The Iron Age 1901-09-19: Vol 68 Iss 12

THE IRON AGE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1901. Machinery at the Pan-American Ex- position.—IX. Struthers, Wells & Co. The gas engine exhibited by Struthers, Wells & Co. of Warren, Pa., is of the four-cycle vertical type, with two cylinders 21 inches in diameter by 24 inches stroke. The cylinders are set about 6 feet apart, center to center, and supported and attached to the engine bed by two is carried and 15 feet 914 inches long over all. The shaft extends to one side of the engine and is supported at its outer end by a heavy cast iron ring oiling floor stand. The fly wheel is carried on the crank shaft midway between the center line of the cylinders. It is 8 feet 6 inches in diameter and is split at rim and hub for con- venience in handling. This wheel weighs 12,000 pounds, sufficient to insure smooth and easy running to the en- gine. Each cylinder head and its valve chest are cast in one piece, thus doing away with any packed joints be- The Warren Gas Engine. MACHINERY AT THE semicircular castings and four wrought steel columns. The connecting castings and columns are securely bolted to the cylinders and bed, all forming together a very substantial and rigid frame. The pistons are attached to the crank shaft by con- necting rods, Fig. 2, of forged steel, finished all over. Each rod has a heavy bolted flange joint near the piston end and can easily be detached and taken apart, so that the pistons can be removed from the cylinders without disturbing the cylinder heads and their attached connec- tions. The double throw crank shaft is a solid forging of open hearth steel, 9 inches diameter at main bearings, 11% inches diameter in the center where the fly wheel PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION. tween. The valves are of the poppet type, with vertical lift, and are located in the valve chests, which are fitted with bolted covers with ground joints, permitting easy access to the valves and valve chests for cleaning and regrinding. The cylinders, cylinder heads, valve chests and mix- ing chambers are water jacketed. The arrangement of the jackets and water inlets and outlets is such as to insure perfect and equal circulation around the parts which are in contact with the heat of the explosions. The opening of the valves is accomplished by cams, Fig. 4, operating on a shaft which is driven from the crank shaft of the engine by means of gearing and an intermediate shaft. This shaft operates the valves for 9 THE both cylinders, and in addition carries two eccentrics which furnish motion to the mechanisms of the electric igniters. The closing of the valves is accomplished by spiral springs around the valve stems, and valve stems are fitted with cross heads, working in adjustable guides, to insure true alignment of valves. The electric igniter is of the make and break type, and the construction is such that the point of ignition can be changed as desired to secure the best results. The variation in the time of ignition is accomplished by means of a self locking screw which lowers or raises the point of the trip which operates the circuit breaker. This trip rod is operated by an eccentric on the hori- zontal side shaft. An igniting plug, Fig. 3, in the cylin- der head contains the terminal rod for the electric spark, and also a current breaker, which is turned against the terminal rod by means of the trip rod coming in contact with an arm on the outer end of the current breaker. After the contact is made a coil spring on the outer end of the current breaker snaps the arm off the point of the trip rod and ignition takes place. The construction of the trip rod with a screw for raising and lowering the point allows a wide adjustment, and also provides a means for taking up the wear or varying the time of con- tact. The arrangement of the valves is such that the cylin- ders take in a charge of gas and give an impulse alter- nately, so that the engine receives an impulse every revolution. The regulation is accomplished by means of a throttling valve operated by a centrifugal ball gov- ernor. This valve throttles the charge of both air and gas, which varies the strength of the impulse and regu- lates the speed of the engine. In starting the engine compressed air is used. This is obtained from pressure tanks and a double cylinder water jacketed air compressor operated by a small 3% horse-power engine. The engine and compressor are mounted on one base and direct connected by means of a clutch coupling. This outfit is part of the regular equipment of the large engine. To facilitate starting a secondary cam is brought into play by throwing a small lever. This cam opens the exhaust valve, when the pis- IRON AGE. September 19, 190) installed there, to the pumps that deliver water to the fountains and lakes of the exposition grounds. It is in operation from 10.30 a.m. until 10.30 p.m. during week days and Sundays, and, with the exception of a few days’ shut down caused by the breaking of the friction clutch driving pulley on the extension shaft of the en gine, its service has been continuous, delivering about 250 horse-power to the driving belt. The breaking of th: clutch pulley and the consequent shut down to the en a SZ FFF FIO OE 7 oo ag x apap pig Dig wir eS ig pt org A Ze ‘ SOV NOU] SRY, Fig. 3.—Igniter. Tue IRON AGE Fig. 2.—Connecting Rod. MACHINERY AT THE PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION. ton is on the compression stroke, far enough to relieve the high pressure in the explosion chamber, and to in- sure the easy and certain starting of the engine. It can be as readily thrown out of play after the engine is in motion, when the valves remain closed. A compression of 100 pounds to the square inch is then obtained in the explosion chamber. The engine is a radical change from the other gas engines, and possesses many features which the manu- facturers claim are decided improvements. It was de- signed by Chas. Jacobson, who has been closely con- nected with the building of gas engines for a number of years, both in this country and in Europe. It was one of the first engines to be started in the Power Court, and is furnishing power, in company with the other engines gine was primarily due to a weakness in the 72-inch pulley on the large pump which the engine was driving. _ = A preliminary statement giving the status of the manufacturing interests of the State of Connecticut and of the principal industrial centers of that State, shows that there were 9128 manufacturing establishments in the State, with a total product of $352,824,106. The cap- ital employed was $314,696,736, an increase of 38 per cent. over 1890; the total wages paid was $82,767,725, an increase of 24 per cent.; cost of material used, $185,641,- 219. The increase in establishments for the State amounted to 33 per cent., and of production to 42 per cent. The Bridgeport output was $37,883,721, with 832 establishments; of Hartford $31,145,715, with 888 estab- inch the and hows ts in -eap- 3 per 5, an »,641,- State per bh 832 estab- September 19, 1901 lishments; of New Britain $12,260,782, with 226 estab- lishments; of New Haven $40,762,015, with 1236 estab- lishments; of Waterbury $33,778,905, with 404 establish- ments. Of the cities Waterbury showed the greatest gain, or 90.7 per cent. over 1890. —_ The Report on the Brooklyn Bridge. Immediately after the accident to the Brooklyn Bridge last summer, when several of the suspender connections gave way, District Attorney Philbin ap- pointed an expert engineer to examine the structure and report upon its exact condition. The report has been finished, but Mr. Philbin does not deem it advisable to make it public at the present time. It will be submitted to other eminent bridge engineers, and their advice ob- tained as to what should be done. The report is as fol- lows: “It is signed by E. Duryea, Jr., and Joseph Meyer, who have been engaged in making an examination of the bridge and the plans for nearly two months. The District Attorney does not think it advisable, at the REAR VIEW LEFT HAND CYLINDER STARTING VALVE INLET PIPE FROM COMPRESSED AIR TANK he —_1— r } es ELECTRIC RIGHT HAND f wa. A IGNITER } ENGINE : foo 1 ? 4 = : as sy NON a 4) ' EXHAUST PIPE VALVE Fig. 4. MACHINERY AT THE present time, to make public the full report, but feels that something should be said as to the safety of the bridge. “The conclusions of the engineers on that point can be best indicated by the-following language in their re- port: “*We believe the present margin of safety to be so small that the necessity for repairs is very urgent, and have suggested means by which the safety can be in- creased without materially interfering with traffic, and at comparatively small cost.’ “It was further stated by Messrs. Duryea and Meyer to the District Attorney that the margin of safety will be increased by the absence of hot weather. It will be remembered that the recent accidents and the one that happened in 1898 occurred when the temperature was very high. “Mr. Meyer, who co-operated with Mr. Duryea in the examination, has been engaged in the construction of many largesuspension bridges, and was recently employed in relation to the design for the proposed Hudson River Bridge at Fifty-ninth street. It is said that he is prob- ably without an equal in the computation relative to the designing of suspension bridges. Practically all the mathematical computation and the results were made by Mr. Meyer, Mr. Duryea having devoted his attention to all the other questions of construction, besides, of course, co-operating with Mr. Meyer and verifying the latter’s results.” View Between Cylinders, PAN-AMERICAN THE IRON AGE. 3 From this it will be seen that the bridge has a small margin of safety, a result brought about by deteriora- tion or overloading, or, what is more probable, a combi- nation of both. Engineers will be most interested in the extent of the reduction in the factor of safety and in the means advised for increasing the safety. Ore The Pressed Steel Car Company. The shipments of the Pressed Steel Car Company of Pittsburgh still keep above the 100 per day mark. During the week ending September 13 the com- pany shipped 628 cars, an average of 105 cars per day. The company are also making large ship- ments of truck frames, bolsters, brake beams and other pressed steel specialties. Some interesting statistics in regard to the work done by the Pressed Steel Car Com- pany have recently been compiled. The enormous quan- tity of the work done can best be realized when it is known that the company are the largest single users of steel in the world. The kind of steel used is what is known as the medium soft Carnegie, and the company use on an average over 1600 tons of steel a day, or over THROTTLING VALVE CONNECTION FROM GOVERNOR TO THROTTLING VALVE Showing Governor and Valves. EXPOSITION. 5U0U,000 tons per year. Another interesting calculation is that in the four years during which the manufacture of pressed steel cars has been carried on, up to September 1, 1901, the Pressed Steel Car company have used about $28,540 net tons of iron and steel in the construction of the 46,030 cars which they have built. If these cars were placed end to end, allowing 35 feet as the average length of the car and 2 feet for the couplings, they would form a continuous train over 322 miles in length. These cars would carry about 2,301,500 net tons of freight, and the weight of the freight and cars combined would be about 3,130,040 net tons. aa — A letter from Lieutenant Peary, just published, shows that he succeeded in reaching a point further north than any other explorer who has worked on this side of the globe. But more important than this is the fact that he accomplished the mapping of the northern coast of Greenland. He found that the great island did not ex- tend nearly as far north as had been supposed. Lieuten- ant Peary stays north another year. Still again the art of tempering copper has been dis- covered, this time by a resident ’way down in Maine. As usual, he has been experimenting for years and has ex- perienced all the customary drawbacks. Report has it that he has exhibited a copper hatchet with an edge ap- parently as keen and strong as steel, also a stone chisel and several broadswords. voor a . ale 9 yy ie 4 BY The Industrial Commission. Additional Evidence. WASHINGTON, September 17, 1901.—The interesting fact has developed that the Federal Industrial Com- mission, in its investigation of the leading industrial combinations of the country, has not contented itself with having the oral testimony of such witnesses as could be induced to come before it in Washington and in other cities that have been visited, but has secured written statements in the form of sworn affidavits from the principal officials of a number of important corpo- rations in response to categorical written interrogatories. Among these corporations are the Orford Copper Com- pany, the American Bicycle Company and the Otis Ele- vator Company, all of which have submitted interesting statements concerning the business reasons which in- duced the constituent companies to combine, the econ- omies which it was proposed to effect, the result se- cured in the way of increased efficiency, higher or lower prices of output, extension of export trade, attitude toward union labor, financial success, &c., and finally, whether the present tariff is necessary to the continued success of the industry in question. Orford Copper Company. The affidavit submitted by President Robert M. Thompson of the Orford Copper Company declares at the outset that the company are not a consolidation and are not in a combination with any other company. The affidavit, which is specially interesting because of the comments contained therein relative to the testimony of Chas. J. Harrah, president of the Midvale Steel Com- pany, concerning the recent increase in the price of nickel, is as follows: “The Orford Copper Company are engaged in the refining and selling of nickel and copper. I am the sole owner of the stock, except 20 shares, which are held by four other persons, in order to enable them to qualify as directors. I have no interest in any nickel mine. There is no nickel mine in the United States which is now productive. My works for the refining of nickel are on New York Harbor. I have a branch establish- ment in Canada for treating low grade materials and bringing them to a higher grade. The Orford Company have existed about 20 years. The business was estab- lished under the name of the Orford Nickel & Copper Company in 1877. My company are not the result of a combination and are not in a combination with any other concern. “There is only one other refiner of nickel in the United States, Joseph Wharton of Philadelphia. Mr. Wharton formerly owned a nickel mine at the Delaware Water Gap, but this mine is no longer productive. He is now dependent on the same sources of supply as I. Nickel ore is brought to the United States from Canada, New Caledonia and Norway. “In 1899 and 1900 the consumption of nickel in- creased enormously, along with the consumption of iron and steel. At the same time there was a great falling off in the supply from the source which is most ac- cessible to the United States. The Canadian mines had almost entirely supplied the United States market. Certain mines in Canada fell off largely in their produc- tion; development work has been pushed since, and I anticipate a renewed supply from Canada, though a sufficient amount of ore to supply the demand is not yet in sight. In the mean time we are dependent on the New Caledonian and Norwegian ores. The freight on ore from New Caledonia fully doubled from 1898 to 1900, partly as a result of the wars in South Africa and China. This also was a temporary condition, and the freight is now not much higher than in 1898. It contributes largely, however, to the increased cost of nickel in the United States in 1900. “Charles J. Harrah; in his testimony before the Industrial Commission, complains of an increase in the price of nickel, which affected him in the spring of 1900, and which he regards as arbitrary. The circumstances which I have mentioned indicate in part why the cost THE IRON AGE. September 19, 1901 of nickel to the refineis was far greater in the spring of 1900 than a year or two earlier. Other things worked in the same direction. Coke cost me 60 per cent. more in the spring of 1900 than in the spring of 1899, and coal 35 per cent. more. In reality, however, the primary cause of the increased price is an enormous increase of demand, far outrunning the supply. The increase which Mr. Harrah complains of was up to 40 cents, though, if he is correctly reported, he said, by mistake, 42 cents. At the present moment the price of nickel of large quan- tities is 50 cents, and I have none to sell at any price. Both Mr. Wharton and I are far behind in deliveries on all our contracts, except on those with customers who supply the United States Government. We protect them at all hazards and to the exclusion of every one else. “The facts in the case of Mr. Harrah are that he buys nickel on yearly contracts, as most large buyers do. Up to April, 1900, he had been supplied on the terms of a contract made in the preceding spring. He had not kept track of the market. The market price rose to 40 cents at least as early as January, 1900. When the time came to renew his contract and he was told what the price was it came to him as a surprise. Neither this price nor the price of nickel at present is the result of any combination or agreement. I wish particularly to correct Mr. Harrah’s statement that the price of nickel is determined in London by an international combination. In reality, there are at least four compet- ing sellers in England and at least five on the Continent —in France, Germany and Austria. These dealers are entirely independent, and so far as I know there is no combination between any two of them, or between any of them and the American refiners. So far from being bound together by any agreement, they are engaged in throat cutting competition. The relations between them are strained. So far as the price of nickel in this coun- try is determined by any one, it is determined by Mr. Wharton and me. My relations with Mr. Wharton are very friendly, and we often consult together about busi- ness. There is no agreement between us, however, as to the amount to be sold or as to prices, except that at times I sell him partially refined nickel and at times buy refined nickel from him. Each of us is perfectly free to sell any amount, at any price, to anybody. We do not control the whole United States market; a con- siderable amount of nickel is imported. The ores used by foreign refiners come from the same mines as those used by us, except that we monopolize the Canadian product.” American Bicycle Company. The affidavit on behalf of the American Bicycle Com- pany is signed by Vice-President George Pope, and is as follows: “The American Bicycle Company were incorporated on May 12, 1899. Their business is the manufacture of bicycles and automobiles. They bought the property of 48 concerns who had been engaged in making bicycles and bicycle parts. They did not buy the stock of previ- ously existing corporations, but took conveyance of their real estate and personal property. The organiza- tion of the company was the work of A. G. Spalding. He personally bought the properties from the previous owners on such terms as he could make by private ar- rangement and sold them to the American Bicycle Com- pany. “The amount paid by Mr. Spalding for each plant was a private matter between him and the former own- ers, and was not known to the owners of the other plants. I believe, however, that the method and terms of payment were similar in all cases. The owners re- ceived in each case 30 per cent. of the appraised value of their property in cash, or, at their option, in 5 per cent. debenture bonds of the American Bicycle Com- pany, at 92%; 30 per cent. of the appraised value in preferred stock cf the American Bicycle Company; and 50 per cent. in common stock. Speaking roughly, the debentures and preferred stock represented the physical assets of all kinds, and the common stock represented the intangible assets, including patents, good will, &c. “The plants were appraised for the purpose of pur- chase by the American Bicycle Company by the Ameri- I PE Sy, Ne A a te a September 19, 190) can Appraisal Company of Milwaukee, and their value fixed at more than $9,000,000. The books, accounts re- ceivable, &c., Were gone over and valued by a chartered accountant, who had been auditor of the National Board of Trade of Cycle Manufacturers, and their value fixed at more than $7,500,000. All these valuations were made as of the date of the last annual inventories of the sev- eral companies, which were generally made in the later months of 1898. “The plants were taken over by the new company near the end of 1899. The net earnings, made in the interval, were estimated at over $3,500,000. This sum, added to the estimated values of the properties at the times of the last inventories, gave an estimated cash value of the total assets of more than $20,000,000. The authorized capital of the American Bicycle Company is $35,000,000 preferred and $45,000,000 common stock, of which has been issued $10,000,000 preferred and $20,- 000,000 common stock, and there has also been issued $10,000,000 5 per cent. 20-year debentures. The deben- tures were underwritten at 924% and were taken at that rate by the underwriters, so far as they were not taken in payment for property bought. When the promoter had turned over to the sellers of the property so much of the preferred and common stock as was required by his bargains with them, the remainder was left in his hands as profit. “The earnings of the properties before consolidation were stated to have been, in 1895, about $5,119,000; in 1896, about $7,763,000; in 1898, about $3,329,000. The net profits for 1899 were estimated at $3,894,000. “The chief reason for desiring the consolidation was, perhaps, the great increase of competition in the trade. The business had been very profitable up to 1895, and in that and the following years a great number of new people embarked in the business. Many of them had no adequate capital. They went in expecting to make up their machines and sell them and get their money back in two or three months. They found that this could not be done. They were pressed for money, and they or their competitors were compelled to throw their ma- chines on the market and get cash out of them, even if they got no profit. It is true that the strongest con- cerns in the trade still made some money every year, but with the constant and increasing cutting of prices a condition was approaching in which it was feared that even the strongest could make no profit. There was no cohesion in the trade as there is in some older trades. There had been a Bicycle Board of Trade, but it had gone to pieces. Competition was of the cut- throat order. No doubt the example of the combinations that were forming in all kinds of business had also a great influence on the course of the bicycle makers. “There are, however, important direct savings which the consolidation of ownership and management has effected. Important and expensive patent suits were pending between the different manufacturers. The in- troduction of community of interest with common ownership put a stop to much patent litigation. There was also some further gain in permitting valuable patents owned by any one concern to be applied by all. “There is an important saving in administrative ex- penses from the diminution of the number of officers. Each factory had formerly its complete executive organ- ization, usually a president, a vice-president, a secretary and a treasurer. These officers are all replaced now by a single manager; the full executive organization exists only at the central office. All buying is concentrated in the hands of one officer and his assistants. This not only saves energy and expense, as compared with the former system of independent buying for each plant, but it also enables the company to get the very lowest prices. There is a further saving in carrying a smaller aggregate quantity of supplies than was formerly car- ried by all the factories together. Centralized manage- ment of distribution makes this possible. By this means interest and depreciation of stock on hand are saved. “Concentration of manufacturing activity has re- duced the actual cost of production. The company have closed eight bicycle plants, besides turning two from THE IRON AGE. 5 the production of bicycles to the production of auto- mobiles. At first thought it may seem that this saving is gained at the expense, in some degree, of the men formerly employed at the closed plants; but I am con- fident that if the American Bicycle Company had not been formed quite as many plants would have been closed through the failure of the companies who owned them. Moreover, while it is true that the men at the plants which have been closed had to go into other em- ployment, the plants have been sold or leased and are used for other purposes, and men are still employed there. Without regard to this consideration, I believe that about as many days’ work are given in a year by the American Bicycle Company as were given by their pred- ecessors. The employment is steadier. Before the con- solidation there was much temporary shutting down on account of the excessive capacity of the plants. The factories would run full, and perhaps work overtime in the winter, but during the summer they would be almost idle. We have not been able to altogether do away with this condition, but are trying to make ar- rangements so that we can run pretty steadily through- out the year. Steady running is better for the employer as well as for the employee. If a factory turns off a large part of its force in the spring or early summer, it can get back only a part of the old men in the fall. It has to take on new men and teach them, and teaching new men is an expensive and wasteful business. “The expense of selling has been considerably re- duced by the consolidation. The American Bicycle Company advertise freely, but on account of the enormous size of their advertising contracts are able to get very low rates; even lower rates than the Pope Mfg. Company and the Gormully & Jeffrey Mfg. Com- pany obtained, and they bought advertising at lower rates than any others established in the business. There has been some diminution of the number of traveling men. The company now employ in the busy season about 85 per cent. of the number employed before the consolidation. “I believe that the efficiency of management is higher than before, because it is the policy of the company to pay good salaries and to select the best men and hold them. There is a manager at the head of each factory and a manager at the head of each of the nine sales departments. The factory manager is responsible for the production of goods. He has absolute authority in running the factory. He makes his record on economy of running, together with the quality of goods turned out. The sales manager receives goods assigned to him from certain factories, the selling price being determined by the Board of Directors. He hires his own salesmen and conducts the sale of his own goods. He makes his record on the quantity of goods sold. The company make comparison of the results obtained at different factories, and base upon the results an estimate of the efficiency of the several managers. “There has been no change during the last two years in the price of ‘agency goods ’—that is, bicycles which are marketed through established retail agencies. On jobbing goods there is a tendency to stronger prices. The cutting of prices which resulted from the severe competition has been stopped. The company, therefore, still make their special lines of goods at specially low prices for mail order houses. “I suppose that the American Bicycle Company sold about 65 per cent. of all the bicycles sold in the United States in 1900; but this is scarcely more-than a guess. There are many small shops which buy a few parts and put together a few bicycles during the winter—5, 10, 50 or 100. The aggregate amount of this kind of manu- facture is considerable, but it cannot be closely esti- mated. “Our export trade is attaining considerable im- portance. The bicycles exported are mostly of the bet ter grade, and many of them have even better and more expensive equipment than is used here, and on this ac- count are sold at actually higher prices. In general, our export prices are based substantially on wholesale prices in this country. “There has been no general change of wages since the American Bicycle Company were formed. The executive officers have taken no action on the subject, but have left it entirely to the local managers. The sub- ject of trade unions has been treated in the same way. Even when the local managers have consulted the cen- tral office on this point they have been told that their attitude toward labor organizations is considered to be a matter for their own determination in their char- acter as managers. Some of our shops are union and some are nonunion. “The tariff has no effect upon our business that we are conscious of. We would not turn a hand over to prevent the repeal of the duty on bicycles. “The automobile business is in such an undeveloped state that very little can be said upon it. The manu- facture of automobiles is conducted by this company in separate factories, and the selling of them is also con- fided to separate agencies.” The Otis Elevator Company. President William D. Baldwin of the Otis Elevator Company makes the following statement on behalf of that corporation: “The Otis Elevator Company were formed under the laws of New Jersey in November, 1895, to manu- facture elevators and hoisting machinery. The com- pany bought the property of 11 companies, which were doing 80 or 85 per cent. of the elevator business in the United States. I think the proportion of the total busi- ness done by the Otis Elevator Company has rather in- creased since their organization. “I was myself the promoter or organizer of the new company. I had been for many years in the business, and was treasurer and general manager of Otis Brothers & Co., the principal concern in the trade. I personally bought the property of each of the existing companies by private arrangement, and sold the combined properties to the new company. The terms of purchase of each concern were, however, known to the others. Since the arrange- ments were all by private agreement, there was no committee of appraisal or similar machinery. No stock was offered to the public, and, therefore, there was no underwriting syndicate. 1 personally agreed to sell some of the stock to about a dozen people. Payment was made for all the plants in stock exclusively, ex- cept that one was paid for in cash. Each selling com- pany received an amount of preferred stock which was believed to represent the fair cash value of the physical property. Common stock was given in addition, in the proportion of one and one-half shares of common to one of preferred, in payment for intangible property, in- cluding patents, trade-marks, brands and good will. The prosperity of an elevator business is largely de- pendent on good will—that is, on an established reputa- tion. It is very difficult for a new concern to establish itself and get business in the face of a long existing institution with a well-known name. People do not readily make experiments in buying apparatus to which thousands of people are to trust their lives. The most of the companies whom the Otis Elevator Company bought out had been a considerable number of years in business and had acquired reputations which had a very great value. “ One of the principal economies effected by the con- solidation results from the specialization of the work at the different plants, and the building of particular types of machinery in larger lots. Twenty-five machines of a particular type at one time and place can be built much cheaper than five. By, a rearrangement of the manufacture in this way it is possible, without sacri- ficing excellence of construction or safety, to lower the cost of production. Only one factory has been closed, but each is confined, so far as possible, to particular specialties. The business as a whole has grown, and this has enabled us to make fuller use of the facilities of each plant. “T believe that the number of traveling men is about the same as before the consolidation; but the same num- ber of men handle a business about 20 per cent. larger. “The common use of patents previously owned by THE IRON AGE. ; Septemper 19, 1901 single establishments has been of advantage to the con- solidation, but the principal advantage gained in con- nection with patents is the stopping of litigation. This had been an important source of expense. “ Our prices since consolidation have been no higher than the prices charged before consolidation by Otis Brothers & Co. They have undoubtedly been higher than some of the prices which were made by some of the other companies. I believe, however, that this in- creased price has been accompanied with an improve- ment in the quality of the goods. “Our exports are assuming considerable propor- tions. Our machines which go abroad are shipped chiefly to the Otis Elevator Company, Limited, of London, a separate, although allied, organization. We bill the ma- chines to this company on about the same basis of price as to our selling offices in the United States—that is, at a price which includes a fair manufacturing profit. Our policy throughout is to separate the department of sales from that of manufacturing, and to credit the mer- chandising profit to the one and the manufacturing profit to the other. We have no control over the prices charged to consumers by the Otis Elevator Company, Limited, of London. The elevators exported are of a cheaper grade than those sold in the United States. They are slow moving, not over 100 feet a minute, while those used in this country generally move from 200 to 600 feet per minute. The cars also are cheaply con- structed so far as matters of appearance go. “We have numerous offices throughout the country engaged in selling our products and buying the neces- sary material. “There has been no noticeable change of wages per day since the Otis Elevator Company were formed, but we are just putting all our factory men on the nine- hour basis, with the same daily wages which were formerly paid for ten hours. The attitude of the com- pany toward labor organizations is entirely friendly. The condition of our shops in regard to organization of labor is not, however, uniform. Some of the shops are union and some are not. A large part of our men belong to the International Association of Machinists, and many of the men engaged in erection belong to the local unions of their trades. Our relations with the unions are very pleasant, and all our men are free to join the unions or not, as they please. The company belong to the National Metal Trades Association, and I believe the best hope of industrial peace is in the establish- ment of organizations of employers and organizations, of workmen. If all the employers in any particular busi- ness and all the workmen in the same business were organized all controversies would be speedily settled fairly, and no one employer or workman would profit at the expense of his fellows. “ The tariff does not affect the business of our com- pany in any way that we are conscious of.” The members of the Industrial Commission regard these affidavits as specially significant in that those of the signers who discuss the effect of the tariff upon their products express their indifference with regard to its retention. The Commission is now engaged in drafting its recommendations to Congress with regard to legislation for the control of the so-called trusts, but great difficulty is being experienced in bringing a majority of the Com- mission to one way of thinking with regard to any measure of importance. The Commission will doubtless recommend increased publicity for corporations doing an interstate business. The appointment of a federal officer whose business it shall be to see that the pro- visions of the proposed statute are not evaded is also under consideration. Certain members of the Com- mission are disposed to favor a constitutional amend- ment giving Congress control of all manufacturing corporations except for the purpose of taxation, but the difficulty. of inducing the States to accept such an amendment is regarded by other members as an in- superable objection. The Commission’s final report on the trusts, together with such suggestions as may be decided upon, will be forwarded to Congress Decem- ber 15. WwW. L. C. September 19, 1901 THE Wages in England. The annual report of the labor department of the British Board of Trade for the year 1900 shows that year to have been the culminating period in the upward movement which began in 1896. The official Labor Com- missioner states: “Not only did the general level of wages in the United Kingdom stand higher at the end of 1900 than in any other year for which statistics exist, but the rate of increase during last year was unprecedentedly high. If we confine ourselves to the industries for which it is possible to obtain definite statistics, we find that no fewer than 1,112,684 work people, or about one-seventh of the total employed, received advances during the year amounting to no less than £212,000 per week, while only 23,010 sustained decreases to the unimportant IRON AGE. 7 so that for the first time since 1895 the net effeet has been a fall amounting to nearly £30,000 a week, the de- cline being most marked in the mining and iron and steel trades, which recently had shown the greatest rise. In spite of the great amount of alteration in 1900, it is recorded that only 5 per cent. of those whose wages were changed were engaged in disputes on this aceount. This was largely due to the extent to which wages in the coal, iron and other staple trades are now adjusted by conciliation and wages boards, sliding scales or simi- lar machinery, the cases of more than half the work peo- ple concerned being arranged by such methods. $$ ——__—_ - The Hilles & Jones Rapid Action Punch. A new type of rapid action punch has been recently perfected by the Hilles & Jones Company of Wilming- THE HILLES & JONES RAPID ACTION PUNCH. amount of £2800 per week. The net weekly rise of £209,000 compares with £91,000 in 1899 and £81,000 in 1898. “As in the two previous years, by far the larger amount of the increase is accounted for by the rise of miners’ wages, which rose on the average nearly 4 shil- lings 5 pence per week in the course of the year, and accounced for £168,000, or 80 per cent. of the total weekly increase of wages. Taking into account the various dates at whicu the changes came into operation, it is estimated that the additional amount disbursed in wages during 1900, occasioned solely by the increase of wages recordeu in this report, apart from any change in the number of the working population, was not less than £6,000,000.”’ Writing, however, in July last, he has to record that the first half of the present year has accorded with the signs which were not wanting toward the end of 1900 that the period of rising wages was drawing to a close. The increases of wages, though still more widespread than the decreases, have not balanced them in amount, ton, Del. The speed at which this machine is intended to operate is about 65 strokes per minute. There are three punches and dies in position, each punch being con- trolled by a hand gag, so that any one may be used as desired. As will be readily understood, this arrangement allows a plate or bar to be punched with holes of differ- ent diameters at one passage through the machine. An automatic device is provided for stopping the sliding head after each stroke. This punch is built in large and small sizes and with any desired depth of throat. a a In Albert Ladd Colby’s paper on “‘ Machine Cast Foun- dry Pig Iron.” published in The Iron Age September 12, the word “sulphur” should be added after the words “per cent.,” in the twenty-ninth line from the top of - page i. It has been computed that the strike has cost the city of McKeesport $1,000,000 in wages, and the loss of one large industry. =~ Notes from Great Britain. Offices of The Iron Age, HastTines Hovsg, t NorFotk STREET, STRAND, LONDON. W. C., Sept. 7, 1901. f The Boller Trials. A report on the trials of the sets of cylindrical Scotch and Belleville boilers made in the run to Gibraltar by the sister ships “ Minerva” and “ Hyacinth,” respectively, has been issued by Admiral Sir Compton Domvile, presi- dent of the Water Tube Boiler Committee. The details given in this report are of considerable interest, though as regards any definite result which may have been ar- rived at on the greater merits or demerits of the re- spective boilers no opinion is expressed. It will be re- membered that the special object of the trial trip was not so much to test the speed of the vessels as to deter- mine which of the two boilers produced the most satis- factory results all round, together with the respective consumptions of coal. The general conclusion seems to be that while the Belleville tubular boilers of the “ Hyacinth ” have fallen somewhat short of expectation, the cylindrical Scotch boilers of the “ Minerva” have more than maintained their reputation. The trial commenced on July 6, several representa- tives of the Boiler Committee embarking on the ships at Devonport. They started at 3 p. m., the engines working at 7000 horse-power, which it was decided should be maintained till all the coal, except a reserve of 82 tons in the bunkers, was exhausted. By 3.45 p. m. the revolutions of the “ Hyacinth ” were 152 per minute, the horse-power being 6994, and this was considered the start of the trial. The “ Minerva” soon gave signs of being the faster vessel, and by midnight on July 7 was 414 miles ahead of the “ Hyacinth.” Three days later, a bolt of the ahead eccentric strap of the star- board intermediate engine of the “ Minerva” gave way, and the starboard engines were stopped for two hours while the broken strap was replaced by a new one. Special reserve tanks had been fitted in the “ Hyacinth” to hold 100 tons of water, which, together with the orig- inal tank stowage, gave a total reserve of about 140 tons. The “ Minerva’s” total reserve stowage was about 170 tons. It was arranged that the water in these reserve tanks should be used as the only makeup feed water till it was reduced to 20 tons, in order that the amount of makeup feed used per day might be ac- curately gauged. When this reduction was reached, the water was to be kept in case of emergency, and all makeup required was to be obtained from the evap- orators. On the “ Hyacinth,” however, the evaporators were brought into use when the reserve tanks had only been reduced to 35 tons, on account of the difficulty in using the special pump for getting the water out of the tanks. The staff engineer of the “ Hyacinth” reported on July 17 that there was a large loss of water, all the evaporators being in use, and that 25 tons of drinking water had to be used for boiler feed. The engines there- fore had to be eased, so that from this time—namely, 1 a. m. on July 11, the trial ceased and the “ Hyacinth ” steamed slowly into Gibraltar in the evening of the same day. The “ Minerva” had continued steaming at 7000 horse-power, and on her arrival at Gibraltar, at 11 p. m. on July 12, she still had 39 tons of coal in the bunkers, not including the reserve, and 20 tons of water in the reserve tanks. The average horse-power of the “ Hya- cinth ” was 7047 for 103% hours, with a coal consump- tion of 1.97 pounds, and the distance run was about 1810 miles, at an average speed of 17.6 knots. The ** Minerva’s ” horse-power was 7007 for 147 hours, with a coal consumption of 2.06 pounds, and the distance run was about 2640 miles, at an average speed of 17.96 knots. On examining the “ Minerva’s” boilers on her arrival at Gibraltar, it was found that the openings in the Admiralty ferrules were badly choked. Flaming had occurred on the way out at the after funnel of the “Hyacinth,” but no flaming was reported from the “ Minerva.” A number of leaks also were found in the “ Hyacinth’ boilers, but with the exceptions mentioned the boilers and engines on both ships had worked well on the outward voyage. Before their departure from THE IRON AGE. September 19, 1901 Gibraltar all the boilers were thoroughly cleaned and overhauled, and on the afternoon of July 17 the com- mittee again embarked for the homeward voyage. The “ Hyacinth” started with two boilers alight for auxil- iary purposes, and the “ Minerva” with one. Before starting a communication as follows was handed to the captain of each ship: “On the responsibility of the ship’s officers, a large quantity of fresh water for boiler makeup has been taken as a precautionary measure in the double bottoms of the ‘Hyacinth’ and in the extra reserve tanks of both ships. These latter tanks were fitted specially for the outward trials, and do not form a part of the ship’s ordinary fittings. It is to be understood that, except the amount originally allowed to each ship (about 40 tons in the ordinary reserve tanks), this is to be used in cases of emergency only during the homeward run. The evaporators, if they have not been in use before, are to be started as soon as the 40 tons mentioned have been used up, and then the makeup required is to be obtained from the evaporators. If the evaporators are unable to supply the whole of the makeup required, their use at maximum obtainable output is to be main- tained, while the remaining water used may be taken from the reserve tanks.” The “ Minerva” did not exceed the 40 tons expendi- ture, but, on the afternoon of July 20, the “ Hyacinth” had used the 40 tons, notwithstanding the fact of her evaporators being at work the whole time. Several fogs were encountered on the return voyage, the ships meanwhile keeping fairly level, but on emerging from one of these it was discovered that the “ Minerva” was gradually gaining upon the “ Hyacinth,” and when the latter vessel had once more to ease down on account of another fog the “ Minerva” had steamed out of sight. Upon getting clear again the “ Hyacinth” steamed at over 9000 horse-power till the evening of July 20, when a burst tube was discovered, and the fires of one of the boilers had to be withdrawn. At 9.50 p. m. on July 20 she passed St. Catherine’s Point, where the trial was concluded, the “‘ Minerva” having passed the same point an hour and a half earlier: The coal used by the “ Hyacinth” on the way home was stated to be 550 tons; by the “ Minerva,” 451 tons. The “ Hya- cinth’s” evaporators were all in use practically the whole time, whereas the “Minerva” used hers but little. The maximum power developed by the “Minerva” was about 8700 horse-power, while that developed by the “ Hyacinth” was nearly 10,000 for at least two hours, during which time the “ Hyacinth” did not perceptibly gain on the “ Minerva.” The “ Hya- cinth’s” average horse-power when running clear of fog was about 9400 and the “ Minerva’s” about 8400. From the results of the outward run it appears that the radius of action of each of these vessels at 7000 horse- power, as far as the coal is concerned, should be, rough- ly, “ Hyacinth,” 2930 miles; “ Minerva,’ 3000 miles. No difficulty was experienced in either ship at any part of the outward or homeward runs in keeping up a suf- ficient supply of coal to the fires. In presenting the de- tailed report of the Boiler Committee, Rear Admiral W. H. May, Controller of the Navy, calls attention to the following important points attending the trial: “1. The very serious loss of water in the “ Hyacinth,” as pointed out by the president of the Boiler Committee. This was due to leaky joints. A certain number were located at Gibraltar, and on examination at Portsmouth other leaks were discovered and reported. “2. The state of the ‘ Minerva’s’ tubes at the end of each run. On arrival at Gilbraltar the cap ferrules were found to be partially choked, due to bird nesting, and the ship could not have gone any further at that power (7000 indicated horse-power). As it was, she was using up to 1.7 inches of air pressure instead of 14 inch, to maintain the necessary combustion for this power.- On arrival at Portsmouth practically the same thing occurred, as will be seen from the reports. “3. The ‘Hyacinth’ developed an average of 1000 more indicated horse-power than the ‘ Minerva’ on the run home. This should have given the former a sub- stantial increase in speed, whereas there was a slight September 19, 1901 THE decrease. This extra indicated horse-power must have been absorbed either in the engines, or in the main shaft’s bearings, or in the hull. It is possible that the shape of hull may have had something to say in the matter, but former trials do not bear this out. For example, when the ‘ Highflyer’ (same class) was tried against the ‘ Minerva’ last year, the former maintained a higher power and speed, except at 10 knots, when she had to exert more indicated horse-power to obtain the speed. The case requires investigation.” Apparently there is not much to choose between the two types of boiler in rapidity of getting up steam, while the wearing qualities and economy in fuel of the Scotch boiler have been sufficiently demonstrated. It is, on the whole, difficult to see where adequat