The Iron Age 1911-11-09: Vol 88 Iss 19

New York, November 9, 1911 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, ’ ion Price, United States and Mexico, $5.00 per Annum ; to Canada, $7 50 atone Other Foreign Countries, $10.00 per Annum. Unless receipt is requested, none will be sent. Credit for payment will be shown by extending the date on the wrapper of your paper. President and Treasurer First Vice-President W. H. Taylor, - 1. A. Mekeel, . - ” a | Manager - Assistant Manager Branch Offices Philadelphia, Real Estate Trust Building Chicago, Fisher Building ae Pittsburgh, Park Buliding Cleveland, American Trust Building Boston, Compton Building Cincinnati, 807 Andrews Building CONTENTS. Rail Buying for 1912 Some Iron Ore Fallacies........sseesereeeeeseeererersseeces 1000 Close Time Study of Factory Operations 1000 A Mammoth in Steam Power Generators Small Unit Producer Gas Engines Oxy-Acetylene Welding Menaced Correspondence German Steel Plant Construction The Steel Corporation Suit Manufacturers Contest Freight Advances Open Hearth Steel Works in Germany Pig Iron Production Heat-Treated Steel Axles The Iron and Metal Markets Iron and Industrial Stocks American Society for Testing Materials The American Steel Foundries Earnings... q.....--+-+++e+++5 Canadian Iron and Steel Output Federal Control of Large Business... ....-+eeeeeeeeeeseeeees 1016 Revolving Grate Gas Pioducer 1017 Trade Publications Personal Obituary Pittsburzh and Vicinity Industrial Notes The Industrial Education Convention Two New Orders for Lake Vessels Woodward Buys Vanderbilt Furnaces The Connellsville Coke Trade September Iron and Steel Exports and Imports An Electric Generator of 30,000 Horse Power An Album on Concrete Engineering Scientific Management at United States Arsenals A Monuméntal Bridge Contract Let Swedish Steels The Sherman Law Committee on Steel Wotks.Labor Conditions The Problem of the Trus8ts..,...+...+++ enbaseeeernecsearenes Taxable Valuation of Michigan Iron Mires A Better Feeling To * Heavy German Tools for” ine Building The Black Kevolving Steam Feed.......-++ Dy occsesdeotawee’ Iron Ore Rates from Lower Lake Ports New Water. Cooheti's;.ccdbsccusscscee es Fee eeesesesecneceees Exports of Manufacturers Approaching Billion-Dollar Line.... ower Squeezing with Molding Machine Oil-Fired Furnaces for Automobile Parts The Economy Welding Machine The Ransom .Portable Grinder essemer Gas Engines A Blast Furnace Chercing Car High Pressute Blower S The Warrior Sight. Feed The Wyoming Steam Trap New ‘ ongrete-Steel Ore Dock A. Ney Temperature Pendants The Philadelphia Found The American Foun ry For The \ achinery Markets Gover:ment Purchases ’s Association . emen’s Association VoL. 88: No. 19 Rail Buying for 1912 Several Contracts Already Placed A Check to the Increase in Pig Iron Production, but Prices Are Lower in All Markets Rail buying for 1912 has begun in earnest in the past week, and active contracting is expected to follow. The Louisville & Nashville has placed 50,000 tons with the Ensley mill and the Burlington has ordered 20,000 tons of open-hearth rails from Gary. The Norfolk & Western order, amounting to 25,000 tons, has been dis- tributed among Pennsylvania and seaboard mills, about 10,000 tons gaing to Pittsburgh. It is reported that the Great Northern will buy 40,000 tons and, as heretofore, the order is expected to go to the Buffalo mill. The New York Central is figuring on its requirements, while the Pennsylvania is negotiating with the mills for a tonnage in excess of its contracts for this year. In the South a number of roads are about to buy, in- cluding the Georgia Central and the San Antonio & Aransas Pass. There appears to be no foundation for the recent rumor of a price below $28 for Bessemer rails. The November 1 blast furnace returns indicate a slowing down in the latter part of October in the rate of increase in pig iron production—an increase that has been under way since July. The October output of coke and anthracite pig iron was 2,102,147 tons, or 67,811 tons a day, as compared with 65,903 tons a day in September, an increase of 1900 tons a day, whereas September showed 3800 tons a day more than August and August 4300 tons a day more than July. One less furnace was active on November 1 than on October 1, but, owing to the larger capacity of the furnaces blown out than of those blown in last month, the active ca- pacity at the opening of this month was 66,818 tons a day, against 66,468 tons a day on October 1. The rate of production November 1 was thus 1000 tons a day less than the average for the month of October. Accompanying the continued increase in pig iron production there has been a reduction in stocks, but contrary to the ordinary effect of such a proof of en- larged consumption the market for merchant iron has been steadily weaker. The increased consumption has been sg largely on steel works account that buyers of foundry iton have interpreted the conditions as giving them licefise to put off buying. This decision the weak attitude of sellers, as much as anything else, has en- couraged.. The Central West has been of late the center of disturbance in pig iron prices. Little has been done in steel-making iron, and foundry buying has been cvi- dently affected by the anticipation of lower freight rates on ore, not only from mines to upper lake docks, but from Lake Erie ports to furnaces; The agitation for lower freight rates on coke is also a factor. In the Cleveland district $13 at furnace for No. 2 foundry Fe ated ~s So oe 1000 THE IRON AGE iron is reported, while at Chicago as low as $14 for local iron has been done. Recent car orders have brought business to the plate and structural mills, and an Indiana car plant has been started up. Car builders look for a gradual im- provement in their business. For the New York Connecting Railroad bridge the arch and two approach spans have at last been let. They call for 36,000 tons. Other approach work will require 54,000 tons. Fabricators find encouragement in a total of 130,000 td 140,660 tons of Steel work pend- ing in New York and vicinity, for the most part in jobs running over 1000 tons. About 8000 tons of plates and shapes for the four vessels recently placed with lake yards will be rolled at Pittsburgh. A central Pennsylvania mill will fur- nish the plates for the five American-Hawaiian ves- sels to be built at Sparrows Point, Md. | Low prices continue on bars, plates and shapes, with no indication and little prospect of a firmer stand by manufacturers. Wire products have developed fresh cutting, particularly south of the Ohio River, and sales of nails have been made at the equivalent of $1.55 at Pittsburgh mill and of plain wire at $1.35. Though current prices have made painful inroads upon profits, cast iron pipe foundries hold up their operating rate. An inquiry for 12,000 tons of 40-in. pipe has come from the municipality of Quebec. At 29,607,102 tons, the shipments of Lake Superior ore to November 1 this season were 10,371,206 tons less than in 1910 to that date. The 30,000,000-ton mark for the season will be considerably exceeded, but 32,- 000,000 tons is now the limit of estimates. ———_o +o Some Iron Ore Fallacies Government inquisitors into the status of the United States Steel Corporation have found the iron ore question a serious stumbling block. Commissioner of Corporations Smith, by a study of Lake Superior ore values, found that the effort to account for the cor- poration’s enormous capitalization by a dollar-a-ton valuation on its ores was out of all reason. The Stan- ley committee, likewise, when inveighing against swol- len capitalization, was quite ready to agree with Mr. Smith that the valuation put on the corporation’s Lake ores was culpably excessive. But when the committee wanted to show that the Tennessee Company’s enorm- ously valuable ore deposits had been acquired by the corporation for only a tithe of their value, it was quite ready to believe that the 700,000,000 tons of Red Moun- tain ore were worth many times the purchase price. In the original Congressional investigation of the 1907 purchase it was very plainly charged that the corpora- tion had secured a $700,000,000 property, measured by ore values alone, for approximately $30,000,000. In combatting the dollar-a-ton basis for Lake Superior iron ore yaluation, Herbert Knox Smith cites the actual average royalty of 25.3 cents for Mesaba leases in the year 1903. Actual transactions in the Alabama field are even more damaging to the notion of the Stanley in- vestigators that a property worth hundreds of millions was gathered in in 1907. The same syndicate which sold its Tennessee Company holding to the Steel Corporation had in the preceding year acquired a desirable ore de- posit in the Birmingham district, known as the Potter property. In this transaction it paid $800,000 for lands estimated to contain 60,000,000 tons of ore, or on the basis of 1 1/3 cents a ton! November igi One of the most glaring misstatements of : © Goy. ernment’s petition against the Steel Corporatio S th referring to the desirability of the ores acquire a Tennessee Company purchase. We are told that ‘view of the many accidents with Bessemer steel riils the railroads were demanding the better open-hearth raj) for which the ores of the Tennessee Company were suitable; also that the Tennessee Company, having taken a large order for rails from the Harriman lines, was about to become a powerful competitor of the Stee! Corporation for the rail business of the country. Alto. gether misleading is the inference that these Southerp ores were better for open-hearth rails than hundreds of millions of Lake Superior ores which the corpora- tion already had. As is well known, the Alabama ores are much less economical for the open-hearth process than the Lake Superior ores, requiring the expensive plant necessary for the duplex process of steel making and the more expensive practice involved in that process. It may be added that no rail mill in the United States had a higher cost than had the Ensley mill when the Steel Corporation acquired it, and that the early experience of the Harriman lines with Alabama open- hearth rails was not such as to indicate that Ensley would be a particularly dangerous competitor of the other rail mills of the country. One further ore fallacy may be cited in this connec- tion; it is found in the portion of the Government's petition relating to the Great Northern lease. The Gov- ernment admits that it has been informed of the cor- poration’s decision to cancel the lease, but it hastens to say that three years must elapse before this can be done, and meantime the greedy corporation might set to work and take out millions upon millions of these precious ores. Hence, prompt action by the courts is invoked. In his muckraking ardor the Government's attorney had no room in his mind for the fact that the great difficulty the corporation has encountered in con- nection with operations under the Great Northern lease has been the physical impossibility of getting out of the ground and putting in shape for use in the blast fur- nace the minimum stipulated quantities of the Hill ores. Enormously expensive preliminary work has had to be done to open up these properties, and time and millions have been spent in installing plant for the concentra- tion of the sandy ores of the western Mesaba. Quite otherwise than the hysterics of the Government's at- torney would have it, the real situation is such that the Steel Corporation will have difficulty in getting out by January 1, 1915, the minimum amounts on which royal- ties must be paid. a Close Time Study of Factory Operations To the uninitiated reader of scientific management literature there is one practical point commonly dis- patched with a mere reference. That is the use of the stop watch in time studies. The fact that cost de- terminations of unit operations are largely dependent on the time element of given divisions of the work seems to have led to the error of overlooking ¢very- thing else save the actual effect of the study on the human factor. It is probably safe to say that often in using the stop watch, the actual chances of error 0 the part of the observer are not apprehended, or # true knowledge of the time demands of the several steps into which any complete operation is divisible is not obtained. Cases are known of a series of time ber 9g, I9II gs all close enough to the average to encourage ption of the average figure, when an analysis ther subdivision would have shown one or two ‘eps on which there was loss of time to the oper- ere is a point beyond which it becomes unwise ry the subdivision; yet sometimes one finds ex- | calculations on a unit carried to the third and decimal places. One reason for the situation is the observer does not realize how he may readily knowledge of the accomplishments of small ds of time. It is not the purpose here to elaborate this detail of studying plant-efficiency promotion even to outline any procedure, but to direct atten- to a phase of plant study neglected except by rs in the movement. It will probably be argued the so-called hair-splitting study is not justifiable, t this is like the claim of the mediocre student who strives to excuse an antipathy to close application to the problems allotted to him. Were one to get records ' a given cycle of operations from, say, operation 1 operation 1, and then of other continuous operations, , from operation 2 through the cycle to operation 1 so on, the actual time consumption and possible ving of irregularities and time waste could be ob- ned with a minimum of inaccuracy. There are riations which will occur to the observer, and the tra labor will generally not be serious. Such seem- ¢ refinements have led to the discovery of possible rovements not noted in the preliminary studies. lf proper care were always taken in fixing time ites, there would perhaps be less trouble in plants perated on a _ piece-work basis. The disrupting tendency of repeated changes of wage payments based piece work is certainly to be avoided and the lost care is warranted in establishing at the outset a ble unit. ————_+--e—__—_ A Mammoth in Steam Power Generators When the vertical steam turbine was introduced, out eight years ago, the enthusiastic engineer was vont to rush into calculation to show what little sheds irge power stations could hereafter be. Then had ar- rived a prime mover combining much in little. In com- irison the steam engine was little in much. In the nthusiasm of the moment it was forgotten that the vuxiliary apparatus—the condenser, the air and circu- \ing water pumps, the hydraulic apparatus for the p bearing—would take up a great amount of space, ficient, in fact, to accentuate the small proportions the unit itself. The steam turbine has grown in and the bulk of the auxiliaries has not in- ised in proportion, or, what is a better description. limited foundation area of the turbine allows for use of decks under the main floor of the power ise for the disposal of the auxiliaries. (he force of this fact was strongly felt last week . visit’ to the Waterside station of the New York nm Company. Here was put into operation:a unit 10 less than 20,000 kw. capacity. It is the first of imber being built by the General Electric Company this station and also for Chicago. Under dramatic litions it assumed its burden, and the occasion em- ‘sized a step forward in the large scale of opera- to which we have become accustomed. Business litions warranted the single large unit, and en- ering successfully supplied the machine. Engi- | icity, THE IRON AGE toot neering analysis doubtless pointed to the wisdom of the move and overcame the commercial obstacles which ordinarily restrict the development of new sizes and patterns of established articles: The spectacular fea- tures of the event and an explanation of the gigantic _ size of the power generator are mentioned elsewhere in this issue. Small Unit Producer Gas Engines The producer gas engine of small power promises to become one of the important factors in the field which is now practically controlled by the gasoline and kerosene types. A number of manufacturers are work- ing out the problems of engine and producer; and while the work is by no means completed, experiments have progressed far enough to give ample assurance of success in the not very distant future. The field of the engine of small horse power is enormous. The economy of the gas producer engine is well established. Its safety as compared with gasoline engines is self evident and will appeal to many users, including the great class of owners of pleasure craft. If greater re- liability could be secured than from liquid fuel en- gines, an important advance will have been made, for in spite of the developments of recent years much is still to be wished for on this score. This the manu- facturers of producer gas engines expect to achieve They may live to compete with crude oil engines of an advanced design, and the exponents of the kerosene engine are confident of success, especially for commer- cial and industrial purposes. But an important place awaits the engine which will secure’ from small quanti- ties of coal a new maximum of power. Oe” Oxy-Acetylene Welding Menaced The Massachusetts authorities are creating excep- tional rules for the control of users of oxy-acetylenr welding apparatiis. The explosion of an acetylene gen- erator, due to extraordinary carelessness, led to an investigation of the whole question, and the results promise to be ordinances so severe as to constitute a hardship in some cases. No manufacturer will criti- cise preventive measures against accident. More than ever before this is true, because Massachusetts, in common with many other States, will soon be paying accident claims under a workmen’s compensation act. Small employers can least afford to take chances, for a serious accident may prove financially crippling. But a wise limit to precautions should be sought. In a gen- eral way the new rules will include an increased dis- tance between the generator building and the plant; a limit to the number of oxygen flasks which may be stored in the building, and an insistence that the struc- ture be of fireproof construction. Co-operation between the authorities and the in- terested houses should always be sought in promul- gating laws which are to govern the latter. Often a compromise can be worked out, to the benefit of every- one. On the other hand, in the case in question the police power of the State government is impregnable. Rules once established, no relief can be those who are adversely affected. In the present in- stance the manufacturets believe that qualities menace discriminated against, because the welding agents constitute no greater be found in other business conditions, as, for instance, 1002 in the ordinary soda fountain and in the use of gas- oline. They complain not at the regulations but at what they term unreasonable and burdensome restric- tions. ———+—___ Referring to the action taken on the Great Northern ore lease, James J. Hill said recently: “1 am not wor- ried about the cancellation of the Steel Corporation ore contract. Iron ore does not go out of style, and it will not run away. If it lies in the ground for 25 years and the country grows, and the demand for iron and steel increases, it will not be worth any less than it is now.” Mr. Hill may be right in the opinion that iron ore will not be worth any less 25 years hence than it is to-day. But that is not quite the same as establish- ing a high valuation by contract to-day—high in com- parison with the average royalties of the past ten years’ transfers—aid then adding about 4 per cent. in- terest for every year a ton of ore remains in the ground. Mr. Hill’s contract with the Steel Corporation meant that a ton of ore worth 85 cents in the ground to-day would bring $1.70 in royalty 25 years from now. Such a scaling up at the base of the steel industry would mean that the United States, instead of taking more of the world’s steel trade, must accept an increasing handicap in international competition. +O Correspondence The First Steel Rails Rolled at Johnstown To the Editor: In the report of the speech which I made to my old fellow workers of the Cambria Steel Works, which you published in your issue of October 5, I am quoted as saying that the first steel rails made at Johnstown were rolled on the 18-in. train. It should have been the 2I-in. train. There were two trains of rolls on which iron rails were made, the older one 18 in. and. the newer a 2I-in. train, and it was upon the larger one that the steel made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company was rolled into rails. We had trouble from breaking the middle blooming roll, which was overgome by casting the roll around a forged steel center of about 6 in. in diameter. Rogert W. Hunt. STEAMSHIP MancuuriA, En Route to Japan, October 21, IQII. —_-e—___ German Steel Plant Construction Under date of October 27, our Berlin correspondent makes the following statement regarding new plant con- struction in Germany: “Some details were given in my report last week about the new plant of the Burbach-Esch-Diidelingen combina- tion at Esch in Luxemburg. This week some informa- tion is available about the new Gelsenkirchen establish- ment at the same place and the Thyssens at Hagendingen, a little north of Metz on the Moselle. The Gelsenkirchen plant has six blast furnaces with a daily capacity of 1200 to. 1300 tons of pig iron. Two of these have already been finished and are now filled with their first charges, to be blown in within a few days. Blooming and finishing mills connected with the steel plant will turn out annually about 400,000 tons of heavy rails, structural shapes and other products. “The Thyssens plant, begun only within a year, is making very rapid progress, and is expected to go into operation by the middle of next year, which is also the date set for the beginning of full operations at the Gelsenkirchen plant. -The Thyssens are also building six blast furnaces, but these are of larger size than those at Esch and will make about 600,000 tons a year. Steel plant and rolling mills will consume the entire product, making from 550,- 000 to 600,000 tons of crude steel a year. The Thyssens already rank among the iron and coal magnates of Ger- many, being owners of the great Gewerkschaft Deutscher Kaiser at Duisburg on the Rhine and Ruhr. Besides the THE IRON e AGE November |, 1911 new furnaces already mentioned, the Aumetz-Frie'> Com. pany has been reconstructing and modernizing fur- naces for several years and adding new ones 1 has just started another of 220 to 240 tons capacity day: when its present plans are. completed it will | nine large furnaces. The de Wendel Company at 1!\ayingen in Lorraine has completed the enlargement of «wo old furnaces and several smaller concerns are also |uilding furnaces. “It is estimated that, when all the new blast furnaces and steel plants now erecting in the Luxemburg-| orraine district shall have been completed, the yearly production of that region will be increased by about 1,900,000 tons of pig iron and 1,700,000 tons of steel. This huge addition to the German yearly production, not to mention the in- crease in the Rhenish-Westphalian and other districts. will present a most difficult ‘problem in the forthcoming negotiations for the prolongation of the Steel Works Union, which lapses at the end of next June. It will be a problem of no less difficulty to find a market for all this new addition to the steel production. “It is reported unofficially that the Prussian Govern- ment is planning to buy or build a steel plant and mill for making its supply of rails for the state railroads. If this is true, it will be a heavy blow for the Steel Works Union.” The Steel Corporation Suit The Attitude of Buyers of Steel and Independent Manu- facturers E. W. Edwards, president of the Edwards Mfg. Com- pany, Cincinnati, has a communication in the Cincinnati Enquirer, in which, speaking from the standpoint of a buyer of steel sheets, he contends that the dissolution of the Steel Corporation would not be a benefit but an injury He says in part: Che Government now asks that the Steel Corporation be dis- solved, also the constituent companies, such as the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company, ete. In other words, the Government practically demands that the blast furnaces pay a profit on the ore, that the steel mills pay a profit on the pig iron, that the finish- ing mills pay a profit on the billets, that the jobbers pay a profit on the finished line and the dealer a profit to the jobber, all of which the people would pay, for the steel companies, whether they are independent or otherwise, are not in the habit of working fot their heaith. In the meantime many of the independent mills have been grow ing much faster in proportion than the Steel Corporation, and some of the independent finishing mills have put in blast furnaces and steel mills, so that in their particular field they are as strong as the Steel Corporation, making the steel from the ground up. Should the court grant the petition of the Government and dissolve not only the Steel Corporation but its subsidiaries, they would be absolutely at the mercy of the large independents unless they imme: diately proceeded to make miniature steel corporations of them selves by putting in blast furnaces, steel mills, etc., which would leave the public exactly where it is today. Without knowing it the Government is practically insisting upo? the public paying several profits rather than one, for if it forced the dissolution of all the constituent companies without permitting them immediately to fortify themselves, the independent buyers o! steel like myself could not buy materials as low as they are to-day. For instance, we were paying 50 per cent. more for sheet steel prior to the formation of the American Sheet Steel Company than we are today, and there is a profit in today’s prices to the Steel Corporation if they figure from the ore to the finished product, but if the public is compelled to pay a profit on the ore, then a profit on the billets, and then a profit on the,-finished rolled products, the articles manufactured therefrom could not be sold at any such prices as are ruling today. My company buys steel from both the independents and the Steel Corporation, the majority from the independents. Chaos in the steel trade, I believe, would, temporarily at least, result to our particular advantage, but it certainly would hurt the country as a whole. George E. Day, general sales manager of the Youngs- town Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown, Ohio, is quoted as follows by a local paper concerning the attitude ot inde- pendent steel producers toward the Government sult against the Steel Corporation: “None of the independents favored the suit. Recently I attended a big meeting of the supply jobbers in Chicago. There was not a man among us who did not feel that the Steel’ Corporation had acted to the interest of the trade and to its -benefit ™ general, Neither its consumers nor its competitors felt otherwise.” ber 9, IQII \ianufacturers Contest Freight Advances INGTON, D. C., November 6, 1911.—The Cambria ompany protests, in a letter of recent date, to the te Commerce Commission, against a proposed in- in rates by the Baltimore & Ohio and the Penn- a Railroad companies, of three cents per 100 Ib. n and steel articles, carloads, from Johnstown, Pa., loline, Rock Island, Davenport and upper Mississippi crossings. The company was notified that the new would go into effect November 1. The present rate 114 cents from Johnstown, the company asserts, has in effect for a number of years and is regarded as fair compensation for the service. In-eview of these imstances the advance is characterized as unjust and easonable and the commissioners are asked to suspend the new rate pending an investigation as to its reasonable- Referring to the existing rate of 24 cents from hnstown to. St. Louis and the lower Mississippi River ssings, the company says that this applies both by way the direct lines and by way of Chicago, and that it is a half cent less than the present rate to the upper Missis- pi River crossings, which rate applies both by way of direct lines and Chicago, the distance to St. Louis by ther the direct line or Chicago being greater than by way Chicago to the upper Mississippi River crossings. The Ironton Iron Company, Ironton, Ohio, directs the attention of the commission to a notification received by it that the rates on pig iron from southern Ohio furnaces ) upper Mississippi River points will be increased from $3.10 to $3.75 a ton from and after November 1. The company regards this action as discriminatory against the furnaces of southern Ohio, and in favor of the Chi- -ago and Milwaukee furnaces and asserts, also, that it would cause the consumers of pig iron in southern Ohio to pay the proposed advance in freight rates in excess of what they could purchase their material if allowed a com- petitive market based upon the present freig’t rates. It s further asserted that the proposed rate is in favor of n from the Southern furnaces and that it also will be favor of iron from the Virginia furnaces, inasmuch as hipments entering this territory from Southern furnaces pass through Peoria, Ill., and that the tariff is based on Peoria basis freight rates. Continuing the letter says: The Western roads’ proportion of freight rates from Peoria to ine and kindred points is forty cents a ton. Under the present riff of $3.10 a ton from southern Ohio furnaces, they get as their 50 cents a ton on the through rate already receiving an advantage on the southern Ohio irons over the Southern iron of 10 cents on the freight rate. Should they advance this rate as pro- posed, it would give them an additional 70 cents on southern Ohio Our information, also, is that the rate now in effect from rginia furnaces to East Burlington, Sterling, Moline, East Mo- and Rock Island is $3.85 a ton, and should the freight rates 1 Southern Ohio furnaces be made $3.80 a ton it would be only ents less than the rate from the Virginia furnaces, which, ac- rding to distance haul, would be manifestly unfair. rtion In view of these circumstances the Ironton Company ok on the proposed advance as a studied effort on the part of the Western railroad companies and the Chicago nd Milwaukee furnaces to drive it out of the market, t by competition in prices but by an uncalled-for and itrary advance-im freight rates to these points. Fur- ermore, the company asserts, approximately 20,000 tons Northern pig iron is consumed by the plants in: the territory referred ‘to and the proposed advance of 70 nts a ton would virtually drive it from that market the benefit of the Chicago and Milwaukee plants. The Mpany, in conclusion, says it understands that the pro- sed advance in rates is opposed by all the railroads in Central Freight Association; that they all feel it to an injustice and that they are unable, also, to compel lines running west through their territory to con- ie the present basis of rates. They see no reason why present rate should be disturbed as compared with freight rate of $2.50 to St. Louis and other points. Che Lackawanna Steel Company directs the attention he commission to an advance of from 3 to 4 cents per ' lb. by various Buffalo railroads in rates on iron and | articles from Buffalo to so-called upper Mississippi r points, including Moline, Rock Island and Dayen- THE IRON AGE 1003 port. This advance, it is contended, is unjust and unrea- sonable and the commission is asked to suspend the tariffs in question pending an investigation as to their reasonableness. The letter continues: The rate from Buffalo to St. Louis and lower Mississippi River crossings via direct lines or via Chicago, 22% cents per 100 lb. on iron and steel articles, carloads, or one-half cent less than the pres ent rate to the Mississippi River while the dis tance to St. Louis direct or via Chicago is greater than via Chicago to upper upper crossings, Mississippi River crossings. The company believes, therefore, that the rate to the latter points should not exceed the rate to St. Louis. The Washington representatives of the Tri-City Man- ufacturers’ Association enter their protest against the in- creased rate on iron and steel articles from Pittsburgh to Davenport, Rock Island and Moline, or any other tariffs that name a rate on such articles from Pittsburgh to the foregoing cities in excess of 23 cents per too |b., as follows: It has been frequently stated that the intent of Congress, in all its legislation under the commerce clause of the constitution, has been to bring about equality and reasonableness—the reasonableness in every case being taken to mean the lowest possible rate at which a carrier can do business and keep out of the bankruptcy court, and we object to this contemplated advance, both on the ground of its inequality and its unreasonableness. _ As to its inequality, we would recite that our members are largely engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements and that as such are in direct competition with manufacturers located at Rockford, Canton, Peoria and Sterling, whose rates on their raw material are not scheduled for a like advance, or, in facet, for any advance. Furthermore, the present rate on iron and steel articles from Pittsburgh to Rockford, Peoria and Sterling 1s 20% cents, while to Canton it is 22% cents, and the rate of 23 cents-——which the Tri-Cities now enjoy and which the railroads are attempting to advance—represents about the same relative basis as has been in effect from Pittsburgh to these manufacturing points for years. As to its unreasonablenesx, we would recite that, since 1900, the 23-cent rate, it is now proposed to advance, has been the maximum practically without interruption and that it affords the carriers a reasonable return for the service involved. Should the proposed advance to 26 cents become effective it would force the manufacturers of the Tri-Cities to assume a burden of approximately $100,000 per annum through the increased cost of transporting their cheap raw material, which burden they would be unable to pass along to the consumer by advances in prices of manufactured ar of the fact that rates on iron and steel to points where competitors are located had not been advanced in like manner. which ticles, because The commission is asked, therefore, to suspend the 26 cent rate and to continue the present rate of 23 cents. The De Forest Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Niles Ohio, writing under date of October 26, referring to the advance in rates on iron and steel articles by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, the Baltimore & Ohio, the Pennsylvania, the Erie and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, says: Inasmuch as these tariffs advance the rates to various points, including points of interest in this district, namely, Youngstown and Niles, to Rock Island, Moline and the upper Mississippi River crossings, from 3 cents to 5% cents per 100 Ib.; that inasmuch as the distance to these upper river crossings is less than it is to St. Louis, that notwithstanding this difference in distance the present rate to St. Louis is less than it is to Rock Island, Davenport, Mo- line, it is unreasonable to impose this advance rate which is also discriminatory. The commission is asked, therefore, to suspend the new tariff until inquiries have been made as to the reason- ableness of the advance. The commission has written the DeForest Company that the “effective dates” of these . tariffs have been suspended for a period of 120 days. The Thomas Steel Company and the Empire Iron & Steel Company, Niles, Ohio, who have written substantially to the same effect, have been notified, also, that the rates have been thus suspended. —_—_+-e—-——— Open Hearth Steel Works in Germany.—A compila- tion of open hearth steel works in Germany made by Stahl und Eisen shows that in Germany and Luxemburg there are 115 which are equipped with 462 furnaces—1o4 acid and 358 basic. Of the total 28 furnaces have a ca- pacity at each heat of from 1 to 5 tons; 47 from 5 to Io tons; 144 from 10 to 20 tons; 121 from 20 to 31 tons; 63 from 30 to 40 tons; 38 from 4o0°to 50 tons; and 21 have a capacity of 50 tons and over. The average capacity of all the open-hearth furnaces per heat is 10,580 tons. THE IRON Pig Iron Production October Shows Further Increase Present Daily Active Capacity, However, Is Less than the Rate in October Pig iron production in October was 2,102,147 tons of coke and anthracite iron, or 67,811 tons a day, as com- pared with 1,977,102 tons in September, or 65,903 tons a day. One more furnace was blown out last month, how- ever, than the number blown in, so that active capacity November 1 differed little from that of October 1—66,818 tons a day against 66,468 tons—though it was about 1000 tons a day less than the rate of output in October. The increase in production which has been under way since July has thus apparently been checked. At 50,351 tons a day, steel works furnaces made the largest output last month since May, 1910, while that of merchant furnaces, 17,460 toms a day, was the largest since May of this year. Daily Rate of Production The daily rate of production of coke and anthracite pig iron by months, beginning with October, 1910, is as follows: Daily Rate of Pig Iron Production by Months—Gross Tons Steel works. Merchant. Total. 0 SE ae 45,794 21,726 67,520 22,232 63,659 21,440 57,349 20,351 56,752 21,741 64,090 21,066 70,036 21,031 68,836 18,809 61,079 16,877 59,585 15,369 57,841 15,030 62,150 16,207 65,903 17,460 67,811 Output by Districts The table below gives the production of all coke and anthracite furnaces in October and the four months pre- ceding : October, November December anuary, September October DOLLARS PER TON 8 22 8 & & & & gE THOUSAND PER DIEM PIG IRON FRODUCTION AV. PRICE SOUTHERN No. 2 FDY., CINCINNATI AV. PRICE LOCAL No. 2 FDY., CHICAGO ~ = = ZeSeeseReFtBRS e¢6 £ & & & & e S 2 £ & & - re Diagram of Daily Average Production by Months of Coke and Anthracite Pig Iron in the United Sta fr vember 1, 1911; Also of Monthly Average Prices of Southern No. 2 Foundry Iron at Garin on Local AGE November Monthly Pig Iron Production—Gross Tons. June. July. August. (30 days) (31 days) (3 130,395 124,347 1 3,600 1,386 72,787 66,404 Sept. 1 days) (30 days) 18,145 114,418 Lehig o*ee Schuylkill Valley.. 44,039 45,859 Lower Susquehanna and Lebanon Val. 41,751 40,084 Pittsburgh district. 415,519 419,248 Shenango Valley.. 78,196 79,571 West. Pens. 60,047 73,177 Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky 48,969 52,583 93,617 93,973 Wheelirg district. . Mahoning Valley.. 188,187 184,402 Central and North. Ohio 141,973 116,953 Hocking Valley, Hanging Rock and S. W. Ohio 20,245 Chicago district .. 249,666 Mich., Minn., Mo., Wis., Col., Wash. 54,391 Alabama o Sv. Tenn., Georgia an 52,546 36,687 482,013 82,879 98,324 49,243 92,130 213,872 131,020 94,476 189,200 131,850 11,321 272,817 57,661 7,262 287,875 63,114 126,200 140,879 27,082 28,153 1,787,566 1,793,068 1,926,637 16,785 289,198 61,276 149,238 25,745 _—_— 1,977,102 27,169 Tetel. .. Production of Steel Companies Returns from all furnaces of the United States Stee! Corporation and the various independent steel companies show the following totals of product month by month Only steel making iron is included in these figures, to gether with ferromanganese, spiegeleisen and ferrosilicon These last, while stated separately, are also included in the columns of “total production.” Production of Steel Companies—Gross Tons. : Spiegeleisen and —Pig.—Total production——, ferromanganese 1909 1911 1910 = 1911 1,128,448 19,538 8,360 1,185,782 21,396 12,821 1,518,063 25,591 11,784 1,434,142 22,304 10,657 1,310,378 26,529 13,641 1,281,241 27,680 22.611 1,316.646 22,924 17,067 1,460,610 25,756 14,579 1,490,898 15,151 17,757 1,560,884 8,500 9,032 12,178 January February September October November December . ++ +1,768,799 &e¢ Seek €&8 he -_ . & an 1, 1907, to No o. 2 Foundry Iron at Chicago District Furnace. iber 9, IQIT Capacity in Blast November 1 and October 1 following table shows the daily capacity of fur- . n blast November 1 and October 1: Coke and Anthracite Furnaces in Blast. Total number Number Capacity Number Capacity 1 of furnaces. of stacks. in blast. per day. in blast. per day. N pig np oo ba we awe 17 10 3,610 9 3,203 ” We Were. .0. 7 3 626 3 611 x CTSEY ccctessneee « 0 0 0 0 ; ania: gh Valley........ 22 12, 2,595 12 2,557 egel: ..ttee<staces 3 2 177 2 167 yikill Valley .... 16 7 1,810 7 1,838 Susquehanna... 7 ] 322 2 619 non... Valiiiicccsex 10 5 742 4 604 sburgh District.... 50 37 15,940 39 15,726 Spiegel +s seseeeseen 3 2 242 2 240 nango Valley...... 20 10 2,990 10 2,929 Western Pennsylvania. 27 11 3,160 12 3,510 Maryland iccas @cewwaaes 4 2 550 3 772 Wheeling District ...... 14 9 3,243 9 3,071 Mahoning Valley...... 24 1 7,310 i8 7,125 tral and Northern. 23 11 4,355 11 4,367 king Valley; Hang- Rock & S. W. Ohio .iscchavewae 15 6 850 5 665 Hinoig .ccescacssneeawee 31 21 9,093 21 9,532 Spiegel .cocsascumbus s 2 2 216 2 185 Mich., Wis. and Minn.. 10 5 1,022 5 1,020 rado, Missouri and Nash. .cscavbsesuaue & 4 1,240 3 1,022 South: Virginia <sccveccteceaeee 6 725 6 635 Ke otuela oohns enemy 5 2 346 2 265 Alabama .csvtedS cue ae 46 19 4,846 19 4,950 ennessee and Georgia 20 7 808 7 855 Toétaly .idi0es 414 212 66,818 213 66,468 The list of furnaces blown out in October includes Niagara B in the Buffalo district, one Steelton (banked) the Susquehanna Valley, one Carrie and one Edgar homson in the Pittsburgh district, Scottdale in western Pennsylvania, Low Moor in Virginia, furnace D at Spar- ws Point (banked) and one Ohio in the Mahoning Valley. Among furnaces blown in were one Wickwire ind one Lackawanna in the Buffalo district, Robesonia in the Lebanon Valley. Radford Crane in Virginia, Marting the Hanging Rock district, Cherry Valley in the Mahoning .Valley and one Colorado. Chart of Pig Iron Production and Prices Che fluctuations in pig iron production from January, to the: present time are shown in the accompanying Heat-Treated Steel Axles \ pamphlet of unusual interest because of the experi- ntal data it presents has been prepared by the Car- gie Steel Company, Pittsburgh, with the title, “Heat- treated Axles, Shafts and Similar Parts.” It gives the erage results of experimental tests made from finished les, together with copies of the Carnegie specifications various classes of axles. Those for the Carnegie heat- reated carbon steel axles are dated October 1, 1911. It s stated in the introduction to the reports of tests that e it was demonstrated that the breaking of axles was lue as a rule not to lack of ductility, but to a too near roach of stresses to the elastic limit, axles have made from a fairly hard grade of steel without ial heat treatment, rather than from wrought iron ‘ft steel, as formerly. Increased loads and the very re conditions imposed on motor axles have required terial having higher resistance to stresses, yet suf- ntly ductile to insure freedom from brittleness. The nse of steel manufacturers has been the heat-treated ur different classes of product are referred to: ndard forged axles, which receive no special heat ‘ment subsequent to forging, this being the class most rally employed at present; annealed axles, which after ing and cooling are reheated to the proper tem- ure for refining the grain and then allowed to cool y; toughened axles, which after forging and cooling reheated to approximately the same temperature as annealing, quenched in some medium to refine the still further, and then reheated to a little lower erature than before; high test axles, for which the ment is similar to that employed for toughened except that the final “drawing back” or annealing crature is slightly lower, giving elasticity and tensile THE IRON AGE 1005 chart. The figures represented by the heavy line are those of daily average production, by months, of coke and anth- racite iron. The two other curves on the chart represent monthly average prices of Southern No. 2 foundry pig iron at Cincinnati and of local No. 2 foundry iron at furnace at Chicago. They are based on the weekly market quotations of The Iron Age. The two sets of figures are as follows Daily Average Production.of Coke and Anthracite Pig Iron in the United States by Months Since January 1, 1907—Gross Tons. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. roc c Bild Ge an tke oe 71,149 33,918 57.975 84,148 56,752 Eig ae inc Sa enicacae Cae 73,038 37,163 60,976 85,616 64.090 DEE is bass haccnadeenvokud 71,821 39,619 59,232 84,459 70,036 PEE cd 6) n-5 sndWaR Goon bane 73,885 38,289 57,962 82,792 68,836 DENS Skt we cba andeut siccanus 74,048 37,603 60,753 77,102 61,079 SI. sonata Meikiai-e' Gea weiieataon nae 74,486 36,444 64,656 75,516 59, 585 WE oad JERE SY oh da uiek son See 72.763 39,287 67,793 69,305 57.841 SE Fone SGee ct wekeeans ae 72,594 43,851 72,546 67,963 62,150 ND oc Kidehasc ce kau 72,783 47,300 79,507 68,476 65,903 RO. CS won gale ceeds 75,386 50,554 83,856 67,520 67,811 TR ene Mies Sys 60.937 51,595 84,917 63.659 .*.... PET Sévovetameeakceans 39,815 56,158 85,022 57,349 Monthly Average Prices in Dollars of Southern No. 2 rag Foundry Iron at Cincinnati and Local No, 2 Foundry at Chicago Dis- trict Furnace Since January, 1907. 1907. 1908. 1909, 1910. 1911. Sou. Loc. Sou. Loc. Sou. Loc. Sou. Loc, Sou. Loc. No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, No.2, Cin. Chi. Cin. Chi. Cin. Chi. Cin, Chi. Cin. Chi. Jan. 26.00 25.00 16.15 18.10 16.26 17.00 17.25 18.50 14.25 15.00 Feb. 26.00 25.50 15.75 17.81 16.13 16.40 17.06 18.50 14.25 15.00 me. 26.00 25.75 15.50 17.50 15.05 16.15 16.30 17.80 14.25 15.00 Apr. 25.06 26.00 15.20 17.38 14.25 16.15 15.37 17.00 14.25 15.00 May 24.25 26.50 14.75 17.28 14.50 16.15 15.00 16.56 14.00 15.00 June 24.10 26.25 15.25 17.38 14.70 16.15 14.85 16.25 13.50 15.00 July 23.85 25.20 15.00 17.20 15.75 16.65 14.75 16.06 13.25 14.87 Aug. 23.00 24.50 15.25 17.00 16.38 16.78 14.31 16.00 13.45 14.50 Sept. 21.50 23.75 15.65 16.70 17.35 18.35 14.25 15.90 13.31 14.50 Oct. 20.95 22.10 15.75 16.50 17.88 18.50 14.25 15.56 13.25 14.46 Nov. 19.50 20.31 16.00 16.75 17.75 18.50 14.25 15.50 ane awe Dec. 17.00 18.55 16.25 17.00 17.45 18.50 14.25 15.50 The Record of Production Production of Coke and Anthracite Pig Iron in the United States by Months Since January 1, 1907—Gross Tons. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. era: 2.205.607 1,045,250 1,797,560 2.608.605 1,759,326 WU 4 pkawkewss 2'045.068 1'077.740 1.707.340 2,397,254 1,794,509 Mar. 2.226.457 1,228,204 1,832,194 2,617,949 2,171,111 Apr. . 2.216.558 1,149,602 1,738,877 2.483.763 2,064,086 May . 2.295,505 1,165,688 1,883,330° 2.390,180 1,893,456 Tune 2.234.575 1,092,131 1,930,866 2,265,478 1,787,566 July 2.255.660 1,218,129 2,103.431 2,148,442 1,793,068 Aug. 2,250,410 1,359,831 2.248.930 2.106,847 1,926.637 Sept ...2,183.487 1,418,998 2,385,206 2,056,275 1,977,102 Oct, ""2'336.972 1.567.198 2.599.541 2,093,121 2,102,147 WH. sg oa tena 1,828,125 1,577,854 2,547,508 1,909,780 ........ WO verebacene 1'234.279 11740:912 2,635,680 1,777,817 ........ strength considerably higher and ductility somewhat lower than in toughened axles. It is stated that in the experi- ments no difference was observed between large and small axles, disproving the theory that for axles of the larger sizes it is necessary to bore out the center to insure com- plete penetration of the effects of heating and cooling operations. The conclusions derived from the tests de- tailed in the pamphlet are stated as follows: Any of the heat treatments employed is beneficial. Owing to the lower carbon, the mild grade is not affected by heat treatment to the same extent as the others. To assure material of the highest quality, the medium and the hard grades should be heat treated. The tensile tests do not seem to give as good an idea of the quality of material as do the torsion tests. In comparing the ten- sile and the torsion specimens, the ultimate strengths are com- parable, but the elongation of the tensile specimen is not com- parable with the number of twists of the torsion specimens. A very close relation is noticeable «between the reduction of area of the tensile specimens and the number of twists of the corresponding torsion specimen. These two properties seem to be the true meas ure of the ductility. The use of a large bending specimen is of no advantage. Equally good results can be obtained with different sizes of axles, provided the proper care and attention are given. a RO” On November 2 the No. 2 open hearth plant at the Homestead Steel Works of the Carnegie Steel Company, Homestead, Pa., made a new record, turning out 2474 tons of open-hearth steel. in the 24 hours. On October 15, 1906, it turned out 2284 tons, which has been the record until now. The No. 2 plant has 16 50-ton furnaces and is under the direction of P. P. Rees, superintendent. The Clinton. Iron & Steel Company, Pittsburgh, started up its blast furnace November 4, making foundry pig iron. 1000 THE IRON AGE Novembe: The ron. 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. Nov. 8, Nov. 1, Oct. 11, Nov. 9, PIG IRON, Per Gross Ton: 1911. 1911. 1911. 1910. Foundry No. 2 standard, Phila- DE. b cdbecebssaevhavees's $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.75 Foundry No. 2, Valley furnace. 13.25 13.25 13.50 13.75 Foundry No. 2 Southern, Cin- 7 CEE. cbdewoveces¢ucacssses 13.25 13.25 13.25 14.25 Foundry No. 2, Birmingham, Ala. 10.00 10.00 10.00 11.00 Foundry No. 2, at furnace, NE hk Fk Kn