The Iron Age 1911-03-30: Vol 87 Iss 13

1855 Published ceets lnussday by the DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 14-18 Park Place, New York re Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Mail Matter. Subscription Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 pa Aooums to Canada, $7. Annum; to Other Foreign Countries, $10.00 per Annum. a Single Copies, 20 Cents. SHaRLes Te. ROOT, = ° e ad @ PRESIDENT oe 4. Tenia 7 - - - ‘TREASURER AND GENERAL MANAGER Haro.o S. BUTTENHEIM, ° ° - @ - SECRETARY Geo. W. COPE, - - - - } eorrons A. i, Finovey, - - , - - H. R. Cos.eicn, - - ~ + - MECHANICAL Eorron Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building Pittsburgh, Park Building Cleveland, American Trust ae Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Building CONTENTS. PAGE. Quebec Bridge Steel. ... 2.2... ++ ceveweeceerr errr naes Ld Our Approaching Removal... .........+-+eeeeeeeeees 158 Che Perennial Rail Problem. i ....... 05 ee wen e eens 758 The New York Workmen’s Compensation Decision.... 759 Underground Shops in South African Mines........-. 759 pondente ©. keris Pew’ bob 6 oe ee eee ee ee ew CF SHS 760 Greatest Steel Plamt..........-ececereceerrnncere 761 Iron and Metal Market Reports..........-+-++- 762 to 770 N on Pride@ in .3 Sa cad sce a We eh ORR ERPS OC CRT USE EDS 770 Des Moines Rapids Hydroelectric Plant..........++- 771 Decisions of Interest to Manufacturers........-- 771 fools and Appliances... .....-eeeeeeereesereereene 773 1 re ae ee ee ey re Sn eee ee 774 ms DecisiOne wed <i’ ce web ce cco bbw eos HOwaARHEL® oe 2 774 ) ry POPtEEECs 6 cad cw eee tthe Tee eS TERRE RE TET E20 775 i Western Electric Company's Barnings.......-++++++- ™ ad Equipment Orders. ....-.+--+e+ eer enteeererees 118 Maintenance of Way Cemvention. ....---6-seereeeers 1. \ Large Surplus of Idle Cars... .... cscs eccwreneecnee 776 Important Commercial Automobile Consolidation. ..... 177 Baldwin Locomotive Works’ Farnings......-«..«+++++- 1% \ yn Roof Still Good After 40 Years.......---++++5+. 71% NOOGD so Caets heres b 4b OCR EE er CERUC ED OOF 4 A'C9 4 11 s Foundry Practice. ........6es sce e cere eter ee renaes 778 iry Iron and Steel Exports and Imports..........-- 779 St Rail Fathaveie i. dss coveecss caves ccblp te 855 SUG a Ge 0's 780 n Steel. Gas#*aweGompany Equipment.......--.+--+-- 781 The Production of Steel in 1910. ..... ccc ecw ee cece eees 782 sattleship Delaware Boiler Accidemt...........++++- 783 lhe United States Metal Products Company.........-+++> 783 i Duplex Process at the Bethlehem Steel Company's , nt TitetPated. ofc ec ce cc cere sae emecesebeecesce 784 rriple Suppiy and Machinery Convention............ 788 Congress of Technology at Boston........--«+++++++> 788 McConway Car Wheel, Illustrated..........--+-++++> 789 No. 8 Universal Boring Machine. Illustrated......... 790 Wallace Hand Power Bar Bender. Ilustrated........ 792 ‘ Producer ExperimentsS. .5....0-- eee ee cee ec eteceeene 792 w Rockford 14-in. Drill. Tilustrated.............+.- 793 New York Compensation Law Void,......--+--++-++++ 794 Foundrymen’s Convention at Pittsburgh............-- 794 Keystone Brenze Company Bxpanding.............-- 795 New Newton Cold Saw. Tilustrated............-+5+- 795 Rockford Shaper Down Feed. ITlustrated............- 796 nnati’s Industrial Development.........- gos Hee ‘A. Publications. ....«0.-s0de ss a@ 6 Ges cabe* eees is ee ROME... cide teva eed bed kode ts } kas UUURS COTS Oho 799 Pennsylvania Railroad’s New Ore Unloading Plant at land. . 0. occ cb ens we ceety Wee pe He ben Ou Cop ee ee OFas 799 ‘roduction of Pilnorspar in 1909. .......-.6.- 5.05 04s 799 ge Ajax Forging Machine, Illustrated...........--» 800 avis 26-In. Turret Lathe. [lustrated........-..«++ 800 ‘emington Bench. Lathe. — Illustrated... . «+ e+ +» > 802 . 4% Bridgeport Motor Driven Grinder. Illustrated. , 803 collars for Emery Wheels... .. ea hn to Mabe <Gbawe BOS ‘ann, the New Canadian oe Publbeathone. 2. 6 spidis Pagraw ave Cie 2 oo a oes fachine?® Market Reports.............-4.- ierican Blectroche t Metal Prices. .......+% THE IRON AGE — New York, March 30, 1911 “Ro 13 VoL. $7: Quebec Bridge Steel The Contract Taken by the Carnegie Steel Company Proposed Consolidation of Virginia Furnaces— Structural Steel Prices Unstable The pig iron market has grown quieter, while fin- ished steel products are moving rather under the mo- mentum of February than from any fresh impulse. The slackening of business in other industrics is not promising, yet there is no definite note of complaint thus far in iron and steel. While pig iron buyers are not actively in the mar- ket, some little business has been done quietly. A large sale of Southern pipe iron is reported somewhat be- the $11, low and some sirmingham, Basis for No. 2, further sales of Southern foundry iron are reported cases beyond, In the Buffalo district the prices re- at $11 for delivery through, and in a few the third quarter. cently prevailing for early shipment have been shaded under new pressure to sell. Eastern furnaces are interested in an inquiry for 6000 tons of basic iron for a Canadian steel plant. With water shipment, Southern furnaces have a fair chance for this order. - The Steel Corporation’s pig iron operations are practically unchanged, 72 per cent. of its blast fur- naces being active this week. Three furnaces of in- dependent steel companies have gone in in March, and the merchant furnace output is increasing slightly. The effort made a few years ago to consolidate the Virginia blast furnaces located on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad has-been renewed lately. Only prelimi- naries have been considered, and the outcome is still uncertain. Among late rail orders are 4000 tons for the Lehigh & New England and 6550 tons for the George’s Creek & Cumberland, placed with the Bethlehem Steel Com- pany, and 4000 tons for the Western Maryland, which went to the Maryland Steel Company. The $20,000,000 bridge to connect the New Haven road with the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Long Island linés, via Hell Gate and Randall’s Island, has become a live project recently, and the steel requirements, which may exceed 60,000 tons, are under | ¢onsidera- The Lehigh & New England bridge at Bethle- hem; Pa., 1600 tors, has been let, and 4000 tons of rail- road bridgework is pending, including 1700 tons for the Rock Island. The aggressiveness of some fabri- tion. 758 THE IRON AGE cating companies has been so marked in recent com- petitions as to threaten the maintenance of the co-op- erative price of 1.40c. at Pittsburgh on structural shapes. The newly organized St. Lawrence Bridge Com- pany, in which Canadian bridge companies are inter- ested, has keen awarded the contract for the Quebec. Bridge, and the 60,000 tons of steel will be furnished by the Carnegie Steel Company. The design originally figured on called for 84,000 tons. Plate mills are running at a slower pace—now about 55 to 60 per cent. of capacity. For the three oil barges the American Shipbuilding Company is to build, 5000 tons of plates and shapes will be rolled at Pittsburgh, The spring trade in wire products, has gone beyond expectations. Some of the mills will be kept busy to the middle of the year on present bookings. The implement companies are showing some in- terest in new bar contracts and the time honored argu- ments have come forward again for a preferential price to this class of buyers. Railroad equipment orders continue to be given.out in a grudging way. The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie con- tract for 1000 freight cars and 1000 gondolas will prob- ably be placed this week. At Pittsburgh quite a little steel tie business is pending. The tin plate mills are very busy. Those of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company are running to go per cent. of capacity. Some orders are being placed for the third quarter, but the intimations that another advance may be made are not taken seriously. The scale of sheet mill operations is somewhat dis- appointing. Our Approaching Removal The David Williams Company, publisher of The Iron Age, lron Age-Hardware, Metal Worker, Plumber and Steam Fitter and Building Age, will remove its entire business from 14 Park place to 239 West Thirty- ninth street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, New York City, and expects to be established in its new quarters in the week beginning April Io. Several reasons have influenced the company when making this selection of a new habitation so far. from the district in which it has so long conducted its opera- tions. During the history of these various publica- tions, the office has been frequently removed, but it has always been within a short distance of the central post-office. Convenience to the post-office was the prime consideration. This motive no longer applies, arrangements with the New York post-office now being in effect whereby our publications are sent di- rectly to the Pennsylvania and New York Central trains without passing through the post-office. For some time many of the business interests of New York have found it advisable to seek locations further north in the city. The trend has been steadily in the direc- tion of the district extending from Twenty-third street to Forty-second street. In this locality are found most of the important hotels, great retail stores and leading places of amusement. The out-of-town visitor finds himself in that locality more frequently than in any other part of the city. The recent opening of the great Pennsylvania Railroad station at Thirty-third street and Seventh avenue has emphasized this movement. March 30, 10: The new Jocation of our. office .is almost. midw: between the Pennsylvania Railroad and New. Yor. Central stations and is. within walking, distance fro either. It will therefore be easy. of, access to. out- town visitors traveling on lines using these termina It will also be within easy reach of the great new po; office which will occupy a portion of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Company’s ground on Eighth avenue. An important advantage which will be gained will consis: in having the printing office under the same. roof with the business and editorial offices... Much inconyenience has been suffered for a long time in the separation of the mechanical and editorial departments, the printing office being at some distance. The new quarters will also afford much more room for the present working force, as well as provide ample space for. growth, which, we are pleased to say, seems assured. Visitors will be welcomed in the new quarters, as they always have been in the old ones. Ample pro- vision will be made for them, including writing facili- ties for those living out of the city and who sometimes may find it difficult to secure conveniences of this kind while temporarily in the city. The files of our various publications and our extensive collection of trade cata- logues will also be at their service for reference. The Perennial Rail Problem Another voluminous contribution to the discussion of rail failures and their causes was made last week at the Chicago convention of the Maintenance of Way Association. A mass of information gained from tests and from the investigation of rails was presented, some of it definite, much of it indefinite, but little of it con- clusive. Such conclusions as were drawn pointed to the ingot as the source of nearly all defects, though the Rail Committee granted that the investigations should go further before any. definite recommendations are made. Tests were carried out under the commit- tee’s direction to throw light on the claim commonly made on behalf of the rail mills that the head of a rail is broken down because of the excessive equipment loads of to-day, even though there be no physical defect in the interior of the rail head. The results are by no means as informing as might be hoped for and fur- ther experiments will be madeto determine the maxi- mum loads the various thicknesses of head will carry. One thing appears plain from the vast array of statistics and test data at Chicago, and that is that some of the stringent requirements imposed upon the manufacturers in recent years did more to add to the difficulties of producing rails than to the wearing prop- erties of the steel. It will be recalled that the minutiz of rail mill practice were laid down in some specifica- tions with great particularity. The size of the ingots was restricted, and the distance from the finishing rolls to the nearest hot saw and the time elapsing between the last pass and the arrival of the rail at the first Saw were written into the specification as matters of high importance. We are now told that it is found on investigation that such things as speed and tempera- ture of rolling, and the number of passes in reducing from the ingot to the rail, are of relatively little conse- quence. It is quite evident from the recent investigations of railroad engineers and the lines on which they are now working for rail betterment, that the contests over M h 30, 191 ns will be far less spirited in the future. The iasis heretofore’ put on rolling practice and sec- Hons bids fair to be concentrated on the ingot, which ore and more being held primarily responsible for al] the failures of rails in service. The Chicago report considers that it has been fairly well established that making of safe rails of uniform structure and wearing properties “is almost entirely a matter of making a good ingot, free from excessive segregation, f cropping off sufficient from the top to remove excessive segregation.” Without desiring to enter upon the devious and in- terminable ramifications of the rail discussion, it may be fairly said that as it stands to-day the question of rail quality is as much a commercial one as a technical The diseases of steel ingots are quite well known. railroad engineers have their minds pretty well made up as to the means they would take to keep out f track rails into which ingot weaknesses have been carried. They want rails rolled from a smaller portion ‘ the ingot than has been used heretofore, but they e not thus far been willing to pay the steel makers r the additional discard. They are willing to accept only a part of the rails rolled from the selected por- n of the ingot, not conceding as yet the point that rst and last they must pay for all the rails that are rolled subject to their selection under the practice de- veloped in years of rail mill improvement. Rails are a constantly decreasing percentage of the steel produc- tion of the country—only about 12 per cent. of the in- gots produced in the United States in 1910 went into rails, against more than 90 per cent. in 1880, 40 per cent. in 1890 and 25 per cent. in 1900. It would seem highly important, therefore, from the railroad stand- point, that rail rolling be made a desirable business. [fi special quality steel is to be required for rails, it will naturally carry with it the payment of a special quality price. Other demands for steel are being con- stantly met in a satisfactory way, while railroad traf- imposes conditions which are peculiar to itself. ‘here is no question as to the safety, soundness and vearing quality of far the greater part of the rails now furnished. The percentage of risk in the use of the remainder could be reduced by putting more metal to the rail—by the more common employment of -Ib. or 110-Ib., or even 125-lb. rails where traffic is eavy. Undeniably another step toward absolute safety would be the making of larger discards in rail looming mills, Thus far apparently the railroads ive not been satisfied that they were warranted in iying for such extra discards. In these two impor- tant particulars, therefore, the question at issue re- ins in large part a commercial one. The New York Workmen’s Compensation Decision The decision of the New York Court of Appeals, ‘laring unconstitutional the workmen’s compensation t of the State, deals no fatal blow to the principle, ‘ has an extremely important significance in defining conditions under which it may be constitutional. e decision, according to lawyers who are specializ- on the subject, determines that workmen’s compen- on cannot lawfully exist, under our Constitution, oneurrent operation with present remedies, except re the right to elect between the remedies remains » the employer. Otherwise the property rights of THE IRON AGE . 759 owners are imperiled. Therefore, it is unconstitutional ‘to give the injured workman the choice between two remedies: one being workmen’s compensation, where the employer must pay predetermined damages in all cases of injury, and the other being employers’ lia- bility, existing as a basis of the Constitution under common law, where the employer is liable under cer- tain conditions of negligence, and must pay damages, usually much larger, according to the finding of judge and jury. Under the elective system, however, workmen's compensation, as it exists in New York and elsewhere, would be constitutional, because the employer would elect at the time of the employment of a workman which system should be resorted to in case’ the man were hurt or killed. A person applying for work would be informed that employers’ liability was the rule of the works, or workmen’s compensation, as the case might be. The applicant would either agree or he would have to seek work elsewhere. No choice would remain to him. He would have either all the advan- tages of workmen’s compensation, with no alternative at common law, or he would be compelled to accept employers’ liability, with no rights to compensation. This would preserve the property rights of the owner. It must either be this system or straight workmen’s compensation all the way through, in which case it would be necessary to amend the Constitution. Until this constitutional idea has been embodied in compen- sation statutes they will doubtless be annulled when attacked in the courts. A different condition exists in Great Britain, that country having no constitution, its Parliament being all powerful in creating laws. A’ con- stitution is an instrument of government which even lawmakers are obliged to respect. Underground Shops in South African Mines Experiments that are expected to create a new de- mand for mechanical equipment are being conducted in several of the South African gold mines with a view to establishing underground shops for sharpening drilling tools. Many of the mine shafts in South Africa are nearly 4000 ft. deep, and at present it is necessary to carry drill rods to the surface for repairs or sharpening. When it is considered that many of the pneumatic drilling machines used in the mines require five and six sets of drill rods, numbering sometimes as many as 60 rods to a machine, it can be realized that the haulage up and down is considerable of an item. The work of conveying this equipment to the surface is, in fact, so expensive that in many mines it has been cheaper to hire native hammer boys than to use pneu- matic drills. Labor lias steadily become more expensive, how- ever, so that hand drilling is now approaching the cost of operating and maintaining pneumatic tools. Promi- nent mining engineers in South Africa believe that electric furnaces and electrically operated sharpening tools can be utilized in shops established underground. This would do away with the expensive hoisting of material. Experiments so far conducted in that diree- tion are stated to have proved successful. Attempts have been made to install oil burning furnaces and gasoline operated sharpening equipment, but the Gov- ernment has put a stop to this practice. No objection . whi gnamer pe Raabdcsallng in. ’ r eet iN 1 q * a Src a npr er mRpinke AML ENE ate gt hl cage NY Seep att tne! aera lapse: et ee 760 has been raised, howeyer, to the use of. electrical equipment, In many sections of the South African mining country adequate electrical power will shortly be avail- It will also be possible to increase the efficiency of the com- able and at a cost much lower than at present. pressor plants. With the completion of these power and the shops for drill sharpening, it is expected that the Kaf- developments introduction of underground fir hammer boys will cease to be an important factor in mining operations, as these improvements will tip the balance in favor of the pneumatic drill. Accord- ingly, American manufacturers of rock drilling equip- ment, as well as makers of electric furnaces, are watch- ing South African developments closely, as the de- mand for such equipment is expected to increase materially. Correspondence The Work of the Efficiency Specialist fo the Editor: The statement made that many of the articles by efficiency engineers are disap- pointing to the business man because they do not con- tain specific information as to details which he can trans- That the business man is ‘so disappointed is because he persists in taking a restricted view of a rich and wide subject. He wants to buy the knowledge which some have acquired by large expenditures of time and money, for the price of a few magazine articles. This he can never do. He must either buy the books which specialists have bought, and has been plant bodily to his own organization. which are for sale in the open market, must devote to their study hours on hours of the time when his mind is most active (and hence most valuable in the conduct of his own affairs), must develop and stimulate his imagina- tive faculties (for in these are the real source of crea- tive power), or he must do what he does in every other line—pay for the work which he is either unable or un- willing to do for himself. No business man can delegate to others the actual decision as to the line of work he will engage in or the should take to carry out his desires. Each decision. however, should be the posite chosen advice of those who have made the indi- vidual investigations and performed the individual acts for which they were especially qualified. The physician or the lawyer is not concerned with the selection of the line of which a client is engaged. Their interest is in putting him in the proper physical or mental condition in which he can conduct this business to the best advantage. The same thing is true of the efficiency engineer. The client may fill his office to the ceiling with books on medicine, law or efficiency, but until he has acquired mental possession of the infor- mation it is an absolute impossibility for him to diagnose correctly his own case, to select the proper remedy or advantageously to direct its application. This is the function which the professional man is qualified to perform. The business man, by the exercise of his proper function, can earn the amount of the requi- site fees with far less effort than that which would be necessary in order to qualify himself to perform the same service. . This is the cold blooded business view of the situation. The object, therefore, of the articles written by efficiency engineers is to convince the busi- ness man of the necessity for such services, rather than to educate him to perform them himself. Until business men quit dosing themselves with patent medicine “ sys- tems” and are ready to take and pay for the advice of competent specialists, they cannot expect materially to improve their conditions. The competent physician will never intrust the application of his carefully devised remedies to the untrained judgment of a novice, still less to the subordinate of a novice. The average) business man actually wastes every year steps which he based on com- business in THE TRON AGE March 30, | more than $10 which the specialist could save him cost of $1. There are none so blind as those who not see. The consumers pays the bill at present; he not do so much longer. H, F. Stimps NEW YorK, March 23, 1911. Industrial Accident Inspection and Prevention To the Editor: I have read with much interest recent editorial on ‘ Anti-Accident Inspection Sery also communications in your columns on the same ject. I spent several months last summer in Europe vestigating the operation of the workmen's compensa acts of the various countries and also in Studying the problem of accident prevention. I was most impress with what has been accomplished in Germany. ‘he Germans have outstripped all nations in their devices for the prevention of accidents. Every safety devic a German factory is painted a bright red, which e¢a|!s particular attention to it and which insures its being kept in place and in use, as either the foreman or fellow workman can quickly detect whether it is in its place or not. I most thoroughly believe in an additional inspection service. In Minnesota our factory inspection is entire), inadequate. The inspection given by the liability insur ance companies is very much better. For some years | have thought the solution of these matters lay in a mod erate workman’s compensation law; or rather. an in dustrial insurance scheme to which both the employer and employee contributed, the insurance being carried in mutual organizations of employers, or employers and em ployees. I believe this would operate as it does in Ger- many, to make both employers and employees exercise the greatest degree of care in the prevention of accidents. State factory inspection in most States is a farce Appointees are named to pay political debts. In Ger- imany, both employers and employees are interested in reducing the number of accidents. Both are interested in using every precaution against accident, and in the mutual employers’ organizations the premiums are based on not only the hazard of the occupation, but the care exercised in the particular factory to prevent accident I am satisfied that one-half the industrial accidents which now occur are preventable. Rotten State inspec tion is responsible for a good many of them; the in- difference of employers, resulting from a lack of dis crimination by insurance companies between careless and careful employees, is in part responsible, and the pol) glot character of workmen employed is in a lesser degree responsible for our existing number of accidents. Where the nationalities are mixed they do not think alike or act alike. Iam heartily with you in any attempt to bet er State inspection, inspection by the employers them selves, inspection by the insurance companies, and inde- pendent inspection by an anti-accident inspection bureau. Our company (the Minneapolis Steel & Machiner) Company) has the following notice posted conspicuous!) throughout its shops: “This company desires the safety of its employees and is anxious to provide every safeguard to preven! accidents. Workmen are instructed to call attention to any dangerous appliance or method, and are requested to offer any suggestions they may have as to safeguards or safety appliances. Such suggestions will be gladly ceived.” GerorGEeE M. GILLeTTe. MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. —__—_—_~»-@___—__- The new ore boat of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Com pany, to be known as the Thomas Walters, and to take the place of the W. C. Moreland, was launched last wee! at the shipyard of the American Shipbuilding Company, at Lorain, Ohio. The boat is 600 ft. long, 58-ft. beam and 32-ft. draft. This and its companion vessels, tlic Willis L. King, the B. F. Jones and the J. M. Laughlin make up the four ships of the company’s fleet. The Continental Can Company, Canonsburg, Pa., wi!! erect a storage and shipping building, 85 x 130 ft., and « machine shop, 50 x 100 ft. ch 30, 1911 Italy's Greatest Steel Plant BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. the principal factor which contributed to the estab- ent of this steel plant, which is the largest in and one of the most modern on the continent, was ict passed by the Italian Parliament July 8, 1904, the uplifting and betterment of the people of the | of Italy and especially of Naples. This act per- ed the entry in Italy free of customs duty and taxes 10 years of all the machinery and material neces- to build a large plant. It also permitted the lessee the Government iron ore deposits, situated in the orice island of Elba, to mine a much larger quantity re per annum. rhe Societa Anonima Ilva, which gets its name from ancient name of Elba, was incorporated in Genoa 405 with a capital of 30,000,000 Italian lires (about 40,000). The corporation possesses 1,200,000 square res (675 aeres) of land in Bagnoli, five kilometres iniles) from Naples, with a good area on the sea The plant is divided into four principal units: rroduct coke ovens, blast furnaces, open hearth steel aces and rolling mills, (waiting the completion of the new railroad between i and Naples, which will pass within a few yards of vorks, the plant is able to receive material and ship oduct by sea. For this purpose the company has a reinforced concrete wharf, 320 metres (1050 ft.) ind 30 metres (98 ft.) wide, on which are in serv eight electric cranes and four steam cranes. The d on which the plant was built does not afford a good idation for such heavy structures as the blast fur- es, so it was found necessary to drive long reinforced rete piles on which to build. The lava of Mount ivius was found very useful in the concrete founda- rhe coal, which arrives by sea, is stored in dumps, h can hold 50,000 tons. These run parallel to the ovens. They are served by four 5-ton electric es. The by-product coke ovens, 120 in number, of the regenerator type and are divided into two ips. The coke, gas mixed with the blast furnace gas, ent into two 30,000 ¢. m. (700,000 cu. ft.) gasometers, in turn distribute the gas to the boilers to the er house and to the open hearth department. The s consume daily 800 tons of coal and produce 650 s of coke, 14 tons of tar and 8 tons of ammonium hate. rhe ore dumps, which are immense, are parallel to blast furnaces and have five 5-ton electric cranes ch take the ore from the dumps to 10 500-ton ore kers, under which pass two tunnels. In the tunnels two electric cars which carry on them large hooked ‘ets called kubels, the bottoms of which are conical s to allow the material to fall into the furnace. kubels are raised to the tops of the furnaces by ned elevators. The coke is also carried directly the coke ovens on electric cars in kubels. The ore ie island of Elba is high in iron and only contains es of sulphur and phosphorus, The limestotie comes the picturesque peninsular of Sorrento where the iny operates a quarry. rhe first blast furnace was blown in December 1. , the second was blown in May 8, 1910, and a third process of construction. When the plant is com- ed it will consist of six Mast furnaces with a daily itv of 250 tons each. e power house contains two gas and two steam ig engines of 1500 hp. each, one 4-cycle gas engine | connected to a 1200-kw. generator, two 2-cycle gas es direct connected to two 600-kw. generators, and ‘lenin engine direct connected to a 1250-kw. genera- ie open hearth department will comprise when com- | 10 55-ton American type furnaces and two 300-ton iian-Seaver-Morgan metal mixers. There are three ‘er gas-producers for each furnace, and in case of room has been left for a fourth. There are two 90- THE IRON AGE 761 ton electric ladle Granes and two 40-ton ladle cranes for the het metal. There are also three 20-ton service cranes and two Wellmian-Seaver-Morgan electric ingot strippers. - The ingots can be cast up to 5 tons. Two gas ingot pits and two coal ingot pits heat the ingots for the blooming mill,. There are also such auxiliaries of the open hearth department as the dolomite calcining and fire brick factory. The blooming mill, with rolls of 1150 millimetres (45.27 in.) diameter, is driven by an 8000 hp. reversible steam engine, while the rail mill is driven by a 10,000- hp. and a 7000-hp. engine. Other mills, such as plate mills and merchant mills, will be erected shortly. There is also a 62 metre (203.4 ft.) water tower reservoir for the sea water for cooling the blast furnaces. The corporation is managed by an Executive Com- mittee which is composed of the following: Marquis Durazzo Pallavicini of Genoa, chairman; Comm. Cesaro Fera, M.E., of Genoa; Cav. George Falck of Milan, Hon. Arthur Luzzatto, M.E., of Rome. The last named, who is a member of the Italian Parliament, was in the United States in March, 1910, when he visited some of the most important American plants, such as Gary, South Chicago, Homestead, &c. Om The Standard Scale & Supply Company, Pittsburgh, recently toek an unusual method to insure quick ship- ment of one of its Eclipse concrete mixers from its Chi- cago warehouse, to Gary, Ind., a distance of 30 miles. A mixer in use there had broken down and it was necessary to have another machine by the morning of the following day. The railroads could not guarantee delivery by freight, and the mixer, which was mounted on a truck equipped with a gasoline engine, was too large to be loaded in an express car. An automobile moving van was secured and the complete mounted outfit was loaded upon it at 6 o’clock in the evening. By 8 o’eclock the next morning the journey by country road was completed and the machine was delivered at Gary. The New York Fire Department has received from the Nott Fire Engine Company, Minneapolis, Minn, an auto fire engine. This engine propels itself with a gaso- line motor guaranteed to give a speed of 30 miles an hour, while the pump is operated by the usual steam engine. All parts of this engine are specially made and represent experimental work of nearly four years. The test of the engine is stated to have been completely suc- cessful. The Carnegie Steel Company has under considera- tion the erection of an open hearth steel plant at its Edgar Thomson Works to comprise probably 12 50-ton furnaces. For some time the company has been taking open hearth ingots from its Homestead Works to the Edgar Thomson Works and reheating them for rolling into rails. Bids have been asked on the erection of 15 gas producers for the proposed improvement, but an ae- tual decision in regard to building the plant has not yet been reached. Dynamiters wrecked the Brie Railroad ore bridge at Randall, Ohio, near Cleveland, March 25, causing a loss of $90,000. The bridge was recently completed, having been erected by Heyl & Patterson, Pittsburgh. It was equipped with a 10-ton bucket. The outrage is attributed to labor troubles. The bridge was a part of a new ote handling plant, which was operated by Pickands, Mather & Co. The bridge will probably be rebuilt as soon as pos- sible. The Colonial Supply Company has been organized to deal In mill supplies and has opened offices and a ware- hous? at 414 First avenue, Pittsburgh. Most of its mem- hers were formerly connected with the C. A. Turner In- corporation. Willis Barson is president; Carl T. Haller, vice-president ; H. W, Dinker, treasurer, and H. B. Lacey, secretary. ° ee ce ee re en ee et een res The Iron and * = 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, Mar.29, Mar.22, Feb.21, Mar.30, PIG IRON, Per Gross Ton: 1911. 1911. 1911. 1910. Foundry No. 2, standard, Phila- SE, on neds Web pes ease s.s 5% $15.50 $15.50 $15.50 $18.00 Foundry No, 2, Valley furnace.. 13.75 13.75 13.75 16.00 Foundry No. 2, Southern, Cincin- St ceenehad asuhaeeen oA 4s 14.25 14.25 14.25 15.75 Foundry No. 2, Birmingham, Ala. 11.00 11.00 11.00 12.50 Foundry No. 2, local, Chicago.. 15.50 15.50 15.50 18.00 Basic, delivered, castern Pa.... 15.25 15.25 14.50 17.75 Basic, Valley furnace.......... 13.75 13.75 13.75 16.00 Bessemer, Pittsburgh.......... 15.90 15.90 15.90 18.40 Gray forge, Pittsburgh........ 14.40 14.40 14.40 16.15 Lake Superior charcoal, Chicago, 17.50 17.50 1750 19.00 COKE, CONNELLSVILLE, Per Net Ton, at oven: Furnace coke, prompt shipment. 1.60 1.55 1.45 2.00 Furnace coke, future delivery... 1.75 1.75 1.60 2.25 Foundry coke, prompt shipment. 2.00 2.00 2:00... .2.50 Foundry coke, future delivery... 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.75 BILLETS, &c., Per Gross Ton: Bessemer billets, Pittsburgh.... 23.00 23.00 23.00 27.50 Forging billets, Pittsburgh..... 28.00 28.00 28.00 32.00 Open hearth billets, Philadelphia 25.40 25.40 25.40 30.60 Wire rods, Pittsburgh.......... 29.00 29.00 29.00 33.00 OLD MATERIAL, Per Gross Ton : Iron rails, Chicago............ 14.50 14.50 15.50 19.00 Iron rails, Philadelphia........ i8.50 18.50 18.00 20.50 Car wheels, Chicago........... 3.25 13.25 13.00 17.00 Car wheels, Philadelphia....... 14.00 14.00 14.00 16.75 Heavy steé) scrap. Pittsburgh.. 14.00 14.00 14.75 17.00 Heavy steel scrap, Chicago..... 11.590 12.00 12.50 15.00 Heavy steel scrap, Philadelphia. 13.75 14.00 1450 16.50 FINISHED IRON AND STEEL, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents, Bessemer rails, heavy, at mill... 1.25 25 1.25 1.25 Refined iron bars, Philadelphia. 1.37% 1.37% 1.37% 1.55 Common iron bars, Chicago.... 1.27% 1.27% 1.30 1.55 Common iron bars, Pittsburgh. . 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.65 Steel bars, tidewater, New York 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.61 Steel bars, Pittsburgh......... 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.45 Tank plates, tidewater, New York 1.56 1.56 56 1.71 Tank -plates, Pittsburgh........ 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.55 Beams, tidewater, New York... 1.56 1. ~ 1.56 1.66 Beams, Pittsburgh............ 1.40 1. 1.40 1.50 Angles, tidewater, New York... 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.66 Angles, Pittsburgh............-. 1.40 1.40 1.40 1.50 Skelp, grooved steel, Pittsburgh. 1 30 1, 30 1.30 1.50 Skelp, sheared steel, Pittsburgh. 1a ee 1.35 1.60 SHEETS, NAILS AND WIRE, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Sheets, black, No. 28, Pittsburgh 2.20 2.20 2.20 2.40 Wire nails, Pittsburgh*........ 1.80 1.80 1.75 1.85 Cut nails, Pittsburgh........... 1.70 1.70 1.60 1.85 Barb wire, galv., Pittsburgh*... 2.10 2.10 2.05 2.15 METALS, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Lake copper, New York........ 12.50 12.50 12.75 13.75 Electrolytic copper, New York.. 12.25 12.25 12.3744 13.25 Spelter, New York............ 5.60 5.65 5.60 5.65 Spelter, St. Louis............. 5.45 5.50 5.45 5.50 Kiend,: Méw ‘Watks. sisi oda oe pK 4.45 4.40 4.42% 4.40 Caed, 6. Callies « ixiisis cywad icp 4.30 4.25 4.27% 4.25 Bin MO, TWeOR vis. iii wins is &p ome 41.25 40.50 44.75 33.25 Antimony, Hallett. New York... ae 9.12% 8.00 8.25 Tin plate, 100-ib, box, New York $3.94 3.94 $3.94 $3.84 * These prices are for largest lots to jobbers. Prices of Finished Iron and Steel Pittsburgh Freight rates from Pittsbyrgh in carloads, per 100 Ib.: New York, 16c¢.; Philadelphia, 15c.; Boston, 18c.; Buffalo, lic.; Cleveland, 10c.; Cincinnati, 150. ; Indianapolis, 1Te. ; Chicago, 18c.; St. Paul, 32c.; St. Louis, 2244c.; New Or- leans, 30c.; Birmingham, Ala., 45c. Rates to the Pacific Coast are 80c. on plates, structural shapes and sheets, No. 11 and heavier; 85c. on sheets, Nos. 12 to 16; 95c. on sheets, No. 16 and lighter, 65c. on wrought boiler tubes. Structural Material.—I-beams and channels, 3 to 15 in., inclusive, 1.40c. to 1.45c., net ; I-beams over 15 in., 1.50c. to 1.55c., net; H-beams over 8-in., 1.55c. to 1.60¢.; angles, 8 to 6 in., inclusive, 44 in. and up, 1.40c. to 1.45¢,, net; angles over 6 in., 1.50c. to 1.55¢., net; angles, 3 in., on one or both legs, less than 14 in. thick, 1.45c., plus full extras as per steel bar card effective September 1, 1909; tees, 3 in. and up, 1.45¢., net; zees, 3 in. and up, 2.40c. to 1.45¢., net; f.o.b. THE IRON AGE March 30, 10: Metal Markets angles, channels and tees, under 3 in., 1.45c., base, plus { extras as per steel bar card of September 1, 1909: a beams and bulb angles, 1.70c. to 1.75c., net; hand rail te 2.50¢c.; checkered and corrugated plates, 2.50c., net, Plates.—Tank plates, 44 in. thick, 64% in. up to 100 in, wide, 1.40c. to 1.45c., 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 es. ers’ standard specifications for structural steel dated February 1903, or equivalent, 4-in. thick and over on thinnest edge, 10 wide and under, down to but not including 6 in, wide, are -_" Plates up to 72 in. wide, inclusive, ordered 10.2 Jb. 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. lates over 72 in. wide ordered less than 11 Ib. per square foot down to the weight of 3-16-in. take the price of 3-16-in. Allowable overweight, whether plates are ordered to gauge or weight, to be governed by the standard specifications of the As- sociation of American Steel Manufacturers. Gauges under \4-in. to and including 3-16-in. on Ralmaety ROR, «ic 0 inico 016 42 9's hes he eeeee oc beeg Gauges under 3-16-in. to and ne nag | My eee 15 Gauges under No. 8 to and including No, Fo dsc 25 Gauges under No, 9 to and including No, 10...... .30 Gauges under No. 10 to and including No. 12..... 40 Sketches (including all straight taper ee. 3 ft. BUG Over im SMM. ss ods 5 obs oie HENS wesw 10 Complete circles, 5 ft. in diameter and over wedging. 20 Boiler and flange IDOL. o wan cs <3 00 Sees sc bo ase ee. |) ‘A. B. M. A.” and ordinary firebox MOONS ke uae es « -20 Still bottom steel... ......ecene Clk bce bis Sb ass’ .30 a rrr rrt si Ry SS aap ne .40 Locomotive firebox steel Cis s bb aeesk wane kbewe 50 Widths over 100 in. up to 110 i ; Inclusive disievs 05 Widths over 110 in. up to 115 i inclusive...... .10 Widths over 115 in. up to 120 i. inclusive...... 15 Widths over 120 in. up to 125 in., inclusive...... 225 Widths over 125 in. up to 130 in., inclusive...... 50 Widths OVOr- BOO Br... ccc oss cd heakbeeeee e 1.00 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 3 ft. to 2 Oy, CIO 0:0’ nwa :e'ians:0' soa e-bsalelerna Chea tee 25 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 2 ft. to 1 ECE; ) DCCs ia. sv KO aw ee oad ON Os beeen 50 © utting to lengths or diameters under 1 ft....... 1.55 No charge for cutting rectangular plates to lengths 8 ft. and over. 'TERMS.—Net cash 30 days. Sheets.— Makers’ prices for mill shipments on sheets in carload and larger lots, on which jobbers charge the usual discounts for small lots from store, are as follows: Blue annealed sheets, Nos. 3 to 8, U. S. standard gauge, 1.55c. ; Nos. 9 and 10, 1.65¢c.; Nos. 11 and 12, 1.70c.; Nos. 13 and 14, 1.75¢.; Nos. 15 and 16, 1.85¢e. One pass, cold rolled, box annealed sheets, Nos. 10 to 12, 1.85¢.; Nos. 13 and 14, 1.90¢c.; Nos. 15 and 16, 1.95¢.; Nos. 17 to 21, 2¢.; Nos. 22, 23 and 24, 2.05c.; Nos. 25 and 26, 2.10¢.; No. 27, 2.15c. ; No. 28, 2.20c.; No. 29, 2.25¢.; No. 30, 2.35¢. Three pass, cold rolled sheets, box annealed, are as follows: Nos. 15 and 16, 2.05c.: Nos. 17 to 21, 2.10e.; Nos. 22 to 24, 2.15c.; Nos. 25 and 26, 2.20c.; No. 27, 2.25c.; No. 28, 2.30c.; No. 29, 2.35¢c.; No. 30, 2.45¢. Galvanized ’ sheets, Nos. 10 and 11, black sheet gauge, 2.20c.; Nos. 12, 13 and 14, 2.30c.; Nos. 15, 16 and 17, 2.45c.; Nos. 18 to 22, 2.60c.; Nos. 23 and 24, 2.70e.; Nos. 25 and 26, 2.90c.; No. 27, 3.05c.; No. 28, 3.20c.; No. 29, 3.30c.; No. 30, 3.50c. Painted roofing sheets, No. 28, $1.55 per square. Galvanized sheets, No. 28, $2.75 per square for 2%-in. corrugations, ,All above prices are f.o.b. Pittsburgh, terms 30 days net,.or 2 per cent. cash discount 10 days from date of invoice. Wrought Pipe.—The following are the jobbers’ carload discounts on the Pittsburgh basing card on wrought pipe, in effect from October 1; Butt Weld. -—Steel—, -——Iron.— Black. Galv. ‘Black. va. DO 396 Es a. AT igeteesees el ebaan i Gh 2awd. Mel s 4280s. dhe Sees 75 63 71 59 er Ce BA Sie. in be eptean eel 79 69 75 65 x OS YU cs ba cues os Eee 0 70 76 66 Lap Weld © Me REE. ks. cabs rd de ORS a 76 66 72 62 Bale 60: SPOR Ax 2h 2h can ekd onan 78 68 74 64 EE "See IG get SSS 4! 77 67 73 63 T WORE Ws i ees oi aed 75 59 71 55 ASOD Fe Rs daca poise de Caden 51% “* Butt Weld, extra strong, plain ends, card weights. Me SES BAO Cs. COBRA Aibeod 69 59 65 55 oe Sis: tinests 23 ‘ileeten 74 68 70 64 i Ne a ne 78 72 i$ 68 2 to 3 ARR a eS 79 73 69 Lap Weld, extra strong, —_ ends, card welsh. 65 unease dee BTR eb <b phied s ge eg aprptetn oh aed 71 73 67 1 $k. Segoe epee St Bee: 78 70 72 66 Tite S im. cP S. Ss. 28 = 65 55 © £0 29 Mien ki b> ue 2 ind} 50 te Weld, double extra strong, spe he eard ob Ba Bocce case easoapeses oe. ne § SS ob cke edule ai rae Weld. double ext t i in eard 24 pl i et ig ene, Se ep 45 z March 30, 911 Plugged and Reamed. i114, 2 to 3 in...Butt Weld { Will be sold at two (2) ri points lower basing (high- er price) than merchant . or card weight pipe, Butt 214 te # in.. sess Lap Weld |or,;Lap Weld as ified. above discounts are for “card weight,” subject to the iriation of 5 per cent. Prices for less than carloads are ) points lower basing (higher price) than ‘the above dis- Boiler Tabes.—Discounts on lap welded steel and char- in boiler tubes to jobbers in carloads are as follows: Steel. Iron. 43 1% in eee en eer eweere eee eee nree opwneee to 24 It nie cade oe SCeeeereceee eereere «.61 43 ees ee ee ee Serene eeweaeeee ¢$ 0veee 48 to © Mi up at 8 aria) caseied nt aseehe 69 55 Diy in, and smaller, over 18 ft., 10 per cent. net extra, , in, and larger, over 22 ft., 10 per cent, net extra. Less than carloads to destinations east of the Mississippi River will be sold at delivered discounts for carloads lowered by two points, for lengths 22 ft. and under; longer lengths, f.o.b. Pittsburgh, Wire Rods and Wire.—Bessemer, open hearth and rods, $29 to $30 per gross ton. Fence wire, Nos, 0 to 9 100 Ib., terms 60 days, or 2 per cent. discount in 10 carload lots, to jobbers, annealed $1.60, galvanized €1.00: carload lots, to retailers, annealed $1.65, galvanized Galvanized barb wire, to jobbers, $2.10; painted, s $1.80. Wire nails, to jobbers, $1.80. lhe following table gives the prices to retail. merchants or re in less than carloads, including the extras on Nos. 1 16, which are added to the base price: Fence Wire, Per 100 Lb. Nos ocec cP Ree. ae Il 12412413 14 15 16 Annealed....+. $1.75. 1.80 1.85 1.90. 2.00, 2.10. 2.20 2.30 Galvanized..... 2.05 2.10 2.15 2.20. 2.380 240 2.80 2.90 Market and Stone Wire in Bundles, Discount from Standard List, Bright and Annealed : 9 ADA CORPMEPs 0's 4:6 5 esis Wate the Gis ON AwiWale o4 oleae 80 10 tO, SB iciwaie bi male nl inseam eee 80 and 10 19 to 26; ak od wd dhe wins skienhs a0 80 and 10 and 2 2T 00 BB sccenss datenescecansckenseu ...80 and Galvanized : 9 and CORTROR oie 81s Fs DRE NIGS> Hi tue -75 and 10 10 tO 26. icc ank eh Ch ebatdaa ds Genesee eee 75 and 10 17 00 DBs cockoc eee sss pes eee eae 72% and 10 27 to GOs vakceteeekowkd eke ss Cakes e Pee 72% Coppered or Liquor Finished : 9 and COBRSCP se Giicis «did Meas Cea ee 75 and 10 10 $0. BBs » oo.0 sinryc 0c 400s swaeie owns «blake 75 and 10 27 ° Wes 6 kb ot bh 2 od wea Bae 70 and 10 and 5 Linhed ; 6 te -2B ... Sah ajc ete shies 75 and 10 and 10 Steel Rivets.—Structural rivets, % in. and larger, 1.90c., base; cone head boiler rivets, 4 in. and larger, 2c., base; s in. and 11-16 in. take an advance of 15¢., and ™% in. and %-16 in. take an advance of 50c.; in lengths shorter than 1 also take an advance of 50c. Terms are 30 days, net ish, f.o.b. mill. Pittsburgh PARK BUILDING, March 29, 1911.—(By Telegraph.) Pig Iron.—A moderate tonnage of foundry and mal- leable Bessemer iron is being sold, but standard Bessemer and basic continue neglected. The Westinghouse Hlectric & Mfg. Company has bought 1500 tons of No. 2 foundry for delivery at Trafford City at a price that figures out less than $14, Valley furnace, the iron coming from a nearby ‘urnace that has a lower freight than 90c., the Valley rate. The Union Switch & Signal Company, another Westing- interest, has bought about 750 tons more of No. 2 udry for third quarter at about $13.85, Valley furnace. lie McClintic-Marshall Construction Company is in the iarket for 1400 tons of low grade iron which, it is under- d, is to be used for ballast in boats for transporting terial to the Panama Canal, where the company is doing a large amount of work. We quote Bessemer pig iron, $15; cable Bessemer, $13.75; basic, $13.75 to $14; No. 2 ty, $13.75 to $14, and gray forge, $13.50, all at Valley e, the freight rate to the Pittsburgh district being 90c. Steel.—Makers of billets and sheet and tin bars are uoting present prices for delivery through the third Specifications against contracts for steel are com- freely, but the new demand is light, as consumers are 1 by sliding scale and other forms of contracts. A ; ‘ reported of 1000 tons of 4 x 4 in. open hearth billets Be ‘cond quarter delivery at $23, Pittsburgh. We quote ~«*s~iner and open hearth billets, 4 x 4 in. and up to, but m cluding, 10 x 10 in., at $23, base, and sheet and tin neve 's 30-ft, lengths, $24, f.o.b. Pittsburgh or Youngs- his. Ul freight to destination added. We quote 1% in. _'s at $24 and forging billets at $28, base, usual extras Tr <-es and carbons, f.0.b. Pittsburgh or Youngstown dis- "cl freight to destination added. THE IRON; AGE THE JRON ANR METAL MARKETS _ (By Mait.)~ “ Consumers are still pursuing the policy of buying only what they absolutely need, Current orders are fairly ac- tive but are only. for small lots... The railroads are prac- tically out of the market, and this of course is severely felt. Little new inquiry is coming’ up for steel tars or rails, and some inquiries for cars that were pending three or four weeks ago have been Withdrawn: In the pig irom the only activity is in foundry grades, some fair sized sales having been made in the past week. There is not much new inquiry for steel, consumers of billets and sheet and tin bars being covered by contracts. The Carnegie Steel Company and other makers of billets and bars aré now, taking contracts for delivery up to July 1 at present prices. The situation in finished iron and steel is quiet, and on a general] aver- age the mills are not running to more than 65 to 70 per cent. of capacity. The wire trade is active, one leading maker stating that