The Iron Age 1919-07-03: Vol 104 Iss 1

THE IRON AGE New York, July 3, 1919 SYNDOLAG an Even- Or This Coarse Clink- Sized, Sharp- Edged, , ered Material of Varied Thoroughly Saturated | Sizes. The Kind We Grain. The Best Re- | | Throw Away in Order fractory for Furnace | to Give You The Best Bottoms. | Refractory. BASIC PRODUCTS COM ‘ OLIVER BUILDING i ‘ail vnnuaansuitte IWAVHUeH oadanaannennyt naan HL10000 UEPANOOGAI POONA SOA UGU LIONS AUT UAE TABLE OF READING CONTENTS - - 37 “ADVERTISING INDEX - - 582 Buyers Index Section............ | 556 Contract Work Section.... ses Cee Busine ss Opportunities Mranted Section......i.se+2+-+++ 688 Help and Situations W anted..... | 538 Clearing House Section 001111) 11000000 PORELBSRBENEYAULAOUOOLPORAGDENEMAGOO ONTO Ea UMAOOERONNANAAINNNN040NNHADRANNOUDELALIOROOOORANNOADONNLOLERNONDUASALONGLUAQLLAG4000RE2:L000900009000400ULEDORGRANBOEEBDLLEAQOUNLUUURSTTIOPRRSOOOESAIEUSGTOON RSAC TONUS DUE SUT UD SAETAGEONES ESL AUTODATA THE IRON AGE July 3, 1919 ea Steel For Immediate Shipment Beams Plates Angles Sheets Channels Tubes Bars Rivets Bolts Nuts Washers Specialties Tool Steel Babbitt Metal Machinery Tools Ryerson Steel—Service is the development of over three-quarters of a century of suc- cessful business. Thousands of manufacturers and builders daily take advantage of the complete facilities of the Ryerson organization. It will pay you also. Concentrate your pur- chases and save time and money. Write for Monthly Stock List, the steel buyers’ guide to the Ryerson stocks. Josepu T. Ryerson & Son Iron Steel Machinery MAIN PLANTS: CHICAGO Orrices: PITTSBURGH PHILADELPHIA TOLEDO MILWAW KEE NEW YORK ST. LOUIS DETROIT BOSTON NEWARK MINNEAPOLIS CLEVELAND KANSAS CITY HOUSTON SAN FRANCISCO 7% ZY Uy, Y Y “Wy Vai te SQ ESTABLISHED 1855 Nou Lp dm Wn How a General Motors Automobile Plant Turned Over to Shell Assembly Exceeded Scheduled Production—A Remarkable System of Conveyors production which could not properly be published during the days of wartime ac- tivity, but may now be told, is that of the inten- sive work in assembling trench mortar shells at the Jackson-Church-Wil- cox Co.’s plant No. 2, Saginaw, Mich. This company is a division of the General Motors Cor- poration, by which a con- tract was made with the Ordnance Department for the production of 3,000,- 000 shells, ready for load- ing, for use in the 3-in. Stokes trench mortar. Fhe contract quantity was to be delivered with- in one year from Dec. 17, 1917. The parts of the shells were produced in eight different plants of the corporation and shipped to the “Jacox” plant for assembling. This plant, formerly devoted to the manufacture of automo- biles, was turned over wholly to the work of shell assembly. Parts began coming in February, 1918, the assembling being done almost entirely by hand methods, which nevertheless produced | MONG the interesting stories of munitions slat, Fig. 1—Trench Mortar Shell Parts. Left to ri temporary plug, head casting, casting, base cast aa o-- 7 ~. container, Of interest in this article by Mr. De Wolfe, descriptive of the manner in which trench mortar shells were assembled at the rate of 25,000 per day, is the elaborate sys- tem of conveyors, belt, roller, gravity and used in the transfer of parts from : operation to operation, until delivery of the : At completed and boxed shells to freight cars. The author states that a visitor to the plant, seeing the operation of the system and the continuous movement of its many parts, likened it to a huge mechanical toy. The toy, however, was not a plaything, but a mechanism created by national necessity and devoted to a very grim purpose. — BY E. C. DE WOLFE, M.E. — — a trict manager for the Jackson-Church-Wilcox Co., assisted by D. O. Thomas, No. 2 factory manager, and Frank D. Chase, Inc., industrial engineers, Chicago, in collaboration with manufacturers by whom various items of machinery and special devices were supplied. The result was an instal- lation which, started in May, turned out 20,000 per day through June, averaged 25,000 through August, and was 140,000 ahead of schedule when the armistice was signed. full production there were 550 persons en- gaged in the work, about 70 per cent of whom were women and girls. Pres- sure was relieved on Nov. 11, and work proceeded in more leisurely fashion un- til the contract was ful- filled. The photographs here shown were made when the operative force had been materially re- duced. | e0L00 CC AgSODNRRLEAEDONOIT DE OTRERAONDES SREROENNOORSS, The Stokes Mortar and Shell The Stokes trench mortar, eliminating details, consists of a plain barrel of heavy tubing, with io Gam Oa d Booster jacket and head assembled, booster jacket, and base and cartridge con- tainer assembled shells at the rate of 5000 per day through March and at a still higher rate through April. Equipment for Rapid Handling Meantime the plans for mechanical equipment and intensive methods were schemed out, under the direction of George H. Hannum, Saginaw dis- a head at whose center is fixed a firing pin which is struck by the eap on the shell when the latter is dropped into the mortar. A tripod, providing simple means of pointing within rather narrow ranges of swing and elevation, supports the mor- tar, so that the complete equipment is in two parts, each easily portable by one man. The mor- Fig tar, being without rifling in the bore, throws its shell hurtling through the air, turning end over end but gradually assuming the desired position of fuse-head foremost in its flight. Firing is done as rapidly as the shells can be dropped into the mortar, which usually means that ten or more shells may be in the air at one time, between firing and striking. Fig. 1 shows the shell parts separately and in partial assembly. In the middle of the row of parts is the casing. At the right are the base and the cartridge container, separate and screwed to- gether ready for screwing into one end of the casing. On the left are the head, the temporary plug, the booster jacket, and the assembly of the three, ready for screwing into their end of the casing. The assembled shell then has a base and ex- ternal cartridge container at one end, and a head with internal booster jacket at the other. The base end does the mortar work of throwing the shell; the head end does the work of bursting the shell when it strikes. There are six explo- sions in the complete operation, three in firing and three in bursting. The cartridge container receives a standard 12- gage shotgun shell, loaded with ballistite powder only. Around the cartridge container are placed rings of ballistite powder in silk bags of “dough- THE IRON AGE 2—Belt Conveyors Which Carry Cleaned Parts to Second Floor, p®ndent clutch control July 3, 1919 Where Assembly They have inde- heads Began. at the nut” form—two to four rings, according to the distance the shell is to be thrown. It is the shot- gun cartridge cap which is fired by striking the firing pin in the mortar, this first little explosion fires the ballistite powder in the cartridge, and this in turn, through the radial holes in the cart- ridge container, fires the ballistite rings to pro- ject the shell. A fuse head, screwed on in place of the tem- porary plug in the head end, is so made as to explode whenever the shell strikes after it leaves the mortar. In thus exploding, the fuse head de- tonates a charge of high explosive in the booster jacket, and this in turn sets off the main load of explosive with which the interior of the casing is loaded. Assembling the Shell The foregoing notes as to the use of the shell have no essential part in the story of the assem- bly work, other than to show that, while a very simple combination of only five essential parts (not counting the temporary plug), there are re- quirements for accuracy in diameters, concen- tricity of cartridge container, etc., and necessity for careful work in other features, to produce a shell which shall be “sure fire” in every respect. Close inspection of all parts and at all stages of the assembly, is therefore an important item. Fig. 3—Thread Inspection of the Casings, and Inspection Ways for Smaller Parts. ative places a part on the belt Each time a light flashes an oper- July 3, 1919 IRON AGE 3 Fig. 4—Five-Head System of Machines for Spraying the Interiors of Casings with Varnish. Thence they go to a drying oven As already stated, the parts came to the as- sembling plant as finished product, no machin- ing being done there except in connection with the salvage of rejects. To concentrate the in- spection work most effectively it was done whol- ly at the assembly plant. Casings were of special lap-welded steel tub- ing, 3 3/16 in. outside diameter and 90.175 in. thick, threaded internally at each end. Bases and heads were malleable iron castings, turned to accurate diameter, finished on inner faces and threaded as required. Cartridge containers were machinery steel, finished all over and with radial holes drilled. Booster jackets were of drawn steel. Temporary plugs were of soft metal alloy, threaded only. Receiving and Cleaning the Parts Casings loose, and other parts in boxes, were received and stored adjacent to the starting end of the assembling process. All parts were cleaned by passage through Niagara washers for the removal of grease and dirt, whence they rolled on ways, passing workers who inspected for internal rust and who scraped out any they found; then others who brushed a little kerosene on the internal threads. Parallel inclined belt conveyors, one for the casings and one for boxes of the small parts, car- ried the cleaned parts to the second floor of the next section of the plant, where the actual as- sembly began. A feeding device at the lower end of the casings conveyor was timed with the cleats on the belt. The conveyors were subject to independent clutch control by workers at the delivery heads (Fig. 2), where the casings were received by a narrow horizontal belt, while the boxes of parts were passed by gravity rolls to their respective inspection conveyors. All gravity rolls were supplied by the Standard Conveyor Co., St. Paul, Minn. Company Inspection of Parts At the left in Fig. 2 the passing casings were gaged for length, those rejected for over or under length being taken out for sending—as were all other rejected parts throughout the assembling process—to the salvage department on the floor below. The casings, within the allowed limits of length, 1/16 in. over or under, then passed to the thread inspection (Fig. 3). They were fed by an inclined elevator to the lower run of a double-chain flight conveyor, whence they dropped into any of the ten inspection chutes which would receive them. Such as were car- ried past the last chute were returned by the up- per run of the conveyor for repeating the travel until they found chutes to receive them. At the lower ends of the chutes the casings are held in clamps while operatives tried thread gages Fig. 5—Where Cartridge Containers and Base Castings Were Screwed Together, Rotating Disks First by Hand and Then by Fig. 6 Assembled Cartridge Containers and Base Castings, Faces of Bases in both ends of the casings. Correctly threaded casings dropped on to the conveyor belt for pass- ing to the next process, while rejected ones were taken out and placed on another belt which fed them to a reverse elevator for lowering to the salvage room. Paralleling the casing thread inspection were the inspection ways for the smaller parts. These parts, taken from their boxes, were placed by hand into gravity rollways in which they passed inspection for their threads and important dimen- sions. The emptied boxes were placed on an in- clined gravity roll conveyor overhead for return to be refilled at the washers. Duplicate Government Inspection Every inspection by the company was du- plicated by Government authorities using equip- ment and methods practically the same. Com- pany limits of variation were, however, made more exacting than Government requirements, so that the Government rejections were held well below the allowable limit of 5 per cent. Inspection of parts being the starting point for the work of the entire plant, there was located in that department the timing scheme for govern- ing the speed of progress and the proper correla- tion of the various operations. This was accom- plished simply by a system of small electric lamps, which could be made to flash at such in- THE IRON AGE Trayed in Dozens, Are Varnished July 3, 1919 Are Being Carried to Point Where Inner tervals as would give the prover timing for the respective parts. The operative at the right in Fig. 3 has an electric bulb before her and for each flash of the light she places one or more cartridge containers on the belt which carries them from company, inspection to Government inspection. In the days of intensive operation the length of the interval between flashes of the lights was varied to speed or retard the rate of production so as to maintain the set schedule for delivery of finished work, according as hourly reports showed deliveries lagging or leading. This arrangement was the means of assuring a scheduled production every day. The easier pace of later days was then kept properly uniform throughout the day by slower use of the same device. Sub-Assembly of Small Parts Having passed from the Government inspec- tion inclosure the small parts were sub-assembled into base and head ends complete, and casings were prepared to receive them. The casings, handled by a system similar to that in the thread inspection work, were delivered to a 5-head system of Devilbiss machines (Fig. 4), for spraying the interior with copal varnish, to prevent rust and to avoid contact with the ex- plosive when loaded. Thence they passed to a belt on which they weré carried to a Young Fig. 7—Two Conveyors for Carrying Bases and Heads, mane Being Ready for Screwing Into the Ends of the Casings July 8, 1919 ~The Casings, Carried Beyond the THE IRON Bases and Heads by AGE the Length of the Drying Oven, Are Conveyed Back Over the Conveyors for the Smaller Parts, Then Descend to a Rollway Over These Parts Brothers drying oven. Traversing the length of this oven, carried on a steel slat conveyor, sup- plied by the Palmer-Bee Co., Detroit, they were again inspected and received light applications of oil on their threads, and then were elevated to a cross conveyor for delivery to final assembly. The small parts as they came from Govern- ment inspection were brought together in proper combinations for sub-assembly of bases and heads—base castings with cartridge containers, and head castings with booster jackets and plugs. The cartridge containers were ‘first varnished inside, at the thread end only, by spray guns in- serted at the plain end. They were then elevated to meet a cross conveyor bringing over the base castings (Fig. 5) and the two were screwed to- gether, being started by hand and run up tight by holding against rotating disks. Then, trayed in dozens, they were conveyed along (Fig. 6) for the varnishing of inner faces of bases, after which a belt carried them to final assembly. Similarly, the head parts were brought to- gether by conveyors from Government inspection. The booster jackets, inserted by hand in the head castings, were forced into place by a heavy press, which peened the metal of the casting tightly around the booster jacket. Any which were loose after passing this press were swaged tight by hand. Inspection eliminated the imperfect ones, which were rejected to salvage below. & Broa 7 P cele ” a "i : ‘kee ~CE oe met Co - iw The threads were oiled and the temporary head plugs, started by hand, were run into place by machines having slots in.the ends of their spindles to engage cross ribs in the plugs. The heads were then trayed up in dozens and their outer surfaces—which are the interior surfaces when the shell is assembled—varnished by hand as the trays passed on the conveyor to final as- sembly. Long conveyors provide for the partial setting of the varnish, thorough hardening of which is not necessary, since the varnished sur- faces are inside when assembled. Final Assembly In Fig. 7 is shown the two conveyors for trays carrying bases and heads, ready for screwing into the ends of the casings. The latter had been carried far beyond by the length of the drying oven, so, for the final assembly (Fig. 8) they were conveyed across the room and back over the two conveyors for bases and heads, where they descended to a rollway immediately above these parts. Thence all three items of the final as- sembly traveled together, casings rolling on ways, bases carried in trays on gravity rolls just beneath, and heads in trays on gravity rolls still lower. Workers on one side of the triple-deck system (Fig. 9) picked casings from the rollway and started into them the bases picked from trays teeta Fig. 9—A Triple-Deck System of Conveyors Here casings are picked from a rollway, and bases started into them by hand Five machines then run bases into place 6 THE IRON AGE July 3, 1919 Fig. 10 Oven Through Which Casings Were Conveyed After a Painting Machine Had Sprayed Their Exteriors with Gray Paint taken from the gravity rolls. The casings, with started bases, were laid on an apron above the casing rollway, whence workers on the opposite side took them and similarly started the heads into place. Five machines, with shafts rotating in op- posite directions, then ran the heads and bases into place, under control of air-actuated cone- clutch grips which allow slippage if the parts do not go together properly. Elevators from these machines delivered the assembled shells to a con- veyor, whence they passed to a rollway which fed them to a painting machine which sprayed the exterior of the casing with a coat of gray paint. This dried as the shells passed slowly through a drying oven (Fig. 10) on a Palmer- Bee Co. steel slat conveyor. In this passage they were subjected first to heat and finally to a cold blast of air from an overhead blower. Assembly Inspection Coming from the paint-drying oven the shells were complete and ready for inspection, mark- ing, oiling and packing for shipment, the equip- ment for this work being in duplicate, and each shell going through one or the other of twin lines of rollways from oven to shipping conveyor. In this department there was no distinct separa- tion of company and Government inspections, but each company inspection for any one feature was followed immediately by the Government inspec- tion for that same feature. On the two rollways running from the oven delivery, the shells passed inspection for tight- ness of ends, depth and bore of cartridge con- tairter, shell length and weight. At the end of these rollways the shells were elevated sufficiently to give them proper height for rolling again, to a point where they were in- spected for concentricity of the cartridge con- tainer, and to another for hammer-and-die stamp- ing of three marks upon the outer edge of the face of the head casting; first, the lot number and date; second, the maker’s initials, GMC; third the Government ordnance department’s familiar device. Thence the shells rolled through oiling machines for doping the entire exterior. Packing and Shipping At this point the boxes in which the shells were to be carried to and through the loading plant and to the mortar for firing at the battle front were brought by a long belt conveyor from storage in an adjacent shed. This belt discharged to a short belt in the packing room, where the sliding covers were removed and the boxes placed on gravity rolls, on which they passed beneath oiling machines to receive their oiled shells, three Fig. 11 Noticeable at the Right Are Three Reverse Elevators for Lowering They Were Corrected Defective Casings to the Floor Where July 3, 1919 in each box. The covers were here replaced, and each stamped with its lot number and maker’s initials, then chalked with the serial number of the box in the lot. The maker’s count for each lot was 2001, of which there was an allowance of six for test firing, thus leaving a Government count of 1995. End compartments in the boxes received the fuse heads, boosted jacket charges, ballistite rings and firing cartridges at the load- ing plant. The boxes, thus covered and marked, passed on gravity rolls to a chute, whence they ran on further gravity rolls to the shipping shed where THE IRON AGE 7 their respective. faults. Other parts descended through spiral chutes, each of which represented a particular sort of defect, so that all parts which it brought down were subjects for the same cor- rective measures. In Fig. 12 is shown the heav- iest of the salvage machinery—swaging presses for head and base castings which could be bene- fited by a pressure treatment. A Well Planned System To devise and install this elaborate system, with its exacting requirements for harmonious functioning of its many parts and operations, re- Fig. 12—Swaging Presses Which Were Used for Correcting Faults in Head and Base Castings a belt conveyor fed them to three leads of port- able gravity rolls which carried them directly into box cars for shipment. Salvage of Rejects Complete equipment was provided for the sal- vage of such rejected parts as might be corrected and made to conform to requirements. This de- partment was beneath the assembly system, so that the rejects descended directly to it. Along the front wall (Fig. 11) are the three reverse ele- vators by which the casings were lowered to roll- ways whence they were taken for correction of Buys Shell Forgings—Material for Sale by the Government The I. Gerson & Sons Co., Toledo, Ohio, has pur- chased through its Detroit office approximately 70,000 tons of steel shell forgings from the Ordnance Depart- ment. This material is located at the Detroit Shell Co., Detroit Steel Castings Co., Hayes Mfg. Co., Ameri- can Car & Foundry Co., Ford Motor Co., and Dodge Bros., Detroit, Mueller Metals Co., Port Huron, Mich., and the Marble Arms & Mfg. Co., Gladstone, Mich. The same company has also purchased the entire Gov- ernment supplies of the Imperial Shipbuilding Cor- poration, Detroit, including boats, ship hardware, sup- plies, steel plates, shapes and angles. Below are some of the larger tonnages of iron and steel material being offered by the Government through the Ordnance Department by means of sealed bids: Detroit office, 400 tons of 75-mm. shell forgings at the American Machine Corporation, Port Huron, Mich., bids to be in by 11 a. m., July 7. Philadelphia office, 92 tons of Strip steel at the General Pressed Metal Co., 1524 Hancock Street, Philadelphia, bids to be in by 11.30 a. m., July 7; 1980 tons of low phosphorus pig iron at the Standard Steel Works Co., Burnham, Pa., bids to be in by 11 a. m., July 8; 1120 tons low phosphorus pig iron (Northern) at the Standard quired a high degree of engineering judgment and experience. The success of the plant in over- taking and passing its necessary schedule is proof of the manner in which its designers suited the means to the need, and of the success with which the combination of efficient equipment and trained personnel worked out its purposes. The distance of travel in direct lines from receipt of separate partseto delivery of finished shells to cars was about 900 ft. Actual inspec- tion, assembly and marking, to the point of oil- ing and placing in boxes involved a horizontal travel of somewhat more than 500 ft. Steel Works Co., bids to be in by 11 a. m., July 8; 228,000 ft. seamless steel tubing at United States Eddystone Rifle Storage Arsenal, Eddystone, Pa., bids to be in by 12 m, July 8; 1415 net tons 1%-in. round bar stock at Eddystone, Pa., bids to be in by 2.30 p. m., July 7. Rochester office, 104 tons of steel plate at the Bossert Corporation, Utica, N. Y., bids to be in by 12 m., July 10. Bids for the following material at the Remington Arms U. M. C. Co., Ilion, N. Y., will be opened at 12 m., July 7; 7% tons of music wire, 1264 tons of 3% per cent nickel steel, 200 tons of commercial cold-rolled strip steel, 94 tons of screw stock steel, 1115 lb. of ribbon spring steel, 1533 tons of carbon steel, 786 tons of 3% per cent nickel steel, and 294 tons of soft steel; 684 tons of 75-mm. forgings and 1997 tons of 155-mm. forgings at the New York Air Brake Co., Water- town, N. Y., bids to be in by 12 m., July 9; 1857 tons Gothi sheet-steel billets at the Donner Steel Co., Buffalo, bids to be in by 12 m., July 11. Bids for the following will be opened at 12 m., July 12: 315 tons of cold-rolled steel at Champaign Bros., Ithaca, N. Y.; 177 tons of cold-rolled round steel and 59 tons of head forgings for 75-mm shrapnel, both at the Symington Machine Corporation, Rochester, N. Y. Bids for the following material at the Atlas Steel Casting Co., Buffalo, will be opened at 12 m.,. July 15; 480 ‘tons of cold-rolled strip steel, screw stock, and hot-rolled forging steel, 896 tons of 9.2-in. common shell forgings, 1070 tons of base plug forgings of common steel; 1993 tons 9.2-in. common steel shell forgings at the Donner Steel Co., Buffalo. steel Multiple Spindle Drilling Machine A multiple spindle drilling machine with straight line adjustable spindles is announced by the Defiance Machine Works, Defiance, Ohio. The machine can be equipped with a group of spindles with fixed centers arranged in a straight line or in a cluster, or with a group of universally adjustable spindles arranged in a straight line, a rectangular or circular cluster. The speed mechanism is located in the column near This Multiple Spindle Drilling Machine Has a Capacity of Kieht %-in. Holes. The minimum distance, center of spindles, is 2 in. and the maximum distance 22 in. The maximum distance from the nose of the spindle to the table is 32 in. and the table has a vertical adjustment of 12 in. There are six spindle speeds ranging from 110 to 34¢ r.p.m. the base so as to absorb the vibration. Power is trans- mitted to a vertical drive shi.:t ‘rom a three step cone pulley through back gears and bevel gears. A John- - son friction clutch is used to engage the power and to select the back gear, and these back gears when used with the three step cone pulley allow six speed changes. The vertical drive shaft is fitted with a sleeve gear through which the spindles are driven, and this sleeve . gear is made to slide along the drive shaft with the spindle head as it is fed either up or down, which construction provides a drive closely coupled to the spindle head at any position on the column. Back gears are unnecessary when the machine is arranged for a direct connected variable speed motor. The feed mechanism is driven from the drive shaft through bevel gears, and is housed in the column above the speed mechanism. It consists of two friction clutches and a jaw clutch. By engaging one of the friction clutches the spindles are rapidly advanced until the drills come in contact with the work, at which point the jaw clutch is automatically engaged to feed the drills through the cut. When through the cut the other friction clutch is automatically engaged to effect a quick return of the spindles to the starting position. The levers operating these clutches are interlocking, thus to prevent more than one clutch being engaged at the same time. Feed changes can be made by removing a gear case cover and changing two gears, The feed screw is operated by the feed mechanism through a vertical drive shaft and a train of spur gears. The threads on these screws are engaged by a bronze nut, which is located low in the spindle head to THE IRON AGE July 3, 1919 prevent the threads from being exposed when the head is fed to its lowest position on the column. The advan- tage of this screw feed which is located directly above the work, it is emphasized, lies in obtaining a vertical feed thrust in central alignment with the spindles, thereby eliminating side thrust to the spindle head and column ways and maintaining them in their original true alignment for a long period of use. The spindle head is gibbed to the column by a square lock method. This head supports the spindles and retains the spindle drive gears. Each spindle when arranged to be adjusted, either universally or in a straight line, is connected to the drive gears by a tele- scopic drive shaft fitted with universal joints. When the spindles are arranged with fixed centers they are connected with the drive gears in a more direct man- ner without universal joints. The manufacturer states that the table can be fur- nished in either a knee or box type. The knee type is adjustable vertically. The box type table is made with its top surface provided with T slots to which the work or a jig can be clamped. The oiling consists of a force feed, gravity flow and splash system combined. The speed and feed mechan- isms taken collectively, and the spindle head sepa- rately, are each provided with independent and self- contained oiling systems. Adjustable Spring Head Tool Holder The adjustable spring head tool holder illustrated is manufactured by the Universal Tool Holder Co., Cleveland. The tool is adjustable for any angle up to 90 deg. right or left. The spring action of the holder is emphasized as giving a smooth cut and eliminating chatter. The manufacturer points out that the strength of the spring is calculated for light production and finishing work, and the tension is such that the tool will cut threads Adjustable Spring Tool Holder Designed for Light Pro- duction and Finishing Work. The swivel arrangement of the head gives the tool a wide range of usefulness: from 70 to 40 pitch. The tool is adaptable to work steel, brass or bronze, but not cast iron. The single clamp holds 5/16 in. round, 5/16 in. square and 3/32 x 7/16-in. flat bits and circular thread- ing or forming tools on either side. La Métallurgie states that the annual capacity of production of the existing French aluminum works is as follows: Société Electro-Métallurgie Francaise, 9,000 tons; Compagnie d’Alais et de la Camargue, 7,000 tons; Société d’Electricité, 1,000 tons; and Société Produits Electrolytiques des Pyrénées, 3,000 tons. The French deposits of bauxite are stated to be inexhaustible, and the fluorspar available supplies the necessary melting element. Anti-Social, Militant Methods Condemned Co-operation of Different Companies Through Rep- resentatives Chosen by Employer and Employees Suggested—Recasting of Industrial Institutions Proposed BY WALTER GORDON MERRITT HE promotion of joint works organizations of employers and employees, with a large measure of autonomy, does not deny the existence of inter-corporate problems affecting labor or the use- fulness of conferences or even permanent associa- tions between representatives of different com- panies. The existence of trade associations, whether of workers or employers, which have come into being by virtue of the exigencies of the situation, is based on sound experi- ence. There must always be machinery whereby operative bureau through which labor and capital “are seeking to deal with the labor conditions of the community, every employee can subscribe on seek- ing employment. Behold here the actual inception of the ideal organization of which we speak. Each factory, with management and employees included, is the basic unit which sends representatives to the larger conferences. The family quarrels in each factory will ordinarily be settled on the inside. Under such a régime our industrial society is not divided into two groups delegates from different companies may deliberate over general questions af- fecting the industry. But would it not be a far more normal situation if co- operation between differ- ent companies were through representatives chosen by the employers and employees of each fac- tory, rather than by na- tional association of em- ployers and national unions, with their class antagonism? The prob- lem of competitive adjust- ment between individual concerns would not then be treated as a class prob- lem or a_ labor-capital problem, but simply as an adjustment between the competitive concerns with full recognition of the fact Opposed to Class Conflicts This is the third and last article of a series by Mr. Merritt on labor prob- lems. He believes that the economic soundness of the new idea of works or- ganization as against the older idea of class organization and class warfare can- not be successfully disputed. He is ut- terly opposed to arraying one class against the other and believes in co-op- eration of companies through representa- tives chosen by both employers and em- ployees of each plant rather than by national associations of employers and national unions with their class antagon- isms. He believes that much can be ac- complished by the Government working with the factory organizations. He says that if the people are to rule, we cannot go too far in educating the rulers. Whether one agrees with Mr. Merritt or not, his views are worthy of consider- ation because they are ably presented in vigorous but temperate language. molded by the solidarity of the working class on the one hand and the soli- darity of the employing class on the other, and the general problems of indus- try are not determined by the alignment of these two classes against each other in a state of industrial war. Limited Use for Unions After all, if we look upon the labor movement with its right of organ- ization and its right to strike as simply a move- ment for economic equi- librium, in order to cure the disparity of bargain- ing power which arises bet ween the individual worker and the manage- ment of organized capital, that the organic struc- = ture of each COMCETN IN- Epo volved labor, management and capital. Under such conditions, the cleavage of our industrial structure, when considering an indi- vidual factory, would at times still be the horizontal cleavage between capital and labor, but the general industrial cleavage involved in the relation of inde- pendent and competing units would be the vertical cleavage between the individual concerns. A Community Plan for Co-operation A short time ago a plan of this general character was presented to me for review by an employers’ association of one of our leading cities. It was pro- posed to establish a co-operative organization of employers and employees for the entire community, and the delegates composing the association were to be an equal number of employers and employees elected from each factory. These delegates elect a board of directors, composed equally of both in- terests, which directs the organization’s activities through the employment of a manager. The or- ganization acts as an employment bureau, a court of appeals for all difficulties which are not settled in the individual factories, and an authority on rates of wages and labor conditions prevailing through- out the country in the same industry. To this co- 9 there may in the end be little occasion for a pure- ly labor organization beyond the limits of the individual factory. The normal economic relationship between capital and labor is in the individual factory; the normal eco- nomic relationship outside of the factory is between the different companies, including all interests of each company. If, of course, we look upon the labor movement as a revolutionary movement which may legitimately pit its power against government or society as a whole, there is nothing to be said except that as a last resort one of the greatest rights of the people is revolution, but the duty of the gov- ernment is to resist. When labor organizations and labor disputes are viewed solely as economic move- ments, to place employer and employees upon some- thing like an equal bargaining basis, in some cases at least there seems to be little gained by extending any organization or controversy beyond the walls of the immediate factory involved, provided each fac- tion seeks and secures outside support with equal success. In many cases it is probably true that 100 me- chanics employed by one employer are in just as effective a position to make or enforce a fair bar- gain with their employer as they would be if they brought in 10,000 employees of other employers, 10 THE IRON provided the outside employers became equally united. In fact, if we eliminate the anti-social power and effects, the facilities of employers’ asso- ciations probably place the advantage of extending the movement beyond the immediate factory in interest on the side of the employers. This is not a theory but seems to have been borne out by actual experience. Employers’ organizations formed in some trades to resist the aggressions of certain unions where both the employers’ association and the national union are about coextensive with the industries they cover, have been successful not only in preventing the growth of that union in the fac- tories of their members but have generally depleted its strength, resources and influence. The organiza- tion of these enormous class movements has in some instances at least gained nothing in the long run over what would be gained in individual factory organization except in so far as they seek anti- social and militant ends. New Idea Sound No one can successfully dispute the economic soundness of the new idea of works organization as against the older idea of class organization and class warfare. No one can disguise the fact that in any country where social peace and co-operation prevail, each manufacturing establishment is the normal unit of economic self-interest for the work- ers. If, by reason of closer co-operation and greater mutuality of interest, the worker’s loyalty to the individual company were to become stronger than his sense of class consciousness and class solidarity, then ipso facto the class conflict and social disunion as we now see it will disappear. Is it feasible to gradually share advantages with the workers in each factory to such an extent as to effect a transfer of their allegiance to the productive unit in prefer- ence to the interests of general class warfare? And, if feasible, have the employers sufficient vision to do this with sufficient promptness? That is, of course, debatable. But one thing is certain—society cannot continue in a static condition while important sections of it are in conflict and just as with the laws of Mother Nature, one force will work against the other until by attrition or more violent up- heaval the point of conflict or friction is altered or relieved. Using natural laws as analogies may be as misleading as it is pleasing, but in this case it seems justifiable to point the moral that the ero- sive forces of social and industrial antagonism— if they don’t pulverize—will inevitably produce a met- amorphosis before we can hope to reach a state of equilibrium. Nothing but a blind denial of natural laws and complete forgetfulness of elemental forces can dispute this. The present conflict will go on until there is a readjustment which is generally ac- cepted as more satisfactory and the only practical question is the method of readjustment. What will be the path of evolution, or revolution, as the case may be? Spirit of Class Solidarity If the workers do not secure a larger measure of their desires in the individual shops, they will continue to be inspired, in even greater degree by anti-social, semi-revolutionary sentiments, to join with others of the class similarly situated, in order to wrest advantages from society and the employers. When a large body of people believe they are en- titled to more than they are receiving and are able to take it, there remains little doubt as to their objective and its capture. The workers will receive more recognition before industrial forces between capital and labor reach an equilibrium and they will get it either through voluntary recognition in the AGE July 3, 1919 individual factory or through the compulsory methods of anti-social, militant class-unionism. To avoid resort to the methods of antagonism the em- ployers must compete with the spirit of class soli- darity for the preferential allegiance of their em- ployees. Employers Misinformed Employers are frequently deluded as to the men- tal attitude of their employees and feel that they have successfully secured their loyalty until light- ning strikes and disillusions them. Perhaps they have no reason to know better when an occasional employee at whom they casually speer a question as- sures them that they are satisfied with the wages and hours which prevail and are grateful for the welfare work which is being carried on. But these are undependable assurances, for the same work- man will often convey a contradictory story to the union delegate, and if occasion arises to take a con- troversy to court the witness stand frequently finds most of the men against the employer. Under present-day conditions, few concerns are beyond the reach of a volcanic outburst. In the long run but few can hold their employees when under favorable conditions the call of class solidarity is sounded. Is it possible to change all this and to substitute in the majority of factories harmonious working organiza- tions of the management and workers where the centripetal forces will be greater than the centrifu- gal? Can we not substitute factory solidarity for class solidarity? If the feeling of industrial injus- tice and class hostility is mitigated, the natural eco- nomic union and the center of cohesion is obviously the productive unit. If, through the leadership of the liberal wing of employers in directions already in evidence, the solidarity of this productive unit can be maintained as against the disintegrating ef- fect of class solidarity, all is well; if not, the problem is disturbing indeed. Disunion and disintegration are the harvest of any society which arrays one class against the other. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” The class alignment must be broken up by recasting our industrial institutions. I use the word advisedly. It must. It is only a question of means whether it should be done through peaceful methods or whether the change will be brought about through methods of disorganization. Militant Unit in England In England the development of the national mili- tant union has gone so far that the choice of reme- dies is more limited than in the United States. The employers did not awake to the seriousness of their situation until some of the most important trades and utilities had so completely fallen into the hands of powerful militant unions that even the Govern- ment could not withstand their demands. The lodg- ing of monopolistic control of industry in the hands of a single union which is capable of eluding or resisting the regulation of the state, is bound to result in the suspension of the orderly processes of democratic government. Where the wishes of that union are at stake, the affair will not be settled by resort to pure reason. The Coal Miners’ Union in- formed the British Government that no coal would be mined in the kingdom unless the mines were nationalized, and while the issue is still in flux, the workers have gained much of this demand and bid well soon to secure the rest. In this country there is still such a large amount of coal mined by inde- pendent, non-union mines that society could not be “held up” in quite the same way. Taking our pop- ulation as a whole, there is about one union man for every 30 inhabitants, while in Great Britain there is about one for every eight or nine. During July 3, 1919 THE the war it appeared that 90 per cent of that part of English industry upon which the nation was par- ticularly dependent was unionized, while in this country 90 per cent of it was open shop or non- union. Where the machinery of industry has so completely fallen into the power of centralized labor organizations as in England, the country must “watch its step,” and in handling these organiza- tions democracy becomes more theoretical than real. Power of the Old Unions It is probable that this high degree of organiza- tion in British industry, which was one of the es- tablished conditions on which the Whitley Commit- tee was obliged to build, made it impossible to ex- tend industrial government along ideal lines, where each factory acting as an industrial republic with a joint works committee of employers and employees. would send their delegates to district and national councils without the need of national organizations of workers and employers conducted for class war purposes. The Whitley Committee was positive that it must not be felt in either organized or unor- ganized industries that works committees “were in opposition to trade unionism” and that “such fears should be guarded against.” It is obvious from the report that the power of the old-established unions was so great that the committee would not coun- tenance any independent movement among the workers which would subject those unions to any kind of rivalry, however wholesome. The old class cleavage was recognized as something which eculd not be recast, for the committee found it necessary “to secure the support of the trade unions and em- ployers’ associations concerned,” by providing that all councils “should be composed only of representa- tives of trade union and employers’ associations and that new organizations should be admitted only with the approval of the particular side of the council of which the organization would form ‘a part.” It stated that plans for district councils should “be a matter of agreement between these organizations.” From this it follows that no kind of rival labor or- ganization will be allowed to participate. Exclusive and monopolistic control will be given to those already in existence. If the men in any one factory desire to form their own union to act independently of the old organizations, the existing organizations in the governing council will treat it as an outlaw. The ideal plan of encouraging democracy in the in- dividual factory and developing district and national organizations from the ground up, through the joint action of management and workers in each factory, was not adopted. The employers’ commission ap- pointed by our Department of Labor to report on English conditions confirms this point of view, for it finds that “employers nearly all agree that collec-. tive bargaining should always be undertaken be- tween associations of employers and the regularly established well-organized trade unions.” Ameri- can employers who are initiating machinery for fac- tory representation independently of the old-time labor unions, will be loath to believe that it can only be undertaken under the auspices of the older unions. They are glad to hear from the same em- ployers’ commission that it is a problem how to keep shop committees “under the control of the larger labor organizations.” The War Labor Board cer- tainly proceeded on the theory that independent or- ganization was not desirable. Numerous employ- ers of this country are so aroused by the misdeeds and impracticable methods of some of our unions, that if they become satisfied that collective bargain- ing can only thrive through the agency of those unions, they will oppose it to the end. The best IRON AGE 11 chance for the newly organized movement lies in the belief of many employers that it is something more efficient and friendly than the existing conditions of strife and disunion and will lead to a higher social ~ service. They must still be convinced as a class that the new idea will serve the cause of production rather than class warfare. Opportunity for American Employers So far as this discussion is concerned, the em- ployers in our country are where the English em- ployers were decades ago and are therefore afforded a fortunate glimpse into the future which awaits them and the nation if they follow the same course. Will they not profit by this and endeavor to create a factory solidarity more attractive than class soli- darity? Will they not convince the workers by actual demonstration that they can gain more through co-operation with their individual employ- ers than by the militant, anti-social methods of class conflict? Upon the answers to these questions de- pend the growth and success of the wholesome fac- tory organization, constructed for the purpose of service, as against the more militant type of union- ism which, in the majority of cases depends pri- marily on force and class conflict. The chance still remains in this country to avoid the English blunders by erecting an industrial government wherein associated activities beyond the walls of the individual factory and intercorporate adjust- ments affecting labor will be largely conducted by delegates from each factory rather than national organizations of employers and employees. Labor Turnover and Factory Loyalty One factor which will do much to promote the cause of intrashop solidarity and organization is the intense effort being made to eliminate excessive labor turnover. To minimize turnover is to increase the number of employees who will become more per- manently connected with an individual concern and to reduce the volume of migratory labor. This means decreased restiveness and increased loyalty. The employers, impelled by self-interest, are now fully alive to the importance of this line of effort both for the purpose of stabilizing their working organization and avoiding the waste which comes from breaking in green hands. Magnus Alexander, whose authoritative studies will not be questioned, has pointed out that it costs from $20 to $300 every time a new employee has to be substituted for an old one, and when we know that the annual turn- over in some plants has run as high as several hun- dred percent, the magnitude of the loss to the em- ployer and society—to say nothing of its effect on the