The Iron Age 1918-03-21: Vol 101 Iss 12

a S se ’ \ 4 a bs oe OE ye te “ ae ew “New York, March 21,1918 os See >. fa, HE pictures on these two pages are arranged Fig. 3 is a photograph of our Tannery at Brooklyn, to give you a panoramic idea of the growth New York, where lace leather is made. . Rk . Fig. 4 shows the Dixie Tannery as it looks today, where of the Chas. A. Schieren Company. nery é ys oe a eee all of the hides that enter into SCHIEREN Beltings go Fig. | represents the building at 90 Gold St., New York, through the long-time pure oak bark process of tanning. i k 8. , . pe 5 where, in 1868, Chas. A. Schieren first made ie »eltings Fig. 5 shows the Schieren Building at 30-38 Ferry St., in the ie Fig. 2 illustrates our Dixie Tannery at Bristol, Tennessee, very heart of downtown New York, and the present home of as completed and first operated in 1893 factory and main offices, including the Export Department. INDEX - Sect Hou TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - 759 ADVERTISING Contract Work Section 364 ‘ . . , : Help and Situations Wanted 359 aa mea ; ot Wanted Section .. B4 Business Opportunitie 856 Professional Noti Buyers’ Index Section 377 THE IRON AGE March 21, 1918 © by-product coke plant is of epreat value in producing war materials. From every ton of coal carbonized in a Koppers By-product Coke Oven there is recovered— Coke for making iron Gas for making steel Tar for fuel, drugs, dyes, etc. Ammonia for nitric acid and fertilizers Toluol for high explosives Benzol for drugs, dyes, explosives, motor fuel, etc. A Koppers By-product Coke Plant will produce high grade metallurgical coke and high yields of these important products. THE IRON AGE New York, March 21, 1918 ESTABLISHED 1855 quired sudden fame as a great munitions center. Early in the war period the story of the high wages paid its workmen attracted a great in- flux of workers and in this short period its popula- B uired: suaa in the last three years has ac- tion has doubled. In this lively Connecticut city huge new plants sprang into existence almost over night and old plants grew and grew in their efforts to keep up with the flooding tide of war orders. And with this great growth came an acute housing problem. Rents soared into almost fabulous figures, but private capital could not build with sufficient speed to take care of the incoming crowds of workers. The labor turnover problem of the fac- tories became inextricably involved with the housing problem. For aimost tw ars the city grew in the hap- hazard manner th: _ s characteristic of most Amer- ican communities. About eighteen months ago twelve manufacturers and the three big public serv- ice companies—furnishing gas, water and electricity combined in an effort to attack the problem in a 729 ne a What the Owner of a City factory VOL. 101: No, 12 HousingProblem Capital~ An Answer froma Bridgeport Text by WE. frectanp scientific manner. The Bridgeport Housing Co. was formed with a capital of $1,000,000. The Bridgeport Housing Co. now has as stock- holders twenty of the representative industrial and mercantile organizations of the city, in a few cases the stock standing in the name of individuals. It is unique in the opportunity it affords to the smaller business house to have a part in a vital work for the welfare of the whole city; it is unique, too, in the fact that the stockholders have voluntarily lim- ited the dividends to 6 per cent, thereby eliminating any tinge of profiteering; no charge that it is an attempt to exploit labor can be brought against it because it does not attempt to dictate what occupa- tion a man shall follow nor does it bind him to em- ployment with any of the subscribers to the stock of the company. It aims to make it easy for a workman to own his own home and has no designs to become a landlord trust. Its organization was brought about by the Chamber of Commerce of the city after more than a year of intensive effort. At a time when it was 730 THE Along the Street Front on Connecticut Avenue somewhat difficult to find the capital to take care of plant expansion, it was no easy task to divert any considerable portion of the liquid funds of the city from enterprises paying large profits to an enter- prise with such a limited profit. It took men with large vision to back such a program in such a time of financial stress; fortunately Bridgeport had such. The officers of the company are H. H. DeLoss, president ; George M. Eames, vice-president; Charles G. Sanford, treasurer; George Gove, secretary; William H. Ham, general manager. With the ex- ception of the manager, who gives his entire time to the work, all the officers serve without pay. The directors include among others: Edgar W. Bas- sick, president Bassick Co.; N. W. Bishop, presi- dent B. D. Pierce, Jr., Co.; Waldo C. Bryant, pres- ident Bryant Electric Co.; George E. Crawford, president Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce; H. H. DeLoss, vice-president Handy & Harman; George M. Eames, manager Singer Mfg. Co.; George C. Edwards, vice-president International Silver Co.; William H. Ham, general manager Bridgeport Hous- ing Co.; H. H. Hamilton, president Hamilton & De- Loss Co.; John T. King, president King Machine Co.; Frederick J. Kingsbury, president Bridgeport Brass Co.; Walter B. Lashar, president American Chain Co.; James G. Ludlum, manager International Silver Co.; H. H. Pinney, formerly manager Rem- ington Arms Co. A manager was appointed who began an investi- gation of the many phases of the problem. An experienced city planner was called in to make a survey of the city. He recommended the purchase of two or three different parcels of land, one of which was bought as the initial site of a housing development. A building committee was formed, comprising a manufacturer, a lawyer, a banker, and the president of the company (a manufac- turer), ex-officio. One of the first steps of this committee was to employ an architect to plan a large apartment house. The first manager having resigned, William H. Ham, a Boston engineer of wide experience, was IRON AGE March 21, 1918 chosen to succeed him. Under his direction active steps toward actual construction were undertaken. Plans for houses were carefully studied to fit them to the needs of the people to be housed. Experts were employed to aid in the determination of the proper sizes of rooms and to plan for efficient but economical plumbing and sanitary features. The best minds available were called upon to set the enterprise upon its way toward a logical solution of the intricate problem. A landscape architect lent his aid toward placing the houses in an attractive environment. The manager devoted himself to the task of standardizing the features devised by this expert staff so that purchases of equipment could be made in the wholesale manner that was essential if costs were to be kept down. Soon things began to move forward with the speed that the emergency demanded. In February of last year work was begun on the apartment house and on a model group of build- ings in another part of the city. In June the first of the tenants began to move into the apartment house and a little later the houses in the other de- velopment began to be ready for occupancy. While this work was in progress two other suburban de- velopments were undertaken, one in Fairfield, the other in Stratford. The apartment house has 39 apartments of three rooms and bath each. A similar type of house is frequently found in New York under the name of studio apartments. The building has a roof garden and every apartment opens onto a fire escape arranged to serve as a veranda. The building is situated within five minutes’ walk of a bathing beach at one of the city parks. The three upper floors are rented at $30 for each apartment and the lower floor at $25. .This includes heat and hot water, but each tenant pays for lights. This apart- ment house has appealed to the clerical workers of the city for whose needs it was particularly de- signed. Like all the other homes built by the com- pany, it is equipped with all the appliances that are considered a part of a modern city home, such as gas ranges, kitchen cabinets, shades, screens, etc. Built during a period of high costs, this structure pays a fair return on the investment, which was $2,410 for each family, plus $154 for land and development, including sidewalks, hedges and other planting. The next development, shown at the head of this article, consists of 87 row type houses of single and two-family sizes, affording homes for 139 families. Twenty-four of these apartments have two rooms and bath; 40 have three rooms and bath; 47 have four rooms and bath, and 28 have five rooms and bath. The ground plan shows that this tract has been laid out on the lines endorsed by the experts in community planning. It has its own playgrounds, a large one for the older children and a smaller one for the younger children, and two stores, page 731, one of which is now being run on the co-operative plan for the sale of foodstuffs. The tract is situated near several large factories and the illustrations tell better than words the appearance of the houses. Housekeeping apparatus such as gas hot-water heaters, gas ranges, kitchen cabinets, good bathrooms, set tubs, shades and screens are included with every apartment. The houses, built of brick, with slatg roofs, are set near the street line, so as to es much rd0om a3 possible for attractive back y Hedges enclose these yards, the entrances being marked by concrete posts. The big playground is found in the center of the large quadrangle, and is being equipped with the usual playground apparatus. The front of the March 21, 1918 houses is being planted with shrubbery to add to the attractiveness. The illustrations show the sim- plicity of design of the entrances. This simplicity of design and lack of tinsel ornateness characterizes the interior as well as the exterior of all the houses erected by the company. The houses in the large quadrangle, comprising about 60 per cent of this development, are heated by hot water supplied from the power plant of the nearby factory of one of the interested manufac- turers. The other houses are heated by furnaces, one furnace for each apartment. Each apartment has a separate front and back entrance and a sep- arate cellar. These houses have been so planned that each room has sunlight during some part of the day and each apartment has a separate piazza in the rear, opening from the kitchen. A service drive in the rear of the houses brings all deliveries to the back doors, but so much attention has been paid to the landscape features of the courts, playgrounds and back yards that the grounds in the rear of the houses are much more attractive than the front approaches. Although there is the unusually large number of 21 families to the acre, the rows of houses are so skillfully located that there is no crowding. The company furnishes a man as gardener and re- pair man, and the leases state that the company shall have the right to inspect each apartment monthly. A record of each inspection is made monthly on a slip, here reproduced, and submitted to the manager. The apartments heated by hot-air furnaces rent as follows: Two rooms, $15; three rooms, $18.50; four rooms, $24; five rooms, $29. For the portion heated by hot water a variable charge is made on the basis of the number of rooms, with a maximum monthly charge for winter, a minimum charge for summer and an intermediate charge for spring and fall. Suburban Developments Under the direction of one of the prominent architects of the country, the company has erected THE IRON AGE 731 a group of houses at Fairfield and another group at Lordship in the town of Stratford. Both of these developments are in easy reach of the industrial sections of the city. At the Fairfield tract, 60 acres in extent, of which a little is waste land, the plans call for a development for 300 families, about eight families to the acre on the land actually utilized. At the present time about six acres have been de- veloped with homes for 36 families. These houses are of brick with slate roofs and have five or six rooms with bath. Later a few seven-room houses may possibly be built. Most of the houses are single dwellings, but in suitable locations are placed several semi-detached and duplex two-family houses. The single houses and the semi-detached double houses are of the one and one-half story type. Six different exterior designs have been evolved to break up any appearance of monotony. All the sanitary fixtures and household apparatus that have been made standard by the company are found in these homes. Heating is by hot-air furnaces and the tract has all the public service conveniences. The houses are laid out with latticed laundry yards and at least 50 per cent of each lot is avail- able for gardens. The company is planting the front of each house and is taking every advantage offered for good landscape work. In connection with the laundry yard there has been built a skele- ton garage which can be completed for about $100. At both the suburban developments there is a great demand for garages, as the highly paid workers of the city have become to a surprising extent owners of motor cars. This same development has brought a big problem to the factories as at many of the big plants the entire neighborhood is cluttered with automobiles during working hours—cars that be- long to mechanics. The plans for the further development of the tract call for a community setting similar to that familiar to all who have visited the typical New England village. There will be a village green with locations about it for stores, and a schoolhouse built in a big park area with plenty of playground room | Along the Winding Way of Alanson Road and the Entrance to Quadrangle and Stores at Connecticut Avenue Development - ni Ni] Fame ia ; = i 732 for athletic sports. The company plans to retain ownership of the stores and the houses immediately surrounding the park so that this portion of the development can be kept up to high standard. The usual restrictions have been applied to these sub- urban tracts. The development at Lordship, an attractive sea- shore part of the town of Stratford, is designed to attract those who can afford to pay a little higher rent. The type and design of the houses is similar to that at Fairfield and the same community plan- ning is evident, although the tract is not large enough to call for the village features that are planned at the other development. Ten six-room and four five-room single houses and three semi- THE IRON AGE March 21, 1918 detached two-family houses with five rooms to each apartment have been erected. Hot-air furnaces are used for heating, and in addition each home hag an open fireplace. The rents at Lordship range from $27 to $37 and at Fairfield from $27 to $32.50. Tentative plans of the company call for further developments to meet the demand of common labor- ers for houses renting at about $16 a month and for a suburban development which is sometimes termed the “permanent camp” type, usually a three or four- room house which can be built at a cost of approxi- mately $1,000 for the house alone. This cheap rural house with some land about it has proved to be highly attractive to families of the Slav, Hun- garian and Italian races. The Manufacturer’s Part in Solving the Housing Problem When a city grows at the rapid pace of Bridge- port because of an industrial boom, it draws to its factories a large percentage of so-called floaters. There is a steady stream of men and women coming and going if industrial conditions or housing con- ditions are faulty. The labor turnover thus be- comes the urgent problem of employers. Married men of mature age with children in the schools form but a small minority of the floating element. It is the young single men or the young married men who flock to cities like Bridgeport in response to the inducements of high wages and steady em- ployment. In such periods of high wage returns the number of marriages shows a great increase. It is these young people of the honeymoon period that Bridgeport is most anxious to attach permanently to the city’s working force. It is this need that has brought about the combination of manufac- turers, public service companies and bankers which is trying to attack and solve this problem with all the assistance that the new forces of housing ex- perts can offer. They are trying to bring to the study of proper housing the same scientific princi- ples that have made their businesses profitable. A little more than ten years ago the movement to let light into the factories began to gain force. Gradually factory walls have become largely glass. Good sanitary fixtures, locker rooms, shower baths, restaurants, rest rooms for women workers, wel- fare work of all kinds gradually became a fixed and essential part of the factory program. Safety and hospital work came into prominence. Factory conditions and plant environment grew into higher standards. It mattered not whether the employer undertook this from philanthropic or economic A Lordship House in the Summer. This seashore development has met the demands of those who can afford to pay rents ranging from $27 to $37 a month motives, it was soon discovered that it had a striking economic effect. Particularly did it reduce the labor turnover and the lost time of employees. The cost of labor turnover began to be studied and as a result of this the new professions of employment manager and welfare manager came into being. These studies began to reach out into the home environment of the worker and a new subject of economic interest was brought out into the light. Out of this came the housing movement. For the material discussed in the remaining tair-rail own-spoute creens ndowe Floors ate roof Hardware ouldines wmitters }TacKsS Sreacs loose teimoy “team Steins by Dirt taine by “ater - Cp. Flush Valves Rath ms Stove Lavatory Hot Yater Tank Tub and Bibs né@ Bibs Laundry Tubs rates Furnsce Pipes Revisters Radiator valves. The Inspection Sheet of the Bridgeport Housing Co. Items to be reported on are contained also on the back of the sheet portion of this article the writer is indebted to the manager of the Bridgeport Housing Company, Mr. Ham, who has made a profound study of the needs of Bridgeport, needs which do not differ materially from those of most industrial centers. It is not economical for the newly married couple to live in a six-room house. The usual solution to meet this lack of economy lies in the renting of rooms. This produces ynhealthy social conditions. Speculative builders have persistently built larger houses than needed so that the rent from excess rooms would help to pay back at an early period the money in- vested. Under the crowded conditions of Bridge- port and other cities, many of these excess rooms have been rented for light housekeeping, for which they are poorly equipped. This results in the ten- ants buying largely from delicatessen stores and other places where prices are exceedingly high, producing an uneconomical manner of living and most unsatisfactory social conditions. Out of a thorough study of the social conditions of employees, Bridgeport has been led to develop both the group type of house and the individual dwelling. The young man and his wife will be satisfied with two or three rooms and bath if the apartment is located in the proper environment. March 21, 1918 THE IRON AGE 733 This House, Erected in Four Weeks, Shows the Possibilities of the Semi-detached House. It was divided into four school- rooms and 150 children are in attendance. Later the house will be remodeled into two dwellings. As an emergency measure this school has been a great success. In the further development of this tract the plans call for a modern school building in a large park area In the use of these small apartments the young man finds contentment and economy and thus gains the ability to save for a larger home as his family increases. Taking the working population as a whole, the greatest demand is for four rooms, but there is also a big demand for three rooms. It is not practicable to build detached dwellings of three or four rooms, but for the larger families it is very desirable to build six-room detached houses. It has been proved in Bridgeport that the group houses of two to five-room apartments are very attractive to the workers and that they pay a slightly larger return on the investment. The manufacturers’ interest in the problem lies in its effect upon his labor turnover. A consid- erable part of this turnover now is due to unsatis- factory home conditions, the uneconomical living in a house too large or in a portion of a house too small for full equipment. Pride in home has almost dropped out of city life, but it is an important part of the social life of the country to-day and in the Americanization of foreign workers and the stabili- zation of factory labor. The city which builds the most attractively and furnishes the most economi- cal home will reflect in the factory the greatest reduction in labor turnover. It is distinctly a manu- facturers’ problem. Individual manufacturers, here and there, have attacked this problem with vigor. In Bridgeport the manufacturers have banded together in a com- munity effort. No part of the development under way is for the exclusive benefit of any one industrial plant. The tenant may work where he will. In agreeing that the time has come for the development of housing in an industrial center on a more com- prehensive scale, the stockholders of the Bridgeport Housing Co. are attempting to develop the home units in sizes that will fit all stages of family life. They are building permanent homes, a phase of this matter which will be discussed more fully later in this article. They are trying to establish a standard of homes that will help to limit the ac- tivities of the unscrupulous financier or contractor who builds the “skin” houses that bring financial woe to many a workman and produce the fire and social risks of this type of house. Most readers can bring to mind some cities where this type of building makes a blot upon the landscape and con- stitutes a menace to the city’s welfare. Where Shall Capital Be Secured? It is evident that a large source of invested capital of the future will come in the form of small investments from the working classes. Out of the national thrift movements of to-day will come a large measure of education that will make our work- men approach the thrift standards of the French working classes. Out of the large earnings will come some hoarding of liquid funds. The invest- ment on a thoroughly business-like and honest basis of capital in a development of well-built homes in a carefully restricted environment will afford the workman one of the best forms of investment that can be offered him. A large proportion of the initial cost can be divided into shares or bonds and the workmen can readily be taught to invest in these shares or bonds. The Clark bill calling for a housing appropriation of $50,000,000 (before Con- gress as this is written) will furnish a stimulus to industrial housing projects which will bring this whole housing movement into prominence. Manufacturers, because of their great economic interest in better homes, should take over such elements of risk as may enter into the scheme and should underwrite or otherwise guarantee the bonds to be sold so that the deserving workmen who de- sire to take advantage of this method of saving may have a secure investment with the speculative element eliminated. The permanent investment plan only goes with the permanent dwelling in a housing project. It is fair to the new iuvestor to give him the same opportunities which older in- vestors always demand, namely, liquid character of the investment. The investment must be im- mediately convertible into cash at any time. Bonds in such a project—home bonds, they may well be called—can be made liquid if they represent approx- imately 75 per cent of the cost of dwelling and are secured by a sinking fund which will retire the bonds in a number of years consistent with the life of the dwelling. It is the employers’ duty to see that such build- ing is done with the economies that come from con- struction in a wholesale way and that it is carried out with the same intelligence and high principles as are introduced into the erection and equipment of a factory or power plant. A plan founded on this sound basis enables the more youthful families to save, while living in the group dwellings, toward the individual dwelling they will want when the children of the family become of the school age. It has many protective features that excel the co- operative bank plan now popular with the working classes. Financing the Permanent Dwelling Permanency of structure and permanency of style are prime essentials in any such housing 734 scheme. The houses so far built by the Bridgeport Housing Co. have been constructed of brick, a favorite New England building material. Concrete may be used in some part of the later development, but the scarcity of architects and artisans familiar with concrete construction is a limiting factor now. Simplicity of line and adherence to styles that have long been satisfactory in New England mark the work of the architects. Styles that have persisted through a period of more than 100 years are likely to be good fifty years from now and that is the aim of this development. In England projects of this kind are frequently planned to be written off in 80 years, such is the permanency of the construction. The Bridgeport houses are so built as to permit of extending the period of amortization over at least 25 years, and over a much longer time if desired. The need for a prompt return, that is usually a part of purely speculative building, is eliminated. The use of permanent materials, careful construction and long- term restrictions will prevent a probability of the property’s going back in value to any marked extent —indeed, the growth of the community will prob- ably enhance the value of these carefully selected tracts and the homes thereon. At present the homes are all rented and a long waiting list gives evidence of their desirability. As the company expands its operations it will sell the detached houses on some installment plan, incor- porating therein such features, like group insur- ance, as have been determined to be of mutual value to buyer and seller. Much consideration is being given to the plan of selling bonds of the enterprise to tenants and other workmen which can later be exchanged into equities in the detached homes. It is believed that this plan will prove so attractive to the workingmen of the city that a large fund can be created to expand the work of the company. If the investment is amortized on a basis of paying 5 per cent for unpaid balances, it requires a payment of $110 a year on each $1,000 invested to write off the principal in thirteen years. If the time is extended to twenty-six years it requires but $70 a year. If houses are so built that there is no decrease in their value in the longer period, there Ieven in the Winter the THE IRON Lordship AGE March 21, 1918 is no necessity to amortize at a more rapid rate. During this war period all the functions of social relations are being tested. The classes and the masses are studying the problems arising out of the stress of rapidly changing conditions. The broad-minded manufacturer looks askance at an economic condition or habit that makes the worker pay out from 20 to 25 per cent of his wage for rent from which he gets no permanent return. All over the country the movement toward the Americaniza- tion of foreign-born workers is gaining strength. The effect of acquiring title to real estate is prob- ably one of the most forceful influences for the betterment of the workers and for the upbuilding of a higher civilization. If we have reached a con- dition in our social life where one class must take care of another class we have reached a danger point. Our employers should see that such a con- dition be made but a temporary one. The people must pay for the houses that are to solve the home problem of industrial workers—but the workers cannot pay all cash. The investing class must enter into the problem with its funds for a time. The wage earner can pay over a long period of years proper charges for the proper house. Otherwise his wage is wrong and will be corrected. We have taught the worker to invest in national bonds. If we can teach the worker to continue to keep on buying bonds, we can help him to own his home. It becomes the manifest duty of the employer to underwrite these bonds and to guarantee their security. The duty and the responsibility of the employer can be expressed in three simple state- ments: 1. The capitalists who now have the money of the country in their own hands can dictate whether the class of home owners shall be enlarged or not, unless manufacturer and laborer co-operate to establish a new order of things which will eliminate landlordism. 2. We are in achanging period of history in this country and citizenship is a supreme demand of the future. 3. It is unfair to the man who has been taught to buy Government bonds to offer him a share in anything that is not safe and liquid. Development Has Its Charm Electric Furnace Installation Precautions to Be Observed in Promotion Work and the Selection of the Unit Adaptability to Currents—Grouping Accessory Equipment BY THOMAS ROBSON HAY* of recent years has been the progress made in the development and use of the electric furnace, especially for producing high-grade steels. This development has been due primarily to the pos- sibility and ease of producing high-quality steels at costs much lower than with the crucible process; and also to the possibility of producing steel that is generally superior in grade to converter and open- hearth steels. ()*: of the most significant industrial growths Increasing Use of the Electric Furnace On July 1, 1913, THE IRON AGE reports that there were only 19 electric steel furnaces in use in the United States and three in Canada. It estimates that on Jan. 1, 1918, there were 233 furnaces in this country and 36 in Canada employed in the pro- duction of electric steel. In the period, Jan. 1, 1917, to Jan. 1, 1918, the total for the entire world in- creased from 471 to 733. Accurate estimates and tables of electric furnace installations are out of the question, so numerous have they become, and more furnaces are continually being planned for. Figures for the Central Powers are, of course, liable to error, as there are no accurate data available. The foregoing, however, will give some conception of the growth, accelerated by the war’s insistent and continuous demands for increasing quantities of high grade steel. The electric furnace, like the electric motor, in a great measure owes its successful commercial and economical use to the comparatively recent and rapid growth of modern power distribution systems. With but few exceptions, the power for operating these furnaces is purchased from the central station whose power supply is universally polyphase at 25 or 60 cycles, with delivery at any voltage needed. In furnaces of small capacity, say up to one ton in capacity, single-phase service is permissible. In the large furnaces polyphase supply, involving the use of more electrodes or current conductors, is neces- sary, as it has been well established that as the capacity of the furnace is increased the number of electrodes should also be increased. There are certain very good reasons why any increase in arc voltage over that nominally used (100 volts) should be avoided. The principal advantages of the electric furnace over other methods of making steel are: 1. It economically produces the highest tem- perature obtainable. 2. It offers a ready and easy means of exact temperature control. 3. Any temperature or treatment by slags is possible without contamination of the charge through gases and other impurities. 4. Fusion is effected in a perfectly neutral atmosphere. 5. More rapid steel melting can be accom- plished with the electric furnace than with other types available. Primarily the electric furnace is a refining me- *Duquesne Light Co., Pittsburgh. 73! dium and is not intended to and probably never will compete with the blast furnace for smelting iron ores, although with cheap fuel it has been and is being used to reduce highly refractory metals from the oxides. Without exception it is the best means of producing high-quality steel that is both fine and homogeneous. Adaptability to a Wide Range of Current The are furnace may use either direct or alter- nating current, but for commercial reasons alter- nating current is almost exclusively employed, and for the same reason the use of three-phase current supply is becoming more general than that of single phase. Transmission voltage may be of any value, as it is transformed at the furnace to the voltage required for the melting or heating operation. As the are is simply an electrical resistance, the work- ing voltage at the furnace terminals depends on the length of are desired. If the arc is to be confined between the bath and the end of an electrode of con- siderable area, this arc should be as short as pos- sible, so as to reduce heat radiation to the roof and walls. This is accomplished by the smothering ac- tion of the electrode, and at the same time the carbon electrode is kept out of the molten bath. For instance, the usual voltage between electrodes on the Heroult furnace, with two arcs in series, is 50, and this value may be varied about 10 per cent either way, depending on conditions and results desired. Separate transformers for each phase are preferable to a polyphase transformer, as trouble on one transformer in a polyphase connection would not mean a complete shut-down, with consequent loss of all or a part of the charge in the furnace. Single-phase transformers for a polyphase installa- tion, instead of one polyphase transformer, wil) mean a slightly more expensive installation. It is the usual practice for the transformers to be fur- nished as an integral part of the complete furnace installation, and the choice between these systems of current transforming need not particularly con- cern the central station, except insofar as a break- down of the polyphase transformer will result in a complete loss of revenue until repaired. The electric furnace is a desirable load for the central station, because it takes a large number of kilowatt-hours at one point with long hours of usage at a comparatively high load factor from the central station after the connection is once made and can be adjusted in its operation so as to be very largely an off-peak load. Cautions in Promoting an Installation When the use of an electric furnace is being considered there are three important considerations which should be given most careful attention: (1) Ample finances. (2) Proper conception of the function of the electric furnace. (3) Correct de- cision as to the proper size and type of furnace. Many contemplating the installation of an elee- tric furnace go into the matter without having a clear conception of the capital needed to make the operation a success. The result is that the initially St 736 available funds are often exhausted before much more than a start has been made. The use of an electric furnace involves the purchase of not only the furnace itself and the building needed to house it, but also, among other items, it must necessitate the purchase of expensive auxiliary electrical equip- ment, such as electrode control equipment, furnace transformers, copper buses and cables, large high- tension oil circuit breakers, transformers for oper- ating auxiliary equipment, necessary recording meters, etc. Facilities for proper charging of the raw materials to the furnace and for economical and expeditious disposal of the slag formed must also be provided for. In some cases where the elec- tric furnace is to be used in a foundry already in operation, it may be necessary to rearrange the entire foundry floor layout to enable prompt and economical pouring and in order to reduce to a minimum the time and labor costs of pouring. One most important feature, often overlooked or ne- glected, is the necessity to have sufficient capital in hand, not only to cover the first cost of installa- tion, but also to provide a surplus sufficient to enable the operator to have on hand enough raw stock to permit operation for at least three months. Over- head charges continue whether the plant operates or not. Expert Knowledge Essential in Selecting Furnace A correct conception of what an electric furnace w.il do is a prerequisite to a proper selection of the furnace, both as to size and type. In many cases electric furnaces are used, largely through miscon- ception, to do work that can be performed more cheaply and expeditiously by other means. The increase in the use of the electric furnace has been due partly to the demand for a high grade of steel, partly to the enthusiastic and energetic efforts of those engaged in the development and sale of electric furnaces, partly to a desire on the part of those whose business is increasing to try out the electric furnace, and partly to the desire of every foundryman to be as well or better equipped than his competitor. Often one electric furnace installa- tion has led to others. The size and type of the furnace installed will be determined largely by volume of output, antic- ipated increase in sales due to better product, pour- ing facilities, floor space available, and other related matters. The type of furnace will generally be de- termined by the production process and the furnace will usually be of the polyphase type. After the decision to go ahead has been made and the furnace selected, the next matters to be dis- posed of relate to (1) selection of consulting engi neer, (2) correct and proper electrical and mechan- ical installation, (3) expert attendance. Calling in the Consulting Engineer The selection of a consulting engineer is most important. One should be chosen who is qualified by training and experience to advise correctly on the matter in hand. He should preferably have had actual experience in operating the electric fur- nace, and he should be thoroughly versed in the metallurgical, as well as the electrical features, of its operation. In some cases the consulting engi; neer has attempted to advise regarding such instal- lations when he was as ignorant of the matter in hand as was his client. The commercial and operating success or failure of any electric furnace installation, providing the requirements mentioned have been properly ful- THE IRON AGE March 21, 1918 filled, will be due in a great measure to proper electrical and mechanical installation. Details of Installation The installation of the furnace and its auxiliary equipment, including transformers, switches, bus- bar structure and connections, electrode regulating and metering equipments, etc., should be made as a unit and should be compact and flexible in assembly. The transformers, switches and metering equipment should be as close to the furnace as possible, in order to reduce the length and amount of copper re- quired. All auxiliary equipment should be protected from splashing metal, fires, etc., by the interven- tion of a brick wall between it and the furnace. The wall will at the same time act as a support for the heavy busbar connections. Such an arrange- ment will not affect the cost of installation to any appreciable extent. Another reason for a compact installation is to reduce the amount of external reactance in the circuit. This reactance, which is in addition to the inherent transformer reactance, is caused by the presence of large masses of steel and iron in close proximity to the electrical circuit. It acts to reduce the usable electrical input to the furnace by decreasing the power factor of the electrical cir- cuit. This in turn very appreciably affects the amount of heat that can be developed in the fur- nace, causes a reduction in the output, a deteriora- tion in quality, and an increase in production cost. Particular attention should also be paid to the accommodations for prompt and economical charg- ing of materials and for disposing of slag. If the charging facilities are not adequate to insure prompt handling, this deficiency is very distinctly reflected in the amount of power required, the time per heat and the cost per unit of output. Improper and awkward means of slag disposal also affect these items. The principal factors are lost time and excessive labor and maintenance costs. Expert attendance is a prime essential to suc- cessful electric furnace operation. Two furnaces installed properly and in accordance with the most up-to-date practice may yet differ widely in the re- sults obtained. The average steel foundry in the past has not been equipped and organized to produce highly sat- isfactory results from a metallurgical standpoint. The foundryman uses steel merely as an incident in his business. The older methods of producing steel have been to a large extent “rule of thumb.” The operation of an electric furnace can be reduced to routine practice with satisfactory results, but this will not be accomplished without careful supervision by skilled metallurgical management. It is not pos- sible for the average foundryman to buy an elec- tric furnace, set it up and start it, like a molding machine. Steel making has its annoyances no mat- ter what method may be used, and it should be realized clearly that the finer the apparatus, the more skillfully must it be operated to attain to excellency of results. It is something like photog- raphy. Almost any one can obtain pretty fair re- sults with an ordinary camera. An unusually fine camera will permit of much better results, but the camera itself is only the tool. The photographer must be highly skilled to get the best results out of the finest camera. An Aid to Small Manufacturer The electric furnace is a good revenue producer, and in the case of the majority of installations, if March 21, 1918 not all, it represents a proper and highly desirable user of central station service, not only on account of the generally favorable operating characteris- tics, but also on account of the great expense that the user would be put to in installing a plant of adequate capacity sufficient to meet all con- ditions. For the small manufacturers the use of an electric furnace for the manufacture of ingot steel enables competition at minimum first cost and expense of operation, when using central sta- tion service. It puts such plants on practically an equal manufacturing basis with larger plants hav- ing greater resources in men and money. The use of the electric furnace when taking power from central station lines may convert the usually idle stand-by equipment of the central station into rev- enue producing equipment, when such conversion is desirable and advisable, as the off-peak requirements generally specified in contracts for this class of service will make this equipment available in case of need. Where any considerable number of electric fur- naces are being operated on one central station sys- tem, the power company and the consumer should co-operate to the extent of adjusting the starting periods in such a manner that the several furnace units will be put into operation at different times, so far as possible, thus producing steadier condi- tions and enabling the central station to handle the resulting load at the least cost and with minimum disturbance, and therefore at the least cost to the consumer. Low-Priced Current Now Available The electric furnace, in the several different types, is now standardized and has come to stay, and that central stations generally are recog- nizing this fact is evidenced by a willingness to re- duce rates to a point that makes it economically profitable to the manufacturer to substitute such equipment for other that may be in use. This re- duction in rates to a mutually profitable basis, to- gether with the continued improvements and re- finements in the design and operation of the elec- tric furnace, will continue to promote the use of such equipment, taking power from central station lines. In proportion as the central station, the fur- nace manufacturer and the furnace user co-operate in adjusting conditions to a mutually satisfactory basis, in just such a proportion will this compara- tively new field of central station activity continue to be developed and enlarged. Girod Electric Steel Plants in France The American Industrial Commission which went to France in 1916 visited one of the largest electric steel plants in that country—the works of the Com- pagnie des Forges et Aciéries Electriques Paul Girod and the works of the Société Electro-Metallurgique Procédés Paul Girod, which are affiliated establish- ments at Ugine in Savoy (in the “white coal” region). The first of these is equipped for making electric steel castings up to 25 tons. The six furnaces that were in operation have an aggregate charge capacity of 35 tons. Two more furnaces were under construction, one of 2 tons, and one of 12 tons, which will make the aggre- gate charge capacity 47 tons. Each furnace can be used for making at least three heats per day and each heat requires about 6% hr. With the six furnaces already in use there was no difficulty in making 3000 tons of electric steel per month, or an average of 100 tons per day. The Jacobson Machine Mfg. Co., Warren, Pa., has changed its name to the Warren Machine Products Co. THE IRON AGE 737 Venturi Meter for Centrifugal Blower In a paper presented before the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at its annual meeting in New York, Dr. L. C. Loewenstein, engineer General Electric Co., West Lynn, Mass., described adaptations of the venturi meter and the impact float method of measur- ing air to the regulation of air delivered to blast fur- naces by centrifugal compressors. The following is from his paper: Both the venturi meter and the impact float methods of constant-volume governing applied to centrifugal compressors delivering air to blast furnaces have re- sulted in improving the regulation of the furnaces. An ordinary venturi meter in which the entire quantity of air flowing must be drawn through a sufficiently small throat to give a suitable drop of pressure would involve considerable power loss. To reduce this power loss a multiple venturi has been devised, consisting of —~ meine ga | —_— — ll ee Dy PEC I, JON | oF FLOW i 8 > 23" > * ~ 5 dns he : S —— es a ° ~ a liam : S. —s OM 7° ur ~ ee 4 ‘ = i _ __—$— $n ba! a } - “Ue | i a Li naaae Y r : a S Triple Venturi Meter Used for Measuring and Regulating Discharge of a Turbo-blower a number of concentric venturis. Referring to the fig- ure showing a multiple venturi, a very small part of the total air flow passes through the small or inner ven- turi. At the throat of this small venturi the largest pressure drop is obtained. A larger quantity of air flows around the inner venturi and through the second venturi, but the bulk of the air flow is around the sec- ond and through the third or outer venturi. The loss of power in metering the air through this triple ven- turi, when passing 45,000 cu. ft. of standard air per minute is 0.18 hp. for the smaller or inner venturi, 1.06 hp. for the middle venturi and 31.38 hp. for the outer or largest venturi, making a total power loss through the entire triple venturi of 32.62 hp. The largest drop of pressure in this triple venturi meter occurs in the throat of the inner or smallest venturi. With a flow of 45,000 cu. ft. of standard air per minute, the calculated drop is 7.28 in. of mercury (3.57 lb. per sq. in.) pressure. With air entering the meter from atmosphere the throat pressure will be negative (suction). With varying flow of air through the venturi the suction at the throat of the inner ven- turi will also vary; and this varying suction can be used for governing the driver of a centrifugal compres- sor so as to hold a definite constant volume of air flow per minute. Labor Troubles at St. Louis A number of small strikes in plants handling Gov- ernment work in St. Louis have been started during the past two weeks, notably in the Wagner Electric Co.’s plant, that of the St. Louis Car Co. and also chemical plants making acids, etc., for the Government. At the Wagner plant, which is making heavy shells and also other equipment between 1000 and 2000 men have gone out. At the St. Louis Car Co.’s plant, which is mak- ing gun carriages and is about to begin the assembling of airplanes, about 600 men are disaffected. At the chemical plants, similar numbers of men are out or threatening to go out. The strikes have developed very suddenly and have been put in effect in a man ner to indicate lack of the organization necessary to formulate specific demands and present them in a formal manner. The consequence is a belief that the strikes have been started by influences hostile to the Government and investigations are under way to de- termine whether this is the fact. Cost-Plus-Profit Contract Is Commended Council of National Defense Proposes It with Safeguards for Large tion Work Major WASHINGTON, March 19.—Notwithstanding the fact that Congress has come to look with disfavor upon the so-called cost-plus-profit form of contract and has even gone so far as to initiate prohibitory legislation in connection with the $50,000,000 housing project for munition plants embodied in the Clark bill, the Council of National Defense continues to regard this form of agreement as affording adequate protection for the Government