The Iron Age 1910-10-13: Vol 86 Iss 15

Snablished 1855 Published Every Thursday by the DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 14-16 Park Place, New York Entered at the New York Post Office ag-Sedgnd Class Mail Matter. -_————- Subscription Price, United Sasees sad Minion, $5.00 Aegon: ww. Ca $7.50 per Annum; to Other Foreigi Countries, $10.00 per An a> Single 20 Cents. Cuaries T. Roor, - , = - 5 PRESIDENT W. H, Tavcor # + ~ TREASURER AND GENERAL MANAGER Haron S. BuTTENHEIM, - - > be - SEORZTARY G W. Cope, . < ° “ . A. FinOLEY, ° « ° ~ . } eorrone H. R. COBLEIGH, ° . : - MECHANICAL EDITOR Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building Pittsburgh, Park Building , Cleveland, American Trust Building Boston, Compton Building Cineinnati, Second N't'l Bank bidg. Milwaukee, 1417 Majestic Building. _— —— -_—— ; CONTENTS. Editoria PAGE New Demand Still at a Low Rate. ...... 08 cece cess 809 Au International Steel Conference. ........6s6e0ee0% 810 A Lesson in Power House Economies... /..........+- 810 Payirg the WONRURRCes G5) pu has sb ehicldec ccc e es 811 The 8 Trade Aiil eGR oc chev cee bee sck eevee 811 Steel Buyers Qi? Qi ees Ges wosccececcpeueews 812 The Quebec Bridge BIMRPRMriWs 005 6s ecu dvss civ ctr abeer 812 August Exports and Imports of Iron and Steel... .:...... 812 Buffalo’s Industrial Exposi@hom. .5....0.c0eciewns caceses 813 The Western Steel Corporatiom. ..o...scccacssds scccee 813 Car and OMOtiVe QRMNES Si os clas otdbe sks + ch ebeeeens 813 The Iron and Metal Market Reports................ 814 to 823 Iron and Industrial @QQOMM, wes. sc es ce v0 ud euleue'ee cee 823 ( ms Dectsions. . «ki tiiaviene- sno e bee bee Cee 823 Manufactures Now More Than Half Our Exports......... 823 The Machinery Market Reports. ............ceece0e $24 to 837 The New York Electrical SHOW. .........c0cecceccccucus 837 yare TION... 0s wee vive ONE SIRT Ries wih a ae owe at 837 The Rock Island Plow Compamy’s Growth..............+. 838 ontge 0 9 0,0 +e: gigas serdar e sk py chako ii ene alae 839 ye Maxwe \L-Briscoe Moto# Company's Improvements... .. 839 New Bureau of Manufactures Publications............... 839 Obituary POrtr aie. .-1:9is Fike Pee Dis weeks ek nk Goon’ 840 Natior | Roll & Foundry, Company Extensions............ 840 — Works Labor (omQH a ooo ois ck nk oe vaca bandas 841 General Electric Upheld in Demurrage Protest........... 841 7 Philadelphia Founérymen’s Association.::.......i4. 842 _ Pufter-Hubbard Company’s Improvements...........- 842 - “tucible Steel Company’s Annual Report...........- 843 oi ! Copper Production and Stocks...............-. 843 eae Steel Refimtengys 3 ious esvce ewe had bbataees sees 844 “s , r Steel Agency in the United States............ 846 al ‘orporation’s Unfilled Orders. <.<....04+ ives: 846, i me Steel Company's Barnings.......2...+..0%% 846 cS rican Tron and Steel Institute. Portraits........ 847 - ‘| Accidents in Massachusetts: ................. 859 ol _ ‘able Schwartz Melting Furnace. Mlustrated.... .. 851 - a in Elfwood City, Pa. cvs vk vended 851 - — Vertical. Spindle Surface Grinder.. Illus.... 852 : pen Hearth Steel Casting. Ulustrated......... 855 1 + +s wales 6 co's Mes lates baie ae ae aah Opts * © 855 oe la Catipers. Ilasrrate@s,. 2) Fig ds 05 dace < 856 'y ‘tic Coal Railroad.... Hinstrateds....% sess. <s 856 ‘ : ane Gas Producer. Ihustrated...ssaiis.s.+-- ass a aa to October 1.......4% a sant engines ++ 859 a rar Extractor, Iustrated... 22. 860 "| & Whitney 144-Th, Measuring 861 * Lo) Derrick "Turning Gear.: Til rre; letal Prles@s & Sie senda New York, October 13, 1910 New Demand Still at a Tie Rate Yet Producers Find Coaaaid for Encouragement Considerable Buying of Pig Iron, but It Is Not General Noteworthy everiness has been shown for some time in the daily rate Of new, business comitig to the steel mills, with indications in some quartets that the repair of ragged stoeks is responsible for the urgency of the call for shipments: This conditfon has encouraged producers, who interpret it to signify the approach of the irreducible minimum of demand, which"has so often been followed by improvement. The United States Steel Corporation’ s statement of unfilled orders on hand September 30, showing 379,000 tons less than on August 31 was in line with expecta- tions. This month’s new orders have been very close to the rate of September, the lighter lines making up for the falling off in the heavier products and the ex port trade representing about 25 per cent. of the new busitiess. The Corporation’s subsidiary companies now have 46 idle blast furnaces against 45 one week ago. Reports from the leading iron markets show vary- ing activity, but all agree that the impulse to general buying is still lacking. At Chicago a sale of 10,000 tons of malleable Bessemer was made at a low price to a local interest. An agricultural buyer has closed for 6000 tons of foundry and malleable grades. On the whole Northern foundry irons have been more active than Southern. Northern Ohio furnaces have made a fair aggregate of sales in 1000 and 500 ton lots to foundries in Indiana, Michigan and Western Ohio, for delivery in the first half of 1911. These were largely on the basis of $14 at furnaces. Not all furnaces will sell as low; for some it means actual loss and relief in*lower ore prices is seven months away. Southern sellers find the weight of increasing stocks telling against the $11.50 level some of them have main- tained. - Sales of No. 2 Southern iron for delivery this — year are still made at $11, at furnace, and this price has applied on some business done for the first quarter of 1911. Pipe companies have kept up their buying from both Southern and Northern furna ™, paying $10, it is reported, for Southern.gray for i SR HD Two sales of 5000 tons of nadie oan re anit i. Chicago district steel companies by local furnaces, while another Chicago company has added 6000 tons to previous. purchases of 20,000 tons, largely from north; ern Ohio fu . An additional inquiry has come to” Lake Erie furnaces for basic iron to be shipped to Chicago before navigation closes. In. the Pittsburgh district late sales of basic have been at $13.10, Valley furnace. - It is dinin that some important buyers of nis material are counting on further reductions in pt Car works, for example, are halting oor 70 4 i 5 A rem meee eee i ee an ! } ie ~ i “ ] eke sao 810 . THE IRON AGE period of light buying like the present than on the first appearance of attractive tonnage at the end of such a period. The Atlantic Coast Line purchases of rails for this year were increased to 30,000 tons. The railroads have made no inquiries for 1911, but several Western lines have canvassed their requirements. A recent 5000-ton inquiry by the Grand Trunk appears to have been with- drawn. Domestic rail mills have fared well in foreign markets recently, though British works captured the 12,000-ton order for South Australia. Low prices on bar iron made by Western mills have attracted some business at the expense of the steel bar mills. A large steel bar contract has been closed at Buffalo for Canada, buyers there not sharing the timid- ity of American consumers. Eastern bar iron manu- facturers report a good export demand. The cotton tie requirements for this year are esti- mated at 2,500,000 bundles. For October shipment the price has been fixed at 77c. per bundle. Structural works find a lessening number of large contracts in sight. Most of them can run into the win- ter on present bookings, but the withholding of rail- road bridge work is causing some uneasiness for the early months of 1911. In the past week several 2000- ton jobs have been taken, including Philadelphia & Reading track elevation at Port Richmond, a cement plant at Mason City, Iowa, and the National Biscuit Company Building at Kansas City. Bids will soon be taken on the bridges over the Willamette River in Oregon, calling for 16,000 tons. The wire nail trade is in more satisfactory shape than for some time. An independent wire interest has started its plant double turn. It is not altogether clear how the associated buyers of steel scrap in eastern Pennsylvania will ultimately proceed in view of the Government intimation that the plan heretofore followed is objectionable. Indi- vidual purchases of heavy melting steel have amounted to 20,000 tons in the case of one interest, most of it at $14, and $13.75 is now offered. An International Steel Conference The meeting in New York this week under the auspices of the American Iron and Steel Institute is unique. It is the first international gathering of iron and steel manufacturers for the discussion of ques- tions of a cémmercial character. Through the various tours of the Iron and Steel Institute—the two in the United States, in r890 and 1904, and those in Great Britain and on the Continent—a certain international acquaintance has been furthered; but it has been largely among those whose interests centered in the study of works problems, the metallurgical and me- chanical side of iron and steel manufacture. The meeting of this week brings together representative manufacturers for the consideration chiefly of com- mercial questions. Definite statement of what is in mind in this connection has not been made, though the brief programme for Friday contains two sugges- tions in the papers on “ Foreign Relations” and “ Con- tract Obligations.” In proposing such a meeting Chairman Gary of the United States Steel Corporation followed somewhat the line of his address at the dinner given him in London two years ago by officers of the Iron and Steel Institute. He believed there might be international competition without undue antagonism, just as at the dinner of steel manufacturers given in his honor in October, 1909, he interpreted the new doctrine to mean “competition, but not hostility; rivalry, but not an- \ - October 13, 191 tagonism; progress and success for all, but not ul punishment or the destruction of any.” That there jg _ a disposition on the part of foreign steel manu/, to respond to these sentiments has been indi, several occasions, and the coming of a part; cturers ated on f for. eign guests to the meeting of this week is a confirma. tion of these expressions. Generally speaking, the international struggle fo, commercial advantage is waged with growing sharp. ness and it is common to think that commercia! rather than territorial expansion will come to be the chief cause of hostilities between nations. In the steel trade this feeling is shown in the alarm now and again raised over “dumping.” British manufacturers were assured by the developments of last year that Amer. ican steel manufacturers had no plans for an invasion of that market by slaughtering prices. The conditions in this country in the early months of 1909 might have led to such a campaign, if our manufacturers were am- bitious to sweep the markets of the world. But it has been plain for some time that the policy of dumping has been definitely abandoned by American steel manufac- turers. Proper appreciation of that fact would have saved some uneasiness recently expressed in Great Brit- ain concerning ‘a heavy tonnage of American half products hanging over the market.” It is fair to say , that the increase in our bookings of export orders for steel in recent months has not been due to extraordi- nary price cutting, but is rather the accumulating result of assiduous cultivation of the foreign market by our manufacturers in the past decade in good times and bad. There is less disposition than ever on the part of American steel manufacturers to deplete their stores of raw material by sacrifice sales abroad for the sake of making the pace hot for their foreign competitors. Doubtless certain concessions will continue to be made on export sales, just as concessions have been made for some time on steel going to the Pacific Coast, where the revised tariff gives European manufacturers a better opportunity than they have ever had to place their pro- ducts in some of the heavier lines. But there is little probability of any return to the policy that marked the earlier efforts of our manufacturers in outer markets The American Iron and Steel Institute thus enters upon its work at a time when the steel industry, at least, is not dominated hy the idea of hostility and retali- ation in the building up of export trade. While compe- tition will always’ exist and may often be sharp, there will be ample field for the activities of ‘an association aiming to correct demoralizing practices, to enforce contract obligations and to develop outer trade, pat ticularly with non-producing countries, on sound and permanent lines. A Lesson in Power House Economies ; The saving of $1,000,000 by the navy in a years consumption of coal and lubricating oil, as a result o! $5000 offered as prizes in a competitive test between warships, is vitally suggestive of the economies that are possible in the boilér and engine rooms of mant facturing plants. The presumption is that the enginee™ ing staffs of the ships were ordinarily watchful against extravagance before the system was inaugurated. Y¢ this enormous percentage of saving was accomplished Much waste occurs in the ordinary industrial pow‘ plant. Sharp attention to details of cost in their rela- tion to efficiency would doubtless bring proportionate returns. Rewards are probably out of the question, & er 13; 1910 Octo rhaps, with great concerns which operate sev- eral stations. But watchfulness would usually compel onsistent effort at economical operation. Paying the Workers Ore of the great problems in the production of highly finished manufactured goods, greater than dif- fcultics of manufacture, arises from the absolute necessity of producing them cheaply. Maximum out- put alone will not bring dividends unless the cost to manufacture enables ready sales to be made at rea- sonable profits, and on this problem—maximum pro- duction and minimum cost—many brains are concen- trated. Processes are studied, tried, compared, and all but the paying propositions are rejected. New ma- chines, faster and more efficient machines, are built, and the old and displaced machinery is stoically scrapped. Often the new process or the new machine proves of less value than was hoped and is abandoned, but at the year’s end the progressive manufacturer can usually congratulate himself on a marked improve- ment in output and some little saving in production costs. Machines capable of completing 20,000 opera- tions a day have been displaced by others turning out 50,000 in the same period. This has required consid- erable expense, either in the purchase of new apparatus or the construction of additional buildings, which ex- pense must come out of the profits on goods sold, As customers we are all glad to be able to buy the goods at reduced prices, and as citizens are duly proud of the shops and factories making them. However, the point we wish to bring out is that the saving or cost reduction accomplished has been almost entirely brought about by improvements in the appliances of manufacture and as the result of considerable. ex- penditures. Yet both before and after the accom- plishment of these cost reductions there existed a sure method of reducing costs which would not re- quire the expenditure of thousands nor the mainte- nance of expensive departments, Labor, material and expense—these are roughly the three components of cost-to-manufacture. In most establishments the first and last items cover the great- est part of manufacturing cost and are subject to con- siderable fluctuations from year to year. Making up, as they do, the greater part of the cost of most manu- factured articles, it is important that they both be studied and carefully watched. We have mentioned the great care taken to increase the productive effi- ciency of the shop by every means; this increase ly lowers the expense item when considered in ¢ light of its ratio to unit of output. The efficiency labor itself, the ratio between the work done ind the wages paid, does not by any means receive the attention it should, That this fact is beginning to itself on the thinking public is évidenced by ‘cntion it is receiving in the technical press of et there is plenty of evidence that far from cugn has been said. For the natural prejudice. of ‘cturers toward an untried thing must be over- id the customs and habits. of. generations. must cn up. Simply stated, our plea. is this: iake a workman do his,utmost, there must. be | © incentive. There must be some strongly im- Beil ‘orce, constantly applied, which, like the steady pull of a belt, shall supply the energy and keep up the adequ THE IRON AGE 811 speed. This force must in no way partake of the na- ture of a temporary stimulant. Among such forces, as imparted to workmen by proper sanitary conditions and sympathetic influences are the following: Sheer good health. (Desire to excel.) Natural desire to please. Ambition for further promotion. Pecuniary reward. There is nothing definite or tangible about the first three of these forces although their value as efficiency promoters must not be underestimated. Almost every- one answers to the fourth, however, and it will hardly be denied that it is a most powerful force to use for good or evil. It is the incentive of which we should make the greatest use and the one on which we should place the greatest reliance. Yet the different wage payment systems as administered to-day but feebly fulfill the proper conditions and therefore bring but small returns in comparison with that which may be expected from them if properly administered. It may be stated as susceptible of proof that the faulty admin- istration of our wage payment systems in manufac- tories is responsible in a very great measure for the prodigal waste of one of the most valuable resources of the nation—its labor and brains, If one believes at all in the law of compensation, and with its tenets vividly in mind analyzes the wage-payment methods of our manufacturing establishments, he will ‘either agree unconditionally to the existence of widespread maladministration—or else be silent. Where en- couragement to the more productive workers should be given, one will find discouragement in the form of con- stant rate-cutting; where the more efficient workmen are necessary and should be attracted by higher wages, and considered a most valuable asset, one will find a sort of blind adherence to a flat-rate above which it is not the employer’s policy to go. This widespread custom of stamping.out. the individuality, of the,work- ers is destroying the very teamwork that makes for success and permanence. There does not seem to be any good in expecting to win a boat race in an eight oar shell in which half the crew continually chafes under a knowledge of unfair treatment or is given te understand that neither credit nor rewatd will be forth- coming if the boat wins. Yet indiscriminate rate-cut- ting and the uncertainty which that practice leaves in the minds of the factory workers put a “dead weight” into the boat. And “dead weights” have lost many a race. The Steel Trade and the Crops The New York Times of October 11 has an exceed- ingly interesting article on the statement just made by the United States Steel Corporation regarding its shrinking unfilled orders and the contradictory factor of the Department of Agriculture making the best final report on the crops in the. nation’s history. While the Steel Corporation has before reported a lower total of unfilled orders, it never reported a smaller proportion to its productive capacity than in the statement just made. This presentation shows that the steel. trade is at a low ebb, On the other hand, the Department of Agriculture reports an indicated yield of 3,057,424,000 bushels of corn, which is the largest on. record and con- _siderably exceeds all expectations. The total, wheat yield is 691,769,000 bushels, which runs somewhat pine ete, fi ee 812 above the yearly average. The oats crop, like the corn crop, is a record breaker, being estimated at 1,096,396,- 000 bushels. The Times remarks that the run of de- pression in the steel trade now approaches the record and cannot persist unless something is to happen be- yond all experience. It continues as follows: “It is, perhaps, within the capacity of human achievement to wreck the promise of prosperity contained in these fig- ures, but it cannot be blamed on Providence this year. There is werk in sight for every hand and every wheel, and if they are not kept busy there ought to be a reck- oning for whoever spoils the prospect.” agree with this conclusion. We heartily Steel Buyers and Steel Prices Market reporters for the daily press often draw peculiar conclusions from trade conditions with which they are not familiar. For instance, the sage remark has recently been made by one of these writers that buyers of steel products are not entirely satisfied with the reductions in prices thus far made. The author of that remark evidently misunderstands totally the customary attitude of steel buyers. Under ordinary conditions, such a buyer is not satisfied with any price but endeavors to secure a still lower one. Some will even resort to questionable practices to get the advan- tage of the seller. A distributer or a manufacturing consumer of steel products differs in this respect from a retail buyer who pays a merchant the price asked for any article without haggling. The large buyer of steel products, however, seldom pays a price willingly, or because he is entirely satisfied with it. He is only likely to express his willingness or his satisfaction when the market is advancing and he is able to find a seller who holds his price down for a special purpose, or who miscalculates the strength of the upward move- ment, and takes all the orders he can at a rate under those of his trade colleagues. In the steel trade there has never yet been an asking price so low that the buyer has paid it willingly. The Quebec Bridge Bidders The names of the bidders on the superstructure of the Quebec Bridge, on which proposals were opened October 1, as furnished by our Toronto correspondent, are as follows: Die Maschinenfabrik of Augsburg and Nurnberg, Germany; Pennsylvania Steel Company, Philadelphia; British Empire Bridge Company, Mont- real; St. Lawrence Bridge Company, Montreal. It will take some time to study the different tenders, so as to compare them and ascertain which is the lowest. As the capital required to carry out the work will be scarcely less than $6,000,000, and as $500,000 has to be deposited with each proposal, there has been a combi- nation of forces in some of the cases. Thus the Brit- ish Empire Bridge Company, Montreal, is a recently formed corporation, taking in two English companies —the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company of Darlington and the Metropolitan Amalgamated Rail- way Carriage & Wagon Company of Birmingham. The St. Lawrence Bridge Company represents in this undertaking the Dominion Bridge Company of Montreal and the Canadian Bridge.Campany of Walk- erville, Ont. When the tenders have been examined by the Department of Railways and Canals they will be turned over to the Quebec Bridge Commission, and it may not be until the opening of the Parliamentary session, about the middle of next month, that the con- tract. will be awarded. The whole cost of the bridge THE IRON AGE October | » 1916 is estimated at $11,000,000, of Which more th.» half will be expended on the superstructure. August Exports and Imports of Iron and Steel As compared with July, exports of iron aid steel increased and imports decreased in August, a to the Bureau of Statistics of the Department © { Com- merce and Labor. The total value of the Aucust ex- ports of iron and steel and manufactures therevf, not including iron ore, was $17,628,538, against $16,1c8- 102 in July. The value of similar imports in August was $3,473,636, against $3,656,395 in July. The exports of commodities for which quantities are given totaled 130,877 gross tons in August, against 128,055 tons in July, 120,596 tons in June, 135,344 tons in May, 117,918 tons in April and 124,753 tons in March. ‘The details of the exports of such commodi- ties for August and for the eight months ending with August are as follows compared with the correspond- ing pertods of the previous year: ding KLeports of Iron and Steel. -——August,_——. Fight mos. ending August, 1910. 1909. 1910. 1909, Gross tons. Gross tons. Gross tons. Gross tons, Pig iron 6,193 70,865 37,975 Scrap 2,00. 729 14,952 22,050 Bar iron ‘ 936 13.307 8,937 TE os eins oss 8 +24 368 15,853 9,699 Ree UN ss ase ee <a 10,104 6,111 68,536 44,721 Rillets, blooms, &e... 2,025 9.309 9,682 84,119 Steel rails....:'.....24,726 26.739 243,244 166,306 Iron sheets and plates. 7,756 6,211 69,130 44,838 Steel sheets and plates.18,784 9,605 110,432 62.897 Structural iron and steel 5,177 7,254 Barb +301 5,265 Wire 810 5,685 Cae MIE, eis sae ie 882 724 All other nails, ineclud- ing tacks 883 16,530 104,219 48,681 44,914 60,949 56,303 4,709 6,108 60,960 1,020 15,847 6,272 5,299 @lea 99,124 105,140 754,250 101,996 945,971 The imports of commodities for which quantities are given totaled 36,878 gross tons in August, as com- pared with 42,326 tons in July, 31,010 tons in June, 45,021 tons in May, 51,438 tons in April and 57,150 tons in March. The details of the imports of such commodities for August and for the eight months ending with August are as follows compared with the corresponding periods of the previous year: PRR oes 5 hous 130.877 Imports of Iron and Steel. -——August,—_— Fight mos, ending August, 1910 1909, 1910. 1909. Gross tons. Gross tons. Gross tons. Gross tona. Pig iron.... . .« «20,029 10,422 159,947 87,222 Serap . 1,88! 2,125 62,271 4,377 Bar iron 3,768 1,380 28,703 9,944 Billets, bars and steel forms 0N.@.s........ 4,515 1,335 Sheets and plates.... 688 282 4,760 oa= Tin and terne plates. 4,072 5,070 51,082 40,041 Wire rods....5....8: 1,925 1,238 14,523 7,600 32,108 10,419 » 995 353,394 Totals..........86,878 21,852 The imports of iron ore in August were 282,949 gross tons, against 248,810 tons in July, 193,415 '™ in June, 240,833 tons in May, 206,135 tons in April, this year, and 209,855 tons in the month of August, 1909 The total importations of iron ore for the eight months ending with August were 1,791,025 gross tons, agaist 954,718 tons in the corresponding period of last ra and 424,963 tons in the corresponding period of 190° Of the August imports of iron ore, 144,730 tons came from Cuba, 38,647 tons from Sweden, 37,536 tons !rom Spain, 19,330 tons from Canada and 42,706 tons from other countries. vs The total value of the exports of iron and ste and manufactures thereof, not including ore, ‘0T the eight months ending with August, was $130,148:125 against $100,953,952 in the corresponding period = last year. Similar imports were, respectively. $27, 759,534 and $18,175,130. 161 R34 October 13, 1910 THE 3uffalo’s Industrial Exposition rd annual Industrial Exposition of Buffalo res is now being held in that city under the the Chamber of Commerce and Manufac- at the old Armory of the 65th Regiment iy, which has been converted into an exposi- he period of the exposition is from October | it is proving to be the most successful of <positions. There are 140 separate exhibits manufactures, 60 of them being working or ting exhibits under power. ectrical display exeeeds in scope and beauty ittempted since the Pan-American Exposi- 11; both the exposition hall illumination and the strcct illumination on Broadway between Main street afayette Square and the exposition, a dis- tance of seven blocks, being exceedingly brilliant. The most effective and spectacular feature of this display is the fight (or apparent flight) of a huge ball of red elect! its passing from the top of a tall and grace- ful pagoda festooned with electric Japanese lanterns in Lafayette Square and ricocheting down the center of vay through numerous rings of fire to the top of an imposing arch in front of the exposition building, the effect being produced by the successive lighting and shutting off of current on a large number of dupli- cate balls of red lights erected between the beginning and e! the course. On Cleveland Day, Qctober 8, a delegation 200 strong from the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce at- exposition, and on Detroit Day, October 15, it is expected that an equally large number will be in attendance from the Detroit Board of Commerce. Rochester and Erie have also sent large delegations to visit the exposition, tended t! Many novel and interesting exhibits are being made. lo General Electric Company gives an illus- hibit of the generating of electric power at Niagara Falls by means of working models of the great elect erating plants there, showing power houses, stocks, tunnels and turbines in detail, to- gether the transformer, switchboards, distributing ind cables carrying the current to distant same company has an extensive exhibit stic uses of electricity. This is designated ‘se Electric” and comprises five rooms in he household funcitons are performed by \ modern printery operated entirely by I also shown, including linotype machines, stereotyping room. ‘s are made by Rogers Brown & Co. and the a Steel Company. In the exhibit of wn & Co. a latge electric map is shown in electric lights of different colors the lo- each of the 40 or more blast furnaces of the nd of its coke ovens, and the different cities ts sales offices are located. In this exhibit own some remarkably fine and unusual sam- ¥ iron manufactured in this country and local furnaces being largely represented, cs of the products of English, Scotch, Swed- erman furnaces and iron from China. A special and high grade castings made from ’ S products and some interesting samples in the Connellsville, Pocahontas, New River nia districts are also in the exhibit, as well ns of fluorspar from the Rosiclare mines now the largest fluorspar producers in this ackawanna Steel Company’s exhibit is also y interesting, a feature being a number of f highly polished cross-sections of the vari- ts of the company in steel rails, structural ‘s and other rolled products, sheet piling, &c. ' electrically illumined photographs, on glass, IRON AGE showing the different departments of the company’s extensive plant, in operation, is also displayed. The Western Steel Corporation Concerning its newly acquired iron ore properties in Nevada, the Western Steel Corporation, Seattle, Wash., gives the following details in addition to what has already appeared in these columns. The properties are in Lyon and Storey counties in Nevada and are known as the Lyon, Hecla, Bear, Planet, Emma, Morn- ing Light, Sunset, Sunrise, Round Hill, North Star and Sheba mines and the Dewey and Norway iron lodes. On the Dewey and Hecla and the Norway iron lodes a hill of iron ore is found which is about tcoo ft. long, 1000 ft. wide and 115 ft. high. A shaft has been sunk 157 ft. in the middle of the hill and ore was found to a depth of 145 ft. Various tunnels have been driven in the development work carried on in the past year. Engineers report 14,000,000 tons of ore in sight, with 39,000,000 tons assured and 139,000,000 tons probable. Reports on the property were made by R. N. Dickman, Alfred Merritt and J. Wells Smith. The ore is a brown hematite, averaging 63 per cent. metallic iron, 0.03 phosphorus and 6 to 7 per cent. silica. The West- ern Steel Corporation has bought the property as a reserve, without expecting to use the ore immediately. The deposit is 7 miles from the Southern Pacific Rail- road, with which it can be connected almost without grade. The ore can be shipped to a point on San Francisco Bay, 225 miles distant, and thence by water to Irondale, where the company’s blast furnace is lo- cated. The Western Steel Corporation has started an iron and steel foundry of its own at Irondale and is making castings for its own use, including ingot molds, the latter being cast from metal direct from the blast fur- nace. Some other hearth steel castings have been made by the company for its own purposes, and the manufacture of steel castings for the market will be undertaken. ; a OO Car and Locomotive Orders.—The Maine Central has ordered 500 heater cars from the Laconia Car Com- pany; the Atlantic Seaboard Dispatch, 30 all steel tank cars from the Chicago Steel Car Company; the India Refining Company, 69 tank cars from the American Car & Foundry Company; and the Duluth, Missabe & Northern, 25 refrigerator cars from the Peteler Car Company. Inquiries reported by the Railway Age Ga- sette include 25 box cars for the Richmond, Fred- ericksburg & Potomac; 40 steel subway cars for the Hudson & Manhattan; 150 freight cars for the Penn- sylvania Lines West; 200 refrigerator cars for the Erie (not confirmed); 100 box cars for the Brinson Rail- way; 400 to 500 steel underframe ears for the Cold Blast Transportation Company. Locomotive orders include 2 for the Tata Iron & Steel Company, 5 for the Chicago Junction and 10 for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle. _-—s-o——————_ The American Boiler Manufacturers’ Association is holding its twenty-second annual corivention in Chi- cago this week, the sessions extending from Monday to Thursday. A concurrent meeting of the Supply Men's Association is also being held. The members made a trip to Gary in a special train, to visit the mills of the Indiana Steel Company, and will enjoy other sightseeing trips during the week. The population of Wheeling, W. Va., is 41,641, as eee with 38,878 in 1900, an increase of 7.1 per cent. lation of Kansas City, Kan., is + 82,331, an increase alco sp 0,913, or 60.1 per cent. The population of Wichita, Kan., is 52,450, an in- crease “of 27.779, oF 112.6 per cent. Bis es a ‘ - r : i. * 814 THE IRON AGE The Iron and Metal Markets 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. Oct. 12, Oct. 5, Sept. 14, Oct. 13, PIG IRON,, Per Gross Ton : 1910. 1910. 1910. 1909. Foundry No. 2, standard, Phila- Get an ke 5k g's 0c KKA 0 600 $15.75 $16.00 $16.00 $18.50 Foundry No. 2, Southern, Cincin- WED os: neh os bnwdukkind > >0ds 14.25 14.25 14.25 17.75 Foundry No. 2, local. Chicago.. 16.00 16.25 16.50 19.00 Basic, delivered, eastern Pa.... 15.00 15.00 15.00 18.00 Basic, Valley furnace.......... 18.10 13.50 138.75 17.00 Bessemer, Pittsburgh.......... 15.90 15.90 15.90 19.40 Gray forge, Pittsburgh......... 14.15 14.15 1415 16.90 Lake Superior charcoal, Chicago 1825 18.25 18.50 19.50 BILLETS, &c., Per Gross Ton: Bessemer billets, Pittsburgh.... 24.00 24.00 24.50 26.00 Forging billets, Pittsburgh..... 29.00 29.00 29.00 29.00 Open hearth billets, Philadelphia 26.00 26.00 27.00 28.00 Wire rods, Pittsburgh......... 28.50 28.50 28.00 32.00 Steel rails, heavy, at mill...... 28.00 28.00 28.00 28.00 OLD MATERIAL, Per Gross Ton: Steel rails, melting, Chicago.... 13.50 13.50 13.50 17.75 Steel rails, melting, Philadelphia 13.75 14.00 13.75 18.00 Iron rails, Chicago............ 16.00 16.00 16.00 20.50 Iron rails, Philadelphia........ 18.00 18.00 18.00 21.00 Car wheels, Chicago........... 14.00 14.00 14.00 18.25 Car wheels, Philadelphia....... 18.75 18.75 18.75 17.50 Heavy steel scrap, Pittsburgh... 125 14.25 14.50 18.00 Heavy steel scrap, Chicago..... 12.25 12.26 12.25 16.50 Heavy steel scrap, Philadelphia 13.75 14.00 13.75 18.00 FINISHED IRON AND STEEL, Per Pound : Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Refined iron bars, Philadelphia. 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.57 Common iron bars, Chicago.... 1.35 1.35 1.37% 1.50 Common iron bars, Pittsburgh. . 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.65 Steel bars, tidewater, New York 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.66 Steel bars, Pittsburgh......... 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.50 Tank plates, tidewater, New York 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.66 Tank plates, Pittsburgh........ 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.50 Beams, tidewater, New York... 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.66 Beams, Pittsburgh............. 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.50 Angles, tidewater, New York... 1.56 156 156 1.66 pe. a 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.50 Skélp, grooved steel, Pittsburgh. 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.45 Skelp, sheared steel, Pittsburgh. 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.55 SHEETS, NAILS AND WIRE, -. Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents, Sheets, black, No, 28, Pittsburgh 2.20 2.20 2.15 2.80 Wire nails, Pittsburgh*........ 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.80 Cut. nails, Pittsburgh.......... 1.65 1.65 1.65 1.80 Barb wire, Galy., Pittsburgh*... 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.10 METALS, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Lake copper, New York........ 12.87% 12.75 12,8714413.00 Bilectrolytic copper, New York.. 12.7% 12.50. 12,621%412.90 Speltér, New -York............ 5.60 5.60 5.50 5.90 Spelter, St. Touls:............ 5.45 5.45 5.35 5.75 Lead; New York. ..........+0. 4.40 440 440 4.37% RN OR 6. onahsoh ae opvss 427%, 4.27% 4.380 4.25 as Ctr ws cme vad -.»-. 86.50 34.80 380.25 Antimony, Hallett, New York... 7.87% 7.87% 7.87% 8.30 GRR, PIO: WORK... + ccnckecnne 45.00 45.00 45.00 45.00 Tin plate, 100 lb., New York... $3.84 $3.84 $3.84 $3.74 * These prices are for largest lots to jobbers. Prices of Finished Iron and Steel f.o.b. Pittsburgh Freight rates from Pittsburgh in carloads, per 100 Wb.: New York, 16c.; Philadelphia, 15c.; Boston, 18c.; Buffalo, lic.; Cleveland, 10c.; Cincinnati, 15c.; Indianapolis, 17c. ; Chicago, 18c.; St. Paul, 32c.; St. Louis, 22%c.; New Or- leans, 30c.; Birmingham, Ala., 45¢e. 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 Material.—I-beams and channels, 3 to 15 in., inclusive, 1.40c. to 1.45c. net; I-beams over 15 in., 1.50c. to 1.55¢c. net; H-beams over 8 in., 1.55c. to 1.60c.; angles, 8 to 6 in., inclusive, 4 in. and up, 1.40c. to 1.45c. net; angles over 6 in., 1.50c. to 1.55e. net; angles, 3 in. on one or both legs, less than 4 in. thick, 1.45c.; plus full extras as per steel] bar card, effective September 1, 1909; tees, 3 in. and\up, 1.40c. to 1.45c. net; zees, 3 in. and up, 1.40c. to 1.45c. net; angles, channels and tees, under 3 in., 1.45c., October 13, 1910 base, plus full extras as per steel bar card of September 1, 1909; deck beams and bulb angles, 1.70c. to 1.75. ng: hand rail tees, 2.50c.; checkered and corrugated plate, 2.50c. net. Plates.—Tank plates, % in. thick, 6% in. up to 100 ip, wide, 1.40c. to 1.45c., base. Following are stipulations pre scribed by manufacturers, with extras to be added to bag price (per pound) of plates: Rectangular plates, tank steel or conforming to manufactyy. ers’ standard specifications for structural steel dated Feb 6, 1903, or equivalent, %-in. thick and over on thinnest edge, 10 in. wide and under, down to but not including 6 in. wide, ar ase. 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. lates over 72 in. wide ordered logs than 11 lb. per seu foot down to the weight of 3-16-in. take the price of 3-16-in. Allowable overweight, whether plates are ordered to ga or weight, to be governed by the standard specifications of the Association of American Steel Manufacturers. — under %-in. to and including 3-16-in. on nest edge........ Wiens 205 CARR iN eS whens: $0.10 Gauges under 3-16-in. to and including No. 8..... 15 Gauges under No. 8 to and including No. 9....... 25 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. and over in 2 Gakbtdd ESA Ea as cece cs cccece. 10 Complete circles, 3 ft. diameter and over........ .20 Boiler and flange steel............ sai ie 7-46 -10 “A. B. M. A.” and ordinary firebox steel........ .20 Sell). Dothoms.- BLOG: . sa iiwe or ices owe HSS Phos ones 30 DE GAs 6 «0.6 ace n0 300-0 oe Wein aL WEAN « o's 40 Locomotive firebox steel..........ceeeteseeueee 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...... 25 Widths over 125 in. up to 130 in., inclusive...... 50 Widths over. 180: Imi. fd ooo WiSUVid be Habits S 05% was 1.00 Cagting to lengths or diameters under 3 ft. to 2 EU, - SRO 2 we 3.5% ao Saks ch Ae ee eae se Cutting to lengths or diameters under 2 ft. to 1 SS... TRGEOR sss oo 0 54 hae cen oe se aes + J Cutting to lengths or diameters under 1 ft....... 1.55 t No charge for cutting rectangular plates to lengths 3 ft, and over. TermMs.—-Net cash 30 days. Sheets.— Makers’ prices for mill shipments on sheets in carload and larger lots, on which jobbers charge the usual | discounts for small lots from store, are as follows: Blue ar nealed sheets, Nos. 3 to 8, 1.60c.; Nos. 9 and 10, 1.65; Nos. 11 and 12, 1.70c.; Nos. 13 and 14, 1.T5c.; Nos. 5 and 16, 1.85¢. One pass, cold rolled, box annealed sheets: Nos. 15 and 16, 1.95¢.; Nos. 17 and 21, 2c.; Nos. 22 and 24, 2.05c.; Nos. 25 and 26, 2.10c.; No. 27, 2.15c.; No. 3 2.20c.; No. 29, 2.25c.; No. 30, 2.35c. Three pass, cold rolled sheets, box annealed; are as follows: Nos. 15 and 16, 2.05c.; Nos: 17 to 21, 2.10c.; ‘Nos. 22° to 24, 2.15¢.; Nos 25 and 26, 2.20c.; No. 27, 2.25¢.; No. 28, 2.30c. Gal nized sheets, Nos. 13 and 14, 2.45c.; Nos. 15 and 16, 2.50; Nos. 17 to 21, 2.45c.; Nos. 22 to 24, 2.85c.; Nos. 25 and 26, 2.95c. to 3c.; No. 27, 3.05. to B.10c.; No. 28, 3.20¢. ® 3.25¢.; No..29, 3.40c. to.3.45c.; No. 30, 3.60c. to 3.606 Painted reofing sheets, No. 28, $1.55 to $1.60 per squam Galvanized sheets, No. 28, $2.80 to $2.85 per square, for 2\-in. corrugations. All above prices are f.o.b. Pittsburgh, terms 30 days net, or 2 per cent. cash discount 10 day from date of invoice. Wrought Pipe.—The following are the jobbers’ cat load discounts on the Pittsburgh basing card on wro pipe, in effect from October 1: Butt Weld. '-—+Steel——, Iron. a Galt Pak. Gain yy, \, Oh sink «bie ai eee 7 ‘ gate re seas as ao 7° 68 71 59 E $0 Aerie 062. c Malas by 79 69 75 «6 FB BER inec aadiencante’s 1 oe OO 70 76 =~ (66 a eld, Matos AVA RES P18. (6B 72 24 toi Sian. cu dete eR SS. 78 68 74 83 OM hs @ Ath 5c cases Aer etre 77. - 67 73 55 Fe ne ote a 75 59 71 13616 th. es, BE, 51%. ¢ ” Butt Weld, extra strong, plain ends, card weights. 6 5h Bb Mien in axes ddl 69 59 65 64 et ae, 5 46 ard onhoe sane 74 68 70 68 RUE MA. ys t ete tr tea aee 78 72 74 69 2 to s in. aed. este cd v6 68s 9 ie ee nt eld, extra strong, ain ends, Cc fee ae eee ae es oe n..& BOG WS Oe oes ine ss oa hee 7. So. a BY TONG RES 50d... Ze 76 «= «70 oS 7, ROM: xs. ionis nn watts 69 59 65 50 ee es oe ok 54 t Butt Weld, double extra strong, plain ends, card we Mo. dive bc cts ot o Oe be He wo" fo Tw ims ec evens eneeees 67 61 63 O-« Rissa od 46.6 sehen Lap Weld, double extra strong, plain ends, card weight Mech be oees haces Rectan ee 57 a Saas ee 67 61 Ss | rt EE RES eae rt 60 62 a a2Fs Ff 2 SS =? ‘October 13, 1910 THE IRON AGE THE IRON AND METAL MARKETS Plugged and Reamed. 1 »> to 3 in. Butt -Weld { Will be sold at two (2) points lower basing (high- er price) than merchant or card weight pipe, Butt 9 4 in...Lap Weld(|or Lap Weld as specified. J » discounts are for “card weight,” subject to the mn of 5 per cent. Prices for less than carloads are nts lower basing (higher price) than the above dis- usual ¥ three counts Boiler Tubes.—Discounts on lap welded steel and char- iler tubes to jobbers in carloads are as follows: coal ir Steel. Lron. 1 to iF) « o.d o-0> ocpeh eines a:b OR iin « tebe aioe 49 43 1% , Ih. ccweeaeee shee Renee « ome ae 61 43 Dip iN... -cevcccessemen Mee CUS eT EES SS our eee 63 48 2% tO 5D IM. oe weg cenrew meee e ss cep ec agewnes 69 55 6 te Fe Cetra eh GA 5 semen. pri Rohe OS. 61 43 oY in. and smaller, over 18 ft., 10 per cent. net extra. 2%, in. and larger, over 22 it., 10 per cent, net extra. Less than carloads to destinations east of the Mississippi River will be sold at delivered discounts for carloads lowered by two points, for lengths 22 ft, and under; longer lengths, f.0.b. Pittsburgh j Wire Rods.—Bessemer, open hearth and chain rods, $28.50 Steel Rivets.—Structural rivets, 34-in. and larger, 1.90c., base; cone head boiler rivets, %4-in. and larger, 2¢., base ; & in, and 11-16-in. take an advance of 15c., and 4-in. and 9-16-in. take an advance of 50c.; in lengths shorter than l-in, also take an advance of 50c. Terms are 30 days, net cash, f.0.b mill. Pittsburgh Park BuILDING, October 12, 1910.—( By Telegraph.) Pig Iron.—Prices on basic have further declined and Bessemer iron is also very weak, with a practical certainty that the quotation of $15, Valley furnace, could be shaded 2ic. or more. We quote basic at $18.10, Valley furnace. No. 2 foundry is fairly strong at $14 and gray forge is about $13.25, both at Valley furnace. We note a sale of 500° tons of No. 2 foundry for November, December and January ship- ment at $14, Valley furnace, and 1000 tons of basic for No- vember and December at $13.10, Valley furnace, or $14, de- livered in Pittsburgh district. Steel.—New inquiry is confined to small lots up to 200 and 300 tons and reports are current. of offerings at low prices. It is stated that Bessemer billets have been offered over the next three or four months at $23 or less, but the mills absolutely deny making such quotations. The fact is that not enough business is coming out to test the market and what would be done on a firm offer of 5000 to 10,000 tons of billets for prompt shipment in problematical. It is certain, however, that on such an inquiry less than $24 would be named. Reports are that a Valley steel mill has sold 30,000 to 40,000 tons of Bessemer rod billets to a Western wire concern’ at a low price. Quotations on steel re nominally as follows: Bessemer 4-x 4 in. billets, $24 to 84.00; open hearth 4 x 4 in. billets, $24.50 to $25; Bes- set open hearth sheet and tin plate bars, $25; forging vets, S29 to $29.50, all f.0.b. cars Pittsburgh, Youngstown t Wheeling district. (By Maiti.) ne ‘ncouraging features of the market this week are a ” rders this month show an increase over the same es in September, and in some lines, notably pipe, sheets ded - products, the volume of new business is showing de- oe Aside from the above there is nothing of special ‘est, (he whole market apparently “ marking time,” wait- Interstate Commerce Commission hearings to be ment. n it is believed there will be a better buying move- nterer, © '8 20 disposition on the part of the large steel een ne and with orders coming in at only ") ber cent. of rated capacity the way prices are hold- remarkable, The Carnegie Steel Company is run- teres, tO per cent. of ingot capacity, but large steel 7H ..neherally are-operating at the raté of about 65 | Cent. Of capacity, This is being done With prac- * no help from the railroads in the way of orders. > wt)! market is dull, with prices showing a tendency “ ‘ower levels on Bessemer and basic. There is some be tran 2 but with furnaces asking more money ae 1911 delivery buyers are holding back and so ... uount of actual tonnage placed im this district in " next year is very light. The market on semi- ing dics ‘‘erials, such as billets and sheet and tin bars, is bf the "bed by offerings of open hearth steel by several teres, J! Outside mills at prices lower than the large eee inclined to meet. In finished iron and steel ng for the ver, w Ng up is hing to ically I he Dquiry hished ‘ : ttsburgh, ery a L ine of new business is holding up fairly well, bat on _ petition with outside mills, slightly lower prices are being some lines specifications are not coming in at a satisfactory rate. Ferrosilicon has reached. the lowest price for several years. Coke and scrap also continue dull. Ferromanganese.—There is not much new business being offered and prices are weak. A sale of 75 to 100 tons for delivery over the next three months is reported at about «$38.50, Baltimore. We quote foreign 80 pér cent. at $38.50 to $39, Baltimore; the rate to Pittsburgh being $1.95 a ton. Ferrosilicon.—This material, being in little demand at present, has reached the lowest prices for several years. One consumer reports buying a small lot at about $54.50, Pittsburgh. We quote 50 per cent. at $54.50 to $55, Pitts- burgh. We quote 10 per cent. blast furnace silicon at $23; 11 per cent., $24; 12 per ‘cent., $25, f.o.b. cars Jisco and Ashland furnaces. Skelp.—There is a fair amount of new inguiry, and local mills report they have entered considerable new busi- ness recently.. We note a sale of about 1500 tens of grooved iron skelp at about 1.70c., and 2000 tons of sheared iron plates at about 1.80c., Pittsburgh, to a local pipe mill for delivery over the next three months. We quote grooved steel skelp, 1.40c. to 1.45c.; sheared steel skelp, 1,50c. to 1.55c.; grooved iron skelp, 1.75c. to 1.80c., and sheared iron skelp, 1.85c. to 1.90e., all f.o.b. Pittsburgh, usual terms. Rods.—There is not much new inquiry, consumers being pretty well covered, but specifying at a fair rate against their contracts. The Jones & Laughlin Steel Company has placed its new rod mill at Aliguippa on double. turn and has been favored with some nice orders for rods. We quote Bes- semer, open hearth and chain rods at $28.50, Pittsburgh. Muck Bar.—The muck bar mills of the Wilkes Rolling Mill Company at.Sharon, Pa., and the Wheeling Steel & Iron Company at Wheeling, W. Va., were started up last week. The consumption of muck bar seems to be increasing and the. available supply in the open market is limited. Prices are firm and we quote best grades, rolled from all pig iron, at $29 to $29.50, Pittsburgh. Steel Rails.—Reports are that the Pennsylvania Rail- road engineers are now figuring on.the rails required for this syst