The Iron Age 1910-12-15: Vol 86 Iss 24

Established 1855 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, Subscription Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 per Annum; to Canada, $7.50 per Annum; to Other Foreign Countries, $10.00 per Annum. Single Ccpies, 20 Cents, Cuaries T. Root, - e - - - PRESIDENT W. H. TAYLOR, - - - ‘TREASURER AND GENERAL NiANAGCR Haro.o S. BUTTENHEIM, - - e - - SECRETARY Geo. W. Cope, . - - - - A. |, Findvty, - - - - . \ eorrons H. R. COBLEIGH, ‘ . ° - - McCHANICAL EpITOR Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Pittsburgh, Park Building Cleveland, American Trust Builcirg Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Builcing l.ilwaukee, 416 Engineeing Beildirc. Chicago, [ ikher Duicing CONTENTS. Editorial : Pace. , DR I bb hep ewes cles bavaweeesat> oes 1341 A Time for Finding Economies..............s0ee0% 1342 lwo Routes t6 Lower Prices... 6. cvececcsescces 1342 Concerted Action on Workmen's Compensation...... 1343 Keeping Labor in the Suburbs.............-- oecs aeee POET CEO aa ai ogo RS Ss dew dan SN Se Rs 1344 Efficiency in American Shipyards..........cceeceesecees 1346 The Propesed Increase in Railroad Efficiency............- 1346 Iron Ore on Lake Erie Docks December 1..........+++0+ 1346 The Iron and Metal Market Reports..............+. 1347 to 1355 aon and TGeerenl Bice. 6 ons Sk kk chek oe dete ewe Ves 1355 pes ON:: a ae ee ek is Seabees sbus ekeeeet 1356 More Steel Trade Meetings..............cccccessescece 1356 American Iron and Steel Institute Committees..........- 1356 The Machinery Market Reports............-++0+- 1357 to 1366 Chinese Ore and Pig Iron from Japan............see06- 1366 Case Hardened Gears for Railroad Work...........--++:5 1366 PCUALY, PNG S 2 O45 CR aN ie cba wip ebwodesWns cece 1367 The bethiehem Steel Company and Texas Ore Lands..... 1367 The Philadelphia Associated Foundry Foremen.......... 1367 Pew Pubtleiiaie ss 6.5 i-ci siete tidy xo bkaeemhn bce 1368 SPOON es ae ae at « A vialenbaah ves > o> tem xernee 1369 eee Brith Gee MOM lige ems cules eases tens oweens 1369 The Industrial Training of Boys—II.............+0005: 1370 Costly Shipbuilding in Government Yards..............- 1372 The Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association............. 1372 An Extensive Railroad Contractors’ Plant..............+ 1372 The Development of the Air Brake............-...0+++: 1373 October Exports and Imports of Iron and Steel.......... 1374 The Steel Corporation’s Unfilled Orders.............4++ . 1374 _ The Empire Steel & Iron Company............+.++% oct aOne Recent Changes in Foreign 'Tariffs............0.ee+e+ees 1374 The Whitehead Automatic Flask Bar Tucker. Illustrated.. 1375 The Goulds Combined Air and Water Cylinder for Pneu- Matic PRIA SINRONE Souk ds ivevasbaceedes «+e 1375 The Gyroscope and Its Useful Possibilities —III. Mlus.... 1376 AD Unusual Gas Producer Installation. ...............+- 1379 The Mechanical Engineers’ Convention...........-++++-+ 1380 November Copper Production and Stocks....... neevecese Seen Steam Turbines in Iron and Steel Works. Illustrated.... 1392 The American Steel Foundries to Make Steel Wheels...... 1393 The Garvin No, 2-A Miller. Mllustrated.............---+ 1394 The Improved Taylor-Schantz Metal Sawing Machine. Illus. 1395 pe National Machine Tool Builders’ Convention Report.. 1395 New Rolling MIN at Ottawa, Ill.......csccceeeseeseess 1895 ) Current Metal Prices.............+<- es a a at Pe 1396 THE [RON AGE New York, December 15, 1910 VoL. 86: No, 24 A Drifting Market Some December Rollings on Rails for 1911 Unprecedented Stocks of Lake Ore—A Foreign Pool in Ferrosilicon The iron trade is resigning itself to a period of drifting, with little expectation of early developments affecting either prices or orders. It is evident from the character of some recent new business that consumers of finished steel are running on scant stocks, and that mill operations now more closely measure the country’s consumption. The attitude of producers on prices was illustrated by the action of the sheet manufacturers at their Pittsburgh meeting December 8, which was the largest ever held. They decided that conditions do not call for any change, and that in the immediate future what has been the nominal basis should be made the actual basis of sales. It is familiar history that price maintenance is less difficult after a period of cutting in which buy- ers have generally supplied their wants for a period. Rail contracts have been so much threshed over in anticipation that their value as a factor of encourage- ment is already discounted. The Pennsylvania order, with its condition of heavy discards from the rail bloom, has not yet been accepted. The New York Central ton- nage, which is likely to be 125,000 to 130,000 tons, or more than has been counted on, likewise involves some questions of specifications. In two or three cases rail mills which would have been idle most of this month, have been given preliminary orders for early rolling, but appiying on next year’s contracts. The Ontario & Western has made some purchases, and has other or- ders pending. The Delaware & Hudson is in the mar- ket for 10,000 tons, most of which is expected to go to the Bethlehem Steel Company. Car inquiries include 1500 to 2000 for the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh and 1000 for the Kanawha & Michigan. The Harriman lines is figuring on 153 locomotives, and the Boston & Maine is about to buy a considerable number. There is still a good volume of structural work, but fabricating prices are so low that only the best equipped works can make a profit. The new Bureau of Engraving and Printing at Washington will require 4000 tons. The Pennsylvania Terminal Post Office in New York, 6200 tons, on which bids exceeded the ap- propriation, will be readvertised. Three caissons for Government dry docks, one in Cuba, one in New York harbor and one on the Pacific Coast, will furnish much needed plate mill tonnage. Prices on steel bars have not been strictly main- tained at 1.40c., Pittsburgh, but the activity in this di- rection has not affected the large tonnage of contract business now on the books. A conference of bar man- ufacturers will be held in Pittsburgh, December 15. Plate manufacturers held a meeting there on Wednes- day, December 14. Tin plate manufacturers at a Pittsburgh meeting ‘ . Pa a ‘ ie pee hn ee et ae 5 \ . : sibs apse Rayer Nt tae caen ar atte - ae os ne re ee | : H ; f | ' te Biel ok . Sa _ , a. + ERE Sm PTT as ia LS Ret Sa ea aalinmes aie Te a eR te eR aD pe 2k er ee “ . aoe weet ETE A OS I nl Pa rt 1342 THE IRON AGE December 14 declared for the continuance of present prices. Some irregularity in black plates has been a disturbing factor in the sheet market. Low prices were brought out by two cast iron pipe lettings of the week—$24.35 per net ton for 3500 tons at Cleveland, and $21.38 for 1500 tons at New Bedford, Mass. In pig iron the only question of moment is how soon the merchant furnaces will blow out enough ca- pacity to put production below consumption. The idle list is growing more rapidly. The Steel Corporation blew out another Gary furnace this week. Northern foundry iron has been dull and drooping, but Southern producers are rather less inclined to take $11 business for the second quarter of next year. The shipments of Southern pig iron abroad can scarcely be dignified as a movement. A recent sale of 300 tons for Italy was made by, the Tennessee Com- pany and for some time occasional small lots have been taken by Italian foundries. Makers of 50 per cent. ferrosilicon in Europe have formed a pool and arranged for a 50 per cent. reduc- tion in output, a capacity of 30,000 tons being included. Iron ore stocks on Lake Erie merchant docks De- cember I were 9,414,000 tons. It is probable that Lake ore in furnace yards, including those in the Chicago district, is more than double this amount, making a total close to 30,000,000 tons. This is probably the largest amount of ore that has ever been piled up ahead of the industry, and means that many consumers have all the ore they will need until late in 1911. Pig tin reached a new high point for the year this week, at 38.55c. A Time for Finding Economies The amount of prominence lately given to efficiency as a measure of successful industrial management -is entirely in line with another development of the pres- ent slackening in business—the increasing application of the same test to the rank and file of workmen. In the news dispatches of the past week, it has been stated, that a large locomotive company will gradually reduce working forces unless locomotive bookings are soon in- creased. An officer of the company, referring to the labor situation at its works, said: “ We are taking on and we are dropping a number of men. We have to hire about 500 men to get 100 good employees.” The remark is an index to the sifting that is going on in many industries now that the supply of men is notice- ably greater than the supply of jobs. In 1908 the decline in business enabled many manu- facturers to set up new standards of performance in the shop. It proved a good time for the introduction of premium and bonus systems and for the appraisal of the value of individual workmen. In the past two years, apart from the few lines directly affected last year by the excesses of the automobile industry, the pressure has not been such as to break down the new shop standards. And now, whether in partial response to an overwhelming demand at the polls last month for a reduction in the cost of living, or because forces which have been for some time at work for a readjust- ment are acting more directly than before, manufac- turers are facing a time when labor union and other uneconomic restrictions will count less and less. The railroads have been accused of many offenses against efficiency, but in 1908 they were credited with December 15, 1910 some very able contriving, after they had been de- barred from reducing expenses by cutting wages. They found ways of doing more work with fewer men, Much of the advantage then gained was swallowed up in the wage advances of this year; but had it not been for the economies they were forced to learn in 1908 their net earnings in 1910 would have told much more heavily against the shippers’ case. Such savings in operating costs, as the railroads and the manufacturing industries must enforce in times like the present and those just ahead, are the natural remedy for what was becoming a serious vice—loading every waste and every deficiency of manager and work- man upon the ultimate consumer. Two Routes to Lower Prices When a certain billion-dollar Congress was at- tacked for extravagance, the answer was made that this is a billion-dollar country. The call for lower prices that has been gathering force will likewise en- counter the argument that this is a high standard and therefore a high cost country. It will be found that some who are now most ‘insistent for a lower level really want what they buy to come down, so that they can either buy more than at present or have a larger surplus income, or both. They are not advocating re- ductions in what they have to sell, whether labor or manufactured product. The history of low-price periods in this country has been one of industrial depression and distress. Workmen have not complained in such times of the level of commodity prices, but of the difficulty of get- ting money with which to buy. The trouble has been that in getting low-priced food and clothing, which they wanted, they also had to take shortened hours and a small wage per hour, which they did not want. The present demand for more economy and more effi- ciency is not a call for low wages. But the question comes up whether a country used to the American scale of living can change in any orderly way and by the application of more “ scientific” methods of man- ufacture and transportation to a basis which will be more generally popular. If we look to the conditions in other times of low prices for answer, we shall find testimony differing both as to the facts and their mean- ing. For example, the New York Evening Post makes this comment on the position of the steel industry as the result of the depression of the eighteen nineties: Prior to 1893 the country was proud enough of its steel producing industry. It doubted if any plants, more service able and efficient, could be found on any other continent When the prolonged depression of the nineties came, W¢ made some very unpalatable discoveries, both as to existng methods of production and methods of financing. Some people in the industry hinted that the Government ought to help them. Others sat down and wrung their hands, 40- nouncing that the country was going to the dogs. There were, however, others of that sturdy American type which is keen for innovation, which believes that industrial ob- stacles were made to be surmounted by enterprise and in vention, and which assailed the problem with a compre hensive vigor which let no consideration of the smallest sort escape it. The result we know. That was in 1894 and 1896, and by 1899 we were driving England and Germany from the neutral export fields, and European public me? were warning the world against the American invasion. There is another view to be taken of the low pricts which marked the vears 1896 to 1898 in the America? iron trade, and that is that the difference between that level and the level of to-day is almost wholly a matter of raw materials and labor. Mesaba ore at $1.50 t© ember 15, 1910 D ¢ ton, Connellsville coke at 90 cents to $1.10 a ton common labor at $1 a day—which altogether would resent $7 to $8 less on a ton of iron than is paid these three items to-day—measure the unparalleled ress accompanying that invasion of European mar- y American steel. American engineering skill tainly was busy in that dark period, and the results e been of continuing value to the industry, albeit the stments demanded by the present engineering are enormous. But it was the sacrifice of ore ‘oal resources and the poverty of labor that chiefly rtised themselves in the American invasion of 1896 898. With the latter-day basis of ore and fuel es and the present scale of iron and steel works es, invention and scientific management will find it ult to make reductions in cost that will at all com- with what are pointed to above as the achieve- ts of 15 years ago. A clear distinction must be e between saving of waste and increase in efficiency | way to lower prices, and the route which means alamitous slaughter of labor and waste of un- illeled mineral resources. And this is by no means ing that a moderate middle ground for ore and coke ies would be incompatible with prosperous condi- s in iron and steel. : by me Concerted Action on Workmen’s Compensation At a meeting of the Boston Branch, National Metal Trades Association, last week, prominent speakers dwelt earnestly upon the necessity of more ceneral consideration being given by manufacturers o legislative matters. They urged particularly that the problem of workmen’s compensation be taken up it this time, individually and collectively, by employers of labor, so that the strong impulse toward the general adoption of the principle in this country may be kept within safe limits. It is surprising how few business men have any real understanding of this great subject, yet, unless signs fail, most of them will taste the fruits of its growth in the near future. Some of the great associations of manufacturers, however, are giving it most earnest attention and have experts engaged in investigations, in the hope of arriving at conclusions which, embodied in statutes, will be equitable as be- tween employers and employees. The need of a change from the present unsystem- tic method of determining recompense to workmen who are victims of accident during their employment is advocated by many owners of industrial establish- nts. They hold that the liability of employers for idents to workmen should be based on a system i universal compensation, regulated so as not to in- ase manufacturing costs inordinately. Such work- n’s compensation laws as those of Great Britain ik much injustice to the owners. Liability is alto- cether too general under the present interpretation of : British statute. The complications in connection \ith accidents of contributory partial disability of the ployee, resulting from disease or previous injury, y too important a part in the cost of manufactur- This is only one of the fallacies of the act. The ritish law compels no insurance of the workman ‘inst injury. Germany, whose system is held up by iny as a model, requires contributions to the acci- nt insurance fund from the State, the employer and e workman. The degree of paternalism is a ques- THE IRON AGE 4 1343 tion of no small importance; strong argument exists for minimizing this factor, that the independence of the American workman may not be disturbed. The com- pensation laws already enacted by some of the States leave much to be desired, as shown by the dissatisfac- tion concerning them. It is not proposed to discuss the merits of such laws at this time, but to emphasize the demand for greater active interest in the subject. The views of practical men are needed in the work. They are leaving too much to the theorists, whose ideas should be modified or corrected by the investiga- tions of practical yet sympathetic business men. Keeping Labor in the Suburbs Manufacturers whose works are in suburban neigh- borhoods, especially that are growing rapidly because they are sought by industries requiring the same general class of labor, are troubled contin- ually by the inability of their workmen to find satis- factory homes for their families or boarding places for themselves. To add hundreds of workmen each year to the population of such a place requires a much more rapid growth in the number of dwellings than is usually the case, Raising the standard of employment, by increasing the percentage of more highly skilled labor, creates another demand—that for better places in which to live. Various remedies have been tried, including houses built by the manufacturer for rental to his people and restaurants where they can secure their noon meals at low cost. The Taft-Pierce Company, Woonsocket, R. I., which does contract work in metal and machinery, went at the solution of such a problem some months ago with much vigor. When running full, about 200 expert toolmakers are employed, which is a very great percentage of the total force. Much difficulty was ex- perienced in keeping this highly paid lgbor, in spite of a liberal wage scale, because the men could find no satisfactory boarding places in the city, which is built about the textile industry. The company decided to establish a boarding house of its own, where meu could get their meals at the current rate and rooms if they wished them. The result is an establishment which may be considered as a club rather than a boarding house. Situated in the industrial heart of the city, the building may be compared favorably with the average country club in the details of construction, furnishings and appointments, as well as in its cuisine. The rooms are occupied constantly by the men and the demand is for more of them. A great many of the employees, as well as the managing officers, use the dining room freely. When the conditions are compared with those of the boarding house of a mill town, they live in lux- ury. They are satisfied, and no doubt the experience of the first few months (the place was opened for business in July) will be accentuated as time goes on, especially when industry is rushing and the demand for high class machinists is constantly attempting to draw men away from such a force as that at Woon- socket. Modern civilization has raised the general stand- ard of living in this country and employers must take that fact into consideration if they are to maintain their working forces against the blandishments of com- petitors needing labor. If works are located where living conditions are unattractive, the manufacturer in sections ee aps Sa see Saeed Fa laa ctiedinaminat ca ethaieaes Bia cs cacteiad ialdieeiananeieeneen aaiiacaineiaeee ee Reece. Te RESET A I nn EARN OND Longer Ae aS ERENT Rag NOU Soe Wer eran ye AAS en a te TN A IDE ETE i eT A TTL TE TR eR TE ge el cal cee ad : i 1344 THE IRON AGE must be the sufferer as well as his workmen. If he has to take steps which require the expenditure of money in order to keep his men, the investment is a good one, if the undertaking is worked out intelligently, having due regard to the kind of people which the effort is intended to affect. If the end is secured, the expense and trouble are made up many times over in the industrial results. Correspondence Efficiency and Lower Prices To the Editor: Louis D. Brandeis of Boston, a man of much public work and public spirit, has recently laid us under obligations by formulating a plan for meeting a erying need of the hour. In addressing the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington he struck the key- note as follows: “ As an alternative to the practice of combining to raise rates, and hence to increase prices, we offer co-operation to reduce costs and hence to lower prices.” Mr. Brandeis’ topic on that occasion was raii- ,oad freight rates, but his proposal is of much wider applicability. It bas always been plain, and recently has often been stated, that the process of jacking up in rotation the various elements of the cost of living, which has been in progress for some years, could not go on forever. It was felt in a general way that “what goes up must come down,” but Mr. Brandeis is the first, so far as I have observed, to propose a wide co-operation to that end. His aim, as I understand it, is to establish some measure of equilibrium hetween income and outgo hy reducing expense instead of keeping to the heretofore popular policy of crowding up prices—a policy which he indicated in referring to the “ vicious circle of ever in- creasing freight rates and ever increasing cost of living.” Co-operation is the essence of Mr. Brandeis’ suggestion, for it is clear that no one institution or class of institutions in commerce, industry or transportation can effect anything adequate in price reduction. All will have to work together But it is necessary to begin somewhere, gnd as labor is the foundation of nearly ail costs it furnishes the logical starting point. LACK OF LABOR EFFICIENCY. Wages are assumed to be the chief factor in labor costs, but within pretty wide limits efficiency is of equal importance. Lack of labor efficiency is recognized as one of the serious economic problems of the time and as a terrible price hoister. Labor inefficiency is of two sorts. On the one hand, that for which the employers are ac- countable, like defective shop equipment, methods of supervision and failure to maintain the best relations with workmen which can be established; and, on the otber, that which must be laid at the door of the men themselves or of the unions. To prepare for effec- tive co-operation, the employers might well subject their plants and systems to renewed and rigid scrutiny and clear them of all faults which contribute to inefficiency of labor, as indicated in two recent and very interesting letters from Max H. C. Brombacher in The Iron Age, while the men might advantageously seek to gain the broadest view of their work and its results. As a motive for this broader view, it is not needful to invoke altruistic sentiment on the part of the opera- tives. Enlightened selfishness should prompt them to their hest effort. No class of our people complains more bitterly of the high cost of living than the working forces of industry and transportation, and none perhaps has contributed more to raise prices. They have pressed for a shorter and shorter day and have fought for, and usually won, higher and higher wages. They have also in numerous cases added to the burden of cost imposed by their victories, by allowing their efficiency to run down along with their decreasing hours of labor, or in inverse proportion to their increased pay. This latter factor of high prices the men ought to proceed to elim- inate at once in their own interest, just as the em- December 1< i910 ployers should eliminate their promotion of inef! | ency through reduction of piece work prices, as indica! «) py Mr. Brombacher. LABOR LEADERS SHOULD MODIFY THEIR ATTITU! John Mitchell does not favor too much effi: jency. according to newspaper reports. He objects | the specialization of labor heyond a certain point, and says: “ Organized labor is against the premium or bon sys. tem of payment for workmen because that is designed to speed up the workman beyond the safety line. That is bad economy.” “It is sometimes charged,” says je. “that labor unions tend to level down workmen. This is not true. Labor unions do not say that em)|overs shall not pay a perfectly competent and efficient work. man something in addition to what he pays the others.” These quotations from one of the most respected le:ders of organized labor indicate an attitude which wil! haye to be modified if there is to be co-operation for |ower prices. Such co-operation does not necessarily ¢al] for any general reduction in the amount of money received by workmen. Most people indeed would be glad to see this amount increased. But it does call for the re. moval by labor itself of all the props which support laziness and inefficiency. Mr. Mitchell’s real conteution seems to be that the employer should pay the many times-raised schedule to the veriest dub in the shop, and that whenever an operative shows symptoms of a willing ness to do a fair day’s work he should immediately be rewarded by extra pay. Even then Mr. Mitchell objects to bonuses on the ostensible ground that it speeds the willing workman up too much for his health, but one involuntarily suspects that the real reason is because such speeding up throws the inefficiency of the scale- paid dub into too sharp relief and may even result in his discharge. Specialization and unrestricted earnings at a fair rate would seem fair to everybody. THE EIGHT-HOUR WORK DAY TOO SHORT. 3ut there is another way in which labor can « operate for lower prices, not only without loss but with decided gain. One of labor’s victories above referred to has been the progressive shortening of the work day in many lines to eight hours. I question the advantage of this victory to those who won it, but there is no ques- tion of its disadvantage to the employers, and to the na- tion viewed as an economic unit. There must he no such thing as a procrustean work day to which all trade should conform. Some occupations are less and some more exhausting, and the hours of labor must be gov- erned to some extent by these characteristics; but in the majority of trades a nine-hour day is not too much for the health. I think experience has proved that in a large majority of cases the extra hour which the work- men have deducted from their productive period is not so used as to increase but rather to decrease their work- ing efficiency. A return to the nine-hour day in many occupations without any reduction in the present hour or piece wage would have a salutary effect from several standpoints. It is obvious that every extra piece turned out during a day pulls down the cost of the day’s product hy re ducing the overhead charge on each item. Therefore. i! the individual workman were allowed to earn more money and at the same time reduce the total per piece cost of .his product, it would push down the cost of liv ing and help the nation in its efforts for more business in competition with other countries. That competition is going to hecome more keen seems quite certain. The high tariff is now in its last period. Even the stronges' of the stand-patters are becoming convinced that tariff revision cannot be long postponed and that it will not be upward this time. It behooves us to set our house in order and to get the prices of that which we have to sel! on a level where we will be able to meet Europe in the markets of the world, and to reduce the cost of living to our own people. To accomplish this without forcing down the rewards of labor requires co-operation for lower prices by the removal, on the one hand, by the employers of bad equipment, bad management or Te striction of earnings, and on the other hand, by the aba? December 15, 1910 nent of premiums on inefficiency, or insistence upon ineconomically short work day on the part of the iations of labor. CHARLES T. Roor. The Education of Labor o the Editor: Permit me to trespass upon your space rder to explain and to amplify the remark I made iy letter of December 5, anent the possibility, desira- y and necessity of our educating our labor (unions). \s the cost of living impresses itself upon their minds matically, it follows that the first thing which an elployer should take the trouble to make clear to his is that, in the long run, to shorten hours is to raise the cost of living. That cutting down production is ound to raise prices is understood by very many; that shortening hours is only another form of decreasing pro- ion is not understood by so many. Having made these facts clear to his men, it is not so difficult to make ‘to them that, in the long run, the way for them to in their desired goal of decreasing the cost of living increase their efficiency, i. e., their output. T OF SHORT HOURS AND CLOSED SHOP IN THE BUELDING TRADES. llow shortening the hours of labor results in increas- rents has lately been pointed out by a report in re rd to the effect of short hours and the closed shop in building trades. Obviously, a house built upon the sis of the eight-hour day, with a wage rate based upon ilizing the loss of time entailed by the closed season iter), aS well as by inclement weather in the open mn, is bound to cost much more than a house built on a schedule of longer hours. The increased cost of ding the house is taken into account by the assessors taxing purposes, of course. The net result is an in- reased rent which labor pays. That “labor pays” is t very few of the men understand. But for that mat- er, and as indicative of relative intelligence, the number house owners who understand that the occupier (renter) pays is not exactly legion either. ‘lo any one who, from the beginning, has been taught t nature, in the last solution, invariably premiumizes licieney and penalizes inefficiency, that it knows nothing out “ getting something for nothing,” and that it knows othing about equality anywhere, there is nothing mys- terious about the fact that cutting down efficiency—. e., output per capita or per machine or per acre—invariably results in increasing the cost of living; and that wage reases seldom square the increased cost of living pro- duced by these attempts to, so to speak, “stand nature her head.” People grounded in these elementals understand, fur- ther, that commerce—i. e., labor— is the basis of national fe and growth; hence, that the nation which starts out shorten hours of labor, without the concurrence of its icipal competitors among commercial nations, is bound ose out in the race for the world’s business; it finds commerce diminishing, hence its means of employ- t for its artisans diminishing. The end is that an i\voidable necessity arises for reducing the wage rate. S process is inevitable; so inevitable that one wonders the blindness of the labor unions in agitating continu- for shorter hours. NATURE’S LAWS RELATIVE TO ECONOMICS ARE GENERAL. It is known of all men that Germany and America outstripping England gradually but surely in the race r the world’s business. It is also well known that Eng- d is that nation in which the peculiar principles ad- ated by labor unions have had fullest sway. Cause | effect, from the standpoint of economics, never had plainer illustration; a blind man can see the end if that policy be persisted in. And let no one delude him- self with the idea, some years ago advanced with regard to bimetalism, that there is an American system of ‘ance, therefore an American law of economics. There ‘'y be an American misapplication of nature’s laws eative to finance and to economics. This latter possibility is indicated by the case re- ‘cntly pointed out by the Sun, where a Congressional bill ‘irried a clause forbidding the use of power presses THE IRON AGE 1345 already purchased and paid for. The object of this “rider” was to necessitate hand labor; the result was a loss of over $750,000. It seems to me that the most benighted unionist ought to see that this loss was out of all proportion to any possible benefit to the employees affected ; that if it was desirable or necessary to coddle that particular form of labor, it would have been both cheaper, as well as more defensible from an economic standpoint, to pension the whole outfit. This would at least eliminate the stigma of this country prohibiting the use of machinery. That a country like ours, which has built itself up and prides itself on the advantages of using machinery, should thus ignorantly legislate against the use of machinery beggars belief. That an appropriation bill carrying such a rider should pass both Congressional houses is an instance of coddling inefficiency, which one would not expect even from an economic or sociological mollycoddle. He would see that justice would require the extension of this dis- crimination against the use of machinery to all depart- ments, and legislators ought to see that either such exten- sion of discriminations against the use of machiery should be enacted or the ban should be lifted in this case. Incidentally, we are in no sort of shape to throw away the amount of money involved; and if there ever was a time in which our Government needs to set its people an example of sound economics and economical government, now is the time. LABOR PAYS FOR ALL ATTEMPTS TO DEFY ECONOMICS. Were our labor instructed in the principles of sound economics, it would not stand for this sort of thing; would recognize that labor itself pays for all such at- tempts to “ get something for nothing” and to discrimi- nate against the general application of sound economic principles. It would, of course, be far better, as a matter of fact, were these elemental truths drummed into our children in our schools, instead of being fed upon a cur- riculum based upon the fallacy that “all men are equal”; hence, that one (educational) bill of fare is ap- plicable to all children of a given age. Absorbing food without digesting it results in dyspepsia, and stuffing into a child education (knowledge) which his powers of digestion are not equal to assimilating results in mental dyspepsia. Of the two, physical dyspepsia is the least harmful by far, and mental dyspepsia is sometimes known as “ half-bakedness.” Our system of education is an im- mense success as a producer of mental dyspepsia; it is responsible for much of the foggishness in regard to what liberties we take with the laws of nature. Woodrow Wilson has lately given expression to the view that, as a nation, we are too prone to legislate for evils instead of educating for their elimination; the shortening of the hours of labor employed by the Govern- ment is one instance of this tendency. Why should a Government employee be better paid for lesser output than the employee of private activities? Why should Government demoralize private activities by premiumiz- ing inefficiency? And last, why should a government set its people the example of setting the laws of sound economics at defiance? Admitting, for the sake of argu- ment, what I do not believe, that we should strive to instal the universal eight-hour day, why do we legislate instead of educating for this ideal? Will education per- haps show the fallacy of the ideal? HOW AN EMPLOYER SHOULD HANDLE HIS MEN. Experience and observation have convinced me that it is possible to teach labor sound economics, But there are two conditions precedent. One is that labor must feel that the employer means fair; the other is that labor must know that the employer knows what he is talking about, that he knows a day’s work when he sees it, that he knows his fellow man, &c. Experience and observa- tion have also convinced me that it pays the employer, in concrete shape, to play fair with his men and to take the trouble to make plain to the men one’s leitmotif. I have seen a superintendent cut a piece work rate in half without eliciting a murmur of dissent from the em- ployee affected. The superintendent was a man who had that innate broadness of heart which impels a man to act as wisely from feeling as does the man with the Sikes ran tee Cd i aed ae e ot ieee eel eee = Se oe chistes Minded Bocce to Die A OE AOL L NETS RI A A RC ar ag cm SAAS ae Mh needs ite sen Teen ee ee ay ee ae SAI, ieccteteteek. Mae ee oe ee ee ermine eit ereetinainntemeeencini ne ames ee ILL LG A ETE | | 1346 THE IRON AGE broad mind who is impelled to act wisely from real in- telligence. He was a thorough judge of men, and he would not know what the word “ psychologist” meant at that. He had established a piece work schedule based upon a fair, not high, day rate per hour and a difference of about 1.3 (66 2-3 per cent.) between the day rate and the piece work rate; that is, a man could earn on piece work about one-third more than the day work rate per hour. He had proved to the men that he was satisfied with getting his work done at this rate; that the more the men earned the better he was pleased. His men earned as high as 39.2 cents per hour on piece work; a man who could not or would not get on piece work labeled himself and punished his own pocket. In the case I saw he had caused to be made devices to increase the man’s output. He approached the man with this statement: “ Bill, I’ve spent some money on these jigs and I think they’ll double your output; now, of course, the company expects me to get the cost of these jigs back. I want you to cut the rate in half, but, understand, you shall have as much money as you got last month at the old rate. But I ex- pect you to play fair; give me all that there is in you; you know you need not fear a cut. I’m satisfied with getting my rate on this job cut in half; you are more than welcome to all you can earn.” I saw this employee a week or so after this, and he told me he was doing about 10 per cent. better per hour on the new rate than he had done without the jigs on the old rate. That is the kind of man to have at the head of a shop. He will get the confidence of his men and will hold it. He has educated his men and always explains to them just what he is getting at and “the why.” He bases his piece work rate on the average man being only two-thirds of a first-class man—i. e., the 66 2-3 per cent. efficiency proposition is the average man, and he can evolute up to the efficiency of a 100 per cent. man—if it is in him. The superintendent is there to help him, that the man knows; hence, he strives for a goal which he knows is potentially attainable. The path of peace and of profit in matters industrial lies along lines which are truly educational and which are based upon the firm conviction that the “square deal” is the Indian sign of “ real intelligence.” Max H. C. BROMBACHER. New York, December 12, 1910. ———_o- oe ——_ Efficiency in American Shipyards W. L. Capps, chief constructor of the United States Navy, chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, makes some interesting statements in his an- nual report to the Secretary of the Navy for the fiscal year 1910. He calls attention to the increasing rapid- ity of construction of naval vessels in the United States during the past few years. “ This increase in rapidity,” he says, “is due in part to greater familiar- ity with Government work on the part of contractors and in part to a more complete preparation of plans than was hitherto practicable; also to the efforts made to restrict changes in contract plans to the lowest number compatible with the interests of the Govern- ment. As a matter of fact, the rapidity of warship construction in the United States compares most fa- vorably at the present time with the rate of such con- struction in those foreign countries which have estab- lished a reputation for rapidity in such work.” He further states that the “decreased time of construc- tion has been obtained concurrently with a decrease in the unit cost of construction ; in fact, the total cost per ton of displacement of battleships built by contract for the United States Navy within the past few years has been less than the total cost per ton of displace- ment of similar vessels built in foreign countries, and this in spite of the higher rates of wages paid to work- men in United States shipyards.” —— The population of the city of Spokane, Wash., is 104,402, an increase of 67,554, or 183.3 per cent. December 15, i919 The Proposed Increase in Railroad Efficiency Commenting on the claims made at the recert rate hearing at Washington of possible savings that could be pointed out to railroad managers, the Railwo Age Gazette says: “We are not optimistic as to Mr. Brandeis’ chances of success in his role of instructor in a course on practical railroading before a classroom full of rajj- road presidents. But we can hope for some indirect results of the publicity given to his claims. It will do good to air the whole subject of scientific management, betterment work, efficiency or whatever one calls jt. Some operating officers and many boards of directors need to know what efficiency means. Ordering a subordinate to cut his expenses in two is not what it means. A superintendent of motive power has gone through a hard winter with his power in bad shape. He is told to get it in good shape for the next winter, perhaps with the intimation that his position depends on his success. He builds up a well organized, smooth working shop force, improves his repair shop facilities and gathers the right men at his coaling stations, Along in June an order comes down from above telling him to cut expenses in two. What can he do? His motive power starts the next winter in worse shape than ever. One cannot get a high unit of efficiency without holding trained employees during slack periods so as to be ready when the rush comes. It takes an expensive plant to do a wide variety of work cheaply,” —————~-e______ Iron Ore on Lake Erie Docks December 1 It has been the custom of Cleveland iron ore in- terests for many years to collect figures showing iron ore on railroad docks at Lake Erie ports at the close of navigation, December 1 being the usual date. Re- ports which have been made to The Iron Age from the various merchant docks, leaving out blast furnace docks on the lake front or on rivers at the various ports, show total stocks on December 1, 1910, of 9,414,670 gross tons. This compares with 8,965,789 tons Decem- ber 1, 1909. The increase is 448,881 tons, whereas it had been estimated that about 1,000,000 tons more ore would be on dock this year than one year previous. The returns by ports are as follows: Iron Ore on Lake Erie Docks, December 1, 1910.—Gross Tons. Ashtabula .........3,318,051 i ee ee re 375,118 Ps cine cc naan 452,795 ROE os Sud cae kun 259,448 i ee 599,046 TOO: 00 eiatidves ae 440,053 eee ee 1,329,997 BOMGUOKS | a ci canes 17,728 Fe rr 782,464 -— ae i icvcis 839,97h Teed. 5 che. x 9,414,670 Stocks in furnace yards, which are doubtless more than double the stocks on docks, need to be known to make any correct analysis of the situation. It is safe to reckon, however, that Central Western fur- naces have available in their yards and on docks enough ore, if it could be apportioned to all users—as it cannot be—to supply the needs of all far into the fall of 1911. —_— »-e—___—- The Lewis Institute, Chicago, announces that the winter quarter will open in all departments January 3. An evening course in gas engines is announced. The present quarter shows the largest number in atten- dance in the history of the institute, 2700 being reg's- tered, counting both day and evening students. On December 16 the first class to complete the two-year co-operative course for machine shop apprentices will leave the institute. There are 20 of these boys, and they are making plans to enter the evening classes in January, in order to continue their studies. Candi- dates are now being registered for the entering class in the co-operative course. They will begin work Jan- uary 3. These boys pass their time alternately be- tween the institute and the machine shops, changing about every week. December 15, 1910 A Comparison of Prices Advances Over the Previous Week in Heavy Type, Declines in Italics. At date, one week, one month and one year previous, Dec. 14, Dec. 7, Nov. 16, Dee. 15, PIG IRON, Per Gross Ton: 1910. 1910. 1910. 1909. indry No, 2, standard, Phila- lelphIS 1c daaiveepe ens eands - $15.50 $15.50 $15.75 $19.00 Foundry No. 2, Southern, Cincin- ati dae dusteny been wen che - 14.25 14.25 14.25 17.25 Foundry No. 2, local, Chicago.. 16.00 16.00 16.00 19.00 Basic, delivered, eastern Pa.... 14.75 14.75 14.75 18.75 Basic, Valley furmace......... 13.50 13.50 13.25 17.00 Bessemer, Pittsburgh.......... 15.90 15.90 15.90 19.90 iy forge, Pittsburgh......... 13.90 138.90 14.15 17.40 ‘e Superior charcoal, Chicago. 18.00 18.00 18.00 19.50 BILLETS, &c., Per Gross Ton: Bessemer billets, Pittsburgh.... 23.00 23.00 23.50 27.50 Forging billets, Pittsburgh..... .... ecee 28.50 81.00 Open hearth billets, Philadelphia 25.50 25.50 25.50 30.60 Vire rods, Pittsburgh......... 28.00 28.00 28.00 33.00 OLD MATERIAL, Per Gross Ton: n rails, Chicago....... esses 15.50 16.00 16.00 20.00 n rails, Philadelphia........ 17.00 18.00 18.00 20.50 ( wheels, Chicago.......... - 13.50 138.50 13.50 18.50 * wheels, Philadelphia....... 18.25 138.75 13.75 17.50 eavy steel scrap, Pittsburgh... 13.75 138.75 14.25 18.25 Ifeavy steel scrap, Chicago..... 12.00 12.25 12.25 16.00 ivy steel scrap, Philadelphia. 12.50 12.75 138.50 18.00 FINISHED IRON AND STEEL, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Lbessemer steel rails, heavy, at Mill «x‘cihe knead wel 8 Bale ocd 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 Refined iron bars, Philadelphia. 1.35 1.35 1.37 1.65 Common iron bars, Chicago.... 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.60 mmon iron bars, Pittsburgh... 1.40 1.40 1.45 1.70 Steel bars, tidewater, New York 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.66 Steel bars, Pittsburgh......... 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.50 k plates, tidewater, New York 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.71 nk plates, Pittsburgh....... 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.55 Beams, tidewater, New York... 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.71 Beams, Pittsburgil.. ....sccecse 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.55 Angles, tidewater, New York... 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.71 Angles, PitteDur@hi..c.scceccece 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.55 Skelp, grooved steel, Pittsburgh. 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.60 Skelp, sheared steel, Pittsburgh. 1.3 1.80 1.85 1.65 SHEETS, NAILS AND WIRE, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Sheets, black, No. 28, Pittsburgh 2.20 2.15 2.20 2.40 Wire nails, Pittsburgh*........ 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.85 Cut nails, Pittsburgh......... 5 1.60 1.60 1.60 1.80 Barb wire, galv., Pittsburgh*... 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.15 METALS, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Lake copper, New York........ 18.00 13.00 13.00 13.75 Electrolytic copper, New York.. 12.75 12.874412.8714 13.50 Spelter, New York.......ee- iis 5.85 6.00 5.95 6.40 Spelter, GG Tes cvaccesecase 5.75 5.85 5.80 6.25 Lead, New WOFRicc .ccccaccose 4.50 4.50 4.40 4.60 Lead, St; BeGbsi ve. scdaca'e ‘ 4.85 440 4.30 4.52% Tin, New Ze@RRivcsss: €s0svaen 38.55 387.95 36.50 32.80 Antimony, Hallett, New York... 7.75 7.7% 7.7% 8.25 Tin plate, 100 Ib., box, 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 lb.: New York, 16c.; Philadelphia, 15c.; Boston, 18c.; Buffalo, lle.; Cleveland, 10c.; Cincinnati, 15c.; Indianapolis, 17c.; Chicago, 18e.; St. Paul, 82c.; St. Louis, 224%c.; New Or- eans, 30¢c.: Birmingham, Ala., 45c. Rates to the Pacific Coast are 80c. on plates, structural shapes and sheets, No. 11 and heavier; 85e. on sheets, Nos. 12 to 16; 95c. on sheets, No. 16 and lighter; 65c. on wrought boiler tubes. Structural Material.—I-beams and channels, 3 to 15 . inclusive, 1.40c. to 1.45c., net ; I-beams over 15 in., 1.50c. 1.55¢., net: H-beams over 8 in., 1.55c. to 1.60c.; angles, ‘ to 6 in, inclusive, 4 in. and up, 1.40c, to 1.45¢., net; ngles over 6 in., 1.50c. to 1.55c., net; angles, 3 in., on one r both legs, less than %4 in. thick, 1.45c., plus full extras per steel bar card, effective September 1, 1909; tees, 3 in. nd up, 1.40c, to 1.45¢., net.; tees, 3 in. and up, 1.40c. to |.45e., net; angles, channels and tees, under 3 in., 1.45c., lase, plus full extras as per steel bar card of September 1, THE IRON The Iron and AGE 1347 Metal Markets 1909; ‘deck beams and bulb angles, 1.70c. to 1.75c., net, hand rail tees, 2.50c.; checkered and corrugated plates, 2.50¢., net. Plates.—Tank plates, 4 in. thick, 6% in. up to 100 in. wide, 1.40c. to 1.45¢., base. Following are stipulations pre scribed by manufacturers, with extras to be added to base price (per pound) of plates: Rectangular plates, tank steel or conforming to manufactur- ers’ standard specifications for structural steel dated February 6, 1903, or equivalent, 14-in, thick and over on thinnest edge, 100 = wide and under, down to but not including 6 in, wide, are ase. Plates up to 72 In. wide, inclusive, ordered 10.2 Ib, per square foot are considered -in. plates. Plates over 72 in. wide must be ordered \-in. thick on edge, or not less than 11 Ib. per square foot, to take base price. Plates over 72 in. wide ordered less