The Iron Age 1906-01-11: Vol 77 Iss 2

Published every Thursday A Review of the ne Harte mma and Metal Trades. yy siaA Morning ON AGE by , 14-16 Park Place, New York. - | SAaBu0y 30 UnTIBAqM | Vol. 77: No. 2. Reading Matter Contents Alphabetical Index to Advertisers “ Classified List of Advertisers ... ‘ Advertising and Subscription Rates‘ New York, Phas January 11, 1906. $8 00 a Year, including Postage. Single Copies, 15 Cents. — caUPLINGS Manufactured by FORSTER PULLEY WORKS, Cuba, v.Y. GPE, The American Mfg. Co. Ropes and Twines | 65 Wall Street, New York THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn. Bristol’s Recording Instruments. lor Pressure Temperature and Electricity. Gold Medal, 8t. Leuis Exposition All Ranges, Low Pricee, and Guar. anteed. Send for Circulars. SAMSON SPOT CORD Also Linen and Italian Hemp Sash Cord, SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. TURNBUCKLES,. Branch Office. 11 Broadway, New York. Cleveland City Forge and IronCo., - Cleveland, O, HAMMER. MERRILL BROS. . Brooklyn, N. Y. BESSEMER PIG PILLING & CR AN Girard Buflding, Phila. Farmers’ Bank, Pittsb’ g + er Bldg, New Yor oard of Trade, Boston, A sheet of Apollo Best Bloom Galvanized is per- fect from corner to corner and all the way through. That is why it is called *‘Apollo’’—and why you should specify it every time you build or repair. See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY’S Ad, on Page 14. U. M. C. ADVERTISING This sample eut shows dealers in some measure the character of the U. M. C. advertising that goes to 4,000,000 readers every month. Such advertising hurries the sale of U. M. C. Cartridges and Shot Shells The Union Metallic Cartridge Co. Bridgeport, Conn. Depor: 86-88 First St., San Francisco, Cal. AGENCY: $13 Broadway, New York, N. Y. STIRLING CONSOLIDATED BOILER CO. See Page 44 The Leading Horse Nails and the Best in the World are the Capewell THEY HAVE KEEN AND PERFECT POINTS which make a clean cut hole in the most brittle hoof. “s° The Capewell Horse Nail Company HARTFORD, CONN. OU can buy joint packing for less money than JENHINS ’96, but will it last? You can maintain an absolutely tight steam joint with JENHINS °96. It is guaranteed. All genuine bears Trade Mark as shown in the cut. JENKINS BRL ew York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London. “Gwredon’” Gold Rolled Steel cam; Drawing = a i Th tT ae Wy +38) Th a1) THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING COM SEE (Water and Hail Delivery) PAGE MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinerv Bearings. Pac-Simile of Bar. 30 a) Beware of UIM ee BRIDGEPORT, CONN, Ad x yy. st LS a imitations. SR MAGNOLIA METAL CO., Owners and Sole Manufacturers, 113-116 Bank Street, Chicago. Fisher Bldg. NEW YORK, San Francisco, Montreal, and Pittsbu We manufacture all erades of Babbitt Metals at competitive prices. AGE oe THE IRON BRASS COPPER GERMAN {2 SILVER | \e LOW BRASS. SHEET BRONZE. SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND BRONZE TUBING. ey Fee Sees WATERBURY BRASS (0., WATERBURY, CONN. 99 John St., New York. Providence, R. I. Tre Queen’s Run Fire Brick co. HIGHEST GRADE re oa SHEET Shapes a Specialty Lock Haven, Penn. Metal C0., BRIDGEPORT, GONN. Automobile Castings a Specialty. High Tensile Strength. Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. Write Us. Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. WSIS UL INISHERS 105-109 So.Jefferson St., Chicago. Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Aluminum CASTINGS rass, Bronze and # Aluminum #4 CASTINGS FOUN DERS— FINISHERS. ww. G ROWALI CoO., Bridgeport, Conx. HENDRICKS BROTHERS 2 PROPRIETORS OF THE " ‘ Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Braziers’ Bolt and Sheathing COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. THE PLUME & Atwood M6. Co., MANUFACTURERS OF “wi Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WiRG PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Keroe sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, FACTORIES WATERBURY, CONN, ROLLING MILL : THOMASTON, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO., "BRASS, GERMAN SILVER, Sheets, Rolis, Wire Rods, Bolts and Tubes, Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Special Brass Goods to Order. FACTORIES: WATERBURY, CONN, DEpoTs: WEW YORK. CHICAGO. BOSTON. Henry Souther Engineering Co. HARTFORD, CONN. Consulting Chemists, Metallurgists and Analysts. Complete Physical Testing Laborato Expert Testimony tia Gourt and Patent Cae Cases, — Artour T. Rutter & Go. 256 Broadway, NEW YORK. Small tubing in Brass, Copper Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube. Copper and Brass Rod. Wii. “it’s ToucH.” TROLLEY, TELEPHONE and TELEGRAPH LINES. BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., stal Telegraph B a ‘and Murray St, Re York, Millis Bridgeport, a. ~ GEORGE KROUSE HEAVY CASTINGS Manefacturer of all kinds of Brass and Composition Castings, Brazing Metals, Hard Composition and Phosphor Bronze Castings a Specialty. 160 to 164 Morgan Street, JERSEY CITY, N. J. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, January 11, 1906. The Pearson Type Casting Machine. A Simple Machine for Composing Advertising Matter, It is said that no composing machine now on the market completely fills the requirements of the printer, as a large amount of hand setting is necessary in every printing office. For straight matter there are a number ig. 2.—The Four-Font, of excellent machines, but irregular work requiring fre- quent changes of type face must still be done by hand. In the latter class may be included medical, astronomical and other technical books, law briefs in which full face and italic types are required and marginal notes are used, and above all advertising matter which, for artistic reasons and to attract attention, must have individual words and sentences set with type differing from the rest of the matter. Another objection to the composing machines now sold is that they are too complicated and expensive for use in small printing offices. A new cast- ing and composing machine, invented by John R. and Gustave A. Pearson, aims to meet the requirements of irregular and intricate work, particularly advertising matter, and is so simple that it can be brought within the reach of every printer. Fig. 1 is a view of this machine. Its distinguishing feature is the matrix magazine, which carries four fonts of 100 characters each, any one of which may be brought instantly into operative position. But the new machine is not limited to four fonts. It may be designed to carry five, six, seven and even eight fonts, provided that corresponding characters in each font have the same body thickness. When it is desired to cast type of a different body thickness the change of magazine and molds can be effected in less than a minute and a half, Machine 400-Character Magazine. and it is possible to further simplify the mechanism to such an extent that the change can be made in a much shorter period of time. The machine is still in a crude state, as viewed from a mechanical standpoint, and is ca- pable of much improvement. In its finished state it will probably be only little larger than a sewing machine. Even in its present condition the machine has shown clearly that it is capable of successfully doing the work of the advertising room at a speed favorably compara- ble with that of existing machines on straight matter. The new machine casts single character types, which facilitate corrections of the type matter. This is par- ticularly important in book work, which usually requires many alterations, and in composing advertising matter, which owing to its irregular nature is likely to contain frequent errors. It is claimed to be the first casting and composing machine in which a type is cast every time a 178 key is touched. Other machines which cast and compose single character types consist of two parts, one of which perforates a paper ribbon with different combinations for the various characters and with a combination at the end of each line for the required thickness of the spaces nec- essary to justify that line. The second machine then casts the type under control of the perforated ribbon. In the Pearson invention all operations are performed on a single machine, thus dispensing with the services of a second operative. Fig. 2 shows the complete four-font, 400-character magazine. It comprises six bars, which are arranged to AS nw “4 ,14,14 AAR THE IRON AGE January I1, 1906 to a sleeve carried by the hanger c. A slide bar, d, is formed with a yoke which fits between two collars on the matrix bar. A spring, e, acting on the lever } causes the matrix bar to move over its mold, when the detent g is drawn down by the electromagnet h. At the same time one of the magnets, i, lifts a stop pin in the path of a lug on the slide bar to arrest the matrix bar when the de- sired matrix reaches the mold. This construction is re- peated for each matrix bar, and when a key of the key- board is struck the proper magnets, h and i, are ener- gized to release the desired bar and arrest it over the mold. Each matrix bar is provided with its own casting mechanism thrown into engagement with the cam slide j by the slide bar acting through the lever k. HEN Sinema Fig. 3.—Front Elevation of the Pearson Type Casting Machine. respectively carry matrices of from 2 to 7 units thick- ness. Each bar is of square section and its four faces respectively carry matrices of corresponding characters, but of different fonts. Each bar is provided with its in- dividual mold, which is of a size corresponding to the thickness of the matrices on that bar. The matrices are arranged in a single column on each face of the bar, and when it is desired to cast a certain type the proper bar is moved across its mold, until the desired matrix reaches the mold, when the bar comes to a stop. The bar is then clamped to the mold and the type is cast. Each bar carries a pinion and these pinions all engage a common rack by moving which the bars are turned over simultaneously. The matrices on the bottom faces of the bars are in operative position, and to use matrices of a different font it is merely necessary to move the rack until the desired font is in operative position. The type as soon as it is cast is moved into a chamber of the “ word magazine.” In this chamber all the types of a word are assembled, after which the magazine moves forward to present a new chamber to the mold, in which the types of the second word are assembled. No spaces are cast until after all the words of the line have been cast. Then’ the proper space key, as called for by a counter on the machine, is struck once for each space required, casting the necessary spaces to com- pletely fill out or justify the line. As the spaces are cast they are moved successively into the galley carrying with them the words in the word magazine. A special line key moves the last word of the line into the galley, where the entire line is thus assembled and justified. In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 3, one of the matrix bars is indicated at a. It is supported at the mold in a guide piece, b, and the opposite end is splined Fig. 4.—Detail of Circuit Closer Controlling the Clutch. The cam shaft is set in motion by a friction clutch on the driving pulley. To delay the action of this clutch until the proper matrix has reached the mold the follow- ing mechanism is employed: A swinging frame, l, is held against the levers f by a spring, so that when any one of the matrix bars moves forward the frame is also swung forward by the corresponding lever. An electro- January 11, 1906 magnet, m, carried on this frame is energized every time a key of the keyboard is depressed, but is unable to at- tract its armature, as the latter is attached to a lever, n, which carries a plate that rests against the levers f. But the abrupt stopping of the matrix bar throws the frame l clear of the levers f, as shown in Fig. 4, releasing the armature, which thereupon closes the circuit of the mag- net o, Fig. 5. The latter withdraws the stop bar p from engagement with a notch in the cam q, and also makes a contact at r, which operates the friction clutch. The circuit of the clutch is kept closed by the cam q until it has made a complete turn, when the stop bar springs back into the notch, breaking contact at r and bringing the cam shaft to a stop. The casting mechanism is operated by a cam, 8, Fig. 3, which draws down the slide j, rocking the lever ¢, and thus actuating the guide b and the injector u. The molten metal is kept in a reser- voir, v, whence it is fed to chamber w. The chamber and one of the molds is shown in Fig. 6. The hollow injector stem passes through a guide, x, formed in the chamber. A recess is provided at the bottom of the guide and as the injector is raised to the mold a sleeve, u, threaded on the injector stem enters this recess, forcing the type metal through the hollow stem into the mold. At the same time the guide piece b clamps the matrix bar to the mold and by engaging a groove, z, adjusts the matrix to proper position. As soon as the type is cast the block a’ is moved to cut and smooth off the bottom and the sides of the mold are withdrawn by the cam b’, Fig. 5, leaving an open channel through the mold block. An ejector, c’, is now operated by cam d’, Fig. 3, to push rrr, set, _— ae YY faa — — Y‘btbliy SS "BESS XN Co kl Ty SSAA OSM Y Vi EE VILLA) NS Fig. 6.—Section through the Casting Mechanism. the type out of the channel into a chamber of the word magazine e’, and the matrix bar is returned to normal position by the cam 7’. At each touch of a key a type is thus cast until a complete word is assembled in the magazine, then a word key is depressed which shifts the magazine to present a new chamber to the mold channel. The word magazine is formed on the bottom with ratchet teeth, which are engaged by a pawl, g’, Fig. 7, mounted on the armature THE IRON AGE of the magnet h’. 179 When the word key is depressed this magnet is energized and the magazine is thus shifted. A detent, by a counterweight attached to it. of a line have been i’, prevents the magazine from being drawn back When all the words assembled in the magazine a key is —End Elevation of the Machine. touched which energizes the magnet j’. This draws down the detent i’ and with it the pawl g’, permitting the magazine to slide back to its original position with the first word opposite the mold. The throw of the ejector is now increased by operating the eccentric m’, Fig. 3, to move the cam lever into closer engagement with its cam d’, so that when the space key is touched and a space is AANA Fig. 7.—Detail of Magnets Operating the Word Magazine. cast it is ejected through the word magazine into the galley, pushing the word before it. The magazine is then moved forward to bring the next word in the path of the second key and thus the operation continues until the last word is moved into the galley without a space by touching a key, which closes the circuit of the mag- net o, Fig. 5, without releasing any of the matrix bars. The entire line is thus assembled and completely justified, and as the last word is moved into the galley the block k’ 180 is actuated by cam l’, Fig. 3, to move the assembled type out of the path of the next line. The machine acts at a speed which seems incredible to any one not familiar with type casting machines, and no adequate conception of this speed can be obtained from the detailed description given above. The operation of casting the spaces and justifying the lines is done mechanically, while the operator is looking over his copy for the next line. Operators on other machines are in the habit of pausing at the end of each line to glance over their copy and the inventors have taken advantage of this fact to greatly simplify the machine. While it was the purpose of the inventors to design a machine which would operate at the moderate speed of 3500 ems per hour, there seems to be no reason why speeds of 4500 ems cannot be obtained in view of the rapid operation of certain type casting machines heretofore built. —~++-o—___ Mexican Finance and Foreign Trade. Duranco, January 6, 1906.—Minister Limantour re- cently submitted to Congress a statement embodying esti- mates of the revenue and expenditures for the fiscal year 1906-1907, in which the former is placed at $90,073,500, and asking approval for appropriations aggregating $89,- 897,397.64. In submitting this budget statement the Minister observes that “the estimate of normal revenue shows a difference of $1,969,500 in excess of the estimate which was formulated of the revenue for the current fiscal year, and a difference of $2,010,386.66 less than the revenue actually collected in the first fiscal year,” the upward tendency of the revenue being note- worthy from the fact that the reduction of mining taxes involves a loss in revenue to the Government aggregat- ing $4,000,000 annually. Commenting upon the effect of the change in the monetary system Sefior Limantour says: It is a source of profound gratification to the Executive that during the year since publicity was given to the monetary plaa the changed conditions should not have been accompanied by any material hardship to the numerous producing classes of the Re- public, and still less to the consuming classes. The minor incon- veniences which the change of system occasioned were suscepti- ble of being easily redressed by measures such as the revision of the tariff of import duties and the granting of fran- chises to the mining industry, which quickly restored equilibrium to the interests chiefly affected. The following figures of imports, gold values, are given, showing the increase in the last fiscal year: Fiscal years. Free goods. Co $15,420,693.66 oo eee 16,023,481.56 70,098,812.10 86,122,293.66 $602,787.90 $7,158,734.70 $7,761,522.60 The Minister regards this marked increase in the imports with satisfaction, believing that the new mone- tary laws have contributed to the result. He remarks: The increase in the importation of dutiable goods was more than 11 per cent., and probably the monetary reform influenced that increase by causing a sudden deciine in the rate of foreign exchange in the months of November and December of last year, a decline which undoubtedly cncouraged many merchants and private persons to place orders for goods abroad. Following an exhaustive review of the country’s trade with other nations and of foreign investments of capital, Sefior Limantour asks and answers the important ques- tion: “ To what extent may we congratulate ourselves on this condition of our economical relations?” Dutiable goods. $62,940,077.40 Total imports. $78,360,771.06 Increase. ... Whatever may be said as to the drawbacks of a situation which renders us tributary to foreign countries, and, what is more, tends to increase the volume of payments that have to be made abroad, there can be no doubt that, lacking as we do both the mep and the money necessary for the full development of the manifold resources of our soil, we are not in a position to reject those elements when offered to us simply because they come from other lands. No Free Importation of Iron and Steel, The Diaz administration is not in the habit of hastily formulating a policy and of revising it at a later day to meet the seeming exigencies of the moment. The report, therefore, which was published in The Iron Age for De- cember 7, that it is the intention of the Government to assume a new attitude in relation to imports of iron and stee] and their manufactures and to-admit such products THE IRON AGE January 11, 1906 at greatly reduced rates of duty, if not to place them entirely upon the free list, seemed to indicate an alto- gether unreasonable course to one familiar with the trend cf Government policy in relation to domestic in- dustries and the needs of the Exchequer. In view of the importance of the subjeet both to United States exporters and to the domestic iron and steel strade, the writer ad- dressed a letter to Sefior Limantour, the Secretary of the Treasury, in order to learn the truth of the matter. Minister Limantour, through his private secretary, Sefior Vicente Luengas, under date of December 27, re- plied as follows: “ By the direction of the Minister I answer your esteemed letter of the 22d inst., and make known to you that the report referred to that it is in- tended shortly to pass a law authorizing the free im- portation of iron and steel and their manufactures is without foundation (carece de exactitud.)” Although this denial refers specifically to the “free importation of iron and steel and their manufactures” and says nothing in regard to a proposed “large re- duction ”’ of duties upon such products, seeing that the tariff upon these manufactures was greatly increased within the past year, it is a reasonable inference from the Minister’s letter that there is no intention at this time of changing the tariff schedule in this respect. J. J. D. ——_—.¢--o———__— Proposed Consolidation in the British Steel Trade. Efforts have been made recently to bring together the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company, Limited, of Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, England, and the important iron and steel consolidation, Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds, Limit- ed. A circular has been issued to the shareholders of both companies by a London promoter setting forth the advan- tages that would result from a combination of interests. Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds, Limited, has the following capi- talization : 4 per cent. debentures, £1,850,000 ; 344,000 pref- erence shares of £5 each, £1,720,000 ; 965,000 ordinary shares of £1 each, £965,000; total, £4,535,500. ‘The capitalization of the Ebbw Vale Company, Limited, is as follows: 5 per cent. debentures, £438,100; 74,475 shares of £13 each (£10 paid), £744,750; £3 per share paid on 4721 of the above shares, £14,163; total, £1,197,013. It is stated in the an- nouncement that the Ebbw Vale Steel Company has earned an average of over £105,000 per annum for the last 18 years; that its output of coal has been 1,500,000 tons a year, its coke production 260,000 tons a year, its pig iron and steel outputs 220,000 tons and 156,000 tons per year respectively. The projected new furnaces to be erected by Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds, Limited, at Dow- lais, Wales, at a cost of about £1,250,000 would not be necessary if a consolidation took place, it is stated, as the newly erected Ebbw Vale furnaces, which are of modern capacity and equipment, would supply the want. Among the advantages to the Ebbw Vale Company from the con- solidation are mentioned a constant supply of ore from Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds’ Orconera iron mines in the north of Spain, also a ready market for its output, owing to the estabjished trade of the Patent Nut & Bolt Com- pany and Nettiefolds, constituents of the latter company. On the basis of last year’s profits it is stated that the con- solidated company would earn £494,839, which would rep- resent 20 per cent. on ordinary shares after providing for debenture interest and preference dividends. —__—__+o The A. I. E. E. Building Fund.—The General Electric Company, in view of the great importance and utility of the United Engineering Building, New York, as a home and center for the engineering professions and arts, has made a contribution of $25,000 to the land and building fund of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. President C. A. Coffin, who takes a warm personal in- terest in the matter, has also sent his own check for $5000. The fund is now well over $100,000 and with renewed energy the committee having this matter in charge has begun its canvass of the field with the object of securing the second necessary $100,000. January 11, 1906 THE IRON AGE 181 The Sheet and Tin Plate Trade. BY B. E. V. LUTY, PITTSBURGH. A year ago, in a review of the sheet and tin plate in- dustries of the United States, comment was made on the rapid increase in production, the two industries then having reached an annual tonnage of about 1,000,000 gross tons. If the previous increase was worthy of re- mark, the increase since that review was written has been well-nigh phenomenal, since the leading interest alone has in the year 1905 made more than 1,000,000 gross tons, having shipped about 1,050,000 gross tons during the year, and would have produced close to 1,100,000 gross tons had the supply of steel been adequate in the closing months of the year. No less remarkable from a review point has been the fact that with generally prosperous conditions in the iron trade and the general level of prices materially higher than that which prevailed in 1904 prices of sheets and tin plates have not been higher than in 1904, but have been a trifle lower. This fact is remarkable when taken by itself, but a study of it in connection with cer- tain other considerations tends to allay the surprise which would otherwise be felt. Certainly if the prob- lem were set down in the bare form that demand and production in a particular line have increased amazingly, that demand and production in other lines have increased to a comparatively much less extent and that the prices of these other lines have shown a marked increase the answer would naturally be that prices in the line which has grown so rapidly should if they had been relatively low have shown a very material advance. There is a great deal more to the problem than is contained in this statement of it. The Course of Prices, Sheets opened the year at 2.30 cents per pound, Pitts- burgh, for No. 28 gauge, galvanized being 1.05 cents over black. In February and March advances of $2 a ton in the official prices were made, but the new official prices were held but a short time and the subsequent decline carried prices down straight past the previous official prices. In the fall a slight recovery brought prices up to the basis of 2.20 cents for black and 3.25 cents for gal- vanized. On November 20 an official advance of $2 a ton was made, to 2.30 and 3.35 cents respectively. In tin plate the official prices have by no means been representative at all times of either the current value of shipments or of the current market price. On November 15, 1904, an advance from $3.30 to $3.45 per box had been made and on December 22 an advance to $3.55, these prices being official and subject to the regular 5-cent re- bate. Most of the large business for the first half had been done at $3.25 net. As contracts expired they were replaced by new ones at $3.50 net, but the market be- came weak and specifications poor, the conditions crystal- lizing into an offer by the leading interest dated August 5, good for 60 days, giving a special rebate of 15 cents to induce specifying, making the net price $3.35. On Octo- ber 2 a new official price of $3.30, or $3.25 net, was made. On November 20 the official price was advanced to $3.40. Comparison of Prices, Making a very crude estimate it may be said that the average price at which the 1905 tonnage was sold was about 2.20 cents for sheets and $3.30 for tin plate. The realized values in 1904 were practically the same as these. A comparison with 1903 is less easily made, since during that year sheet and tin plate prices moved quite independently of each other, sheets ruling steadily at 2.70 cents during the first half and declining to 2.35 cents during the second half, whereas tin plate opened and closed at $3.55 net, while an advance of 20 cents was actually effective on shipments during the first four months or so of the second half. Despite the brevity of this presentation of sheet and tin plate prices, it is sufficient to show the departure from the course of other iron and steel prices. Pig iron, crude steel, plates, merchant bars, shapes, &c., were all considerably lower in 1904 than in 1905, while sheets and tin plates brought about the same prices in the two years. The year 1903 closed with sheets at 2.35 cents, tin plate at $3.55 net, Bessemer pig iron at $14.10, Pittsburgh, and billets at $23. Comparing with these prices the closing prices of 1905 there is seen to be a decline of $1 a ton in sheets, with contracts in force at a $3 decline, a de- cline of 20 cents a box in tin plate, with contracts in force at 30 cents decline and advances of $4.25 in Bes- semer pig iron and $3 in billets. Comparisons of this sort could be prolonged indefinitely, but only one other will be instanced. Early in 1898 the Association of Iron and Steel Sheet Manufacturers prepared a diagram to illustrate how the spread had been decreasing between pig iron and crude steel on the one hand and black and galvanized sheets on the other. The diagram covered the five years 1893 to 1898. It showed a spread between gross tons of billets and net tons of No. 28 gauge sheets declining from $37 at the start to $27 at the close, once touching a minimum of $25, and making an average dur- ing the five years of $33. At the close of 1905 the spread was only $20, taking the open market price on billets. Having regard for the fact that the most favorable steel contracts are at somewhat less than the current market price, the spread was still less than $20, before the $2 advance in sheets was made on November 20. Present prices of steel being much higher than in the period from 1893 to 1897 the spread should be greater, other things being equal. More than enough of bare fizures has been brought forth to show that relative to raw materials there has been a very great decline in sheets and tin plates. There is no reason to suppose that anything like the former spreads will ever be restored. The Number of Mills. A year ago this review gave the leading interest’s operative capacity in sheets as 163 mills, including two light plate mills and several jobbing mills. The mill at Sharon was not included. It had been almost completed as a sheet mill by its former owner, the Sharon Sheet Steel Company, which had been absorbed by the Union- Sharon purchase and was being transformed into a Bray semi-continuous mill. During the year this mill was completed in its new form and is now listed as a 10-mill plant. The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company has also, during the year, added one sheet mill at the Wood works, McKeesport, at the Hyde Park works and at the Leechburg works, so that it now has 176 sheet mills, against 163 sheet mills a year ago. There have been no changes in the tin mills of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, other than the purchase of the six-mill plant at Morgantown, W. Va. This is being completed and enlarged to a 10-mill plant. It is known as the Sabraton, and when completed, early in 1906, will increase the number of the company’s tin mills to 252. There has been little change among the independents. A very few sheet mills have been added. At the close of 1904 there were incomplete or inoperative tin plate plants at the following points: Pueblo, Col.; Morgantown, W. Va.; Marietta, Ohio; Clarksburg, W. Va.; Greencastle, Ind., and Atlanta, Ind. As stated, the Morgantown plant has been taken over by the leading interest. The Clarks- burg plant was sold to the Phillips Sheet & Tin Plate Company, and is in operation. The Greencastle plant was taken over by the Berger interests of Canton, Ohio, and has been put in operation. Relations with Labor, One of the most important changes which has ever been made with respect to wage matters in sheet and tin plate mills was accomplished on the night of July 3, 1905, when the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers agreed, in conference with the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, to abolish entirely all limits Leia OF Pic e PRA 4 miner & 182 of output. The concession was one which the manufac- turers had earnestly desired for many years and had eagerly sought for at every conference where conditions were such as to promise the least hope of success. The demand had on several occasions been met by a small con- cession. Many years ago the limit in sheet mills was in- creased from seven to nine heats per turn, while on Jan- uary 1, 1904, an increase to ten went into effect. In 1899 the limit on the tin plate scale was increased 500 pounds per turn on all gauges, and in 1902 there was an increase of 500 pounds on gauges 31 and heavier, and of 300 pounds on lighter gauges. The Amalgamated Association wage settlement, at which this most important concession was made, had been preceded by more indefensible claims than had perhaps ever been the case before. The manufacturers, on the other hand, were better prepared than ever before to en- force the settlement which they desired and which they believed fair. The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company had made somewhat the same preparations for a contest which it had made in the previous year by accumulating stocks, with the difference that the contest, if any, was to commence at the expiration of the scale year, June 30, instead of three months earlier, as in 1904. The Dresden, Canton and New Kensington mills were taken from the union ranks, and some concessions were made through the elimination of extras on certain wide sheets and tin plates. Production, The shipments of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company during 1905 were approximately 1,050,000 gross tons of sheet and tin mill products. The production can- not be accurately stated at this time, but from the reduc- tion of stocks during the year it can be estimated that production was in the neighborhood of an even million gross tons, divided roughly into 450,000 gross tons of tin mill products and 550,000 gross tons of sheet mill products, the tin mill product including enameling and other special sheets which were not actually tin or terne coated. The production of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company and of the two companies to which it succeeded has been as follows, the figures being reduced to gross tons: F Gross tons. EG RWG eine cdc thc Fae dbl te onneed gus eee. Or 699,621 ES wid pc Eal + ees a ene Wee OE te ee Won) le $e ae ek 763,670 like we blasihi hel A eee Ree N es idee eee 735,482 DENA + dons «be cate pba inated die Coie dhe io 1,000,000 There never have been statistics of the country’s pro- duction of sheets, and even were there such statistics it would be extremely difficult, on account of the large in- crease, to make anything like a close estimate of the production in the year just closed. It can be said, as a very rough approximation, that the country’s total pro- duction in 1905 has been not far from 600,000 gross tons of tin mill products and 800,000 gross tons of sheet mill products, a total of 1,400,000 gross tons, against approx- imately 1,000,000 gross tons in 1904, although that year’s production had shown a heavy increase over previous years. The tin mill production includes a certain propor- tion of material which was rolled tin mill style and fin- ished as*black plates for tinning are finished, but was used for enameling stock, &c. The great bulk, however, was actually tinned. For years the potential capacity of the country in both sheets and tin plates has been materially in excess of de- mand or production. Nevertheless, it would not have been possible for the mills which were in actual opera- tion during the year to have made the tonnage with which they are credited if the limit of output as formerly pre- scribed had been lived up to in those mills operated under the union. The fact is that prior to the formal abrogation of the limit at the middle of the year, it had been gen- erally if not universally violated. The present potential capacity of the mills is materially in excess of the ton- nage which was actually produced in 1905, as the mills were not ali operated continuously. In tin plates there was almost full operation of the leading interest’s mills during the first half, there being many weeks during which the full 242 tin mills were operated. About the be- ginning of June this interest started closing tin mills, and THE IRON AGE January 11, 1906 before the end of the month had about one-third of them idle. During July it had in operation scarcely a third, and not until the fourth quarter were as many as two- thirds in operation. The starting of additional mills dur- ing the fourth quarter was impeded by the difficulty in ob- taining steel. Had steel been plentiful, practically all the mills would have been operated during the second half of the quarter. The operations of the independent tin plate mills were spread more evenly over the year. The production of tin plate by the leading interest was much heavier in the first half than in the second, large stocks being on hand July 1. In sheets its production was more evenly balanced between the two halves. The Competition, Our review now reaches a point where we can prop- erly take up the subject which has most engrossed the minds of producers during the past year—the sharp com- petition. While in plates, rails, shapes, merchant steel bars and some other important lines of steel production competition has been quite lacking, so far as prices go, it has been very keen indeed in sheets and tin plates. The difference is a striking one. In these other lines there has not been so great an increase in demand as there has been in sheets and tin plates and it would naturally be supposed that the large increase would have tended to mitigate the stress of competition and bring about some kind of an approximation to the smoothness with which business has been conducted in other lines. Quite the reverse has been the case. Not only has competition been keen, but it has, particularly in tin plates, been attended by some ill feeling. . In one sense it could be said that competition has been keen among the independents, but that has been not so much from the existence of a spirit of competition as because by reason of the leading interest taking good care of its customers and holding them closely the field of competition among independents has been somewhat — restricted. A given buyer being outside the fold the question would be which independent would secure him. A large part of the buying trade is impossible to the in- dependents. It has been between the independents as a class and the leading interest that the spirit of com- petition has been most keen. Charges and counter charges of cutting have been made. The independents have charged the leading interest with being unduly sensitive, for so large a corporation, to the loss of single customers and to the cutting of independents upon minor orders, such as those where a limited quantity of cut-downs was involved. Some personalities have even been indulged in and in some quarters the conclusion has been nursed that all was not harmony in the ranks of the leading in- terest, and it has been held that with conditions of de- mand as they have been the United States Steel Corpora- tion could have made more money, even though by pur- suing a somewhat different policy its total tonnage might bave been slightly reduced. The leading interest, on the other hand, appears to have regarded the selling policy of the independents as not always of the best. As is very frequent in differences of opinion, the difficulty appears to have been due to the parties rea- soning from premises which were different, when in the logic of the cases the right premises were necessarily the same. The independents have, for instance, been prone to base their arguments upon the market prices for billets or sheet bars, when in reality the United States Steel Corporation is an organization effected for the purpose of converting coking coal, ore and limestone into marketable product. The current market price for billets and sheet bars is simply an incident. There are large profits between the minerals and the semifinished steel. Then, too, there may be some misapprehension as to how much it costs the leading interests to convert the semifinished product into finished product. The cost may be somewhat less than is generally supposed. On the other side there has, perhaps, been too little effort made to realize the exigencies under which a relatively small business undertaking must be operated. Stocks of odd sizes must be disposed of and cannot be held for the opportunities of disposal which naturally arise in the conduct of a very large business, with many buyers of quite varied requirements. On both sides January 11, 1906 there has been a disposition to assume that the compe- tition was to be conducted according to certain pre-ar- ranged rules, as is a game of chess. Modern business, on the contrary, consists largely in the player endeavoring to formulate and follow a new rule without his oppo- nent’s knowledge. Exports and Rebate Tin Plate, Exports of tin plate were negligible in 1903, being but 292 gross tons. In 1904 they were 7898 gross tons and in 1905 they were substantially as large. These ex- ports are of tin plate in that form and must not be con- fused with what are known in the vernacular as “ rebate plates,” these being plates, whether of foreign or do- mestic origin, which form cans or cases for oil, meat, fruit, fish, &c., which are exported. A limited quantity of “rebate plate” enters into the construction of ex- ported carpet sweepers and forms a lining for various cases which are exported. If the material is foreign plate the government rebates 99 per cent. of the duty originally paid. If it is domestic the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company makes a rebate, at the time of the ex- portation, of a sum sufficient to make the material com- petitive with imported plate. In doing this it is aided to an extent by a concession which the Amalgamated Association makes, the form being that 3 per cent. of all tin plate wages is placed in a fund from which with- drawals are made as rebates are paid, the withdrawal in each case being 25 per cent. of the wages originally paid in the manufacture of the tin plate which enters into, or, to be a trifle more exact, surrounds, the exported article. This arrangement with the workmen was first made in the fall of 1902. In the summer of 1904 the re- tention was cut in half, the rebate being made the same, so that the fund provided for a rebate on only half as large a quantity as under the original arrangements. In the summer of 1905 the original retention of 3 per cent. was restored. Even approximate figures have never been obtainable from authoritative sources as to the tonnage of rebate business done in domestic plates, but it is well understood that the tonnage is large, much larger than the exports of tin plate in the form of tin plate. The Bray Mill. The Bray semicontinuous mill at the Monongahela Tin Plate Works has been in operation during 1905. The mill of quite similar pattern, but for the rolling of sheets, at the Sharon plant, was completed about the beginning of the fourth quarter, and has since been operated. The Monongahela mill has an output of about 100 gross tons per day. The Sharon mill will have an output of about 150 tons per day. This tonnage has already been ex- ceeded on a number of occasions, but the full results ex- pected have not yet been attained, on account of the time necessary to drill men to an entirely new system of opera- tion. The machinery itself is performing its functions very satisfactorily. Gauge 22 and heavier are shipped without finishing by hand; the lighter gauges require some finishing passes by hand. At the Monongahela works, the product going into tin plate, the gauges are lighter, and all the product necessarily passes through a finishing operation. toe” The Carpenter Foundry Company’s Dinner.—The fourth annual dinner given by the A. Carpenter & Sons Foundry Company, Providence, R. I., to the heads of departments was held January 1 at the Narragansett Hotel in that city. Henry A. Carpenter, treasurer of the company, was the host of the occasion, and with the party was one guest, Louis F. Patterson, a former foreman, but now with the United Shoe Machinery Company, Beverly, Mass. The menu was a unique creation, each course from the “ Fluor Spar Oyster” to the “ Cupola Stacks ” having some special significance to the foundryman. The following toasts were responded to: “How to Save Money,” Henry A. Carpenter ; “ The Ladies” (in the Core Room), George F. Whipple; “ System,” O. C. Barrows; “ Advantages of Machines,” W. D. Kent; “ How We Got a Million in 25 Days,” D. G. B. Allardice; “ Be on Deck in the Morning,” H. C. Arnold. A pleasant feature of the evening’s entertainment was the presentation to Mr. Carpenter by Mr. Barrows in behalf of the foremen of a handsome floral piece in the design of a bull ladle. THE IRON AGE 183 Densitor Water Proofing for Concrete. It is well known that Portland cement concrete is not water proof, and this is also true of most of the building stone now in common use. To overcome this objection numerous compounds have been placed on the market which are more or less satisfactory. Several of these are simply paraffin dissolved in gasoline and supplied as a wash or filler on the surface of the concrete. This af- fords temporary protection. Others use oils and fats com- bined with quick lime. These compounds are mixed dry with Portland cement in amounts of from 6 to 10 per cent. The Portland cement is then used in the ordinary way to form mortar with sand and gravel. These com- pounds produce mortars that will reject water for a time. The strength of the concrete or mortar is greatly reduced because the oil, tallow or paraffin decreases and often de- stroys the bonding or cementing properties of the cement, causing the concrete to crumble. None of the compounds will undergo the standard tests to which Portland cement is subjected to determine its soundness. Another water proofing wash or paint composed of barium hydrate (5 ounces dissolved in 1 gallon of water) applied as a wash on the surface of the concrete six or eight times at inter- vals of 48 hours does effective work. However, the time and labor required make this method expensive. A new water proofing material in the form of a min- eral wax is now being introduced under the name of Densitor by the Densitor Company, 228 La Salle street, Chicago, Ill. This material, ground and mixed with Vortland cement in the proportion of 20 pounds of Densi- tor to each barrel of cement, produces what is known as Densitor cement. Concrete formed with this cement is sound, hard and dense, and is claimed to reject water as effectively as glass or marble. With extra care in select- ing the aggregates, tamped concrete can be made as dense in appearance as marble or granite, and will take a polish equal to the best natural stone. Densitor water proofing absolutely prevents effloresence by sealing the pores in exposed faces in concrete work. A mortar formed of 1 part of Densitor treated Portland cement to 3 parts of sand, when applied 1-16 inch thick as a finish on con- crete work, produces a perfect water rejecting face. Densitor is also used as a paint and applied with a brush. One pound of Densitor dissolved in water and mixed with from 4 to 5 pounds of Portland cement, wil! cover from 75 to 100 square feet of surface. With proper coloring matter and aggregates an artificial stone can be produced resembling jasper in finish and texture. Densi- tor cement will stand the boiling and freezing test to which Portland cement is submitted to prove its soundness, and gives practically the same analysis as Portland cement. It will pass all standard specifications for the latter, showing slightly higher tensile and com- pressive strength than high grade Portland cement alone. The water resisting properties of Densitor cement are shown in the following test: Two blocks were prepared, one consisting of fine lake sand passing a 50-mesh screen, mixed with Portland cement in the proportion of 3 to 1. The other block was of the same mixture with Densitor cement substituted for the Portland. The first, after being immersed in water 24 hours, increased in weight 12.86 per cent. by the absorption of water and had not dried out thoroughly in air after 59 hours. It still re- tained 2.32 per cent. of water, and it took over an hour on a radiator to expel it. The other specimen left in water for the same length of time absorbed only 0.7 per cent. of its weight of water and dried within 45 minutes in the air. The Chicago Drainage Board is using Densitor treated Portland cement in its new power house at Lockport, III. The concrete blocks used in the side walls and partitions are of the American Hydraulic Stone Company’s two- piece pattern treated with a 14-inch facing of Densitor mortar, making them water proof and uniform in color and texture. Ordinary cement building blocks vary greatly in both color and texture, and have the artificial appearance common to all concrete work, but when coated with Densitor this is removed and a clean, natural stone finish is presented. 184 The Development of High Duty Sawing and Slotting. The use of modern high speed steel is in no operation shown to more advantage than in sawing and rotary slot- ting. The old way of sawing with a solid tempered steel saw blade and slotting with a single (occasionally a dou- ble) overhanging tool having a remittent movement is rapidly giving way in all cases of straight line cuts to the continuous cuts with high speed steel cutters, possi- ble in the new sawing and slotting machines. Notably is this the case in such operations as the slitting and trim- ming of armor plate, cutting out of the throws of solid forged crank shafts,