The Iron Age 1918-05-23: Vol 101 Iss 21

HIE rh _ New York, May 23, 1918 VAY. Or miow. Ulanaay TABLE - CONTENTS - - - 1355 ADVERTISING INDEX - - - 396 \ ’ . . } ‘ W ad Section .. ~-an4 Busit On THE IRON AGE May 23, 1918 ST (ile HED W sila i, PINDUSTRIES AND TODAY WE Magia PO RS ea eae Tel es 7 bs PENSAR eis dae ee Gad ALCIED ASU : ESTABLISHED 1855 THE IRON AGE New York, May 23, 1918 VOL. 101: No. 2! Lift. Trucks Cut Transportation Costs Raw Materials, Ladles and Finished Product Handled by Electric and Hand Types at Modern Foundry Co.—An Interesting Coreroom Layout of the Modern Foundry Co’s. plant at Oakley, a Cincinnati suburb, are considered respon- sible for an estimated saving in labor of 50 per cent and over in some departments. Electric and hand power industrial lift trucks with several different types of platforms, which in some instances were specially designed to accommodate the material being transported, have supplanted the former in- dustrial railway cars and their attendant system of tracks. Even wheelbarrows ordinarily used for cleaning up have been discarded. The rearrange- ment of a foundry while operating at full capacity is a matter that requires considerable foresight, and before making the changes described in this article every detail was planned so that there was a minimum amount of lost time and expense in- volved. After several months’ operation the results have proved the success of the new plan. Ret thea changes in the transportation system Core Sand Is Delivered by the Overhead Monorail Transportation System to the Different Bins Cénter of the Room from Which It Flows Directly in Front of the Coremaker 1321 The first change was made in the conveying of pig iron and scrap from the storage yard to the cupola platform, which was described in THE IRON AGE Dec. 13, 1917. The materials comprising the charge are loaded on platforms, and weighed by special scales mounted on the electric lift truck used for conveying the platforms to the elevator serving the charging floor of the cupolas. The use of these platforms, it has been found, facilitates the quick handling of the pig iron and scrap and also enables the workmen to keep the charging floor free from litter. A hand lift truck constructed by the Stueb- ing Truck Co., Cincinnati, conveys the loaded plat- forms along the charging floor to the doors of the cupolas. However, the largest saving in time and labor is in transporting the molten metal from the cupolas to different parts of the foundry. Some of this metal is carried to side bays of the foundry 300 ft. in the Square Space ir as Needed 999 OD nt tt PASTE : [ PASTE —_ ae ae = OVENS The Core Sand Storage Bins Are Arranged on the Inside of a Squ.ai Space While the Operator's Bencl Are Located Outside distant from the cupolas. Formerly it was delivered in buggy ladles operating on industrial railway tracks. Deliveries to one section of the foundry necessitated the passing over three turntables that not only caused considerable loss in time, but fre- quently the buggy ladle was derailed, thus causing an extra delay. It required two men to push each buggy ladle along these industrial tracks, and as four ladles were ordinarily used, from six to eight men alone were needed for the delivery of the metal. Under the present arrangement one man operating an electric lift truck takes the place of these work- men and delivers the metal to any part of the foun- dry in less than half the time it formerly required. The time saved the molders is also an item to be con- sidered. To make use of this system of transporta- tion it was necessary to remove the industrial tracks and construct runways of Jennison-Wright creo- soted lug wood blocks laid on concrete through the foun- dry. By having all the necessary material on hand this change required com- paratively little time. The metal platforms car- rying the buggy ladles were made by the Modern Foundry Co., and are mounted on IRON AGE May 23, 1918 truck used for conveying these platforms has a lift ing capacity of 4000 lb. It was built by the Auto matic Transportation Co., Buffalo, N. Y., from a special design of C. E. Ogden, the company’s sales engineer at Cincinnati. In addition to the saving in time and labor mentioned, injuries caused by the slopping over of metal on the workmen who pushed the buggy ladles formerly used have been entirely climinated. As will be noted, the operator of the e‘ectric truck is completely protected. A large number of wooden platforms are pro- vided on which the cores are transported to the different molder’s floors and the castings are also loaded on these platforms and carried to the clean- ing rooms by the electric trucks. In cleaning up the foundry after a heat has been poured, the elec- tric truck system again comes into play and saves no inconsiderable amount of time and labor. All scrap, such as sprues and gates, is loaded on the platforms and carried from the cleaning room and the foundry, directly back to the elevator serving the cupola platform. This last operation in the handling of scrap is estimated to effect a saving in labor of nearly 60 per cent over the previous method, as formerly it was frequently necessary to handle this scrap four times. Adjacent to the Modern Foundry Co. is the plant of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co., to which a large number of castings are delivered each day. Formerly it required a team of horses and one man to make these deliveries and also a second handling of the casting was involved. Under the present plan, as soon as the castings are sandblasted they are placed on platforms and picked up by an electric truck and conveyed to any part of the plant of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co., and placed in posi- tion near where they may be wanted. A new building to house the core department and pro- vide a space for sand storage was recently erected. This building is of brick and steel construction, 85 x 200 ft., and has a second story at the north end that measures 50 x 85 ft. A Lupton roof of the Pond truss construction casters, this provision mak- ing it possible for the plat- type covers the building and insures sufficient light and forms to be moved short dis- tances by hand whenever necessary. The electric lift the Hand or Storage Battery Type the The Ladles, Heavy Cores and the Racks in Use in the Small Core Department Are All Handled by ventilation. On the west side cf the building there are four Ohio Blower Co.’s core ovens Lift Trucks of Either The operator of the ladle truck is not endangered by metal slopping over the sides of ladle May 23, 1918 for baking the heavy cores. Specially designed metal platforms were constructed by the Modern Foundry Co. for handling the cores and these plat- forms are conveyed into the core ovens by a 5-ton Stuebing hand lift truck. In this way a large sav- ing is effected, as while one set of cores is being baked green cores can be loaded on additional <g> K-30 re -=---- 30 - ew |] A J = Ba —_ R ' EVIL TID TIP , POLLO LLL LLL LODO LL LLLP 7 Details of the Bench Used by the Coremakers platforms that are wheeled into the ovens as soon as the finished ones are taken out. This results in an almost continuous operation. At the north end of this building the sand stor- age bins are located and are arranged so that sand is unloaded directly into them from railroad cars. A Simpson sand mixer of sufficient capacity to take care of the coreroom’s needs is located near these sand bins. Sand is conveyed to different parts of the coreroom in boxes mounted on platforms. These particular platforms are designed so that they can be picked up by the lift truck either on the end or side. Three core ovens are located on the second floor where the small cores are made. These cores are loaded on steel racks having eight shelves and are transported into the ovens by Stuebing hand lift trucks. When the baking operation has been com- pleted the racks with their loads of cores are brought out by lift trucks and delivered at the places where they are needed. This arrangement obviates the usual double handling of cores. In the second story, where the light cores are made, a number of female operatives are employed. Special uniforms insuring safety and sanitation are furnished by the company. This class of labor has been found to be very satisfactory. The company has made it a special point to reduce their work as much as possible, and in carrying out this idea a novel sand bin arrangement is provided that elimi- nates the necessity of a core maker shoveling up sand from the floor or in losing time by having it delivered in the usual way. Instead, as will be noticed, the sand flows directly in front of the core maker as used. This arrangement is made possible by locating the operators’ benches around a square space in the middle of the room. The stock of sand is supplied by a large electric bucket elevator that hauls the material up from the mixer on the ground floor and delivers it by an overhead monorail track to the various sand bins on the inside of the inclo- sure for the coremakers. To facilitate the work of the female operatives further, all of the core plates used in this department are made of aluminum. This reduces the weight to about one-third that of iron or steel plates. A service and rest room equipped with lockers, shower baths, toilets, wash sinks and hot plate for light cooking is conveniently located on second floor for the female operatives. A separate entrance to the department is provided for the women. The foundry is well provided with overhead traveling cranes, and although formerly these were THE IRON no» 323 AGE barely able to take care of the foundry’s needs, since the installation of the lift truck system the company has surplus crane service, which condition is highly desirable in an up-to-date jobbing foun- dry. No trouble has been experienced with the creosoted wood block paving on account of fires due to the spilling of hot metal. Such small fires as do occur are quickly snuffed out with a handful of sand before they have caused any damage. The Modern Foundry Co. in the past two years, through a number of up-to-date installations, has increased its capacity to a point where it is one of the largest machine molding jobbing foundries in Ohio. Problem of the Foreign Worker The vexed question of the foreign worker in mu- nitions and ordnance plants and in contributory foun- dries and mines was taken up by Helen Bacon, di- rector of the Mayor’s Americanization Committee, of Cleveland, at the national employment man- agers’ conference held at Rochester, N. Y., May 9, 10 and 11. The speaker maintained that many employers failed to recognize that a large proportion of the men whom they classified under the generic name of foreigners were members of subject races of Austria who, if the real aims of the war were explained to them, so that they realized that their work was of value in aiding in the overthrow of their hereditary enemy, would throw themselves into it with all the vigor of their age-old patriotism and loyalty. She acknowledged that it was searcely possible for an already overworked employment manager to make a thorough study of the histories of all these subject races, but she did sug- gest that a surface knowledge might prevent such m‘stakes as the placing of Austrian foremen gangs of Croatians or Slavs or vice-versa, a practice to be blamed for no small proportion of strikes and riots occurring among foreign workmen. Much stress was laid on the necessity for factory schools for the foreign workmen. The with ini- tiative and energy enough to seek out a night school might safely be left to his own devices, she said, but second over man the rank and file, who dreaded new environment and contact, must be taken care cf, and they could only be reached through the school conducted in factory hours and in the factory building. She recommended that one-half the time spent in the school be paid for by the employer and the other half by the employee and that attendance be made compulsory for all foreign workmen. “The Maintenance of Labor Standards During the War,” was the topic of an address made by Clara M. Tead, cf the woman’s division of the Ordnance Depart- ment. The plant which would effectively add women to its working force, she said, must not only be reaay to provide the necessary dressing and rest rooms but must install women executives and health officers who will be competent to watch over the welfare of the women and solve the many new problems involved in their presence in the plant. It is to fill the need sug- gested hy Mrs. Tead that the government course for women health officers is to be opened at Mt. Holyoke College cn June 26. It is not exnected to turn out thoroughly trained medical officers, but to equip women to supplement the work of the factory physicians by discovering conditions that may lead to over-fatigue or disease. Wages of the miners of the McKinney Steel Co. at Crystal Falls, Mich., have been raised from 10 to 15 per cent. this being the third increase in the last 18 months. It affects all workers except the men on a monthly basis. It is figured that in some cases the workers’ wage will be between $4.80 and $4.90 a day, but on the average it will probably mean that the wage will not be less than $4.20 a day. At the Tobin mine of the McKinney company, every man subscribed at least $50 to the third Liberty loan. Steel Makers and War Board Confer A Committee Appointed to Canvass Pro- ducing Capacity, Also the Cutting Down of Shipments to Less Essential Industries WASHINGTON, May 21.—An epoch-making conference was held on Friday, May 17, between the War Indus- tries Board and a large delegation of steel manufac- turers, at which was discussed in great detail the ques- tion of the adequacy of the current steel supply to meet the needs of the Government and provide a reasonable margin for commercial requirements, the possibility of increasing manufacturing capacity, and the prac- ticability of curtailing the commercial consumption of steel to a substantial extent. At the close of the con- ference a joint committee of three members of the War Industries Board and five representatives of the steel industry was appointed with instructions to make a prompt investigation of the entire situation and to re- port to the board at the earliest practicable date. Those in attendance at the conference were Judge E. H. Gary, chairman, James A. Farrell, president, and D. G. Kerr, vice-president, of the United States Steel Corporation; E. G. Grace, president Bethlehem Steel Co.; John A. Topping, chairman Republic Iron & Steel Co.; Willis L. King, vice-president Jones & Laughlin Steel Co.; E. A. S. Clarke, president Lacka- wanna Steel Co.; Louis H. Willard, Carnegie Steel Co.; J. A. Campbell, president Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.; A. F. Houston, president Lukens Steel Co.; Francis J. Hall, Central Iron & Steel Co.; L. E. Block, Inland Steel Co.; James A. Burden, president Burden Iron Co.; A. A. Fowler, Rogers, Brown & Co.; H. G. Dalton, Pickands, Mather & Co.; and James B. Bonner, Amer- ican Iron and Steel Institute. The Government was represented by Bernard M. Baruch, chairman, Hugh Frayne, labor representative, Admiral Frank F. Fletcher, naval representative, and Gen. Hugh L. Johnson, war representative, of the War Industries Board; J. Leonard Replogle, director of steel supply; Robert S. Brookings, chairman of the price-fixing com- mittee; Edwin B. Parker, chairman of the priorities committee; George N. Peek, chief of the industrial re- sources division; Alexander Legge, assistant to Chair- man Baruch’ Jay C. McLachlan, pig iron expert of the War Industries Board; L. L. Summers, in charge of non-ferrous metals; H. B. Ingles, secretary of the War Industries Board; and P..B. Noyes, assistant to the Fuel Administrator. The committee appointed by the conference to make the investigation decided upon con- sists of Messrs. Replogle, Legge and Johnson on behalf of the War Industries Board, and Messrs. Farrell, Grace, Clarke, Topping and Dalton, on behalf of the steel industry. Co-operation is Still the Word The delegation of steel men came to Washington on the invitation of the War Industries Board. They did not come, as has been erroneously stated in the daily press, for the purpose of “demanding a show- down.” That statement is as false as many others widely published during the past week, including the declaration that Chairman Baruch and his colleagues on the War Industries Board “have their backs against the wall” and are preparing to commandeér the entire iron and steel industry unless it i e immediately to increase its capacity to meet all c.mands the Govern- ment may make upon it. Throughout the conference the best of feeling prevailed and although no attempt was made to conceal the gravity of the situation, both 132 Ve sides approached the problem in a genuine spirit of co-operation that promises well for the desired outcome. The prime question at issue before the conference was that recently presented to the steel men at the meeting in New York addressed by Mr. Replogle when the director of steel supply declared that the Govern- ment now requires practically 100 per cent of the cur- rent output of the leading products of the industry including plates, shapes, projectile steel, sheets, etc. Mr. Replogle’s statement and the discussion that fol- lowed it having been stenographically reported, printed in pamphlet form, and widely circulated among the leaders of the industry, an opportunity had been afforded every one interested to digest Mr. Replogle’s remarks and to arrive at an opinion concerning the accuracy of their representation of current conditions. Does Government Need 100 Per Cent? Mr. Baruch, who unreservedly endorsed everything Mr. Replogle said to the steel men in New York, told the conference on Friday that he and his associates were deeply interested in the present situation in the steel industry and especially in the protests of certain steel manufacturers against Mr. Replogle’s sweeping statements respecting the Government’s actual need of practically the entire present output of iron and steel. The War Industries Board, he said, desired to get at the facts and at the earliest possible moment. As he formulated the proposition, it was conceivable that an investigation might prove that the Government needed 100 per cent of current steel production; or it might show that there was a margin for commercial purposes, but so small as to make it necessary in justice to all consumers that the Government should allocate it from the standpoint of the general welfare of the country; or, finally, it might possibly appear, as the result of improved conditions with respect to fuel supply, trans- portation, etc., that the excess production of the indus- try over and above the requirements of the Government would be found to be sufficient to render official alloca- tion unnecessary. While the members of the War In- dustries Board avoided any statements calculated to develop a controversy, it was made clear to the steel men that the representatives of the Government are strongly inclined to take Mr. Replogle’s view of the present crisis and to insist that vigorous measures shall be taken at once to meet it. Steel Men Skeptical of Scarcity The steel men frankly expressed their disagreement with Mr. Replogle’s estimates, taking the view that the requirements of the Government will not absorb the present capacity of the industry even on such war specialties as plates, shapes, projectile steel, etc. It was admitted that the steel producers do not have the advantages for obtaining official information possessed by Mr. Replogle and the War Industries Board, and there was some complaint that the Government depart- ments, especially the army and navy bureaus, have re- vised their estimates at short intervals, constantly in- creasing the tonnage involved although no change in policy sufficient to justify such wholesale revision ap- pears to have been adopted. The opinion was quite generally expressed by the steel men that the industry would be equal to any demands made upon it and that at the worst the problem would merely resolve itself d May 23, 1918 into the question of the extent to which existing ca- pacity for articles not required by the Government or to maintain the national welfare could be changed over and made available for the production of war material. Mr. Replogle stood squarely behind his New York statement and assured the conference that since that meeting additional data had been received showing still further demands, not only to meet the requirements of the American Government but for the Allies. Refer- ence was also made to certain new projects contem- plated by the Government which would call for a heavy tonnage of steel. It was also pointed out that the shipbuilding program is being rapidly speeded up under Mr. Schwab’s direction and that the consumption of steel plates and shapes by the shipyards promises mate- rially to exceed estimates heretofore regarded as liberal. Mr. Replogle emphasized the view he has heretofore expressed that fuel shortage and lack of transportation have not been the chief factors in producing the situa- tion that has alarmed the War Industries Board. The real shortage, he declared, is in the capacity for the production of those lines for which the Government’s demand is almost unlimited and the present crisis can only be met by increased output through expanded fa- cilities and the curtailment of non-essential consump- tion. A Committee to Investigate The discussion having developed the fact that the steel industry stands ready to provide for the wants of the Government even though they may comprehend 100 per cent of the possible output and that the matter at issue is solely a question of fact, namely, as to the amount of steel that can be produced and the quantity required for war purposes and for essential needs, it was decided to appoint a committee to make a careful investigation and to report upon the following points: 1. The amount of the various steel commodities now being produced, the proportion needed for war purposes and the margin, if any, to meet commercial require- ments. 2. The possibility of increasing manufacturing ca- pacity substantially so as to provide an important in- crease in current output. 3. The proper method of allocating among commer- cial consumers any surplus of steel over and above Government requirements, if it appears that the margin will be so small as to make Government allocation nec- essary to secure impartial distribution. 4. The extent and character of the curtailment of non-essential uses of steel which may be practicable under existing conditions. The joint committee having been appointed, a pre- liminary meeting for the purpose of organization and to plan the investigation was immediately held and it was decided to push the work with all speed. While no date was fixed for the making of a report the opinion was expressed by several members of the committee that it would be practicable to present at least partial conclu- sions to the War Industries Board before the end of the present week. Good Fuel Deliveries Promised Mr. Noyes, on behalf of the Fuel Administration, stated after the conference that every possible effort would be made by Dr. Garfield and his assistants to aid the steel industry not only in maintaining its present output but in increasing its capacity to any reasonable extent. General conditions in the production and dis- tribution of coal and coke are steadily improving, he said, and with the precautions that already have been taken it is hoped to avert any such experiences as oc- curred last winter. There was no discussion at the conference of the probable course of the Government with respect to the THE IRON 1325 AGE revision of the schedule of controlled prices of iron and steel which expires on June 30. The steel men, in con- versation before and after the conference, manifested the liveliest interest in the developments at the Capitol and especially in the progress of the Foster mineral control bill and in the President’s proclamation placing agricultural machinery, farming implements, etc., under license. The opinion appeared to be general that the Pomerene bill would not be revived in the present Con- gress, but it was quite evident that all the steel manu- facturers appreciate the fact that the continued unham- pered private control of the steel industry will depend upon its ability to meet all the demands that may be made upon it by the Government and to supply the essential requirements for the public welfare. W.L.C. Westinghouse Employees Subscribe to $2,601,000 Bonds Final reports of the Liberty Loan campaign among employees of the Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., East Pittsburgh, and its subsidiaries, show that the total subscription was $2,601,000. Of this, $2,217,000 was taken by employees of the parent company. Three subsidiaries showed 100 percent of employees subscrib- ing—the R. D. Nuttall Co., Krantz Mfg. Co., and the Pittsburgh Meter Co. In addition to this, the Krantz employees subscribed the largest per cent of total pay- roll—10.4 per cent and the largest amount per sub- scriber, $87.27. The Electric company employees to the number of 32,048 subscribed $69.18 per capita, 5.2 per cent of the payroll. All figures show an increase over those of the second loan. As might be expected in a company employing over 30,000 people, the third Liberty loan campaign pos- sessed some unusual features. In order to cover the entire works thoroughly from office boy to executive, team captains were appointed who in turn selected their lieutenants and teams. The members of these teams sold every employee a bond, or got a very satis- factory reason for the refusal. In one instance, when a widow, the sole support of several children, felt that she could not afford the purchase of a bond, the women employees of her section chipped in and secured one for her, every woman contributing. Speaking of the part the girls played in the campaign, it is interesting to note that the telephone and sales record departments, composed practically altogether of girls, were among the 100 per cent departments, that is, every employee a bond owner. Intensive Training for Women in Drafting and Testing The Detroit section of the American Society of Me- chanical Engineers and the Detroit Engineering Society in joint session on May 3 discussed the advisability of getting the industries to co-operate with the universi- ties, colleges and technical schools in utilizing the woman power of the United States by educating them through short intensive courses of study. A resolution was passed to the effect that: The women of this country could with a short period of training fit themselves to fill positions in drafting and tracing, inspection and testing of materials, both physically and chemically, and therefore the universities, colleges and tech- nical schools should be asked to consider the question of meet- ing this demand by providing special courses of instruction open to women students qualified to pursue such courses; and further, that employers who could use such skilled help should exert their influence with these schools and co-operate with them in developing and making available a body of women who are eager and willing F to serve their country The new tin plate plant of the Liberty Steel Co., at Warren, Ohio, has been put in operation. The plant contains eight hot tin mills, and is expected to turn out about 600,000 base boxes of tin plate per year. Liberty Motor Officially Described WASHINGTON, May 21.—A description of the so- called Liberty motor has been made public by the War Department as follows: Cylinders.—The designers followed the practice used in the German Mercedes, English Rolls-Royce, French Lorraine-Dietrich and Italian Isotta Fraschini, The cylinders are made of steel inner shells surrounded by pressed-steel water jackets. The Packard Motor Co. by long experiment had developed a method of applying these steel water jackets. The valve cages are drop forgings welded into the cylinder head. The holding- down flange is several inches above the mouth of the cylinder, and a unique method of manufacture has been evolved by the Ford Motor Co. The output is now ap- proximately 1700 cylinder forgings per day. Cam shaft and valve mechanism above cylinder heads.—The design is based on the Mercedes, but was improved for automatic lubrication without wasting oil by the Packard Motor Car Co. Cam-shaft drive—This was copied almost entirely from the Hall-Scott Motor Car Co. This type of drive is used by Mercedes, Hispano-Suiza, and others. Angle between cylinders.—The included angle be- tween the cylinders is 45 deg.; in all other existing 12-cylinder engines it is 60 deg. It was adopted to bring each row of cylinders nearer the vertical and closer together, thus to save width and head resistance and to secure added strength to the crank case and to reduce vibration. Electric generator and ignition—A Delco ignition system is used, specially designed to save weight. Pistons.—These are of Hall-Scott design. Connecting rods.—Forked or straddle-type connect- ing rods, first used on the French De Dion car the Cadillac motor car in this country, are used. Crank shaft.—The standard 12-cylinder practice is followed, except as to oiling. Lubrication.—Oil under pressure is fed to the main bearings and through holes inside of crank cheeks to crank pins. The oil is thus carried to the crank pins through a hole inside the crank cheek instead of up the outside face of the crank cheek. Propeller hub.—The Hall-Scott design was adapted. Water pump.—The Packard type of water pump was adapted. Carburetor.—This was developed by the Zenith Co. Bore and stroke.—These are 5 and 7 in., the same as the Hall-Scott A-5 and A-7 engines, and as the Hall- Scott 12-cylinder engine. and on The Development in Brief. The idea af developing Liberty engines of 4, 6, 8 and 12 cylinders with the above characteristics was first considered about May 25, 1917. The idea was developed in conference with representatives of the British and French missions, May 28 to June 1, and was submitted in the form of sketches at a joint meeting of the Air- craft (Production) Board and the Joint Army and Navy Technical Board, June 4. The first sample was an eight-cylinder model, delivered to the Bureau of Standards June 3, 1917. The eight-cylinder model, however, was never put into production, as advices from France indicated that demands for increased power would make the eight-cylinder model obsolete before it could be produced. Work was then concentrated on the 12-cylinder en- gine, and one of the experimental engines passed the 50-hr. test Aug. 25, 1917. After the preliminary draw- ings were made, engineers from the leading engine builders were brought to the Bureau of Standards, where they inspected the new designs and made sug- gestions, most of which were incorporated in the final design. At the same time expert production men were making suggestions that would facilitate production. An engine committee was organized informally, con- sisting of the engineers and production managers of the Packard, Ford, Cadillac, Lincoln, Marmon and Trego companies. This committee met at frequent intervals, and it is to this group of men that the final develop- ment of the Liberty engine is largely due. THE IRON AGE May 23, 1918 The New Manganese Standard Alloys The following statement has been issued by Judge E. H. Gary, chairman of the Committee on Steel and Steel Products of the American Iron and Steel Institute, regarding the meeting held in Pittsburgh on May 7 to consider means of conserving the supply of manga- nese and regarding some later developments: As the result of an investigation in the trade made by the subcommittee on Steel ferroalloys of the American Iron and Institute and of a manganese ferro- May 7, ferroalloys, meeting of the consumers of and spiegeleisen held in call of the data Pittsburgh on pursuant to subcommittee on from other and available, the Committee on Steel Steel Products recommends to the trade that a manganese content of 70 per cent for ferromanganese and 16 per cent for spiegel- eisen by and adopted as standard, instead of the existing current standards of 78 to 82 per cent manganese in manganese, or ferromanganese higher, in spiegeleisen ; that deliveries of material of the new recommended standard be accepted as good deliveries on proper adjustment of tonnage and 19 to 21 per cent with ferro- existing contracts, and price; and that no spiegeleisen be made hereafter of higher man- than as above recommended, except manganese or ganese content with the approval of this committee, which will consider any special requests from consumers who can show the necessity of a higher manganese content when submitted through the sub- committee on ferroalloys The Committee on Steel and Steel Products is of the opinion that a proper adjustment of tonnage would contem- plate the delivery of the same total tonnage of contained metallic manganese as is due on undelivered balances of ex isting contracts The above recommendations are made because of the ne- cessity of the maximum possible conservation of shipping and the consequent need to utilize domestic ores to the greatest extent possible. The committee relies on the patriot- ism and good faith of the iron and steel industry to accom- plish this, and expresses the hope that all connected with the iron and steel industry will to this end. co-operate in the proper spirit Rates on Steel Products Declared Unreasonable WASHINGTON, May 21.—In a decision in which the competition between the leading shipyards of the At- lantic coast is given official recognition, the Interstate Commerce Commission, in the case of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. vs. the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Co., et al., holds to be unreasonable existing rates on steel plates, shapes, bars, bolts, etc., from Pittsburgh to Newport News as compared with rates from the Pittsburgh district to Baltimore, Wil- mington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Port- land, Me., and directs the carriers to file new tariffs under which the Pittsburgh-Newport News rate will not exceed the rate to New York City by more than 3c. per 100 lb. While the commission is careful to dis- avow any intention to extend a reduced rate to Virginia cities generally, it makes it clear that it proposes at this time to recognize the competition of Eastern sea- board shipbuilding points. The complaint of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. states that it is now receiving annually about 35,000,000 lb. of steel from the Pittsburgh dis- trict upon which it has been required to pay a rate of 21.3c. per 100 lb., while the rate to Baltimore is_ 15.4¢c., to Wilmington and Philadelphia, 15.9c., to New York, 16.9c., and to Boston and Portland, 18.9c. This rate, it is alleged, is unreasonable and prejudicial as compared with the rates of other shipbuilding points on the Atlantic seaboard and puts the complainant at a serious disadvantage. The rates referred to in the complaint have since been modified, but their relation has not been changed. The Sino-North American Co., Ltd., has been formed, with offices in Montreal, New York, San Fran- cisco and Vancouver and connections at Peking and Hongkong, to act as exporter and importer, contractor and engineer, with a view to building up closer rela- tions between North America and the Far East. The main office is at Montreal, Canada, and the New York office at 1330 Woolworth Building. May 23, 1918 EFFICIENCY RATING CHART Submarine Boat Corporation Posts Weekly Com- parative Department Records WASHINGTON, May 21.—An innovation in efficiency graphics has been aaopted by the Submarine Boat Cor- poration at its Newark Bay pliant. It consists of a weekly target chart, which has been approved by the Emergency Fleet Corporation with the suggestion that its general use in all shipyards is likely materially to speed up production. The system upon which the chart is based is capable of various modifications and can be made to record progress for a large number of com- parative periods. The Submarine Boat Corporation employs a large force of inspectors whose duty it is to watch work in every department and to give a weekly efficiency rating to every employee. These inspectors employ both pro- duction figures showing the workers’ output and per- sonal observation in determining the rating. There is no line of work exempt from their inspection. The driving of rivets on the ways is carefully checked up as is also the progress of a gang digging a ditch. The fire department, guard and garage force at the yard are rated along with the riveters and machinists. Each man’s rating is expressed in figures and the average is struck weekly for each department. The new rating system was originally devised to keep the management informed concerning production and efficiency, but it was finally decided to get the figures before the employees of the yard in some graphic form and the target idea was evolved. The diagram is now made up each week on a large scale and a number of copies are posted at conspicuous places throughout the plant for the information of everyone in the yard. The target has a bull’s-eye representing 100 per cent with concentric circles ranging down to 50 per cent. Each department’s place on this target is indicated weekly according to its average rating, and with nearly thirty separate departments drawing stead- ily closer to the bull’s-eye week by week, with one oc- casionally falling back, there is no lack of interest. In the accompanying illustration the records for two weeks are given, but it is obvious that by employing additional symbols the record could be made to show a much larger number of comparative periods. In the case of the Submarine Boat Corporation it is intimated that the individual efficiency ratings are used as the basis for all increases in compensation. In addition to this phase of the matter, however, it is found that inasmuch as the low rating of an individual may serve to bring down the average of the department As This Chart Is Used by the Submarine Boat Corpo- ration, on One-half Is Shown the Relative Proficiency for One Week of the Different Groups or Departments of the Yard and on the Other the Corresponding Approach to Full Efficiency for the Preceding Week THE IRON AGE 1327 in which he is employed the workers develop a very lively interest not only in maintaining their own output but in seeing that their associates are equally industrious. A workman who shirks is promptly voted an “undesirable” by his fellow workers who wish to secure the highest possible rating for their department. AGAINST THE METRIC SYSTEM British Parliamentary Commission Makes a Final and Decisive Report A final report has been presented to the British Parliament by the Committee on Commercial and In- dustrial policy after the War, which has been at work in the past two years. Chapter 10 dealing with Weights and Measures presents the conclusions of the committee relative to the proposal for the compulsory adoption of the metric system. The 19 members were a unit in reporting adversely and it is highly significant that this is taken to mean the dismissal of the metric system proposal from consideration as a subject of legislation in Great Britain. The following extracts are from the section of the report relating to weights and measures: “Having given very full consideration to the sub- ject, we are unable to recommend the compulsory adop- tion of the metric system ir this country. In our opin- ion, it is absolutely certain that the anticipated uni- formity could not be obtained for a very long period, if ever. “There is, further, the serious objection that if we induced the above mentioned countries to change over to the metric system, we should be surrendering to Germany the advantage which our manufacturers now enjoy over hers, both in their markets and our own. “We are informed that even in Frariée, which has made the metric system nominally compulsory for more than half a century, the ‘pouce’ (or inch) is used in textile manufacture and numerous local measures still survive. “In referring to these considerations, we have to point out that there is no unanimity even as to the theoretical merits of the metric system as compared with our own. The practical argument that its adoption is desirable in order to secure uniformity in the markets of the world has been shown to be unfounded. We are not satisfied by any evidence which has been brought before us that trade has actually been lost to this coun- try owing to the fact that the use of the metric system is not compulsory. “But to attempt to make the use of the system uni- versal and obligatory in this country would cause loss and confusion at a particularly inopportune mo- ment, for the sake of distant and doubtful advantages. We are convinced that, so far from assisting in the re- establishment of British trade after the war, such a measure would seriously hamper it. “As regards the educational advantages claimed for the change, we have been referred to a statement quoted by the Select Committee of 1895 that no less than one year’s school time would be saved if the metric system were taught in the place of that now in use. The information which we have received does not sup- port that statement, and even if it were well founded, it must be remembered that for at least a generation, children would have to learn both the new and the old measures and how to convert from one to the other. “It is often popularly supposed that the introduction of the metric system would render possible the im- mediate sweeping away of many complicated and vary- ing weights and measures. As we have already in- dicated, this belief is, in our opinion, wholly fallacious. “We are not convinced that the metric system is, upon the whole, even theoretically superior to the British system, and we are satisfied that the practical ob ections to the proposed change are such as decisively to outweigh any advantages which are claimed for it.” The J. Edward Ogden Co., Bayonne, N. J., maker of bolts, etc., has increased its capital from $150,000 to $250,000. Many Important War Labor Problems Standardizing Wages in Plants—Patriotic Co-operation Munition and Other Requested—Ef- forts to Prevent Competition in Getting Workers WASHINGTON, May 21.—The Secretary of Labor, acting in his capacity as War Labor Administrator, to which post he has been assigned by executive order of the President, has undertaken the important task of standardizing wage scales for common and skilled labor in the war industries. The necessity for this under- taking has been demonstrated by the experience of the United States Shipping Board in standardizing the wage scales of the shipyards of the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts and by the difficulties encountered by the Employment Service of the Department of Labor in its efforts to induce the shipbuilders, the war material manufacturers and the railroad managers to abandon their independent labor bureaus and rely upon the Employment Service for all workers, both skilled and unskilled. “The equalization of wage scales,” says the state- ment issued by the Secretary of Labor, “is absolutely essential to the success of.the Government’s efforts to more rapidly and equitably distribute the available supply of workers. The great discrepancies in wages in different industries and in different sections of the country make it impossible to stabilize employment conditions, facilitate labor ‘stealing’ by one essential industry at the expense of another, and, with poor housing conditions, contribute to the enormous labor turnover, which, according to Secretary of Labor Wil- son, is as high as 100 per cent a week in some plants. Wages Vary Greatly “On top of a growing shortage of common labor the widely varying wages offered—some sections offer- ing twice as much as others—is placing the efforts of the Employment Service to supply laborers under an almost impossible handicap. And the same holds true of its skilled workers recruiting and distributing ac- tivities. The lack of standardized wage scales in war production, I. W. Litchfield, chief of the clearance sec- tion, reports to the department, has been one of the greatest obstacles which the Employment Service has met. “Last week an industrial district near the South Atlantic seaboard was offering 22 cents an hour for common labor. Up in New England, at the same time, the offer was 40 cents, while a third district west of the Ohio River was drawing common laborers with the magnet-like wage of 50 cents an hour. Similar in- equality prevailed in the wages offered skilled labor One large plant manufacturing guns sent in an ‘S. O. S.’ call for toolmakers. But it offered 65 cents an hour, while other concerns, some of them not far distant, had wage scales ranging from 72% cents to 80 cents an hour.” The details of the plan by which the department will undertake to standardize wage scales have not yet been worked out, but will probably be formulated by Felix Frankfurter, who has just been appointed assist- ant to the Secretary of Labor, in charge of linking up the activities of the Department of Labor with the industrial-service sections of the War and Navy De- partments, the Shipping Board and the War Industries Board. The general scheme for the co-ordination of these industrial-service sections has been fully described in THE IRON AGg, their functions dealing with employ- ment, housing, wage adjustments, conditions of work, women in industry, etc. Three of the bureaus contem- plated by this organization have already been estab- lished and Mr. Frankfurter’s appointment foreshadows the filling of the other positions in the labor adminis- tration as soon as Congress makes the necessary appro- priations. A policies board will be created to assist Mr. Frank- furter, in the work of co-ordinating the activities of the Department of Labor with the production sections of the War Department, the Navy Department and the Shipping Board. This board, of which Mr. Frank- furter will be chairman, will represent the Department of Labor, the National War Labor Board, the War lbepartment, the Navy Department, the Department of \vriculture, the Shipping Board, the Railroad Adminis- tration and the War Industries Board. Through its Clearance Section and the Public Service Reserve, the Employment Service is attacking the prob- lem of supplying more machinists and toolmakers to war industries. Next to common labor this class of workers is in most demand at present, while future requirements of industries submitted to the Employment Service show that many more mechanics will be needed during the next few months. A special drive for skilled mechanics is now being made by the Reserve through its organization in each State. This includes the with- drawal of machinists from non-essential enterprises in a manner which will equalize and minimize any neces- sury hardship to such industries and communities in which non-essential manufacturing is conducted on a large scale. The assistance of commercial organizations and the patriotic co-operation of non-essential manufacturers themselves are being enlisted to this end. By localizing so far as possible this induction process the maximum of speed and fairness can be achieved, and at the same time the aid of the business, employing and labor interests of each community may be utilized in the most effective manner. Groups of prominent business men already are considering this problem in Rochester, Hartford, Detroit and other cities. Representatives of the Employment Service who are intimately in touch with employment problems are visiting various indus- trial sections, ascertaining the potential war-labor re- serves and explaining the necessity for co-operation with the Government to the commercial bodies. Training Mechanics A number of large manufacturing concerns with war orders are taking time by the forelock and training skilled mechanics. Plumbers, gasfitters and similar trades, it is claimed, may be speedily trained as machine-tool operators. As there is a large surplus in many of these trades the training of such men would not only increase the supply of mechanics but give employment to many building trades workers and help to adjust the serious unemployment conditions now existing in that division of skilled workers. One large manufacturing establishment has written the clearance section as follows: “We have long ago determined that the market does not offer skilled mechanics for employment who are not already engaged on Government work, and we therefore are training men in the operations we have to perform in building the apparatus we have on order for the Shipping Board and the Navy Department. “We would be glad to have intelligent and physi cally fit men, even though unskilled, apply to us for employment. We can take care of a reasonable number of such men through our training department and advance them rapidly through our instruction to a reasonable productive capacity and an advance in rates to them.” Virtually every shipyard in the country is now obtaining its labor entirely or partly through the United States Employment Service. The response of the yards to the request of Director General Densmore, of the Employment Service, that they cease independent labor recruiting and use the Government’s machinery for mobilizing and distributing workers has been most gratifying. The Shipping Board, at whose instance 1328 May 23, 1918 the Employment Service enrolled, through its Public Service Reserve, more than 275,000 shipyard volunteers,