The Iron Age 1910-06-23: Vol 85 Iss 25

DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 14-16 Park Place, New York \ | ees. Entered at the New York Post Office, as Second Class Mall Matter. ( Subscription Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 oy Agee to Canada, $7.50 per Annum ; en a eee $10 .00 per Annum. ) Cxar.es T. Roor, - - - ~ - PRESIDENT | CHARLES KIRCHHOFF, - - - - - Vice-PoEestOEeNnT W. H. Taycor, - ~ TREASURER ANO GENERAL MANAGER Harovio S. BuTTENHEim, - - - - - SECRETARY Gro. W. Cope, - - - ° - \ eorrons A, |. Finovey, - H. R. CosLeicu, - - : - é M.cHamicay Error H . Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building J Pittsburgh, Park Building Cleveland, American Trust Building | Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, Mercantile Library Bldg. CONTENTS. PAGE. Editorial : NO Great: Curtatiment., ih. . «dey «ee iews «suse a ub te 1473 No.wifon Ore Famine... . .‘: .. isi. bigs bare. cw eccthig » wae toe 1474 THe Morale of : Corporations. ...3...2 soe enw ok 04 1474 1 The Cancellation of Machine Tool Contracts......... 1475 | The Motor Car and Machine Pool Design............ 1476 | Extensive New Works of B. F, Avery & Sons, Inc........ 1476 | Thirty-one Gary Gas Bngifes and 130,000 ee ee 1476 : Tron and Metal Market Heports:................. 1477 to 1487 a TROUT WMT PemOCrIAl POC es os wis ice oe ca be beans 1487 © EGON, THOCOR ston oi bo,4 506 BRN e oe whe a be a Be sos arts ences ees 1487 New $1,000,000 Tool Works at St. Louis,............... 1487 Canadian: Praicly Terrie «.oiik nok da clk Mais 6 0000s eben 1488 The Gas Engine Convention at Cincinmati............... 1489 Pe AT TD I 8 kc ee urea s wees es ce cheers caus 1489 t The Crucible Steel Company of America................ 1489 Machinery Market Reportsy:.............6..4... 1490 to 1500 The Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Company........ sae5 1501 Dominion. Iron & Steel Company Plans.................. 1501 Rapid Prection of the Gimbel Building............\...%. 1501 r Muchinéry Exhibits at Atlantic City...............4.... 150% Purchase of the Loucks Rolling Mill at Roanoke, Va...... 1508 An Ohié Foundry Nearly a Century Old..............2.. 1503 Gasoline Engines Yor Farm Traction, ......0.00...0.00 08 1503 The New Earlston Furoace. Illustrated... :.........00 6. 1504 Persgnal ......; Re een ee a 1506 IEG 5 x Sas Gi hose: 4 vaoinca,*,4 AEM wa ec v0 Whe Oe 1506 Chinese Pig Iron Output to Be Increased...........00.. 1506 The Extrusion of Metals in the Solid State. Illustrated... 1507 - The Fritz Laboratory PROMOMROE Tis 6s. RW. . eens 1510 ¥ » Correction , ../. A Magnetic Holder for the Microscopical Examination of. Metals, IUllustrated..........«- pie ein ae Wiens sen e eee J. B. & J. M. Cornell Company Reorganization.......... A Bund for Martin. the Open Hearth Inventor.,......... New McKeesport Tin Plate Mills, Tustrated..,..... The Beektors nas ls Engine Lathe. Bieaseates. New York, June 23, 910 woe ooo —— . SOD Sa none “No Great Curtailment. oe Rolling Mill Operations Little Changed. : Less Activity in Pig Iron, with Indications of a Dragging Market. The iron trade approaches the end of the half year, with none of the decisive indications imgview that have been expected to develop when that it was reacl.ed. The expiration of many contracts with June has long been heralded, as though the industry would then en- ter upon a period of much curtailed operation. The fact is that in most lines the mills are fairly. supplied 5 with work for the summer, and the prospect is that there will be few shutdowns except those made for needed repairs or pending the adjustment. of é The present scale of operations is. from Io to. cent. less than in the first quartersof the year, and prices in a number of lines, parth plates, struc-) . - “ tural steel, sheets and wire, have yielded, dems has fallen off, but the recession has not become : more marked in the past month. The new orders booked by the United se Ste Corporation are’still exceeding those of the corres: a ing period in May and the corporation is now 0 ‘te ing 81 per cent. of its blast furmace capacity past week one Riverside, one Gary and Cars furnace have _beem,blown Ont or wr, of 4 30 furnaces are now idle, against 3h at of the month. The conditions im’ the trade are plainly indicated in the tt Riverside mills of the National Tube, C Wheeling, with the coineaih steel plant, blast furnaces there are idle. The sustained demand in the. still a feature in the fimished steel trade, has been an important factor this nonth, total of fabricating See lpr % 150,000 tons, the “e rt 1474 THE IRON AGE keener competition, and actual prices are $2 to $3 below the nominal. Theyleading manufacturer of wire products is taking new lj.siness at the rate of 4500 tons a day, or about 15 per cent. less than the high rate for the year; yet the June total is expected to be the largest for that month in any year. Sales of 4x4-in. billets at $25, Pittsburgh, are now openly reported, while smaller billets have sold at $25.50. “ Pig iron is drifting into dullness. The few sales made accentuate the weakness of recent weeks and point to a dragging market for some time to come. Production is-still excessive, and another blowing out movement is plainly in order. Several sales of basic iron have been made in East- ern markets and it is believed $15.75, delivered in east- ern Pennsylvania, could be shaded. Low points on foundry and forge iron in the Central West were touched in purchases by one large interest. The lake ore movement is heavy, but the capacity of the fleet is greater than the movement, and 20 per cent. of the merchant vessels will tie up for a month. There has been good buying of copper—about 20,- coo,000 lb.—much of the business being done at 12% and 12%c. for electrolytic. No Iron Ore Famine Prot. Henry M. Howe contributes to the Atlantic Monthly for June an article entitled “ An Optimist’s View of the Iron Ore Supply.” He disregards the quantitative treatment of the subject that has been so common, based on explorations in various countries and on estimates of the probable ultimate yield of known deposits. He also passes by the fact that py- rite, one of the richest and most abundant ores is not included in any current estimates. While such con- siderations and the fact that only a small part of the earth’s crust has been explored for ore are important as increasing from decades to centuries the expected life of our iron ore supplies, the author says the really important fact is that there is an incalculable quan- tity of material which, though not ore to-day, will be- come ore as soon as it is needed. Two extracts will indicate Professor Howe’s viewpoint: What is iron ore? At any given time it is simply rock rich enough, in large enough masses and near enough to the surface, to be treated with profit in competition with the other iron bearing rocks which man is then working. Rock with 2.5 per cent. of gold is an extraordinarily rich gold ore; rock with 2.5 per cent. of copper is copper ore to-day: rock with 2.5 per cent. of iron is not iron ore to-day, for the sole reason that it cannot be worked at a profit in competition with existing richer rocks. It will become ore just as soon as the exhaustion of the richer rocks shall have enabled its owners to treat it with profit: Whether a given ferruginous rock is or is not ore, then, is purely a question of existing demand and supply. Most iron ores mined to-day contain at least 25 per cent. of iron, and some contain more than 69 per eent. As these richer ores are exhausted, poorer and poorer ones will come into use, until, to the eye of the prophet, a large bed of 4 per cent. ore, perhaps even of 2.5 per cent. ore, becomes a veritable bonanza. * * ™* The whole crust of the earth is ours. We will first take the richest ores, those in the largest masses, and those ne2r- est the surface; in short, the most profitable ores; but we shall later take poorer and deeper ones. To this process there is hardly a_ limit. Thus it is not a real iron famine that awaits us, but only the need of mining at grea er depths and of handling more tons of ore and barren ro k for each ton of metallic iron ready for man’s use. Th'‘s handling will in general have to include crushing the and separating by mechanical process its scattered partic'es of minerals rich in iron from the great mass of barren min- erals with which they are usually mixed. It must be confessed that the views commonly taken June 23,1910 of the problem of iron ore supply have been greatly lacking in perspective. Professor Térnebohm’s report to the Swedish Government a few years ago, that became the basis for that country’s niggardly policy of iron ore export, put the world supply of ore such as is now commonly shipped at 10,000,000,000 tons. He predicted that 50 years would see most of it used up. And that prediction seemed not unreasonable if the United States had only about 1,100,000,000 tons, as Professor Tornebohm allowed. We have been dealing in figures, as though we had before us a definitely calculable mass of ore, whereas the conditions of the problem are such that mathematical calculations furnish no _ solution. Professor Howe asks us to consider that we are but a few centuries past the historic period, while before us lie untold millions of years during which the world may remain inhabitable; also that the mechanical powers of our successors will exceed ours a thousand- fold more than ours exceed those of the cave dwellers. He conceives of the earth as a huge iron meteor, and that, while this generation is taking out a fraction of the iron of the thin crust of rocks, the men of the future will pierce the crust and draw their supply from the iron core. Passing from this somewhat fanciful treatment of the subject, that would scarcely be considered enlight- ening to a congressional committee charged with tariff revision, the article brings out an important point that has been little considered in the discussion of this sub- ject. We have heretofore called attention to the vast stores of steel accumulating in iron using countries, much of which will go back in bulk to the melting fur- nace, reducing the theoretical consumption of ore by much more than would be calculated from the present rate of scrap use, since we are only in the beginning of the age of steel. Professor Howe makes much of the wearing of iron into dust or rust, which, though it disappears from sight, is not destroyed, but is ever accumulating. “From this point of view,’ he says, “it is indeed possible that, even before we shall have used up the accessible iron in the earth’s crust, these reconcentrations will form rapidly enough to supply with iron a population greater than that which the growth of vegetation can support.” Without going at length into Professor Howe’s interesting argument we commend it as an antidote for the “ after-us-the-deluge ” treatment of the ques- tion of iron ore supply that has been quite too com- mon. At the same time, it must be admitted that it does nct answer every question of the Central Western blast furnaceman who finds no iron mine for sale, and in a year like 1910 is paying $5 a ton for Lake ore, and seiling pig iron at a price just giving him back a new doilar for an old one. The Morals of Corporations It is an interesting fact in modern commercial life that the corporation is following in practice a higher standard ot morals than the individual. It has not by any means attained the ideal in this respect, but there is no doubt that in its relations with the public and its employees, as well as in its internal affairs, the aver- age corporation is in advance of the average individ- ual in the practice of fair commercial dealing. It is unfortunate that this fact cannot be under- Ta aac eel June 23, 1910 stood by the general public. Its appreciation would moderate the demand for legislation, which has a tendency to oppress industry and commerce. Such ap- preciation would act as a check on the spirit of class hatred, which is fomented by agitators; it would also discourage unscrupulous strike leaders who seek to ex- tort money from the unpopular corporation. There is a great need for wholesome discrimination between the large number of law abiding corporations and the few whose practices have put them under the public ban. In the first flush of their power, American corpora- tions were undoubtedly reckless and greedy in the ex- ercise of their privileges. This was particularly true of the railroad corporations of 40 years ago. Their charters were created by special acts of legislatures, which were often personally profitable to the statesman of that period. The difference between the proceeds of securities sold and the actual cost of construction represented enormous profits to the promoters of rail- roads. Legislative -rivileges were cheap, and not in- frequently a Legislature passed under the suzerainty or control of the leading railread in its State. This period of corporate activity, however, has passed away. Manufacturing, mercantile and banking corpora- tions, organized under general laws, are of more recent origin, and they have been remarkably free from speculative management. The men who conducted them soon discovered that good will is a valuable as- set, which can only be the product of conservative and honorable management. The individual who is en- gaged in a horse trade makes the most of one oppor- tunity, and this is also true in real estate transactions, The in- in these occasional transactions in private does not feel bound by any moral code of re- and frequently in the management of estates. dividual, life, straint which would bar him from turning a “ profit.” An unfortunately large number of people are led to be- lieve, by their observation of such transactions, that all commercial undertakings are conducted in the same manner, and if they engage in business many of them never learn otherwise. Commerce has an irresistible tendency to purge it- self of unfair dealing, The farmer who thinks he can acquire wealth as a merchant because he has been suc- cessful in cheating other people in horse trades usually fails in business unless he learns that fair dealing is the first essential in any established mercantile enter- prise. The manufacturer learns that he must. deal fairly to obtain the good-will of his possible customers and thus build up his business, and the banker who would obtain a large commercial patronage must for- get the methods of the small loan shark. The corpora- tion engaged in any legitimate business is subject to even greater pressure than the individual manufac- turer, merchant or banker. The life of a corporation is practically perpetual. It may be destroyed by reck- less management, but under careful, fair direction its property becomes more valuable each year, through the slow accretion of “ good-will.”. It must be fair to its employees, or those whose experience or skill makes them valuable will go elsewhere; and for the same reason it must be fair to its customers. The individual maybe unscrupulous or harsh in his dealings,. but so long as he avoids a few. flagrantly criminal acts the law does not molest him. The cor- poration, however, is always a popular target for a = 1475 damage suit, and is assessed by juries in a hundred doubtful cases where the man would escape. ‘The man cannot be required to testify against himself in a criminal proceeding. The United States Supreme Court, however, has laid down the rule that a corpora- tion is not entitled to this privilege of the citizen, but must produce its books and records, even though’ they may convict it of a criminal act. A generation ago men who were directing certain large corporate interests assumed that they had the right to be as shrewd and aggressive, and perhaps as unscrupulous, in directing their corporate affairs, as many individuals were, who but kept within the letter of the law. They did not foresee that the public would demand a higher standard of morals in the conduct of great corporations than actually prevails in dealings between man and man. With few exceptions, the cor- porations of the twentieth century have learned that while the written acts of legislation may sometimes be evaded, the great unwritten law of commerce must be obeyed, which decrees that men shall deal fairly with one another. And as these corporatiéps have grown greater and the circle of their stockholders has widened their standards have come nearer to those of the col- lective conscience. Publicity has been the spur under which much of this advance has been made. Unwel- come as much of it has been, it is the best guaranty of the permanence of great corporations, and of the high standard the people have set up for their condtet. The Cancellation of Machine Tool Contracts A vast amount of interest has been created by the group of thoughtful papers on the cancellation of ma- chinery contracts presented at the recent meeting of the National Machine Tool Builders’ Association. It has long been a source of wonder, both in and out of the trade, that the customer of the machine tool manu- facturer is given the privilege of rescinding all orders, excepting where a machine or its equipment is of a special nature. The builder, in his own buying, is com- pelled to live up to practically all of his contracts. A recent typical example is that of a machinery house which bought a motor truck of a customer, Patt cash payment was required before the order was booked, yet the builder of the truck would feel at liberty to cancel any order for machinery placed with this con- cern, because such is the custom in the latter’s trade. No matter what the machine builder orders he expects to take it and pay for it. Doubt is expressed of the practicability of creating a system of unbreakable machinery contracts, but none of the difficulties advanced is insurmountable. What is needed is concerted action in the tradé.. The influ- ence of the Machine Tool Builders’ and ‘the Supply and Machinery Dealers’ Associations, properly applied, could not be resisted successfully by those whom their members serve. The discussion of the subject in re- cent years has accentuated too sharply the difficulties between manufacturers and dealers as to stock orders. The real question has to do with the consumer only. If the latter were held to his contrat, As Ai #8 of, pig iron is held. to his, t nn . would take care of itself. authors: of. they 1476 when the date of delivery approaches he has but to cancel. If all business were conducted on such a basis chaos would prevail; and the absurdity of so important a trade continuing to tolerate such unbusinesslike prac- tices is apparent to all. The matter is worthy of the strongest effort, and the time to act is when business is good and customers are demanding early deliveries. To-day they could not afford to refuse the terms of an ironclad contract, presuming that the trade acted unitedly. The lesson of 1907 was a costly one. Millions of dollars in machinery contracts were cancelled within a few weeks. The presence of this business on the books of the manufacturers had stood in the way of other orders, a certain percentage of which would have been carried through. The existence of a non-cancel- lation contract at that time would have saved enormous sums of money for the industry. Its customers would then have shared some of the heavy burdens which it was compelled to bear unassisted. The Motor Car and Machine Tool Design Robert Pierpont, works manager of the Olds Motor Works, said in the course of his paper before the Na- tional Machine Tool Builders’ Association at Roches- ter, N. Y., in which he argued for a simplification of machine tool design: A number of the tool builders, when they sell a machine or a number of them, send out a demonstrator or a man to instruct the manufacturer how to use it properly to obtain the best results. Some of you keep men on the road all the time, going from place to place to see that your machines are used as they should be. The point I wish to make is this: Are any of you sending your designers around to see what they can learn from the actual conditions existing in the automobile factories? If not, why not? Let them visit and talk with the heads of departments, the general foremen and superintendents of a number of the automobile factories where’ your machine tools are used. You will then find whether your machine is the best for the work that you can make it or not; also whether you could not make it cheaper and have it answer the purpose just as well. If you will do this you will find out more about what is required than you ever can by getting some one like myself to tell you how little he knows about machine tools. In the discus- sion accompanying the paper it was brought out that The statement is full of suggestion. the machinery builders have not found it easy to follow the plan. The men of the automobile factories with whom the designers would have to get in touch in or- der to procure the necessary details of information are, in a great majority of cases, inaccessible. They are very busy, and even if they were willing to put their time against that of the machine designer they would find difficulty in doing so, because of the press of other duties. The visitor must see the practical men, those who superintend the manufacturing processes, else the tour of inspection and study would prove of small value to either industry. The matter is not, however, one to be dropped be- cause of obstacles which have interfered in the past. The automobile manufacturer is a greater gainer than the machine tool builder from the development of tools adapted especially to his wants, in accomplishing a minimum cost for equipment and production. There- fore he could well afford to court the investigation ad- vocated by Mr. Pierpont. He should make the recep- tion of designers from the machine shops an important He might duty of his superintendents and foremen. concentrate their energies by inviting the engineers of representative groups of machinery houses to meet in THE IRON AGE June 23, 1910 his works at the same time. One suggestion is that the automobile and machine tool industries create a joint committee to study questions of mutual interest, in- cluding design; but naturally this would accomplish no more than general results. The machinery builder gets many good ideas from his demonstrators, some of whom are trained engineers, amply able to study intelligently equipment in its relation to individual works. What is needed, apparently, is a comprehensive system of co- operation between the two trades, that each may profit by the assistance of the other in developing the most highly efficient and economical manufacturing equip- ment for the purposes of that enormous buyer of ma- chinery, the automobile industry. Extensive New Works of B. F. Avery & Sons, Inc. B. F. Avery & Sons, Inc., Louisville, Ky., has com- pleted the construction of its extensive new works and is now installing the machinery and equipment. It is expected that the plant will be in full operation by August 1.. There are 11 main brick, steel and concrete buildings, comprising one of the most modern and best equipped, as well as one of the largest factories in the country for the manufacture of plows and cultivating implements. All of the manufacturing buildings are of fireproof construction, and With one exception are one story high. The plant covers a tract of 35 acres and is favorably situated for handling inbound and out- bound traffic as well as for the progress of materials and goods through the factory. The buildings consist of a power house 50 x 100 ft., equipped with three Stirling water tube boilers, with a total capacity of goo hp. and a 600-hp. high-speed engine direct connected to a 400-kw. alternating current generator, from which all power is transmitted to individual motors used for operation of machinery; an office building 65 x 160 ft., three stories and basement; pattern house 65 x 100 ft., two stories; foundry, 100 x 225 ft., equipped with two cupolas, and including a core room 30 x 100 ft.; coke shed, 25 x 160 ft.; milling department, 50 x 100 ft.; hardware storeroom, 100 x 120 ft.; a shear shop, one story, 100 x 200 ft.; forge shop, 100 x 250 ft.; machine shop, 50 x 100 ft.; a building, 80 x 325 ft., used as a cultivator shop; a building, 80 x 325 ft., for fitting, grinding and polishing departments; a paint shop, 80 x 350 ft., two stories; warehouse, 125 x 400 ft., with a capacity of 750 carloads of goods; sawmill,.50 x 100 ft. Oo Thirty-one Gary Gas Engines and 150,000 Hp.— The Allis-Chalmers Company has just secured from the United States Steel Corporation additional orders for six gas engine driven electrical units, which will increase the power plant at Gary, Ind., 25-per cent. The 25 engines which the Allis-Chalmers Company has installed at Gary and the order just secured will make a total of 31 gas engines with a combined capacity of 150,000 hp., making the largest power plant of its kind in the world. These units will operate on blast furnace gas. The Allis-Chalmers Company has also’ secured from the American Steel & Wire Company an order for two large gas engines for Central Furnaces at Cleve- land, Ohio, of the same capacity as the engines for the Gary plant. —————--o__—_—_ The Electrical Alloy Company, Morristown, N. J., has recently made extensions to its plant and installed a number of fine wire and heavy wire continuous ma- chines; also insulating machines. The company’s products are high-grade resistance materials, including phosphor bronze, nickel, tinned steel, armature band- ing, aluminum, brass, bronze and German silver wires. < June 23, 1910 The Iron and Prices of Finished Iron and Steel f.o.b. Pittsburgh Freight rates from Pittsburgh in carloads, per 100 Ib.: New York, 16c.; Philadelphia, 15c.; Boston, 18c.; Buffalo, lle.; Cleveland, 10c.; Cincinnati, 15¢e.; Indianapolis, 17c. ; Chicago, 18¢e.; St. Paul, 32c.; St. Louis, 22%4c.; New Or- leans, 30c.; Birmingham, Ala., 45c. Rates to the Pacific Coast are 80c. on plates, structural shapes and sheets, No. 11 and heavier ; 85c. on sheets, Nos. 12 to 16; 95c. on sheets, No. 16 and lighter; 65c. on wrought pipe and boiler tubes, Structural Shapes.—I-beams and channels, 3 to 15 in., inclusive, 1.45¢c. to 1.50c., net; I-beams over 15 in., 1.60c., net; H-beams over 8 in., 1.70c.; angles, 3 to 6 in., inclusive, %4 in. and up, 1.55c., net; angles over 6 in., 1.60c., net; angles, 3 x 3 in. and up, less than % in., 1.70c., base, half extras, steel bar card; tees, 3 in. and up, 1.60¢., net; zees, 3 in. and up, 1.55¢., net; angles, channels and tees, under 3 in., 1.45¢., base, plus 10c., half extras, steel bar card; deck beams and bulb angles, 1.80c., net; hand rail tees, 2.80c., net; checkered and corrugated plates, 2.80c., net. Plates.—Tank plates, % in. thick, 64 in. up to 100 in. wide, 1.45¢. to 1.50c., base. Following are stipulations pre- scribed by manufacturers, with extras to be added to base price (per pound) of plates: Rectangular plates, tank steel or conforming to manufactur- ers’ standagd specifications for structural steel dated February 6, 1903, or equivalent, 14-in. thick and over on thinnest edge, 100 -. wide and under, down to but not including 6 in. wide, are pase. Plates up to 72 in. wide, inclusive, ordered 10.2 lb. per square foot are considered \4-in, plates. Plates over 72 in. wide must be ordered \4-in. thick on edge, or not less than 11 lb, per square foot, to take base price. Plates over 72 in. wide ordered less than 11 lb. per square foot down to the weight of 3-16-in. take the price of 3-16-in. Allowable overweight, whether plates are ordered to gauge or weight, to be governed by the standard specifications of the Association of American Steel Manufacturers. Gauges under \4-in. to and including 3-16-in. on CRrNMOSG SEG. i oo Rew cSt. Bice $0.10 Gauges under 3-16-in, to and including No. 8..... 15 Gauges under No. 8 to and including No. 9...... oe Gauges under No. 9 to and including No, 10...... 30 Gauges under No. 10 to and including No. 12..... 40 Sketches (including all straight taper plates), 3 ft | OG, CINE Te ORR socks hd than bclessdawews 10 Complete circles, 3 ft, diameter and over........ .20 Dotler ame Ranges sheekac.c so vic esss sees aha bar 10 “A. B. M. A.” and ordinary firebox steel........ .20 ESE WRG UNEN MORNE 6 aid UL bee voc dud ca geemdccbecine .80 SNE SIONS Tinoco 4 84.006 4 vie pla + A RRS Cod ees 40 LOCOMIOTEVO BECUOE COOL 6.0.5 o:cic 0 ob we be sb baele an 50 Widths over 100 in. up to 110 in., inclusive...... 05 Widths over 110 in, up to 115 in., inclusive...... 10 Widths over 115 in. up to 120 in., inclusive...... 15 Widths over 120 in, up to 125 in., inclusive...... 28 Widths over 125 in, up to 130 in., inclusive...... .50 WIGS OVE SD Bak 0 as ti cad cece hee ERR S ba 1.00 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 8 ft. to 2 3h; SRR a, 6 5-0 dee ON ET bd ee FS Ee -25 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 2 ft. to 1 Ths, DRCHOEWS «de «bse e gter'ves ae os bet eae 50 No charge for cutting rectangular plates to lengths 3 ft. and over. TERMS.—Net cash 30 days. Sheets.—Minimum prices for mill shipments on sheets in carload and larger lots, on which jobbers charge the usual advances for small lots from store, are as follows: Black annealed sheets. Nos. 3 to 8, 1.70c.: Nos. 9 and 10, 1.75e.: Nos. 11 and 12, 1.80¢.; Nos. 13 and 14, 1.85¢.; Nos. 15 and 16, 1.95¢. Box annealed sheets, Nos, 17 and 21, 2.20c.: Nos. 22 to 24, 2.25¢.; Nos. 25 and 26, 2.30c.: No. 27, 2.35¢c.; No. 28, 2.40c.; No. 29, 2.45¢.; No, 30, 2.55¢e. Galvanized sheets, Nos. 13 and 14, 2.50¢.; Nos. 15 and 16, 2.60¢.: Nos. 17 to 21, 2.75c.; Nos. 22 to 24, 2.90c.; Nos. 25 and 26, 3.10c.: No. 27, 3.30c.; No. 28, 3.50¢.; No. 29, 3.60c.: No. 30, 3.85¢. Painted roofing sheets, No, 28, $1.70 per square. Galvanized roofing sheets, No. 28, $3 per square, for 2\4-in. corrugations. Wrought Pipe.—The following are the discounts on the Pittsburgh basing card on carloads of wrought pipe now in effect : -——Steel.——_,——_ Iron.—_, Black. Galv, a Galv. ai OE SEO og vv gine Kad ehh eat 70 54 sate ee SR ay isd winced tard Ma eis 71 57 67 53 Mt Wick dat wigin'e +9! hall al einai bo 74 62 70 58 St is ss as seca eh eet 78 68 74 64 GO TR nc kd sae cles 72 57 68 53 Plugged and Reamed. 4 OP 6 5a he ee ka 76 66 72 62 Extra Strong, Plain Ends. Me Be: Mi Mss. Ca'nsdn ctiscip as Heds 63 51 59 47 Se OP © hs occas wh notes da ee aed 70 58 66 54 BS | Sa er te ee ee 66 54 62 50 9,40, 22 emit 12 Win hs cin esse 54 42 .s at Double Extra Strong, Plain Ends. iy 40.8 BY 6 as ition tees ple 59 48 hd 44 The above steel pipe discounts are for “ card weight,” subject to the usual variation of 5 per cent. THE IRON AGE 1477 Metal Markets Boiler Tubes.— Discounts on lap welded steel and char- coal iron boiler tubes to jobbers in carloads are as follows: Steel. Iron. 5 OR eee Sil 6 6 6d hn nica es Wa ks 6 se 49 43 SO tr SAG BR. i SC Se eee Wa en bE 61 43 ME ick « ax'b i bn be VELOSO Nba eee ake oe 63 48 Be WO WSs oid ei 6 ek eee RR eRe EEO 69 55 Ce Sh. BN, «6d uo echukd a A ae aes es 61 43 2% in. and smaller, over 18 ft., 10 per cent, net extra. 2%, in. and larger, over 22 ft., 10 per cent. net extra. Less than carloads to destinations east of the Mississippi River will be sold at delivered discount for carloads lowered by two points, for lengths 22 ft. and under; longer lengths, f.o.b. Pittsburgh. Wire Rods.—Bessemer, open hearth and chain rods, $31, Steel Rivets.—Structural rivets, %-in. and _ larger, 2.15c., base; cone head boiler rivets, %-in. and larger, 2.25c., base; 5%-in. and 11-16-in. take an advance of 15c., and %%-in. and 9-16-in. take an advance of 5O0c.; in lengths shorter than l-in, also take an advance of 5O0c. Terms are 30 days, net cash, f.o.b, mill. The above prices are absolutely minimum on contracts for large lots, makers charging the usual ad- vances of $2 to $3 a ton to the small trade. A Comparison of Prices Advances Over the Previous Month in Heavy Type, Declines in Italics. At date, one week, one month and one year previous. June22, Junel5, May25, June23, PIGIRON, Per Gross Ton: 1910. 1910. 1910. 1909. Foundry No, 2, standard, Phila- Gea ci avis. ob ob Ee $16.50 $16.75 $17.00 $16.50 Foundry No. 2, Southern, Cincin- DS ke aed ick tees 14.75 15.00 14.75 14.75 Foundry No. 2, local, Chicago.. 1.75 16.75 17.00 16,50 Basic, delivered, castern Pa.... 16.00 16.25 16.25 15.50 Basic, Valley furnace.......... 14.60 14.75 15.00 15.00 Bessemer, Vittsburgh.......... 6.40 16.65 16.90 16.15 Gray forge, Pittsburgh......... 4.90 15.15 15.90 14.90 Lake Superior charcoal, Chicago 18.50 18.50 18.50 19.50 BILLETS, &e., Per Gross Ton: Bessemer billets, Pittsburgh.... 25.00 25.50 25.50 23.00 Forging billets, FPittsburgh..... 81.00 31.00 31.00 26.00 Open hearth billets, Philadelphia 28.50 28.50 29.00 25.00 Wire rods, Pittsburgh..... ... #8600 31.00 82.00 29.00 Steel rails, heavy, at mill...... 28.00 28.00 28.00 28.00 OLD MATERIAL, Per Gross Ton : Steel rails, melting, Chicago.... 1.00 14.00 15.00 14.50 Steel rails, melting, Philadelphia 14.50 14.50 1450 16.00 Iron rails, Chicago.......4.... 7.06 17.00 17.50 17.00 Iron rails, Philadelphia........ 19.50 20.00 20.00 19.50 Car wheels, Chicago........... 15.50 15.50 15.50 16.00 Car wheels, Philadelpihia....... 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 Heavy steel scrap, Pittsburgh... 15.00 15.25 15.26 15.75 Heavy steel scrap, Chicago..... 2.00 13.00 13.50 14.50 Heavy steel scrap, Philadelphia. 14.50 14.50 14.50 16.00 FINISHED IRON AND STEEL, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Refined iron bars, Philadelphia. . 147% 147% 1.52% 1.456 Common iron bars, Chicago..... 1.45 1.47% 1.47% 1.35 Common iron bars, Pittsburgh. . 1.50 1.50 1.55 1.40 Steel bars, tidewater, New York. 1.61 1.61 1,61 1.36 Steel bars, Pittsburgh......... 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.20 Tank piates, tidewater, New York. 161 1.66 1.66 1,41 Tank plates, Pittsburgh........ 16 160 150 1.25 Beams, tidewater, New York... 161 166 1.66 £1.41 Beams, Pittsburgh............. Ls 1.50 1.50 1.25 Angles, tidewater, New York.... 1.61 1.66 166 1.41 Angles, Pittsburgh............- 1.45 150 150 # 1.25 Skelp, grooved steel, Pittsburgh. 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.30 Skelp, sheared steel, Pittsburgh. 1.60 1.60 1.60 1.40 SHEETS, NAILS AND WIRE, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Sheets, black, No. 28, Pittsburgh 2.40 2.40 2.40 2.20 Wire nails, Pittsburgh*...... oe; 1.80: 180+. 2.8 240 Cut nails, Pittsburgh... ..... ‘ 760647 BO CO Barb wire, galv, Pittsburzh*... 2.10 210 210 2.00 METALS, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents, Cents, Lake copper, New York........ 12.7%) 12.87%)13.00 13.25 Electrolytic copper, New York.. 2.50 12.50 12.87%413.00 Spelter, New York............. 5.1% 515 580 5.40 Spelter; Bt Lotie. 6. iieeins 5.00 5.00 645. 5.27 Lew, Marg Yorks «+ oss. amers 4.37% 4.37% 4.37% 4.35 Cee TE, TRUS. i Pda eskoes 4.22% 4.22% 4.22% 4.20 Tin, Wewi Yorkie: «s+. ci< weeeee 82.00.. 32.60. 33,25 29,056 Antimony, Hallett, New York... 8.12% 8.12% 8.12% 7.50 Nickel, New York.:.......... -- 45.00 45.00 45.00 45.00 Tin plate, 100 1b., New York... $3.84 $3.84 $3.84 $3.64 * These prices are for largest lots to jobbers. ” S. Dr Mechan ~MVwN GR {Cal and Ciyj & SONS, I. ; BD, > 1478 THE IRON AGE June 23, 1910 THE IRON AND METAL MARKETS Pittsburgh Park Buinprne, June 22, 1910.—(By Telegraph.) Pig Iron.—The inquiry of the Standard Sanitary Mfg. Company for about 7000 tons of Northern No. 2 foundry and 5000 tons of Southern No. 2, has not yet been closed,. but probably will be before the week is out. This is about the only large inquiry for pig iron in the market, but there have been some moderate sales of Bessemer, basic and foun- dry iron made to other consumers for delivery over the bal- ance of this year. We note a sale of 1200 tons of Bessemer at $15.60, Valley furnace, and 2200 to 2500 tons of No. 2 foundry at $14.50, Valley furnace, for delivery over the bal- ance of this year. We quote standard Bessemer iron at $15.60 to $15.75; malleable Bessemer, $15 to $15.25; basic, $14.50 to $14.75; No. 2 foundry, $14.50 and gray forge, $14, all at Valley furnace, with a freight rate of 90c. a ton for delivery in the Pittsburgh district. Steel.—Some fairly large sales of prompt Bessemer bil- lets and slabs have recently been made and at relatively low prices. We note a sale of 2500 tons of 4 x 4 in. soft Besse- mer billets and one of 2500 tons of 2 x 2 in. soft Bessemer billets. The 4 x 4 in. netted the seller about $25 and the 2 x 2 in. $25.50 or higher, the freight rate to the point of delivery being $1 a ton. We also report a sale of 3000 tons of Bessemer slabs for forward delivery at $26, delivered, netting the seller about $25, at mill. New demand for open hearth steel is fairly active and prices are firm. We quote Bessemer billets at $25 to $25.50 and sheet bars, $26.50 to 27; 4.x 4 in. open hearth billets, $28 to $28.50; open hearth, small billets, $29 to $29.50; open hearth sheet and tin bars, $28.50 to $29, and forging billets, $31 to $32, all f.o.b. Pittsburgh, freight to destination added. Iron and Steel Scrap.—The low prices ruling on cer- tain grades of scrap have brought about some fairly large sales in the last few days. We note a sale of 1000 tons of low phosphorus melting scrap at $18, 1000 to 1200 tons at $19, guaranteed analysis, and 600 to 800 tons of low phos- phorus melting scrap, not guaranteed, at $16.25, all these being delivered prices in the Pittsburgh district.. A sale is also reported of 600 tons of cast iron borings at about $8.10, f.o.b. Pittsburgh. (By Mail.) The general expectation that the iron trade would show material betterment following the arrangement entered into between the Government and the railroads regarding the increase in freight rates, which was to have become effective on June 1, but which the railroads agreed not to file until the Interstate Commerce Commission is given .wider powers, has not been realized, and the conditions to-day are unsat- isfactory from many points of view. The amount of new business being entered by the mills is only fair, prices on nearly all lines are showing a declining tendency, and this is having the effect of causing buyers to place orders very cautiously, and in nearly all cases only in small lots to cover current needs. The pig iron market is still showing signs of distress, and several recent heavy purchases have brought out lower prices than would have been thought pos- sible several months ago. A notable case is that of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, which recently bought Northern No. 2 foundry as low as $14.35, at Valley furnace, and Northern forge at $14 or below, Valley furnace, deliy- eries running over last half of the year. The only large inquiry for pig iron in the market at this writing is that of the Standard Sanitary Mfg. Company, which is asking for 6000 to 8000 tons of Northern No. 2 foundry and 2000 to 4000 tons of Southern No. 2, all the iron for delivery in last half of the year. On the Southern iron, one interest has quoted on the basis of $11.50, Birmingham, for No. 2 for third quarter, and $12, Birmingham, for fourth quarter. These seem to be about the prices that are being quoted by the larger makers of Southern iron. There is a fair amount of new inquiry for billets, sheet and tin bars, and while open hearth steel is holding up fairly well in prices, soft Bessemer steel is weak, a recent sale of about 2500 tons of 4 x 4 in. Bessemer billets having been made to a Cleveland consumer on the, basis of about $25, Pittsburgh. This steel will not be shipped from Pittsburgh, but likely from a Valley mill, and in that event it will net the seller $25.50, at mill. Open hearth 4 x 4 in. billets are fairly strong at $28 to $28.50, and sheet bars $28 to $28.50, maker’s mill. In fin- ished iron and steel new demand is disappointing, and spec- ifications against contracts are not coming in as freely as they did some time ago. Prices on nearly all finished lines, including plates, plain structural material, wire products and the lighter gauges of sheets are being shaded. Tin plate is firm, and this is also true of steel pipe. The scrap market is weak and very little is doing in coke. The encouraging feature of the situation is that large jobbers report that stocks of goods they are carrying in their warehouses are moving out more freely ; one leading local jobber reports that its May business was the largest in any one month since last fall. It is believed this will soon be reflected in a -~ heavier demand for finished material from the jobbers to the mills. Ferromanganese.—Keports that a large steel company had bought 600 tons a month of ferromanganese for delivery over all of next year on the basis of $40, Baltimore, are officially denied. This concern was offered ferro at $39.50, for forward delivery, and declined it. There is very little new inquiry, and we quote foreign 80 per cent. ferro for delivery over balance of this year at $39 to $39.50, Balti- more, the freight rate to Pittsburgh being $1.90 per ton. Ferrosilicon.—There is not much new inquiry, but some low prices are being named on the small lots for which in- quiries are out. Prices are weak, and we quote 50 per cent. ferrosilicon at $57.50 to $58, delivered, Pittsburgh. We quote 10 per cent. at $23; 11 per cent., $24, and 12 per cent., $25, all at Ashland furnace, to which $1.90 a ton should be added for delivery in the Pittsburgh district. Muck Bar.—No sales of this material have, been made in this market for some time, and we quote best grades of muck bar, rolled from all pig iron, at about $28, Pittsburgh. Rods.—New inquiry for rods is light, and is confined mostly to small lots. Consumers of heavy rods, such as chain makers and others, are specifying quite freely against contracts placed last year when prices were lower than they are now. We quote Bessemer open and chain rods at $31, while $31.50 and $32 is quoted on small lots. Skelp.— Additional contracts for heavy sheared plates, estimated at 10,000 to 12,000 tons, have been placed in the past week by pipe mills that have recently taken large orders for line pipe for gas and oil lines. The mills rolling iron and steel plates for pipe are pretty well filled up for the next three or four months. For ordinary widths and gauges we quote grooved steel skelp at 1.50c. to 1.55c.; sheared steel skelp, 1.60c. to 1.65c.; grooved iron skelp, 1.80c., and sheared iron skelp, 1.90c., all f.o.b. mill, Pittsburgh. Steel Rails.—Good sized orders for light rails are being placed by the lumber and coal mining interests, and in the past week the Carnegie Steel Company secured contracts for 4000 to 4500 tons of light rails, and specifications against contracts for about 1000 tons. No orders of moment are being placed for standard sections. We quote steel axles at 1.75¢c. to 1.80c., and splice bars, 1.50c., at mill, Pittsburgh. Light rail prices are as follows: 8 to 10 Ib., $82; 12 to 14 Ib., $29; 16, 20 and 25 lb., $28; 30 and 35 Ib., $27.75, and 40 to 45 lb., $27, Pittsburgh. These prices are for 250-ton lots and over, and for small lots premiums of 50c. per ton and more are being paid. We quote standard sections at $28, at mill. Structural Material.—The contract for furnishing and erecting the lock gates for the Isthmian Canal was awarded on Monday, June 20, to the MeClintic-Marshall Construction Company, Pittsburgh, its bid having been $5,374,474.82, or about $600,000 less than the next lowest bidder, which was the American Bridge Company. There are 46 of these canal gates, each gate consisting of two leaves, the leaves being 65 ft. wide and from 47 ft. 4 in, to 82 ft. high. The majority of the leaves are 77 ft. high. Each of the 77-ft. leaves con- sists of 18 horizontal plate girders, 65 ft. long, 7 ft. deep, spaced about 414 ft. center to center, and covered on each side with steel plates. There are 20 gates in the Gatun locks, 12 in the Pedro Miguel and 14 in the Miraflores locks. Each gate consists of two leaves and each leaf will weigh about 600 tons. The entire weight of steel in these gates amounts to 59,000 tops, and all the material will be rolled and fur- nished by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company of Pitts- burgh. The work will be fabricated at the Rankin shops of the McClintic-Marshall Construction Company and shipped either via steamers from one of the Eastern seaboard cities or by water from Rankin to New Orleans and from there by steamer direct to the Isthmus. The entire contract is to be completed in about three years, and active work of erection will be started about January 1 next. The McClintic- Marshall Construction Company expects to ship the mate- riat from its shops at Rankin at the rate of 2500 tons a month, these shipments extending over a period of 24 months. The erection of the work will be carried on simul- taneously at Gatun and Miraflores. The American Bridge Company has taken a contract for the Montreal bridge for replacing the old cantilever bridge across the St. Lawrence River at Montreal, involving 15,000 to 20,000 tons; also a bridge for the Soo Line across the Mississippi River at St. Paul, consisting of a number of arched trussed spans, about 4000 tons. Numerous smaller jobs have been placed, and the structural fabricating concerns have more work on their books at present than at any time in the past year. In spite of the large amount of work that is being placed, prices are weak, and on any desirable tonnage 1.45c. on beams and channels up to 15-in. is obtainable. We quote beams and channels up to 15-in. at 1.45c. to 1.50e., at maker’s mill, June 23, 1910 THE IRON AGE 1479 THE IRON AND METAL MARKETS Plates.—The inquiry of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for 3000 to 5000 steel cars and 2000 to 3000 box cars with steel underframes has not yet been placed. Only a few un- important car orders have been given out in the past week, and it is evident that the railroads, for the .time being at least, have decided not to place heavy contracts for cars until the situation in freight rates is clearer. On the nar- row sizes of plates some of the outside mills are naming as low as 1,.40c., and on the wide sizes 1.45c. to 1.50c. is being quoted. We quote 14-in. and heavier plates in narrow sizes at 1.40c. to 1.45c., and in the wider sizes at 1.45c. to 1.50c., Pittsburgh. Sheets.—No settlement has yet been reached with the independent sheet mills on the wage scales for the year beginning July 1, although a two days’ conference between the independent sheet mills and the Amalgamated Associa- tion was held in this city last week. Another conference is to be held on Wednesday, June 22, and it is possible that at this conference the sheet mill wage scales will be ad- justed. The men ask for an advance over the present scale of about 10 per cent., but the sheet mill owners refuse to grant this, stating that present conditions in the sheet trade do not warrant it. There is only a fair demand for the lighter gauges of black and galvanized sheets, and regular prices continue to be shaded by some mills for prompt ship- ment to the extent of $2 to $3 a ton. For blue annealed and electric sheets, new demand is quite active, but not as heavy as some time ago, while premiums on prices for prompt de- livery have about disappeared. Regular prices on black, galvanized and roofing sheets, which in the lighter gauges are being shaded $2 to $3 a ton on contracts for early shipment, will be found on a previous page. Tin Plate.—Output of tin plate continues at a record breaking pace, and will be heavier in June than ever before in any one month in the history of the tin plate trade. The Jones & Laughlin Steel Company will soon start up part of the tinning department in its new tin plate mills at Aliquippa, the concern having been operating 12 hot mills on black plate for the past month or more. The few independent tin plate mills that sign the scale have not yet come to an agree- ment with the Amalgamated Association on the tin plate wage scales for the year beginning July 1. A second con- ference is to be held in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, June 22, at which time a settlement may be reached. The men ask for an average advance over the present scale of about 10 per cent., which the tin plate mills refuse to grant. New demand for tin plate is light, as the buying season is over, but all the leading tin plate mills are filled up with contracts that will take practically their entire output for the balance of this year, and consumers are specifying very freely against these contracts. Prices are firm, and we quote 100-Ib, cokes at $3.60 per base box, f.o.b, Pittsburgh. Bars.—There is a fair volume of new business in both iron and steel bars, new orders fur steel bars being more plentiful than for iron. The implement makers and wagon builders, who made heavy contracts about a month ago for their requirements over last half of this year and in some cases through first half of next year, will soon commence to specify liberally on these contracts, and the steel bar mills are pretty well filled up for the next three or four months and in some cases are from six to eight weeks behind in shipments. We continue to quote steel bars at 1.45c. and common iron bars at 1.50¢, to 1.55c., Pittsburgh. Hoops and Bands.—<A moderate volume of new business is being placed, but specifications against contracts are not coming in as freely as some time ago. Slightly lower prices are ruling on. hoops and bands, rolled from soft Bessemer billets, owing to the weakness in prices of Bessemer steel. We quote steel hoops for forward delivery at 1.50c. to 1.60c.,, while for prompt shipment as high as 1.65c. is ob- tainable. Steel bands are 1.40c. to 1.50c. on contracts for forward delivery and 1.60c. to 1.65c. for reasonable prompt shipment, these carrying steel bar card extras. Spelter.