The Iron Age 1903-02-26: Vol 71 Iss 9

THE IRON.AGE oq isuy A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machine we{uderariig rades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., 232-238 William St.. New York. Vol. 71: No. 9. New York, Thursday, February 26, 1903. inant nce Readiig Matter Contents....,.... page 58 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ** 169 Classified List of Advertisers .. ‘* 162 Advertising and Subscription Rates ** 95 UOC Jeane Omecene INSIDE ee ae a — Lubricated Smokeless Cartridges. To meet a growing demand, the U. M. C. Co. now presents to the trade these new cartridges loaded with smokeless powder. They afford all the luxury of smokeless powder and a clean bullet yet there is sufficient grease to prevent leading of the rifle barrel. The Union Metallic Cartridge Co., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. sistol § Patent Stee Belt Lacing, SAVES Time, Belts, i, Broadway, 86-88 First Street, Money ew York City. San Francisco, Cal. GreatestStrength READY TO APPLY FiNisHeOvoWT With Least Metal send for Circulars and Free Samples. THE BRISTOL CO.. Waterbury. Conn. | ——____ _ — sro GAHALL BOILERS ™* Also MstudsefSash Gera cy © aa =~ §& —_———___ ¢6% SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. REGULAR PATTERN. TURNBUCKLES. oes |: GAPEWELL HORSE NAILS ; x Branch Office, 11 Broadway, New York. wl Cleveland City Forge and Iron Co. y. Cleveland, 0. F NEW YORK, Branches: PORTLAND, ORE., $$$ a PHILADELPHIA, BUFFALO, 3:2 = a CHICAGO, DETROIT, BALTIMORE, eOigias ST. LOUIS, CINCINNATI, NEW ORLEANS, oe 3 Sz - BOSTON, SAN FRANCISCO, DENVER, woo c q eo = : THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COMPANY HARTFORD, CONN. LOW Phosphorus Pig Girard Buflding, Phila. PILLING & CRAN Lewis Block, Pittsbur ~ } Empire Bidg., New Yor REGULAR PATTERN. Excelsior Straight-Way Back Pressure Valve. This valve has no dash pots, springs, guides or complicated levers to get out of order. It is simple, reliable and wel] made. Never sticks, and can be relied upon at all times when using exhaust steam for heating ; or when used as a relief, or free exhaust on a condensing plant, it has noequal. It is noise- less and free from any complicated attachments. JENKINS BROTHERS, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago vanized iron—every sheet | THE AMERJGAN TUBE & STAMPING C0, . HOT AND COLD ROLLED Successor to 153. and part of a sheet. STRIP STEEL. The WILMOT & HOBBS MFG. CO. esen MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery Bearings. APOLLO BEST BLOOM GALVANIZED IRON Guaranteed—Apollo_gal- To be perfect. Pac-Simile of Bar. Beware of - c “omnany. N, American Sheet Steel Company, New York imitations. #t3- Bank St. Lond Chi o, Montreal. Pittsburgh, Boston MAGNOLIA METAL C0., Ate “We mamafactate all graces of Babbitt Metals Owners and Sole Manufacturers, NEW YORK. at competitive prices. \ \ NOTH SON\At ee ae natn ma ot Al EAE EI, SERS we Bess = Wan” OE nin. ne, Ce hee wiitanan ene se to ae ee Soe - pee we Aer ts Nn a Ba ne ia TH E 2 THE IRON AGE. ANsonia F nass _ |WATERBURY BRASS if) | THe PLuwe & Arwooo rc. C0,, MANUFACTURERS OF t »» CGeeren Co: Main Office aiaia santiiies Conn. Sheet and Roll Brass BRASS AND COPPER N. Y. Store, No. 122 to No. 180 Centre St. —AND— Providence Store, No. 131 Dorrance St. and No. 12 Eddy St. Wi RE Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS hiniaamanien GERMAN SILVER ano BURRS. T . BR | Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kere- obi n ro n Zz © IN SHEET, ROD AND WIRE sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp a oe (TRADE-MaRK REGISTERED.) for Trimmings, &c. . Condenser Plates,Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Key Stock 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. f Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. Cutlery Metal 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. He Seamless Tubes for Boilers x ; Se ae Electrical Purposes 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, : ROLLING MILL : FACTORIES : i 99 John Street, - - New York. Plated Ware THOMASTON, CONN. | WATERBURY, CONN. hf also commana ane = —_ — ie 66 ’ 99 ‘ Randolph-Clowes Co., ¢|“Pope’s Island White filetal” |§SCOVILL MFG. CO., : Main Office and Mill, for like uses when extra drawing BRASS ’ and spinning is required. ‘ pager terns tihng WRITE FOR SAMPLES. GERMAN SILVER MANUFACTURERS OF _— Sheets, Rolis, Wire, : SHEET BRASS & COPPER. RAAAAAAA AAA AR Rods, Bolts and Tubes, ie is 4 _ 2 Brass Shelis, Cups, Hinges, BRAZED BRASS & COPPER Haag tester Srahopeceeetai Buttons, Lamp Ccods. TUBES. use, as there is practically 7 SPECIAL BRASS GOODS TO ORDEK ‘ SEAMLESS BRASS “as i aes eee, Factories, WATERBURY, CONN. ¥ ¥ : 5 Money and atience. 3 DEPOTS: & COPPER TUBES GREATEST DURABILITY. » TO 36 IN. DIAM. cent ¥ ¥ ; a New York Office, 258 Broadway, Postal NEW YORK, CHICAGO, BOSTON. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze eer DAA AAAI, Telegraph Bldg., Room 715. and Metal Company, JOHN’ DAVOL & SONS ae Chicago Office, 602 Fisher Bldg, Bridgeport. Conn. AGENTS FOR ie BOBO 0000 00290200008 | Cr eee ee Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co., iar eesti heen eae a oe eee anand ierade eee eee eed DEALERS IN . , COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LEAD, ANTIMONY. 100 John Street, - New York. LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. . SMELTERS OF SPELTER Arthur ' Rutter AND MANUFACTURERS OF se : SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. sapeenet 20 ig Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. WILLIAM S. FEARING De Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. i} Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. 256 Broadway, NEW YORK. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger man Silver. Copper, Brass and 4 ¥ German Silver Wire. Brazed and e HAN Imes | i wa Ma AIF Scamless Brass and Copper Tube kK INISHERS des ' Copper and 1 and Brass Rod. » a S8se-:74 West Monroe St., Chicago. 66 9 NMS UD PTO CIN ESSE CMV U TTT Melek BAe am Goarnp. Light F ONTRACTS rs coe = | BRASS, BRONZE and ALUMINUM CASTINES, iin. nen aa aia BROTHERS . PROPRIETURS OF THE Send for Circulars and Electrotypec. Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, {T= 5kt0Geporr Brass co. “ fs Bridgeport, Conn. Brasicrs’ Bolt and Sheathing aD a4 % Tod Poet Si. Boatien a COPPER, COPrPrvwER WwWIiREZ] AND Iw E Ts. Importers and Dealers in ; . a ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. a 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. R.A. HART, BATTLE CREEK, MICH. No better counter made. “4 Wheel, $3.00 lH > " I | A New Internal Combustion Engine. Much interest has of late been aroused by the exhibi tion abroad of numerous makes of high power engines subsequent re Amer- been devoted of the internal combustion type, ports concerning their probable ica. Although much more attention has type of prime abroad, and ment has therefore been more marked, it is noteworthy that American manufacturers have in the conducting operations along this line with the result that internal combustion engines of American design and American manufacture in sizes as high as several thou sand horse power are in evidence for service as exact and by manufacture in } to this mover ts develop meantime been ing and severe as that for which the high grade steam engine is now almost universally employed. In the field above 250 horse-power, and ventured until recently none above domestic few makers have \ A LOO y luvv B. TT. U. per cubie foot, and the latte Oo. Al iouxg ( parative Weakness of the latte! $ parte ly due to the absence of the highly calorific CH, or irsh gas, it is mainly attributable to the presence CO and N, both inert all engines employing the two-stroke cycle gases resulting from previous com bustion lt accomplished either by a a blast of air from an auxiliary pump, directed in such a manner as to force out the re burned thus clearing the way, so to speak, for the incoming pure mixture. This latter meth- od, the most practical one, can evidently result only in a dilution of the incoming mixture, and variations in the calorific value of the explosive mixture, which, for a gas of given constituency, should be maintained constant received careful attention in all West inghouse designs. The engine under description scay enges thoroughly and completely upon the return stroke scavelging must be specia piston movement or by maining Lases These points have Westinghouse Machine C¢ Engraving copyrighted by ympany A NEW ©UU horse-power, with one exception, the Westinghouse Machine Company, whose three-cylinder, vertical, single acting engine is well known. ‘This company have, how- ever, been for some time engaged in developing the dou ble acting engine, and it is now prepared to build this type for powers ranging as high as 3000 horse-power. As this type of engine possesses features somewhat novel to those accustomed to the usual reciprocating engine design, a brief description may be of interest. lig. 1 shows a perspective view of a single crank en gine of the new type, Fig. 2 that of a double crank en- gine. It is quite apparent from the accompanying views that the general design of the engine resembles to a no ticeable extent that of a modern high speed tandem com pound steam engine in the arrangement of cylinders, frames, bed plates, bearings, fly wheel and This resemblance is further carried out in the crank effort. Each and every revolution is accompanied by two impulses, one occurring at each engine generator. matter ol successive in- out-stroke. The therefore and operates upon the four-stroke cycle, involving distinct periods ot explosion, expansion and ex- stroke admission, compression, haust; a cycle yielding the highest practical as well as theoretical thermal efficiency and economy of fue The employment of the four-stroke cycle involves a feature of the greatest importance, that of scavenging. A comparison of the thermal values of nat ural and blast furnace gas emphasizes the pure working mixture. The former yields approximate positive necessity of INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINI of the pistons, which then draw in their charge of ex- plosive mixture, undiluted either by products of combus tion or by scavenging air. In direct distinction from the use of an explosive mix- ture varying in richness according to the load, the West- inghouse design employs a mixture of unvarying qual ty, Which is initially proportioned according to the na- ture of the gas used, but which remains constant under As the load upon the engine in- corresponding greater or lesser quantity of mixture is admitted to the cylinders, thus utilizing at all times an explosive mixture of maximum strength, resulting in higher thermal efficiency and econ That this method is productive of the best from the such as the Doutz ail conditions of load. creases or decreases a omy of fuel. results in engines of high power is apparent fact that reputable Eur Cockerill and Nurnberg pean buildet 5, abandoning the method of governing companies, are constant mixture variable for the Design of Engine. on of the engine under description is in in that it departs materially fro1 The construc many respects unique reopean design and embodies tablished features of modern engine been so instrumental in bringing about the the accepted Eu many steam practice, which have success of the well-known Westinghouse vertical single acting type from crank to cylinders the construction at of a horizontal steam engine suitably strength ened in proportion to the increased maximum pressure from the rapid combustion of the highly con TURD ik. in, Tin Pak. a apie a fo a tren ale ey 2 THE IRON AGE. pressed gases. The design of cylinders, pistons and valves, of course, departs materially from steam engine practice. The cylinders are double walled with the outer walls split peripherally to permit independent expan- sion and contraction without placing the cylinder cast- ing under stress. The two cylinders are united at the top by heavy tie rods, engaging peripheral bosses, and at the bottom by a stout cast iron distance piece. The rear section of the bed plate which supports the two cyl- inders is cored hollow with a central dividing wall, and serves as a reservoir for incoming and outgoing circulat- ing water. All connections are piped directly to these reservoirs, thus avoiding a large amount of piping about the engine. Through the bed plate extend the four ver- tical exhaust pipes, which connect immediately below with an exhaust main. The exhaust passages leading from the valve chambers are'cast integral with the cyl- inders upon their under sides and are water cooled. At the ends of each cylinder occur horizontal side ports resembling straight steam ports, which communi- cate with removable combustion chambers. The cyl- inders are closed by water jacketed heads, those located between the two cylinders being split diametrically for -IRONAGE Engraving copyrighted by Westinghouse Machine Company. February 26, 1903 terchangeable parts. Each valve, together with its spin- dle and seating spring, is independently mounted, and by simply removing the bolts from the bonnet the entire valve, seat and liner may be drawn out for inspection or replacement by a spare. Similarly, the igniters, which are of the “ make and break” electrical contact type, are mounted in a removable plug extending into the com- bustion chamber through the side walls. The valve gear is of the standard cam and roller pattern, and is driven by a helical gear, engaging a similar split gear bolted around the main shaft. The method of circulating cooling water through the pistons is unique. This water enters a cavity on the cross head by means of a flexible pipe connection pro- vided with special swinging joints. It then flows through the hollow piston rod to the front and rear pistons, through which it circulates, finally emerging through a bronze tail rod extending through the rear head, there emptying into a cast iron jacket communicating with the hot water return pipe. Similarly, cold water is conducted through suitable pipes to the cylinder jackets, thence to the jackets surrounding the exhaust valves and ports, and finally to the return pipe, emerging at a sufficiently Fig. 2.—Double Crank Engine. A NEW INTERNAL facility in inspection of the interior, and the two halves are united with a ground fit, no packing being found necessary. This feature obviates the necessity for com- pletely dismantling the engine for inspection. The location of valves and combustion chambers in the new design is especially fortunate, and the contrast between the simplicity of this arrangement and the for- midable complexity of numerous European types is striking. The combustion chambers are independent castings, with plain machined faces, circular valve liner seats, and cored out passages for circulating water. Both admission and exhaust valves, which are of the stand- ard poppet type, operate vertically and with opposite throw. They open by cam movement, and are held to their seats by spring pressure. The central space, closed by the admission valve above, and the exhaust valve be- low, communicates directly with the cylinder port be- fore mentioned; the exhaust space with the exhaust pas- sages on the under sides of the cylinders; the admission space with the supply pipe. This supply pipe is a rec- tangular cast iron main extending along the entire front and provided with openings opposite each admission valve. It receives its supply from the governor chamber located midway between the two ends, this, in turn, com- municating with a mixing chamber supplied on the one hand with gas and on the other with air through suitable valves. These two valves are shown in Fig. 1, and are provided with graduated indices, sq that the exact pro- portions of gas and air may at all times be visible and under the control of the attendant. Another feature of the greatest importance is found in the provision for in- COMBUSTION ENGINE. high temperature for use in heating and drying coils, ra- diators, &c. By the above method the proper tempera- ture relations between pistons and cylinders is at all times secured, thus allowing close piston fits to be em- ployed without danger of excessive friction or rupture. This point may be more readily appreciated from the fact that a cold piston clearance of approximately 1-16 inch is necessary in moderate sized engines not fitted with water cooled pistons. The pistons are constructed in two parts, with packing rings and babbitted bearing surfaces. They are secured in position on the rods by in- ternal nuts and present plain convex surfaces to the burning gases. Piston rods are of forged steel, with bored water ducts. The packing for both piston rod and tail rod is of metallic ring type. The engine is started by compressed air pumped into a steel reservoir during a previous run before shutting down. For this purpose a special disengaging gear Is provided which isolates the rear cylinder, and on admit- ting the compressed air allows this cylinder to operate as an air motor until the regular combustion cycle ‘s taken up in the forward cylinder. The rear cylinder may then be thrown into normal action. Oiling is accom- plished by steam engine appliances, such as sight feed cups, cylinder pumps and oil rings for crank pins. The engine is governed by a sensitive fly ball gov- ernor of the standard design, protected by a circular housing. It operates a vertical piston valve supplying a fuel mixture of constant quality, but in quantities pro- portionate to the load. The single crank engine is at present manufactured + ete February 26, 1903 THE IRON AGE. in sizes ranging from 250 to 750 horse-power, and the double crank from 750 to 1500 horse-power. In the lat- ter the cranks are placed at 90 degrees angularity, giv- ing four impulses per revolution, and a crank effort cor- responding to that of a cross compound double acting steam engine. Several installations of this type of en- gine are in progress. > A Supplementary Law for Equipping Cars with Couplers and Brakes. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 24, 1903.—The House of Representatives has passed an important bill, which had been previously acted upon by the Senate, to amend the law which compels common carriers engaged in inter- state commerce to equip their cars with automatic cou- plers and continuous brakes and their locomotives with driving wheel brakes. The passage of the bill is the re- sult of the active efforts of the Interstate Commerce Commission and of various organizations of railroad em- ployees, and, as passed by the House. is as follows: Be it enacted, &c., That the provisions and requirements of the act entitled “ An act to promote the safety of employees and travelers upon railroads by compelling common carriers engaged in interstate commerce to equip their cars with automatic coup- lers and continuous brakes and their locomotives with driving wheel brakes, and for other purposes,”’ approved March 2, 1893 and amended April 1, 1896, shall be held to apply to common carriers by railroads in the Territories and the District of Columbia; and the provisions and requirements hereof and of said acts relating to automatic couplers, grab irons and the hight of drawbars shall be held to apply to all locomotives, tenders, cars and similar vehicles used on any railroad engaged in interstate commerce, and in the Territories and the District of Columbia, and to all other locomotives, tenders, cars and sim- ilar vehicles used in connection therewith, excepting those trains, cars and locomotives exempted by the provisions of sec tion 6 of said act of March 2, 1893, as amended by the act of April 1, 1896, or which are used upon street railways. Sec. 2. That whenever, as provided in said act, any train is operated with power or train brakes, and less than 50 per centum of the cars in such train shall have their brakes used and operated by the engineer of the locomotive drawing such train; and all power-braked cars in such train which are asso- ciated together with said 50 per centum shall have their brakes so used and operated; Provided, That the Interstate Commerce Commission may, upon application and after full hearing, de- crease said minimum percentage as to any common carrier, for a stated limited time; and provided that in no case shall such reduction permit the running of any train with less power or train brakes than are required by section 1 of the act of March 2, 1893; and, to more fully carry into effect the objects of said act, the Interstate Commerce Commission may, from time to time, after full hearing, increase the minimum percentage of cars in any train required to be operated with power or train brakes which must have their brakes used and operated as afore- said; and failure to comply with any such requirement of the said Interstate Commerce Commission shall be subject to the like penalty as failure to comply with any requirement of this section. Sec. 3. That the provisions of this act shall not take effect until September 1, 1903. Nothing in this act shall be held or construed to relleve any common carrier, the Interstate Com- merce Commission, or any United States district attorney from any of the provisions, powers, duties, liabilities or requirements of said act of March 2, 1893, as amended by the act of April 1, 1896 ; and all of the provisions, powers, duties, requirements and liabilities of said act of March 2, 1893, as amended by the act of April 1, 1896, shall, except as specifically amended by this act, apply to this act. The effect of this bill upon the railroads of the coun- try and the extent to which additional equipment will be required were set forth during the debate in the House by Representative Eanger of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, as follows: “The purpose of this act is to make more efficient the provisions of the act of March 2, 1893, for the promo- tion of the safety of employees upon railways. It has been held by some courts that the tender of a locomotive is not a car, and is therefore not affected by the provi- sions of this act. It has also been held that the act only applies to cars in interstate movement, and cars are very frequently, although generally designed for and used in the movement of interstate traffic, yet they are very frequently in use which is not interstate move- ment that requires the services of operatives upon them. Whenever an action for damages is brought by reason of the death or injury of a railroad employee, of course every defense is made, and although the car may not be equipped as directed by the act of Congress, yet that di- rection, as it stands, only applies when the car is being used in the movement of interstate commerce; therefore the burden is on the plaintiff in every such action to es- tablish that fact, and is frequently an impossibility, be- cause frequently the injury or death does not happen when the car is so engaged in interstate commerce. It is therefore of the highest importance to make the act of Congress, as everybody supposed it would be, ef- fective so far as we have the power and authority, for the protection of employees by requiring the equipment referred to in the act on all cars used on railways en- gaged in interstate commerce. That is the purpose of the first section of the bill. “The purpose of the second section is to require a more general and uniform use of air and air brakes, so as to have less need for the operation of hand brakes. The present act, as I recollect it, is that there must be sufficient air braking apparatus used to enable the engi- neer to control the train. That of course differs, per- haps, in the judgment of every engineer. Therefore it seems appropriate that there should be a certain percent- age of the cars of every train required to be operated by air brakes, whether it is actually essential for the proper control of the train or not. “It may be said that the railroad companies have made great progress in equipping their trains with air braking appliances; but, as explained before our com- mittee, there are many appliances besides those on the cars which are necessary to maintain their efficiency. Every yard where the brakes are to be tested must be supplied with pipes and with air, and of course only in the great centers are those appliances to be found in perfection. Therefore it will be a great step in advance of present conditions to require this use of air brake ap- pliances; and it must then, of course, be kept in an effi- cient condition. In order that no unreasonable hardship may result to anybody, and that there may be no par- alysis of the commérce of the country, the bill pro- vides that the Interstate Commerce Commission upon application may, for a specified limited time, reduce the minimum number of cars specified in the act as essen- tial to be so operated. I do not see why there should be any opposition from any interests to the enactment of the measure, unless it is that the provision requiring the use of air may be regarded as too drastic and as real- ly greater than is necessary for the safety of the em- ployees.” It was further explained that the use of air brakes on 50 per cent. of the cars of freight trains, as required by the bill, would be sufficient to control trains under all conditions except on the very steepest grades in moun- tainous regions, but that nothing in the bill would op- erate to prevent the Interstate Commerce Commission from requiring a larger percentage of cars operated in such regions to be equipped with air brakes. It was also pointed out that an important reason for the enactment of the bill was the fact that the existing law relating to couplers, brakes and other devices for the protection of life had -been held not to apply to cars operated wholly within the Territories or the District of Co- lumbia, over which Congress unquestionably had full control. It was also important to exempt cars operated on street railways only, in order that corporations own- ing such cars might not be required to defend actions brought under the general law, which was intended to apply to steam railroads only. After very brief debate the bill was passed. When this measure passed the Senate it provided that not less than 65 per cent. of the cars in the trains should have their brakes used and operated by the engineer of the locomotive drawing such train, and the change made by the House will necessitate sending the bill to confer- ence to harmonize this difference. It can be stated, how- ever, that whether the House or Senate provision is adopted, the measure will be satisfactory to the Inter- state Commerce Commission and to other interests, and will put an end to the agitation on this subject. Ww. L. Cc. Lede aD 4 The New York Electrical Laboratory Commission. On Tuesday, February 17, 1903, the Electrical Lab- oratory Commission, consisting of State Engineer Ed- ward A. Bond, Charles P. Steinmetz of Schenectady, and Harold W. Buck of Niagara Falls, made its report to the New York Legislature. The Commission states that it seemed important first of all to ascertain as near- ly as possible the financial interests involved in the use of electricity, and from the best available sources it de- termined that $1,462,615,595 represents the capital in- vested under the laws of the State of New York in elec- tric railroads, electric light and power companies, tele- graph and telephone companies, while $217,974,695 rep- resents the capital of companies engaged in the manu- facture of electrical apparatus, the total being $1,680, - 590,290. “It is evident,” says the report, “that the in- terests represented by such a vast aggregation of capi- tal demand every safeguard that the State can pro- vide.” The Commission next gave its attention to the dis- putes arising in the use of electrical energy, and the fol- lowing list, while not exhaustive, is sufficiently compre- hensive to show both the range and the nature of the questions demanding settlement: 1. From mutual induction, static or magnetic, between inde- pendent circuits, especially between circuits carrying large cur- rents or high potentials and circuits used for the transmission of intelligence. such as telephone, telegraph, fire alarm, railway block signals, &c. 2. Accidents to life resulting from conditions frequently not clearly understood at the time of accident, such as crossing of cricuits, failure of insulation, &c.; also from insufficient warn- ing notices on circuits of dangerous potential. 3. Between produceré of electrical energy and public con- sumers, such as municipalities in street lighting contracts, in- volving the quantity of light supplied, the trouble arising from lack of officially standardized photometric methods. 4. Between producers of electrical energy and public and private consumers on the quantity of current or energy supplied, resulting from inaccuracy of meters er methods of measure- ment. 5. From electrolysis in railway and other grounded sys- tems. 6. From risk and damage to property from fire caused by defective insulation of circuits. 7. Between producers and consumers of electrical energy and fire insurance underwriters on methods of installation. 8. Between independent interests having adjacent distribut- ing circuits under ground from damage caused by heat in short circuits in conduits and subways. 9. From damage caused by explosions in subways and con- duits. 10. Between manufacturers of electrical apparatus and pur chasers on guarantees for electrical performance. 11. Between producers of electrical energy and municipali- ties on the subject of transmission voltage of overhead circuits. 12. Between the producers of electrical energy and the gen- eral public in cases of rights of way for very high voltage trans- mission lines where danger to life and property is claimed. 13. Between the general public and manufactures of electro- chemical products where destructive fumes and gases are claimed to be set free in the process of manufacture. 14. Many other cases which will undoubtedly arise as the art advances, such as interference in wireless messages. “It will be noticed,” says the report, “that these questions concern not only the interests of capital in- vested in various electrical enterprises, but the inter- ests of the consumers of electrical energy, the security of property and the protection of life. They are, there- fore, of commanding importance to the general public and cannot be dismissed as belonging simply to the ri- valries of commercial interests. It will be noticed fur. ther that these questions are purely technical, so that their settlement demands expert knowledge as well as impartial testimony, and the problem before the State is how to secure both the knowledge and the impartiality required for just judgment. “As the commission considered this problem it be- ‘ame convinced that a State electrical laboratory, ade- quately equipped and properly conducted, would meet many, if not all, of the demands growing out of such questions in dispute, and that these demands could not be met as satisfactorily by the use of any other means. Uses of a State Electrical Laboratory. “The first and most obvious use of such a laboratory would be the calibration of all types of electrical meters THE IRON AGE. February 26, 1903 according to standards already tixed and universally ac- cepted. At present no such official standardizing labora- tory exists, apart from the National Bureau of Electrical Standards at Washington, to which it is manifestly in- convenient and practically impossible to refer all dis- putes involving the accuracy of electrical meters. When we consider the extent to which electricity is already used in this State; the variety of services which it per- forms; its distribution to almost every factory and work- shop and place of business and to many of the homes in our cities and villages; when we consider that the present development and application of electrical en- ergy is but the beginning of what may confidently be expected as discoveries and inventions increase—that all the available water power of the State is certain to be converted soon into electrical power—and when we real- ize that all this power must be bought and sold by meas- ure, it must be evident to all that accuracy of the meas- uring instruments is a matter of such importance to the public that the State would be remiss in its duty to the people if it were not to supply the means whereby this accuracy can be insured officially with the least incon- venience and expense. “It is the opinion of this commission that every State must in time have its own standardizing electrical laboratory, and that in no other State is the need of such a laboratory so immediate and so imperative as in the State of New York, where by far the greatest amount of electrical power is generated and sold. If a State laboratory were to serve no other purpose, its es- tablishment for this purpose would be abundantly jus- tified. But apart from the work of calibration, a State labo- ratory, equipped for experimental work, could supply expert and impartial evidence demanded by nearly all of the questions in dispute to which reference has already been made. At present these disputes, when carried into the courts, can be settled only by the testimony of witnesses summoned by one or the other of the contest- ing parties, and paid for their services by those in whose interests they testify. It is no secret that these fees are unusually large. When the question at issue involving, as a rule, directly or indirectly, large sums of money turns upon technical evidence, contestants do not hesi- tate to spend lavishly for such evidence; and so the ex- penses of all such litigation are greatly increased, and whatever tends to make the work of securing justice burdensome is a public evil. But this is not the worst evil connected with expert testimony as employed to- day in our courts. Experience has shown that almost any desired testimony can be secured by those who are willing to pay for it; and while this does not disparage the honesty of every man called as an expert witness, it does tend to discredit the impartiality of expert testi- mony as a whole under present conditions and makes the course of justice more difficult. ** Another office which would be fulfilled by a State laboratory is that of constant investigation and experi- mentation, with a view to increasing knowledge of this subtle and serviceable energy and discovering new ap- plications of electrical power to useful ends. What the State essays to do for the science of agriculture and for- estry and veterinary surgery may well be undertaken for the science of electricity in the interests of the com- monwealth. This policy has been recognized and fol- lowed already in other countries, notably in Germany, and while it may be contended that the analogy would call for a great national laboratory, still under our form of government individual States exercise sovereign pow- er within their own boundaries, and where public inter- ests demand do not hesitate to legislate directly for those interests, so that we have, as already suggested, State as well as national bureaus of agriculture, for- estry, &c. The relation between these State and na- tional institutions is not one of rivalry, but of co-opera- tion. It is the very genius of our republic to foster local self government, and with local self government go all the enterprises that are closely identified with the prog- ress and prosperity of each commonwealth. “ When we think of the intimate relation which elec- tricity sustains to modern life in all its phases, its im- portance to our industrial development, and remember February 26, 1903 THE that as yet but a beginning has been made in the de- velopment of the science, the public service which a State laboratory can render in the direction of further investigation and experiment is beyond question and jus- tifies its establishment apart from all other considera- tions. It should not be forgotten that the discoveries and inventions resulting from the work of such a labora- tory would belong to the people of the State without any of the restrictive or prohibitive features that go with private or corporate ownership. “In this connection it is pertinent to state that the expense of maintaining the laboratory would be borne, in part at least, and perhaps in time altogether, by fixed charges for the work of calibrating meters and by fees for such other work as might be referred to the labora- tory by the courts, or by legislative act, or directly by contesting parties. This would be in line with the pol- icy already adopted in connection with other State super- vising agencies. “This commission deemed it advisable in the further- ance of its duties to get the opinion of those most com- petent to judge of the desirability and necessity of es- tablishing a State laboratory, and so addressed a circu- lar letter to electrical engineers of prominence and to most of the important electrical companies. Misconceptions Corrected. “With very few exceptions the answers to the gen- eral proposition are favorable, and where unfavorable opinions have been returned they proceed in almost every instance from a misconception of the purpose of the laboratory. It is not intended, for instance, to es- tablish a laboratory to determine electrical standards. These are already determined, but, if they were not, that function would belong to the National Bureau at Wash- ington, or to some international commission. The State laboratory would simply apply accepted standards, pass- ing authoritatively upon all meters submitted to it for calibration. Again, there is no thought of creating any- thing like a court for the settlement of disputes involv- ing technical questions. All that is proposed in this connection is the establishment of a laboratory where such questions can be submitted to adequate tests with the guarantee of impartiality, whenever desired by the contesting parties, the courts or the Legislature. The only authority which the results of such experiments would carry is the authority that would go with the high standing of the laboratory, guaranteeing that these tests were thorough and that the findings were unbiased. Another misconception which appears in some of the re- plies is that a commission is to be instituted to take general control of the electrical interests of the State, passing upon qualifications of workmen, issuing permits, making rules to govern installation, &c. While this may be found to be desirable and necessary in the future, it does not fall within the scope of the present plan for a State laboratory. All that is proposed by this commis- sion is the establishment of a laboratory for: “1. The calibration of all forms of electrical meters and other electrical apparatus and appliances. “2. Experimental tests which may be called for by the courts, by municipalities, or by individuals, for impartial evidence on disputed questions of fact. “3. Continual investigation and experiment with a view to the development of electrical science and the fur- ther application of electrical power to useful ends. Essentials for Efficiency. “The primary consideration is, of course, efficiency, and to secure this three things are imperative: “1. Adequate provision for buildings and equipment. “2. The appointment of a thoroughly competent elec- trical engineer as director; one whose ability and experi- ence give him a recognized place among the foremost men of the profession. “3. Absolute freedom from the control of political or commercial interests. Buildings and Equipment. “It is proposed to have the laboratory consist of five separate buildings, as follows: Power house, storage building, electro chemical building, machinery building, administration and instrument building. “The power house will contain all boilers for steam IRON AGE. 5 heating and power supply; also all engines and genera- tors for supplying the power necessary for testing pur- Electric power and steam for heating will be transmitted from the power house to the other buildings by means of underground conduits. The storage build- ing will be used for receiving all meters and other ap- paratus forwarded to the laboratory for test and storing them until such time as the testing department is ready to handle them. The electro chemical building will con- tain a storage battery required for accurate testing work; analytical laboratory equipment for work in con- nection with electro chemistry; also room for electric fur- naces to be used for demonstration purposes. * The machinery building will be a one-story building only, and will contain all transforming and converting machinery required to obtain electrical power in all the special forms in which it is required for testing and calibration work. The administration and instrument building will contain all the offices of the director of the laboratory and his staff; also a lecture hall for demon- stration experiments and for public lectures. The build- ing will also contain room for all work in connection with instruments of precision where freedom from the vibration of moving machinery is essential. All photo- metric work will be carried out in this building. Space will also be provided for the storage of special appli- ances of historical and scientific interest.” poses. The estimated cost of the laboratory buildings is $81,- 949, while for the equipment of the various buildings the estimates are: Power house, $59,700; storage building, $1000; electro chemical building, $20,600; machinery building, $63,400; administration and instrument building, $10,400; miscellaneous costs, such as cables, poles, con- duits, traveling cranes, railroad tracks, installation of machinery, office furnishings, $27,400, making a total of $264,449, to which $10,551 may be added for contin- gencies, superintendence and architectural treatment, making a grand total of $275,000. The commissioners agree in recommending that the sum of $275,000 be appropriated for the erection and equipment of a State electrical laboratory, and that the yovernor of the State, the Comptroller of the State, the State engineer and the remaining members of this com- mission be designated as a special commission to super- vise this work; that to this special commission be re- ferred the selection of a site for the laboratory; that this special commission be instructed to prepare and submit to the next Legislature a plan for the control of said laboratory, whereby reasonable assurance will be given of freedom from all influences that would tend to dis- credit the absolute independence of the laboratory and the scientific value of its work, and that this special commission be instructed to nominate a suitable man for the office of director of the electrical laboratory, and to recommend the amount of his salary, together with the total amount of the annual appropriation that will be necessary to carry on the work of the laboratory. In response to the circular letter sent to electrical engineers of prominence and to most of the prominent electrical companies, the commission received replies in support of the project from the following parties: Wil- liam B. Rankine, Niagara Falls Power Company; Doug- lass Burnett, New York Edison Company; C. E. Raehl, Brooklyn Heights Railroad Company; George A. Red- man, Rochester Gas & Electric Company; Samuel P. Hunt, Binghamton Light, Heat & Power Company; F. P. Fish, American Telephone & Telegraph Company; E. W. Rice, Jr., General Electric Company; F. A. C. Perrine, Stanley Electric Mfg. Company: Tylor Field, Bullock Electric Mfg. Company; the India Rubber & Gutta-Percha Insulating Company; FE. F. Price, Union CarbideCompany; Solomon Davis, Conduit Wiring Company; Frank R. Ford, Ford, Bacon & Davis, engineers: C. O. Mailloux, consulting electrical engineer; W. S. Barstow, consult- ing engineer: Ralph D. Mershon, consulting engineer; Cecil P. Poole, the American Electrician; Harris J. Ryan, electrical engineer, Ithaca; Samuel Sheldon, Brooklyn; R. B. Owens, Montreal: Alphonse Adler, New York; Philip Dorlon, Troy, N. Y.; G. A. Harris, Takata & Co., New York: F. L. Frost, Albany; C. J. Spencer, New York: Johnson & Morton, Utica: A. R. Ledoux & Co., New York: Barnes & Payton, Troy; James F. Burns, 6 Schenectady; Frank Bailey, Brooklyn; Richard Lamb, New York; J. P. Wintringham, New York; H. Hobart Porter, Jr., New York; Robert McA. Lloyd, New Yor> Francis W. Jones, Transfer Tube Company, New York; Townsend Wolcott, New York; Philip K. Stern, New York; William H. Rakes, executive offices of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company, New York; L. B. Marks, New York; C. Marshall, New York; T. J. Johnston, New York; Arthur A. Hamerschlag, New York; August H. Kruesi, Schenectady; Edward Durant, New York; Albert F. Hemingway, Chicago; Virginius D. Moody, Schenectady; Calvin W. Rice, Pittsburgh, Pa.: T. Stebbins, Schenec- tady; L. B. Stillwell, New York; William J. Hammer, New York; D. W. Sowers, Buffalo; F. C. Phillips, Ewell- Parker Electric Company of America, Cleveland, Ohio: Frank M. Ashley, New York; Henry Floy, New York. Notes from Mexico. The Peso and the Peon. DURANGO, February 17, 1903.—It will be a matter of surprise to many to learn that the silver question is still a live issue, at least in Mexico. People in the United States who recall the oratorical whirlwind and endless current of newspaper argument which accompanied the funeral obsequies of the same vexatious question when it was finally disposed of as a political and economical factor will sympathise with the Mexican reading and thinking public. Prophets and sons of prophets abound here as they did in the United States when the life of the country seemed to hinge upon the acceptance or re- jection of a free silver coinage proposition at a fixed ratio. Newspaper oracles are likewise to the fore, and blow hot and cold by turns, as the pendulum of caprice or power swings. Argyments in favor of closing the mints against silver, which appear one day, are suc- ceeded the next by powerful essays upon the necessity for developing the silver mines and exploiting the coun- try’s great natural resources. To attract foreign capital, the cheapness of the Mex- ican dollar is held up as a bait by some unscrupulous editors, and the fact is emphasized that labor is paid for at silver rates, while products of the soil are sold upon a gold price basis. Then there is a swing of the pendulum. The peon is commiserated. Writers, whose only knowledge of him and his manner of living has been gained by a passing glance through editorial glass doors, picture his distress as a victim of cheap silver in moving periods. It is sagely given out that charcoal, the people’s fuel, has increased abnormally in price be- cause the carboneros have found that in consequence of the fall in silver they are charged at a higher rate for their groceries by the storekeepers. The peons eat scarcely any meat nowadays, the compassionate pub- lic is informed, because the luxury of animal food is be- yond their means, and all on account of the tricks of the cheap white metal. All of which is pure nonsense. The average charcoal burner’s bill for groceries amounts to less annually than the fluctuations in the rate of ex- change in the same time. It is not his habit to buy im- ported United States groceries at 500 per cent. above first cost. Champagne and high priced liquors do not enter into the list of his daily requirements. He still subsists, as he did 500 years ago, upon a corn and beans diet, which he can buy at old time prices. If there is any advance, it bas been caused by legitimate market conditions with which the ups and downs of silver have nothing to do. The Mexican workingman was never so well off as he is to-day. He earns more money than he ever did be- fore. Ten years ago peons could be hired at the mines at a daily wage rate of from 30 to 50 cents, Mexican. They now earn from $1.50 to $1.75 per day, for the same class of work. They eat more meat than they ever did, because they can better afford to do so. The few articles they consume, which can be designated as groceries, vary but little in price, and can be bought to- day almost at the same figures as when wages were less than half what they are now. The silver question and the silver crisis are nonexistent so far as the Mexican THE IRON AGE. February 26, 1903 peon is concerned. The charcoal burner is equally un- affected by them, and ignorant as to their dangers or their burdens. He adjusts the price of his product with a nice sense of the exigencies of supply and demand. The price of imported delicacies does not affect his views as to contemporary Values in the product in which he deals. Were Mexico to adopt the gold standard to- morrow the consumer would still pay the legitimate market price for the fuel with which bis dinner is cooked. The peon and the carbonero would continue to expend their surplus capital in mezcal and tequila in de- fiance of the combined wisdom of political economists. The Silver Commission. Closely following the joint appeal of Mexico and China to the President of the United States to take ac- tion for the purpose of bringing about stability in the value of the Mexican dollar, President Diaz has ap- pointed a commission to study the silver question in all its aspects. The members of this body have been drawn from various walks of life and include some of the lead- ing business men of the capital and of diverse nationali- ties. The commission comprises 44 names. They will meet for their first session on the 19th of the present month. At the time of appointing the commission the Minister of Finance made a statement in which the status of silver and the factors which are supposed to influence its stability as currency were gone over in de- tail, and the members instructed in regard to the phases of the question which deserve their most careful study. The closing paragraph of the Minister’s instructio