The Iron Age 1901-08-29: Vol 68 Iss 9

~ > Dl a4eee86% 2 ‘THE IRON AGE Tuurspay, Aucusr 29, 1901. The Verett Four-Cylinder Engine. An engine of peculiar type has been designed by the Verett Engine Company of Little Rock, Ark. It is described by the maker as having no valve connections, no connecting rods, no straps, brasses or keys, no bed plate and no dead centers. The four cylinders, two high pressure and two low pressure, are arranged at equal distances around a common shaft formed with the necessary steam passages. The pistons are connected to yoke frames disposed at right angles to each other. By means of eccentrics the reciprocating motion of the yoke frames is changed to a rotary motion, which is transmitted to the shaft to which the cylinders are Db, F. The yoke frames consist of outwardly curved side bars connected by cross bars, which bear against the opposite sides of the eccentric M, loosely mounted on the shaft B and connected by rods to a segment rack by which it is turned, as shown in Fig. 4. The eccentric is wide enough to provide a bearing for the two yoke frames, which are at right angles to each other. The central portion of the shaft is enlarged and formed with steam passages, this enlarged part being conical at each end to receive the steam chests. The steam passages, Fig. 3, extend from the several cylin- ders along the shaft in opposite directions and open out at the conical parts. The steam chests fit the conical parts of the shaft and are supported by arms adjusta- THE secured. The principle upon which the engine is de- signed will be understood from the sketches, Figs. 3 and 4, which are taken from the latest patent issued to the company. The cylinders C, D, E and F are mounted upon the central portion of the shaft B, being arranged tandem fashion in pairs. The cylinders C and D are high pres- sure, the others being low pressure. The piston rods are connected to cross heads sliding upon the guide bars G, secured upon opposite sides of the cylinders and disposed in parallel pairs. The ends of the guide bars are secured to a circular rim, which practically form a fly wheel, with the guide bars as the spokes and the cylinders and shaft as the hub. The cross head projects beyond the slides, and to their ends are at- tached the yoke frames K, L, the frame K being con- nected to the pistons of the cylinders C, FE, while the frame L is connected to the pistons of the cylinders VERETT FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE. bly secured to the frame by set screws. This construc- tion is provided to take up wear. Each steam chest is formed with a partition forming a steam chambery, exhaust chamber and an intermediate chamber, com- munication between the steam and _ intermediate chambers being furnished by a valve. The steam sup- ply chamber only communicates with the parts which lead to the high pressure cylinders when the valve is closed. These cylinders exhaust into the intermediate chambers; the steam then passes to the low pressure cylinders and then to the exhaust chamber. By open- ing the valve live steam is admitted directly to the low pressure cylinders. Since the yoke frames are in contact with the ec- centries carried by the shaft, their longitudinal move- ment, due to the action of the piston, will serve to swing the frames around the eccentric, carrying the cylinders and shaft with them. This effect is produced only dur- Sa a inal i i - eee > 2 er URS henge er optinrane meet ¥ a ~ 2 THE IRON AGE. ing a small portion of the rotation of a single frame, but as the two frames operate alternately, a constant rotation is maintained without any dead center. The position of the eccentric is such, with relation to the chambers in the steam chest and corresponding location of the cylinders, that the yoke frames will be in proper position to swing around the eccentric upon receiving a stroke from the pistons to which they are connected. It will be noted that during each revolution of a yoke frame its longitudinal center is first at one side of the eccentric and then at the other, and that therefore dur- ing each revolution of a frame two impulses are given to it, one by a high pressure and the other by a low pressure cylinder. This engine is made in sizes from 1 to 10 horse-power. lilliken Brothers, Incorporated. Simultaneously with the filing of incorporation papers by Milliken Brothers, Incorporated, comes the news that August 29, 1901 selecting, as these manufacturers have done, a point im- mediately accessible to the great New York market, yet at the same time on a highway of foreign commerce, they have evidently had in mind the growing impor tance of their foreign trade, which already amounts to several million dollars annually, and in moving out of town they are at the same time following the general tendency of manufacturers in their line which has late- ly become so marked. As evidence of the importance to American manufac- turers, and to this company in particular, of foreign or export trade, it is significant that this firm have found it necessary to establish their own offices in charge of their resident engineers in Honolulu, Mexico, Havana, Cape Town, London, Sydney, and in this country in San Francisco as well, having representatives or engi- neers in Cape Town, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Christiania, Manila, and in the Far East, although these points by no means represent all the territory to which their prod- ucts are constantly being sent. THE tRON Ac! Fig. 2.—End View. THE VERETT FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE. the Riparian Commission of the State of New Jersey have granted to Milliken Brothers the right to a large tract of land under water. The property is located at the intersection of the Rahway River and Staten Island Sound, and will give the owners some 2000 feet of bulk- head, having 21 feet of water at low tide, and, as the papers show, the State lines run to and are coincident with the lines adopted by the War Department a few weeks since, upon the application of the grantees. This property is below the Nixon Ship Building Yards and the new car works of the John Stephenson Company. Milliken Bros. have been engaged in the iron and steel business for nearly 50 years, having been estab- lished in 1857. Their manufactures comprise in particu- lar all classes of structural and ornamental steel and iron work for buildings and bridges. Their present shops are located on tidewater in Brooklyn, and while impossible to obtain precise information covering the reasons for the loss of this large industry to Brooklyn, it 1s understood that among them are to be found the need for greatly increased room and _ the natural desire to escape rent and the ever in- creasing city taxes and municipal restrictions. In An examination of the tract in question shows it to be admirably adapted for the purpose intended, it being a corner lot, two sides of which afford berth room for lighters and ocean steamers of draft up to 21 feet. The tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey run through the property on the northwest. The bridge and structural plant when completed will be one of the largest and best equipped of its kind in this country, containing two complete bridge shops for turning out the very heaviest classes of railroad bridge work, and will be as complete as money can make it. In addition, other shops will be erected for turning out material for buildings, the whole representing an annual output of between 100,000 and 120,000 tons of steel work, and giving employment to over 2000 men. Immediately adjoining this new plant, Milliken Bros. are now erecting, for the American-McKenna Process Company, a rolling mill for rerolling steel rails. —_— Natice of the approach of the Cunard steamer “ Lu- cania,” which arrived in New York recently, was received by the Marconi system of wireless telegraphy when the vessel was still about 70 miles off Nantucket. a Bd ll re ut al k, ‘as hy August 29, 1901 THE IRON AGE. German Imports and Exports of Iron. The activity of German manufacturers and exporters is illustrated by some figures regarding the imports of pig iron into Germany and the exports of iron and steel manufactures, which have just reached the Treasury Bureau of Statistics. They show that the importations of pig iron increased from 462,000 tons in 1897 to 830,000 in 1900, and those of rough ironware from 43,000 tons in 1897 to 73,000 tons in 1900; while the exports of iron and ironware increased during the same period from $82,000,000 value to $118,000,000; machines, from $30,- 000,000 to $45,000,000; rolling stock and ships (not wood), from $3,000,000 to $9,000,000, making a total increase in these three items of iron and ironware, machines, and rolling stock and ships, from $114,000,000 to $172,000,000 in a period of three years. Exportations of machines, chiefly of cast iron, increased from 118,100 tons in 1897 to 167,000 tons in 1900; those of wrought iron from 22,000 to 38,500 tons; boilers, from 4400 to 5400 tons; carding machines and accessories, from 270 to 500 tons; while locomotives and locomobiles fell from 13,200 to 12,300 tons. On the other hand, imports have also grown: those THE IRON ACE 7 Fig. 3.—Sectional Plan. 3 and pipes (rolled and forged) from 22,300 to 20,300 tons. Exports, however, increased; bridges and parts thereof, from 6300 to 9000 tons; rough wrought iron parts of ma- chines, from 1900 to 2970 tons; railway wagon axles and wheels, &c., from 41,000 to 47,000 tons, and tubes and pipes (rolled and forged), from 32,000 to 40,000 tons.- In fine cast iron and wrought iron goods the exportation rose from 23,600 to 30,300 tons, especially in sewing machines without stands and in needles and in parts of clocks and watches. The exportations of machines have steadily risen, in spite of increased competition in the world’s markets—namely, from 167,000 tons in 1897 to 235,000 tons in 1900. The importation in the latter year was nearly 100,000 tons, valued at about $19,- 000,000; it was $17,000,000 for 70,000 tons four years ago, —_— - The American Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland have closed additional contracts which insure a larger tonnage than was ever before ordered on the Great Lakes in one season, and 1901-1902 will be the banner year in the history of the company. An order for five ——— 3 Tue IRON AGE Fig. 4.—Side Elevation. THE VERETT FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE. of iron and ironware increased from $17,000,000 in 1897 to $30,000,000 in 1900; machines, from $10,000,000 to $19,000,000; machines, chiefly of cast iron, increased from 51,500 tons to 69,400 tons; those of wrought iron, from 6600 tens to 15,300, and those of wood, from 3900 to 4500 tons; while locomotives and locomobiles in- creased from 3440 to 4300 tons, and sewing machines from 3030 to 4200 tons. The importation of pig iron was chiefly from the United Kingdom, being, in 1899, 670,000 tons from the United Kingdom and 30,900 from the United States. The growth from 1897 to 1899 was chiefly in that imported from the United Kingdom, the increase from that coun- try being 140,000 tons, while from the United States it was only a little more than 1000 tons. " The great increase of importations of tin plates in 1899 has receded, and the exportation is much larger than in former years. The imports amounted to 11,600 tons in 1897, to 10,900 tons in 1898, to 23,800 tons in 1899, and to 18,200 tons in 1900. The imports of mal- leable iron (iron or steel, rolled or cast), in bars, tires, plowshares, &c., increased from 29,500 tons in 1897 to 37,800 tons in 1900. The exports of these articles have decreased from 247,000 tons in 1897 to 173,000 tons in 1900. In the years 1897 and 1900 rough iron figured for imports at 4800 and 7400 tons, and for exports at 107,000 and 94,000 tons respectively. In the very rough iron- ware the imports have dropped, rough cast iron goods from 25,600 tons in 1899 to 21,600 tons in 1900, and tubes steel steamers to cost about $1,500,000 was placed last week by the newly organized National Transportation Company, but the shipbuilding company were unable to guarantee the delivery by April, 1902, of five boats, and a deal was made for the purchase of the three 4800-ton steamers building for the Mutual Steamship Company, who through the death of one of the leading stockhold- ers have decided to go out of business and sell the boats. One of the boats will be lengthened 24 feet, which will make her a 5200-ton ship. The two boats which will be built will have a capacity of 5500 tons and 6200 tons each. The two iargest boats will be about the same size as those ordered by the Hawgoods and described in the last issue of The Iron Age. They will have triple expansion engines, and will be fitted with the Hamden hot air system. This order makes 23 vessels that the American Shipbuilding Company have under contract, and as there is no more room at the shipyards it is likely that no more contracts will be closed this season. The Kirk-Latty Mfg. Company of Cleveland, manu- facturers of stove bolts, tire bolts and similar lines, are letting contracts for an extensive addition to their plant, which will give them 375 x 50 feet additional floor space. The company have orders on their books which will keep them busy for many weeks in advance. The company have recently brought out a new catalogue describing their various products and giving exhaustive data regarding the line. American Commercial Supremacy. BY EGBERT P. WATSON, ELIZABETH, N. J. The very heavy capitalizations of various industries in this country recently have attracted attention both at home and abroad, not only for their scope and large number, but also by the manifest intention of the operators to control certain lines of manufactures. It is natural that this should excite alarm, abroad espe- cially, where vested interests are very large in the ag- gregate, and that serious consideration of the best means to retain trade should occupy the attention of foreign manufacturers. Technical and financial jour- nals are discussing the subject from their standpoints, and it is proposed to send deputations of artisans, skilled in their several callings, to this country to ex- amine into our methods in order that they may dis- cover, if possible, how it is that we are able to turn out so much more work in a given time with a given plant than foreign manufacturers are able to; but it is evident to even a superficial observer that none of these measures will meet the emergency. For many years last past American workshop systems have been fully discussed and illustrated in the columns of The Iron Age, not only those in general use, but valuable propositions as well, and the same is true of publications in other lines of trade. As for deputations, they began with the first Paris Exposition, and have descended upon our shores from all countries where manyfacturing is carried on to any extent, without benefit to them or injury to us. Deputations are like prophets in one respect, without honor. They are the minority, and when they return the majority of their countrymen deny the possibility of the things that they allege they saw done, and go on in the old way. This is the natural order. It is not to be ex- pected that 50 men can alter the practice of years by visiting other countries and telling what they saw there. If the renaissance of foreign trade depends upon deputations, or even private commissioners, it will be a long time in maturing. In addition to the visiting craftsmen of other countries, their own manufacturers have come here, and not only inspected our systems thoroughly, but have purchased complete outfits of American tools, which they installed in their own shops, and were then unable to turn out the same amount of work of the same quality in a given time. If these assertions are correct, then it is apparent that Europeans generally do not comprehend the whole situation, or at all realize that the question is far more complicated in all its aspects than they imagine it to be. It is not a proposition which is based upon tools, plants, systems, or even natural resources and untiring energy. The way of living is also connected with it, and it is this which delays, perhaps baffles is a better word, a satisfactory solution of the problem. It is not merely industrial, but politico-social as well. The liberty of the subject is a factor in the equation; with it omitted there can be no serious opposition to American progress everywhere. The conditions of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ” are so vastly different in Europe and Amer- ica that they cannot be ignored when commercial su- premacy is discussed. No ways and means, retaliatory tariffs, or adoption of American tools will be of any avail. The balance of trade will always be in our favor so long as we maintain the integrity of our institutions. I have said that the ways of living are different abroad. To illustrate my meaning, suppose an Ameri- can works transported bodily to England (as a country where practically the same language is spoken) ih a night, the men leaving off work in this country and beginning again the next morning in England under English shop rules and working hours. How would the output compare with the day previous in America? I am free to assert that it would be much less, not merely from the unfamiliarity with English ways, but from the brake that would be put on by English methods. THE IRON AGE. August 29, 1901 The Working Hours, The working hours are cut into segments, and the speed of production regulated by that of the slowest mule in the team; if Hodge can turn only so many feet of shafting per hour, no other man must turn any more. That restriction would of itself throw everything out of gear so far as an American workman was concerned. Another one is that English shops commence work at 6 a.m., stopping at 8 for breakfast, beginning again at 9. That is to say, at the very time—the early hours— when the men are at their best, most alert and capable, they cease work. The machine tools stop. That is a condition of things which would not be tolerated one moment in an American shop; but it is the custom, and therefore sacred in England. There is no reason what- ever for the loss to the firm, because, although the same number of hours nominally may be worked weekly, there is loss by reason of the interval transpiring be- tween stopping and starting in full work again. There is at least five minutes lost on each machine tool, and much more than this with fitters and erectors, who have an inordinate amount of gossip to exchange upon what shreds and patches of happenings they may have picked up during the breakfast hour. A workshop is not a penal institution, and it is impossible for an overseer to be behind every man to find out what he is talking about. Suppose a force of 300 men only, and 100 ma- chine tools; under the conditions named the unpro- ductive time would be 33 hours per working day, or nearly 20 working days in the whole week. This is a long price to pay for the interruption of the working hours, and must be directly charged to that custom. Were it not for it the men would keep on working and their attention would be confined to their jobs instead of being diverted from them. When the machine tools stop in an American works, even to lace the main belt, which may have parted, it is regarded as a serious matter. Most foreign observers admit that American shops turn out more work per capita than their own, and they try to account for it by the assertion that our men are driven as a collie drives sheep. We certainly work harder, but we are compelled to by the foremen, who occupy much the same position that the keeper in a State prison does, sitting upon a high stool where he can see all that goes on and admonishing laggards severely. It is hardly necessary to say that this is an erroneous conception; there is no coercion or intimida- tion of any sort in American shops, but the work pro- ceeds because the foremen and others over him plan the series of operations before it is undertaken. Quite the contrary obtains in England, where, if a ‘ Consult- ing Engineer” writing in Engineering is correct, the men take what they like to do the best upon any given machine, work a little while upon it, get tired of it, then throw it aside for something else. The writer mentioned says that he found he could not make any money by this way of working, and therefore abandoned it for American methods pure and simple, since which time he has gone ahead rapidly. It is not only in the shop that delays are encountered, but in the counting room as well. It is of little use to adopt better systems in foreign workshops if the ancient and honorable practices that have been handed down from time out of mind are still kept in force. To abandon these, however, would shake the very founda- tions of" precedent, the worship of which goes on cease- lessly. Certain things cannot be done because they never have been done; certain other things must be done because they always have been done. Selah! Now the via precedent is a long road, and tiresome withal, so in this country we simply cut across lots and get to the terminus quicker. We do not care what man has done in the past, but are more concerned with what he is going to do now, and how soon. Business Methods. Furthermore, when an American has business with an American firm, he goes to their place, finds out who has charge of the line he is interested in, and trans- acts his business there and then; but if he goes to Eng- land and attempts the same course, he will find that he August 29, 1901 THE IRON AGE. 5 has much to learn. “ Other lands, other customs,” and no suinmary proceedings are tolerated. Foreign busi- ness houses require that visiting foreigners shall be duly accredited before they even get a hearing; as for having persons walking in upon them, wearing un- orthodox hats and coats, flourishing cards and demand- ing prices and terms on the spot, such practices are subversive and cannot be permitted. They must be identified through regular channels before they will be recognized as having any rights whatever. If by force of arms or strategy an enterprising American should force his way into the office of a foreign general man- ager, his reception would be like unto that of Patroclus’s when he interviewed Thersites (“ Troilus and Cressida,” Act IIL), to wit: Patroclus: “I come from the worthy Achilles.” Thersites: “ Ha!” Patroclus: “‘ Who most humbly desires you to invite Hector to his tent.’ Thersites: “Hum!” Patroclus: “And to procure safe conduct from Agamemnon.” Thersites: ‘“‘ Agamemnon! ” Patroclus: “ Ay, my lord.” Thersites: “‘ Ha!” It must be admitted that this line of conversation is calculated to depress visiting Americans (perhaps it is the intention of it), but it just as surely defeats the object of keeping an office open, which is supposed to be for the convenience of persons having business with a firm, not to interpose obstacles to it. Here we listen to all comers first, regardless of their ancestry, and find out subsequently whether we want further relations, which seems to be commendable upon the score of courtesy at least. It takes too much time to do business by the methods cited, and time means money the world over. Thus far I have arranged certain business methods pure and simple, but have asserted in previous lines that American supremacy, as shown by our recent com- mercial development, is both political and social, by which I mean the relative advantages enjoyed by citi- zens of this country as compared with other countries under different auspices. That these are factors can- not be denied, and very important ones in the struggle for first place. The Social Status, It makes no difference in this country what a man’s business is, provided that it is lawful, his social status is assured, and all his rights under it are protected. The humblest citizen can summon the greatest citizen for overt acts with the certainty of protection if his cause is just. Is this the case in foreign countries? Is there not such a thing as class legislation there, and are there not some hereditary rights and privileges accruing to persons of rank which commoners cannot command? Do not:class restrictions as effectually hamper men from realizing all their ambitions, as caste in India prevents universal intercourse? In foreign countries a certain nominal freedom of speech and a pseudo share in the government is conceded in certain branches of it, but the actual administration is based upon what some hereditary power thinks is best for the people, by no means what the people think would be best them- selves. Abroad a certain number of law makers say what the people shall have, but here 14,000,000 of voting law makers say what they are going to have, and they have it. The effect of American institutions, manners and customs wholly changes those of foreigners in a very short time after their arrival here. Some years ago labor was so scarce in the coal regions that the operators were forced to import large numbers of Hun- garian miners. When they reached here and had set up their domiciles, a hue and cry went forth at once on account of their habits. In the city of Scranton they were segregated, and not allowed outside of certain limits; but in a very short time, a few years only, the force of example, aided by some salutary ordinances, -convinced the fiery Huns that the American way was ithe best, and I am assured by those who know that the descendents of the once despised Hungarians are among the most desirable citizens. The same is true of emi- grants from all other countries who seek asylum among us; SO soon as they are able to comprehend our laws and institutions, and learn that liberty is not license, they adopt American ways and become part and parcel of the Republic. I have said previously that foreigners do not seem to comprehend this aspect of the question of commer- cial supremacy, and I have formed this opinion from reading the published views and speeches of their es- sayists and officials upon what they term “the Amer- ican invasion,” meaning our occupation of foreign mar- kets wherever we can do so with profit. In none of the utterances can I find other than the most optimistic views. They profess to feel that the strength of our position lies in financial combinations of great magni- tude, and consider that the best way to bring our schemes to naught will be to form syndicates of their own, with still larger capital, to exploit certain threat- ened branches of trade. They point to what they have done in the past, forgetting that the conditions were vastly different. Any people can be enterprising when they have no competition. Foreigners concede that in our microcosm we have done things which have com- manded admiration, and they intend to discount any advantages we possess in great energy and unlimited resources by waking up a little, as one of their essay- ists says, and resolving to do better in the future. In all this there is a note of despair, and in this connec- tion despair means that they feel that they have no defense which can be opposed to the conditions which exist without another form of government. 1 confess that I do not know how this change could be brought about, and therefore do not attempt to tell; but I feel quite certain that, given a government whose base rests upon freedom of speech, thought, action, liberty of the person, unchecked by bayonets in the foreground or in the background, there is nothing that can prevent it from reaching to the uttermost parts of the earth, outstripping other peoples without similar advantages. Men who are without a stake in the future of their country (beyond a sentimental one) are emas- culated, in comparison with the virility of those whose ventures comprise “ their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors.” That is practically the nature of the yentures represented by American commerce, for the men in it are, compared with other nations, a distinct race with its own methods of accomplishing certain ends. Unhampered by routine rule, unfettered by paralyzing precedents, they will possess the earth, be- cause their base is assured. This United States is a flexible, automatic autonomy, adapting itself to all conditions which may arise, meet- ing every exigency with serene confidence in its ability to overcome it by common sense legislation. Even if that shield and buckler of the State, the Supreme Court, should be abrogated, the people would still remain, and they are truly the court of last resort. They move slowly sometimes, but when they do move they accom- plish their purposes. Os ° eee The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company.—At the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, at Denver, J. J. Mitchell, James A. Blair, John Lambert and John W. Gates were elected directors, suc- ceeding E. Thalmann, Benjamin T. Cable, J. T. Kebler and H. R. Wolcott, whose terms of office had expired. The newly elected board organized by the election of the following officers: Chairman, J. C. Osgood; president, J. A. Kebler; first vice-president, A. C. Cass; second vice- president, Dennis Sullivan, and third vice-president, J. E. Heimerdinger. The new Board of Directors follows: Joseph E. Heimerdinger, New York; John L. Jerome, Denver, Col.; A. C. Cass, Denver, Col.; Dennis Sullivan, Denver, Col.; W. H. James, Denver, Col.; J. B. Grant, Denver, Col.; J. A. Kebler, Denver, Col.; D. C. Beaman, Denver, Col.; J. C. Osgood, Denver, Col.; James A. Blair, J. J. Mitchell, John Lambert and John W. Gates. The most important change in personnel of the Colorado Company is the retirement of Mr. Osgood from the 6 presidency to accept the chairmanship of the Board of Directors, J. A. Kebler, the new president, was for- merly vice-president and general manager. The new vice-president, J. E. Heimerdinger, has been an active director of the Colorado Company for some years. Si “are The Johns Shears and Punches. Henry Pels of 66 and 68 Broad street, New York, is introducing into this country the Johns shearing and THE IRON August 29, 1201 AGE. distance of two teeth. When the lever ) moves in the direction of y the knuckle slides loosely to the next tooth, the spring ce’ preventing any jumping. The result, there- fore, is that the working shaft a is operated in a jerky manner by the oscillating movement of the lever }, @ motion which is specially suitable for cutting and shear- ing tools of this class. In this simple manner power is transmitted from a shaft equipped with a fly wheel, run- ning at a speed of 500 revolutions, to a working shaft making 10 to 20 revolutions. A German authority Fiy. 1—The Johns Lever Driving Device. punching machines, which have been developed in Ger- many. The design is based upon a very interesting method of transmitting power from a rapidly revolving shaft, which stores power in a fly wheel, to the work “i wi Fig. 2.—The “ Schiffban,” quotes a number of data as to the capacity and weight of the machines which prove that the con- sumption of power is low, and that the weight and di- mensions are moderate considering the range of work, Johus Punch. THE JOHNS SHEARS AND PUNCHES. without the intervention of any gearing, with the at- tendant drawbacks. Fig. 1 illustrates the principle In- volved. The power shaft d, rotating at a high speed, through the crank e and the connecting rod f, actuates the lever b. The latter is mounted loosely on the work- ing shaft, upon which the ring a’ is keyed. The lever swings through the short are 2 y. When the lever bd is moved in the direction of r a projection in the knuckle c engages in teeth and forces the shaft « to rotate to the and that on double machines the storing power of the fly wheel is such that shearing and punching operations may be carried on simultaneously, although beyond the usual capacity individually. The accompanying engravings show how the Johns device has been applied to different types of machines. Fig. 2 illustrates a simple punch, and Fig. 3 a single A combined punch and shear is illustrated The character of plate shear. in Fig. 4, and a beam shear in Fig. 5. f f ene, 3 = 2 August 29, 1901 THE IRON AGE. the work done by the latter is shown in Fig. 6, repro- duced from a photograph. —_ British and American Cast Iron Pipe Practice. Clark-Harrison & Co. of London, the foreign agents of the United States Cast Iron Pipe & Foundry Company, ering into the trench, for making the joint with the nec- essary supply of lead and hemp, and for excavating sev- eral cubic feet of earth under the socket, so that the joint may be properly calked. There are in each mile of, say, 10-inch diameter pipes, 587 lengths of British pipes, and 440 lengths of American pipes. Hence, if the total of this expense is “8” shillings for one length of pipe, Fig. 3.—The Johns Shear. have written a letter to the London Engineer, in which they institute the following comparison of British and American practice in the cast iron pipe trade: 1. Extra Length.—All sizes of American pipes measure it would be per mile 587 “ B” shillings for British pipes, and only 440 “ B” shillings for American pipes—that is, the extra length of American pipes reduces the expense of laying by 147 “ B” shillings per mile, which is a say- Fig. 4.—The Johns Combined Punch and Shear. THE JOHNS SHEARS AND PUNCHES. in length about 12 feet, exclusive of socket, whereas the small sizes of British pipes are only 9 feet. It is very evident that the extra length of American pipes is an advantage. The expense per length is in both cases practically the same for inspecting and testing with the hydraulic press, for transporting to the trench, for low- ing equal to exactly 25 per cent. of the cost of laying sritish pipes. Nor is this the only advantage. In a mile of British 10-inch pipe there are 147 more sockets than in a mile of American 10-inch pipe. The socket of an average 10-inch pipe weighs 50 pounds or more; hence, by using American pipes of the same thickness of shell, 7 AS }: - F it Ai is oP pe i= 8 THE IRON AGE. you would effect a saving in metal of 147 times 50 pounds, or about 34% tons, in every mile of pipe pur- chased. 2. Turned and Bored Pipe—The only form of joint used in the United States by water works and gas works is the ordinary socket and spigot calked with hemp and lead. It is considered far superior to the turned and bored joint used so largely in Great Britain, for the rea- son that the latter fails to allow for expansion and con- traction, and renders the line of pipe so rigid that the slightest settling of the ground is likely to cause either a fracture of the pipe or a leaky joint. 3. Cutting End off in Lathe.—This is required by a large proportion of British specifications, on the princi- ple that some slag or other impurities are invariably re- tained in the top of the mold, rendering it necessary to cut away that portion of the casting. In American prac- tice it is not found necessary to cut off the spigot ends of the pipes, for the reason that the iron which is used is sufficiently high in graphitic carbon, silicon and phos- phorus to render the iron mixture so fluid when in the molten condition that the slag and impurities rise free- ly to the top of the ladle, and are not allowed to enter the mold. The fact that American foundries have been making a satisfactory quality of pipes for more than half a cen- tury without resorting to this practice of cutting off the spigot ends would be sufficient evidence that it is un- necessary, provided a proper quality of iron is used. Hence, why do British makers incur this extra expense in manufacturing, and so place themselves at a disad- vantage in competing against American manufacturers? An exhibition of minerals and products of mineral industries, of mining, machinery and processes will be opened December 2 and continued for 15 days at the Grand Central Palace, New York City. <A historical and entertaining feature of the exposition will be an exten- sive reproduction of a frontier mining camp. The Armour Institute, Chicago, is arranging for the erection of Machinery Hall, the first of the new build- ings to be erected with funds provided by the Armour family in the recent gift of $1,000,000 to this institution: — WM $ |) hil Brin August 29, 1901 Machinery Hall will be four stories in hight, and will be used for technical instruction in machine shop and foundry work. The first floor will be used as a forge shop, the second floor as a machine shop, the third floor as a pattern shop, and the fourth floor as a foundry. The foundry will be lighted with a saw toothed roof, ¢ { % | ( ! i i uni {NN i A yy AUN > ma il il} i i Fig. 6.—Beams Sheared by Machine. THE JOHNS SHEARS AND PUNCHES. rendering every part of the room available for the most detailed work. This building will be fully equipped with the most modern facilities for thoroughly instructing the students in all details of the branches taught here. The entire building will be fire proof, mill construction being used exclusively. THE August 29, 1901 Developments at the ‘“ Soo.”’ SauLr Sre. MARIE, Onr., August 26, 1901.—In antici- pation of the early completion of their great Michigan power canal the Michigan Lake Superior Power Com- pany and their Canadian ally are constructing a retard- ing dam across the foot of Lake Superior at this point. The concrete piers are finished for a fourth the distance across the river and the stee] work is under way. Much of this dam will be completed by the commencement of winter. The Michigan canal, that is expected to so draw from Lake Superior as to necessitate this retarding sys- tem, is nearly ready for operation. The excavation is practically finished, except for the upper and lower ends, and there remains the cleaning up and lining of the canal prism to secure the best results from the flow. At the lower end, where the canal widens to more than 44 mile and its water enters the power house, an enormous amount of earth has been excavated. The power house is partly up, all its foundations are in, and at the south- ern end the work is under way of placing the 80 Still- well-Bierce turbines of GOU horse-power each. There are to be three stories of steel construction in this great power house, which is to be 1400 feet long and more than 100 feet high, and it is stated by the steel makers that it is the largest job of steel erection under way in the country, with its more than 6000 tons of shapes and plates. Half a dozen traveling cranes, &c., are installed on the structure and several hydraulic riveters are at work in the steel of the turbine chambers. It will be pearly a year before the water is turned into this canal. On the Canadian side of the river the second 50,000 horse- power canal is started and excavation is progressing fast. Eight large steam dredge boats are working day and night on the Canadian channel above the Government lock preliminary to the erection of an ore dock 1800 feet long, for the handling of Michipicoton and other iron ores. This dock will be near the steel plant now nearing completion, and a short distance from the larger plant contemplated for the future. The rail mill at this point will be ready for operation in two or three months, and its entire output for some years has already been sold to the Canadian Government. At this plant there will be as extensive an application of electricity for power as possible, and the second Canadian canal is expected to furnish this as well as power for other works. Three 8-foot cupolas are in- stalled for melting pig for conversion, the necessary ma- terial being expected for a time to come from the works of the Canada Iron Furnace Company, at Midland. Later, when the local blast furnace plant now under way is completed, the direct process will be adopted and metal taken from it. ‘wo acid lined converters of 5 tons capacity each are swung in place at the northern end of the massive stone buildings. After being blown the metal will be poured into molds on buggies and stripped by an overhead Wellman-Seaver stripping crane that is also provided with an auxiliary trolley to change the ladles on the ladle crane. There are two four-hole pit furnaces into which the ingots are charged. They are delivered to the blooming tables, and to the rolls also, by a single overhead electric crane of Wellman-Seaver de- sign. The ingots will be passed through a 32-inch mill, sheared and charged into Siemens regenerative heating furnaces, of which there are four. The rail mill consists of three stands, first and second roughing and finishing mills, and is driven by a 40 x 48 inch Porter-Allen en- gine. Electrically driven transfer tables will manipu- late the material here and the rolls are under an electric overhead crane for handling rolls when changing sec- tions. After passing the saws and a cambering ma- chine the rails are to be cooled and finished and handled by pneumatic hoists on cars for disposition, all the opera- tion being from start to finish under one roof. This plant is expected to make rails of 30 to 60 feet length and of any section to 85 pounds, as well as to roll structural shapes. Tracks of the Algoma Central & Hudson Bay Railway run into the buildings at the finishing end and connect with the ore docks and furnaces at the other end. The structures are all banded sandstone in the handsome IRON AGE. 9 style adopted for all the mechanical buildings of the company, with roofs of corrugated iron on steel frames. The present main building is about 1500 feet long and ot various widths. All foundations are of concrete. The company are just completing and moving into a large and commodious fire proof office building of sand- stone and sieel located beside the No. 1 tailrace of the Canadian canal. The Algoma Central & Hudson Bay Railway is being pushed north te a connection with the Helen Mine branch projected northeast from that mine and the newer Josephine, and it is hoped that ore may be deliv- ered all rail to the Sault hereafter. Shipments from the Helen Mine are up to expectations, and are now going into Cleveland and Ashtabula in moderate volume, as well as to Canadian furnaces. A number of new buildings in connection with the varied metallurgical industries are now going up. In the calcium sulphite works, where a sulphite liquor is made from pyrrhotite and limestone, the finely ground pyrrhotite is passed down through a roasting furnace designed especiaily for the work, and taken off at the bottom as an oxide of iron and nickel. The sulphurous ucid gas roasted out is passed to the bottom of vats 100 feet high with limestone or dolomite quarried in the sur- rounding region. The gas is drawn upward, and as it rises meets a descending stream of water and is ab sorbed. This solution working on the calcium carbonate forms a calcium sulphite, that is drawn to tanks, the strength of the liquor being regulated by the proportion of water passing into the vat. There are eight of these vats, each 5 feet in diameter, and built of heavy timber. For the utilization of this liquor a sulphite pulp mill is provided, in which are what are ealled digesters, and where the process does not differ greatly from that em- ployed in mills making a similar product except as to size. The digester building is 125 feet high and contains the largest digesters ever built. They are tall steel cyl- inders lined with acid proof brick and each will hold 30 cords of chopped wood. The plant has a capacity for 65 tons of finished pulp every 24 hours. A 1000 horse- power Babcock & Wilcox boiler plant furnishes steam for the “cooking” and drying, and the machinery is electrically driven from the company’s canal. Buildings for the treatment of the ferro nickel ore on a commercial scale are about completed. Some ferro- nickel, carrying nearly 6 per cent. nickel, and made by the process to be utilized here, is on exhibition in Buf- falo. The process is electrical. A sulphurie acid plant to utilize the catalytic process is under erection. There will be a large excess of sul- phurous acid and it was necessary to devise some method of treating it. Much sulphuric acid will be for sale and tne company will use considerable in various processes, among which will be the making of acetic acid. A contract for the delivery of 300 cords daily of hard wood from the lands of the companies has been let and eutting is to commence at once. This wood is to be car- bonized, and Oscar Daube of New York has completed a portion of a plant for the work. The part done is one unit of a large installation that will be placed if suc- cessful on the woods to be treated. An important sav- ing in pyroligneous acid and acetate of lime is promised by these works, and this acetate will be manufactured into acetic acid for the markets. The wood is to be carbonized for the two charcoal furnaces of the projected plant, and the amount under eontract is about half the requirements. The remainder, it is hoped, can be secured from settlers along the line of the A. C. & H. B. Railway, and as fast as these set- tlers show their ability to furnish timber the amount contracted will be reduced and a continuous market given the settlers. I take it that one of the most difficult of the many problems undertaken by Mr. Clergue and associates is that of settling the region to the north of the Sault, along their line of railway. This settlement is one of the conditions under which they will earn the vast and valuable grants of land given by the Canadian Govern- ment, and an earnest and well considered effort is now about to be pushed looking to the locating upon these lands of the required number of families. The oppor- 10 THE tunities granted settlers along the line of the A. C. & H. b. Road in the way of making a start by wood chopping and the subsequent opportunities to be given under the liberal plans adopted by the company in the way of working up the products of soil and forest should have effect in bringing in people and holding them till they are successful citizens. Added to the above mentioned metallurgical indus- tries is the alkali works of the Canadian Electro-Chemi- cal Company, another Clergue enterprise. Here, by the Rhodin electrolytic process, using a mereury cathode, 9 tons of bleaching powder and 5 tons of caustic soda are made daily by the 120 apparatus installed. These works are now in daily operation. D. E. W. ———>__ Pacific Coast News. San Francisco, CAL., August 19, 1901.—The tie up of the sea borne business of the city, or, more correctly speaking, the partial tie up, has brought before all the necessity of putting an end to it by some means or other. A gentleman very well known in the iron industries said in substance to your correspondent: “ The workingmen, machinists and others, need a lesson in these matters and they will get it; they are now getting it, they are paying for it and it is costing them dear. Many have now and will have to turn their hands to something to which they are unaccustomed and in which at this time of their life they cannot hope to succeed. The industries of this city cannot be run on the basis of trade unionism. lf manufacturers and business men have to run their business at the dictation of trade unions, the sooner they pull up stakes and move elsewhere the better—the less they will lose. The Eastern manufacturers are con- tinually pushing Westward and narrowing the margin where San Francisco can do business, and we have to look to the trade of the Orient. That trade will neces- sarily be ours. It is now principally in breadstuffs, lum- ber and foodstuffs generally—wheat, flour, meats, &c. Where lumber is sold machinery for manufacturing it will be sold, planers, shapers, &c., and the smaller tools and articles of building hardware as well. And other manufactured goods will follow. The coast, and par- ticularly San Francisco, would then become the center of a series of flourishing industries. But nothing can be done under the domination of trade unionism. The busi- ness will leave us and seek the Northwest. The flour and wheat will go from the fields of Oregon and Wash- ington, the mighty forest of these two States will supply the lumber, while the meat will be raised on the ranges of Idaho and Montana. Unless we can put an end to this agitation capital will leave this city and labor will follow it.” The actual condition of matters in the iron trade does not differ materially from that given in my last. The leading establishments have about the same number of men at work, and they are disposed to regard the matter from an optimistic standpoint. Lately 40 molders and a number of machinists were obtained by one large establishment from the East. But the number employed is not being added to very fast and the solution of the problem has really become one of endurance. In that, of course, the man with the most resources will doubt- less win. A great many striking workingmen have gone into the country to pick hops and do other work incident to the fruit and grain harvests. But here again the general tie up on the water front interferes and lessens the opportunity for their labor. All the employers do not view the strike from the same standpoint, and the lesser establishments are praying devoutly for its termi- nation. One slight victory has been obtained by the em- ployers in the iron trade. Here in some cases the con- stitution of the union provides for a secret ballot, so that the mechanic may cast his vote without fear of being subjected to undue influence. This secret ballot was denied, but on an appeal to national headquarters the local authorities were reversed and the appeal was sus- tained. But no further results have followed. The men belonging to the shops where the appeal was taken may go back to work, but work in this direction has ceased. The water front is lined up wi