The Iron Age 1910-12-08: Vol 86 Iss 23

Published Every Thursday by the DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 14-18 Park Place, New York Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Mail Matter. Subsc Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 per Ai to Canada, SS ses Deketan to Other Foreign Countries, $10 0.00 per™ Annum. Single Ccpies, 20 Cents. Guar.es T. Roor, 2 _ = e - PRESIDENT W. H. TAYLOR, * - — ‘TREASURER AND GENERAL MANAGER Harovo S. BUTTENHEIM, = - = - - SECRETARY Geo. W. Cope, - ° : e DITORS A. |. Fanovey, - - - - - H. R. CoBLeicH, - - : - - MECHANICAL EDITOR Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building Pittsburgh, Park Building Cleveland, American Trust Building Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Building Milwaukee, 416 Engineering Building. CONTENTS. Baitorial : PAGE. Cutting Down Pig Iron Output..........ceeceeeess 1287 High Quality Steel and Iron Ore Exhaustion. <4 term 1288 Joint Debates at Salesmen’s Meetings..... So eescesse 1288 The President and the Anti-Trust Law............. 1289 CORGGINE Fete PAMILOUION . os ck cece cc cccnseveccetes 1289 Courtesy In Correspondence..........sceeeseceesecs 1289 October a Good Month for Exports...........+.+:. «++ 1289 A Blow at Usurious Loans to Workmen.......... ++ 1290 OURO iyi. waka ob doth ba an eae couns piisben eee 1290 Coal Washing and Drying at Sydney, Nova Scotia........ 1291 Pennsylvania Corporation Figures............eeseeeeee8 1291 ee ORCUTT NDS iid c egW0 ssc Seas Sede vovcdrseate 1291 Pig Iron Production. Illustrated... ..........eeeeeeeee> 1292 A Structural Fabricating Plant at Denver..........+++.- 1293 Opening of the Mechanical Engineers’ Convention........ 1294 The Connecticut Valley Mctal Trades Association........ 1294 The Iron and Metal Market Reports............+. 1295 to 1305 pat and TaGaeren) Blocks. i. 5 bi Sain k's Sd bee Seeker's 1305 OG: GG) PN aie 8 als da hin w ocd On Ooo RS NA oop. Bi *, es 1805 aa. DOGiD. Oi” BBIIMEOR. o.oo 6 ces 0 be wwe w ee 06 1305 The Pittsburgh Steel Company’s New Blast Furnaces..... 1306 The Machinery Market Reports.......++.+++++++++1807 to 1315 Returning Goods to Manufacturers.............. cnc cnn oe To Push Pittsburgh’s Industrial Growth..............-. 1815 Eclipse Concrete Mixers at New York Cement Show...... 1315 OESY. eb ap Ramer weirdness i 64 cubic ess wae NOON so eer sco 6a BwUN CTL STe RV Oe ives essen: 1588 Exports Under the Drawback Law ok 6k sb bea ce meee aca 1317 A New Metal Tempering Process. ........-.-+seeeeeee8s 1318 enpOnl “NE o rn et. cence we Ce epepess 1318 jawade Publicstioway i) oxis o.. Foci dees eee sibde bVe%es ++ 1319 Scandinavian Progress in Blectrometallurgy. ices Maes .. 1320 The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades........ 1320 A New Crucible Steel iry Machin CU WEU SCRE ET Uae iss ees 1320 The Royersford Foundry achine Company’s sericanees anne i ME ee er eeveewess The Chemists’ Club Building. ........+sesssecescsecees 1320 A New Manville Power Pron, Tllustrated..... 1321 The Gyroscope and Its Useful Possibilities Ti, illus: ;.. 1322 | Steel Manufacturers Confer on Trade Conditions......... 1325 '’ Lake Superior Iron Ore Shipments...........0+--e0+++ 1325 ' The Lebanon Valley Fernace Sold,............-+0++ee0+ 1 United States Navy Motor and Cortroller Specifications. 1326 Mining Extension Work by the School of Mines of Pennsyl- vania State College..........e2+sse+e008 Man aa ibe »» 1826 Awards of the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal............- -- 1826 os Industrial Training of Boys.—I..........0e500+ os see troit-Fenestra Exhibit at the Cement aii cn cigsss ese 1829 Ingram-Richardson Enameled Signs.............«..++ oot The Ore and Flue Dust Briquett “ss Illustrated i dda ws oi i Ned Pittsburgh Foundrymen’s Associati CRESS ST oe 1331 t e Southern Iron & Steel Company's Deficit Si Rls se 090 8% 1331 nited States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund.......... 1332 The Battleship and Collier B as oa eee hee dea ving . 1833 eading German Steel Manufacturér on the American ie gta apr al yy ere «s+ 18838 ane Hilliard & Richards Friction Clutch. Illustrated..... 1334 + e Baird Sheet Metal and Wire Reels. eee yer 1335 A Nu uehouse Meckize Company Financing........... -+- 1885 P Th w, Dlectric W. Process. a 4 eibep 446 <cnek ee The Waltham Bench read M Tilustrated...... «+. 1887 e Vulean and Shears. Illustrated 1338 The G Hercules Hand =e taco ~y S-- Gete Valve. Illustrated............+++. 1 The Pe sneer ite nee od Iillustrated......... Current Metal Prices orks Company ere eee eee een eee eee oe ee 1340 oat 1 Yom. eanoenber 8 1910 Cutting Dome: n Pig tie ‘Output - Further Restriction Promised This Month More Rolling Mills on a 50 Per Cent. Basis— Record Lake Ore Shipments November pig iron production was 1,909,780 tons for coke and anthracite iron—the smallest month’s out- put since May, 1909. No other month since June of last year has fallen below the 2,000,000 ton mark. The daily average last month was 63,659 tons, against 67,- 520 tons in October. The shrinkage in steel works fur- nace output is responsible for all the falling off; mer- chant furnaces, under the alternation of slower and faster driving which has prevailed for some weeks, making slightly more iron per day in November than in October. The net decrease in active blast furnaces in Novem- ber was 13. Other furnaces will give up the struggle before the end of the year. Even with the more rapid curtailment of the past month, stocks continue to in- crease. The United States Steel Corporation is now operating 54 per cent. of its blast furnace capacity, against 55 per cent. one week ago. Pig iron production December 1 -was at the rate of about 22,750,000 tons a year, or 1,600,000 tons less than on November 1. An output of 27,200,000 te 27,- 300,000 tons is now indicated for 1910, or 1,400,000 to 1,500,000 tons more than the record made in 1909. Of this increase fully half has been added to stocks. Pig iron producers have followed to a most undesirable ex- tent the policy so long an incubus on the copper in- dustry. The pig iton market is settling further into dull- ness. Buying has not stopped, but consumers are less inclined to contract, while sellers must offer special inducements to get business. Foundry operations are slowing down, and while here and there iron is being bought for the first half, such transactions are the exception, while inquiry for the second half is much rarer. Southern iron is sold at $11 for first quarter and first half, and $10.75, Birmingham, is reported to have been touched for spot iron. One sale of 5000 tons of basic iron from the Val- leys has been made to a Chicago district steel works, and low prices are reported on sales of Valley basic to Western steel foundries. At St. Louis a 10,000-ton sale of Southern basic was made to a steel foundry. Further slackening of steel works and rolling mill operations has resulted from a falling off both in speci- fications and new orders, and an increasing number of mills are working at 50 per cent. of capacity. Structural steel is just now the most promising line, At Chicago, with the adoption of the new building code, work will soon be begun calling for 50,000 tons sii a ee wi UCA) and h te SR sta — agate “fe Dig cara haa 2 Nee ene eee eee ene tn ee ee ea Pa’ won ee eres een odeedtinediniaianiaemmmnatenaadeie in teenie Te ta Ek ed DPE ie ABIES Blt te MO age ere and a ee —— + aac euandiadinenin cdheaacnienatl niet cieanieaaaia tala aaelacniat aaa Shee aia natalie er a sate Sy pet WPA Rae Toes 119 Hig) % a ea Raia ee ee ard 1288 THE IRON AGE of steel, including 10,000 to 12,000 tons for the In- surance Exchange Building. At Two Harbors, Minn., the new Duluth & Iron Range Railroad dock will re- quire 9500 tons. In New York the extension of the Second and Third Avenue Elevated lines will call for 15,000 tons of rails and a large amount of structural steel. The outlook for lake shipyards this winter has improved with the placing of three ore boats, one for the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company and two for the United States Steel Corporation. A Pittsburgh ore interest is negotiating for two vessels 615 ft. long, which will be the largest on the lakes. About 30,000 tons of plates and shapes will be needed for the five boats. The Standard Oil Company has also placed vessel contracts which will require a considerable tonnage of plates. For the new battleship, which will be built at Newport News, 12,700 tons of plates will be required, including 2200 tons of protective deck plates. New rail orders include one of 5000 tons, taken at Chicago, and 10,500 tons for the Nashville, Chat- tanooga & St. Louis, to be rolled at Ensley, while the division of 20,000 tons for the Reading Railroad between the Pennsylvania Steel and Bethlehem com- panies is practically assured. The West Chester Rail- road is in the market for 5300 tons. Sheet prices have been yielding under closer com- petition. A meeting of sheet manufacturers will be held at Pittsburgh December 8. Lake Superior iron ore shipments made a new record in the season just closed, at 42,620,000 tons, an increase of 936,000.tons over the shipments of 1909 down the lakes. High Quality Steel and Iron Ore Exhaustion In all recent discussions of the question of iron ore supply the disposition has been to combat the idea that an ore famine is impending, or is even a probability one or two or three generations later. Ina general way Prof. Henry M. Howe, in an article reviewed in these columns some months ago, indicated that even on the more obvious considerations which are usually given prominence, and the fact that only a small part of the earth’s crust has been explored for ore, the expected life of our iron deposits has been increased from dec- ades to centuries. He pointed out, also, what has never been given consideration in ore articles, that an incalculable amount of material which is not ore to-day will have become ore by the time the need appears. Following closely on Professor Howe’s signal con tribution came the elaborate volume prepared by the Executive Committee of the Eleventh International Geological Congress, held at Stockholm, Sweden, in Au- gust. Its estimates for all the iron ore producing coun- tries of the world, or countries in which ore is known to exist in quantity, were based on data furnished by geological surveys and by experts in mining geology. These gave a total of 22,408,000,000 tons of “actual reserves ” and 123,377,000,000 tons of “ potential re- serves,” the last item being reinforced by an estimated addition of “many thousands of millions.” The im- pression given by this volume was that an incalculable abundance of iron ore may be counted upon, in spite of the counter effect of the editors’ observation that Decembe “the supply hitherto known of actual (iron re. sources would not be sufficient for 200 years o: .. position that the production of pig iron rem 1 as tionary "—or at about 60,000,000 toms a yea world. An interesting contribution to the discuss S the paper by W. H. Herdsman, of Glasgow, read : ecent) before the West of Scotland Iron and Stee! titute. as given in The Jron Age of December 1. 1 vriter considers primarily the sources of ore supply be open to the British steel maker in the neare: but makes some suggestive comment that is application to the United States and other « In connection with the commonly accepted e» of low phosphorus iron ore deposits and the « iron content of such ores, Mr. Herdsman | that the drain on the acid ore resources will b by the use of other metalliferous minerals. H to the iron-chrome-nickel ores found by hund millions of tons in Greece and Cuba as likely t the steel maker in part with the higher grade | which will be increasingly demanded in the near jutur How far alloy steels will be a factor in modifying the rate at which iron ores are being used is a questi which definite statement is impossible. But Mr. Herds- man’s suggestion is directly pertinent to the situatior the United States, in view of the use of iron-chrome- nickel ores by two Eastern steel companies, and of the tests of open hearth rails made from such ores, show- ing four times the life of Bessemer steel rails. It need not be expected that progress in the use of higher grade steel for structural and railroad service will be rapid or revolutionary. But developments such as the coming in of the nickel-chrome iron ores ci Cuba is bringing, and that signalized recently by the acquisition by one interest of the Heroult electric furnace rights for the United States, point to an 1n- creasing emphasis upon quality rather than quantity in t 1 i the production of steel. The bearing, this will hav upon the problem of iron ore supply is well worthy oi being taken into account along with the kindred con- siderations of rapidly growing use of ferro-concret and the yearly increasing amount of scrap metal re- turning to the melting furnaces. All will have their part in modifying the geometric ratéo which has been so freely used in computing the exhaustion of our stores of iron ore. Joint Debates at Salesmen’s Meetings The New England selling forces of the several co! stituent companies of the United States Steel Corp tion have inaugurated a series of monthly conferences which have proved highly beneficial to those in a tendance, notably because of a system of debate: deal- ing with trade topics of live importance. Two men are designated to present papers, taking opposite sides of such questions as that of the last meeting, “Shall 4 Contract Be a Contract?” Each prepares the best brief of which he is capable, drawing upon his ow® experiences and those of others. The result has been that, while the first of a pair of papers has seemed 50 convincing that no adequate reply appeared possible, at the end of the answering discourse the opinion 2s the merits of the question has veered with some 0 the listeners. General discussion follows sharp up the closing words of the second paper. Debate, som ‘r 8, 1910 I Jece! ated, brings out the strong points and the of the arguments. A well-grounded basis of is established, and men are strengthened in lity to handle their customers and thus made luable. Many organizations of office men, ndents and foremen are fostered by Amer- ufacturing companies. The formal paper or ate might be adopted by many of them to antage. The President and the Anti-Trust Law ong sentiment exists in favor of amending or the Sherman anti-trust act, as in its present s regarded as a serious check to legitimate Representations to this effect have undoubt- made to President Taft, and his message to was therefore awaited with much interest to it he might have to say on this subject. He ivoided it, but discusses it as follows: iot now recommend any amendment to the anti- In other words, it seems to me that the existing with reference to the regulation of corporations estraint of their business has reached a point where ip for a while and witness the effect of the vigor- tion of the laws on the statute books in restraining s which certainly did exist and which roused the lemand 1eform. If this test develops a need for islation, well and good, but until then let us exe- we have. Due to the reform movements of the ‘ade, there has undoubtedly been a great improve- usiness methods and standards. These will doubt- de clearer by the decisions of the Supreme Court pending before it, reat body of business men of this eountry, those responsible for its commercial development, now amest desire to obey the law and to square their business to its requirements and limitations. ve it to be in the interest of all the people of the hat for the time being the activities of government, mn to enforcing the existing law, be directed toward my of administration and the enlargement .of op- s for foreign trade, the conservation and improve- ur agricultural lands, the building up of home in- and the strengthening of confidence of capital in nvestment. itself to It may not please those who were view of the situation commends il men, to-see a recommendation that the law be swept statute books nor those who would enjoy a claration that the law will not only be enforced ' extent but that it ought to be made even more "he President has taken what seems to be a osition The con- under the circumstances. | of the act is now before the Supreme Court no distant day the country will know precisely caring it has on important interests and how es in affecting a much wider range of business Meanwhile, it is well to wait. The language the President in reference to this matter is tem- udicial and calculated to promote confidence in om. Canadian Tariff Agitation agitation for lower duties in Canada is becom- re pronounced. A representative body of farm- the vicinity of Goderich, Ontario, met in that ‘ome days ago and passed a resolution in favor reduction, naming fatm implements, cement, . Wire, cotton, woolens and clothing in general. cember 16 a Western farmers’ deputation, 1000 ., will visit Ottawa to petition for a lowering of lies on agricultural implements and othet articles. anadian agriculturists appear to be especially in- THE IRON AGE 1289 sistent on the reduction of prices on the manufactured articles which they consume. They have not abated from the position they took in the summer when Pre- mier Laurier made his tour through Northwest Can- ada. Courtesy in Correspondence Recently a large foreign dealer, requiring what would ordinarily be designated as a “big lot of ma- chinery,” wrote for prices to various manufacturers. A reply from an American firm read about as follows: “Yours at hand. State exactly what you want and we Yours, This letter was merely glanced at and then will see if we-can meet your requirements. &c.” thrown aside. Another letter, received from a French maker, was a lengthy communication, with the cus- tomary complimentary introduction and expressions of appreciation for having been called upon for goods by the honored correspondent. The letter went quite fully into the details and merits of various products and closed with assurances of the highest considera- tion. The dealer read this letter twice and then issued the order, “ Buy all our machinery of that firm.” No investigation was entered into as to the comparative One letter had produced a favorable impression and the merits of the products of the two manufacturers. resulting conclusion that the firm could not act other- wise than honorable, while the other letter provoked the feeling that the writer’s firm was composed of barbarians, who did not even know how to write po- litely. American correspondence is becoming more and more condensed. Brevity in business letter writing is constantly aimed at, and so well is this understood in our own country that those handling large correspond- ence favor letters written in the fewest lines. It saves the time of the recipient in reading as well as the time of the to indulge in much polite verbiage in business+letters, and an American in corresponding with foreign buyers will find, as in the case cited, that a few introductory and closing courteous lines are not a profitless waste of good English but are often potent in conjuring up profitable business. As Lucullus had it,“ a kind word is better than a fat pie,” and an introduction creating a favorable impression at the onset is one of the best foundations for future agreeable business relations. sender. Foreigners, however, are accustomed October a Good Month for Exports Our foreign trade in October was very heavy, The total exports attained a value of $207,713,086, while the imports aggregated $124,046,150. The exports were larger than in October of last year, and the imports were smaller. The gain in exports was largely due to a heavier outward movement of manufactured goods. This is gratifying, in view of the rather caustic criti- cisms which are so frequently made of our faulty methods in cultivating the export trade in manufac- tured products. When such exports reach a total of $45,748,873 in one month, as they did in October, there would seem to be some energy and intelligence applied to the cultivation of foreign markets by American manufacturers. Another feature of the October move- ment was the heavy balance in favor of this country, the excess of exports over imports amounting to $83,- ae nee A Se Seinen ee Pens ~ wh ere a = Fe ANGLE AG | mtg inn 6 A cer 9 4 A oe eee Se eg iP lpg eA Sate Age: hele rime Ak gO ' | ¥ on See Ps . NE Ra SAM Tig? 5a Na Si i Si ty lic a a a aN Rca ae gee keh 1290 THE IRON AGE 666,936. Thus has the unsatisfactory condition of our foreign trade, as shown in the summer months, cor- rected itself. It is to be hoped that this condition of affairs will continue. The business and financial in- terests of this country have enough adverse influences to contend with at this time without the additional un- pleasant experience of piling up indebtedness abroad. Financial ease is much more certain if the international trade balance is in our favor. A Blow at Usurious Loans to Workmen The Supreme Court of Massachusetts has handed down a decision declaring constitutional the law which requires that a license be secured from the local author- ities if a person is to engage in the business of making loans of $200 or less at a rate of more than 12 per cent. per annum interest. Every employer of labor must wel- come governmental control of a form of usury which has many annoyances for those who disburse wages. The act in question has been bitterly fought by the makers of such loans, for it is a serious blow to the practice. Local governments are given the right to ' regulate the maximum interest which can be collected, and the penalty of the violation of these regulations is the loss of the license. Any regulation of a practice which has compelled many manufacturers to post no- tices making an assignment of wages sufficient cause for immediate dismissal should be copied generally by other States. The constitutions and statutes of the several commonwealths are sufficiently similar to make the Massachusetts decision applicable to the country as a whole, where like statutes are in force. Correspondence How Business Depression Should Be Met To the Editor: Events which have since occurred in- dicate to me a gradually increasing acceptance by the financial, mercantile and manufacturing public of J. J. Hili’s opinion that we are in for a prolonged period of diminished business activity, and what such experiences have in the past entailed in the way of enforced econ- omies most of us know, though it is possible that some of us who went through the 1893 depression have forgotten. Long before the end of the impending period of dimin- ished business activity is reached the significance of the concluding paragraph of your financial review in your issue of November 24 will be realized by all hands; at present, however, quite a number of business men recog- nize the potentialities inherent in the situation pointed . out by President Hepburn; but they delude themselves, in my opinion, with the idea that “this storm won’t last long.” THE CAUSE OF DIMINISHING ACTIVITY. Men of this class seem to me to shut their eyes to the fact so often pointed out by J. J. Hill during the last several years, and emphasized in his utterances of No- vember 27—4, e., that the cause of the impending re- adjustment of prices, values, &c., is our persistence in flying in the face of nature’s laws for a long time. He has repeatedly warned us that the loss of efficiency evi- denced by our decreased output per capita, accompanied by steadily rising prices and entailing an ever increasing cost of living, could not go on forever, and that it would automatically bring about a cure. _ Under the old dispensation—that is, during the era of the unrestrained and in effect ignorant application of the individualistic principle—the first remedy to be re- sorted to would have been a reduction in the wage rate; indeed, the financial writer for the Sun seems to think that this remedy should be applied now; that it should December &, i919 precede all others. But this remedy is not of sich easy application as was formerly the. case. The labor unions are a fact to be taken into consideration. They yi. formly evince a decided distaste to this particular form of remedy for the ills of the body politic. In view of their attitude, the fact must be faced that reductio: of the wage rate as a cure will be the last remedy, not the first, to be applied. OTHER REMEDIES THAN WAGE CUTTING. Luckily we are not without other remedies ajplicable as “first aid to the injured,” as I shall attempt to show further on. The world has progressed since 1893 in respect of its knowledge of the evil effects of tlhe unre strained application of the individualistic principle. The word “ progressive ” does not necessarily mean a social- ist at that; it may mean a paternalist in the sense that it is the Christian duty of the intelligent man to educate or protect his less fortunate brother; and nowhere are real education and sympathy more needed than with labor unions. Nowhere are larger dividends obtainable by the application of these two remedies in the shape of increased output and industrial peace than from labor unions. Labor unions have come to stay, and should be cultivated (educated). But if there be any of your readers who believe that they are the root of all industrial evil; that they should be smitten hip and thigh, and that consequently cutting the wage rate should be the first remedy to be applied in order to restore the patient to a normal condition, | would ask them to pause and consider some facts which they may not be aware of; or, if aware of them, which they may not understand the logical effect of, but with which, however, every broad-gauge employer of labor is conversant. One of these facts is that the most fallacious principle which labor unions attempt to apply has been, in effect, taught them by their employers; by the very people to whose care they were in natural order of things entitled to look. A FLAT RATE OF WAGES AN ERROR. I refer to their refusal to “grade” their men; which takes the form of a flat rate for all their members in total disregard of the fact that all men are not equal; to their thus premiumizing inefficiency. And this is about as serious a charge as can be laid against any one, but especially against organizations whose “ leitmotif ” is supposed to be the “elevation of labor.” In your issue of October 18, 1910, you commented upon and reproved the practice of employers who cut price rates so soon as a man’s efficiency has resulted in his earning more than the “flat rate” which they thought ought to be the limit of a man’s wages. This practice is the father of the labor unions’ idea of not grading théir members. The first employer ~who started this vicious practice and all employers who have copied him have thereby penalized efficiency; have shown their men that it did not pay to be efficient—at least, not with a boss who practiced an ignorant trick like this. Now if the em- ployer, who is supposedly the most intelligent man around a factory, is ignorant enough to fly in the face of nature by penalizing efficiency, is he at least not debarred from inveighing against the man or organization ignorant enough to fly in the face of nature by premiumizing efficiency? And there you have the case in a nutshell of the average employer versus the average labor unio. There are exceptions in both classes, but, by and large, the majority in each class comes under that heading. And it is these ignoramuses who are responsible for most of the trouble. As above said, I hold the employing lass as most responsible, because they should know better. In expressing the foregoing opinions I am not ignorant of the many injustices practiced by labor unions against employers, and quite often to their own detriment. Per- haps if the new methods had not placed such a wide gulf between employer and employed, or perhaps if those over the men more often had a disposition and ability t talk to their men in explanation of what is to the latter incomprehensible with their limited knowledge, strikes would be less frequent. I know that has been my experl- ence, and I have been an employer of labor in a modest Decerber 8, 19fO way )ractieally all my life; and never had a suspicion of th shadew of a strike. GRADING OF MEN CAN BE DONE. Bui if labor unions do refuse to grade their men that oust; utes no reason why intelligent employers should not grade them. It bas been done in many shops—union shops. | mean. It can be done in almost any shop in which the employer is intelligent enough to apply effi- ciency methods, or even thoroughly intelligent piece work methods; but the confidence of the men in the boss not heing itieted with the flat rate microbe is a sine qua non. The |ocomotive engineers’ union is a standing monument to the fact that not all labor unions are ignorant enough to attempt to set nature’s laws at defiance. Locomotive engineers are graded, in effect, and by their union at that. This is the kind of union welcomed by intelligent employers. I am told that the railroads would fight for it any time, and that they bonus efficiency besides— that is. they regrade their engineers and no objection by the union, | think that too little thought is given to the influence f example in some of the things our large corporations do, and especially is this the case in respect to some of our so-called legislation in favor of labor. Take, for instance, the laws which make the eight-hour day obligatory on all contractors on public work in this State; how any real friend of labor, or how any real friend of the class upon whom labor depends for employment could help such legislation aloug is more than I can understand. Of course, this law adds 25 per cent., or, at least, 15 per cent., to the cost of all contracts at once; what this means on Only three contracts is readily decipherable. I refer to the $50,000,000 worth of good road contracts, the $100,000,000 Erie Canal contracts and the New York subway contracts now about to be placed. Outside of this is the effect of such legislation upon the efficiency shown in private contracts. Theoretically a man when working for a contractor on private work will increase his output at least pro rata as the in- creased hours on such work are to the hours on public works; as a matter of fact, he does nothing of the kind. The effect of such legislation is practically to establish an eight-hour day all around, And that I am not alone in this view is evidenced by the attitude taken by the German Government when a petition was presented to it to shorten hours on some public work; the answer was, in effect, that it would be both economically unwise as well as morally unjust for the Government to use general assets to demoralize private activities. LABOR PAYS FOR RESTRICTIVE LEGISLATION. Of course, labor pays for this sort of thing, even if it doesn’t know it; it shows up in rent and other items going to make up the increased cost of living. And if any one should set the public, its citizens, a good example, surely it is their government, and next in order of im- portance its largest business interests—the railroads. Co- operation with business, by repealing some of this in- defensible legislation, would be a boon just now. To- (day's Times says the eight-hour law is affecting the bat- tleship contractors. When coddling labor unions results in affecting the nation’s safety it is nearly time to throw in the reversing lever. The socialist, Briand, who heads the French Cabinet, refused to stand for that sort of thing and he was upheld. Have we no Briand anywhere ‘in authority? Surely a better time than right now in Which to get matters back upon a sound, economic basis could not be expected. Very truly yours, Max H. C. BroMBacHER. ‘New Yorx, December 5, 1910. Possibilities in Railroad Economies ‘ the Editor: I notice with interest what you say in urrent issue of your paper in relation to economy °n riilroads. While I haye made no calculations and eithered no data, I think the statement as to the amount °l s\vings which could be made is not at all exaggerated. [have had a rather large experience in the designing and ‘iaking of parts for cars, and numberless instances the THE IRON AGE 1291 could be given in which a saving could be made. And these points of saving as a rule are cumulative. I have no hesitancy in saying that there are thousands of in- stances in which differences of design are absolute fool- ishness. Any one conversant with car construction could point this out on every hand. We have heard a good deal about standardizing among the railroad people, but let me say that this is practically all nonsense. I could almost number on my fingers the articles in freight car construction which are standard. And this applies not only as between different roads, but to the equipment on single railroads. I have in mind one road which is overcoming this trouble so far as it is concerned, but taken in general the thing is simply ridiculous, and no well-conducted individual business es- tablishment would ever think of such a conglomeration of tweedledee and tweedledum as exists on our steam railroads. And the possibility for savings here is only one among many. Jas. H, BAKER, PrrrTsBuRGH, Pa., December 2, 1910. NO Coal Washing and Drying at Sydney, Nova Scotia. —Several English companies and two American com- panies have made offers to the Dominion Steel Cor- poration, Sydney, Nova Scotia, for the installing of the plant to wash the entire slack coal output of the corporation’s mines. The coal washing plant which the corporation now has at work was built by Heyl & Patterson, Pittsburgh. The now projected plant will cost about $200,000. The corporation will not award the contract until it has concluded some experiments it is now conducting at Sydney with a coal drier. If the experimental plant works out as it is expected to do the water contents in the washed coal will be reduced to § per cent. or less, and certain impurities will be eliminated to the great improvement of the coal for the purpose of coking. ————@+-e————— Pennsylvania Corporation Figures-—The close of the fiscal year of the State of Pennsylvania shows an interesting condition in the incorporation of new com- panies. Several hundred were chartered and over 250 companies increased their capital. The receipts from bonus on charter capital and subsequent increases ag- gregated $1,151,092.15, which is one-third of one per cent. of the capital authorized. This item of revenue was $634,826.60 greater than the same source of in- come in 1909 and means that over $200,000,000 more was invested in new corporations in Pennsylvania in 1910 than in the year before. The increase of capital was general, although a number of iron and steel con- cerns were heavy contributors to the total. —~+-e——___ The Foreign Rail Trade.—An increase in rail in- quiries is noted by the London Jronmonger which says that the business in prospect includes 11,000 tons for the East Indian Railway, 6500 tons for the Bombay & Baroda Railway and 4500 tons for the Bengal & North Western Railway. There are some vague in- quiries about also, one being for 10,000 tons for Servia, but this is hardly likely to come to British works. The Belgian State Railways have placed orders for 30,000 tons of rails and accessories with Belgian works. A New South Wales inquiry amounts to 8000 tors and a like tonnage is asked for by the Great Indian Penin- sula Railway. Birmingham, Ala., advices state that Douglas H. Gordon of the Baltimore Trust Company, and Joshua Levering, also of Baltimore, have been elected di- rectors of the Alabama Consolidated Coal & Iron Com- pany for the ensuing year. This company was at one time controlled by Baltimore interests, and the elec- tion of these directors tends to the belief that Balti- more people are again becoming la.gely interested in it. pronawes apnenemetpencrcmmatasnctin nin tte eit ENE ACCME COLLEEN CIC COLE ALLL LOLI EN LAO A : : Sep Asay Bila Scone. il any. Mieke EE dg esd La ae aareke 1292 THE IRON AGE Decembe: Pig Iron Production The Decline Proceeding More Rapidly The November Rate Nearly 4000 Tons a Day Less Than That of October The statistics of pig iron production show an ac- celerating rate of decrease. Ji November (30 days) the output of coke and anthracite iron was 1,909,780 gross tons, or 63,659 tons a day, against 2,093,121 tons in October (31 days), or 67,520 tons a day. Steel works furnaces made all the curtailment of last month. In fact, the merchant furnaces showed about 500 tons a day increase over their October rate, and this with a decreasing number of furnaces. In recent months there have been unusual fluctuations of output in the same furnace due to the alterations of slower and faster driving and to occasional bankings. The net loss in the number of active furnaces between Novem- ber 1 and December 1 was 13, to which the steel works furnaces contributed 7 and the merchant furnaces 6, though, as is well known, the capacity represented by the 7 is much greater than that of the 6. The daily capacity of the 217 coke and anthracite furnaces active December 1 was 61,279 tons, which compares with 65,826 tons a day for 230 furnaces on November 1. Estimating charcoal iron, the produc- tion of pig iron at the beginning of December was at the rate of about 22,750,000 tons a year, or 1,600,000 tons a year less than on November Daily Rate of Production The daily rate of production of coke and anthracite pig iron by months, beginning with 1909, is as follows: Daily Rate of Pig Iron Production by Months.—Gross Tons. Steel works. Merchant. Total. November, 1909............. 56,333 28.584 84,917 December .... x0 .... 57,058 27,964 85,022 January, 1910. La Sewn 57,200 26,948 84,148 Pepruery. ......; ca aie 6 Dae 27,740 85,616 March .... : yao Rae eb . 56,113 28,346 84,459 Bs ada'e ds dts < 4b Bik dkso Se 27,129 82,792 DNC ih othe bess as sabe «0 0° 92,235 77,102 Me 9S ckts oes RUS a. 51,637 75,516 EE chase Sn oh Te 7.183 69,305 oe ae ca ee 6S BREE 46,534 67, 963 September . «ea ‘ -«+« 47,007 October SE Ar ere oe 45,794 November November Output by Districts The table below gives the production of all coke and anthracite furnaces in November and the four months preceding: Yonthly Pig Iron Production.—Gross Tons. July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. (31 days) (31 days) (30 days) (31 days) (30 days) New York.... 162,901 158,666 148,999 147,894 142,610 New Jersey... 18.962 19.177 18,773 19,115 18,284 Lehigh Valley. ~ 61,014 63,878 63.919 69,327 62,161 Schuylkill Val. 61,340 64,926 60,689 61.673 54.642 Lower Susque- hanna and Lebanon Val. 60,043 54,442 53,750 54,072 50.370 Pittsburgh dis. 502,711 5 10.352 505/842 507508 445083 Shenango Val. 113,280 1 13,500 108,114 112,026 82.904 West. Penn... 15 297 786 116,117 115,622 126,098 87.568 Md., Va. and Kentucky ... 75,051 T6477 68,398 67,926 58.772 Wheeling dis. 73,164 68,341 74,143 76.581 84,390 Mahoning Val. 215,282 211,575 201,986 202,667 180.717 Central and North. Ohio. 139.627 122,960 111,958 117,902 108.599 Hocking Valley, ; Hanging Rock and S.W.Ohio. 30,163 32,490 27,657 24,029 25,008 Mich.,Minn.,Mo., 3 Wis.,Col..Wash. 65,863 66,096 63,935 72,825 78.927 Chicago dis... 264,136 258,145 259,672 246,504 239.469 Alabama .... 143,313 140,015 148,755 160,077 165.512 Tenn., Georgia and Texas... 31,806 29,690 24.563 26.897 24.764 Totals. . 2,148,442 2,106,847 2,056,275 2,093,121 1,909,780 The net decrease in the number of active furnaces between November 1 and December 1 was 13. The list of furnaces blown out includes one Niagara in the Buffalo district, Musconetcong in New Jersey, one Saucon in the Lehigh Valley, one Swede in the Schuyl- kill Valley, one Duquesne, two Edgar Thomso: 1d one Isabella in the Pittsburgh district, New Cast 4 in the Shenango Valley, one Cambria and Jose: ine jy western Pennsylvania, Princess in Virginia, Bell aire in the Wheeling district, two Ohio in th: hon- ing Valley, one Joliet in Illinois, Alice and one Ensle » Alabama, Napier and Silver Creek in Geor Among furnaces blown in last month were Pax- ton in the Lower Susquehanna Valley, Martin Ferry in the Wheeling district, Hamilton in the !\anging Rock district, one Gary in Indiana, one Colo Citico in Tennessee. Capacity in Blast December 1 and Novembe: The following table shows the daily capacit naces in blast December 1 and November | hese figures are based largely on the performanc: the furnaces in the past two months: Coke and Anthracite Furnaces in Blast and Capacit Tons. fotal -—-December 1.—, —Nove Location number Number Capacity Number of furnaces. of stacks. in blast. per day. in blast New Yerk: Buffalo .... jou sae 12 4,067 13 $135 Other New Yerk.... 7 3 565 3 nD New Jersey. 7 2 508 2 139 Spiegel ....... 2 Pennsylvania : Lehigh Valley......25 11 1,942 12 746 Spiegel a> ae 1 81 1 0) S chuy Ikill Valley. ..i6 6 1,762 7 Low. Susquehanna. 7 5 R61 4 S02 Lebanon Valley....19 6 820 6 S47 Pittsburgh district, .50 34 13,686 38 1483 Spiegel ......<:. 3 1 120 1 114 Shenango Vallev...20 +3] 2,625 10 5,226 Western Penn..... 27 12 2,769 14 295, MaTYInMe 075.6 o0 0 i 66s | 3 710 a RNS Wheeling district....14 7 2,675 7 2,420 Ohio: Mahoning Valley. ..23 16 5,705 18 §,837 Central and North..22 .. ae 3.620 10 3,803 Hocking Val., Hang- ing Rock and S. , et |: Se re ea) 8 984 7 77 Illinois and Indiana. .31 19 7.705 20 8.050 a a rs sakes oe 3 1 100 0 Michigan, Wisc -“onsin and Minnesota..... 10 7 1,476 7 10) Colorado, Missouri and Washington ....... 7 5 1.285 4 100 The Seuth: Virginia oa wee Stee S 879 9 10) Kentucky ....... 5 2 344 2 +S Alabama ........; +6 21 5,096 23 i4 Tenn, and Georgia..20 8 896 9 874 Teenie... 2s... eee 217 61,279 230 Production of Steel Companies Returns from all plants of the United States Steel Corporation and the various independent steel com- panies show the following totals of product month by month. Only steel-making iron is included in these figures, together with ferromanganese, spiegeleisen and ferrosilicon. These last, while stated separately, are also included in the columns of “total production.” Production of Steel Companies.—Gross Tons. Spiegeleisen and -——Pig.—Total prod ation: — + ferromangaine 1908. 1909. 1910. 1909. deenery |... 6% 664,415 1,117,823 1,773,201 12,325 |: February ..... 745,802 1,073,363 1, 620. 589 10,046 2 Mareh -...... 841,502 1,140,553 1,739.212 23,743 2 MNP Ss oo 725.548 1,093,092 1,669,898 22,478 2: May ; . 759,674 1.256.448 1.679.283 20.834 2 Masel he 717,689 1.265.527 1,549,112 16,516 2 uly... ose. teeGae 108,762 1, 462. 689 - =e Allgust ....... 897,052 1,591,691 1,442,572 “ September .... 933,514 1,660,839 1,410,221 Ls October ...... 996,481 1.769.094 1.419.624 November ... 981,167 1,689,994 1,242,804 December ....1,090,339 1,768,799 .......- Graphic Chart of Pig Iron Production and Prices i})- The fluctuations in pig iron production from Jai uary, 1907, to the present time are shown in the accom panying chart. The figures represented by the heavy line are those of daily average production, by months. of coke and anthracite iron. The two other curves 0” the chart represent monthly average prices of Southern No. 2 foundry pig iron at Cincinnati and of loca! Ne. 2 foundry iron delivered at Chicago. They are based on the weekly market quotations of The Iron 48°. The two sets of figures are as follows: — 1907 1908 . ge “hos $ 3 w > bse e 2 2 Sare2eeoegezeaekteerk zuisark?2 o aa > 32 2 © < < S2eeSsessr_sestesrrsisrR 298 ez ~s 7 A \ S~* \ +- : Basacestlinepenenlianestilhestrolomnemilineenith Lnwadors \ ‘ PER DIEM PIG IRON PRODUCTION AV. PRICE GOUTHERN No. 2 FDY., \ p AV. PRICE LOCAL No, 2 FOY., CHICAGO ‘ | ; ‘ ‘ ‘ c \ GE “s s ‘ s \ \ \ fr Z \ } \ ‘ of Daily Average Production by Months of Coke and December 1, 1910; Also of Monthly Average Prices of No age Production of Ooke and Anthracite Pig Iron in ited States ty Months Since January 1, 1907 -—Gress 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. « 0 6.6.0 een es 71,149 33,718 57,975 84,148 «1 eae SR 73,038 37,163 60,976 85,616 ee. Pee 71,821 39,619 59,232 84,459 cee eee eee 73,885 88,289 57,962 82,792 sie edeeaen 74,048 37,603 60,753 77,102 74,486 36,444 64,656 75,516 <a pew eae 72,763 39,287 67,793 69,305 Pee ee 72,594 43,851 72,546 67,963 Swlg ao 72,783 47,300 79,507 68,476 T5386 50,554 83,856 67,520 ea ae 60,937 52,595 84,9017 63,659 ide! hada iek 39,815 56,158 85,022 Cowes Average Prices in Dollars of Southern No, 2 Foundry ut Cincinnati and Local No, 2 Foundry at Chicago € January, 1907. —LOOT 71909... -—1910.—, 7—1908.—~7 Son. Loc. Sou. Loc. Sou. Loc. Sou. Loc, No.2 No.2 No.2 No.2 No.2 No.2 No.2 No.2 Cin, Chi, Cin. Chi, Cin. Chi. Cin. Chi, .26.00 25.85 16.15 18.45 16.25 17.385 17.25 19.00 .26.00 25.85 15.75 18.16 16.13 16.75 17.06 19.00 26.00 26.10 15.50 17.85 15.05 16.50 16.30 18.30 ..25.06 26.35 15.20 17.73 14.25 16.50 15.37 17.50 .24.25 26.85 14.75 17.68 14.50 16.50 15.00 17.06 24.10 26.66 15.25 17.73 14.70 16.50 14.85 16.75 ‘ .. 23.85 25.55 15.00 17.55 15.75 17.00 14.75 16.56 . .. 23.00 24.85 15.25 17.85 16.88 17.13 14.31 16.50 : .. 21.50 24.10 15.65 17.05 17.35 18.70 14.25 16.40 .20.95 22.45 15.75 1685 17.88 19.00 14.25 16.06 .19.50 20.66 16.00 17.10 17.75 19.00 14.25 16.00 -17.00 18.80 16.25 17.35 17.45 19.00... vane The Record of Production ‘ion of Coke and Anthracite Pig Tron in the United States by Months Since January 1, 1907.—Grose Tons, 1907. 1908. 1909. "1910. .. 2,205,607 1,045,250 1,797,560 2,608,605 M . 2,045,068 1,077,740 1,707,340 2,397,254 2,226,457 1,228,204 1,832,194 2,617,949 \ -+eeeee 2,216,558 1,149,602 1,738,877 2,483,763 os ome eis 2,295,505 1,165,688 1,883,330 2,390,180 ihe 2.65 game 2,234,575 1,092,131 1,930,866 2,265,478 Quy sseeseemin 2,255, 1,218,129 2,103,431 2,148,442 SUEUSt sce age 2,250,410 1,359,831 2,248,930 2,106,847 o I 2,183,487 1,418,998 2,385,206 2,056,275 ver tena ewe 2,336,972 1,567,198 2,599,541 2,093,121 D er seen 1,828,125 1,577,854 2,547,508 1,909,780 . oo) ae 1,234,279 1,740,912 2,635,680 .....+.. THE IRON CINCINNATI AGE 1293 1909 1910 HOUSAND TONS UNE ULY JAN Fee. MAR APRIL MAY J AUG, sePT. ott NOV CEC. JAN Fes MAR APRIL May JUNE JULY auG, SEPT. OCT NOV. DEC DOLLARS 3 PEA TON @ s" £ ba ‘ - o DD (rata 58 19 +t i HM 1 16 a8 14 13 $8 & 12 Anthracite Pig Lron in the United States from January 1, 1907, Southern No. 2 Foundry Iron at Cincinnati and Local 2 Foundry Iron Delivered at Chicago, A Structural Fabricating Plant at Denver.—The Lowith Brothers Iron Works Company, Denver, Colo., has plans prepared for the erection of shops for the fabrication of structural iron and steel. The com- pany has heretofore purchased its material from East- ern interests already fabricated, but owing to the in- creased demand for steel construction in Denver and surrounding territory, it is the belief of the company that the city will finally be an important center for the manufacture of this material. A complaint is now pending before the Interstate Commerce Commission to bring about a reduction in freight rates into Den- ver from the East on plain material. At present the rate on plain material is the same as that on fabricated steel, and as a result the material has been purchased in the East already fabricated and shipped ready for erection. (a The Joliet Rolling Mill Company, recently incor- porated with $150,000 capital, takes over the Joliet Iron Products Company. Among the Incorporators are Israel Joseph, Adam S. Clow, Adam Groth, A. B. Scully and C. E. Woodruff. Mr. Joseph has been elected president and Mr. Groth, who had been presi- dent of the Joliet Iron Products Company, is treasurer, The product is bar iron and small shapes, the capacity being about 25,000 tons a year. The application to the United States Court, Phila- delphia, Pa., for the appointment of a receiver to se- cure creditors of L. & R. Wister & Co., iron merchants, pending the adjudicating of bankruptcy proceedings, reported in The Iron Age, of November 24, was refused by the court. No further progress is reported in the bankruptcy matters at this time. a a " i | Regi! Esper abi yeh nas tay ogee he ghee PP cal arts ET iy omg 35 Ani a oe = 1294 Opening of the Mechanical Engineers’ Convention The attendance at the annual meeting of the Amer- ican Society of Mechanical Engineers, now in pro- gress, promises to be the largest in the history of the society. At the time of going to press the registra- tion, including members and guests, had reached 660. An unusually large number assembled for the open- ing function Tuesday evening, in the Engineering So- cieties Building, New York, when George Westing- house presented his presidential address. In it he al- luded to the principal events in the society’s year—the joint meetings with engineers of all professions at Boston in March and with the Institution of Mechan- ical Engineers in England last summer, as well as the important local meetings of the society in Boston, St. Louis and San Francisco. Reverting to his paper pre- sented at the English meeting on the necessity of standardization of electric railroad equipment, he cor- rected the misunderstanding of some of the discussers by declaring that he had not recommended the adoption of one particular system, ~<d repeated his specific recommendations. The reminder of the address was a very interesting historical account of the conception and development of the air brake. For the committee on election of officers, George A. Orrok announced the result of the balloting and the president declared the following elected for the ensuing year: Col. E. D. Meier, president; H. H. Vaughan, E. M. Herr and George M. Brill, vice-presidents; D. F. Crawford, E. B. Katte and Stanley G. Flagg, Jr., man- agers, and Wm. H. Wiley, treasurer. The new president was escorted to the platform and briefly