The Iron Age 1901-10-10: Vol 68 Iss 15

‘THE IRON AGE Tuurspay, Ocroser 10, 1901. The Franklin Boring, Drilling and Milling Machine. A new horizontal boring, drilling and milling ma- chine has been designed by the Franklin Machine Works, Incorporated, of Philadelphia. This tool, while it conforms in its principal features to the larger and more expensive machines, is able to do the boring and a large amount of the milling heretofore necessarily done on a long milling machine. It covers an extra wide range and great variety of work, being applicable to all kinds of boring, tapping, reaming and various kinds of milling, such as key seating long, heavy shafting in short places, which operation formerly required a large machine. It can be used for face milling with a rotary this case, also relieves the milling machine of some of the large work which would require a larger tool. The spindle is geared very powerfully for heavy work and with ample power for drilling. It has 5-inch step cone, which gives ten changes of feed and speed. The gear- ing is made of steel, cut from the solid, and the bearings are all lined with bronze. This machine can be built with a plain or compound table or both. The platen is 42 x 84 inches, well ribbed to carry large and heavy work, the tail support being built with a horizontal ad justment. Accurately cut adjusting screws and microm eter adjusting dials are also attached if required. The Everett Furnace.-The Everett Furnace, Bart ston, Pa., owned and operated by Joseph E. Thropp, THE FRANKLIN BORING, DRILLING AND MILLING MACHINE. cutter head, like a rotary planer, and will also do all kinds of end milling, and can be used for cotter drilling and cutting key seats with an end mill. Large castings can be placed on the platen and all work finished with- out removing the casting. The spindle, which is made of hammered crucible steel, is 3 inches in diameter, and feeds through a gun metal sleeve. The boring bar has 24 inches feed and has a No. 5 Morse taper hole in the end; also a pin hole for retaining the bars and milling tools in their place. The head has a vertical adjustment of 30 inches and can be securely clamped in any position for milling. The column carrying the spindle head has automatic feed in both directions, giving 42 inches of horizontal movement to the spindle for milling. The spindle has feed in either direction for boring and counter boring both ends of cylinders. This machine, among other things, takes the place of the old style boring machine, where the work had to be adjusted to the spindle in- stead of adjusting the spindle to the work, and, as in started on its sixth blast on September 10. During the shut down for relining very extensive repairs and im- provements have been made. A new double branch downcomer was built and two additional large explosion doors were placed on the furnace. The arrangement of the tracks in the stock house was changed so as to per- mit the storage of larger quantities of raw materials and ten large pockets, with a capacity of 800 tons limestone or 1000 to 1200 tons iron ore, were built. The furnace has been equipped with the Sahlin patented bosh jacket, permitting a larger bosh diameter than is possible with other styles of bosh protection and the furnace has al- ready reached an output of about 200 tons of foundry iron per day. As the equipment consists of four vertical blowing engines capable of blowing 36,000 cubic feet of blast per minute at a pressure of 15 to 18 pounds per square inch, four batteries of boilers aggregating from 1500 to 1800 horse-power, three Cowper hot ovens 18% x 75 feet and one Hartman hot oven, 16 x 87 feet, it will be seen that the furnace is thoroughly well equipped, - 2 THE and it is expected in a short time that the monthly out- put will reach 6500 to 7000 tons of standard foundry iron, compared to the previous record of 5000 to 5500 tons per month. In conjunction with the blast furnace Mr. Thropp also owns and operates a limestone quarry within 2 miles of the furnace, which produces the flux; a coal and coke works 16 miles from the furnace, which produces nearly all of the coke required at the furnace, and large iron ore properties in Pennsylvania, West Vir- ginia and Maryland, which have been undergoing de- velopment for several months, and which will shortly be shipping from 1200 to 1500 tons of ore per week to the furnace. _ —_ A New Plan for Reciprocity. A Minimum and [laximum Tariff. Wasuineton, D. C., October 8, 1901.—Prominent Senators and Representatives who have recently visited Washington are giving very serious consideration to a new plan looking to the remodelling of existing laws relating to reciprocity and the laying of a broad founda- tion for the execution of a reciprocal trade policy of the widest possible scope. This plan, which has been dis- cussed to some extent with President Roosevelt, in- volves the abandonment of the reciprocity treaties now pending in the Senate, the repeal of Sections 3 and 4 of the Dingley act, under which the treaties have been negotiated, and the substitution for this section of a maximum and minimum tariff, such as is now main- tained by France, Germany, Russia and other European nations. The projectors of this new plan of reciprocity em- brace not only the opponents of the French and other pending treaties, but the advocates of a broader policy designed to render the President less dependent upon Congress in the matter of negotiating and ratifying treaties, but at the same time regulating specifically the extent to which the protection of any given industry may be reduced by treaty. The treaties with France, Argentina, the British West Indies, &c., now pending were negotiated under Section 4 of the Dingley act. An inspection of this provision will show at a glance the difficulties which have attended the effort to secure the promulgation of these conventions. The section reads as follows: “Src. 4. That whenever the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- ate, with a view to secure reciprocal trade with foreign countries, shall, within the period of two years from and after the passage of this act, enter into commercial treaty or treaties with any other country or countries concerning the admission into any such country or coun- tries of the goods, wares and merchandise of the United States and their use and disposition therein, deemed to be for the interests of the United States, and in such treaty or treaties, in consideration of the advantages accruing to the United States therefrom, shall provide for the reduction during a specified period, not exceed- ing five years, of the duties imposed by this act, to the extent of not more than 20 per centum thereof, upon such goods, wares or merchandise as may be designated therein of the country or countries with which such treaty or treaties shall be made as in this section pro- vided for; or shall provide for the transfer during such period from the dutiable list of this act to the free list thereof of such goods, wares and merchandise, being the natural products of such foreign country or countries and not of the United States; or shall provide for the retention upon the free list of this act during a specified period, not exceeding five years, of such goods, wares and merchandise now included in said free list as may be designated therein; and when any such treaty shall have been duly ratified by the Senate and approved by Congress, and public proclamation made accordingly, then and thereafter the duties which shall be collected by the United States upon any of the designated goods, wares and merchandise from the foreign country with which such treaty has been made shall, during the IRON AGE. October 10, 1901 period provided for, be the duties specified and provided for in such treaty, and none other.” It is seen in the first place that there is room fi question as to whether any treaty not ratified withi two years from July 24, 1897, the date of the approva of the Dingley act, is valid. It is also a matter of judg ment as to what constitute the “natural products” o: foreign countries and “ not of the United States,” whic! alone can be placed on the free list by reciprocity treaty Finally, it is provided that in addition to the ratificatio of a convention by the Senate, which requires a three- fourths vote, it must be “ approved by Congress,” whic! is taken to mean that specific legislation in the natur of a joint resolution must be passed by both House and Senate in order to make the treaty the law of the land. It is known that President McKinley keenly appre ciated the difficulties in the way of executing the reci procity provisions of the Dingley act, and the assertion is freely made here by prominent men who conferred with him-at Canton last July that he then gave very favorable consideration to the proposition looking to the substitution of a double column tariff, to be used as the basis of treaties which, when negotiated, could be pro- mulgated without further action by either House of Congress. While there is no very tangible evidence indi- cating the extent to which President McKinley examined into this plan, it is well known that he was greatly an- noyed at the action of the Senate in hanging up all the pending treaties, and that he permitted Reciprocity Commissioner Kasson to withdraw and directed the sus- pension of the work of the Reciprocity Bureau of the State Department in consequence. It is also true that he frequently spoke of the difficulty in executing the reciprocity provisions of the Dingley act, which involve the transmission to. Congress, one by one, of all treaties negotiated thereunder, thereby putting it in the power of a tew Senators to defeat any particular treaty to which they may be opposed without imperiling others which they favor. President McKinley also expressed the belief that if the question could be presented to Sen- ators and Representatives as to whether the reciprocity principle should be executed or abandoned entirely, the overwhelming public sentiment in its favor would com- pel Congress to act accordingly. The difficulty of exe- cuting a reciprocity policy by a piecemeal method was deeply impressed upon the President and his advisers, and the necessity of changing the method, if practical results were to be secured, was the subject of more than one Cabinet discussion. The advocates of the double column tariff plan claim numerous advantages for it, the principal ones being. 1, the fact that Congress would not delegate to the President authority to reduce the duty on any article not to exceed 20 per cent., as under the Dingley act, but would specify as to each item of the tariff how much reduction might be made by reciprocity convention. thereby keeping in the hands of the House and Senate complete control of the protective system; and, 2, the ability of the Executive to proniulgate any desired treaty without its being required to run the gauntlet of the Sen- ate and House, where a determined minority can defeat any treaty, even on open ballot, if it can control one vote in excess of one-fourth the membership of the Senate. In this connection, as an illustration of the smooth- ness with which such a plan would operate, those who favor it point to the fact that under Section 3 of the Dingley act a number of treaties were negotiated and promulgated soon after the passage of the act. Section 3 specifies the reductions that may be made upon crude tartar, brandies, champagne, still wines, paintings, stat- uary and other works of art, &c., through reciprocal agreements, such agreements taking eflect upon promul- gation by the President without further reference to Congress. A maximum and minimum tariff, it is con- tended, would operate in exactly the same way, but much more comprehensively, as it would provide the exact amount of reduction that might be made by the President on any item of the entire set of schedules. Among those who favor this plan there are some who are opposed to any other tcriff legislation, and it is urged by these that a double column tariff would not neces- October 10, 1901 THE IRON AGE. 3 sarily mean any revision of the rates now in force, which vould constitute the maximum or general tariff, while he reduced rates to be fixed by Congress would be nown as the preferential or conventional tariff. President Roosevelt has given no intimation of his iews concerning this project, but as he will begin the reparation of his annual message to Congress within the next 30 days, he will give his very serious considera- tion to the whole problem of reciprocity in the meantime. Interests which have secured concessions through the pending treaties are opposed to this new plan, which they naturally apprehend would mean the abandonment i. Eyal s i PROG Oe THE IRon AcE Fiy. 1.—Plan and Scction, Fig. 2.—End Elevation. THE CABOT-PATTERSON of these conventions and the negotiation of others. While similar concessions might be secured in the new treaties there would be the risk of losing what has been gained, hence the proposition is viewed with disfavor. The strongest opponents of the pending treaties are dis- posed to urge it as a method of securing the withdrawal if these conventions. Should the plan be adopted any new treaties would necessarily be limited in their con- cessions to the specific reductions agreed upon in ad- vance by Congress. Ww. L. C. _ - The national officials of the Amalgamated Associa- tion are reported as considering the levying of an assess- nent for the benefit of strikers who were willing to return to work, but who were turned away. The num- ber of these men is quite large. President Shaffer has made yain efforts to have several blacklisted men rein- stated. ox cinusispsecisiilg sicscecs The Cabot-Patterson Hot Blast Stove. John Patterson, blast furnace manager for C. Cam- mell & Co. of Workington, England, and John W. Cabot of Johnstown, Pa., have brought forward a design of hot blast stove whose object is to obviate the difficulties and expense in operation caused by the accumulation of flue dust which collects in them. The conspicuous feature of the design is that the stove is so arranged that all dirt and fine dust can be blown out by means of the cold blast. It is, in fact, constantly maintained in a condition free of dust. Blast furnaces using a considerable percentage of fine ores in the ore mixture and driven at the rate now prevailing in good practice throw out a large quantity of fine ore dust, which is carried by the gases into the stoves, where it adheres to all parts of the brick work. In addition, there is always present in the gases more or less of a very fine or impalpable fume. Stoves soon become coated with these fine powders. Their efficiency is thus reduced and soon they must be taken out of service and cleaned by hand. There is one particularly bad effect produced by the fine ore dust upon the furnace working which has not been heretofore pointed out with sufficient clearness. This dust, consisting as it does of 65 to 70 per cent. Fig. 3.—Vertical Section. HOT BLAST STOVE. oxide of iron, is mixed with the hot blast when the blast is turned into the stove, and is thence carried with tle blast into the tuyeres and into the hearth of the fur- nace. The hearth is cooled thereBy, the cinder becomes dark and cold and loses its sulphur carrying power, the silicon content of the iron is reduced and the percentage of sulphur is increased. In fact, all of the ill effects of getting unreduced ore in front of the tuyeres may be experienced. To make matters worse, this effect is not a constant one. More of the iron ore dust is dis- seminated through the blast at one time than another. The dust accumulates in a stove for a time, until the impulse of the entering cold blast dislodges a large quan- tity at once, and the disorder in the hearth of the fur- nace is increased for the time being. This means that Ee ee he eS 4 the difficulty of keeping a furnace on a uniform grade of iron as regards silicon and sulphur is increased un- necessarily by reason of the varying quantities of flue dust caught in the hot blast stoves. In the design of the Cabot-Patterson stove, as shown by the accompanying engravings, the changes from the older forms of stoves are as follows: As applied to the ordinary form of two-pass stove, the principal change consists in dividing the regenerator portion of the stove into two equal parts. This is done by merely building a partition wall in the middje of the bottom part of the stove, under the regenerator, which obvi- ously divides the regenerator into two equal halves without other change in the brick work. Each side of the regenerator has the same area of heating surface 1n the passage ways. Each half is connected to the com- mon draft chimney by a separate chimney flue, carried in a separate branch pipe, the two pipes being brought together at the main chimney valve, whence a flue leads into the chimney. Upon each chimney flue is a quick opening valve of the butterfly pattern, and also an or- dinary cold blast valve making connection with the cold blast main, the cold blast valve being situated be- tween the butterfly valve and the regenerator part of the stove in each case. The chimney valve is of the ordinary type. Each stove has its own draft chimney standing on an independent foundation, and there are no draft sewers or gas sewers, and hence no place out- side of the stove itself where flue dust can accumulate. The other features are not different from other designs of stoves. The operation is as follows: The stove being on gas and the products of combustion passing out through the two branch chimney flues to the chimney, as usual, and it is desired to put it on blast, the gas is taken off and the stove closed in the ordinary manner. It is then filled with cold blast by means of the two cold blast valves, the butterfly valves being both closed. The stove is then full of blast at engine pressure. The main chimney valve being open, one of the cold blast valves is closed, and then to clean the stove the butterfly valve on the same side as the closed cold blast valve is sud- denly opened for an instant. This causes the cold blast to rush up the passages on one side of the stove and down through those on the other side, and out through the branch chimney flue to the chimney, carrying with it the flue dust, which is thence blown into the air above the chimney. This puff of blast may be repeated, or the direction of it reversed by opening the butterfly valve on the other side in a similar manner. By thus causing the whole amount of blast in the stove to sud- denly pass out through the half of the passageways the velocity is sufficiently great to dislodge all dust and fume which may have settled in the stove or may be adhering to the surfaces of the brick work. If this is done each time of changing stoves and before a fresh stove is put on the furnace the stoves are always kept clean and free of particles of ore dust, and the troubles caused by oxide dust becoming mixed with the blast going into the tuyeres are avoided. And, furthermore, the laborious, expensive and disagreeable work of cool- ing down a stove and scraping out the accumulations periodically is dispensed with, and the life of the brick work in the structure increased and preserved. Stoves of this general type have now been in use for a numberof years at the works of Charles Cammell & Co. at Workington, England, with marked success. Since their construction it has never been found neces- sary to clean them except by this system of blowing out through the chimney. They have never been cooled down for hand cleaning, and their efficiency is as good to-day as it was when they were first bpilt. The ex- pense incurred for this class of work at most blast fur- nace plants has been, therefore, nil; and, furthermore, the general_cost of repairs and maintenance has been, for the reasons above indicated, merely nominal. —ia, It is claimed the recent strike in the hoop, sheet and tin plate mills cost the Amalgamated Association $82,060 in benefits alone. THE IRON AGE. October 10, 15) Commercial Aspects of Roman Life. BY HROLF. WISBY. In ancient Rome it was considered a crime to be poor. It would be difficult to find a better proof of the esteem in which capital was held by the Romans, an their idolatry of wealth for wealth’s sake. The origin of Roman wealth was the Roman triumphs, which paved the way for commercial enterprise on a hitherto unprece- dented scale. It cannot be denied that the political system of the time was characterized by the regardlessness and selfish- ness of the moneyed classes, which rose to power su preme almost as rapidly as the great middle class dis- appeared and mingled with the wretched plebeian ele- ment. “A good watch dog,” says a Roman writer on economics, “must not be on too friendly terms with his ‘ fellow slaves.’”” The slave and the ox were treated on the same level, and they were cared for from no other reason than that it would have been costly to let them starve; both alike were sold when their usefulness as slaving animals ceased, because it would have been bad economy to keep them. Nevertheless, with all the grave faults of Roman rule, in spite of the barbarity and inhumanity of many ot the strongest Roman institutions, the mercantile spirit expanded with every triumph of the Czesars, so that when Rome was at the hight of her military glory she had also become the great commercial center of the world at the time. The position of the Eternal City toward the ancient world may be comparea to the posi- tion of London toward the modern world, in so far that Rome was the controlling center of the money market. The parallel does not hold good when we begin to com- pare the trade of Rome with that of London, for Rome did not figure as an export city at all, merely confining herself to a vast, disproportionate import trade drawn from the numerous shipping ports of her domain. Right here we pick up the thread that shall guide us to a true un- derstanding of the element in Roman business life which encouraged the founding of mercantile associations and developed commercial gatherings on an international scale of attendance. A Disgrace to Accept Money for Work. When we wish to know why Rome did not export we must penetrate to the core of Roman society, and there we find the true obstacle in the shape of an ap- parently harmless lecal custom invented by the patri- cians. It originated with the idea that it was disgrace- ful for a man of standing to accept money for work. However desirable such a custom might be if intro- duced into certain phases of our national political sys- tem, it produced a much more harmful effect on Roman life than the capitalist system, pure and simple, could have done. First of all, it shattered the bonds of civil equality, broadened the gulf between the rich and the poor, and established a plutocracy the like of which the world has never seen. It raised social barriers everywhere, not merely between the laborer or the artisan and the landlord or the manufacturer, but also between the army officers and the militany tribunes, and between the courtiers and the magistrate. Such barriers exist to-day in a modified shape throughout Europe, but dur- ing Roman rule they were so high and so forbidding that the most productive branches of business were abandoned—because fit was considered disgraceful to work for money. This principle made it possible for the rich man to lord it over his fellows, and it became a sin to be poor. It forced the poor man into slavery, the army or the public manual service, and the manu- facturer and the tradesman, who, in spite of some means, could not afford te do work for nothing, were driven out of existence. The capitalist system reacted on agricul ture and the various branches of industry and commerce with such sweeping force that the home trade fell into decay in preference to the dealing in money and the farming of the public revenues, which really formed the mainstay of the Roman State. The chief productive a le.) a aa a ae | 7; S| ey — eS 7, nd ld re, he he en ist ur- ng pre to the > A Try, nu- ins, out cul rce into the ned tive October 10, 1901 THE sources of the country were paralyzed, and instead of ree labor Rome had brought upon herself the curse of lave labor. Historians record eight guilds of crafts- en which were among the institutions existing in Rome from time immemorial, and which were recruited rom the ranks of free men until slave labor was substi- ited. There were the goldsmiths, the coppersmiths, the carpenters, the potters, the dyers, the fullers, the lute blowers and the shoemakers, a list substantially overing the class of tradesmen working to order for ‘thers in the very early times, when the baking of read, the art of healing the sick and the spinning of vool into garments were not known as professions. The importance of these craftsmen guilds ceased when slave labor was substituted, and all handicraft was looked lown upon and despised. We have seen how this idea of disgrace by money getting, a mere whim of the patricians, practically revo- lutionized Roman life at a time when it was vital to maintain the national productive sources. It is true that commerce flourished, but it is no less true that it was confined to importing what Rome needed and could not herself produce. Rome had nothing to sell except money. The most serious consequence of the decay of the national industries, notably agriculture, which has always been the chief resource of Italy, was the difficulty experienced by the Roman State in supply- ing adequate food supplies to the multitude. If the small farmer, the tradesman and the artisan had con- tinued to exist, in fact if the freedom of the Roman citizen had been preserved, the empire would undoubt- edly have been able to raise its own supplies, and the home industries might have increased to such an extent as to form an item of export. But Rome converted her- self into a Vast military camp in which the commanding officers were capitalists and the soldiers were slaves, and consequently the burden of supplying grain, pork, wine and oil fell upon the commanding officers. How peril- ous any failure in this direction might be to the peace of the city and the safety of the officers is well illus- trated by the letters of Symmachus covering this mat- ter. Serfdom on such a large scale, as contrasted with the healthy competition of free labor, naturally en- couraged the import trade at the expense of the exports, but the historical reason for this condition of affairs re- mains, curiously enough, a mere patrician whim. Vocation Compulsory. To truly understand ancient Roman commercial life we must not lose sight of the fact that toward the close of the empire a strong effort was made to prevent a free circulation among the various callings and trades of life, and to keep the multitude penned in according to a system of social caste similar to that of India. Men were compelled to follow the same trade or occupation as their fathers, whether or no they liked it. Those en- gaged as sailors in bringing the grain from Africa to the public stores; those working as bakers, turning the flour into loaves for the populace; the butchers who brought pigs from Samnium, Lucania or Bruttium; the purvey- ors of wine and oil, the stokers who fed the furnaces at the public baths, were compulsorily bound to their vocation and denied the liberty of choosing a profession. It was the principle of rural serfdom applied to the multitudes of Rome, and it gradually absorbed every ‘lement in Roman society, except the capitalists, in one great national slavery. The object of the caste system was to keep people of various classes from making com- binations against the wealthy, and while the Roman State was successful, as a rule, in averting plebeian uprisings, it was finally obliged, after centuries of su- preme sovereignty, to yield to the foreign invaders. In their anxiety.to pen in the populace the capitalists lost sight of the fact that they were at the same time en- feebling the people, robbing it of its former national ride and patriotism, and only too late did they discover hat from such people could not be arawn the kind of Roman soldier that made the legions of Julius Cesar famous. Public esteem of the military service, at one time boundless, began to decline as soon as slaves were substituted for freemen, and toward the close of the fourth century it was detested so strongly that the in- LRON AGE, 5 crease of self mutilation to escape conscription had to be checkec by the most severe punishment. With this social basis in our mind, we may proceed to consider the more distinctly commercial aspects of Roman life, and its development in bodies and gather- ings for the regulation and promotion of mercantile in- terests. Roman Wealth, Roman wealth, of which so much has veen written, was not so very remarkable for magnitude as for en- durance. in this respect it forms a curious contrast to American wealth, which is truly remarkable for its mag- nitude, and which must continue for several centuries to come before we can begin to compare it with that of Rome as to endurance. We are much richer than the Romans, but it remains to be seen if we shall stay rich as long as they. Although Lucivs Paulus, with an es- tate of 60 talents, or $70,000, did not figure as a wealthy Senator, we know that the value of $100,000 was con- sidered the beginning of riches in ancient Rome. Five times this amount was a princely fortune, and only those in high office, and such as nad been governors of wealthy provinces, lorded it over millions. But money brought in more in those days, and luxuries could be had for a song on account of the instrumentality of the slaves. When the mercantile spirit began to make itself felt in earnest, it emanated as the spirit of the capitalist, and as such it pierced and permeated nearly every sta- tion and department of social life. Even the pursuit of agriculture and the government of internal affairs be- came game for the capitalists. A species of mercantile morality, which discountenanced as squandering all forms of giving away without recompense, seems to have settled down into the conscience of the Roman people, and even legislation was obliged to yield to it. Thus the giving of presents and bequests, and the under- taking of securities, were subjected to restrictions by decree of the burgesses, and heritages if not claimed by the nearest relative were regularly taxed. The idea of an inheritance tax seems also to have occurred to the Roman mind. Another form of mercantile morality, which was undoubtedly the most useful in establishing Roman virtue before the intervention of slavery, was that which made respectability, honor and punctuality the three essential requirements of the business man. Every citizen was morally bound to keep an account book of his income and expenditure. In every well con- ducted household there was, accordingly, a separate ac- count chamber (tablinum), and every one took care not to die without having made a will. Those household books were admitted as valid evidence in any Roman court of justice, just as the merchant’s ledger of to-day may serve a similar purpose. The conventional respect- ability of the Roman business world was particularly noticeable in the gradual but strict enforcement of the rule that no respectable man should allow himseif to be paid for his services. What this rule, incorporated as a principle and pushed: to its last extremity as an ele- ment in society, brought about we have already men- tioned. Suffice it to add that magistrates, officers, jury- men, guardians, and in general all respectable men en- trusted with public functions, refused to accept recom- pense for their services and confined themselves merely to compensation for their outlays. This was the only pleasing and socially useful aspect of this otherwise ludicrous rule. . Commercial Associations, One of the most far reaching results of the Roman business spirit was the extraordinary encouragement given, sometimes by the very nature of the capitalist system, to the formation on an extensive scale of com- mercial associations. In Rome these institutions were primarily suggested by the system of the government in employing middlemen for the transaction of its busi- ness. Considering the scope of the deals it was natural, as well as expedient for the sake of maximum security, that the capitalists should undertake such leases and contracts not as individuals, but in partnership with several other parties of responsibility. Indications 6 THE point to the existence among the Romans of the feature so characteristic of the modern business world—namely, the consolidation of rival companies to jointly establish trade monopolies for the control of the output and the selling price. It was customary for business men be- longing to the same associations and dealing in the same product to put their heads together and form what we would cali a joint stock company, into the treasury of which each member would pay his share, outsiders being excluded. If there were 12 members in the syndi- cate the stock was owned exclusively between them, and the profits were pocketed by them. There was no at- tempt to “ float’? the market, and there does not seem to have existed any market in stocks in ancient Rome, in spite of the great development in the money lending and general banking business. Accordingly such anom- alies as ‘‘ watered” stock were unknown, and as there were no subscriptions so was there no public in- terest manifested in the various syndicates, which conducted their business behind closed doors, or rather portiéres. The Syndicate System. In transactions involving considerable risks, espe- cially transmarine shipping, the syndicate system was so extensively adopted that it practically took the place of business insurance, which was, however, unknown to antiquity as an institution. Probably the most common and stupendous of these insurance schemes was the so- called nautical loan, through the agency of which the risk and profit of transmarine shipping were propor- tionally distributed among the owners of the vessel and the cargo and the capitalists advancing money for the voyage. The rule followed by the Roman capitalists was less liable to ruin them than the methods adopted in our business world, for the Roman economists held that it was advisable to take small shares in many speculations rather than speculate independently for large stakes. Cato advised his business associates not to fit out a single vessel for his money, but in concert with 49 other capitalists to construct 50 ships and take an interest in each to the extent of one-fiftieth part or share. Naturally this introduced hitherto unknown com- plications in the matter of keeping accounts, but the Roman merchant successfully overcame this obstacle through his punctuality and close attention to detail, and besides he possessed in his system of management by freemen and slaves a far more preferable machine, from the point of view of the ancient merchant, than our counting house system. These various mercantile associations and companies exerted a strong influence on Roman economy, private as well as national. To quote the words of Polybius, there was hardly a Roman citizen of means who had not been involved as an avowed or silent partner in leasing the public revenues, and it was common for capitalists to invest the majority of their fortunes in shares bought from the various com- mercial associations. Contractors’ Companies, During Rome’s greatness the transactions of her merchants fully kept pace with the contemporary de- velopment of political power. Closely connected with the business of money lending was the institution of the contractors’ system. Capitalists belonging to vari- ous associafions got together and formed separate con- tractors’ companies to take over and carry out the vari- ous municipal national contracts. This was done to a much larger extent than is the case with the leasing of public contracts in this country, which is noted for turn- ing over more enterprises for private speculation than any European government. Bids were opened not only for building and construction undertakings, but for har- vesting the national crops, for grinding the same into flour and for supplying the city of Rome with provisions of certain specified kinds. It is not to be supposed that the remarkably devel- oped commercial system of Rome, vast in proportions and subtle in detail compared to the business standards of antiquity, should have lacked permanent meeting places for the gathering of capitalists similarly inter- ested in trade. In fact, several Roman writers of note IRON AGE, October 10, 1901 tell us plainly that such places and such gatherings were as common as market fairs, and possibly by reas: of their frequent occurrence no writer has seemed 1 think it worth his while to make a record of them. Th: these gatherings were often of international importan has been fully demonstrated by the evidence of Roma historians, and we know that not infrequently the nu ber of attending members was so large and so repr sentative that the gatherings assumed the significance o commercial congresses, involving not only local and n: tional interests, but also conditions in the conquer provinces of the empire. Long before such gatherings ascended to real prominence religious festivals paved the way for them. The idea of getting together in great masses could not be carried out without business in some shape ensuing from it. Thus the great annual assembly before the temple of Voltumna in Etruria was originally a religious festival, but gradually business in terests began to manifest themselves, and the attention of the assembly became diverted between worship be- fore the temple and trading at the fair that was sub- sequently held at the same place. The business part of the Voltumna festival gradually assumed such pro- portions, and such was the increase of Roman capital- ists in attendance, that it was in fact more of a com- mercial congress than a religious assembly. Perhaps the most important of all the ancient Italian fairs, that gradually became international meeting places for trad ers the world over, was that held under the shadow of Mount Soracte, in the grove of Feronia, on the plain of the Tiber. Roman Fairs. Such fairs were generally named “ mercati,” and they reached their highest development in Italy during the reign of the Cwesars. In Rome the fairs branched out according to the nature of the principal business in- volved, and there also we find the first attempt of an- tiquity to separate the fair from the congress. It be- came the rule for commercial associations to convene for the purpose of discussing their interests and pro- mulgating future business policy. A first these gather- ings took place at some court or forum, which was hired for the occasion, but as the transactions increased in magnitude special buildings, or fora, were erected for the permanent use of the various commercial congresses, to which the property belonged. So, while a forum was originally a place for the administration of justice, an- other class of fora crept into existence in Rome, and these buildings served not only as meeting places for the merchants, but were also utilized for the exhibition of samples of both foreign and domestic merchandise. The latest historical evidence points to the conclusion that the fora commercialia (mercati), or the commercial fora, were more numerous than the so-called fora judicialia, or the judicial fora, of which the greatest, the Forum Romanum, still remains, next to the Coliseum, the most notable ruin of ancient Rome. The fora commercialia at their highest development may, to a certain degree, be regarded as the commercial museums of ancient Rome. In any event they supplied the trade informe- tion then obtainable, and by exhibiting the goods from abroad as well as domestic manufactures they exerted a similar influence, necessarily in a crude way, on the business life of the Romans, as the commercial museums exert on the modern business world. The Influence of Good Roads, The instrumentality of good roads aided more than any other factor in the growth and importance of the Roman commercial forum. When the empire was at the summit of its glory it was intersected by a system of public highways which rendered intercourse between the different parts of Europe easy and comparatively rapid. As the public roads took the place of telegraphs, railways and steamboat service in those days, the im- portance of such a system of highways can be imagined, and without them the Roman commercial gatherings would not have been able to assume an international character. From three separate gates of Rome issued three great main roads. The most famous of these was the magnificent highway built by and named after Em- in sal as October 10, 1901 THE IRON AGE. 7 peror Appius Claudius—namely, Via Appia—which as- cended the Alban hills and ran across the Pontine iarshes to Capua, where it divided into roads for North- ern Italy and Europe. The second main road led to Reggio, and thence by ferry to Messina and the principal cities of Sicily, one of which, Capo di Boco, was the ‘egular port of winter shipping for Carthage, in Africa. From Carthage roads of Roman construction led west- ward in communication with Spain and eastward to Asia. By a third road it was possible to reach Turkey, Macedonia, Illyria and Thrace, connecting with Athens ind Antioch, which latter city was then the center of astern trade. This magnificent system of skillfully constructed oads proved of immense advantage to the Romans in moving their armies with hitherto unexampled swift- ness, the mails were transmitted at a much quicker rate, and trade with distant provinces received a great stimu- lus to renewed increase on a@ large scale. The speed of the Roman Government couriers in traversing these roads was much accelerated by the institution of relays, and the service was so well conducted that the average speed for long distance rides was increased to 100 miles per day. Much better speed was not infrequently made, but the conditions of the roads and the weather during the travel sometimes necessarily influenced the progress of the couriers a great deal. Thus, while Cesar is cred- ited with having covered his journey of 769 miles from Rome to the Rhone in eight days, it was not an unusual accomplishment for good couriers to speed from Antioch to Constantinople, a distance of 747 miles, in six days. Private letters were, as a rule, conveyed by good run- ners, making on the average 25 miles a day under favor- able circumstances. Historical accounts as to the further commercial de- velopment of the Roman State are wanting; in fact, the commercial and agricultural aspects of Roman life, which were the main pillars of Roman wealth, belong to the element of which we know exceedingly little. Ancient historians appear to have been so busy with chronicling the dates of wars and revolutions that they have omitted to leave a reliable account of internal af- fairs pertaining to the main industries. It is only here and there that we happen upon a few facts, jotted down as on the impulse of the native historians, which reveal that something of actual international commercial im- portance was going on most of the time. The Silk Industry. Thus we know that the silk industry, which was des- tined to become paramount in Italy, was promoted at the direct instance of the Emperor Justinian, and we know that this would rarely have occurred were it not for the excellent roads connecting the Roman Empire with the East. As Justinian reigned only as Byzantine Emperor, during the period 527 to 565, governing his provinces from the imperial seat in Constantinople, the art of silk spinning was not brought directly to Rome, but owing ‘to the commercial interchange between the two metropoli the art finally found its way also to the Eternal City. Justinian ordered the silkworm of China introduced for the exclusive purpose of furnishing him- self and his court with the envied garments of the Chi- nese, but if some commercial forum of the Rome before his time had taken up the matter it is likely that the business instinct of the emissaries would also have in- duced them to introduce in Rome the art of paper mak- ing and printing as conducted in China, whereby much valuable literature would have been saved. As it was, Justinian contented himself hy dispatching two Persian monks to the land of the celestials, from which they re- turned with the eggs of the silkworm in a hollow cane. The eggs were hatched out in cow manure, the worms were set to spinning on the leaves of the Byzantine mul- berry, and Justinian got the fine clothes of his choice. The opportunity to introduce the priceless art of print- ing on paper was not taken advantage of, and the Chi- nese kept the secret that, if revealed then to the West- ern world, would doubtless have changed many a page of history as we know it. It is hardly necessary to extract additional historical evidence to emphasize the fact that the ancients recog- nized the benetits accruing from commercial gatherings, and utilized the international character of the assem- blies attending the fairs and the religious festivals for business purposes. Local events show that analogous conditions existed in a modified shape in Babylonia, in various cities of the Greek realm, and during the middle ages a similar commercial system was in evidence, now in one city, now in another, most prominent in the cen ters of greatest activity and business importance. Nickel Steel for Armor Plate. WASHINGTON, D. C., October 8, 1901.—In view of cer- tain inaccurate and wholly misleading publications which have recently appeared concerning the settlement that has been made between the United States, the Carnegie Steel Company, Henri Schneider & Co. of Creusot, France, and the American Nickel Steel Com- pany, in the leng standing controversy regarding the right to use nickel steel in the manufacture of armor plate, the correspondent of The Iron Age has been fur- nished with the facts from an authoritative source. It will be seen that the settlement is more significant than a mere termination of a protracted dispute, inasmuch as the owners of the patents involved grant both to the Carnegie Steel Company and to the United States the right to use the processes covered by the patents to the full end of their terms. The consideration upon which the settlement is affected is the sum of $130,000 paid by the United States to Schneider & Co. The question at issue in this case was raised over @ contract made in 1890 by the Carnegie Steel Company with the Secretary of the Navy to manufacture 6000 tons of armor, the contractors agreeing to employ nickel steel if required to do so by the Navy Department, with the proviso that if such requirement was made the Gov- ernment would add to the agreed price of the armor the sum of 2 cents per pound to cover the claims of certain patentees claiming by their patents to control the right to make armor containing nickel steel. The Govern- ment stipulating that nickel steel should be used in the making of this armor, the Secretary of the Navy set apart a fund equal to 2 cents per pound on the amount covered by the contract in order to meet any liability for the use of the nickel steel process by the contract- ors. The Government declined, however, to pay this money to the contractors, although they were directly liable should an infringement suit be maintained against them. i Subsequently Schneider & Co. began a suit against the Carnegie Steel Company, charging infringement of certain patents, and a long and costly litigation ensued. The controversy was recently terminated by a series of conferences participated in by representatives of all contending interests, and an agreement has been signed of which the following are the principal points: “ Whereas, an amicable settlement has been agreed to, between the parties to said contract of November 20, 1890, and the owners of said patents, whereby both parties to that contract, their associates, agents and employees, shall be released from all claims or demands growing out of the manufacture, sale or use of nickel steel armor made by said Carnegie Steel Company and their predecessors in business, and whereby the said Carnegie Steel Company shall have the right to use the inventions covered by said patents in the manufacture of armor plate and appurtenances, and the Government of the United States shall have th right to use and to manufacture, or cause to be manufactured for its use, such armor plate and appurtenances, without further compensation to said patentees, to the full end of the terms for which said patents are or may be granted. “ And the said Schneider & Co. and the said Ameri- can Nickel Steel Company hereby agree not to prosecute or cause to be prosecuted any officer or agent of the United States Government for any past or future manu- facture, use or sale of said patented inventions, whether used in armor plate furnished by the said Carnegie Company, or by others; but this covenant not to sue shall not be construed in any manner to act as a license 8 THE to any party or parties whomsoever to manufacture said armor plate except for the use of the Government, its officers or agents, without the permission of the owners of said Schneider patents, or to abridge in any manner the right of said Nickel Steel Company, or their assignees, to sue such parties for infringement of said patents. “Now, therefore, in considerat