The Iron Age 1917-02-15: Vol 99 Iss 7

f ? on New York, February 15, 1917 HED 1855 VOL. 99: No. 7 The Way to Win Trade in Russia War Buying Methods—Lack of Trade Balance — Warning Against Attempted Exploitation—Germany to Be a Competitor BY CAPT. D. ’ was written on the subject of Russia. The composition of it was largely influenced by a desire to help the American manufacturer to un- erstand conditions in Russia so that he would not ife under the delays encountered in closing con- tracts after his offers had been recognized as ac ceptable, nor grow impatient because of changes in detail to which contracts are subject during the period of drafting. Naturally it had to touch upon some of the gen- eral conditions met with in Russia and an attempt was made to set forth the difference in point of ew between Russians and Americans. It pointed how logical this difference that the two countries eveloped along very dif- [ March, 1915, at the request of THE IRON AGE, The Special Message of HOUGH s no doubt but that Russia’s point of view Nas t a certain extent been modified and the two countries nave grown a little closer to each other Ever since the writer’s return to Russia in the spring of 1915 followed by another visit to America n the autumn and particularly after returning here in January, 1916, there has been a strong desire to write a second story to treat of present conditions as modified by the engagements made by the Allies during the fall of 1915 and winter of 1916, and to add to this a study as to what may be expected after the war. It is possible that what is written may not conform to what many readers may want to believe, and what many writers on Russia in thei! entnusiasn have made then elves believe will be the condi r the ferent lines, starting with very The writer has had the ad ferent traditions. the Accompanying Arti- antage of contact with some of lt was with the purpose of : the leading people in Russia, as ne these, also, that the cle Is That Russian- wel] a Ameri ans and Russians written ; » »S- . a = vho have visited the othe ritten and the me American Business Ex- 8 | ch it was chiefly de- intry. He has been in Eng convey was an appeal pansion Is Not Without land and believes that he sees erica to adapt itself to the situation from a more or stomer rather than to at- reform its customer to point of view; the tte thing quite impossible of accomplishment. has been translated and published in Russian periodicals and as might be ex- has received considerably more favorable from Russians than from Americans. Russian Business Customs Slow to Change \ithough written in March, 1915, it was based nditions as they seemed to exist in Decem- 1, during which month the writer had left ‘or a short visit in America. Since then a great deal has happened. Russia has made tremen- ‘Ss purchases in America under forced conditions naps a little against the grain, and, while of doing business and the formalities in nave not been revolutionized and are quite settle back into the old grooves after the so continue at least for the present gen- ‘or “Changing Russia” will only become vith the coming of a new generation, there is the American member of a firm of Rus- rs and has been a resident in that country for Previously he headed the United Engineering = Company, New York, which constructed some S at New York for the Pennsylvania Railroad Its Drawbacks. i@sSs ¢ omposite point ot view and with a considerable business ex perience in America and five years in Russia approaches the subject from what he believes is a rational, rather than an over en thusiastic, point of view War Buying Done by Special Commissions confusion brought about by the activities of self- appointed brokers of both nationalities in the dupli- cation of inquiries, and the multiplication of offers with their duplicated and triplicated and multipli- cated commissions was pointed out. Shortly after returning here in April, 1915, the writer was asked to write a memorandum for a certain high commis- sion, and in it, although himself engaged in repre- senting American manufacturers in Russia, he urged upon this high commission the advisability of sending fully-empowered representatives to America to purchase direct from the manufacturer wherever this was possible. There had been several special commissions already established in America but confusion in authority had developed and per- haps one may say conflict of interest, hence it was urged that a high commission be formed that should control all purchases that could be made according In THE IRON AGE story of March 25, 1915, the 421 2 Sea. hart beet * 2 f-f f = 422 THE IRON AGE to sample specifications,if not to fixed specifications. It may not be necessary to say it, but it is said to avoid misunderstanding, that the memorandum referred to above was, of course, in no way the con- trolling element in the co-ordination of the pur- chasing commissions or rather the co-ordination of Russian commissions in America, but it certainl) was read in high places and had some effect in re- assuring those who believed in the policy. This, of course, was a matter that has to do only with war conditions, and while it is probable that the Government will continue to have representa- tives in America after the war, it is possible that these will be confined to their naval, military and commercial attachés. One type of purchasing naturally cannot be done through commission methods, namely, that for rail way equipment and other engineering requirements such as the motive power and equipment of vessels, where the manufacturer must send his representa tive to treat with the senior officer of the Govern ment departments. The duties of these officials is such that they cannot be spared from the cou What American Capital Can Do in Russia butid com) materia rom tie product, especiall ! ) ocomotive and , car-building factories and machine roo Dp Supply perrnia re j mires noe fairs skilled labo j , Develop Russia “7 . . ; avurodds, storage arehouses, re “oeratine ’ ; , . piants, grain elevators, etc. pacile } yhway ; 2°39 “4 j public { lity plant try and yet, having the responsibility for the con- tinued operation of what they purchase, must study and be fully informed upon the details of design and construction before placing orders. Criticism of Present Methods Commission buying is, of course, open to criti cism, but it has been pretty well proven that most of the criticism has been unfair where directed against direct Government commissions and has originated largely from disappointed salesmen and _ self-ap pointed brokers, scalpers of a profit. The criticism made of. certain American banks buying for foreign Governments is also unfounded, but in this case, of course, there is the added op portunity for criticism that lies in the human im- pulse to favor an allied concern. There has been some criticism in Russia of the agreement made with England which permitted England to supervise purchases and required the consent of England before Russia could purchase On the other hand, is but natural that when one wants to borrow one must accept the conditions im posed by the party to the loan that gives the ac commodation. Theoretically the plan was logical, and perhaps it has avoided abuses that might have crept into purchases had other conditions existed. It has had its serious drawbacks, however, particu larly at a time when prices were going up so rapidly. Frequently the time consumed in applying for a credit, the study of the situation by the English committee and the approval and formal granting of consent has occupied a period of time during which prices have gone up as much as 20 per cent. Where February 15, 1917 the necessity for the purchase was obviou: jt wo, have been much better to have granted the congo, upon the advice of some local representati\e, as fp, instance the British military or naval attaché, wit. out the long delay; but here again there Id nat. urally be present an excusable disinclination op th part of an individual agent to lay himse en + the suspicion of being influenced and no doubt the individual is much better pleased to have the matta handled by a commission. European Prejudice Against Buying in America Persist to The delay encountered, and any anno may have been felt has been confined to ; made in America. Where what Russia wanted : buy could be purchased in England or in one of th: other Allied countries whose credit would th: improved and in its way lighten the load u; land, there has been no delay. America ca) plain because of this disinclination upo of England to see the Allies spending America, for it is but natural. It is als tion that confronts us not only at the pre ut that will continue to confront us in ow ng of business after the war. In what is said above no criticism It is more or less an unavoidable condit England has had to raise the money and } own credit for the loans, she not only has th« but must keep herself straight with her 1 who in the end may have to bear the burder This is, of course, wholly improbable, as while all th belligerent countries are developing a terrifying in lebtedness, the debt per capita and the debt in per- ‘entage to resources is much less in the case of Russia than in that of any other country engaged in the war, and she will be the first to recover finar cially. England must also protect herself against the contraction of unwise indebtedness or the de moralization of credit by the borrowing of mone from those too weak to carry the load or whi terests might be inimical. In many cases great advantage has doubtless resulted through the system followed. On the other hand, there have been some misfortunes. For 1 stance, had a certain order for small arms and an munition been placed in August of 1915 these woul now be being delivered, and while for the mon their need is not evident, conditions might hav been such that the obstruction met with in placing the order might have led to misfortune, and it been possible to place orders for locomotives : cars without delay much-needed equipment W now be in service. Turning to the chief purpose of this st namely, to discuss post-bellum conditions: Many ar ticles have been written, many speeches made 4! many conferences held in which it has been propos that after the war nothing whatever be purchast from Germany. It would seem that one might view this a lit more rationally. With Germany conquered by !s lation, perhaps by force of arms, but most likely © a revulsion of feeling within the country itsell, thing that the Allies have been fighting, name German militarism, will be wiped out. German Competition to Be Keen The industrious, peace-loving German Working classes upon whom the war has been as severe & © has upon the Allies will have the sympathy o! world and the new Governmental group that nee” tiates peace must perforce find some commo! 1 grount of sympathy with the other countries. The Allied . > . sith he se countries of the West must communicate with # Fel ruary 15, 1917 East by passing across German territory, ise of Germany’s reorganized transporta- ities. They must perforce be brought in with Germans, with whom will have been by the peace treaty some basis of not un- ‘ntercourse. Germany must buy food stuffs ind in order to preserve her balance of is certainly going to sell, so that Germany mately be met as a competitor in cost of ture and of delivery. One must meet as natural and wholly appropriate preference asers to buy from those countries that have them to overcome their enemy in common an from a country that has seemed to have, has or not, taken advantage of their diffi- ind necessities by putting prices at an un- high level, and forcing them to pay upon t, while quite excusable under the circum- vere nevertheless objectionable. What Russia Will Buy from America the writer does not look upon the trade that is to be developed between and Russia with tremendous optimism. ll buy from America: Those things which she can either get can get best, from America, just as she the war. Among this merchandise and ifactures is first of all cotton. While cot ng produced in Russia in an ever-increas- e, it has been and will continue to be the ort from America, and unless we are pre- extend the reasonable credits that Russia commodity will again be imported into through some other country. This will not be Germany, because if a duty discrim- against Germany is actually imposed, it t most merchandise of this sort and may the import thereof through England, which ibly be in the best position to extend credit. in and should import direct. The only e will be the refusal to extend credit. ost important item among the manufac be agricultural machinery, the makers of chinery having already organized their sell the basis of appropriate credits. “‘Awaken- sia” is arousing more rapidly in this direc- in any other and large imports of agricul- ichinery will still be required although not reign but Russian companies as well are ex- their plants for the manufacture of these ents in Russia very rapidly. Next to this road-making machinery. The import of ichines had just gotten under way when 3 ae clared. thes alone among the smaller implements dous business can be done if America will the type of scythe that Russia is accus using. This is a very thin angle section. [ness is obtained by the vertical leg. Nat sharpen away very rapidly but they ‘asily, and their cheapness is one of thei! ng points. The same is true of shovels, kes, hoes, ete. The sorts of manufactures that Ger trolled. These consisted of all sorts of ehold implements, kitchen utensils, hard- ery type, and all those things that come head of novelties. The only way to get irdware and novelty trade, however, is shops, and this leads to the statement ntroduction of five and ten-cent stores all a would be one of the greatest of money d, in the larger cities, the foundation of epartment stores. There are such in Rus- THE IRON AGE 42% sia, but they lack the organization that is found in American enterprises of this character. Third: The machinery and equipment that goes into the manufacture of all sorts of wearing apparel and the production of food stuffs. Lack of Balance of Trade Serious One of the conditions that must be given consid eration among the hindrances to Americans obtain ing a large trade in Russia is the fact that we need so little in America that Russia can best furnish We do not need her agricultural products and sh« has not enough nor has yet developed her mines t an extent permitting export. There is no balance of trade and it would seem that in order to secure reciprocation a three-cornered “circuit”? would have to be closed. Russia may sell her grain to Germany) France and England, we may buy from these coun tries, and Russia may buy from us. The great thing that Germany has taught the Allies in this war is that all countries must mak themselves as nearly as possible self supporting T . Russia’s great handicap in the present war has been What Russia Will Buy in America Verchandise h ood j » } S) é foois, et Special machinery J ‘ ‘ clothing. foodstuffs and stap Manufacture forme 4, dO t tro? (, j ; 4 , rie (ai~ng nHonusenoia ite? . ; ‘ 1? ly > 1@s. the absence of manufacturing plants within her own territory that could be quickly turned into munitions makers, and she is not going to be caught this way again. Genuine Help the Way to Win Business Further than this, Russia in its awakening going to develop its own resources. There is no question but that she possesses large bodies of ore of every type awaiting development, and these in turn must be used to manufacture what sne wants It is in this way that America may perhaps best help Russia, for the rendering of help to her is the only ground upon which Americans may expect to secure the privilege of helping themselves in Russia The great opportunity in Russia as suggested lies in the building of plants within the country that will manufacture what her people want. This is also in keeping with one of the strongest national principles, namely, to purchase at home whatever may be produced at home, and at the same time save the costs of transportation and add to the gen eral prosperity of the country. Plant Installations Must Be Complete There seems little more that may be said on this subject, it is so self-evident. The writer naturally feels the strongest appeal from the need for rail road equipment. Rail mills and locomotive and car plants are the greatest need. There are several plants in America that have a greater output than all of the Russian plants put together in the manu- facture of botn locomotives and cars, and this is also true in the case of rail mills. In building plants in Russia manufacturers must start with 0 ot ee Yop, Queenan D + te ee wee pints. 424 THE IRON AGE the ore and the coal, as there is not enough steel and iron production to take care of the manufactur ing plants that now exist. In everything that has to do with woodwork Russia can take care of herself, except that she needs tremendous amounts of wood-working ma- chinery, and this emphasizes the requirement for plants to make the machinery for the equipment of manufacturing plants. There are practically no machine tool works in Russia. Labor and Engineering Skill in Russia In this connection we must consider the ques tion of skilled workmen. Russia has all the com- mon labor that is needed and will still have it in spite of the tremendous wastage of the present war, and there is no question as to the ability of the Rus sian workman to accept training. The Russian engineer and all those theoreticall) educated are trained perhaps to a little greater, perhaps to too great, a refinement than those of any other country, but they lack practical experience. This may or may not be a circumstance brought about by the fact that Russia has no middle class. The rich are very rich, and when their attention is given to education they get the best and go the farthest. Her poor are very poor, although of a poorness that perhaps does not appreciate how poor it is, and is not, therefore, as unhappy as one might think, and the poor have little or no opportunity for that little education that fits them to become skillful or gives them the bent toward it. For the next few years a considerable amount of skilled labor will have to be imported. This skilled labor must get out of its mind the idea that it is to be sent over here for a few years and then take its earnings back home to spend, and this is equally true of the capital invested. It must ex- pect its earnings in rubles and must invest its rubles in Russia. The skilled labor that comes here must come in a spirit akin to that of colonization, and the work men bringing their families-and settling in small communities in manufacturing towns will be just as happy and can create for themselves as much of en- tertainment as was had in their own’ country, and may feel sure that they are doing a mighty good thing for their children and grandchildren. Feasible Openings for American Enterprise In discussing the subject of the development of properties by American enterprise and American capital it is not necessary to take space to go into the tremendous opportunities of this character that Russia offers, for these have been discussed until they are threadbare. American engineers, opera- tors and financiers must be convinced by this time that the opportunities are tremendous. First among these comes the opening up of the country by railroads that are so much needed, and that will give facilities for the distribution of its products and manufactures. Foremost among these is the proposed Southern Siberian and its many branch lines, all of which will make business for themselves. In connection with railroad extension comes the organization of the storage and the transportation of grain, and the storage and transportation of pro- duce that requires refrigeration. A thing that is not as much discussed but im- presses the engineer who has lived here is the de- velopment of a network of usable roads that will feed these railroads, and with motor transportation may help to offset the lack of railroads as well as supplement them when built. February 15, 19)7 The development of mining properties knits «. self up with the construction of plant retofor discussed and one must not lose sight of sity that is fast increasing for the impr public utilities in the municipalities. A Warning Against Exploitatio; But in contemplating the possibility of eto, ing into these activities, Americans sho ber that Russia is not a country like South Amerie, or Central America in respect to the United State: or South Africa and India in respect to Engla; country where one may go and make a fortune. return home to build a fine place in Massachysett: or elsewhere to enjoy the fruits of one’s efforts Russia is not going to stand for this. She wan: her country developed for the sake of Russ she wants the fruits of the effort invested hi) her own country for the further extension of thes same developments. In other words, she looks ask ance upon the possibility of the country being ; ploited for the purpose of increasing the sur of financial and construction companies i: countries, and is perfectly willing that the incr: in her own wealth shall be risked along wit! capital invested by foreigners, but she wants t} foreign capital invested in Russia. Not long ago the president of a rather important public-utilities development organization wrote letter stating that he was not so much interest in construction propositions in Russia as he was j taking up reorganizations in which a good commis- sion could be made. In the first place, there are not the industries in Russia to be reorganized, and if there were such they would, and such as there are do, find plenty of capital and plenty of talent t bring about reorganizations and consolidations and thus keep the commissions right here in Russia. Americans must also consider the restrictior in Russia that are not met with at home. Political Conditions in Russia Here again we must point out that Russia is! a South or Central America nor Africa nor India While Russia is a much older country than United States, for very good reasons, for example its great extent and its greater extensions that have been going on even up to the present time, it has been possible to give but little attention to co-ord nating a modern type of government. This co-0r- dination has just begun, and is developing now 4! a time when other countries are correcting co-ordinations made at an earlier time to meet with modern ideas that may be called liberal if we : cept liberalism in its best sense. It has been, and it is, more easy, therefore, 10! Russia to adopt and put into use modern ideas government control. It may perhaps be said u the human tools of government in the past nave been working under conditions that have given then opportunities to abuse their power, but the better type and more enlightened men that are now inter esting themselves in this sort of thing in Russia, are giving and are going to give the best resus Russia does not need trust legislation, for trus’ are now impossible, and it is for this reason = haps that capital can be more secure in its invest ment in that it knows at the time of undertaxins its enterprises just what restrictions it is to me There is no case on record where the rights ° ° company once granted have ever been interier™ with so long as they kept within the limits of liberties given them in their incorporation. asl It is perhaps because of this modern policy ™ fe Russia will more readily grant support to spe i 15, 1917 it will to large combinations of capital fear lest these combinations become a menace in that they might ol that Russia prefers should be vested ental hands. ip. therefore, the attitude of Russia to- enterprise and capital it might be said nvites and will welcome any organiza- do any particular thing particularly ne and undertake its enterprises there ymise of most helpful and sincere sup will see that appropriate profits are the capital and effort expended. It is ed that when she can turn her attention st engrossing war to the activities of she will give her attention to eliminat- the delay now encountered in official de- her governmental pro requirements of modern grow so nd reorganize the rding to I hods. TREATING HIGH-SPEED STEEL* Low Tungsten Compared—Importance f Temperature Control BELLIS AND T. W. HARDY + treating high-speed ste¢ r ‘ neat nore important as the design of cut and more complicated in increasing Hundreds manufacture mechanical in the pecial form for rapid production of operatio! S design and ‘ terchangeable parts, and then, as the tL 18 faulty on the one hand. or sce! ted on the other, the tool fails after a its efficiency is greatly increased operation of giving these complicated mperature necessary to bring out the es, and at the same time bring the a difficult one and calls for no small yn the safe side the average tool es a temperature much too low to give the ith the high-speed steel he uses. In the which are finished to a given diameter impossible to grind the tool so that it is essential that the surfac« m oxidizing or decarbonizing. It is the lening, it is paper to describe some experiments on gh-speed steel, in which metallographic sed to determine the correct hardening carbon, tungsten, chromium and each steel used in the hardening experi en in the accompanying table. Six speci- ses for gl eed Steels Used in Hardening Tests Tungsten Chromium, Vanadiun r Cent Per Cent Per ¢ nt 17 11 1.14 1 169 24 the same bar of each kind of steel were different temperatures, and photomicro- Six samples were taken from the same nnealed condition regularly furnished the Photographs were made of the longitudi- are being taken to grind off the outer e specimens, 4 in. square, were first pre- \00 deg. Fahr., and then quickly placed in peed furnace already heated to the desired left at this temperature for 1 min. and |. The temperature was controlled by a yrometer, consisting of a rare-metal couple er to be presented at the coming February American Institute of Mining Engineers in Hardy is metallurgist, Nova Scotia Steel & New Glasgow, N. S THE IRON AGE and potentiomete: An optical pyromet the Hol born-Kurlbaum type gave excellent checks with the standard pyrometer, and proved moré nvenient and durable A precision of 10 deg | vas attained throughout. The polished specimens were etched for 15 min. in 4 per cent. alcoholic solution f nitric acid, and photographed under a magnif 000 dian eters (750 diameters as reproduc: (The original paper contains 30 photomicrograpl showing the results of the treatment ir \ Excess Carbide Steels Most Efficient In general, the steels that show som irbide even at the maximum hardening he efficient These, as a rule, are the tes with hig tungsten content; they harde er t perature and over a wider range than t wer-tur sten tee! For thi reasol they ] not require careful treatment and ars ne re, ! poy i nar the lower-tungsten steels. The steels with lower tung sten and higher vanadium give bett esult wher hardened at the wer temperatures than do the higher tungsten steels when these are hardened at the ame w temperatures it tne mparisor not I antageous to the owe tungster teel wh tne stee with higher tungsté given tl prope hardenir neat It mporta ‘ \ rT ( th } irder f ten pe ire I f ryit i part 11a stee ised i ¢ re ph rt istor ! I hign-spees empera ! tor ery poor practice, for, a how! y th mic? graphs, the best structure may be ta i with one steel at a temperature wi i wi “Dur rnotnel oO harder third. Thu 300 deg. Fal r over nece iry to give A r J ood t tu put ft mperature gives a oar t her st burns” them Ava tem pe i low i 2150 deg. Fah can it I I B or D, ] tools made of other tee would ot tand up if hard ened it this tem pe rature Vi xtreme ex imple lid Nave e€ shown, it tne imple nosen al D al « tne C wide rands ol ic! tee The erage nardene! e| Dta he est ‘ ilt from his steel The reason for th $s, especial n the ases of tools that cannot be ground after hard ening, that oxidation become erlo problem higher ten peratures. The ise of a barium chlorids bath to eliminate thi dificulty has the disadvantage that the surface of the tool becomes decarbonized \ method that has prove! satisfactory to pla e the tools after preheating I tre educing itmo phere of a Carodon resistance elec tri furnace already heated te the required temperature The very short time neces sary to get the tool to the temperature of the furnac: eliminates deleterious surface effect Pack hardening often gives good results but, owing to the great affinit f iron for carbon at high temperatures, care mu be taken to reduce this carbonizing action to a m This mum. may be done by selecting a packing ma terial of little or no carbonizing power, and by cutting down the time during which the metal is in contact with the packing material The increased efficiency and cutting power of too that have received the proper heat treatment is all proportion to the time given to the study of the and to the care e out ol xercised particular steel involved, Instead of military conscription, so prominent before the public in connection with preparedness, a tion of the whole youthful population to form a1 conscTip ~ army “enlisted against nature,” is suggested by Dr. Ira N ig Hollis, president American Society of Mechanical Engi neers. In an address Jan. 2 before the Cleveland Cham ber of Commerce he said such an army could, for instance, supply the labor for building the Lincoln High- way across the continent and there might also be a Washington Highway from Maine to Texas, passing through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. Al! the discipline of the army, he urged, can be found in the working party with the pick and shovel taking the place of the rifle. é; Making the Executive More Efficient’ Use of Charts on the “Exception Principle” to Save Manager’ Time and, for Example, to Develop Deaeiadl Contacts with Employees BY FRANK E have stated many times that the greatest waste in the world today is from unnecessary, ill-directed motions. Many peo- inefficient and ple think that this statement refers only to such activi- ties as those of the bricklayer, the shopworker and other kinds of mechanics and manual workers. It does refer to them, but also to managers and all other ex- ecutives. To one trained in the sciences of management and motion study, nothing is more ridiculous and pitiful than the average executive when he tries to enforce new motion methods on those the industrial scale, while he at a same time commits nearly all the motion wastes in his ow The personal work of the executive should consist, a much as possible, of making decisions, and, as little as farthest below him o1 persona! Work. possible, of making motions General recognit this fact has resulted the common practice of ass ing’ to the executive one oOo more secretaries, or ¢ erks to relieve him of certain parts of his work which iz volve more motions and less important decisions than that part of the work retained by the executin What a Chart Should Show Some executives are irnished witt } vt } show by means of ¢ mparable curves the increase o diminution in output, cost, overhead expense and, comparatively rare instances, even in results as con pared with budgets. As compared with an organiza tion which has no cost system, such a recapitulation, B. GILBRETH provide himself with charts which wil] much time has elapsed between the com; output and the recording of it and its att The by-products of a properly operated i are even more valuable than its direct product. yw, find that the psychological effect of “promptness” itself makes the curves repr: puts and costs fall more nearly in the pro locations prophesied on the charts. Such the executive and his colleagues accurat« formation of deviations from class in al The motions that an executive would exper information by such old methods as, for « ing through the works to see with his u conditions which are not typical, partly presence, bring results of little value co) the results that can be obtained by the " time and motions concentrated on tl conditions which cause the great fluctuat desired output. While this fact is generally recognize of installations of chart departments tl ‘country is increasing with surprising s| those organizations where there is cost system supplemented by charts wit! es, ing results as compared with expected conditions and ideals, the executive too often finds himself flooded with charts. Then, being human, he postpones st ing them. As a result, many benefits which com promptly making records of outputs and costs are lost ftp tt tt tt ttt ty ttt ttt tt s+t+tt ppt ty Asa Pt illustration of a chart used on the ey ception prince ip] Gilbreth. It may, for example, show the promptness ol performance of an information bureau of a factory in charge, say, of trade publications, estimates of work e, the above has been obtained from M under consideration and records of design sketches. Each horizontal space may represent a specifi for information and each vertical space the time re request quired to supply it. Colors may be used to indicate notable time differences Th point of the exceptio principle is that the chart shows at a glance wher even in the form of an cost statements and graphical charts are a great step forward. can be considered really satisfactory unless it deter mines and shows: 1. What the quantities of individual outputs should be (prophecies of outputs) dividual outputs. 3. What the costs should be (prophe > ; : c I rompt record oO in cies of costs). 4. of fluctuations and deviations of outputs and cost from prophesied outputs Prompt records of costs. 5. Cause and costs. The executive may have much to do with originally dete rminin g items 1 and 3; but after the computations } have been completed, he can best attack the and 4 and, also, of deter- 1 of 1 and § problem of enforcing items mining 5 by the use of graphical charts. He shoul ”) *From a paper re id before t Amer I Sox Mechanical Engineers. D« f Lote he ithor is a cor engineer, Providence, I I TT +A re SA 4 Ate ARS expenditure system, and s ) T } + + No cost system nor char system, nowever, 1 took too long for a definite inquiry. Ther the duty of one individual to ascertain why, stance, as long as 10 min. was necessary when the time is say over 20 min. In the three-position plan of management (in whi upant of any particular job gets supervis e promoted from it and serves as a tuto! ine to fill it), the result is an effort to keep th ntervals within the safety zone so to speak, No. 1 of the three-position plan is not lik moted to improve the service. »y his delayed action. It is here that the the exception principle” plays the important par! It is obvious that the foreman, or other funct should see promptly all the records of out} particular department. In most cases he handle his duties still more satisfactorily sees the costs of the output of his department ime of the over-foreman, however, who eral foremen and departments under him, able to have him, also, examine with car¢ ords of all the men under him. Consequent be furnished with information in concise forn that as little as possible of his time ma} This has often been furnished him in the f ages. The Use of Averages Ordinary averages have their use averages are, however, more valuable, Decal 26 i It some- make ordinary averages, but the value of ordinary averages is slight compared ts which result from concentrating the * motions and attention on those indi- hat brought the average away from the f “bad average” may be the excuse for man “on the carpet,” but the results of pare with the good results that are the over-foreman investigat cases that spoiled the average. dex of the over-foreman can be kly, for he has the information which accurately. Instead of foreman the workman, he will marked on.the chart, that the itput is due to lack of the proper tools, ¢ been furnished with tools in standard e routing system having failed to give s in the right quantities, in the nd at the right time, to something wrong with the equipment or surround- the man’s not having been properly unwise selection of i of progress and efficiency. having se or isions ing the trouble the or causes ‘ sal erial here having been an machine, or both, for the particular jol is more careful not to do anything So, pected of him, because he knows that ill surely be noticed by the executives ill interfere with his chances for pro more desirable kind. work of f oO a they will be investigated properly will yn the part of the foreman and the Dp ite with others whose work affects irn may be investigated. This co- and sooner or iater becomes Che Exception Principle. ne of the executive next above the ove) more valuable than that of the oven ip to and including the managing ( lent No executive should make a handling, turning over or examining data, either normal or with conside1 ] of the de in lower where the cause proper those The exclusion of such cases car } the executives determine zone eing understood that as long as the he zone, he is not to see the charts requests to see them He is, how ) him any chart having a point that luded zone iny class Ww d it beneficial re cases of deviation on the desired that he can recognize and appre p onal interest in cases of unusua hrough such cases that he gets ir y good methods. This is a chec! Man’s work It also gives the « opportunities for proper managerial] selection of candidates for the the “three position plan” of organiza- lich every man not only attending but is training himself for the next eeping a watchful eye on his successor The curves showing progressive partments may be examined at time apart, these intervals to be dete) ‘ular case by the favorable or un- on of records of such average 1 costs with the prophesied outputs ‘utive is thus relieved later of work iry at first but which is not necessary ilar case is running satisfactorily. e to prophesy with accuracy what the and costs should be without motio: udy. But once these have been made outputs and actual costs approximaté |, the high executives should devote ( ndeed to inspecting this class of charts. ould spend their time on other work, ts and more important things where vill bring more valuable results. THE IRON modeled. AGE 27 — & 80 } 0 mth ethene | | bhatt helene hehehe Ann a pended lle hdl a en A» x : ge +p > : . : fw i a y - , sphere | $ $ le } 6 = > - 7 ae ¥ a st apeth at ~~ 4 - ~ a ; -rF } } | A pt 7 wep | y 45676 asae « <SPa Another exampl Oo r n av cover the output of nel ‘ a g period. Zones are esta hed peri ma a rue n ome l mMmavically i tna ne ertalr dividuals. The lower tl the record t gh n the lustr : scale will he he divi i n ! nditior [he results 1 oOo! ncon pets ( i > 1 cu nto p th é ) a i ‘ ' . i y er tnat nese () ( ( C) vith | ion Z é I ‘ rie ! ’ t I I a i i I his ‘ } ia } I a I irnl I t indling t l we I ucn cl ine a a ry tne Seiect I I l do wo elsew he T} 1) } i executive innecessa ot e more efficient _ ‘ iT } é . . > »} 4 + Tata Iron & Steel Earnings The Ta Iron & Steel al I ae iT t for } r ¢ ‘ } 2,21 i \ft | é pairs { \ ‘ | ‘ 296 617.4 () } é i f , ae ired ne 0 O00 ‘ ‘ ry ipesc ) a ) oO | r le ) or ) 7 ine ‘ ' ‘ ’ » SOO } ( ; ‘ ’ Té ’ f) nec par alue eT idd ) I 1¢ ‘ , or er vho tl ed £7?9 900 d f Af . nare oO out Li . t nare vi I S I I , r ee t. “ ) yt) . thers is $? of r the I esen?t ea T} t Dp iuct e¢ Be r ( ompal \ I Pre : vere Droke as nontn I n ment prod ‘ed 63 t i ., pre is re rd, and the ! ‘ “ és ‘ 4 * against 1 tons Phe tons of castings, against 6354 tor f record. The Un Iron Works, Sp e, W ceived a tract for irnishing ( n . 7 | chinery to the Orogrande Gold M1 g | tite Idaho. The equipment will include two tu cor plete outfit for a cyanide plant, four agitat t The . » «s j . old plant of the company b¢ er! a re t 428 THE IRON AGE WELDLESS STEEL TIRES* New and Old Process of Making Tires for Loco- motive and Car Wheels QTEEL for tires was originally made in the crucible. \’ The ordinary practice was to cast individual ingots, poured from the top into cast-iron molds of great va riety of shapes. The popular mold was pear-shaped, or the frustum of a cone with the small end up. This was for the purpose of reducing the area affected by shrink- age. The ingots were subsequently flattened under a steam hammer, a smail hole punched in the resultant slab, or disk. This hole was enlarged by hanging the punched disk on the horn, or beak, of the anvil, or lower die, on which it was rotated while the hammer struck successive blows on the outer edge During this opera tion, the flange, where one was required, was roughly shaped. After this operation, the “beaked bloom,” as it was called in England, was rolled to required dimer sions in the tire mill. Some of these early tire mills seem to have been horizontal two-high bar mills altered by extending the rolls through the housing farthest from the engine and hanging the tire on this extension. Many manufac turers followed this idea in designing new tire mills, the rolls being horizontal and the tire in the air while rolling. The later practice has been the casting of long ingots of open-hearth steel. Each ingot is sliced cold into as many blocks as necessary and the top portion, enough to eliminate all danger from segregation and pipe, dis carded. The slicing operation is stopped before the cen- ter of the ingot is reached, the remaining core being broken, so that the fracture at the center of the ingot can be examined. In a tire works with modern equipment, the sliced block is very slowly heated in a continuous furnace, up set, punched, beaked (when necessary) and rolled, with out being allowed to become cold at any intermediate stage. The various operations are performed at a press, or hammers, and two or three mills, the partly finished bloom being transferred from one to the othe with no appreciable loss of heat during the transfer The results of this method are eminently satisfactory, the metal being continuously worked from the high forging heat to the proper temperature at which it should be laid down to cool. The old tire mills were designed for tires of com paratively small diameter and thin sections and usually consisted of only four rolls, two of which might be called working rolls and two guide rolls. One of these working rolls, the main roll, contained a single box pass, turned to fit the contour of the outside of the tire, the contour including the tread and flange with the front and back faces contiguous thereto. The other working roll, the pressure roll}; was turned to coincide with the bore of the tire, being of exact width to enter the box pass in the main roll. One of these working rolls, usually the main roll, was rotated, its bearings remain ing stationary; the other working roll was rotated by friction between its periphery and the inside of the bloom as the latter rotated by friction with the main roll. The bearings supporting the pressure roll were carried on a slide, which, operated by hydraulic or screw power, advanced as required toward the main roll, thus reducing the opening between the two and the cross-section of the bloom or tire being rolled. The two guide rolls merely served to preserve the circularity of the tire by bearing against two points on its cir- cumference equidistant from the main roll. They were driven only by friction between the tire and themselves and were carried back and forth on slides or carriages operated by screw or hydraulic power. The more modern mills have four guide rolls touch ing the tire at four instead of at two points. They have a pressure roll similar to that described above except that its face is longer than the width of the bloom or tire being rolled. They have a main roll containing a *From a paper to be presented by Guillaem Aertsen, assist ant to the vice-president Midvale Steel Company Nicetow! Pa., at the New York meeting Februar Institute of Mining Engineers American February 15, |917 ‘ very shallow box pass, not covering or overlapp front and back faces of the tire, and, in additioy two horizontal rolls, one driven by power, th: driven by friction. The latter is raised and lowe screw or hydraulic power. With this universal mill, pressure is brought upon the section of t} from all four sides. The quality as well as the « of work turned out shows much improvement. Many changes, great though gradual, have o in the demands made by consumers upon tire m: turers. Most of these are for the better. The ardization of sections and diameters insures mor factory deliveries and eliminates many causes of error The “mileage guarantee,” usual in the early da now seldom demanded and still more seldom gr: Railroad operating men appreciate that there ar: portant factors affecting the hardships inflicted locomotive driving tires which can seldom be calculated, more seldom foreseen and never observed or record Safety can be demanded and secured. Wearing qu ties would better be considered among the genera sults. Locomotive driving tires have sometimes show) abnormal wearing qualities, being apparently indestruct ible, and yet the efficiency of the locomotive shod with them has been reduced to a minimum by loss of tractive power. The Standard Pipe Receivership \nnouncement is made by General Manager Willia: E. Dodds, of the Standard Cast Iron Pipe & Foundry Company, Bristol, Pa., that the receivership imposed Feb. 3 means the reorganization of the company along the lines of more capital and a wider range of output Robert Wetherill, of Chester, as mentioned in last week’s issue, is the receiver. His long experience in the iron business should enable him to handle the con pany’s interests wisely. Mr. Dodds is quoted as say ing that the growth of the company’s business has made more capital necessary and that the receiver ship was arranged pending the raising of needed funds. He added: “I am hopeful that a reorganization wil prove advantageous to the Standard Company, its em- ployees and the community.” The company is one of the town’s most important industries and its payroll has been more than $40,000 a month. It built the iburb of North Bristol. American Steel Foundries’ Year The American Steel Foundries reports earnings for the year ended December 31, 1916, as follows, compared with the previous year: Net profit 3,968,57 Sinkine fu 550,513 rplus .. . $3,418,057 $ *After deduction of manufacturing, selling, administratior expenses and depreciation ($739,414) 4 The Newman Mfg. Company, 719 Sycamore Street Cincinnati, manufacturer of machine-tool attachments adjustable electric light brackets, brass and bronze work, signs, etc., has added another story to its plant The structure is now six stories, 40 x 175 ft. I stated that the company had a very successful yea 1916 and the outlook is promising for this year addition to the plant at Cincinnati, the firm maintains branch at 68 West Washington Street, Chicag: ' The Electrical Alloy Company, maker of res wires and ribbons, has moved into its new building at Morristown, N. J. A. W. Hartigan, 0! ' New York sales department of the Western El Company, has been appointed sales manager, headquarters at 41 Union Square, New York. ¢ iary 15, 1917 izzling Machine for Threading Dies h a view to doing away with hand work in the e of threading dies, the Anderson Die Machine ny, Bridgeport, Conn., has developed a special This operation consists of beveling the first e Fj Two or Three Threads of a Die to Secure Which Is Technically Termed Muzzling, Is the Field ¢ This Machine, Which Is Equipped with a Nove Speed Changing Mech ism That Is Bars \ ble at the Top of the Illustratior three threads of the die to provide clearance This clear- explained, is very similar to that on the machine reamer except that in the die it is and thus differs from that of the reamer. machine essentially consists of a hollow vertical the die will cut without dragging. mounted in a frame and running on ball bear- \ friction member driven by a spherical faced the end of the armature shaft of the motor is on the spindle to vary the speed in much the ay as was done in the case of the die tapping which was illustrated in THe IRON AGE, Nov. In this way, it is pointed out, it is possible ng the motor, which is pivoted in the frame of hine, to change the speed of the cutter used the side or front of the machine is relied lock the spindle and enable the operator to the cutter, which is of the maker’s superhelical irely in the split collet provided. A sleeve or similar to that used in an ordinary bench d controlled by a knob or handwheel at the the machine operates the chuck mechanism. cutter employed resembles a cone, the angle de depending on the number of threads which sired to bevel. A having an angle the side will machine a clearance of and one-half to three threads, while another angle of 45 deg. will give a clearance of one half threads only. It is explained that in dies it is customary to back off or relieve one re than the other, three threads on one side, nple, being relieved and only one and one-half pposite one. In this way the die can be used g long rods where it is not important to cut a shoulder, although threads can be cut very shoulder or extension by reversing the die. rectangular table has a cross-wise slot into This consists cone pe on die holding fixture is secured. THE IRON AGE of two slides to thus making it possible to operate the irge as we permit adjustment 1 i lirections, as the small diameters and also vary tl um clearance on the cutting edges « \ finger mechanism is located on the é fixture and is capable of adjustment It tion is to locate the cutting edge of th e that being fin