning of operations. B. F. Pearson of Halifax is also interested. The power is to be derived from Parnayba Falls on the Tiete River. In the report of C. P. Folsom, hydraulic engineer, he states: “I found a cross section of 1690 square feet with a mean velocity of 166 feet per minute, which would equal 280,540 cubic feet per minute flow- ing in the stream. This quantity of water would pro- duce 425 net horse-power per foot fall, taking 80 per cent. as efficiency in all the turbines, or if 60 feet fall is obtained the total horse-power would be 25,500.” Ow- ing to the fact that these measurements were taken dur- ing the rainy season allowances were made which brought the total horse-power possible of being obtained to 18,180. Mr. Folsom further states that the entire fall is about 114 miles long and is in a series of rapids, there being no abrupt falls. Chief Engineer Pearson in his report states that the company will require but from 11,000 to 18,000 horse- power for the operation of their plants. Plans have been completed for the entire hydraulic power plant and the franchises for lighting the city and operating an electric railway have been granted. The route of the railway system covers the entire city and the work of building it has begun. Before the ad- vent of the Pearson-McKenzie syndicate the city could boast of but an antediluvian mule railway. Coal in Sao Paulo sells for $10 per ton and wood is equally costly. As a consequence the price of gas and electric lighting is high and none of the city lighting is yet done by elec tricity. Five thousand commercial incandescent lamps are, however, supplied from the present station. A temporary steam power station is now in opera- tion by the Pearson-McKenzie syndicate. It consists of two 225 kw. General Electric generators for direct connection with the Robb Engineering Company’s en- zines, and the steam is supplied by Cahall boilers. About 10 miles of track has been laid and 15 Brill cars of the Broadway type are in operation. The track material was furnished by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. This road is being extended to 35 miles of track. The method of track construction adopted by the company includes the standard 7-inch girder rail, weighing 90 pounds per yard. The rails are mounted on steel ties spaced every 10 feet. The ties are set in concrete, the latter being carried a distance of 4 11-16 inches below the base of the rail. The rails are connected with the ties by clips and are bonded to them, making a cross connection. The joints are also bonded by the Anderson West End bond. The guard rail weighs 110 pounds per yard and the T- rail for suburban service 62 pounds. The Riter-Conley Mfg. Company of Pittsburgh were last week awarded the contract for the steel structure of the power house. They also were recently awarded the contract for 1000 tons of steel riveted conduits, which are to extend for 25 miles from the dam to the hydraulic plant. Each conduit will be 3000 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, the steel ranging from % to \% inch in thickness. The turbines to be used have been pur- chased from the Stillwell, Bierce-Smith, Vaile Company of Dayton, Ohio. at a cost of $500,000. The Garvin Machine Company of Spring and Varick streets, New York, and Manning, Maxwell & Moore of New York were awarded contracts for machine tools to be used in the machine shop to be operated in connection with the plant. Nearly all of the material required in this work will be purchased in this country. - _ — The old Ah! iron mines along the Potomac River, near Barberton, Jefferson County, W. Va., which have been AGE. October 5, 1899 worked as far back as 1776. are again being operated after a lapse of many years. A. G. Lewis of Sandy Hook, Md., has charge of the operations. About 700 tons of ore are being taken out monthly and shipped to Dun- bar, Pa. => The Sturtevant Exhaust Head. One of the important features of a modern steam plant is an exhaust steam pipe head. To be effeciive it must theroughly separate the water from the steam, and there- by prevent the constant spraying of roofs and walls, with consequent deterioration and expensive repairs. In the form of exhaust head built by the B. F. Sturtevant Com- pany, Boston, Mass., and illustrated herewith, the prin- ciple of centrifugal force is utilized to secure complete separation. Dry exhaust steam weighs only 0.038 pound per cubic foot, while water of the same temperature weighs 59.36 pounds per cubie foot. It is therefore evi- dent that inasmuch as centrifugal force is proportional to the weights of the bodies in motion, the water will be thrown outward with — or 1562 times the force ex- ov erted upon the steam. In this head the steam passes up the interior pipes, is discharged tangentially close to the shell, and is thereby given a vigorous whirling motion. The entrained water—likewise the oil—flies outward, strikes the cool side, and trickles down to the outlet at the bottom. The steam, now perfectly dry, finds ready THE STURTEVANT EXHAUST HEAD. escape through the central opening above. These heads are built in sizes to fit pipes from 1 inch to 20 inches. All sizes above 10 inches are flanged instead of tapped. se ee The American Nickeloid Company. A new sheet metal is now being manufactured in this country by the American Nickeloid Company, Peru, IIL, and is being placed on the market under the trade-mark name of Nickeloid. It has for some time been in use in Europe. The company have within the past year located their factory at Peru, Ill., so as to be in close proximity to the manufacturers of sheet zine. Nickeloid is a sheet metal produced by nickelizing zinc, combining sheet zinc with pure nickel by a special process which transforms the base metal and produces an article of greater tensile strength. This new alloy is particularly noted for its luminous brightness and permanent luster and possesses advantages over sheet brass or copper for an endless va- riety of purposes. The metal is not simply nickel-plated sheet zinc, but is such a union of zine and nickel that the sheets can be stamped or bent to the sharpest turns without breaking or any injury to the finish. This great- ly enhances its value to manufacturers of sheet metal goods, as many articles can at one process be made from Nickeloid, the edge produced in cutting being the same as the surface of the metal, thus rendering unnecessary the additional costly process of plating which is required with sheet brass or copper. The metal is claimed to be absolutely non-corrosive, and neither oxidizes nor tar- nishes. It is furnished in sheets of the usual zinc sizes and gauges. It is offered by the company for use in making reflectors, linings for refrigerators, trays of all kinds, showcases, advertising signs, name plates, orna- ments and an endless variety of trimmings and small goods for whieh a bright and tough metal is required. Being produced from zinc with a small percentage of nickel, it can be sold very much cheaper than sheet brass or copper. It has been used with success in the manu- facture of wash boards and stove boards. 7) . n d y t c » October 5, 1099 The Abner Acetylene Generator. Henry Giessel & Co., 48 Franklin street, Chicago, have brought out the Abner acetylene generator. It works on he principle of plunging the carbide instantly beneath the surface of the water, so that the action is uniform and complete, the decomposition of a given quantity of earbide taking place without any intermitting action. The completeness of its arrangement is shown by the fact that the exact number of pounds of carbide con tained in the generator can be ascertained at any time without opening the generator, while the number of ubic feet of gas is seen at a glance. The generator can be replenished when a part of the carbide has been used without wasting the unused carbide contained therein. It uses carbide in all conditions, whether lump or dust, ind the claim is made that the perfect decomposition se- ured prevents the production of by-products, such as oal tar, ammonia, paraffine, &¢c., which are sometimes the annoying accompaniments of acetylene generation. is stated that the construction is such the generator cannot be overcharged; no gas is generated after the lights are turned out; there are no gas valves and there- fore no mistakes’ can occur by their wrong use; and all heat is eliminated in the production of gas. In the accompanying drawing A represents the gas holder, B the water tank, C the pipe from the generator, the drip chamber. G the gate to draw off the residuum, H the generator cells, I the carbide cups in position, S a cup enlarged, K the automatic seal with its guide L, E the service pipe, and N the generator cover. ‘rom a report on a test of this generator made by the Underwriters’ Bureau of Fire Protection Engineering, rat } O re ag : a IT ; ee — j ——— T i] ¢ stu 4 } + Al Kr - ~— 4 Ad i ’ { ( ee | } | } 12 5 | Be Mi HH 1} Y +} —R | ray G 0 THE ABNER ACETYLENE GENERATOR. Chicago, approving its use, the following description of the apparatus is taken: The machine is of the drop type. The carbide cups shown in position at I and enlarged at S) and charges bave been properly proportioned to reduce sudden pres- sure where dust is used. A vertical feed shaft is pro- V ided in the generator and arranged to obviate the use of a stuffing box. The revolving cover has been arranged so that it can be replaced but in one position, thus reduc- ing the liability of missing any of the charges. Under the gas holder is a condensing chamber for removing the inoisture from the piping automatically, without the use of valves. The generating chamber of the 10-light machine is cylindrical, 19 inches in diameter, and contains a series of vertical wells or pockets arranged in a circle about 16 nehes in diameter and concentric with the outer. gen- ‘rator shell. A water seal chamber 114 inches wide is thus provided between the outer shell and band which supports the wells. These wells are about 11 inches long ind extend down into the water about 6 inches. The car- ide charges of % pound each are contained in small ylindrical cups 4 inches high by 2 inches in diameter, which are supported in the wells by small catches or ‘riggers, J. These catches are tipped successively by a ‘ug, Q, fastened to a central chamber attached to the re- olving cover. The lip of the cover is submerged in ‘he outer seal chamber, and the entire seal cover ‘ revolved by a central vertical shaft which passes ip from the bottom through a sleeve and engages with socket in the top of the cover. This obviates the use of any stuffing box, and a specially constructed trap on the seal cover obviates the necessity of a valve in removing ‘he cover. The gas holder A for this size is 39 inches Ligh over all by 23% inches diameter, constructed of gal- THE IRON AGE. 5 vanized iron. The bell is 25! inches high by 22% inches in diameter and is” provided with center guide and automatic blow off iuving exhaust holes Y inches above the lower edge of bell. The con- densation chamber is located under the gas _ holder and is provided with drip connections from the inlet and service pipes and also from the blow-off for removing moisture. Automatic overflow is provided on the side and all gas valves opening into the room are obviated. The feed mechanism is located between the generator and holder, inclosed by removable panels. The feed is controlled by the vertical rod attached to bell and which rotates the generator cover by means of suitable ratchet and miter gears under the generator. The gas pressure under the cover tends to remove the weight from the gears and reduces friction. The tap G on the side is pro vided to remove the residuum, and the gravity drop pre vents accidental opening. Back flow of gas from holdet when generater is opened is prevented by a small wate seal on the gas cennection. This generator is made in five sizes, to operate from 10 to 50 lights. ae — Case Hardening. John Buekley has presented at the last convention of the National Railroad Master Blacksmiths’ Association the following paper: The process of case hardening bas not changed ma terially for the past few years. The principal materials used remain the same: Granulated rawbone, hydro-car- honated bone black, blnck oxide of magnesia, sal soda. ‘harecoal and salt. These materials are commonly used in railroad shops and give much satisfaction if they are carefully and properly handled. For pins and bushings, and such light work as is re quired for immediate use, we use the New York Spe- cialty case hardening powder; this we found to be zreatly superior to potash. The work which is to be hardened can be packed in cust or wrought iron boxes, sealing with fire clay or mud, so as to prevent the gases from escaping as much as possible. The pieces to be hardened should be placed about 2 inches apart in the box. The vacant spaces are well filled and packed with the material you are using for case hardening purposes. Should your box be sup- plied with heavy work, as crank pins, guides, &¢., 15 to 20 hours of steady heat is necessary in order to secure best results. If, on the other hand, you have light pieces, as links, link blocks and pins, eight to ten hours will be sufficient to subject them to a good heat. his class of work we place in the furnace about 8 o’elock in the morning and heat it all day. At night we close up the furnace, letting the box remain over night and remove next morning. Reheat this work and cool in cold water. We have secured good results using gran- ulated rawbone. If using hydro-carbonated bone black pack the pieces in a box and seal as before. Furnaces for case hardening should be so constructed that the boxes will not have to be raised or lowered while being put into or taken from the furnace. The heating space is near the ground. The fire box and ash pan are below the surface. This refers to a furnace heated with soft coal. If the furnace is outside of a building, a stack or chimney, about 16 feet high, will furnish draft enough to heat the boxes without aid of a blast. Case harden- ing furnaces which are heated with fuel oil are of a very different construction, the boxes being generally heated from the top; with coal, in most cases, it is from the bot- tom. The cooling tub is arranged so as to admit cold water from the end near the bottom, the cold stream thus running lengthwise along the bottom of the tub. This cold stream forces the hot water to flow over the top of the tub. When cooling guides or long pieces, strips or bars of iron should be laid in the bottom of the tub, in order to keep the work about 2 or 3 inches from the bottom of the tub; in this way the cold stream flows under the work which is being cooled. ET nse The exports of manufactured products from the United States,in August surpassed all previous records, except that of March, 1899, when the value of such ex- ports was $36,025,733. The value of the August exports was $34,158,777, as against $29,932,034 in Jyly, 1899, and $25,805,485 in August, 1898. The figures of the first eight months of the calendar year, ending with August 31, 1899, show a total of $246,228.916, as compared with $201,444,606 for the corresponding period of 1898. If the average is kept up in the remaining months of this year, the manufacturing exports of 1899 will reach the total value of $3870,000,000, or $62.000.000 in excess of 1898. The greatest gain in August, 1899, over 1898 is shown in agricultural implements, copper, cotton cloth, steel wire, hardware, metal working machinery, pumps, iron pipes and fittings, and miscellaneous machinery. 6 THE IR Archer Brown on the Outlook. Archer Brown of Rogers, Brown & Co., New York, has contributed to thy urrent issue of the Engineering Mi zine an article entitled * The Outlook in American lron Industry,” in which he reviews the recent history of the industry and deals with the question * Will it last ?”’ saving Frankly, it must be admitted no man knows. It is not given to mortals to unlock the future. War, famine, pestilence, Bryanisi may intervene and upset all cal culations. But the wise man faces the facts as they are before him, and builds his judgment on these, discarding op sii, pessimism, preconceived theories, and even tradition. There were never better settled or apparently sounder commercial traditions in the past than that $1 Wheat, 10 cent cotton and $10 pig iron (at Birmingham) great staples; but we be came familiar with values scarcely more than half these, and men lived and prospere ad marked the bottom limits in The simplest and largest fact in the present situation is a demand greater than the supply. What makes the demand? What limits the supply? The demand is great because seventy millions of people have pinched and economized for six or eight years, and are now quite able to buy, and what is of more consequence, are in a mood to buy. They have made the old stove answer, worn out the harvester and threshing machine, post- poned the building of the county bridge, got along with the old stationary engine or lathe, put off the purchase of needed rolling stock for the railroad, hesitated to try conclusions with England in the building of ships, and generally have waited for the return of what is known as *‘ good times.” Now they want to replenish, from the sad-iron to the locomotive. Will they stop because prices advance’? No, they will not. Here enters the ele ment of human nature. Confidence breeds confidence. Distrust feeds on itself. Two years ago the great rail- roads of the United States could have renewed much needed equipment at about half the cost that to-day they do not hesitate to pay. Did they doit? It is notorious that the richest hesitated most. An amusing illustration is the case of a master mechanic of a great road whose requisitions underwent the usual cutting in two in the middle when they reached the management. Among the track and shop supplies needed was a large belt for an engine. When it came it had suffered the usual pruning, and was just half long enough to reach. The writer will not soon forget an effort, in the summer of 1897, to find a buyer in New York for 100,000 tons of Alabama pig iron which a large interest was willing to close out at $6 a gross ton, duly stored in a warrant yard—a price un- precedented in the history of the world. Not one of the great banking houses of capitalists dare face the perils connected with such a proposition, though money was ruling at 3 per cent., and nearly free storage on the ma terial Was guaranteed. To-day almost any bank in New York would lend $15 a ton on it, and searcely ask a questio1 Buying, therefore, will not stop because prices are up. The railroads must have enormous additions to equipment, or lose the great harvest of,profitable traffic. The millions of farmers will buy their agricultural ma- chinery, stoves, carriages, and pianos because crops have been good for three years, fetch good prices, the gages are paid off, and there is money in bank. Electrical equipment will not stop while street railways and lighting companies make large earnings merely be- eause dynamos and rails are dearer. Cities and towns will put in needed water and gas pipe without much re- gard to whether the cost is $18 or $28 a ton. It is perfectly true that some new enterprises, that } otherwise would take shape. are deferred because cost is found to exceed engineers’ estimates. But this builds reserve demand that will come in to support the mar- ket in the future. In high steel buildings, in large cities, for example, tl ere is a distinct limit to prices that may t paid for materials without bringing the cost to a point beyond earning ability. The merchant marine can- not be built up as rapidly from American shipyards on S28 steel as on $16 steel. But these are but eddies in the main current. The real factor in lowering prices will be increased production, not diminished demand. How fast can the output of the furnaces be increased? I say not over 15 to 18 per cent. per annum. There was incredulity in as high quarters as Mr. Swank, secretary of the American Iron & Steel Association, when this prediction was made early in the year. For were there not a couple of hun- dred idle blast furnaces in the country ready to blow in the moment profitable prices were reached? Would American capital or energy hesitate where the reward Was so greal The easy theory, therefore, that production can be turned on, as from a faucet, when profits are high, does IN AGE. O