The Iron Age 1911-02-09: Vol 87 Iss 6

rubasued Dvery ituiniuwy vy the DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 14-18 Park Place, New York Entered at the New York Tost Of.-ce us Second Clauss Mail Matter. Subscription Price, United States and Mexico, $5,00 per Annum ; to Canada, $/.20 per Annum; wae roan Conant, $10.00 per Annum. Cuanes T. Roor, " - - * e PRESIDENT W. H. TAYLOR, = - - TREASURER AND GENERAL MANAGER Haroio S. BuTTENHEIM, ° - = ” - SECRETARY Geo. W. Core, - - - + - A, |. Findvey, . - - - - } corrone H. R. COBLEIGH, Cs Ld - : - MECHANICAL EorToR Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building Pittsburgh, Park Building Cleveland, American Trust Building Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Building Te CONTENTS, Editorial : PAGE RL er re er eee 347 The Gary Idea in the International Steel Trade...... 348 The Copenhagen Polytechnic Plan................e. 349 British Insurance Against Unemployment........... 349 Specialized Seeking for New Customers.............. 349 INTO oe as get's oes wat 350 Pig Iron Production. Illustrated................24 a 352 The Iron and: Metal Market Reports................354 to 863 Se ON PRUOND, pa a eke sp ow hose niece (Reiv eon 363 Iron and Industrial Stocks......... 363 c AE mabe ett di en Ae 0 ee th A ET ED . > What Union Labor Is Doing for San Francisco.......... 863 The Carnegic Steel Company Relief Fund................ 363 Es cre code pete oe 364 i , Oe Lea wath Ce TEE ie Re ee ee CRY ee Oe Experience with Concrete Patterns. .............000e00-. 365 ame 'Otto Gas Himgine WOrks. .. .5. isn cede covevicddcce 365 Greater Activity. at. Youngstown, Ohfo.......2........s..: 366 Obituary. Portrait...... 367 oa , a a On me 5: Cue eer wre nen oy a ove The Warwick Iron & Steel Company's Annual Report...... 368 New Railroad Equipment..............e.+ee5- 368 The Nelson Hot Blast Stove... oo 368 CISON FLOL BASE BCOVE: oon ys eels ce gente m sess eine 36! Dry Air Blast......... 368 ee eee eee eee eerseeeeaeeeeseseeeesee ove Jones & Laughlin Ore Operations. ...........0...ceee0ds 369 Clyde Mitchell Carr. Portrait......:...... 360 Electricity and Fence Wire Rust................ 369 New Publications.....: 0.0) f08 20, U8, -STeO! G) age8 370) R ; te ; : an ei e Ss Lene © PRES a eS Ses oe sepublic Iron & Steel Company Handbook............... 370 Customs Decisions... 37 i nd eee MS 90 #8 Bo muaein ofee 20 #)6h0 Hele D he gis ees © « ot oo International Harveatér, Commany.. « syes't - mobende 372 “ Gary Screw & Bolt IY a ocean hs nothin 375 had d , ' pote t tastes tps chee 373 The Tay! I to be Made by a New Company.............; 373 T) aft Plan to Lease Water Power, .. 373 eae ac Sind ck DWOTE Hee eee Pees r sede, Ti e Linde Air Products Company's Growth..........0.... 373 “a4 Ore sriquettes..... 374 he \ ‘al . A = r" Cewryrsveereereeeeeaseeeereeesmheeeeee od Tw. - chanical Engineers’ Monthly Meeting............. 374 ; b 17-Ft, Ore Vessels Ordered...... 374 thas CPO vias owe te ew ee ne oa Sols Bh : = duct Coke Ovens and Conservation.......:........ 374 de Stenetype SoS CRY 27% Ko ‘atin , fast ino ei li ii tui a i a Mili i a aa oie See = y Supply and Machinery Exhibition............. 375 > General Electri¢ y ce RT | tenga d- s Blowing Engine Cee ante ies s Cae de 375 Beline - mports of Iron and Steel in 1910........... 376 as on rete Mixers at Chicago Cement’ Show. s. .«i¥. 376 Shon Pisce ype KE Alternating Current-Generator, Tilus. 377 0 Fioors.—I, _Tustrated....} 37 The Michi + EMustrated 08ers. eee eee eee 37S re ‘chigan Stove Company......... S82 Ditto ee Vonseceseseceseeseescsences 82 : to the Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon Plant. Illusttated.’. 383 The Detroj . we Detroit Stoker. . FMMOIPESOR. oconc clic cccectctbo 384 oon North Wales 8-In. Grinder Head. Illustrated......... BRK New 'T: ae pee TO: i ee eee eS I 386 The p ts = Pipe hreading Tooi. © Mustrateds... .. oo. 2 826 The = adelphia Foundrymen’s Assoéiation....... + eae ee 386 ee r Square, Illustrated wey. ad. . AT. 387 The \ ny * Repair Belts; Tihestwated. . : os cat ie ek an 388 The P .D srass Melting Furnace.’ Mlustrated......... 388 The 1 eep-Throated Power Punch. .Tustrated........ BSD - : Hollow Cap Serew. Illustrated... .....0......5 380 Ten . | van Machinery Company .Makes Some Changes. -~. 389 Trade oo ent, Apollances. «6... 5.2 Bs ice Wot, atte bats 390 The i Publications... .5...:.... abe ee bs hee ce. 390 The Fa, ‘+ sie Market Beroree. oii ese ct bane dencknpeenen a Cersent ts Iron Company's Enlargement... ..... .... is a as cdl 401 Nt Metal Pride@s «vs %....a.. eS re OE ach bam 4 Bs 402 Beeebiiehed New York, February 9, 1911 THE IRON AGE VoL. 87: No © Continued Improvement The Steel Corporation’s January Gain May Exceed 300,000 Tons Tin Plate Advanced—Better Outlook for the Foundry Trade Our pig iron statistics for January show an output of 1,759,000 tons, or 18,000 tons less than in December, indicating the extent of the slump in operations at the opening of the year. Yet the report of capacity active February 1 reflects plainly the improvement in finished material, the 206 furnaces then in blast. producing at the rate of 59,568 tons a day, against 53,347 tons a day for 189 furnaces January I. Of the net gain of 17 furnaces in the past month the steel works furnaces contributed 14 and the mer- chant furnaces 3. So many furnaces were banked at the opening of the year that production fell off to 19,700,0c0 tonsa year, On February I it was 22,000,- coo tons a year. Some measure of the increased activity in steel lines is found in the business of the leading Pittsburgh in- terest. In rails and billets its new orders and specifica- tions in January were 50,000 tons more than in De- cernber. What has been given out'of the bookings of the Steel Corporation in January, ineluding the Pennsyl- vania and New York Central rail business, indicates that the unfilled orders January 31 were fully 300,000 tcns more than on December 31. In the new demand nearly all finished lines are rep- resented, but apart from rails the heavier products still lag behind tin plate and wire. The expected advance in tin plate. was made Feb- ruary 3 and is 10 cents a box on coke plates, while char- coal bright plates are advanced 30 cents, with a further increase for the more heavily coated plates. Some pro- ducers favored 25 cents advance on coke plates. Nearly all mills are booked six months ahead. As in the case of wire, heavy. tin plate buying preceded the advance, Prices on sheets are firmer than. in several months. Most of the leading millsare operating from 60 to 70 per cent, of capacity, which is a distinct improvement. New lake vessel work announced in the past two weeks calls for 17,000 tons of plates and shapes for six boats. Plate mills are getting more work, but still have ‘an uncomfortable amount of slack capacity. Structural contracts include 4000 tons for the Vine street pier at Philadelphia and 3000 tons for a Louis- ville & Nashville viaduct at Louisville, Ky. Bars have not shared in the movement of the past three weeks. Shipments on old orders are well taken, but there. is no important new contracting. Rail orders include .over 61.000 tons for the New Haven, in¢lading the Bostom & Maine and Maine Cen- at é. : | * + oe ‘ ¥ t ? aR i.e : 3 $ i Pies + > Ta $e ae pe + pA Ee Fie ee IN ae taal me me ety ein ! oe eee eae 7 ~ 6 ee tee 348 THE IRON AGE tral. The Lackawanna has placed 23,000 tons and the St. Pau! is about closing for 60,000 tons. In the pig iron market a sale of 25,000 tons by a Southern interest, at less than $11, for No. 2, is the largest transaction. Recent purchases of the leading pipe interest are put at 40,000 tons. The foundry out- look is more promising in some districts, and efforts have been made by a number of melters to buy for the second half of the year. This is particularly the case with Western malleable foundries. Radiator and other interests have bought considerable Buffalo iron at low prices. Better reports from the machinery markets, in which increased railroad buying is mentioned, should help the drooping foundry industry and show its effect on the market for foundry pig iron. Recent buying of basic iron in eastern Pennsyl- vania amounts to 20,000 tons and further business is pending. The last ‘sales were at $14.50 and some fur- naces have advanced their_price to $15. Central West- ern furnaces which recently accepted low prices for basic are taking a firmer stand this week and some are quoting $14, at furnace. A meeting next week will take up again the proposed selling agency for basic iron. The copper statistics tor February 1 show an in- crease of 20,000,000 pounds, or about 16 per cent. in domestic stocks. While larger than looked for, the increase has had no effect thus far on the price, electro- lytic selling for 12.37%. The decline in pig tin, which met some buying in its early stages, has now frightened consumers from the market. The Gary Idea in the International Steel Trade Engrossed as the steel manufacturers of the United States have been for several months in the problems growing out of the situation at home, it was not to be expected that international relations would be given prominence. However, there are indications that the work begun at the New York meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute in October, 1910, looking to a more friendly footing of competitors in the world’s steel markets has not been allowed to lag. It is now expected that another international conference will be held at Brussels; Belgium, in June of this year, with the purpose of making definite progress toward the end sought when the foreign manufacturers were in- vited to New York. The Proceedings of the American Iron and Steel Institute, covering the New York meeting, have been distributed in the past week. They contain, in ad- dition to a full report of the Waldorf-Astoria sessions for the reading of papers (already given in these col- umns) an interesting report of the luncheon meeting at the Railroad Club, New York, on October 24, the day before the foreign visitors sailed for home. Opinions may differ as to the economic soundness of the proposals,ef Chairman Gary and his friends, the home and foreign manufacturers of steel, but it is to be said that there is no secrecy in their avowals. The publication and circulation both in the United States and Europe of the remarks made at the Railroad Club luncheon is evidence that publicity is not least among the innovations represented by the Gary idea. As the spokesman on that occasion, Chairman Gary explained in somewhat the line of thought followed in his address at the dinner he gave last month, how February 0, 1911 price maintenance could be made effective without , formal agreement. He said that steel manufacturers in the United States had.some advantage over thos from abroad in that about 95 per cent. of them « in substantial accord, working in harmony, tryin help one another.” This condition he attributed fact that in the past few years are { t LO 7 ) the the iron and steel industry has been in the contro} of a class of men who have the intelligence, the education. the experience and also the disposition to work together on two grounds—first, that it is pleasant and agreeable to hays such a friendly feeling toward each other, and secondly, pp. cause as a matter of intelligent reasoning we know the pecuniary results are sure to be better. Going further into the matter, Judge Gary explained to his foreign guests the procedure which had been deemed permissible in the United States. Particularly noteworthy in the following extract is the distinction between actual competition and potential competition, or leaving oneself free to compete: On account of the laws of this country we have to work with the greatest care. We have to be very particular what we say and what we do. We cannot enter into contracts with each other which tend to restrict trade: we cannot lawfully enter into a contract to maintain prices, to divid territory, to restrict output, or in any way to restrain gen- eral trade; but, as I said at the meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute, quoting the Attorney General, it is just as well settled in this country that under the law we are not compelled to compete, if we only leave ourselves free to eompete. If we enter into no arrangement which re- stricts us from entering into competition, if we so desire, we are within the law, and, therefore, if by coming together and divulging our business, by making statements of exactly what we are doing and what our prices are, saying one for himself only what he proposes to do, in other words, dis- closing our methods and our conditions and our prices, so that every one is thoroughly acquainted with the business of others, and, therefore, as a matter of fair and friendly competition, maintains his prices and keeps within his proper domain and treats his neighbor as his neighbor ought to be treated, we are not violating any principle of law. Since 1907, following the great panic, we have in a large measure at least worked together; we have secured as a rule the maintenance of fair prices; we have kept within our own particular bailiwicks; we have avoided injuring our neigh- bors who are in competition with us; we have helped one another almost daily and have secured and maintained con- ditions that are very much better than they were during the times many years ago when, regardless of’ public sentiment, contracts were actually made, though not kept, to establish and maintain prices. We have a committee which we eal] the Committee on Improvement in Methods; that is more or less general and very comprehensive; but it is an ad- visory committee. It is a committee to whom any one ma) apply at any time for information and advice; a committee without any power except a moral power; a committee which may advise and which advice the one who receives it may follow or reject as he sees fit. The result is that any on at any time believing his neighbor is not conducting his business as it ought to be conducted in any respect, may £ before that committee and ask for information and advise concerning that particuiar business. The committee ma) take up the subject matter with the one whose methods are complained of, and, after obtaining all the facts, advise that individual what ought to be done. The individual may follow the advice or not; he is under no obligation to follow it, bat frequently, if not generally, the result is that he is dispose! to adopt the recommendation of the committee. Illustrating the ‘practical working of the America® plan, the speaker gave this incident: A gentleman to-day appealed to the fairness of the pres dent of our corporation in regard to the methods of doin business in a certain locality, stating the facts and giving his reasons for believing that it was not. quite neighborly. Our president said that he was unacquainted with the a. but he would ascertain them immediately, and, if — statement had been made, his disposition would be ft vise a change in that particular locality, and I have 2° shadow of doubt the error committed thete will be co immediately. There is no obligation to do it, except 4 _ obligation; a disposition to carry into practical effect pest I have said in this friendly co-operation which Lag It one company benefits another company it benefits itself. means that one company cannot succeed permanently the disadvantage of another. ; Acs t Judged by the expressions of the visitors from Gres Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and Austria, ™ ‘ 9, 1911 Chairman Gary’s proposal of an interna- and steel association on, the lines of the Amer [ron and Steel Institute, such an organiza- . fair way to be realized. Naturally the 25 ast October came with no authority to act They came to hear and promised to go At the Railroad Club meeting, as jings just published reports it, no discordant ; sounded and each of the foreign representa- tives promised to commend international co-operation | manufacturers of his own country. The indeed, took even more definite shape than this, the following resolution being passed: report. \ view to forming an international association to exte sting friendly relations: between steel producers hroug t the world, and to provide for conferences in re- matters in which they are all interested, it is nded by the gentlemen here assembled that a com- formed by the producers of the different countries sider the subject and report to a meeting to be held in Envope in 1911. The committee shall be made up of representatives of the different countries to be appointed from nominations made by them respectively. The objects (ined are not intended to conflict with the province of existing iron and steel institutes or technical societies rganized. ‘committees thus provided for have been ap- pointe in the respective countries, it is understood, now co-operating, with a view to the more definite action which it is expected will be taken at Brussels in June. On the practical outcome of the movement, time will be needed to give light. Some of the international arrangements already in existence in the steel trade—particularly that relating to rails—are matters of common knowledge. The international trade in structural steel has been conducted with some measure of co-operation, and so far as its European side is concerned is chiefly in the hands of two associa- tions. As efforts are made to regulate conditions in ert ther lines where the concerns are of smaller caliber and more numerous, difficulties will naturally ease. In pipe and wire there is a measure of co- operation now, but comparatively little in plates, sheets Naturally international co-operation involves many heulties growing out of international rivalries, that ten stronger than the inducement of larger uniary returns. But there is no quéstion of the growing unwillingness of steel manufacturers in_ all countries to make sacrifice sales in outer markets for sake of setting a hot pace for, their foreign com- petitors. Moreover, the anomaly of the lowest prices t steel being constantly made in Countries which do duce it will hardly, be tolerated indefinitely. The Copenhagen Polytechnic Plan he Polyteknisk Loereaustalt, the great engineer- 'g school of Copenhagen, has established a practice in ‘s course—which should have strong advocates among American educators—of compelling a protracted period ‘ual industrial training. in connection .with, the ‘gular curriculum. “The course is four ahd one-half years. At the expiration of the first, two years, the ‘tudent must pass an examination and thesis test and ‘en serve at least two years in some practical work ‘1s in keeping with the department of which he student. At the end of the period he returns to © school and takes the final two and one-half years. mplaint, has always been made that the average staluate of an engineering school requires several whict THE IRON AGE 349 years of training in his employer’s service until he be- comes of real value. It may be argued that a young man would do as well by taking two years of practical work after graduation as two years in the middle of the course, but this is not accepted as correct. A scien- tific course must be largely theoretical and a great han- dicap to the majority of students is that they do not realize what they really need to get out of the school. The young man taking the course has probably never rubbed up against the practical application of engineer- ing except in a superficial way. A certain time in an industrial atmosphere, before the course begins, or under the Copenhagen system, gives the student an entirely different viewpoint during his theoretical work. An objective, more or less pronounced, has been cre- ated for him. British Insurance Against Unemployment Radical labor legislation abroad must always be re- garded with something like apprehension in America, because established customs of other countries con- trive to find their way here, often being intensified and made more obnoxious to employers by our legislative bodies. The British Parliament appears to be on the eve of passing a bill providing compulsory insurance against unemployment, which shall be paid for by the employer, the employee and the state, in some propor- tion not yet determined. The proposed insurance will be by trades, and the experimental bill, following a British custom, will confine its operation to a limited number of employments, including works of construc- tion, engineering, machine and tool making, and ship and boat building; comprising a total employment of upward of 2,500,000 adult males. The law will not act to help the habitually idle workman. It is not intended for him, but for those who are industrious. To review the measure briefly, before a man can receive insurance benefits he must have contributed a few cents a week for about eight months, When out of employment he will receive noth- ing for the first week; if employment is not secured, his benefit will be $1.92 a week for 15 weeks, or longer if the weekly benefit is smaller, but in no case for more than 20 weeks. With each succeeding application for insurance benefits he must have contributed to, the fund for a longer period. If work is secured for him (and this will be looked after with system) he must accept it or furnish a good reason for a declination, and with work his insurance ceases. The experiment, if carried out, will be watched with keen interest in all industrial countries. It savors less of paternalism than many such measures. But there will be skeptics until comprehensive public benefits will have established the real value of this new scheme of insurance. Specialized Seeking for New Customers A factor in the selling system of industrial works which is coming to be recognized as yielding large returns is the systematic and constant. search for pos- sible new customers. A few yery large companies em- ploy special men. for this. purpose—free lances who have nothing to sell and nothing to buy, but who must constantly be keenly alert for new outlets for the com- pany’s products, The reports of such a man, go to the sales department and are acted upon quickly and ener- 350 THE IRON AGE February 9, 191 getically. The results achieved are said to be well worth the cost of the department. Salesmen are supposed to do just this work, but of course much of their time is occupied in taking care of known buyers. The salesmen’s efficiency in the search for the unknown varies greatly. Most of them need stimulation in this respect. Occasionally, how- ever, a good salesman is developed from the encour- agement given by an employer to some young man on his force who is seen to have the requisite qualities for taking the initiative in hunting up new customers. An instance of this kind is recalled in which a young man who had been schooled in the details of the -busi- ness was turned loose with instructions to work up new trade and to avoid calling upon those who were regu- lar customers. Of course, his familiarity with the products handled by his employers enabled him to select consumers in possible need of just such merchandise. His work was done with sych enthusiasm, feeling the responsibility imposed upon him of establishing a rep- utation for himself, that it was not long until he had developed much more trade than had been thought possible. It was found that quite important consumers within easy reach of the establishment had never been cultivated with a view to securing their trade. It is needless to say that the young man speedily developed into one of the most important members of the selling force. It must be admitted that the supplementary investi- gations in pursuit of new business are much more thoroughly done if made a specialized task. Smaller houses could not afford to maintain men for the one purpose alone, but there are few selling forces that would fail to improve in efficiency if the search for new customers and new purposes for the product and possibilities for new products was carried on with more system. During dull times the work should be pursued relentlessly. In known cases almost unbeliev- able results have followed organized effort in this di- rection. +> - Correspondence Legislation and a Lower Cost of Living To the Editor: The people have been educated to the point of believing that all the ills, misfortunes and sor- rows of life and the failure to get what they want are caused by the party in power, and that conditions would be reversed if they put in power the party that was out. A great hue and cry went up in the last campaign con- cerning the failure of the party in power to revise the tariff downward. It was charged also that the trusts were robbing us of our liberty and the pursuit of happi- ness; that the high cost of living was due to the above alleged causes. In the dust and turmoil of political bat- tle it was overlooked that we now have the best tariff we ever had, and the lowest on a general average, and it was forgotten that trusts rob us no more than every one and anybody will, when an opportunity offers. However untrue and unjust the charges against the tariff ard the trusts, there is no denying that the cost of living is high. ‘The serious question.is, What makes it so, and what is the remedy? We have had a lower cost of living under a higher tariff, and robbers under one guise or another we always have had with us—and always will. But wages were never so high as they are now. and with coal: miners, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers. railroad employees and all other classes of labor getting the highest wages and the hest conditions ever known in this country, or any other, the cost of living cannot be low. High wages and low cost of living do not go hand in ‘crease of wages (higher costs), and helps enfor hand. They are incompatible. This is so plaiy y propo sition as to require no elucidation. It is self-eviqe,, The fact is that the high cost of living is « wages, shorter hours, less efficiency, reduced per man and per dollar, and other causes er than that high wages are due to the high cost of y. The people and the politicians are responsible conditions. Public sentiment as expressed scarcely an exception in favor of demands for e to high 1Uction an in. rce the demands, forgetting for the moment who ultimately has to pay the bills. The politicians advocate anything tha will secure votes, however pernicious, unsafe and yp. sound, contrary to the economic principles of existence, dangerous to the perpetuity of the republic and in cop. flict with the fundamental laws of the Creator. Besides, we have too many nonproducers, too mapy middlemen, who extract high toll from both employer and employee, and whose support comes from the earp. ings of labor and capital. They produce nothing, cop. tribute nothing to the general welfare, and are heavy burdens on society. In every city, village and community there are 10 tradesmen, where one would be sufficient: there are 10 men living by hook and crook, when one would be superfluous. On account of the smal! volume of business and large proportionate expenses, the numerable retail merchants have got to get excessive profits in order to exist. But this is aside the main question, although it adds materially to the cost of }iy- ing. For “the high cost of living” there is a remedy as simple as the cause. With free trade will come a redue- tion of wages corresponding to those of other countries, which will turn the tide of labor back to the land and re lieve the congested centers. This condition will cause a larger and cheaper production of the necessities of life. There will be more abundant and cheaper labor for the farmer, and consequently more plentiful and less costly food supplies. The fewer railroad and industrial en- ployees will have less money to buy with. Thus, step by step, will the high cost of living be cured. Putting grains, meats, animals, vegetables. fruits, wool, woolen and cotton goods on the free list will be extremely’ helpful in securing lower prices for these articles, as they are highly protected now; and the agti- culturist will be glad to contribute his share to the gen- eral welfare, for he is fair and honest and believes in doing to himself what he would have done to others. But after all has been said about ways and means of getting prices down, the question remains: Are we really to have a lower cost of living? Can we afford to pay the price of the remedy for “ the high cost of living?” When the end comes, it will be found that a protective tariff is first of all for the protection of the American working man. AN OHIO MANUFACTURER ” Sand Blast Pressures To the Editor: The following, we believe, gives the correct comparison between the high and low pressure type of sand blast machine. It is entirely a question of economy. Economy of work comes under two heads. First, the actual economy of the sand _ blast machi itself, the cost of the compressed air used and sand wor! out by the machine. And second, the amount.of san‘ blast power that can be.conveniently put into the hands of one man so as to reduce the wage cost of the oper tion. ce One pressure of air is not the most economical mt vs uses. The grain of sand must deliver a blow of @ for properly proportioned to the work that it is expected " do. A given horsepower of compressed air will impar a certain velocity to a given weight of sand per -_. and no more. If this velocity is sufficient, then doul ling the velocity of the sand will reduce the factor of econom of the machine to 25 per cent. of its former efficients for these reasons, At double the velocity each grain of the fiving sand will contain four times the enersy « = same grain at the lower velocity, and, therefore, m total quantity of sand to which it can impart this vel y one-quarter that to which it can impart ity. As at the lower velocity the sand has rey to do the work required of it, with it can do no more, and the extra energy t is only wasted. OTHER SOURCES OF WASTE. ore slip, so to speak, between the sand ing air at high than at low velocities. And ities the comparatively lower pressure air nearly its own velocity to the sand than * y ‘essure air moving at a greater velocity. 1 dily be seen when the machine, running wil at the lower pressures, say, at about 10 , = the sand turned on and the pressure rises q ‘ 30 per cent., or to 14 to 20 lb. Whereas, when is running at about 80 Ib. the rise of pres- gre is scarcely perceptible, not over 2 or 3 per cent., d is turned on. No other kind of a machine med 97 per cent. of its power load when run- uld be considered economical. These con- ised the low or moderate pressure machine sped. A long course of comparative experi- verified them before the machines were put PT, lusions are true of any type of sand blast with the flexible hose type are emphasized. flexible hose is always a source of loss of power ine a grain of sand strikes the soft elastic g the hose it loses considerable of its velocity, ust be again imparted to it or it will finally come to rest and clog up the tube. For this reason the larger liameter of the hose and the less the velocity of the mixed stream of sand and air passing through it, the less is this loss because the greater the ratio of cross sec- tion to wall area, and therefore the fewer the impacts e sand grains with the walls, and also, owing to the low velocity, the less is the loss at each such impact. As an illustration: Our No. 6 machine has a_ hose 2l, ternal diameter. Through this hose 180 cu. ft. f fi r compressed to 14 lb. passes per minute, When the sand is turned on this air carries with it about 35 Ib. er minute, and the pressure rises in discharging umount to about 20 lb. This mixed stream is discliirged through a 4-in. nozzle. In comparison with th uote from the catalogue of a high-pressure ma- hose *4 in, in diameter carries an unspecified iir at SO lb., and discharges it through a noz- I i. in diameter.. The increase of pressure when < sind would be practically imperceptible, and the ried could not possibly be more than 6 or 8 Ib. ule, probably much less. This is forced through a tube of only 0.09 the area of our hose with, it is easy to { a loss of velocity and wear on the tube from | that the machine will not work at all if the pres- * is reduced very much below the specified 80 Ib. i discharged the sand has not to exceed an efficiency, Yeight tor weight, of more than one and one-fourth to ‘and one-half that of an equal weight of sand ‘ced from our machine, or a net cleaning power of ' host One-third that of our machine at thé same cost ‘air and a greatly inereased cost for sand and hose, ‘he higher pressure wears out much more rapidly, | Wage cost, if in each case one man handles one ‘liree times that called for by our machine. In- ices, air, sand and hose, this type of machine carly or quite six times as much per square ing ordinary castings, forgings, &c., as our \ ENERGY WASTED MOVING AIR. onomy of the high pressure and medium pres- les may be compared in another way, which the inherent waste of the former class. The reed at a considerable velocity from the noz- ier Class of machine is itself of, considerable ‘., about 1-13 Ib. for each cubic foot of free “3 < the machine discharging 180 cu. ft. of free » . Jinute, this air will weigh about 14 Ib., and fs : “1 at practically the same velocity as the sand : it is mixed. The force necessary to give the air is in itself without effect in sand [git THE IRON AGE 35! blasting. Only the force which is imparted to the sand is useful. Evidently, therefore, a machine which dis- charges a mixture of 14 Ib. of air and 30 lb. of sand per minute utilizes somewhat over 70 per cent. of the total force put into it in giving useful velocity to the sand it discharges, and wastes only somewhat less than 30 per cent. in incidentally imparting velocity to the air that is discharged along with it. Whereas, a machine that discharges the same weight of free air per minute at the higher pressure mixed with only 6 to 8 lb. of sand at a maximum, utilizes only 30 to 35 per cent. of the force in usefully throwing sand, and wastes some 65 to 70 per cent. of its force in uselessly throwing air at the same velocity. This is to say nothing of the fact mentioned above that at the higher pressures the sand does not so nearly attain the same velocity as the air in which it is mixed as it does at a lower pressure. Another wasteful point about some of the highpres- sure machines is the fact that they use a very short nozzle. The higher the pressure and the greater the velocity sought to be imparted to the sand, the longer should be the nozzle through which the mixture passes, so that the air will have a longer time to act on the sand. The reason that this is not done is that at the higher velocities the wear of the flying sand is so de- structive to the nozzles as to be more expensive, and, therefore, recourse is had to a short nozzle, thereby de- liberately sacrificing economy and efficiency of action to secure a Jonger life to this part of the machine. THE MINIMUM DESIRABLE PRESSURE. One other point in regard to the proportioning of the velocity to the work to be done. One might readily imagine from the above reasoning that a still lower pres- sure would be still more economical. In general this is so, and for work like the depolishing of glass, where the removal of any of the substance is not desired, but only the roughening of the surface, where the effect will be produced at a very low velocity, it is most economical to use air pressures as low as about 1 lb. The reason being that at that pressure each grain of sand completes the work by striking the surface, and the same surface does not require another blow from another grain of sand. The same with cleaning of castings and forgings. At 10 to 20 Ib. pressure, depending upon the nature of the sand or scale to be removed, each grain of sand cuts down to the clean metal, and the same spot does not require an- other blow to complete the work. If the blow were weaker, too weak to finish the work at each impact, so that a second and third blow were required to complete it, then the process, would be Jess.economical than when it is finished at one, blow. Even this would not be so waste- ful as making each blow several times as hard as is nec- essary to clean down to the metal each time it is struck. If this is done a great proportion of the force of the blows would be wasted on the, clean metal beneath the sand and scale which you want to get rid of, instead of being prac- tically all expended in removing the sand or scale which it is desired to remove. To put the comparison in a word, the use of the high pressure machives for this purpose is much like a proposition to use a heavy long-stroke pneu- matic riveting hannner; in place of a light, quick short- stroke hammer. for work suitable for the latter. TILGHMAN-BROOKSBANK SAND BLAST COMPANY. PHIPADELPHIA, Pa,, January 25, 1911. —_——_>-o The Detroit & Cleveland: Navigation Company has accepted the bid of the Detroit Shipbuilding Company for the construction of a new steel passenger steamer to be called the, City of Detroit, which will be the largest passenger steamer on the Great Lakes. The length over all wil}-be 470 ft; molded breadth, 55 ft.; breadth over guards, 93 ft.: molded depth, 22 ft.; steel construction throughout; approximate tost, $1,500,000. Elevator serv- ice will be provided. The new boat will be ready early in 1912, and will be placed on the Buffalo run. : The Public Service Commission has ordered the elim- ination of three grade crossings of the Erie Railroad Company in Jamestown, N. Y., requiring three steel bridges. eee yee eae i = Oe oe Saami ny Fe aap 2 + w ut to Pig Iron Production A Slight Falling Off in January More Furnaces Active February 1 and Output Increasing The January pig iron statistics show that the total prodaction of coke and anthracite iron last month was 1,759,326 gross tons, as against 1,777,817 tons in Decem- ber. A good many furnaces which were banked on Jan- uary 1 were started up soon after, and these together with furnaces which resumed last month after repairs made a total of 206 active on February 1, an increase of 17 in the month. The daily capacity active February 1 was 59,568 tons, or 2800 tons more than the daily aver- age production in January. Production to-day is, there- fore, at the rate of about 22,000,000 tons a year, includ- ing charcoal iron, while under the general banking of furnaces in the holiday time it fell to 19,700,000 tons. Daily Rate of Production The daily rate of production of coke and anthracite pig iron by months, beginning with January. 1910, is as follows: Daily Rate of Pig Iron Production by Months.—Gross Tons. Stee! = y ks. Merchant. Total. eemmete. 2000... 6ab sa sx- eke 57,2 26,948 84,148 NE na ceo as. aio, bla & i ge 57876 27,740 85,616 BE ha ou a eles 40s sco ees ee 28,346 84,459 SS AEPSAP SE Pt ee eee ae 55,663 27,129 82,792 Ee 24,867 77,102 CNS a vad hy adobe web ceed 51,637 23.879 75,516 i ata EOS a nce aw 5g tee Wd wl 47,183 22,122 69,305 ee ae cS on w wink walt 46,534 21,429 67,963 aids oho habih is «.as0 0 47,007 21, 53¢ 68,542 rag iig ae chat wh b << 2 45,794 21,726 67,520 EL esth woth athe tos se 41.427 22,232 63,659 ES ae ere 35,909 21.440 57.349 Ss BOERS eos ckadinecs. teen 20,351 56,752 PER TON TONS - « < a = 2° 6 27 THE IRON AGE February ( January Output by Districts The table below gives the production of ce and anthracite furnaces in January and the { Months preceding : Monthly Pig Iron Production.—Gross 17 No De (30 days) (31, damn (30 das) (31 da New York.... 148,999 147,894 2,6 142.4; 8) New Jersey... 18,773 Mo” 115 18,284 15,437 po Lehigh Valley. 63,919 69, 327 62,161 68,5 354 Schuylkill Val. 60,689 61,673 54,642 = 51.45 se: Lower Susque- " hanna and Lebanon Val. 53,750 54,072 50,370 51,888 Pittsburgh dis. 505,342 507,508 445,083 397,37 109 BOR Shenango Val. 108,114 112,026 82,904 82,70 &2'999 West. Penn. 115,622 126,098 87,568 81,957 4118 Md., Va and “a Ke ntucky . 68,398 67,926 58,772 59.94 56,424 Wheeling dis. 74,143 76,581 84,390 74,297 77.715 Mahoning Val. 201,986 202,667 180,717 162,349 174318 Central an , North. Ohio.. 111,958 117,902 108,599 112,662 127.51 Hocking Valley, Hanging Rock and 8.W.Ohio. 27,657 24,029 25,008 29,9 253 Mich. poy Wis.,Col.,Wash. 63,935 72,825 78,927 68.3 oy ( ‘hicago dis... 259,672 246,504 239,469 197,34 R98 Alabama .... 148,755 160,077 165,512 154.0 188 Tenn., Georgia , and Texas... 24,563 26,897 24,764 26.961 26.340 Totals... 2,0: 56,275 2.093, 12 7 1. 909,780 1,777.8 17 1,759,326 The list « of furnaces blown in between January 1 and February 1 (a good many of them after banking through the holiday) includes one Swede in the Schuylkill Val- ley, three Carrie, one Duquesne, one Lucy and two Eé- gar Thomson in the Pittsburgh district, one New Castle in the Shenango Valley, one Cambria (net—two in and one out) and Rebecca in western Pennsylvania. two Mingo and one Bellaire in the Wheeling district. two Ohio and Mattie in the Mahoning Valley, one Lorain and Upson in northern Ohio. Belfont in the Hanging Rock district. Madeline in the Chicago district, one Colorado at Pueblo, Missouri at St. Louis, the rebuilt Dayton in Tennessee (the other Dayton furnace blowing out). Among furnaces blown out last month were one al AND ge st ous JAN PER DIEM PIG. IRON PRODUCTION AV. PRICE LOCAL No. 2 FDY., CHICAGO AV. PRICE SOUTHERN No.2 FDY. ,CINCINNAT! ee iE PITT TTT TTY TT LETT TTT TT TT a LET TTT TT ETT TT TT TTT LETT TT TP TT TT Diagram of Daily Average Production by Months of Coke an@ Anthracite Pig Iron in the United States from January 2 1, 1907, to February 1, 1911; Also of Monthly Average Prices of Southern No. 2 Foundry Iron at Cincinnati and Local No. 2 Foundry Iron Delivered at Chicago. the Pittsburgh district, Dunbar and Nittany \ Pennsylvania, one Calumet and one South ; be Chicago district and Cumberland in Ten- Capacity in Blast February 1 and January 1 wwing table shows the daily capacity of fur- st February 1 and January 1. These figures rgely on the performance of the furnaces in » months: acite Furnaces in Blast and Capacity. — Gross Tons, Total -—F ebruary 1—, -——January 1.—, number Number Capacity Number Capacity of stacks. in blast. perday. inblast. per day. : OF 12 3,931 12 4,034 York roe 3 558 3 568 \ 7 2 410 2 50z \ .23 11 2,110 11 2,062 S ioe 1 95 1 84 S Valley...16 7 1,965 6 1,660 quehanna.. 7 4 705 4 690 Valley....10 5 712 5 710 district. . 50 35 14,215 29 11,890 S lcs «5 1 130 1 134 Valley...20 9 2,997 8 2,541 Penn.....27 11 2,990 11 2,763 \ 2 575 2 530 \ i 14 8 2,850 5 1,725 » Valley. ..23 18 6,240 15 5,286 d North, 22 12 4,244 10 3,45: g \ Hang Rock and 8. AIO... «cee 15 8 1,120 7 910 nd Indiana. .32 13 5,208 13 5 605 Sniegel .. . «sce kan 2 sake b 1 175 g Wisconsin i Minnesota... 10 5 1,058 5 1,104 Colorado, Missouri and . ais Washingt 7 4 1,185 2 708 \ rs . 2 S 906 s 893 Kentucky isccstead 5 2 340 2 320 \lah@ma, <-> «webeeal 46 17 4,134 17 4,094 ind Georgia. .20 8 890 9 904 ey 415 206 59.568 189 53,347 Production of Steel Companies Returns from all plants of the United States Steel Corporation and the various independent steel compa- ies show the following totals of product month by Only steel-making iron is included in these fig- ether with ferromanganese, spiegeleisen and silicon. These last, while stated separately, are <0 included in the columns of.* total production.” ‘yoduction of Steel Companies.—Gross Tons. Spiegeleisen and -Pig.—Total production._—~ ferromanganese. 190%. 1910. 1911. 1910. 1911. 1,117,823 1,778,201 1,128,448 19,538 8,360 I 1,043, 263-1320. 558 5 14. 1 a a \i 1,140,653 ‘¥,789,212 ....4.:. 25.591 \ 1 093,092 5060. G08 —5-4-4-+-4-04-~ 22,304 M 1,256,448 2,619,283 ......4. 26,529 1345 5,527 71,549.412 -- ss ty 27,680 1,508,762 #1.462,489 |..5.}.:. 22,924 \ 1,591,991) 1.442572 oS es 25,756 s 1,660,839 1,410,221) ....4.;5. 15,151 Vet 1,769,094 1,419,624 ....,.5. 8,500 N t . .1,689,994 1,242,804. ....,.,5. 9,032 I ...17768,799 TLS, 1T4 3. .} 4. 12,178 Graphic Chart of Pig Iron Production and Prices lle fuctuations im pig iron. production from Janu- 1007, to the present time are shown in the accom, ving chart. The figures represented by the heavy ' those of daily averagé production, by months, and anthratite iron, “The two other curves on ‘le chart represent monthly average prices of Southern \o. 2 foundry pig iten at Cincinnati and of, lecal No. 2 iron deliyered at Chicago, They are based on veekly market quotations of The Iron Age. The cis of figures are as follows: aye Production of Coke and Anthracite Pig. Iron in lnited States by Months Since’ January 1, 1907,—Grors i997. 1908. 1909, 1910. 1924. ivarecay 71,149 33,718 57,975 84,148 56,752 Pe . lo dae 73.0388 37,163 60,976 85,616 ..... eerCh |. hed ae -71,821 39,619 59,232 ABO. wae . is b 6 dw asa 73,385 38.2 9 57,96 > a “ne i. be dagen 74,048 37,603 60,75 Petes tes me... cho dane 74,486 364, 444 65 MEM is ote ole Snon cg ttt tgesegewe ale oi east Pind Paes ae ae Seote COIN eso —tesgor tear 2S Nemes TTT OO BBs saat Ga'659 212 fee 39,815 56,158 ° 57,3490 se. os February 9, 1911 THE IRON AGE 353 Monthly Average Prices in Dollars of Southern No. 2 Foundry Iron at Cincinnati and Local No. Since January, 1907. 2 Foundry at Chicago 7—1907.—, ——1908.——, ——1909.—. -——_1910.—, Sou. 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. res: 26.00 25.85 16.15 18.45 16.25 17.35 17.25 19.00 Feb. ......26.00 25.85 15.75 18.16 16.13 16.75 17.06 19.00 March ....26.00 26.10 15.50 17.85 15.05 16.50 16.30 18,30 Bee oi So 25.06 26.35 15.20 17.78 14.25 16.50 15.37 17.50 May ......24.25 26.85 14.75 17.63 14.50 16.50 15.00 17.06 June ......24.10 26.60 15.25 17.73 14.70 16.50 14.85 16.75 July ......23.85 25.55 15.00 17.55 15.75 17.00 14.75 16.56 Aug. ......23.00 24.85 15.25 17.35 16.88 17.13 14.31 16.50 Sept. .....21.50 24.10 15.65 17.05 17.35 18.70 14.25 16.40 Oct. ......20.95 22.45 15,75 16.85 17.88 19.00 14.25 16.06 Nov. ......19.50 20.66 16.00 17.10 17.75 19.00 14.25 16.00 Dec. ......17.00 18.80 16.25 17.35 17. - a 14.25 16.00 Jan., 1911.14.25 15.50 cee . tanto Fa The Record of Poedioctiiah Production of Coke and Anthracite Pig Iron in the United States by Months Since January 1, 1907.—Gross Tons. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. January ....... 2,205,607 1,045,250 1,797,560 2,608,605 February ...... 2 04, 068 1,077,740 1,707,340 2,397,254 March ....:... Smee 1,228,204 1,832,194 2,617,949 April 1,149,602 1,738,877 2,483,763 May 1,165,688 1,883,330 2,390,180 June 1,092,131 1,930,866 2,265,478 July 1,218, 129 =©2,103,4381 2,148,442 BURORE cece «je 1,359,831 2,248,930 2,106,847 September ..... 2'183, 487 1,418,998 2,385,206 2,056,275 October ....... 2,336,972 1,567,198 2,599,541 2,093,121 November ..... 1.828/125 1,577,854 2,547,508 1,909,780 December ..... 1,234,279 1,740,912 2,635,680 1,777,817 Pear, -JOR1.... Ie: * hana dea: axes peste es ——— wom The Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Company, Pitts- burgh, has closed a contract with the Universal Portland Cement Company for motors to operate its No. 6 plant at Buffington, Ind. The motors will be of the MS mill type, having characteristics specially suitable for ce- ment mill work, and will operate on a 3-phase, 25-cycle, 440-volt circuit. The sizes range from 5 hp. to 200 hp., and the aggregate capacity is 11,500 hp. This will be the largest cement plant in the United States, having a daily capacity of approximately 12,000 barrels, and will be electrically operated throughout, the various drives being of the latest development for cement mill work.. Plans have been formulated and contracts signed for a complete reorganization of the E. R. Thomas Motor Company, Buffalo, N. Y., in the interest of the creditors. A new corporation will be formed, capitalized at $2,000,- 000, which will take over the plant and business. The creditors will receive 20 per cent. of their claims in cash, and the remainder in notes bearing interest and maturing not later than August 1, 1912. Mr. Thomas is to receive a satisfactory settlement for his interests and will remain in the reorganized company. The Electrical Alloy Company; Morristown, N. J., is putting on the market a new alloy which the’ company calls its Grade C. It is a pure ni¢kel and copper alloy, of noncorrosive material, having a resistance of .164 ohms per mil. ft., which does not’ become brittle with, re- peated heating and cooling. The new alloy is designed to replace 18 per cent. German silyer. The company is also placing on the market its new high grade phosphor bronze armature bending wire, manufactured from an imported iilloy. The American Institute of’ Mining Engineers will hold its one-hundredth meeting June 6, 1911, at Glen Summit Springs, near Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The Institute was or- ganized at Wilkes-Barre in May, 1871; thus the one hundredth meeting comes i its fortieth year. The an- nual business meeting of the Institute will be held at its office, 29° West Thirty-ninth street, New York, Tuesday, February 21, at 11-a.m. ; oS All the six furnaees of the Ohio group of the Carne- gie Steel Company, at Youngstown, Ohio, were in blast February 1, one having’ been blown in- eee 9, and another January 26. “Me Y _Thtee of. the five furnaces of the National Tube Com- pany, Lorain, Ohio, were in blast February 1, one having been RPA ‘in Jariuary — if - = 354 THE IRON AGE Febru: iTy 9, 191t The Iron and Metal Markets 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, Feh. 8, Feb. 1, Jan. 11, Feb. 9, PIG IRON, Per Gross Ton: 1911. 1911. 1911. 1910. Foundry No. 2. standard, Phila- BONES. sake dbl coda owe ks os $15.50 $15.50 $15.50 $18.75 Foundry No. 2, Souther