The Iron Age 1911-09-28: Vol 88 Iss 13

_ THE IRON AGE Established VoL. 88: No. 13 Published Every Thursday by the DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY + 239 West 39th Street, New York Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Subscription Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 Annum ; to Canada, $7.50 per Kote toile Foreign Countries, $10 aos daaatn. * lies receipt .00 is requested, none will be sent. Credit for payment will be shown by extending the date on the wrapper of your paper. W. H. Taylor, - - - President and Treasurer 1, A. Mekeel, - - - ~ - First Vice-President Harold S. Buttenheim, - + Second Vice-President and Secretary A. L Findley, Geo, W. Cope, Editors W. W. Macon, M. C. Robbins, ° Manager Charles S. Baur, - Assistant Manager Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building Pitt.burgh, Park Bu‘cing Cleveland, American Trust Building Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Building CONTENTS. The Steel Trade Disturbed The Steel Corporation and Disintegration Basing Prices on a Normal Business...........00eeeeeeeeeeeee 663 Misrepresenting Machinery Deliveries. ........00c.0ceceeenenee 663 Turbo-Electric Hoisting Engines in Lake Mines oust The Extended Use of Oil for Fuel o+ee- 664 The ‘Treadwell-Stoever Consolidation ina 664 Sixth Testing Society Compress. ......ccccccccccccvecs .. 665 The Steel Corporation Stands on Its Record poe suse The Iron and Metal Markets... cc csvisvecdeccevevccessescsveese 666 Personal Excursion Features of Mining Engineers’ San Francisco Meeting 677 Obituary The American Manufacturers’ Export Association Pittsburgh and Vicinity Business Notes............e+eeee00: 679 The Steel Corporation’s Value 680 Cincinnati and Its Manufacturing Suburbs.................. 681 The Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company’s Report A Southwestern Virginia Ore Development Mining Envineers’ New York Section The Atlas Ore Drver Steel Men Insnect Knox Water-Cooled Dewices.........--.+++:. 683 Pacific. Coast Selling Department of the Steel Corporation.... 683 The Development of Blast Furnace Size 683 Inland Steel Company’s Bolt and Rivet Works..........+-.- 684 The Wiederholt Chimney \ New Tackawanna Merchant Mill Standard Scale and Truck Orders..........cceccedeeeeeseeees 691 The Langelier Hammering Machine [fhe Burt Ventilator Unusual Service Records in Wire Works Electric Switching Locomotive The Atkins Hack Saw Machine Steam Shovel Motor-Driven Sheet and Strip Mill The First Mesaba Range Steam Shovel French Blast Furnace Consolidation Solar Pumping Plant \ New Foundry and Mechanical School at Boston Janney, Steinmetz & Co.’s Business The Globe Iron Works to Remove Its Plant Flywheels for Motor-Driven Rolling Mills The Western Wheel Barrow & Mfg. Company’s New Plant The Machine Tool Builders’ Programme Chinese Exports of Pig Iron and Iron Ore An ‘Iron and Steel Trust in. Italy. .54....s.e0seeseeeeeeeteeees Washburn Motor-Driven Drill.. New Finds of Lake Iron Ores Gaco Specialties 7 Special Reading’ Crates. :....... Pe eabhsaheCekdasesessciscecess 704 "he Winona Technical Institute 704 nited States Bureau of Mines Demonstrations........-.------ 705 \ New Feature of the Gandy Belt The Slatington Mill Again’ in Operation he Machinery Markets New York, September 28, 1911 The Steel Trade Disturbed More Irregularity in Prices New Discounts on Merchant Pipe—Rail Inquiry for Next Year Uncertainty about the future of the United States Steel Corporation has commanded the attention of the steel trade in the past week and buying and selling have suffered. The air has been so charged with disturb- ing rumors, accompanied by rapid declines in the cor- poration’s securities, that it may take a week or longer to give any clear view of the trade situation. Some help has been given by the statement of the corpora- tion’s directors, referred to elsewhere. Two things need to be emphasized at a time when real conditions are apt to be obscured. One is that consumption, as shown by the operation of blast fur- naces and steel works and the close connections that are now regularly made between rolling mills and con- sumers, is but little below the maximum for this, year. The other is that at the low prices reached on finished materials some buyers are showing more confidence in the market. The statement of the Steel Corporation, given out Tuesday, refers to 4,500,000 tons on its books includ- ing 929,000 tons of inter-company business. The first of these figures is evidently not exact, but deducting from it the second, leaves 3,571,000 tons of orders, a decline of 125,000 tons from the amount reported for September 1, which was 3,695,985 tons. All market reports indicate that finished steel »prices have been under more strain and in some cases are $1 to $2 a ton lower. But the lowest prices named are not general and a good many buyers find that they cannot place business at these figures. This uneven- ness has caused much confusion. The appearance of a.30,000-ton Bessemer rail in- quiry from the Norfolk & Western Railroad for 1912 is encouraging in this between-season period for the rail mills. The business may be placed soon and it is possible that this and other lines will permit the roll- ing of some of their 1912 rails this year. There is considerable foreign inquiry for rails, and the Chilian State Railways have placed 10,000 tons in this country. A new card of discounts on merchant pipe, to be issued by the National Tube Company, October 2, will show a reduction of $2 a ton on black and a greater reduction on galvanized pipe. Boiler tubes, on which there has been sharp competition for some time, are reduced $3 to $5 a ton on sizes above 2% in. A line- pipe inquiry, on which foreign mills will be close com- petitors, comes from the Canadian Western Gas, Light, Heat & Power Company for 40,000 tons of 44 to 16% in. pipe. A more aggressive attitude on structural shapes has been taken by some mills and 1.27%c. has beeh reached on large business in the Pittsburgh district, while Chicago teports business taken at the *equiva- lent of 1.25¢., Pittsburgh. At Cleveland bids have been i, es oe eas RP nit Se a ae eee (etn et aan ee i on gel lap aes aS no * re fon Fa ge tie. ee ea wid \eniaoaaes ae oxi ee fptaia pees Seepage Pay, IER 2 sate abi Re ee cot ee 2 te =e PR ep Ante oA my cachepienani DROPS an = ar . no 5 ed os ae “gh Ais nn ay te Ms bg qua a ane f i? ck ae Pte a ; So e ? ¥ } be + ea! 7 baal £ SP tenses ek > 4 ae Pam “ena 662 THE IRON AGE taken on 5000 tons for crossing work for the Penn- sylvania Railroad. The Burlington office building at Chicago, 6500 tons, was taken by the American Bridge Company, amd at Pittsburgh the Bethlehem Steel Gom- pany was awarded 2600 tons for the First National Bank extension. : What low prices may do in bringing business to a head is illustrated in the inquiry from the Central Railroad of New Jersey for 10,000 tons of steel for two bridges which will not be erected for a year or more. Plate mills are drifting into quieter conditions. Orders from car and locomotive works are dwindling, and the latter in particular are facing a lean winter. For one of the American Hawaiian Steamship Com- pany’s proposed steamers an inquiry has come up at Philadelphia for 5400 tons of plates and shapes. Low prices were named on the 8900 tons of 40-in. cast-iron pipe which will be bought for Brooklyn, N. Y., and pipe foundries report fewer inquiries from pri- vate buyers. Muskegon, Mich., has placed an order for 5000 tons. In the Pittsburgh district prices on open-hearth bil- lets and sheet bars have declined further and as low as $19 and $19.50 respectively are reported, some of the smaller open-hearth mills showing more eagerness for orders. Pig-iron markets are even quieter, buyers having ° evidently been driven off by recent weakness in this year’s prices ‘and the failure of furnaces to establish advances for next year. Several ferromanganese contracts are pending in the Central West, the recent advances having hurried buyers into the market for their-entire requirements for 1912. ——++o—____ The Steel Corporation and Disintegration The securities market has been shaken in the past week by reports which, while not new, were repeated with more positiveness than before, that steps were about to be taken to bring about a dissolution of the United States Steel Corporation. It was said that the officers of the corporation, following the example of the International Harvester Company, were initiating plans for reorganization which would be submitted for the approval of the Government. It was also said that the Department of Justice had made preparations to proceed in the courts to compel the dissolution of the Steel Corporation. This last report was denied by the Attorney-General. He also denied that he had said, as quoted by one newspaper, that “the United States Steel Corporation is plainly a combination in violation of the law.” The officers of .the Steel Corporation have main- tained a strict silence. One might hazard the sur- mise that they had no clearer idea than the De- partment of Justice as to the steps to be taken, if any, “to square themselves with the decision of the Su- preme Court,” to use the words Attorney-General Wickersham applied generally to large business inter- ests. Indeed, until recently it had been considered that the Government, after five years of investigation more thoroughgoing than it has made of any other consoli- dation, had not found ground on which to bring dis- solution proceedings against the Steel Corporation. Its great size, the wide use of many of its products which carry protective duties, the identification with it of banking interests which in popular thinking incar- nate the “money power,” the leading position of the September 28, ..;; steel trade—all were considered reasons in parti for attacking the Steel Corporation. Well knoy were all these conditions, it is somewhat surpri ‘> that the situation should suddenly have become <o portentous. Another surprising feature of the week is the ness with which in some quarters disintegration been discussed. The dismemberment of a consolidaticn that fairly staggers the mind with the gigantic scale of its operations has been talked of as though it were some routine clerical proceeding. The task of bringing together the great companies now known as subsid- “3 _ iaries of the Steel Corporation was monumental. [xu it was simplicity itself compared with an attempt to resolve the consolidation and its subsidiaries, with their ten years of accretions and structural changes, into the original units. Corporeal resurrection, by the coming together of elements that had gone back to earth, would be little less a marvel. Not only have companies utterly disappeared, but in more than a score of cases entire plants have been blotted from the map. New combinations have been made, old lines obliter- ated, millions of dollars’ worth of property created, traceable to none: of the original constituents, and in many cases new and old have been intermeshed in a way that makes separation impossible. There may be features of the Steel Corporation’s organization and operations that Government over- sight would change. If there were Federal incorpo- ration and some such regulation of the largest indus- trial companies as the Hepburn law provides for rail- roads, it is not improbable that ownership of the two Minnesota roads by the Steel Corporation and the rate charged by these roads would be called in question. So far as the rate is concerned, that is now and has been subject to revision by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The extent of the corporation’s control of the Lake Superior ore supply and its large owner- ship of Southern ore might also be regarded as mat- ters for adjustment, in view of their bearing on future competition in the industry. If the Tennessee Com- pany purchase and the Hill ore deal should be consid- ered as tending toward undue control of ore supply, such a decision, if made on Government authority, would put the country well on the way toward cer- tainty on a question on which the Government just now is unable or unwilling to give any clear light. It may be claimed, also, that the existence of a powerful interest like the Steel Corporation has alone made pos- sible the policy of co-operation and price maintenance in the steel industry. The answer is found in the open market of to-day and that of 1909, and the power in the hands of the Department of Justice to put a stop to this mode of “co-operation”’ whenever it finds it to exist in undue restraint of trade. Attorney-General Wickersham, in his latest deliver- ance, lays down “undue restraint of trade” and “at- tempting monopoly” as the Supreme Court tests which the Department of Justice is now applying. Since the Steel Corporation’s officers will deny that either of these things exists or is aimed at by their organization, how can they be expected to accept Mr. Wickersham's general invitation to “work out a plan of separation to avoid illegal conditions? It would seem that in justice to their bondholders and stockholders they must leave the whole question. to the decision of the courts; not in a spirit of hostility or opposition to the Govern- ment, but of seeking light from nothing less than the highest judicial authority in the land on ome of the september 28, I9QIT st momentous issues that has arisen in modern siness, [he events of the week have given telling empha- to the need of some source of Federal discretion r corporate business. It is inconceivable that large rporations are to be done away with. But there ust be some security to those charged with their ianagement; it must be possible for them to know vhether their policy or their proposals are within the iw. If “each case stands on its own footing and de- pends upon its own particular facts,” as the Attorney- General has said, it is plain that the decision in the case of one corporation cannot become a rule for thers, unless it be applied to them by competent authority. The day of Government regulation of large busi- ness is certainly here; but just now a monopoly of such regulation, apart from that of railroads, is in the hands of the Department of Justice, which can be heard from only by indictment or by dissolution suits, or perchance by its response to a confession by a cor- poration’s officers that their action has been contrary to law. Manufacturers may protest against the Gov- ernment “running” their business, but Federal regula- tion of the form if not of the scale of business is a fact. What is of the greatest moment now is that the regulation be constructive and not destructive; that the benefits of consolidation shall be preserved and their evils eliminated; and that manufacturers shall be able to know before the fact whether a plan of procedure is within the law. Whether the new legislation to that end provide for a bureau, a commission or an indus- trial court is not so material as that provision be made for lifting the siege upon business. Present conditions, which are close to an impasse, may prove less calami- tous than they now appear if they increase the convic- tion that some such way out must be found, and found soon. Since the above was prepared a statement has been issued by J. Pierpont Morgan and Elbert H. Gary as a committee of the Steel Corporation’s board of direc- tors, giving their stockholders the assurance many of them have needed, that no disintegration of the cor- poration 1s contemplated, either voluntary or at the demand of the Government. It said further that the corporation had not been operated to restrain trade or to obtain a monopoly; that it had observed the law and recognized the just rights of its competitors and the consumers of its products, and that its counsel had ad- vised that it was not in violation of the Sherman act as interpreted in the recent decision of the Supreme Court. The statement will quiet much of the appre- hension excited by recent rumors. The Government might clear up the situation further by a statement of like definiteness from its Department of Justice; but that, it is evident, would be inconsistent with the At- torney-General’s policy of forcing “voluntary” action by giving all large consolidations to understand that they are in peril of civil or criminal proceedings. ee Basing Prices on a Normal Business The practice is growing in certain branches of the machinery trade of basing industrial values on a nor- mal business. The idea is to establish, in a thoroughly organized way, a system by which a given profit shall be earned covering a series of years, in all the ups and downs of. business. Manufacturers differ, of THE IRON AGE 663 course, in the definition of the word normal as applied to trade conditions and for the purpose of the system under discussion the expression is taken as meaning average production in its ratio to capacity. In an industry the product of which is a staple metal article the manufacturers have got together to the extent of fixing a standard 75 per cent. average production, upon which all prices are based. In a period of 10 years it was found that this figure repre- sented the experience of the industry as a whole. Therefore, it was decided, if a given profit is to be earned, year in and year out, prices must always be reckoned on that basis. If an investment of $100,000 is to earn $10,000 a year, or $100,000 in 10 years, the profits of good times must be high enough to cover the losses or failures to earn the full shares of other years. The general proposition should be true of all systems, of course. But in the case in question the manufac- turers decided that the way surely to bring about the result was always to reckon prices on an average pro- duction. In rush times, with every possible producing facility working at the top limit, prices are made as if only 75 per cent. capacity was operating, which natur- ally results in a large margin of profit. To earn a given amount on an investment at three-fourths cap- acity requires higher prices than would be the case on a full capacity basis. Therefore, if 75 per cent is taken when as a matter of fact works are running at 100 per cent., actual profits are proportionately greater. This rule does not prevail in most machine tool es- tablishments.* Ordinarily, manufacturers are content to accept the high profits of good times and put them against the failures of lean years, paying too little at- tention to the co-relation of the varying years in its effect upon the earnings of their investments. In this branch of industry also 75 per cent. is not far from the average production, according to those who have investigated the subject. In determining prices the variation in capacity need not be considered, except in its ratio to production during any week or month or year. The belief is expressed that this system has a most healthful influence upon an industry. It acts against too rapid an expansion in prosperous times, and a wise conservation of cash resources. Money with which to pile up stocks during dull years, when cost of pro- duction is lowest, earns more than abnormal enlarge- ments, with their large interest charges. Expansion must come for every growing business, but it is better to prepare for a good business when times are dull than to wait for the rush before beginning construc- tion and the purchase of equipment. The whole point of the system of placing prices on the basis of normal production is that profits must be shown for the past and the future as well as for the present. It is claimed that business, as a conse- quence, is conducted more intelligently. a OG Misrepresenting Machinery Deliveries The question of keeping territorial selling agree- ments with dealers is often a vexatious one with ma- chinery and supply manufacturers who frequently but unwittingly violate contracts with their representatives through the cupidity of other dealers who make mis- representations as to where the material is to be de- livered. Export dealers of a certain type are responsi- ble for differences which have recently come up be- tween manufacturers in some parts of the country. These export firm§ hive hfevelppedethe practice - Mechanica) and Civil Engincess, . \PIPPSBURGH, Pa. pt pile ss ae a an ae agen Ss eo tbo 7 z. REET gases nee PREY gs Be + : ; ES Sa ts tas 3 at He 664 THE IRON AGE of seeking business in this country and supplying the demand with material ostensibly bought for shipment abroad. In this way they often have a distinct ad- vantage over the dealer supplying the domestic trade, as the manufacturer, taking into consideration the extra freight costs attached to selling machinery abroad, is likely to shade his profits somewhat in order to compete for foreign business. Several in- stances have come up of late where exporters have purchased machinery at an advantageous price on the representation that it was to be shipped to South America and later sold the equipment in this country for a price so low that the domestic dealers were unable to compete. In the machinery trade this trick is difficult to repeat, as the field is limited and the average manufac- turer can be duped only once, but in the supply busi- ness the wily exporter can distribute his operations among a larger number of firms. With this in mind, machinery and. supply dealers would do well to in- vestigate the seller when they find their field invaded before they conclude that the manufacturer has will- fully broken his agreement. ——--— — 1 Turbo-Electric Hoisting Engines in Lake Mines The recent report of Prof. J. R. Finlay covering the value and cost of operating the mines of the upper peninsula of Michigan, both iron and copper, made public figures much less favorable than* was generally anticipated. With reference to the copper mines, it was brought out that the cost of operating failed to admit of even a normal profit on the basis of the pres- ent selling price of copper and that the possibility of continued profitable operation depended upon ‘new economies in mechanical equipment and a market per- mitting the mining of increased tonnages. The mine workings in the Keeweenaw Peninsula have now been developed at great depth, and the cost of hoisting has become an important item of expense. It is interesting, therefore, in this connection to note that not only in the copper country, where the case is most advanced, but also among the iron mines of the Marquette Range, steam turbines, driving electrically operated hoists, have entered the field to displace the present types of steam hoisting engines. For many years the remarkable engines of the copper country, with their complicated and highly finished designs, great size and immense hoisting sheaves, have been unique. Although the first cost of these plants was undoubtedly enormous, operating economy is under- stood to have been compensatory. The advent of both the low and high pressure steam turbine, direct con- nected to electric generating units, is none the less an interesting transition. It enters the field hand in hand with the generation of electricity for similar purposes through the development of water power plants. SS During the past summer account was kept at a large manufacturing plant, employing about 6,000 men, of the time saved by the substitution of drinking foun- tains for coolers and cups. Exclusive of noon time, each man averaged about four drinks for the working hours of the day. Formerly he would go to the cooler, fill the cup, raise it to his lips and take a look round the shop, as almost everyone does under like circum- stances. This process consumed at least a minute longer than the present method of going to the foun- tain, taking a drink and going directly back to the tool. September 28, On that basis the saving effected in a day is equ 400 hours for the force as a whole, or enough t: a fair-sized shop. This saving, of course, looks | rT in figures than it is in fact, for the reason that ; are pauses in the operations which can be taken - vantage of by the men. Nevertheless, an econom time is effected; and this, added to the elimination expense for filling the coolers and stocking them ice, makes the innovation well worth while. i es The Extended Use of Oil for Fuel.—Facts occasio: ally coming to light show the increasingly wide graphical range over which oil is used as fuel in a large way. An open-hearth steel furnace, for instance, requires not only a large quantity of oil per day but an assurance « continuous supply, as a shutdown of such a furnace means a very large expense. The statement is made that furnaces in Boston, Mass.; Portland, Me.; Londonderry, Nova Scotia; Seattle, Wash.; San Francisco, Cal.: St Louis, Mo., and Washington, D. C., in addition to 75 open-hearth furnaces scattered through the better known steel making territory, have been equipped by Tate, Jones & Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, with their fuel oil burners, reversing valve stands, etc., which indicates the present very extended use of this abundant fuel. —__—2---e—____ The Treadwell-Stoever Consolidation.—E. R. Euston, vice-president of the Stoever Foundry & Mfg. Company, who has been in charge of its New York office for the past ten years, will remove to the new plant at Easton, Pa. October 2. As that company has been absorbed by the Treadwell Engineering Company, it will discontinue its New York office and its plant at Myerstown, Pa., and.in the future will maintain general sales offices at Easton, Pa., under the name of the Treadwell Engineering Com- pany, where the line of pipe-threading, cutting and band- ing machines will be manufactured. It is the expectation to add kindred lines of machine tools in the very near future, due announcement of which will be made. —__-_—.§ +o The Southern Stamping & Mfg. Company, Nashville, Tenn., which manufactures specialties on contract, has this year been making for the Standard Tag Company, Augusta, Ga., a metal tag for marking cotton bales. This is the first year:that the article has been put on the market extensively. Each tag has the name of the ginner and the consecutive number embossed in the tin. The metal tag is a decided improvement over the paper tags generally used, being practically indestructible and it be- ing almost impossible to remove it from the bale without taking off the band to which it is attached. The company is manufacturing quite a number of specialties for other parties in various sections of the country. It has no con- nection with the sale. of the articles it manufactures. Business in this line has been found to be very good. The George M. Newhall Engineering Company, Phila- delphia, Pa., with branch office at 50 Church street, New York City, reports the following recent sales of equipment: Three 120-ton wrecking cranes and two locomotive coaling cranes to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; a 120-ton wreck- ing crane to the New York Central; two 3o-ton transfer cranes and a lifting magnet to the Delaware & Hudson; an electric wrecking crane to the Boston Elevated; a 12-ton magnet locomotive crane to the Norfolk & Western, and a 20-ton locomotive crane to the Pennsylvania Salt Mfg. Company. This equipment is built -by thé Industrial Works, for which company the Newhall Engineering Com- pany is Eastern representative. It also reports the sale of one especially designed 100,000-lb. Riehle testing machine to the Pennsylvania Railroad for its test department at Altoona. Canada has refused to accept reciprocity with the United States. At the Canadian. general election, held September 21, the opposition to reciprocity secured a large majority in the House of Commons. The Laurier govern- ment had a majority of 43, which has been turned into an opposition majority of about the same size. R. L. Borden will be the new prime minister and Sir Wilfrid Laurier will be the leader of the minority in the next House 0! Commons. mber 28, 1911 Sixth Testing Society Congress Committees for the Meeting in New York in 1912 letin No. 1 has been issued by the Organizing Com- f the American Society for Testing Materials for sixth Congress of the International Association for ie Materials to be held in the Engineering Societies _ New York City, in September, 1912. Mention has al- , been made of the election of H. F. J. Porter, 1 Mad- avenue, New York, as secretary of the organizing iittee. Several special committees have been appointed idded to the Organizing Committee and an Execu- uumittee has been constituted as follows, the mem- consisting of the officers of the Organizing Commit- and the chairmen of the special committees: Henry lowe, chairman; Robert W. Lesley, vice-chairman; J. Porter, secretary; Edgar Marburg, F. E. Schmitt, i. Clark, Richard L. Humphrey, Rudolph Hering, in A. Holmes, Robert W. Hunt. The membership the special committees is as follows: mce—Edgar Marburg, chairman, University of nsylvania, Philadelphia; W. A. Bostwick, E. M. Hagar, \icLeod, R. S. Perry, A. A. Stevenson. Keception—Robert W. Hunt, chairman, The Rookery, Chicago; John Birkinbine, Mansfield Merriman, C. C. Schneider ‘apers.—F. E. Schmitt, chairman, Engineering News, roadway, New York; William K. Hatt, George F. Swain, Arthur N. Talbot, F. E. Turneaure. “ransportation.—F. H. Clark, chairman, B. & O. Rail- |, Baltimore, Md.; E. B. Ashby, Charles S. Churchill, dore N. Ely, J. P. Snow. formation.—Richard L. Humphrey, chairman, 805 rrison street, Philadelphia,; Jesse J. Shuman, Gustav \\. Thompson, John C. Trautwine, Jr., George S. Web- ocal Committees—New York—Rudolph Hering, hairman, 170 Broadway, New York; George F. Kunz, Richard Moldenke, W. O. Wiley. Washington—Joseph A. lolmes, chairman, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.; William H. Bixby, Allerton S. Cushman, Logan Waller age, S. W. Stratton, Charles E. Munroe, Harvey W. ley. [he Committee on Excursions and the Ladies’ Com- ittee are yet to be appointed. \t the coming congress, as at previous ones, the sec- s will be separately dealt with in three sets of parallel ions. Section A deals with metals; Section B, with ne, cement and artificial stone, and Section C, with scellaneous materials. rhe sectional sessions of the: congress will give first nsideration to the subjects of reports and discussion iulated by the council. There are two classes of sub- ts: 1. Principal questions. These number fifteen and has been assigned to an authority on the subject atter of the question as reporter. The reporter will resent a summary of present knowledge concerning the iestion. 2, Technical problems, of which there are about Most of these have been assigned to committees ‘ternational in composition and scope. The above two isses of subjects are open for the submission of papers ependent of the reporters’ views or the committee re- Papers are not expected to exceed 2500 to 3000 \ll papers prepared in the United States should sent to F. E. Schmitt, chairman of the Committee on ipers, 220 Broadway, New York, by January 1, 1912, in ler that they may reach the general secretary in Vienna bruary I, 1912. —_—_—_—_9-e— —_—_ 1 the article in The Iron Age of September 7, page n “The Stock Process for Steel Castings,” the table ing tensile strength of Stock converter steel, in the figures ranged from 27.4 to 30 should have in- ‘ed in the heading that tons of 2240 lb. were repre- | rather than “1ooo tb. per sq. in. original area.” ic} he National Limestone Company, Harrisburg, Pa., ex- to have in operation October 1 its Edison roll crush- lant near Martinsburg, W. Va. This plant will have a ity of 5000 tons daily of 5-in. high carbonate and inely low silica fluxing limestone. Walter P. Maguire cneral sales agent of the company. THE IRON AGE 665 The Steel Cotporation Stands on Its Record The United States Steel Corporation is determined to stand on its record, and will resist any effort of the Government to force it to dissolve. This was made known just before midnight on Tuesday in a statement signed by J. Pierpont Morgan and Jitdge Elbert H. Gary, acting as a committee of the board of directors. The statement is as follows: “Pursuant to the unanimous vote of the board of di- rectors of the United States Steel Corporation at a meet- ing held this afternoon, at which there were present J. Pierpont Morgan, H. C. Frick, Norman B. Ream, P. A. B. Widener, Robert Winsor, Elbert H. Gary, George W. Perkins, John F. Dryden, Samuel Mather, Daniel G. Reid, Henry Walter, James A. Farrell and James H. Reed, the following statement is published: “No negotiations whatever have taken place between the Steel Corporation and the Department of Justice look- ing to the dissolution or disintegration of the corporation. The corporation was organized for business reasons, and purchased its various plants to promote such business and not to restrain trade or obtain a monopoly. In all its operations the company has scrupulously observed the law and recognized the just rights of its competitors and the consumers of its products. So far as its directors are aware, no complaint has ever been made against it by either of these interests. The directors are advised by its counsel that its existence is not in violation of the Sher- man act as interpreted in the recent decisions of the Su- preme Court. “In view of this record and this advice, the directors feel that their duty to their stockholders, their employees and the public requires that they should set at rest all rumors to the effect that they are contemplating the dis- solution or disintegration of the corporation, either volun- tarily or at the demand of the Government. We believe that the organization is legal, that its management is proper, that its properties are of immense intrinsic value and that the corporation is of benefit to the public interest.” AO A merger of the Saurer Motor Truck Company with a plant at Plainfield, N. J., and the Mack Bros. Motor Car Company, of Allentown, Pa., has been effected. The new corporation will be known as the International Motor Truck Company. C. P. Coleman, president of the Saurer Company, will be president of the consolidation, and J. M. Mack will be vice-president. The capital of the Saurer Motor Truck Company is $1,600,000, and of the Mack Company $1,000,000. The Saurer truck is of the heavier type and will continue to be manufactured at the Plain- field plant, while the Mack truck, which is designed for lighter service, will be built at the.Allentown plant. The Samuel L. Moore & Sons Corporation, Crescent Iron Works, Front and Framklin streets, Elizabeth, N. J., has recently completed improvements at its plant and has others in contemplation with a view to increasing its facilities. The company has developed its engine known as the Crescent fuel oil engine, for pumping purposes, by directly connecting it with a pump, and has been doing considerable in this line with railroads for their water stations. A good amount of such business is in hand and more is in prospect. The company’s general business is fairly good, its sales this year running considerably over those of previous years. The Cortland Carriage Goods Company, Cortland, N. Y., is building an addition to its forging department comprising a little over 11,000 sq. ft. of floor space. It has also just put in opeartion a new power house, with a Smith gas producer and a Buckeye engine, which will furnish the additional power desired. The line of car- riage hardware made is being extended by the manu- facturer of body hangers, body loops and other heavy forgings required for the carriage trade. There are no definite plans for the resumption of oper- ations at the plant of the New York State Steel Company at Buffalo. The blast furnace went out early in July and the steel works was shut down shortly after. It is under- stood that some consideration has been given to the build- ing of finishing mills. co Santas Sl aaa ranean oth ~ ~ —¥ rath i “a RU Ns ct ae Ne ek RP Main ce , a * we st i oan FS wee vraetiscted . . Ps x4 pe oe 666 THE IRON AGE September 28, 161) 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. Sept. 27, Sept. 20, Aug. 30, Sept. 28, PIG IRON, Per Gross Ton: 1911. 1911. 1911. 1910. Foundry No. 2 standard, Phila- GM 5s ucdckatncdensowens $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $16.00 Foundry No. 2, Valley furnace. 13.25 13.50 13.50 13.75 Foundry No. 2 Southern, Cin- GES. ncce tanneeudkhness ees 13.25 13.25 13.50 14,25 Foundry No. 2, Birmingham, Ala. 10.00 10.00 10.25 11.00 Foundry No. .2, at furnace, CRIGNNG «ans posnesudan tease 14.50 14.50 14.50 16.25 Basic, delivered, eastern Pa.... 14.50 14.75 14.75 15.00 Basic, Valley furnace.......... 12.60 12.60 13.00 13.50 Bessemer, Pittsburgh .......... 15.90 15.90 15.90 15.90 Gray forge, Pittsburgh......... 13.65 13.90 13.90 14.15 Lake Superior charcoal, Chicago 16.50 16.50 16.50 18.25 COKE, CONNELLSVILLE, Per Net Ton, at Oven: Furnace coke, prompt shipment. 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.60 Furnace coke, future delivery.. 1.60 1.60 1.60 1.70 Foundry coke, prompt shipment 1.85 1.85 1.85 2.10 Foundry coke, hace delivery. . 2.10 2.10 2.10 2.25 BILLETS, &c., Per Gross Ton: Bessemer billets, Pittsburgh.... 20.00 21.00 21.00 24.00 Open hearth billets, Pittsburgh. 19.00 20.00 21.00 24.50 Forging billets, Pittsburgh...... 25.00 26.00 26.00 29.00 Open hearth billets, Philadelphia 22.40. 22.40 23.40 26.00 Wire rods, Pittsburgh......... 26.00 27.00 27.00 28.00 OLD MATERIALS, Per Gross Ton: irom ‘SOG, CNUONO. ...6.0.500> 14.00 14.50 14.00 16.00 Iron rails, Philadelphia........ 17.00 17.00 17.00 18.00 Car wheels, Chicago........... 12.75 12.75 13.00 14.00 Car wheels, Philadelphia....... 12.00 12.50 13.00 13.75 Heavy steel scrap, Pittsburgh.. 12.50 12.75 13.00 14.25 Heavy steel scrap, Chicago..... 10.00 10.50 11.0 12.25 Heavy steel scrap, Philadelphia. 12.00 12.50 13.25 14.00 FINISHED IRON AND STEEL, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Bessemer rails, heavy, at mill.. 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 Refined iron bars, Philadelphia. . 1.22% 1.22% 1.27% 1.40 Common iron bars, Pittsburgh. . 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.45 Common iron bars, Chicago.... 1.20 1.22% 1.20 1.37% Steel bars, Pittsburgh......... 1.15 1.20 1.20 1.40 Steel bars, tidewater, New York. 1.31 1.36 1.36 1.56 Tank plates, Pittsburgh........ 1.25 1.30 1.30 1.40 Tank plates, tidewater, New York 1.41 1.46 1.46 1.56 Beams, Pittsburgh...........::; 1.30 1.35 1.35 1.40 Beams, tidewater, New York... 1.46 1.51 1.5 1.56 Angles, Pittsburgh............. 1.30 1.35 1.35 1.40 Angles, tidewater, New York.. 1.46 1.51 1.51 1.56 Skelp, grooved steel, Pittsburgh 1.15 1.20 1.20 1.40 Skelp, sheared steel, Pittsburgh 1.25 1.30 1.30 1.50 SHEETS, NAILS AND WIRE, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents, Cents. Sheets, black, No. 28, Pittsburgh 1.90 1.S0 1.95 2.15 Wire nails, Pittsburgh7........ 1.65 1.65 1.65 1.70 Cut nails, Pittsburght.......... 1.55 1.55 1.60 1.65 Barb wire, galv., Pittsburgh?... 1.95 1.95 2.00 2.00 METALS, Per Pound: Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Lake copper, New York........ 12.50 12.60 12.75 12.75 Electrolytic copper, New York.. 12.25 12.37%4 12.50 12.50 A ae oO ee 5.85 5.90 5.90 5.45 Seelter, New York. 2.00. 0.<s%s 6.00 6.05 6.05 5.60 Ne SR ee 4.32% 4.35 4.421%4 4.27% a ee 4.474% 4.50 4.50 4.40 OO —= oe ee 38.87% 38.87% 42.87% 35.12% Antimony, Hallett, New York.. 7.70 7.75 7.75 7.87% Tin plate, 100-lb. box, New York $3.84 $3.84 $3.94 $3.84 _* The average switching charge for delivery to foundries in the Chicago district is 50c. per ton. + These prices are for largest lots to jobbers. — ++ Prices of Finished Iron and Steel f.o.b. Pittsburgh Freight rates from Pittsburgh in carloads, per 100 Ib.: New York, 16c.; Philadelphia, 15c.; Boston, 18c.; Buffalo, 11c.; Cleveland, toc.; Cincinnati, 15c.; Indian- apolis, 17c.; Chicago, 18c.; St. Paul, 32c.; St. Louis, 22%c.; New Orleans, 30c.; Birmingham, Ala., 45c. Pa- cific coast, 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. Plates.—Tank plates, % in. thick, 6% in. up to 100 in. wide, 1.25c. to 1.30c., base, net cash, 30 days. Fol- lowing are stipulations prescribed by manufacturers, with extras: Rectangular plates, tank steel or conforming to mdnufacturers’ standard specifications for structural steet dated February 6, 1903, or equivalent, % in. thick and over on thinnest edge, 100 in. wide and under, down to but not including 6 in. wide, are base. Plates up to 72 in. wide, inclusive, ordered 10:2 Ib. per square foot, are considered %-in. plates. Plates over 72 in. wide ; be ordered % in. thick on edge, or not less than 11 Ib. per sgua: foot, to take base price. Plates over 72 in. wide ordered less t 11 lb. per square foot down to the weight of 3-16-in. take the pri of 3-16-in. Allowable overweight, whether plates arg ordered to gauge weight, to be governe oe standard specifications of the Associa- oan aF tion of American Steel Manufacturers. . Extras. Cents per |b, Gauges under % in. to and including 3-16 in. on thin- GER GEE 6 cdse Ss eice@esn case aebohtets dd... 10 Gauges under 3-16 in. to and including No. 8......... . 15 Gauges under No. 8 to and including No. 9........... .25 Gauges under No. 9 to and including No. 10......... .30 Gauges under No. 10 to and including No. 12........ .40 Sketches (including all straight taper plates) 3 ft. and SEE SF eo 6666s vio 6 bee Ca eR eee ee cave 10 Complete circles, 3 ft. in diameter and over.,......... .20 eee EE EE, II, ond a -. Go'eth wad ea WAKA b's cso 0% .10 “A. B. M. A.” and ordinary firebox steel............. .20 NL NONE 6. s Kicbuie cr 640 SUEKSRMLS 64RD E SEN ese ol 30 GE NED oak 69 0 doe aie ale ods dS ORE aM Rese Op aes s .40 LOCOUSIIOS -GGROK GEOG sc. ic ce cEU Neus betsesciéssex Widths over 100 in. up to 110 in., imclusive........... 05 Widths over 110 in. up to 115 in., inclusive.,........ .10 Widths over 115 in. up to 120 in., inclusive........... 15 Widths over 120 in. up to 125 in., inclusive.....,..... 25 Widths over 125 in. up to 130 in., inclusive............ 50 ag do ee ee ere Ce ea 1.00 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 3 ft. to 2 ft., in- ee eee ee rer ee ee pee eae Cutting to lengths or diameters under 2 ft. to 1 ft., in- SE Sin Rls 4 + CORR RIAKS bE Ease kete seas 8 Cutting to lengths or diameters under 1 ft............ 1.55 No charge for cutting rectangular plates to lengths 3 ft. and over. Structural Material.—I-beams, 3 to 15 in.; channels, 3 to 15 .in., and angles, 3 to 6 in. on one or both legs, 1% in. and over, 1.30c. to 1.35c. Other shapes and sizes are quoted as follows: Cents per lb Easing omer. 2S. Gly. s.cicieic ss asd en eee eas 1.40 to 1.45 Peeetes oner 16 U 6g ick ka sacv chsh ianabader 1.50 to 1.55 Angles, 3 to 6 in., inclusive, 4% in. and up....... 1.30 to 1.35 AMseS OVEr GS IDs 0k ci ncdsrh cs cien perp cea chee 1.40 to 1.45 Angles, 3 in. on one or both legs, less than ™% in. thick, plus full extras as per steel bar cord Geok.. 4, Fa dibedecccivecvswadtacrkaae 1.35 to 1.40 SESS, 2. BE Gis cin ccaes Savas tcan th beueeee 1.35 to 1.40 Coen, 2 Uh, CR Miss bit es ca cscaceveanete 1.30 to 1.35 Angles, channels and tees, under 3° in., plus full extras as per steel bar card Sept. 1, 1909.1.35 to 1.40 Deck beams and bulb angles............ e000. 1,60 to 1.65 TS SS re eer rere rr yy tok 2.45 Checkered and corrugated plateS............ceceeee0+ 2249 Sheets.— Makers’ prices for mill shipments on sheets of U. S. standard gauge, in carload and larger lots, on which jobbers charge the usual discounts for small lots from store, are as follows: Blue Annealed Sheets. Cents per lb. GE SO BEB creck tkcb wesc sedscaches esanerenes 1.30 to 1.35 OG. D MAE 106k si iveckcndacavacnukeaeeeus 1.40 to 1.45 Wee. 59 ME Dose ied dane ttcs acd eeedaenneee 1.45 to 1.50 EGU Ee ME, BGs dnc db dwn dhsen es ber bare eee 1.50 to 1.55 Week: BE ed Wein 6 Fi eo sce sa dens aes 1.60 to 1.65 Box Annealed Sheets, Cold Rolled. One Pass. Three Pass Mon, 00 te Tiss oiaiessceet 1.55 Ge See |. kek wegeee os. 2D ae ies s 6 nndbae ds ek Sf > . ery ee eee ree Oe ae a eae ere 1.65 to 1.70 1.75 to 1.80 et ae ie VR eee 1.70 to 1.75 1.80 to 1.85 mos, 28; 2B ane B46... ..cciesa 1.75 to 1.80 1.85 to 1.90 OR, Ae ORE Ben cd caseeascnss 1.80 to 1.85 1.90 to 1.95 TG, Bi acsadssnakabdpeeahenne 1.85 to 1.90 1.95 to 2.00 eee? 1.90 to 1.95 2.00 to 2.05 EE Sere eS ye 1.95 to 2.00 2.05 to 2.10 Woe, BO. occcctepeccdiutacides See eae 2.15 to 2.20 Galvanized Sheets, of Black Sheet Gauge. Nas. 10 and Ube ciccien ch dust de ececc cece never 1.90 to 1.95 Nos, 22. 13 Qed Dic cscs ccccvsceschbccnsdpenmeae Noe, 25, WB! Ge ae oa6 ew basics cis daxqeeee 2.15 to 2.20 Nos. 33 00: Biadins 060s ccc@unesteeectaneeeee 2.30 to 2.35 im, Sh Gn Meno i.0 6 a anda ahs e's aba tua 2.40 to 2.45 FVOG., 29 BM Be nc ci wicksdhaveltdees tain cee 2.60 to 2.65 iis WT cakes vaveeh sasbabent hoes sv ks eel 2.75 to 2.80 POO OM, dn db aide c¥newens dhs sa edeea weReee 2.90 to 2.95 No. AD wi vans: vin! a: 5) bb: bn sk nach ach ok a dss NO; BR cdc faves swedeusentackstnn saan 3.20 to 3.25 All above rates on sheets are f.0.b. Pittsburgh, terms 30 days net, or 2 per cent. cash discount in 10 days from date of invoice, as also are the following base prices per square for painted and galvanized roofing sheets, with 2%4-in. corrugations: Gauge. Painted. Galvanized. | Gauge. Painted. Galvanized. ee eR $2.40 Rs cv ites $2.40 -3.50 $1.40 2.55 Bs csp 2.60 oh keke 1.55 2.60 Bente 2.80 33 ASR 1.65 2.65 Miivtkus 3.05 30 B85 russes 1.85 3.05 1B. ii scae 4.05 — 965 tosis 2.10 3.15 | SGscs xe 4.90 6.5 Wire Rods and Wire.—Bessemer, open hearth and chain rods, $26 to $26.50. Fence wire, Nos. 0 to 9 per 100 Ib., terms 60 days, or 2 per cent. discount in 10 days, ptember 28, 1911 THE IRON AGE THE IRON AND METAL MARKETS arload lots, to jobbers, annealed, $1.45; galvanized, $1.75. Carload lots, to retailers, annealed, $1.50; gal- vanized, $1.80. Galvanized barb wire to jobbers, $1.95; painted, $1.65. Wire nails, to jobbers, $1.65. The following table gives the price to retail mer- hants on wire in less than carloads, including the ex- tras on Nos. 10 to 16, which are added to the base price: Fence Wire, Per 100 Ib. 10 11 ‘os 0to9 12&12% 13 14 1° nealed ...$1.65 $1.70 $1.75 $1.80 $1.90 $2.00 $2.10 $2.20 Galvanized 1.95 2.00 2.05 2.10 2.20 2.30 2.70 2.80 rket and Stone Ware in Bundles, Discount from Standing List. Bright and Annealed: 9 and, COMORES cbs vis ciy ekg hoe GkeC eb aa ee Kameee 80 10: 00. Sis dacs take eae i ee baie oe Kaen ce peacen 80 and 10 19 to SEs. xo secetn evan eer he eenee i aaehe 80 and 10 and 2% FT tg Shs i cas th cherie thueces badebas auenpans 80 and 5 Galvanized: Cr a Pe, Bay eT i ay Sy ne 75 and 10 10 to 36ca vacua cache pede ls sak aeiiceeenaecin 75 and 10 17 to DMiicoteva Vee kate eae kes votd dau vaeduees 72% and 10 27 te Bia ciciacbds hh kaka bes eka ioweddéceeanemeeeel 72% Coppered or Liquor Finished: ‘ Q and :. SRE avin acts ael ons 4 hone dene Ranta 75 and 10 0 to BG. vac lewct at tee eh1lasAes ks var eeseeeeue 75 and 10 29 to BBé voc s che Cab. biaen ¥en eceeehaeuw 70 and 10 and 5 Tinned: 6 WO 1B. :c.<xu dh oaiceeas aie ktekwaeer 75 and 10 and 10 Wrought Pipe.—The following are the jobbers’ car- load discounts on the Pittsburgh basing card on wrought pipe, in effect from October 1, 1910: Butt Weld. ——Steel———, -——Iron——, Black. Galv. Black. Galv. to- 134: i ines kaon ches i z 49 43 itl, vac gak cane tae eel 75 63 71 59 6 to 196 ‘Slave «hese be wegen 79 69 75 65 . te 3 Ws okevehawenbedane 80 70 76 66 Lap Weld. ities cbc s haeeee Manes ee 76 66 72 62 34, to. OAs cab be do cae Seies 78 67 74 64 46 to 6 Biss n60ks cuancanes 77 67 73 63 7 to 23 Wiis sud0s.sads conntes 75 59 71 55 13 to 19 Sia ivenscend eee were 51% a as én Butt Weld, extra strong, plain ends, card weight. Yh, 3h, 96 Mia ewedscentiwccs 69 59 65 55 it.s) caxdvpuede dew aeacaus 74 68 70 64 4 to 156° WS. hese es conan od 78 72 74 68 to 3 Biv css0 yp Conn eee binean 79 73 75 69 Lap Weld, extra strong, plain ends, card weight. 2 in... cesishameacannsereeah bua 75 69 71 65 1% te @ Bisson h. i eauken ane 77 71 73 67 1% to -O:Wiéte ca cc cteeaceren 76 70 72 66 7 to $ Bbic i cian eadaes 69 59 65 55 9 to 12 Win veneonede vevsueee 64 54 60 50 Butt Weld, double extra strong, plain ends, card weight. 6 iscabetan caeebeesecseae 64 58 60 54 % to RSGDMEeN cas eh eane cous 67 61 63 57 to 3 Wisci nos cakes 4can<ben 69 63 65 59 Lap Weld, double extra strong, plain ends, card weight. 2 ith. <0 Sainhie batale eee eee 65 59 61 55 a4 to | Biss ccna nvcus eeena 67 61 63 57 {% to 6 Wh, .sceedeewees 66 60 62 56 7 to 8 Otis. viii 59 49 62 56 Plugged and Reamed. will 7 — at two {3) . uo ° points lower basin igher to! i 4 to 3 in. ee wat price) than merchenty’ or c/a Min env S or | card weight pipe. Butt or lap weld, as specified. lhe above discounts are for “card weight,” subject to the usual ions of 5 per cent. Prices for less than carloads are three (3) s lower basing (higher price) than the above discounts. Pittsburgh ‘ITTSBURGH, Pa., September 27, 1911.—(By Telephone.) Pig Iron.—The market is lifeless and in the absence any new inquiry for pig iron prices are entirely minal, Valley furnaces continue to ask $15 at fur- ace for Bessemer iron, but no sales have been made at is igure for a long time. Several small sales of Bes- ner ranging. from 200 tons to 400 or 500 tons have cen made by dealers in the past two weeks at $14.60 514.75 at Valley furnace. Foundry iron is weaker in mpathy with other grades. We have no sales to note | we quote Bessemer nominally at $15; basic, $12.60; malleable Bessemer, $13; No. 2 foundry, $13.25, and ray forge, $12.75, all at Valley furnace, the freight te to the Pittsburgh district being goc. a ton. Steel—New inquiry is very dull and some of the ller steel mills are anxious for orders and are willing