The Iron Age 1912-07-18: Vol 90 Iss 3

THE IRON »\ AGE \ Established 1855 New York, July 18, 1912 Vol. 90: No. 3 The Pacific Coast Steel Company’s Plant Open Hearth Furnaces and Rolling Mills for Turning Out Rails, Structural Material and Round, Square and Corrugated The Pacific Coast Steel Company began operating January 2, this year, an interesting steel plant comprising modern open-hearth furnaces and rolling mills for pro- ducing angles, channels, I-beams, Z-bars, tie-plates, splice- bars, rails, flats, rounds and squares, corrugated bars, etc. The plant is located at South San Francisco, nine miles from the city of San Francisco, and has both water and rail facilities which, it is felt, are destined to make the plant one of the conspicuous industries of the northern part of San Mateo County. This locality, on account of rapid railroad development, is bringing the industrial center of San Francisco so far southward that there is a movement now under way to join this part of San Mateo Charging Side of No. 1 Open-Hearth Furnace. The 18-In. Rolling Mill Bars, Tie Plates, Etc. County with San Francisco County. The company’s main offices are located in the Sheldon building, San Francisco. The successful establishment of the plant of the Pacific Coast Steel Company is credited largely to David P. Doak. Among those who have assisted him in the work were: James: H. Swindell, Pittsburgh, who with twenty-five years’ experience to call on designed and built the two 30-ton basic open-hearth furnaces now installed; Frank Wackermann, chief engineer, who was for a number of years connected with the Jones & Laughlin Steel Com- pany and the Lewis Foundry & Machine Company, Pitts- burgh; James Early, in charge of the open-hearth depart- ment; W. E. Reeble, roll designer, and N. V. F. Wilson, Pouring Side of No, 1 Furnace Hydraulic Charger to Heating Furnace VIEWS IN MILL OF THE PACIFIC COAST STEEL COMPANY 123 et ee ee Fema ey ems “9 oS a ad sisctepad oollbes “eanewincuane-eatite 4 a a ate ek a ar RE See LT mers 4 2 THE IRON AGE Billet Shear and Furnace Charger for 10-In. general superintendent, who has been in the steel business for some twenty-five years, with such plants as those of the Portsmouth Steel Company, Portsmouth, Ohio, and the Colonial Steel Company, Pittsburgh. Coke Storage July 18, 1912 Ground was broken for the plant in August, I910, and was completed and in operation. as stated, January 2, 1912. In addition to the two furnaces now installed, having a capacity o! approximately 3000 tons pei month, the company intends add ing two more furnaces the com ing year, and the plant generally has been built with the idea of increasing capacity from time tv time as business justifies. Th: accompanying plan indicates the general relation of the buildings and their size. The open-hearth furnace building is 92x 122 ft. in size and is of modern steel construction. The rolling mill building is 80 x 580 ft. and has a shipping room at each end 40 x 200 ft. in plan. The boiler house is located centrally, 50x 75 ft. in plan, and has four 280-hp. Babcock & Wilcox boilers, and there is also located in the boiler room the hydraulic accumulator used in connection with hydrau- lic heating furnace charging ap- paratus, the oil system required in connection with the furnaces, which are oil fired, and the condensing plant for the rolling mill and electric generating engines, which are both operated condensing. There is also a warehouse Mill Cus ce Grinding Room Et =: 8 a. EF 10 Qi 0 0 at) ij {= tt — = 121.33’ 10% CA Rem Boiler House fa as” Double Reiler Lathe 8 Shipping Room AN ~ Ran Out Table Platform 25 50 Generators » ° Ri / Cj Oil Pump y Laboratory Scale of Feet 75 1 Shipping Room General Plan of the Works of the Pacific Coast Steel Company, South San Francisco 18, 1912 rrugated bars with an ft. floor space, and the Pacific tracks enter all and warehouses. laboratory is next to the earth furnaces and _ the nith and machine shops are | near the boiler room. Cli- onditions are regarded as allowing for working every the year with comfort. w material for the open- furnaces is unloaded by a 75-ft. span electric-travel- rane, with a 43-in. magnet, has unloaded as much as 200 tons in ten hours. The ma- is put into the open-hearth naces by charging machines in isual way. The steel after eing tapped off into the ladle is dled by a 40-ton electric ladle poured into bottom- cast ingot molds. The ingots are stripped at the point indicated in the plan and taken to the rolling by gravity cars, where they are charged into a Swindell con- tinuous re-heating furnace. The harging is done by a hydraulic ingot pusher. The furnace s a capacity of one ingot per minute, and the ingots going into this furnace are dropped off the skid pipes to a 6-ft. hearth and rolled to the front of the furnace. The rolling mills consist of one 18-in. three-high scruc- tural mill with 72-in. roughing rolls, 72-in. strands and 36-in. finishing rolls, and one 10-in. three-high five-stand guide mill. The 18-in. mill is served by two electric tilting traveling tables taking the ingots from the furnaces. It is designed to roll-angles, channels, I-beams, Z-bars, flats tie-plates, splice bars, rails rounds and squares and also billets for the 1o-in. mill. It has an 80x 24-ft. automatic hot-bed, and hot-saw, shear table and a special combina- tion tie-plate punch and shear, arranged also to shear angles and shapes. Che billets for the 10-in. mill are cut to suitable lengths j-in. hot-billet shear and delivered to and charged hydraulic pusher into a Swindell continuous re- erative billet furnace having a capacity of four billets minute. The 10-in. mill is designed to roll angles, rounds, squares, corrugated bars, and has a capacity in ten hours. The hot-beds are 175 ft. long served by conveyors from the mill and by a 1s0-ft. ler shear table. i rm rooms Crane and tons rther conferences have been had at Washington be- representatives of the United Shoe Machinery Com- and the Department of Justice for a settlement of the civil and criminal anti-trust suits brought against mpany. A decree of dissolution has been under sideration. In the civil suit pending in the United tes District Court of Massachusetts the question now s whether the evidence shall be taken by an examiner ly or privately. “lectric Magnet and Crane for Handling Raw Material THE IRON AGE * 125 Heating Furnace and the 10-In. Mill Lackawanna Steel Company Statement The Lackawanna Steel Company’s report for the three months ending June 30, 1912, shows total income of $888,- 426. The deductions are: For interest on bonds and notes, $437,487; for sinking fund and exhaustion of minerals, $72,271; for depreciation, etc., $293,122. The surplus is it thus $85,546, which compares with a surplus of $71,843 in bts the corresponding three months of 1911. In the first three months of 1912 the company had a deficit of $450,772. The net deficit for the six months is therefore $365,226, as 5 against a surplus of $107,573 for the first six months of 1911. The total income in the first half of 1912 was B $1,200,831, as against $1,606,360 in the first half of 1o11. “gt The unfilled orders on June 30, 1912, were 564,990 gross oe tons, against 218,391 tons on June 30, IQII. et £ The Patent Monopoly Question.—Washington ad- ela vices are that the Department of Justice is preparing to have the full bench of the Supreme Court of the United , . States pass on the “patent monopoly” question. The issue a will be reopened through the anti-trust suit against the + so-called bathtub trust. This has been appealed to the eel Supreme Court by the defendants, who were ordered to dissolve the trust by the United States Circuit Court for the District of Maryland. The Supreme Court, with seven members sitting, decided last spring, four to three, that the owner of a ‘patented article might restrict its use and stipulate the use of certain appurtenances. The decision affected several pending trust cases and a great number of monopoly investigations under way. The effort to have a full bench pass on the question will precede any attempt to restrict patent monopoly by new legislation. Five narrow gauge motor cars are to be built by the McKeen Motor Car Company, Omaha, Neb, for delivery in Brisbane, Australia, by January 1, 1913. These repre- sent a second order for internal-combustion, self-pro- pelling cars received through the Australign government, and it is understood that they are similar to those built for use in the United States, with the exception that the front and rear ends are equipped with English standard style of spring buffers. The car bodies are to be of the McKeen wedge-shape, with round roof construction and round dustproof windows. The 200-hp. engines will be equipped with the McKeen carburetor. The Journal of the Franklin Institute is to extend its field as a general scientific magazine. Heretofore the editorial work has been in charge of the Institute’s Com- mittee on Publication. The plan now is to have a staff of eighteen associate editors, well known in science and in engineering, who will co-operate with Secretary R. B. Owens in bringing out the journal. \ SS ae ta teen OE as nee ene Mannesmann Seamless Steel Joint Tubes Earlier and Later Methods Employed in Their Production—Construction and Efficiency of the Coupling Head A paper read by Fritz Seel before a meeting of the track superintendents’ society of the railroads in the Cas- sel district, Germany, gave an interesting résumé of the method of manufacturing the Mannesmann seamless tubes Fig. 1—Inclined Position of Conical Working Rolls and the development of the process of forming the tube joint. The following synopsis is from the text of the paper as given in the Wochenschrift fiir Deutsche Bahn- meister : In 1885 reports were first published, the paper says, that the brothers Mannesmann had succeeded in making tubes or hollow cylinders from solid ingots simply by a rolling precess and without the use of a mandrel. This was done in their father’s mills at Remscheid, and this invention later popularly known as the “inclined roll process” created the greatest sensation throughout the world. Under the leadership of the Deutsche Bank in Berlin a company was formed with a ‘capital of 35,000,000 marks for the carrying out of the process. It cost an immense amount of work and money to overcome the obstacles to its practical opera- tion. Later developments are detailed in the paper, from which the following is taken: A thoroughgoing change in the method of manufacture was brought about in 1891 by the invention of the so-called “pilgrim rolling mill,’ by Max Mannesmann. Since the introduction of this second method of working, which has nothing in common with the “inclined roll process,” these YO _—_«€&{_—AC—L{$YOYv—V_LFBF@>JF wr APPROACH Fig. 2—Arrangement of Rolls and Position of Steel and Mandrel two main processes of the Mannesmann tube mills have to be thought of separately. In the inclined roll process a solid cylindrical ingot is rolled while hot in such a way that a thick walled rough tube is produced. Fig. 1 shows the inclined position of the conical working rolls and Fig. 2 the real shape and ar- rangement of the working rolls, the ingot, the guide rolls ‘and the mandrel. For clearness the slightly inclined posi- tion of the working rolls is not shown. The process is as follows: The two inclined partly conical working rolls, a, turning in the same direction press the hot and there- fore soft piece b forward. At the same time it is turned in such a manner that the single points on its. surface de- scribe spirals, the distance between which depends on the amount of incline of the rolls. At the narrowest opening, about at c, the outside is pressed forward more than the rest, especially the parts immediately in contact with the rolls. In this way, as the working rolls come to a conical end near the front, a brake effect wil! at the same time be brought to bear on the piece, whereby, the outer parts being pressed forward, a crater-like hole in the end of the round ingot is produced which if proceeding further will pierce the ingot without the help of the mandrel. To facilitate this process, however, a pointed mandrel d is fixed firm and unturnable between the working rolls, and over this the rolled piece must move. This considerably, accelerates the rolling process and guarantees an equal thickness of wall with a smooth interior. By this process a semi-finished rough tube, short but of great thickness of wall is produced. The further working up of the tube takes place in the “pilgrim rolling mill” shown in Fig. 3, in which the hot, short, thick-walled middle product is rolled into a long thin-walled tube. The name “pilgrim” (Gérman, “pilger”) is used because of the step by step action of the rolls. Con- trary to the ordinary rolling process the rolls, a, do not draw the piece through, with lessening in the section, but turn in the opposite direction to the hot piece drawn through them, which carries throughout its whole length a cylindrical mandrel, d. The rolls make up to several hun- dred revolutions a minute, depending on the diameter of Fig. 3—Arrangement of Pilgrim Rolling Mill the tubes, and the piece with its interior mandrel is turned each time in order to produce a uniform rounding of the finished product. By special arrangement, at every revolu- tion of the rolls the mandrel with its half finished product may be uniformly pushed forward, and each time only a small part is brought to the required finished thin dimen- sions and is pressed forward over the corresponding part of the mandrel. If the rolling process is interrupted there is found at the place rolled last a gradual approximately conical tran- sition from the great thickness of the walls of the middle product to the thin-walled finished material. By suitable mechanical arrangements it is possible to make this conical transition, toward the end of the rolling, still more uniform and gradual in order to make it suitable for the joint. The finished rolled tube while still warm is pulled of the mandrel. When cold both ends are cut for the manv- facture of the joints, but in such a way that the larger conical end is left on for the future coupling head. It is then heated and the enlarged end is expanded by suitable Fig. 4—Shape of Joint mechanical means to the desired form. Through the varied heating and contraction of the material the coupling head is always a little tighter on the outside end than in the middle; that means it is somewhat conical on the inside The shape of such a joint is shown in Fig. 4. This conical 126 — SOS OO July 18, 1912 hape can easily be enlarged, and tubes with such joints for working pressure above 20 atmospheres have often been ipplied. They have been exposed in the company’s shops testing pressures up to 130 atmospheres without showing y leakage. [hese joint tubes are produced by the Mannesmann ibe works in the greatest possible lengths. For instance, : dimensions may be 80 mm (3.15 in.) inside diameter nd above, and the average length, 8 to 12 meters, with a aximum of I5 meters (49 ft. 2 in.). The ordinary di- ensions are 40 to 275 mm inside diameter (1.57 in. to .83 in.). Tubes below this in diameter can be furnished t do not give much advantage for they are not much heaper than the 40-mm tubes. In place of such small int tubes ordinary seamless tubes are more suitable, the nds being threaded and a collar used. Such tubes are also oduced at the Mannesmann mills down to % in. diameter. \fter the joint tube is finished it is often coated with sphalt and jute to protect it from outside influences, es- vecially against rusting. The paper treats in detail of the any ways in which such joints tubes can be used. G. B. W. A New Steam-Driven Air Compressor An air compressor in which the steam cylinder is lo- cated vertically above the center of rotation and the air ylinder is horizontal, making a self-contained unit of un- —“ ee eee New Conipressor Built by the Pennsylvania Pneumatic Company, Erie, Pa. usual proportions, has been brought out by the Pennsyl- vania Pneumatic Company, Erie, Pa. It represents one of the line of air compressing machines built from the de- signs of H. Edsil Barr, vice-president and mechanical en- gineer of the company. The accompanying reproduction f the photograph shows the single steam-driven compres- sor giving a view of the steam.valve gear, the air valve gear and the drive of the steam governor being located on the opposite side. It is stated that the relation of the team and air cylinders effects a reduction of 40 per cent. n space and foundation as compared with tandem com- ressors or with horizontal types of the same capacity. It also mentioned that the relative positions of the cylin- lers provide that the period of highest power in the steam ylinder occurs when air resistance is highest. [he steam and air cylinders are single acting, each th a one-piece trunk piston engaging the crank end rough a connecting rod. There is thus an elimination of iston rods, stuffing boxes, packing, cross-heads and the ke, tending to minimize friction loss and increasing ac- sibility of the different working parts. An unusually teresting feature is that the air cylinder combines both a h and low-pressure bore and compresses in two stages, uring the Barr unit compound in machines of relatively all sizes. It is emphasized that the unit compound being Stage is capable of housing ample port areas without eciably affecting the volume of air discharged. It has THE IRON AGE 127 also an intercooler between. stages, The Barr design is also built for direct connection to the gas engine or the gasoline or kerosene motor or the waterwheel or steam turbine and the line of compressors, which are also built for vacuum service, includes those driven by steam and electric motor, as Well ‘as by the internal combustion en- gines. In capacity they range from 150 cu. ft. of free air per minute upward for pressures of 70 to 150 lb. per square inch. It will, be inexpedient at this time to touch on some of the interesting detail features like the steam valves, the lubrication and the general argument for the Barr design. Motor-Driven Dry Grinding Machine The Springfield Mfg. Company, Bridgeport, Conn., has recently brought out a motor-driven direct-current grinding machine which it has designed and adopted as its standard for direct-current work. In designing the machine it has been the aim of the builder to use as far as possible standard motors, the only thing that is special as far as the motor is concerned being the shaft. It will be noticed that the motor is mounted on a very rigid and substantial base and the whole is inclosed in a dust tight case, the upper half of which is mounted on hinges and is easily thrown back as shown for inspection, adjustment and cleaning. A single bolt holds both parts together when the case is closed down. The case is bored out so as to fit the finished projec- tions shown on each of the journal boxes and as the joint of the casing is ground, it is pointed out that a case which is as near dustproof as it is possible to make one has been secured. The machine is also designed to take two hoods which are made so as to practically inclose the whole wheel with the exception of a portion which must be left open in front. The hoods are made with an outer plate which can be readily removed when it is desired to change wheels. If an exhaust system is available the hoods can be connected to it. A special slab inside of the base supports the controlling and starting apparatus which is brought as close to the front as possible for con- AN Direct-Connected Motor-Driven Grinding Machine Built by ™ the Springfield Mfg. Company, Bridgeport, Conn. venience .in operating. The bearings which are of tae self-oiling type are made of very generous proportions. Three sizes of machine are built at the present time, for accommodating wheels 12 in. in diameter with a 2-in. face, 18 in. in diameter with a 2 or a 3-in. face and 24-in. wheels with faces either 3 or 4 in. wide. The Rockwell Furnace Company, 26 Cortlandt street, New York, has just closed a contract with the Crucible Steel Company of America, Pittsburgh, for. the installa- tion of three of ‘its large overfired car type furnaces for the heat treatment of special steels. Natural gas will be used as fuel. Profit Sharing in a Wisconsin Plant Features of the Stock Distribution Plan Followed by the Baker Manu- facturing Company, Evansville, Wis. ents (FFs vie ities eer ie sea uated tai anced. aaa i> pia dintaarinates : ‘ ( Tes “¥ i aiken amen We have received from the Baker Mfg. Company, manufacturing farm -machinery, gasoline engines, etc., Evansville, Wis., a copy of the amendment to its by-laws covering a scheme of profit sharing which it has had in operation for the past 12 years. The company states that it has been more liberal than was suggested in the first para- graph of the editorial on “Profit Sharing,” published on page 1521 in The Iron Age of June 20, the proportion go- ing to capital being to the wages in this case as 5 per cent. dividends on preferred stock are to the wages of those entitled to profit sharing; that is, the company has been giving about 20 times as much as the plan mentioned in the editorial. The company further states that it is not only making an effort to get its stock among its employees, but is also trying to provide for the stock not drifting out of their hands by inheritance or by their quitting the employ of the company; this is done by buying it in. The purchase of stock, of course, reduces the size of the company’s capi- talization, and it would not attempt to bind itself to pur- chase all stock that might be offered, but it is providing a stock-purchasing fund which ultimately will be increased annually by one-twentieth of its capitalization. The partial wages paid by the company are competitive wages. The amendment from the by-laws covering the scheme is as follows’: (1) Resolved, That the preferred stock be paid a 5 per cent. annual dividend quarterly in advance on the first day of January, April, July and October, the same to be taken from the sinking fund. (2) That the employees in the factory proper be paid partial wages weekly, and office employees partial wages at the end of each month, which shall be full compensation for their services until they are entitled to remaining wages (see paragraphs 9, 20, 21 and 22); the remaining wages of the honorary employees to be fixed at the end of each year after the results of the year are known. (3) To determine the remaining wages an inventory shall be taken January 1 of each year of all assets, ex-. cluding accrued interest, and all liabilities, including stock- purchasing fund (see paragraphs 7, 10, 11, 12, 32 and 34) and sinking fund (see paragraph 8) and the face value of stock outstanding without deducting the indorsements on stock on deposit. (4) In case the liabilities exceed the assets; the loss shall be drawn from the sinking fund; but if the assets are-greater than the liabilities the excess shall be used as follows: (5) 1. To replace the amounts taken from the sinking fund during the year for preferred stock dividends (see paragraph 1). (6) 2. To pay a 5 per cent. annual dividend on common stock; the same to be paid quarterly on the first day of March, June, September and December. (7) 3. To pay into a stock-purchasing fund $5 for every share of stock on deposit with the com- pany January 1, subject to the purchasing contract. (See paragraph 26.) ae (8) 4. Ten per cent. of the amount yet remaining shall be added to the sinking fund. Nothing shall be drawn from the sinking fund except to pay pre- ferred stock dividends and losses in a year’s business. (9) 5. The other go per cent. shall be paid to the preferred stockholders as an extra dividend, and to the honorary employees of the company December 31 (see paragraphs 20, 21 and 22) as remaining wages; the amounts going to the several individuals to be proportional to their 5 per cent. dividend on their preferred stock and their wages as honorary employees at their partial hourly wage rates. Nine- tenths of the total amount paid as extra preferred dividend and remaining wages shall be paid in-com- mon stock figured at par as soon as possible after the inventory is completed and the other one-tenth shall be paid in cash on December 1 (see para- graph 24). (10) Inno year shall the amount paid in extra preferred dividends and in remaining wages exceed the partial hourly wages and the regular 5 per cent. preferred dividends. If the amount to be paid should be greater, the excess shall be added to the stock+purchasing fund. (11) The stock-purchasing fund shall be increased by the amount each purchase of stock by the company is less than par. (12) The stock-purchasing fund in excess of five times the last annual indorsement on retired employees’ stock (see paragraph 32) may be used to purchase stock on de- posit. (See paragraph 34.) (13) The stock-purchasing fund shall not be used for other purposes than described in paragraphs 12, 32 and 34. (14). Ne stock certificates shall be issued for less than $100. The fractional amounts due in stock, which cannot be issued in full shares, shall be known as stubs and com- bine into whole shares and sold at the annual meeting to the employees, owners of preferred stock and the com- pany. (15) The number of shares so sold shall be the sum of the stubs divided by 100, less the decimal. (16) Each bid shall be in writing and give the name of the bidder; the number of shares. he will purchase and the price he will pay per share. (17) The highest bidder shall be awarded the number of shares he has bid for; the next highest bidder his, and so on, until all the shares are disposed of. Should there not be sufficient bids to take all the stock, then more bids shall be asked for and the directors may instruct the secretary then to put in a bid for the company. The bid- ding shall continue until all the shares are sold. (18) The proceeds of the sale shall belong to the.com- pany and it shall pay the stub owners such a per cent. of the face of their stub as the total amount received for the stub shares bears to the total face value of the stub shares sold. (19) On March 1 the stub shares shall be issued and payment for them received by the company and amounts due the owners on stubs paid. (20) Any person who has been continuously in the employ of the company at the factory for 4500 hours and has contracted to place on deposit with the company sub- ject to the purchase contract (see paragraph 26) all stock he may receive as remaining wages shall thereupon become an honorary employee. (21) Any person shall be deemed to have quit the em- ploy of the company who has absented himself from his work for one week or more, without first obtaining leave of absence from the superintendent. (22) Any person who shall sell any of his stock or draw it out of deposit (see paragraph 35), who quits the employ of the company or who has been dischargéd ceases to be an honorary employee and is not entitled to remain- ing wages for that year unless reinstated by a vote of the directors. (23) The fixing of all partial wages and salaries, and the hiring and discharging of employees shall be done by the: general manager, superintendent or such other officer as the company may designate. (24) Any person who shall quit the services of the com- pany or be discharged prior to October 1 in any year shall forfeit the cash due him on December 1 fot*remaining wages. (See paragraph 9.) This does not apply to per- sons going on the retired list. (25) Any employee, whether at the factory in Evans- ville or elsewhere, may deposit his stock with the com- pany and receive the benefits resulting from so doing by signing the following contract: Purchase Contract (26) Contract between the Baker Mfg. Company of Evansville, Wis., hereafter designated as the company, and. —————— of ——, hereinafter designated as the owner. (27) This certifies that the owner has deposited with the company ( ) shares of the Baker Mfg. Company’s common stock here- with attached under the following conditions: (28) The owner agrees that when he sells this stock, he will sell to the company at the market price less all indorsements. made on it. (29) The market price shall be determined by the directors by adding together the amounts received for the last 100 shares of the stock sold for cash, the price of which is definitely known, and dividing by 100. (30) The owner agrees that the company may, by vote of the directors, purchase this stock without his consent at the market price 128 . e enters the employ of a competitor or has engaged actively k for himself or for others for five years. (See para- 39.) 1) If the owner works for the company until he retires and t again actively engage in work for himself or for others, e company may not purchase the stock without the owner’s t so long as he lives. ) In consideration of placing this stock on deposit under con- ) sell, the company agrees to pay March 1 of each year from ick purchasing fund (see paragraphs 7, 10, 11, 12) to the after he is retired and so long as the owner’s name con- on the retired list, $5 per share toward the purchase of the but the company will not make more than 15 payments or a f $75 per share. 3) In case the stock purchasing fund is not sufficient to indorse $5 every share entitled to the indorsements, the directors shall iecide what shares shall be skipped. 34) The company agrees to purchase this stock whenever the . requests it at the market price, less the indorsements if the et price is not above par, and if it has money in the stock asing fund to purchase with. 35) In case the owner makes a written request to the treasurer he company te purchase this stock and the company does not ase in 30 days, then the owner may take the stock out of sit by paying back to the company the indorsements and $5 share 36) If the market price at the time this stock is sold is less than ndorsements, it shall not be necessary for the owner to refund ything to the company. 37) The fact that indorsements have been made on the stock, even the full amount of $75 shall not prevent the owner from draw- is full common stock dividends nor voting his shares. 38) When the owner has worked for the company 25 years, he y retire and his name shall be placed on the retired list and can- t be removed so long as he does not again engage actively in TK (39) This matter of again engaging actively in work is to be decided by the directors on the merits of the case. In general, a man who earns annually !ess than one-half the living expenses of himself and those dependent on him shall not be considered engag- ing actively in work. (40) Persons who have been in the employ of the company 20 years, persons 60 years old and persons who have been injured at the company’s work to such an extent that they can no longer earn a living may be retired and their name placed on the retired list by the directors. Explanation \s an example of what the new resolution will do for employees, suppose a man begins to work when he is 28 ind gets his first stock when he is 30 years old. If for 25 years he receives an average of three shares of stock a year he will when he is 55 have $7,500 of stock. If he then retires, his income from the dividends on the stock will be $375 a year and from the $5 a share indorsements it will also be $375 a year, or a total of $750 a year; this will con- tinue for 15 years or until he is 70 years old, when the indorsements will cease, but the $375 dividends will con- tinue as long as he lives. The money set aside for the stock-purchasing fund is only temporarily withheld from being paid in remaining wages and extra preferred dividends. Whatever is taken irom the purchasing fund to buy stock is divided up at the — of the year in remaining wages and extra preferred dividends, The interest on the $5 indorsements from the time they are made until the stock on which they are made is bought | drain on the annual division, but it is probable the iit in purchasing stock below par will offset this sev- al times. it is not expected that the purchase fund will be more an sufficient to pay the indorsements on retired em- oyees’ stock and to purchase -stock thrown on the market ugh death and broken health. Stock thrown on the market by abled-bodied men quitting, panicky times, and val years in our business, will have to be purchased with the company’s other resources, withdrawn from deposit and sold outside, or remain unsold. When there is stock waiting to be purchased and the purchase fund is not suf- ‘icieit to purchase all of it, then naturally the stock with ‘he most indorsements would be purchased first. Alter bad years in our business and in panicky times, Provably much stock will be on the market. Then outside uyers will be scarce and offer less than the prices deter- inc according to paragraph 29. This price will therefore hen be higher than.the true market. : _ | he company does not bind itself to buy stock except when there is money in the purchasing fund with which to ouy. (See paragraph 33.) : there is nothing in the purchasing fund to pur- er +} 18, 1912 THE IRON AGE 129 chase with, then the company may, if it sees fit, use such other funds as it may have to purchase stock on or. off deposit and offer any price it may see fit. If the company were to buy all of its stock at par it would have to sell all its notes, mortgages, bonds, mer- chandise, buildings and land and go out of business. Each share bought reduces the size of the company $100. It must make improvements and it should use so much of its annual gain for improvements and expansion as seems wise and only what is left to buy stock. At present the purchasing fund provided for “by the by-laws seems ‘to be all that should be set aside annually for that pur- pose. It can be increased or diminished as future experi- ence seems to indicate. It should also be observed that only that part of the purchase fund in excess of five times the last annual in- dorsement on stock og deposit can be used to purchase “stock. _ Should it happen for a series of years that the company did not make even enough to pay its common stock dividends, yet the purchase fund would be sufficient to ‘pay the indorsements on retired employees’ stock for about five years and may be much longer, as the company might, during this time, accept some desirable bargains in stock and pay for them with funds other than the stock- purchasing fund, and whatever the purchase was below par would be added to the purchase fund and make more indorsements possible on. retired employees’ stock. Only active employees may deposit their stock with the company under the purchase contract. Emplovees perma- nently injured: or contracting a fatal illness may not deposit their stock after such injury or after the beginning of such illness. Southern Iron & Steel Company Finances A majority of the committee which has for many months had in hand the reorganization and merger of the Southern Iron & Steel Company and the Alabama Con- solidated Coal & Iron Company has recently sent a cir- cular to stockholders of the former company. It refers to the receivership of the Alabama Consolidated company and the default in interest on some of its bonds, as mak- ing impossible the merger of the two companies. The committee explains that after a careful examination of the Southern Iron & Steel Company properties it is con- cluded that it will not be possible to reorganize the com- pany at this time on terms that will provide sufficient working capital and pay for necessary acquisitions and betterments. A forced sale of the properties at this time, it is stated, would realize only an inadequate sum. In the meantime, in the discretion of the committee, securities or stock of the new company (other than those allotted by the modified plan to the holders of the securi- -ties) may be offered for sale for cash to the hold- ers of stock of the Southern Iron & Steel Com- pany. No other rights are given to the stockholders of the Southern company under the modified plan. The stock issued is to be held in trust for five years. The holders of notes and bonds of the company will receive beneficial certificates in the following proportions : The holders of $600,000 of notes (secured by $1,000,000 of bonds) par for par; the holders of $6,827,000 of bonds, 50 per cent; the holders of $1,200,000 of debentures, 20 per cent. This would total $4,253,000 of beneficial certifi- cates. The committee may increase or decrease this amount, but the proportions will-be as stated. An action was brought at Birmingham, Ala., July 9, by the Lyle Milling Company and two other creditors rep- resenting total claims of less than $450 asking that the Southern Iron & Steel Company be declared bankrupt. The company filed a demurrer to the petition on July 11 alleging that it was not a bankrupt and demanding a trial by jury. The matter is still pending in the North Alabama Federal Court, in which the petition was filed. In view of the fact that the claims represented in the petition are less than the required $500, it is expected that the suit for a receivership will be denied. A blast furnace is to be erected at Port Bolivar, Texas, it is reported, by Wesley Merritt and associates. Ore is to be shipped from the Ore City district, which has just been given a railroad outlet by the construction of the Port Bolivar Iron Ore Railroad. The site for the proposed furnace was purchased some time ago at a cost of $60,000. y LOPES. PMT tis, Sat 5 oa =o es << co Se ST The Ohio Workmen’s Compensation Law Unique in Providing a Voluntary Compensation System—Thus Far Comparatively Few Employers Have Elected to Pay Into the State Fund The operation of the Ohio workmen’s compensation law is being watched with a great deal of interest because of the movement in behalf of a Federal compensation law and the proposals that are being considered in various States. Workmen’s compensation laws are now reported. in operation in 12 States, but it is claimed that the Ohio law is the most advanced piece of legislation of this type and that nine other States now working on compensation measures will pattern largely after it. A feature of the Ohio law is that it creates a State fund from which benefits are paid. The Ohio law is noteworthy in establishing a voluntary compensation system, whereas similar acts of other States are compulsory. The Ohio legislature was limited in this matter by the provisions of the State constitution, but the new constitution to be voted on at the next election will permit of compulsory compensation and it is very probable that if the new constitution is adopted this change will be made. As the law stands it is optional with an employer whether he comes under his operation by paying premiums into the State insurance fund or remains liable for dam- ages under the general State law. An employer who does not elect to pay into the State insurance fund is made liable to his employees for damages for personai injuries due to the wrongful act, neglect or default of an employee or his agent; and if sued for damages he is not allowed to avail himself of the common law defences of fellow servant, as- sumed risk or contributory negligence. State Competition with Insurance Companies The optional features of the Ohio law has resulted in a keen competition between the liability companies and the State Liability Board of Awards for the business of pro- tecting employers of labor. While various other objections have been made to the Ohio law the principal one now ap- pears to be that rates are too high as compared with those of liability insurance companies, Another strong objection has been that paying into the State fund does not exempt an employer from damage liability for injury to an em- ployee, where such injury has arisen from the wilful act of the employer or any of the employer’s officers or agents or from the failure of the employer or any of the employ- er’s officers or agents to comply with any municipal ordi- nance or order of any duly authorized officers, or with any statute for the protection of life or safety of employees. The meaning of the expression “the wilful act” has caused considerable discussion and the attorney general has ruled that it does not mean the same as wilful neglect and that an employer is not committing a wilful act if he is merely negligent. As the result of a recent ruling by Attorney General Hogan the liability of an employer paying into the State insurance fund appears riow to be about the same as under the protection of the liability companies. This ruling has been embodied in a letter ordering a new form of liability contract that was sent by the State Insurance Commission June 15 to all the liability companies doing business in the State. The decision of the attorney general in this matter was that the liability companies could not lawfully protect an employer against a suit by an injured employee for dam- ages where the injury was not a mere accident but due to the wilful act of such employer or to the failure of him- self or his officers or agents to comply with any municipal ordinance or lawful order of any duly authorized officer, or any statute for the protection of the life and safety of the employees. Few Employers Elect to Pay Into State Fund The Ohio law was put in operation March i and the little more than four months in which it has been in effect is too short a time to determine whether it will prove successful in meeting the competition of the liability com- panies. In the first four months 400 employers elected to take protection under the law, out of 15,000 to 20,000 eligi- ble employers in the State. While this is apparently a poor showing for the law, it is pointed out that the bulk of employers are protected by liability companies whose con- tracts are made for from one to three years, and doubtless many employers will decide to go under the State law when their present policies with the liability companies expire. Some manufacturers say they would like to take advantage of the law but cannot afford to pay the in- creased cost as long as their competitors pay the lower rates of the liability companies. The Ohio situation has consequently become a matter of competition for business between the comparatively few solicitors for the State fund and the numerous agents representing the liability companies. The former offer such compensation for injured workmen as is provided by the State law and the latter give only liability insurance but at a considerably lower rate. State and Indemnity Company Rates Compared Taking the classifications of particular interest to the metal working industries the figures below show the rate charged by liability companies in Ohio, the workmen’s compensation rate provided by the Ohio State Liability Board of Awards and the workmen’s compensation rate provided under the laws of New Jersey and Wisconsin, The percentages given are per $100 of pay roll: Liability company rate Ohio State New Jersey Wisconsin in Ohio rate rate rate Metal Machine shop and foundry 0.95 2.50 3.50 Ore reduction— Blast furnaces..... 2.50 2.65 6.00 8.40 It will be noticed that the Ohio State rate is much lower than that of the two other States named. The rea- son for the higher rates in New Jersey and Wisconsin is that the workmen’s compensation laws of those States, while in other ways very much like the Ohio law, do not provide a State fund, but insurance is either carried by the employer himself or by regular liability corttpanies. These companies must charge more to provide for ad- ministration, soliciting business, etc. In Ohio the entire cost of administration is borne by the State, so that every dollar that goes in the insurance fund in premiums is eventually paid back to workmen in awards. While the Ohio State rate noted above. is not much higher than the liability companies’ rate in the State, the workmen’s com- pensation rate as given is the minimum rate. The liability company’s rate is the same for all classes of risks in a specific industry. The State Liability Board of Awards has divided each industry into five classes based on the number injured and killed in the past three years. Class |, the rate for which is given above, includes plants having not over Io accidents per $100,000 of wages per year and no deaths or permanent total disabilities during three years. Awards Under the Ohio Law Since the Ohio law went into effect 130 employees of concerns that pay premiums to the State have been it- jured and have secured awards from the State fund. In not a single case did an employee exercise his option t? bring suit. Although the law provides that the employet shall pay 10 per cent. of the premiums, employers in every case so far have paid the entire amount, apparently finding this more satisfactory than going to the trouble of divid- ing the Io per cent. among their employees and taking " from their wages, a small amount per week for an ¢x- tended ‘period. While a few fairly large employers of labor have taken advantage of the State premium pr vision the most of these concerns are rather small. The largest is the Brier Hill Steel Company, Youngstow®, which has paid a premium.of $10,000 for the protection ° 3000 employees for a period of six months. The schedule of awards under the Ohio law is as fol 130 For partial or temporary disability two-thirds of airment of the workman’s earning capacity during ntinuance thereof, not less than $5 nor more than $12 ek, and not to continue over six months or to ex- ~eed $3400. If an employee’s wages are less than $5 a week, he is to receive his full wages. For permanent total ity he receives two-thirds of the average weekly waves, not more than $12 nor less than $5 a week, to con- tinue until death. Full wages are to be paid if the em- ployee’s wages are less than $5 weekly. In addition to the e the State pays not to exceed $200 for medical serv- ices. In case of injury causing death within two years, ients are limited to medical services and a maximum ; $iso for funeral expenses, where there are no de- nendents. If there are wholly dependent persons at the time of death the payment is two-thirds of the average weekly wages for six years from the date of the injury and not to exceed $3400 or to be less than $1500. If there are partly dependent persons the payment shall be two- thirds of the average wages for all or for such portions of six years after date of injury as the board may decide, but not to exceed $3400. The Electric Furnace for Tempering Tool Steel * BY B. HENRIKSONT One cannot enter a railroad shop to-day and stand be- fore a powerful modefn wheel lathe and observe the im- mense chips which this machine removes almost at red heat without having a certain amount of wonder that man is able to produce a tool which makes such an operation possible. Not only do we see the wheel lathe taking off blue chips, but all metals in the shops are being worked at a speed undreamed of in the days of carbon tool steel. Much of this advance is due to the advent of the use of the rarer metals, such as vanadium, nickle, chromium and tungsten, but even their presence would be of no practical importance without the proper heat treatment of the metal after it has been manufactured. This change from the use of the old time carbon steel to the present day special steels is working a revolution in the methods which were formerly in vogue for tempering carbon steels. Tempera- tures are demanded which cannot be successfully attained in the ordinary forge without danger of altering the com- position of the steel. Perhaps the strongest competition for the position of successor to the old forge is the modern electric furnace. The best results so far obtained in a furnace requiring fuel have been brought about in the following manner. The tool to be tempered is placed in some sort of a recep- tacle and all the space between it and the walls of the receptacle is filled with finely divided charcoal. Then the receptacle is sealed up so as to be impervious to gas or air and placed in the furnace. The temperature of the furnace is brought to that required to give the tool the desired degree of hardness (about 2100 deg. F.) and this temperature is maintained until the heat has had a chance to penetrate entirely through and the whole mass is at one emperature. This requires about two hours. Then the receptacle is removed from the furnace and the tool taken ut and plunged into an oil bath. The charcoal does not adhere to the steel. By this method an excellent job is tained. An even heating of the steel prevents spring, ‘us giving accuracy to the result. By packing in charcoal pnd sealing, exposure to air, gas or fuel is prevented and onsequently the chemical composition is not altered. The nearest approach to the results obtained in the ‘anner described is obtained by the use of the electric fur- pace. This supplies the place of the sealed receptacle, Na as it requires no blast or fuel to obtain a high tem- ‘rature the danger of altering the chemical composition ooviated. The highest desired temperatures can be ob- ined and by varying the strength of the electric current ny desired degree of temperature can be obtained or main- Aine pstant, The Electric Furnace with the Liquid Bath There are two distinct types of electric furnaces. One ead before the Railway Tool Foremen, Chicago, July 10. m foreman, Chicago & Northwestern Railway, Chicago. (8, 1912 THE IRON AGE 131! type is so constructed that it forms an open vessel in which is placed a substance which becomes a liquid at the harden- ing temperatures. The substance generally used consis