The Iron Age 1907-10-17: Vol 80 Iss 16

THE GE IRON( | Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., Xo Pars” Place, New York. Vol. 80: No. 16. Reading Matter Contents...... page 1120 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘‘ 213 Classified List of Advertisers ‘* 203 Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ 212 Reed F. Blair & Co. Frick Building, Pittsburg. Pa. COKE, PIG IRON CHROME ORE FERRO MANGANESE SILICON SPIEGEL, ETC. eet: ee SEES es Ropes and saogtces ed a E-vt Se New Sia BRISTOL'S RECORDING INSTRUMENTS ' For all commercial purposes Simple, Accurate, Used everywhere by those who are satistied with the best only. Send for Cat. R and Prices. THE BRISTOL CO,, Waterbury, Conn, NEw YORK CHICAGO SON SPOT CORD MS Also Linen and Italian Hemp Sash Cord SAMSON GORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass TURNBUCHLES . « Cleveland, O. DROP HAMMER BROS. MERRILL BROOKLYN n Y. BASIC PIG. eene Girard Building, Phila. Pilling & Crane Machesney Bldg., Pittsbg. EmpireBl dg., New York. There’s a Difference in’cost between the best and inferior grades of Galvanized Sheets, but uniform quality and satisfactory results are worth the differ- ence many times over. *“ APOLLO ” is Standard If your Jobber does not handle ‘““APOLLO BEST BLOOM”’ Galvanized Sheets Write as;— See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY’S Ad. on Page 17 New York, Durable | $5 00 a Year, including Postage. Single Copies, 15 Cents. Thursday October 17, 1907 ‘THE splendid American Rifle Team won the Palma Trophy in the national match with Canada, Australia and Eng- \) land. The American team ou chose UMC cartridges after competi- : tive tests with other makes. The American and foreign press united in praise of American (UMC) ammuni tion, which gave the American team a decided and winning advantage. UMC Quality Exceis, Sell UMC Cartridges The Union Metallic Cartridge Co. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Agency: 313 Broadway, New York City. WATER TUBE BOILERS See page 58 ‘* Capewell ’’ Horse Nails Yield Dealers The Largest Annual Profits Considerably more than half of all the nails sold in the United States are ‘‘ Capewell.”’ Dealers who always keep this brand of nail in stock secure the largest volume of the horse nail business annually. IT PAYS TO CARRY ‘“‘ THE BEST ’’ NAIL Made By The Capewell Horse Nail Co., com's. THE LARGEST MANUFACTURERS OF HORSE NAILS IN THE WORLD JENKINS ’96 SHEET PACKING The Original Unvulcanized Packing. Suitable for all steam joints. Not only does it make a tight joint quickly, but it makes a joint that wi///ast. Made in sheets, and also, to order, in GASKETS cut to any size orshape. All genuine is stamped with Trade Mark as shown in the cut, and is guaranteed. JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London London “Siadon” Gold Rolled Steel cst Drawing « Stamping Celled for THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING COMPANY Sk E Water and Rail Delivery) BRIDGEPORT, CONN. PAGE MAGNOLIA ereiécrios METAL The Standard Babbitt of the Worid everything in the Babbitt Line. > MAGNOLIA METAL CO. 115 Bank St. Chicago Fisher Building. Ghe Babcock @ Wilcox Co. 85 Liberty Street New York Nicholas St. Montreal: 31 St. New York: 2 THE IRON AGE — - The Plume & Atwood Mfg. Co. BRASS) — SHEETS» WIRE me Sheet and Roll Brass and DICKEY COPPER WIRE WIRE Printers’ Brass, Jewelers’ Metal, PLANISHED |iGepyan (steer | Sctten' wnt Sor hd E ETS SILVER ROD Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. WIRE 279 Broadway, NEW YORK WELLSVILLE LOW BRASS, SHEET BRONZE, Room 508 leyworth Building, East Madi- son St., ©. HICAGO, ILL. POLISHED SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER ee TUBING, BRAZED BRASS AND |rnoifon,cow._warenui cow, an 2 ! $ : : HAMMERED padenie SCOVILL MFG. CO. 1 MANUFACTURERS OF OPEN HEARTH |! WATERBURY BRASS CO.,|| Brass, GERMAN SILVER, BRIGHT TIN Sheets, Rolls, Wire Rods, as WATERBURY, CONN. Bolts and Tubes ROOFING PLATES 09 John St., New York. Providence, R. 1. Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze Special Brass Goods to Order. FOLLANSBEE & Metal Co. FAcTORIZ8 BROTHERS BRIDGEPORT, CONN. a Dane a COMPANY Phosphor and Deoxidized Ee PITTSBURGH Bronze tenry Souther Engineering Co. HARTFORD, CONN. Consulting Chemists, Metallur- gists and Analysts. Composition, Yellow Brass and Alumi- num Castings, large and small Complete Physical Testing Laboratory. Expert Testimony in Court and Patent Cases. Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., ] | ! f LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. [ lll e l pI IR SMELTERS OF SPELTER 256 Broadway AND MANUFACTURERS NEW YORK SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Special Sizes of Zinc cur to order. Rolled Battery Plates. : Selected Plates fur Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and ee ee ee German Silver. Copper, Brass ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper BT TG goo a NA ILUENCONM ono ecini” 105 -109 So, Jefferson St. Chicago. NaN Ge SOR PLUM LUNI TG a UCaCTSm yee Hier WUT FIT TH cde dat WIRE. “IT's TOUGH.” aa TROLLEY, GERMAN SILVER | NCEE AN0DEs — Brass, Bronze, and Copper ety: THE SEYMOUR MFG. CO. - - SEYMOUR, CONN. egg FENDR ICKS BROTH ERS enttits.,, BRIDGEPORT BRASS COMPANY, Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, ee _ PHOSPHOR-BRONZE GERMAN SILVER MANUFACTURERS OF Brazicrs’ Boit and Sheathing COPPER COPPER WiRD AND RIVETS, Importers and Dealers in THE RIVERSIDE Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc oa METAL Co. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. "%&° “" =RIVERSIDE, N. J. LIBRARY of CONGRE Two Copies Received OCT 18 41907 Copyright Entry THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, October 17, 1907. A Historie Iron Works. The Tredegar Company’s Plant, Richmond, Va. BY THEO, D. MORGAN. The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Va., is prob- ably the most interesting historically in the country. It was established in 1836, and to the importation of pud- dlers from Tredegar, England, it owes its name. The present plant is modern in every respect and now covers an area of 25 acres. Except for the forge hammers, the CLASS KA jectiles. During our Civil War, the works was used as an arsenal by the Confederate Government and was the chief source of supply for guns and projectiles. Here was rolled the iron that covered the far famed Con- federate iron clad, the Merrimac. During the Spanish- American War, large quantities of cast iron projectiles were furnished the Government and at this time con- tracts are being filled for these, to be used in practice shooting. Aside from its industrial importance during the Civil War, the Tredegar Company was officially well repre- sented; Major Archer, an officer of the company, was also an officer in the Confederate army, and Gen. Joseph Fig. 1.—The Bar Mill at the Tredegar Iron Works, Showing the Old Two-High Mill Which Rolled the Iron for the Merrimae. entire plant is driven by water power, derived from the old Kanawa & Ohio Canal. This canal is said to have been planned by George Washington, and was intended to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Ohio River. It was never completed further west than Buchanan, Va., as it was found impossible to secure a steady supply of water beyond this point. This canal, however, proved a boon to Richmond, as it has been the means of drawing a great many industries to that city. At present the working force is between 1200 to 1500 and the product comprises bar iron and steel of all kinds, including forgings, car axles, horse shoes, railroad and boat spikes, car wheels, general castings and machinery. Four years after its establishment the works passed into the hands of General Joseph R. Anderson, who continued at the head until his death in 1892. The third generation of this family is now represented in the management by Archer Anderson, Jr. In the early days of the United States navy the plant was extensively employed on government work. The company built and equipped the wooden frigates Roanoke and Colorado and the United States revenue cutter James K. Polk and also made large quantities of guns and pro- R. Anderson was in active service. At the battle of Seven Pines the latter was wounded, and was then re- tired, to become again the active head of the Tredegar Works. Captain Edward Archer, who was and still is engineer of the works, was sent to England to supervise the erection of warships then building in English ship- yards, for the Confederate service. Under his supervision the noted cruiser Alabama was built. Coming back to the United States in the Hawk, a privateer, he was blockaded in a Bermuda port and compelled to remain there till the end of the war. Captain Archer was in the United States navy before the outbreak of the Civil War and became a captain in the Confederate navy. Under the direction of Captain Brooks, who designed the Merrimac, Captain Archer pre- pared the iron that covered the noted vessel. This iron was in plates 8 in. wide and 2 in. thick and was rolled from old iron rails, muck bar and scrap, or “ anything we could get,” as the Captain explained. Continuing, he said: “ The only old rails we had were those taken from the tracks by the Northern soldiers. They were heated, then bent and twisted about trees so we could not again use them. All the straight rails had to be saved to fl 1055 THE IRON AGE October 17, 1907 repair tracks. Scrap was scarce, too, in those times, and Merrimac, as a very able man, saying that he was the we were compelled to gather up everything we could — real secretary of the Confederate navy. find, in order to get the iron made. The 8 x 2 in. plate It is a mooted question as to which was really the was rolled from rail piles and fagots on our regular first iron clad warship, Captain Ericsson’s Monitor, or Intericr of the Gun Foundry, Where Most of the Confederate Guns Were Cast During the Civil War. MAA “ddan Fig. 3.—The Old Gun Lathes in the Tredegar Iron Works, Now Used for Turning Rolls. 18-in. bar mill. One layer of these plates was placed on the Confederate Virginia, built out of the hull of the the sloping sides of the Merrimac and bolted to 30 in. of | frigate Merrimac. The Merrimac was known in the teak backing. Around the gun ports the plates were South as the Virginia. The frigate Merrimac was origi- doubled, making a thickness of 4 in. there.” Captain nally built by Merrick & Sons in Philadelphia, Pa. She Archer spoke feelingly of Captain Brooks, designer of the fell into the hands of the Confederates, was cut down October 17, 1QO7 almost to the water’s edge, rebuilt with sloping sides, and covered with iron made by the Tredegar Company, and was rechristened the Virginia. eventful. On her trial trip, March 8, 1862, accompanied by two small gunboats, she rammed and sunk the U. S. Frigate Cumberland, off Newport Va., destroyed the U. S. Frigate Congress, blew up a transport steamer, sunk one schooner and captured another. On the next day, in Hampton Roads, she engaged the United States iron clad Monitor. This fight between the Merrimac and the Monitor is famous as the first battle iron clads. The Merrimac was afterward burned by the Con- federates, on May 10, 1862, on their evacuation of Nor- folk. Fig. 1 shows the bar mill on which the iron for the Merrimac was rolled. It is an ordinary 18-in. mill. The old fashioned two-high housings shown are those in which the iron was rolled. The three-high roughing sets are later additions. The present roller, James Hl. Wade, is seen sitting in front of the mill. He is a son of Edward Wade, who rolled the iron for the Merrimac. Mr. Wade has been in the employ of the Tredegar Company since his boyhood. The mill is in excellent condition and in steady operation, turning out splice bars and merchant bars of all kinds. Her career was short but News, between Fig. 2 is an interior view of the gun foundry, as it is now and as it was during the war, when making guns and projectiles for the Confederate Government. The two cranes shown are each of 30-tons capacity, commanding the three gun pits between them; only one of these pits is shown, the others being no longer in use. Back of the wall are two air furnaces. In the casting of large guns both of these furnaces were used, the melted metal being run into a reservoir on the floor, and thence into the mold in the pit. The foundry is now producing general castings. No. 3 shows the gun lathes. They are now used as roll lathes for dressing the mill roll. On these prac- tically all of the guns for the Confederate army and navy were turned and bored. They were run night and day and Sunday, without a moment’s stop, except for re- pairs, during the years of the Civil War. Guns were made of all sizes, from field pieces up to 7-in. guns, and as all were bored from the solid, as well as turned, each required an immense amount of work. The output num- bered thousands, with hundreds of tons of shot and shell. Two great Rodinan guns, 11 or 12 in. bore, made, but after completion they were found too heavy for transportation, and were never used. They were sub- sequently broken up and used for scrap. The man standing at one of the lathes is G. P. Per- rini, who has been continuously employed at these works for 55 years. Under his direction all the gun finishing was done—boring, turning and rifling. According to his statement, he perfected a method of rifling guns which was superior to any in use at that time, and this method was adopted by the Federal Government on capturing some Confederate guns. Proof of this was found in the rifling of Federal guns afterward captured by the Con- federates. were also An interesting fact told by Mr. Perrini, which is prob- ably little known, is that the Confederates used a number of wooden guns. They were mortars for throwing shells, and more than 150 were turned out at the Tredegar plant. They were made from gun wood, turned and banded heavily with iron bands shrunk on. As Mr. Perrini ex- plained: “ It was either use wood or nothing, for we had no more iron.” It is doubtful if many are aware that such primitive weapons were used as late as our Civil War. ————~-e—_ The Lorain Casting Company.—The Lorain Casting Company has completed the erection of a new foundry at Lorain, Ohio, and commenced casting operations last week. The foundry building is 110 ft. in width and 130 ft. in length, with a center bay 50 ft. in width, and served with a 30-ton electric traveling crane. The cupola and core oven capacity is suitable for the production of large castings up to the capacity of the crane. The equipment of the foundry throughout is strictly modern THE IRON AGE 1059 and should place the company in condition to manuface- ture castings economically and serve the needs of its clients. Contracts bave been secured from a number of local buyers of casiings which insure the company a is left officers of business, but considerable margin The M. Pierce, president and treas- urer; R. Thew, vice-president, and F. A. Smythe, secre- tary. HH: 3B. formerly Lorain Foundry Company fair amount of for general commercial requirements. the new concern are: E, Davison, superintendent of the later with the National Tube Company, is in charge of all foundry operations. a The Landis Corrugated Grinding Wheel. Concerning the form of a new corrugated corundum wheel lately invented by Ezra F. Landis, La Salle, N. Y.. the accompanying illustration is self-explanatory. On ac- count of the corrugations in the sides of the wheel, the cutting surface follows a wavy course producing an oscil- lating contact with the work and hence a shearing cut. The effect is much the same in principle as that of a mill- ing cutter made with helical instead of axial teeth. It is The Landis Corrugated Corundum Wheel Made by the American Emery Wheel Works, Providence, R. I. reported by the inventor that in a comparative test of two S-in. wheels, one plain and the other corrugated, the lat- ter did four times as much work in a given time as the former, and with only 25 per cent. increased wear. A number of these wheels have been made by the American Emery Wheel Works, Providence, R. I., and some are now in use by one of the leading builders of grinding machinery. The manufacturer of the wheels is prepared to make them of any diameter up to 24 in. and any thickness required. The thickness through the cut ting surface is one-half the over-all thickness of the wheel; in other words, the concavities, alternately cut into the opposite sides of the wheel, extend half way through it. The wheels are made of either emery or corundum, and by either the vitrified or silicate process A corrugated wheel, it is claimed, will give a finish equally as fine as that produced by a plain wheel of the same material. scnaenaiidnialiiaaciaamiais Buffalo’s Sheet Steel Plant.—The first sheet of steel to be manufactured by the Seneca Iron & Steel Company, Buffalo, N. Y., was turned out October 5, and it proved a good one. The company now has three of its mills at work, and the other mills will be started as soon as the building and equipping of them are finished. When it is running full force it will have nine mills going, five hot mills, one roughing mill and three cold mills. This is the first sheet mill in New York State and the first in the country to use electricity for power. a It is reported that the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which has gradually dismantling its shipbuilding plant at San Francisco, Cal., known as the Union Iron Works, has decided to reopen the plant and put it in shape so that it will be in condition to make repairs to battleships when the fleet reaches the Pacific Coast. been 1060 THE The Austrian Iron Industry.* A Review of Its Progress in the Past Twenty- Five Years. BY WILHELM KESTRANEK.7{ At the meeting of the Iron and Steel institute held iu Vienna 25 years ago, the celebrated Prof. Peter von Tun- ner described the iron industry of Styria and of Carinthia as representing the iron industry of the whole of Austria. He warned the members present at the meeting who were prepared, as you are now, to visit the centers of produc- tion of the Austrian iron industry, that they might be disappointed in their expectations, and his statements principally dealt with the reasons why the Austrian iron industry generally, and that of Styria and of Carinthia especially, had remained stationary, and had been sur- that of England, of Germany, and even of France and Belgium. He referred to the proud past of the ancient Alpine iron industry, and made due mention of the legend that the nails with which Christ was crucified were made of Noric iron obtained by the Romans from the Alpine dis- tricts. From the description of Peter von Tunner, the Austrian iron industry appeared to play the réle of an impoverished nobleman, who, while regarding the future with apprehension, recalls the past with pride. The iron industry of the monarchy has, however, not resigned itself to this réle. Indeed, it has spared no endeavor to maintain its position; and I believe that in view of the development of the home iron industry during the last 25 years, I am in a position to state that these endeavors have been successful, even if the industry, for reasons which will be considered later, has not reached that de- gree of development which the leading iron and steel- producing countries have reached during this period. passed by A Twenty-Five Year Comparison of Output, In order to ascertain what progress has been made it will be necessary to compare the present production of pig iron with that of 25 years ago. In the year 1882 the world’s production of pig iron, which in the year 1807 had been 760,000 metric tons, had reached about 21,000,- 000 metric tons. To this total the most important produc- ing countries contributed the following proportions: Metric tons. PEER Wt ibektsekcbbubands sh a vndimene about 8,600,000 PT we Dc eidenS wens b iweb ene ’e about 4,600,000 Germany, including Luxemburg............... about 3,400,000 NE enc aan lawn en about 2,000,000 DE Senet bake cee ka koe rbd behieee wee about 700,000 RE catia es ASN Ke ORS wo about 600,000 PK Coenen ae keh ok b bo haw as e s awn oe Sale about 400,000 SS Saree Nia al ik in die we kel oe WO about 400,000 DO cnisccnehssnss On ced Sa neG She Nn Senay oo about 100,000 The world’s annual production of pig iron is at the present time about 61,500,000 metric tons; and the vari- ous iron-making countries now stand in the following order : : Metric tons. a ee a ne rt ee ee ees about 27,000,000 Germany, including Luxemburg.............. about 12,800,000 ek OS be es ahaa Ae oe ee about 10,100,000 OR. coe eee cae wie ak Glee iss Ki eeu an about 3,400,000 DO <~.ie ic obese ue tae) akc dons Races about 2,800,000 S'S POORER OCTET CECE ORES TS: about 1,900,000 SEE. cdciin atcha sachshewckiesaedeewsig-ae about 1,500,000 Sweden ace Siesta awa Ree about 600,000 DE cb: cb eee eR he ee eRe Ae ee eee 6.si0 eae about 400,000 From the above it will be seen that the iron industry of the monarchy, which 25 years ago held the sixth place among iron producing countries, still occupies the same position, while in the meantime other countries have un- dergone many changes. For instance, Great Britain has had to cede the leading position to the United States, and during the last few years has also been surpassed by Germany. France, where the conditions of the iron indus- try resemble in many respects those of this country, has been able to maintain its place in the fourth position. The fifth place, which is now occupied by Russia, was * A paper read before the Iron and Steel Institute at Vienna, September, 1907. + General manager of the Prager Bisen-Industrie-Gesellschaft and of the Béhmische-Montan-Gesellschaft. IRON AGE October 17, 1907 wrested from Belgium, whose production of iron former- ly exceeded that of Austria-Hungary. The Austrian iron industry contributes the principal share to this increase in the production of pig iron in Austria-Hungary, and the increase approaches to that of Great Britain during the same period. Of the 612,000 metric tons of pig iron produced in 1882 in Austria-Hun- gary, 436,000 tons were produced in Austria and 176,000 tons in Hungary. To the present total production of 1,910,000 metric tons, Austria contributes 1,434,000 metric tons, Hungary 450,000 tons, and Bosnia 46,000 tons, It is interesting to note that during the last 25 years the world’s production of pig iron increased in value from about 1,700,000,000 Austrian crowns to about 4,800,- 000,000 crowns, while the value of the production of gold from 510,000,000 crowns to 1,950,000,000 crowns. The value of the pig iron produced represents at the pres- ent time about two and a half times the value of the out- put of gold. rose A Searcity of Coke, If Peter von Tunner, 25 years ago, rightly ascribed the advantages of the leading countries in the European iron industry as due to their abundance of mineral fuel, it may still be said that the progress of the Austrian iron industry would have been far greater if coke had been available in greater quantities. The country, however, suffers from a scarcity of cok- ing coal, and for this reason it has had to import coke from foreign countries, especially from Germany. In 1906 the production of coke in Austria was 1,700,000 metric tons, which for other countries the following re- turns are available: Metric tons. NE REND cs nina ch dG wie kG Ate b SR ee Tike wee eeewee 1,700,000 ENN ie oa abs vase enki ARRAS RS ERS 2,000,000 NN Tre er Tere Cre re 2,200,000 CD COED iin bbb edb nS RR ORS ES OES R EE 18,300,000 Germany (1906).......... see o.oo 6 bie Reser eae ae 20,300,000 Se EEE EDD 6 n'ceh'e'e bibih ale Sb wwe ae aes canes 29,200,000 Austria-Hungary exports yearly about 300,000 metric tons and imports about 600,000 metric tons, so that the difference of 300,000 tons has to be obtained from abroad. Austria-Hungary possesses several very rich deposits of iron ore, such, for instance, as the celebrated Styrian Ore Mountain. A more extensive smelting of the Austro- Hungarian ores is hindered by the want of fuel, and for this reason Austria-Hungary at the present time is one of those countries which export iron ore. The imports of iron ores amount yearly to 246,000 metric tons, and the quantity exported, to which Hun- gary contributes the largest share, amounts to 324,000 tons, Production Gauged by Fuel. It can be taken as an axiom that development of the iron industry of a country, in relation to the consump- tion, depends more on the richness of its fuel resources than on an abundance of iron ore. Thus it is seen that countries such as Sweden and Spain, which are rich in ore and poor in fuel, export the greater part of their out- put of ores to countries rich in fuel, and are, in propor- tion to their wealth in ore, only small producers of pig iron. Other countries, on the other hand, such as Great Britain, which depends to a large measure on the im- portation of iron ores, and Germany—which also has to import considerable quantities of ore—occupy a leading position. It is unnecessary to mention the happy posi- tion of the United States, a country which rejoices in the possession of an abundance of ore and of coking coal, and for this reason naturally occupies the leading posi- tion. The quantity and quality of the iron ores are as im- portant a factor in commercial competition in the iron industry of a country as are the number and condition of the soldiers of an army; while the fuel resources are for the iron industry what the generalship and arma- ment are for such an army. Under otherwise equal con- ditions the superiority in training and equipment of an army are more efficacious at the present time than mere weight of numbers. It, therefore, appears to me that the quality and quantity of fuel available are more de- cisive factors in the industrial development of the iron trade of a country than wealth of ores. October 17, 1907 If I may further develop this comparison, it may be mentioned that the conditions of two combatants are also naturally influenced by other important circum- stances, such as the existence of ramparts, or, in other words, protective duties; further, by the natural re- sources and financial wealth of the two competitors, which in the case under consideration is the demand of the home market. Finally, the fortune of war depends on whether the forces are kept free from disease. Such diseases, mostly of a contagious character, are strikes, and the efforts of organizations to hinder production. As an example, I believe that the development of the British iron trade would have been far more successful if the introduction of technical improvements had not been hindered by the action of trade organizations. It must be especially remarked, with reference to the demand of the Austrian market, that there is a great need of development, because large tracts of territory— not only in the mountainous Alpine districts, but also in the east of the empire—are capable of a more intense productive activity. It must be here mentioned that the yearly output in Austria of merchant iron is not more than 350,000 met- ric tons—150,000 tons of girders, 70,000 tons of rails, and 65,000 tons of sheets. Per Capita Consumption of Iron, The consumption of iron in any country obviously de- pends, to a considerable extent, on the population; and for this reason, in order to judge the figures given and particularly the amount of the production of pig iron of the several iron producing countries, their populations are compared for the years 1882 and 1906: Population of Chief Iron Producing Countries. 1882. 1906. Me MERI Sy ote o's aso rah ia wh OKIE 49,000,000 90,700,000 CE irda ave eoedaeaee sean ewe se 45,500,000 61,500,000 I ERS ol e. e ec aealh eee wae 31,400,000 44,200,000 ho OE CU REE ETE Eee 39,300,060 I pte w id dd 4. 6 ors Aenea es aia okwrel 77,000,000 120,000,000 Sse weve cee etabuke 42,700,000 49,100,000 Of this fell to— I a Ba alas ark blake Caste awed “aa ee ela 27,300,000 I oa hae wes dil ow paid ehahe ature 20,000,000 me OCCURISR HTOTIMOEE: .66ccs Kiev ccws 1,800,000 I! Ss Gauie bc nia ee he aewne tases 5,900,000 7,300,000 MI, «2:50 sha Gein Wald aA KE MOMA DCR eke Ueacews 5,300,000 I a Bins a Sar ee Shea naire Waele a) oN eek a ae 18,500,000 The yearly consumption in kilograms per head of the population, based on the production of pig iron, and also taking into consideration the export trade in ma- chinery and in other iron ware for the various countries at the present time, may be taken as follows: Kilograms. NEN SON a. esis alana ae ele ew ae wR Bh we aie ele a a eS alora Geeta 320 DIRS rors D2, 5 as ara cad-m B/W Gp aU oe aati Sie elviaieoe om 220 INET EG. Cr eS os a cis. 0:6 ow stare eral u Gee ale eel heen eka ewes 160 Fa ete a hea an a iG a 5) Sgt ka Es Cece ac Stern ye. ate 145 I a cick (0,32 ete gen ath di wiates a sade weal ect aio: Sed in! ovens elt 65 ae aa heads ah ais ad sip oe aa aA AE CR Oe OT Oe a Om 50 EEE 0,5 cies 5 > a1 GUe mierale <a a acs keh Walaa ew a'a eee 25 Rh nick oo en we Fo aa a ae Ra ae eee Mk dibs WR ORES 25 The Production of Coal, The measure of the industrial condition of a coun- try depends less on the production of iron than on the production and consumption of fuel. It may be remarked that the degree of general industrial activity of the countries named below is proportional to the figures given for the consumption of coal, which agree, except for a few small differences, with the proportions given for the production of coal, calculated per head of the population. These figures therefore afford a measure of the economical conditions of the civilized countries men- tioned. The production of coal of the various countries for the year 1906 was as follows: Metric tons. Metric tons. Se I sa hoe a Pew Ae OAs 84a een ee ee Ke 375,500,000 SE aw Ante rae eae ethene ch heeakeene keene 193,500,000 DY GN Pix boduasesicasas 137,100,000 EE ae ee ee 56,400,000 I ES oO ida iia 6% dine ele la eo we ew le aa ed 255,000,000 PE Wetedc Rane techs COs s4x6 eee COR eee eed 34,300,000 DE. CM ob awaadhene e0-400d 33,600,000 MNS sok oh wae wuecen ae 3 700,000 NE, Schad a tee occ wee ise ane toe ee b eS wales 19,600,000 NN. Mids fois bis cde B0< adhe tites Bataas's 37,700,000 po | eee ee Te 13,500,000 CN ss a kn a ae Gia 24,200,000 IE ain obs chs Sates aS % sa dinddevnceca sc eweemaee at 23,600,000 THE IRON AGE 1061 The yearly consumption of coal per head of the popu- lation in these various countries is given in kilograms in the following table: Kilograms., 08 hai eer hear oom 0d ese le Ae le we ere Oe 4,680 SI ce er Ne a aga ale arte cea fei queer eure @ me SERRE 4,050 0. EB A ee ee eee eee ae oo ee eae 3,140 Eat a gibi eels 4.0 WERE We a ee OO akhe eee e wae 2,980 PE pa wide dwb o canda d eo kde ewe wields Me Uw eemee knw 1,370 a acl ia da anata al itd etc ding asia Grad Wa ae 1,190 With regard to the production of coal in Austria, it must be stated that the greater part of the output con- sists of brown coal, so that if the calorific value be taken into consideration, the production of coal of Austria can be approximately estimated as equal to that of France. The demand for in Austria-Hungary is not fully met by the output of the country, and at the present time about 7,500,000 metric tons of bituminous coal are im- ported, against an export of 8,100,000 metric tons, of which, however, only about 900,000 metric tons are bitu- minous coal, and 7,200,000 metric tons are brown coal. If not only the weight, but also the calorific value, be in- cluded in the calculation, the import exceeds the export in fuel value. The prosperity of the Austrian iron industry is not only impaired by the want of mineral fuel, but also by the circumstance that it can only be brought to the prin- cipal producing works by costly methods of transport. The pig iron producing centers of Bohemia and Styria are situated in localities possessing rich supplies of irom ores, and have at their disposal, on the spot, extensive deposits of coal. They are, however, entirely without coking coal, and depend on the import of coke from the Miihrisch-Ostrau, Prussian-Silesia, and Westphalian coal fields. The Ostrau pig iron producing center, on the other hand, possesses an ample supply of coke; but has to obtain its ores chiefly from Hungary, which renders coal them expensive, owing to the high railroad freight charges. The blast furnaces situated in the Southern parts of the monarchy, such as Bosnia, possess large de- posits of ore, but mineral fuel is wanting. Throrghout the whole of Austria there are no blast furnaces which have both ore and coke on the spot. If, in spite of this want of mineral fuel, in spite of circumstances conspiring to increase the cost of produc- tion, and that either the fuel or the ore can only be brought to the producing centers by costly routes, and in spite of the limited demand from a large portion of the empire, the Austrian iron industry has been able during the last 25 years to keep pace relatively with the other iron producing countries, this can be attributed to three reasons: Firstly, to the sufficiency of the protective im- port duties, behind the wall of which a prosperous de- velopment of the iron industry has been possible; sec- ondly, the association of the iron works into a syndicate, whereby ruinous competition has been prevented; and thirdly, the concentration of the smaller works into larger units. sy these two last mentioned means the adoption of more economical methods of working has been rendered possible. Austria’s Protective Duties, The protective duties of several countries are given as follows, in orded that the duties prevailing in Austria may be more clearly appreciated: Duty Per Metric Ton in Crowns. Austria- United States. Germany. France. Hungary. ge 19.4 11.7 14.3 15 Rough plates..........54.4-108.8 58.5 71.4 90 re 54.4 29.3 47.6 70 Le en 38.1 29.3 57.1 60 a ere 65.3-87.0 29.3 47.6 60 Should any one feel astonished and filled with envy at the hight of the duties protecting the Austrian iron industry, and at the high prices obtained in the country for iron manufactures, it must be remembered that a large share of the profit is absorbed by the State and other corporations, such as land, district, and Commune, in the form of taxes and rates. As an illustration of this it may be instanced that the Prager Eiserf-Industrie-Gesellschaft, together with the Bébmische Montan-Gesellschaft, during the last eight years, a period contemporaneous with that of the appli- cation of the new taxes, paid to the State and to the 1062 other corporations mentioned 21,840,000 crowns, and to the shareholders 62,650,000 crowns; so that the former, which enjoy practically the position of preference share- holders without having had to provide any capital what- ever, received more than one-fourth of the resulting profit, while on the other hand the real shareholders, who undertake the entire risk, fourths. According to the peculiar construction of the rating law, it has even happened that in shareholders of the Prager Eisen-lindustrie-Gesellschaft received in dividends 38,877,500 crowns, while the State and corporations received 4,116,107 crowns. In this regard the Elysian fields must not be sought for in Austria, but are to be found in the United States, where the iron industry, working under the most favor- able both of production and protection by high duties, is so little liable to public taxation that, ac authentic reports, a contractor who in one year had obtained a net profit of $1,500,000 only had to pay $6000 in public taxes. received less than three- one year the conditions, cording to Home and Export Trade, As a result of the import duties protecting the Aus- trian iron industry, this country is completely closed to foreign iron; and thus we see that, while only 25 years ago a considerable proportion of the home consumption, even for those manufactures in which high quality was imperative, had to be drawn from foreign countries, at the present time home products take their place. Twenty-five years ago the inland railroads purchased the greater part of the tires required, especially for pas- senger locomotives, in foreign countries; at present we find none but home manufactured tires in use. At that time in the workshops English tool steel was the most prized, but now it has been completely superseded by the highest qualities of steel made in Austrian steel works. Formerly the Austrian War Office purchased cannons, projectiles and armor plates from the leading producers ot foreign countries, and the warships of the monarch) were almost entirely built of foreign materials; at the present time home manufacturers of armor plates, of cannons and of projectiles, whose products do not need to fear comparison with those of any other country, are available; and warships of the most modern construction, whose parts from keel to top mast are manufactured in home workshops, navigate our seas, Thus in the last 25 years Austria has made herself entirely independent of foreign countries, both as regards quantity and quality of the iron manufactures required in the country. The protective duties has therefore completely fulfilled its principal object. During this period, as already mentioned, the Aus- trian iron industry has combined to form a_ syndicate which embraces nearly all the branches of the iron trade. By this means it has been possible to utilize the full ad- vantages of protection, not only to protect the home mar- ket from foreign invasion, but also to obtain an oppor tunity in providing a share, if only a the markets of the world. How greatly the conditions in this have changed during the last 25 years can be best ascertained from the fact that in the year 1895 the imports of iron and of iron manufactures amounted to 230,000 metric tons, against an export of scarcely 40,000 metric tons, so that the imports exceeded the exports by over 190,000 metric tons. In the year 1906, 120,000 metric tons of iron and ironware were imported, against 240,000 metric tons exported, so that the difference in favor of the ex- port was 120,000 metric tons. system of modest one, for respect In 1895, 174,000 metric tons of pig iron were imported, and only 9000 metric tons were exported. Up to the year 1906 the importation of pig iron declined to 62,000 met- tic tons, and the exports increased to no less than 74,000 metric tons. The Results of Consolidations, As already stated, the Austrian iron industry during the last 10 years has welded together the smaller scat- tered iron works into larger units in many cases, where- by in combination with the division of production by the Syndicate, the possibility of adopting more economical methods of working has been attained. THE IRON AGE October 17, 1907 It is exactly 25 years ago that, to take an example, Alpine Montan-Gesellschaft formed into nine concerns, which then comprised 33 pro- ducing plants, and produced yearly 165,000 metric tons of pig iron and 620,000 metric tons of coal, and employed 17,500 men, the Oesterreichische was The same concern produces at the present time 470,000 metric tons of pig iron and 1,200,000 metric tons of coal, and only employs 13,400 men. To what Austria have ren- dered labor, made possible by the organization of the Syndicate, and the concentra- tion of the producing works, is best seen from the fact that the average annual output of Austria during the last ten years was only 95,000 metric tons, and at the present time is not higher than 150,000 met- ric tons, in the production of which five works partici- pate; or in the fact that the demand of the Austrian railroads for rails amounted during the last 10 years to ah annual average of not more than 80,000 metric tons, und at the present time this quantity is not exceeded, the production of this small quantity divided among five iron works. the conditions in imperative the extent division of girders in being Theorists express the opinion that protective duties and trade syndicates hamper technical progress, because they put into the pockets of interested abundant profits without trouble. Opposed to this view, the Austrian iron masters can with pride point out convine- ingly that such a theory is devoid of foundation, because they are always endeavoring to improve their works tech- hnically. The Austrian works have utilized all the modern methods for economical working, although they have been naturally limited, because their plant and ap- pliances require to be suited to a great variety of manu- those any iron factures, and must be designed to suit the comparatively small consumption of the country. The Austrian iron industry has therefore to mere slavish imitation of the gigantic works in the United States, and has mod- ified modern methods to suit the given conditions. avoid Finely Diversified Product Hampers, It is quite a different thing to erect a rail rolling mill which has a yearly production of 800,000 metric tons, as is done in the United States, and to arrange, as is the case in this country, that five iron works shall share between them one-tenth of this production, and at the same time be forced to produce rails, girders, sleep- ers and similar material in one and the same mill. Though the Austrian iron works endeavor to turn to ac- count all appliances which are intended to effect a sav- ing of manual labor, yet things are not in many cases carried so far in this direction as in the American works, which are influenced by the scarcity of workers and the high wages. While in that country the demand for labor is met by immigration, a mighty living stream flows from our monarchy, specially from the other half—Hungary— where the emigration is facilitated by the Government; and it is greatly to be regretted that our empire stands at the head of those countries which provide the rest of the world with workers. During the year ending with June 30, 1906, the number of emigrants amounted to 265.- 000, of whom 153,000 came from Hungary. During the month of March of this year alone, 438,000 persons emi- grated from Austria-Hungary to the United States, of whom 27,400 were Hungarians. With these figures our monarchy even surpasses Italy, which up to recent times had furnished the largest contingent of emigrants. If, then, you consider the various centers of produc- tion of the Austrian iron industry, you must, in forming opinions as to whether the plant and the improvements adopted represent the most modern requirements or not, continually keep before you the conditions depicted, and specially consider that the consumption of iron is very limited; that a production of large quantites attainable by the most intense specialization as is to be found in the United States, in Great Britain and Germany, ap- pears to be out of the question; and that the Austrian iron works are obliged to divide their proportionately small productions into a considerable number of different manufactures. Taking into consideration all the local conditions, the Austrian iron works believe that they have done with October 17, 1907 regard to technical progress the best possible, and await your judgment with tranquility. Blast Furnace and Rolling Mill Progress, You will find that where the conditions exist for 2 larger production of pig iron, at the Oesterreichische Alpinen Montan-Gesellschaft, and also in Witkowitz, blast furnaces with a daily production up to 450 tons are equipped with all the most modern appliances, such as automatic charging apparatus. You will find the complete utilization of blast furnace gases as, for ex- ample, in the Kénigshof iron works of the Bébhmische Montan-Gesellschaft, where blast furnace gas engines of more than 6000 hp. are installed, by which not only the blowing engines, but also the rolling mill for rolling sheets (the most important in the monarchy) are wholly driven. You will be able to observe the greatest pos sible utilization of other by-products of the blast furnaces most and steel works; you will find the slags rich in phos- phorus in Kladno and Kénigshof converted into artificial inanure; at Witkowitz, Kladno and Kénigshof, the blast furnace slags are manufactured into slag bricks and slag cement, and the slag cement works at Kénigshof are the largest of the kind on the Continent. You will find everywhere the most extensive applica- tion of electricity, mostly in conjunction with blast fur- nace gas engines, and also coke oven gas engines for the generation of power, and as an example, in Witkowitz a plant of this description of 5700 hp. exists. It should here be noted that at the Austrian blast fur- naces, which yield 790.000 ¢ m,. of gas per hour, 265,000 are used for blast heating, so that 527,000 ¢. m. are available. Of this quantity, at the present time 358,000 c. m., or G8'per cent., are utilized for boiler heating, and $4,000 ¢. m., or 6.5 per cent., representing 12.000 hp, in gas engines, while the remainder of the gas is used partly for ore roasting or in drying kilns, and partly drawn off unutilized. The Bihmische Montan-Gesellschaft, which at present is utilizing blast furnace waste gases on the most utilizes 23 per cent. of the avail- able gas in gas engines, In the Austrian coke works the coke ovens yield 86,- 000 ec m. of gas per hour, of which quantity the coke ovens themselves absorb 62,000 ce. m., so that 24,000 c. m., are available. Of this quantity, 5700 c. m., or 24 per cent., are utilized in gas engines, while the remainder is used for boiler heating. The most complete application of electricity to the driving of rolling mills will be shown to you in Teschen, where, as is well known, not only the finishing, interme- diate and roughing trains, but also the reversing rolling mills are driven by electric motors. It must be recorded that as early as 1897 in Servola, Trieste, the Krainische Industrie-Gesellschaft at their blast furnace plant in- stalled an electric ship loading crane on the American Brown system, to serve a blast furnace with a daily out- put of 250 tons. It will also be brought to your notice that the Aus- trian steel works engaged in the manufacture of alloy steels of great value, especially tool steel, have also late- ly adopted the new electric processes. Thus we find that the Poldihiitte have adopted the Kjellin process, the firm Gebriider Bohler & Co. are in- troducing the Ch. A. Keller electric are process, and the pew Styrian cast steel works of Danner & Co. employ the Héroult process; the Kiirntnerische Eisen- und Stahl- werks-Gesellschaft have also decided to adopt the Héroult process at their works in Ferlach. You will find many other things which will repay your attention, and will show you that the Austrian producers of iron have spared no trouble to maintain the position of their works at a high standard of technical equipment. It must, however, be repeatedly remarked that the Aus- trian iron works can never neglect existing conditions, and I must ask you when judging our plants to continu- ally bear in mind the special conditions, which are, that the Austrian iron industry not possess sufficient coke, that it must be brought from great distances at a great expense to where the ore is found, or the reverse. that the ore must be transported in a similar costly man- ner to the coke ovens, and that the output which the home market requires is comparatively small, so that ~o> c. Mm. extensive scale, does THE IRON AGE 1063 manufacture in bulk and mill equipment tion. a specialization of the rolling appears to be entirely out of the ques The lack of specialization in many cases prevents an extreme supersession of manual labor and the applica- tion of arrangements to attain this object, whieh appears to be less necessary in Austria than in and where the necessary labor is those countries where wages are high, wanting. Future Ore Supply. The Austrian iron industry looks forward to further future extensions with hopeful confidence, the more be cause I believe in the prediction which the past presi dent of the Tron and Steel Institute, R. A. Hadtield, made in his brilliant address in the year 1905-6, that within a measureable time the world’s production of iron, owing to the lack of iron ore, will be unable to satisfy the de- mand. Mr, Hadfield gives the amount of iron ore in sight as 10,000,000,000 tons, a supply which at the rate of con sumption during the would be exhausted in about 40 years. There is no danger that in 40 years the world will suddenly be without iron, for the discovery may confidently observed last 25 years, be expected of many at present unknown deposits of iron ore in the undeveloped districts of eastern Asia and Africa; it is, however, cer tain that the increase in production of pig iron must at tain a limit within rh) These au measurable space of time, may similarly be Austria at a not very distant date conditions experienced = in In another 25 years many important deposits of ore in Austria and Hungary Will be exhausted; for instance, those Bohemian deposits of ore which the blast furnaces of the district charged altogether with ores rich in phosphorus, so that they will be obliged to fall back to other existing deposits, which, owing to their low percentage of iron and high percent age of silicon, cannot at the present time be smelted with economy. In the South of the monarchy, in are still undisturbed Mountain of ore haustible josnia, there and the Styrian represents an almost inex supply. But all these auxiliary sources can only serve to keep the Austrian iron industry at a certain level, without rate of increase possible, deposits of ore, certainly source ol rendering any considerable On the other hand, the consumption of iron increases progressively, so that I consider that the time is not very remote when the Austrian iron industry must renounce its share of the supply of the world’s market, while after- wards—according to my opinion, after scarcely 25 years f