The Iron Age 1920-07-29: Vol 106 Iss 5

. oe Z r; 2, * © — Pe, ae ‘ * PR Ey 2 ShMer. : ! 7 en ial ee 4 y ‘| “3 _ noggin tC whe $ e” Soap , ~ & Phew 4 4 Py oy > ~ s bes ~~ *. te ‘y 4 . 3 k c ’ G oe . ar, ; : ‘ » fe ' Be aD rt x 4 New York, July 29, 1920 TABLISHED 1855 VOL. 106: No. 5 i OEE EE, § a tbat pleat nda itt ED . iF . ulomMmodpl1ie Wear aking Centralized bia a) C oe ‘ es New Works of General Motors Corporation—Well-lighted, oN Single-room Machine Shop Half Acre in Size and Com- ‘ ice i : ne ae Lee 8 » : : : y s)- plete Heat-treating Plant with Efficient Routing of Work rT\HE number and size of the automobile interests a new organization known as the Central Products controlled by the General Motors Corporation Co 3 have made it possible to develop plans for The latest addition to the group to be placed in “4 centralized production of some of the company’s yperation is the plant of the Central Gear Co. In cd principal automobile parts. In carrying out these this plant differentials are made for the various ea al large central plants have been erected to ar building unit The work includes the manu B ipply various parts instead of having each unit facture of both straight tooth and spiral bevel gears, ufacture the parts required for the cars built for internal gears and main drive gears and pinions, that unit. the machining of gear housings and assembling the lo provide for centralized production the Gen years and housings. With its arrangements for eral Motors Corporation acquired a large tract of continuous production on a quantity basis the gear land at the northern outskirts of Detroit where it works is an unusually interesting example of the ow has three large independent manufacturing modern type of plant designed for large production. inits in operation. These are the Central Forge The gear manufacturing plant includes a ma- Co., whose plant was described in THE IRON AGE chine shop 600 ft. long and 360 ft. wide fronting luly 24, 1919; the Central Gear Co. and the Central to the south, and a heat treating building 360 ft. \xle Co. In addition another central plant is being long and 100 ft. wide. The latter is located at the ected for the building of motors, and a large cen rear of and at right angles to the machine shop, power plant has been built under the name of the ends of the heat treating building being in Central Power Co. for the distribution of elec parallel line with the sides of the other building. ‘al power to the various units and for supplying ‘The two buildings are separated by a paved court eam for heating the buildings and for operating 10 ft. wide. On the west side of the plant where he hammers in the forge shop and other power the builk of the raw material is received and the rposes. The various units are designated as divi finished differentials are shipped out is a receiving ms of the General Motors Corporation and these and shipping platform. This extends the full length ve recently all been grouped together as units of of both buildings and at the side of the connecting we At 7 ye ae | F ~ | ee ae “"* e . (. XK. 4s , I - ‘ i q3 nts Ib . 1 ez fi ‘, 3 View Down the Plant Through the Center Aisle The left side is devoted largely to primary operations The gears are cut and ground on the right side As a rule each bay is a separate department Work is routed across the plant, starting at U stock receiving side ‘i ae EE eee >= mse ——— THE IRON AGE July 29, 192: ( Mac Bay Shown in Th ‘ cou} ( t é t (40 \ } ) for} t te ( hn ne I t ( ' } r) Du a [a ! ( r) ms } ( | trac} ( er fing . I} ( flo l Che t ere | ! ples extendal! U Ur au ut electric lan Ss are suspende ! t >» eAnoples he an : han } { ] + ] ] ¢ 4 | machine shop has eight double steel dos ) ri¢ ne ¢ ¢ \ i } } ’ k | adi} Ac} S Tne Tro! yea nd conne ) ne machine nop 1s \ off buildu ft long and 30 ft. wide. The machine shop is a saw-tooth type of build ft . 1 ; 1 ] b- a0 + ing of brick, steel and glass construction. ‘The win dows are reinforced factory glass set in The building is building 30-ft. centers, the columns apart lengthwise of the building. the floor to the bottom of the divided int columns, 8 x 10-in. I-beams, p‘aced o1 rows of being 40 ft. The distance from tooth roof is 15 Saw The Two lilustrations on This Page Show Some of the Runwevys for Ponrdline the the Departments in Bays by Numbers and the Illustration Lelow Machinery is laid i ! of 1}, naple laid on 3-in. ‘k under which are 10-in. concrete slabs, the slat eins ipported on piers. The building site wi: rinall wamp and dump, and the piers wl extend dew d earth were necessary ro da The floor is pr ) car | li 600 Ib. per sq. ft. The The t ( de ength e on the east les of th lilding, for a width of 40 ft., ar rtitioned off by a 10-ft. wire screen and are o \ arious departments other than prod it receiving and st} 1 other r tock, teol cribs for the men working in that se f shipping department and offices of uperintendent and production manager, these offic being located near the center. On the west, or are rooms for bar stock an ‘ } ne plant, In the east bay ar the electrical repair, shop maintenance, shop supp! cutter and tool grinding departments, inspector's office, main tool crib, tool room and wash and locke rooms. The latter-named rooms are at the soutl corner and adjoining the factory entranc which is from the front through the east side 0! east Work and the Method of Designatine July 29, pi piano he office building. cker if eparate eT 1920 IRON AGE 247 (;rinding Department Alli machines are driven by rooms there is a section filled with patronize the that is provided in a building located between the gear | that of the Central Axle Co. Practically the cafeteria plant entire machine shop ge floor space is all in one room, the small sec With its ' t s Of} floor space on one side occupied DV the lices of the superintendent and production mana being the only parts entirely inclosed outside e that are screened in. The wash and locker ms are separated from the main floor by solid tal partition, which, however, is only 10 ft. in hth and interferes little with the light and ven- yr) \ feature of the plant is the convenient arrange t of the bar stock room, which is so constructed tock is placed in the bins direct's de platform where it is unloaded. The stock are 90 ft. long, 20 ft. wide and 15 ft. high, and divided into three 30-ft. sections. Back of each roller lift and when stock is to placed in the bins one of these doors is rolled up, ng the back end of the bin at the side of the tform. There are similar rolling doors ‘at the of the bins and these are let down when the from the door ion 18 a In connection with the wash and tables here the men eat their lunches if they do not care individual electric motor ‘ hown, with the msequent elin verhead belting } weather is cold, thereby preventing a draft of cold air coming from the bins into the machine shop. In addition to the roller doors, sliding wood bumpers are provided along the front of the bins prevent the stock being pushed too far when the bins are being filled. Each inside and outside rolling is raised and lowered by an electrically und these nside doo driven operating device, the motor and operating equipment being and located above the door controlled by a push button at a convenient reach from the floor The stock bins are 24 in. wide and 30 in. high (hey are built 6-in. upright channels spaced 24 in. apart, and to these are bolted 3 x 3-in. angles vhich support 20-lb. rails, the rails forming the bottom of the bins The machine shop divided longitudinally into two divisions, one division being located on each ide of the main 10-ft. center aisle. There are also two outside aisles 8 ft. wide between the screened-in he } Each division is under the direction of an assistant super- tendent. ‘The first division on the receiving and shipping side is used almost wholly for primary operations. The gear housings are machined and finished complete in this division, but here work on the gears is limited to the blanking operations, and departments and the production departments Ae) ae wee. LZ co n Which Gears and Pinions Are ! in machine Blanked This (Li me _ Fa eh / fT Y aes e, ; Le ee al eI iin is well as shop are all in one large well-lighted room MeN 248 THE IRON AGE to other machine work up to the cutting operations. In tl e second division, or in the half of the plant across the center aisle the gears and pinions are cut and ground. The plant is subdivided int partments. With the various nonproduction depart ments located in the outer bays there are 56 depart ments in all. 59 production de The production departments occups traverse bays which are 135 ft. long to the center aisle and 30 ft. wide. Two rows of machines are placed in the bay with their backs toward the build- ing columns leaving a wide aisle in front of the machines. Incline runways of steel construction are provided in front of the machines for handling work along the line of machinery, these being used for housings and other parts that can readily be moved in this way. In the differential housing department a runway is located in the aisle to take housings from one department to adjoining departments. As a rule, each bay is a separate department, but a few departments take two bays and in some cases work is done on three or four pieces in one bay. Generally speaking, work is routed across the plant starting with the first division on the stock-receiv- ing side. All machinery in the various departments ire roller doors along the unloading platform An el doors in front of the bins and the sliding wooden bump: er of the llustration in this primary operation division is laid out continuous and consecutive operations, the machine being arranged in proper order for successive opera- tions on certain parts rather than the grouping of machines of a similar type for similar kinds of work on different kinds of parts. The machine tools are single-purpose machines, and 80 per cent otf them are either automatic or semi-automatic in their operations. When a set-up is made on a ma chine that set-up remains as long as the shop has orders for that particular part. The plan of machinery arrangement for co! secutive operations is not followed in the se division or on the gear-cutting side where the ma chinery is arranged in two separate groups, one [ rough cutting and the other for finished cutt since it was believed that better results could obtained in the gear-cutting department by segr gating machines according to type rather than have them arranged for successive operations After the finished cutting the gears go to the heat treating department and from there back to the grinding department. From theré they move to the finished stock room that occupies a section of the main floor near the front of the building. Assem Master Tool Crib Which Supplies Tools to Several Other Smaller Cribs Throughout the Plant July 29, 1920 - eget” wate in, * pepe eta. ae THE ~2Q 1920 bi A E e Design of Heat-Treating Building and th Building "3 » js done in an adjoining bay between the fin % ed stock room and shipping department. rhere is a 100 per cent floor inspection of work, arts being inspected after every operation that ; nts an inspection. Consequently the only final 4 on is the one made after the last operation. 7 the machinery in the plant, which includes hines, of which 300 are gear cutters, i: individual motors; consequently all ove) elting is eliminated. Energy is supplied es through overhead conduits extending dow All motors of rating roof trusses. 5 hp. ess have push-button control. The provision yr electrical repairs suggests fire department iis. Should a motor get out of order, an an tor calls a crew of men from the electrical r department and they hurry to the scene with tractor painted a bright red and e fitted up for this purpose and completel ed with tools and repair parts, and repairs are ft trie the machine with minimum amount olf Mlectrical energy is delivered to the plant at th| ts and to the machine through three j formers at 440 volts. tric tractors are generally throughout the plant, these being of th: platform xe This transportation system is suppl by hand trucks with elevating platforms fo. rt hauls. The machines are provided with metal tool stands and have drawers and a DOANnKS used for conve type for picking up racks and “urnaces in the Heat-Treating Department hing tank for connectic beneath which is equipped IRON s0Ca le Carbonizing yn the AGE tion of Overhead Toile Re s in the Court Between This Main Building locks. All shop bins and tool cribs, lockers, etc., are of metal. The side walls of the building and columns are painted green to a height of 6 ft., and above that the entire interior, including the roof painted white. This, together with the abundance Is trusses, of window surface in the side walls and roof, makes the interior appearance of the building unusually light, bright and clean. Each department is desig is painted on each side of a led from the roof trusses nated by number, which sheet metal square suspen in the aisle at the head of each department, so that the number of the department can be plainly seen from every direction. Artificial light is provided by two rows of Cooper-Hewitt lamps in each bay. The same method of lighting is used in the heat treating department. Four toilet rooms overhead, reached by iron tairways, are provided in the machine shop. Each if these is 30 x 40 ft., or the size of one bay, and take the place of a section in the saw tooth roof. The heat treating department has two toilet rooms of steel and concrete over the court two which are built the in connection. buildings. These have shower The machine shop has a fully equipped first-aid hospital located in the office build between rooms ing. The unusually tion, the general design of accompanying exterior view. treating department is located in an building of steel construc which is shown in the There are continuous heat well-lighted table and pipes on the and water dumped in the into pois are unloaded tunnel to the oil circulating system track 250 THE vindow sections on the four sides, and beneath these are roller steel doors and windows, one window sec- tion alternating with two 10-ft. doors. Louvers are provided in the space between the bottom of the windows and floor for ventilating purposes. With the rolling doors about 75 per cent of the lower part of the building may be opened insuring a free circu- lation of air during the hot weather. In the roof there are sixty 66-in. Swartwout ventilators. The locks concrete covered floor consists of laid on a with a asphalt i base and the building is cement slab roof. The plant fur- eight of these being located in a row across is equipped with ten hardening naces, These are double-end furnaces, the work being charged into one end and removed from the other. Four Gleason quenching machines are pro- ided for quenching ring gears. The carbonizing furnaces, twenty-four in number, are arranged in two rows lengthwise in the building back to back. \ll the furnaces are oil fired. They were supplied by the American Shop Equipment Co. Stationary quenching tanks are entirely elimi 1ated and in their place portable tanks are used, these being pushed along a track in front of the fur- yne end. Navy Will Buy Bars WASHINGTON, July 27.—The Navy Department will yen bids on Aug. 6 for approximately 230 tons of special treatment steel bars. These bars are to be livided equally for the hull division work on the dread- naughts South Dakota and Indiana at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the North Carolina at the Norfolk Yard and the Montana at Mare Island, Cal. On the same day it will also open bids for about 180 tons of steel sheets, and plates to be used at the Portsmouth Yard, as well as 315 tons of steel bars and 63 tons of billets for the Portsmouth, Brooklyn and Norfolk yards. Another series of bids will be opened Aug. 10 for the purchase of approximately 130 tons of heat-treated annealed carbon steel bars for the Washington Navy Yard. Bids for 90 tons of steel shapes will be opened Aug. 10. Bids will be opened July 30 for approximately 148 tons of turret armor and turret top bolt steel, for the Naval Ordnance plant at South Charleston, W. Va steel Buys Control of Wickes Machinery Co. \ controlling interest in the Wickes Machinery Co. Jersey City, has been purchased by F. H. Niles & Co., lne., New York. H. W. McAteer, president American Steel Export Co., is chairman of the board of both mpanies, each of which will be continued under its IRON AGE July 29, 1920 Provisions for Repairs Suge Department = owt In case a mot out of repair an ciator is sounded specially equippe trical tractor W ie crew of repair rushed to the trouble “a tanks are about 60 in. long, 30 wide and the same height as the furnace hearths There are pipe connections and valves beneath | connecting the tanks with the oil circulating systen and the water pipes, the necessary lines being « ried in a tunnel beneath the track. Water is dis charged from the tanks to the sewer and oil is ca! a ried back to the oil-filtering tanks. Carbonizing | : are drawn from the furnace onto a portable unloa ing table of steel-frame and brick-floor constructio: that is moved about with a hand truck. This tabk is placed directly in front of the furnace door and parts are dumped from the pots onto the table a oe pushed from the table into the quenching tai } Work is cleaned on a Pangborn rotary sand blast machine. The fuel, air, water and oil lines and pyromet Pe Wiring are carried in a series of tunnels ben the floor, leaving the overhead clear. The bui 100 x 40-ft. sub-basement for blowers storage and for entrance to the tunnels. Ther seven 20,000-gal. tanks outside the building for Central control of the furnaces is provid i with two pyrometer rooms, one on each side otf th plant and serving the furnaces on that side a naces. These ¥ has a storage. own name. F. H. Nites, president F. H. Niles & becomes vice-president of the Wickes Machinery | F while F. A. Fitz Gerald continues president of we 3 Wickes Machinery Co. and becomes vice-president" 3 : F. H. Niles & Co. The Wickes Machinery Co. su Bo ceeded sometime ago to the business of Wickes bros Bs ae who were engaged in the machinery and power equ! ment business for over 40 years. The New York of ; of Wickes & Co. will be in the office of F. H. Niles: Ba Co., Woolworth Building. This latter company, p addition to used machinery business, also represe”' in the New York territory the following compa! Cisco Machine Tool Co., Hoefer Mfg. Co., John Step! Co., West Tire Setter Co., Hisey Wolf Machine | Mueller Machine Tool Co., Hawley Down Draft Fur Co. and Berkshire Mfg. Co. Charles H. Dankmeyer has formed the Rep¥ Belting Co., Inc., Baltimore, incorporated unde! laws of Maryland. He has acquired the A! property, fronting on Smallwood Street, extene'® from Pratt to McHenry Street, a city block, 200 | Bae The plant will have abundant natural light # sides. The construction of the plant is in charge” @ Huldreich Egli, a native of Switzerland. The supe . . yan bs tendent, who will have charge of production, was """ ii years with the Mt. Vernon-Woodberry Mills and 10! y last 15 years has engaged in the belting business Judge Gary Denounces Unreasonable Profits iy a Says Steel Business Is Not Affected to Large Extent — Labor Not Paid Too Much —In- ereased Efficiency — Prohibition Is Helping DGE E. H. GARY, chairman United States steel Corporation, sailed on the French liner krance, Friday, July 23. On‘the day before his ture for Europe, when asked to make a state- mncerning the purpose of his trip, and also in to present economic conditions, he said: am going abroad to secure a rest which could e adequately ‘provided in any other way. I do w expect to have much, if anything, to do in a ss way during my absence. From my viewpoint, nk business conditions should be considered satis vy. In some respects, I think there has been a of prudence in business management since the tice of 1918. I refer especially to prices. There s to have been a disposition on the part of large bers to ask and accept the highest prices which ild be obtained. Consequently, there has been added voing prices the amount which the producer has obliged to pay, with profit on the whole, and the chaser has thus been obliged to charge an increased price to his customers. Besides there have been added many Government taxes and other expenses. There fore, increases in costs of production and consequent selling prices have been passed on from one to anotner » Attitude of Labor “In addition to this situation, the disposition to work and produce has been materially diminished. The workman in the field, at 4 o’clock or some other early hour, drops his tools and leavés the hay or grain un- sheltered to be spoiled or injured by rains during the night, when under old methods the same would have teen stacked‘or housed before quitting work. This ractice has been followed in many different lines of work. In order to remove and replace a headlight on locomotive, it has been necessary to employ four lifferent men, because of labor regulations, where one nan heretofore performed the same service in less it has been recently published that tailors have inced an inerease of 15 per cent in selling prices ise the workmen had advanced rates 15 per cent. common illustrations are well known to the ‘ge individual. The rule has prevailed of doing as work as possible and of securing as large pecuni sults as could be obtained. However, somewhat surprise, | have, upon inquiry during the last 10 days, ascertained that labor at our various is more efficient per man than it has been at me before during the last five years. Unconscionable Profits of course, evident to the thinking person eryone who has intentionally increased his yond reason has been operating against his terest. If the tailor had absorbed the additional im by reason of the larger wages, he would have had a reasonable profit left and would ‘ded his influence in keeping prices from further ng and of restoring the fair equilibrium. A: ilt of these inexcusable conditions, which I think ‘'y cases have been unconscionable, there has \ ‘ ‘ly followed a diminution in the buying move- This applies to many different lines of business, “nN apparently it has not yet reached the steel to a large extent. The average man, even possessed of surplus capital, is buying less and less unnecessary food and luxuries of Xinds. The prudent housewife is buying less poying fewer servants. The disposition to de- { *xpenditures and to increase savings has been of late. I think during the next few months these tendencies throughout the country will be more and more noticeable. “The prohibition laws have had a marked effect. li: nearly every newspaper one will read of fewe inmates of prisons, almshouses and hospitals, and urger balances in savings institutions, and better, cleaner and healthier conditions in the dwellings, all on account of prohibition. Testimony on this subject and to this effect is accumulating day by day. From an economic, pecuniary standpoint, | think a large majority of the people of this country are in favor of prohibition, and it is pleasing to note that the larg numbers of workmer, so far as I am informed, sub- scribe to this view. These signs to which I have briefly pointed are nealthy. They mean larger pro- duction, lower costs, greater thrift, improved health and augmented decreases in living expenses. There is plenty of business, sufficient numbers to transact it, reasonable profits offered, and larger resources than ever before. If we take advantage of our opportunities, as now seems to me to be the tendency, success and prosperity in this country are assured, } Labor and Capital “I may be pardoned for again referring to the labor question. There is no conflict between ‘capital and labor. Each is dependent upon the other. Both recog nize this fact. The almost innumerable troubles which have resulted in strikes and often riots and bloodshed during the last year or longer, have been between employers and labor union leaders, who have not repre- sented, or been requested to represent, the great majority of workmen. I think, in a majority of the cases, the fault has been with the labor leaders, al- though the public, or those who by inquiry or contact become informed, are able to judge for themselves, and in their conclusions will do justice to all concerned. I have no desire or intention to combat labor unions as such. The right to organize is not disputed. If law and order are continuously preserved by the author- ities, and men and property are protected against law- lessness, all labor questions will be solved voluntarily by those who are directly interested, to the satisfac- tion of themselves and the general public as well. veryone who is interested in this question should take pains in case of a strike to make careful inquiry in regard to the facts, and then impartially determine from the standpoint of public interest what ought to he done. Labor Not Paid Too Much “Labor has never before in any country been paid as high compensation in proportion to the costs of living as it has been paid during the last few years, and is being paid at the present time. But it has not There have been and are cases where compensation has been too low and work too strenuous, but I have been speaking of the general rule. A majority of the employers and employees read and listen attentively to suggestions relating to their obligations to all others, including the general public. The public press, through its leading editors, has done much to improve conditions by exposing the facts re- lating to specific cases which have been presented. While I recognize, and for many months have compre- hended, dangers in the general situation, I am more optimistic in regard to the future of this country than I have been at any time before during the last six years. If people generally will recognize the possible dangers which have been hinted at and will, each for himself or herself, do everything possible and prac- ticable to improve conditions, we shall soon return to a basis of living which should be entirely satisfactory.” been paid too much. 251 et yet! Pa EY yr Sl rete # y 7 fe $ « + + rr gey Rawr ee een —— a ss ae er ‘eeealieens, 9D wV06 ‘“WITHOUT USEFUL THOUGHT ” Brief of Rolied Steel Consumer Criticized by Lackawanna Steel Co. The supplemental brief, filed by the attorneys for the Western Rolled Steel Consumers, in the “Pittsburgh basing case,” and outlined in THE IRON AGE of July 8, is criticized in a “memorandum” filed by Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, 40 Wall Street, New York, attorneys for the Lackawanna Stee) Co., one of the companies against whom the Western association made complaint. The document is aated July 15, and is captioned: “Before the Federal Trade Commission in the Matter of the Application of the Western Association of Rolled Steel Consumers for a Complaint vs. United States Steel Corporation, Association of et al—Memorandum of Lackawanna Steel Co. in Reply to Supplemental Brief of Western Association of Rolled Steel Consumers.” It is signed “Lacka wanna Steel Co., by George F. Downs, president, was filed a few days before the decision was rendered, and reads as follows: “Lackawanna Steel Co., having filed a_ printed statement with the commission in October, 1919, at the request of the acting chairman, and having there after, in December, 1919, appeared by its first vice president and by counsel before the commission and submitted arguments and statements relative to this matter, cannot fail to express its surprise at the wholly unconventional action of the Western Associa tion of Rolled Steel Consumers (the applicant) in filing a supplemental brief six months after the con clusion of the hearing without previous notice to the undersigned and, so far as known to the undersigned, without the authorization of the commission. We there- fore that the applicant’s supplemental brief be disregarded. ask COSTS OF PRODUCTION Federal Trade Commission Insists Upon Right to Know Facts WASHINGTON, July 27.—The Trade mission has filed its answer in the injunction proceed- ings brought in the Supreme Court of the District of lederal Com- Columbia to restrain it from enforcing a demand for monthly reports from the various steel companies. The answer takes the broad ground that the right of ‘ includes a right to Congress ‘ongress to regulate interstate regulate intrastate commerce, if necessary. the right to information with whole of an industry, including its the commission to relation to intrastate demand as the power of Congress has obtain the phases; and the right of such information is as broad to legislate and incident thereto. The answer also sets up the contention that the steel industry by its nature and its the organized society is harged with a public of that well as part at least in interstate power of the and others are engaged. The complainants listed in the answer are: Claire Furnace Co., The Ella Furnace Co., Reliance Coke Co., Westmoreland-Connellsville Coal & Coke Co., Weirton Steel Co., Edgewater Steel Co., La Belle Iron Works, Donner Steel Co., Steel & Tube Co. of America, Mid- vale Steel & Ordnance Co., Cambria Steel Co., Republie Iron & Steel Co., McKeesport Tin Plate Co., N. & G. Taylor Co., Inland Steel Co., Trumbull Steel Co., Beth- lehem Steel Co., Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., Brier Hill Steel Co., West Penn Steel Co., Wheeling Steel & Iron Co. and Sharon Steel Hoop Co. If the court is not willing to dismiss the suit for injunction as to all of these complaints, the commission asks that it be dismissed at least as to the Bethlehem needs of interest and is subject, because appearance commerce to the right obtain information wtih which these comparisons relation to because of its interest, as Congress to industry in ind elation of THE IRON AGE July 29, 1929 “1. The said supplemental brief does not ad useful thought to the points involved here, whict thoroughly discussed before the commission in al aspects at the five-day hearing last December, in essence a mere repetition of arguments alread) and fully answered at that hearing. “2. The possible increase in freight rates, of the applicant complains, is a matter for the mination of the Interstate Commerce Commissi has no bearing here. Moreover, Lackawanna St ( has not taken the position before the Interstate ( merce Commission of which applicant complains “3. Applicant argues at some length that commission should adopt as its own certain suyyges tions made in the dissenting opinion in a case decide by the United States Supreme Court, namel) of Federal Trade Commission vs. Anderson (i)at applicant intimating that the Supreme Court and oth courts are old-fashioned in their ideas and that dissenting opinion should be the law and should pr vail. But we believe that, despite the applicant’s . tentions, the majority and not the minority of th Supreme Court declares the law of the land. T majority of the court expressed views opposite to thos for which applicant contends. But, even if the minorit should prevail, it would not affect the facts present case or require any action on the part of commission. “4. Applicant’s remaining contention is based on a attempt to insinuate a violation of the anti-trust law an insinuation which the applicant was unable to su stantiate, because the facts did not exist. Steel Co. repeats that its prices are agreement with any competitor. “For reasons already fully expressed at the hearing last December, and upon the facts there shown, ther is no merit in the supplemental brief, or in the a». pleation, and the prayer for the of a co. plaint should not be granted.” Lackawanna not mad issuance Steel Co. and the Republic Iron & Steel Co., or at least so modified as not to interfere with the manda proceedings brought against these companies, at instance of the commission in the United States Dist: Courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The answer of the commission insists that its 0] tions in the coal industry have nothing to do wit steel investigations and that the latter are unaffected by the litigation concerning the coal investigatio: “The production of steel,” however, declares answer, “is so related to the production of iro: coke and pig iron that the cost of production of is not complete or accurate without ascertainment the cost of production of coke and pig iron, and as distinguished from the coal industry, question: were sent to the complainants whose processes one or more of these elements of steel productio! The answer denies that the service of th tionnaires constitutes a threat of the impositior penalties, and points out that there can be no to a penalty for failure to answer until after th mission has served a default notice, that the se. such a notice lies in the discretion of the com and consequently there is no presumption that fault notice will be served. The commission stati it has not served any default notice on any coa! iron or steel producer, except in the case of the Ma nard Coal Co., when by agreement with cou! notice was served in order to complete the re with the understanding that it would not be basis of collecting a penalty. The answe? that it is still the policy of the commission m to impose penalties until the legality of th established. The chief contention in the answer concerning ™ complaint that the questionnaires issued by the mission constituted a regulation of intrastate merce; that if the Federal Trade Commission pur?" to confer this power it is unconstitutional and tha” the act regulates only interstate commerce the 4°" the commission are unlawful. RSS reed are ead New Drop Forge Plant at Pittsburgh: Group Arrangements of Forging Sets, Furnaces and < Machine Tools, a Transportation System, and Em- ployee Comfort Features Make for Quantity Production bo t engineer remedies between individual forgings DROP forge plant designed from the dual stand- ind houses the general offices, the sales, advertisin point of full production and of comfort for the accounting and engineering departments, and a workman was recently completed for the Duff emergency hospita In connection t Co., Pittsbi rgh, a firm that has been engaged in ng depa ‘tment an experimental room 1s operated manufacture of lifting jacks and trench braces which models of new products are istructed 1883., The forgings are of nickel, nickel chrome tested. In the emergency hospital nurse is arbon steel and are for the company’s own use and’ on hand, provided with the applian and the trade. At present 200 tons of drop forgings that are needed to take care of pat until y are being supplied for the automobile, tractor medical or surgical attention can be given. railroad trades, for gear blanks and other parts One of the accompanying illustrations shows achine tools. eral layout of the forge shop, in which are located the ne plant consists of five separate buildings, the hammer and heat treating departments The the forge shop in which the hammers and heat yard for raw materials occupies space ng departments are located, the machine shop,’ this building and the machine shop and is served by tallurgical and chemical laboratory, and the power monorail crane. All raw material received all built of brick, steel, glass and concrete, and yard on the car, and before it is unloaded samples are ded with floors of either brick or concrete. In the taken and tested in the plant’s laboratory. gn of these buildings special attention was given From the storage yard the material moved ntilation and lighting. crane to the shears, as required. the e office building is a two-story brick structure pieces are cut, they fall into a ste box placed on a skid. These boxes when full are conveyed the Duff Mfe. C electric lift truck to the nammers, the 3 ‘ 6 ’ Forg : W \ ited the | ‘ Hi I Treating i , eis ea ure = *4 ! ur h { ! | _ . yi a ~ i | ‘ | Vm 2 - o J 7 j : ¥ / P a LLL | > j | - I ; are x ~ ' * 6 . ‘ g Lija A { cat “ " - 48 it ‘ q ~ dna F ” zh? « 4 ; THE IRON AGE July 29, 1-] Ajax Upsetter The drive are to be cold-trimmed, to the trimming pifess, and then to the heat-treating department. If th@ are to be hot-trimmed, which is the they are trimmed by the hammersmith transported After heat the forgings are cleaned in the sand blast or pickled, inspected, and either loaded on a car for shipment by the monorail crane, or, usual case, and then directly to the heat-treating department. treatment if they are to enter into parts manufactured by the company itself, moved ] i to the machine shop by the electric truck. board hammers and upsetters are driven from overhead shafting, group n being to emploved In the general plan of the forge shop the arrangs ment of the hammers, furnaces, presses and heat-treat ing equipment is shown. The sides of the building are principally glass windows and sliding doors, and, as the building is located on the Ohio River bank, good ventilation is About 140 men are employed In order to facilitate produc- tion, large aisles are provided, and all work is kept moving and allowed to secured. in the forge department. travel in one direction only. The forge shop equipment consists of 14 Erie steam A Qitenching Tank and Leeds and Northrup Recording thermo-couples Potentiometer connected to a potentiometer Each furnace is equipped with two 1920 nammers, 00.1 Br ad 29, 1920 ey + Le } ) i! Billings THE IRON AGE 25! Steam Hammers. The equipment includes ind a 1600-Ib. and 2006 ranging from 400 to 5000 lb.; a 1600-lb. and a & Spencer board hammer, a 100-Ib. hammer, a 2-in. and 4-in. Ajax upsetter, a set of arrel ty Toledo trimming presses, a Hoevel pe sand blasting machine, tumbling d pickling cans. The presses and Bradley are di iven by individual motors, while the immers and upsetters are driven from overhead 14 Erie ste*om hommers ranging from 400 to 5000 LI )-lb. board hammer shafting, group-drive being employed. The heating furnaces have all been designed and built by the com pany’s own men, and are arranged to burn either oil! or gas. The arrangement of the hammer, furnace and press for each séfis such that no steps are lost as the work passes throwgir the various stages. The stock is re- ceived by the heater, In a tote box direct from the Heat Treating Furnaces. These were designed and built by the Duff company and burn either oi! or gas ‘ ae ae eal \ Monorail Passes Around the he Shipping Yard to the Dic Machin Shop Shop Through Room and the Forge Sinking into the furnace. reached, the both himself and the hammerman, who picks it up and per shears in the center aisle, and put When the + heater sets the proper temperature has been stock on a stand convenient to forms the forging and trimming operations and then lrops it in another tote box conveniently placed. A this pipe stream of vel installation in plant is the 4-in. air each hammer, from which a continuous coo! air is blown\wpon the hammerman. A monorail passes around the forge shop through the shipping yard, to the die-sinking room, and the machine shop, so that large work may be conveniently transported. The forgings are carefully inspected before leaving the hammer department, the defective ones being dis- arded at this stage, about one out of 10 forgings selected at random being carefully examined. If a forging fails to pass the initial inspection, a more thorough examination is made. The designed and constructed by, and under the direction of, heat-treating department has nine furnaces the company’s metallurgist. Each furnace is equipped one in the front of the furnace, and a:] connected to a Leeds with two thermo-couples, one in the rear and As the records show identical temperatures for both ends of the fur- and Northrup recording potentiometer. naces, it is assumed that they have a uniform tem- perature throughout. The Northrup potentiometer with portable leads, which forms part of the laboratory equipment, is used to check the readings of the record ng instrument in the shop daily. All the usual heat-treating operations generally per- this arranged in groups formed upon carbon and alloy steels are done in lepartment, and the furnaces are yy quenching, drawing, annealing and carbonizing. Close to the quenching furnaces are located one 6 x 6-ft. vater tank and two 4 x 5-ft. oil tanks. Fresh water onstantly supplied to the water tank through a pipe centrally located in the tank and at a dis- tance from the bottom equal to about half the depth. that the desired An adjustable overflow pipe may be set so water in the tank will be maintained at any height. A steam pipe is also connected with the tank or use jn cold weather. The oil is cooled by drawing it off the top of the tanks by a small motor-driven pump, circulating it tank, and: then returning it at the bottoms of the tanks. through a coil located in the water If is planned to install another water tank 5 ft. in diameter and 15 ft. deep for quenching large work, and other parts for which the smaller tank is not adapted. The temperature of the water and oil tanks is tested at frequent intervals by thermometers. axles, THE IRON AGE July 29, 1929 A modern locker room, showers and other co ences, are provided in the shop to add to the ec of the men. The machine shop is a modern brick structur: lighted and ventilated, and kept warm in winter exhaust from the power p.ant. by motor is employed. steam Group This shop has an equipm about 300 machines, including lathes, planers, sh milling machines, presses, gear cutters, aut special The grouped each side of a large central aisle, serve 10-ton Shaw crane. In the center of wing of the building there is a monorail on w 5-ton Shaw Euclid crane op The so arranged that the crane pass to a monorail in the main aisle, or to other screw machines, and machines. electric crane and a 5-ton monorails are rails located in the forge shop and storage ya addition to the cranes, a system of electric truc platforms are provided for transporting smal] On one side of the shop a space is reserved tool room, where jigs and fixtures are made. too, are made a standard line of cutting, shapin; combination dies for use in the plant, also a number of special and standard milling cutters The die-sinking department is located in the ma shop, but is directly connected to the forge sh the large main aisle, through which the monorail operates. A portab‘e crane is used for handlins this room. The equipment ce of three Pratt and Whitney and one Jackson di materials used in ing machines, one Becker vertical milling machin Niles-Bement-Pond vertical boring mill, two enginé lathes, two planers and five shapers. These machines belt overhead motor-dr The die shop has a bench running the lengt! of the room in front are all connected to an shaft. of the windows. The dies, w finished, are numbered and indexed, and placed special die room. A small monorail wit! differential chain block handles the dies in the stor room, storage A metallurgical and chemical laboratory is tained, where steels, flue gas, fuels and boiler wat analyzed; microscopic examinations and _ phot graphs are made, thermo-couples are calibraté welded, experimental heat-treating operations ar formed, and Brinell and made. scleroscope hardness test In order that inaccuracies may be reduc minimum, the balances and the microscope are solid conerete foundations. A quiet separate free from acid fumes and air currents, is provid the balances, and a dark room with an ingenious of ventilation is located in one corner of the b In the power plant, steam is generated for of the steam hammers and for heating purposes it being cheaper for the company to buy its « from an power outside concern. The equipme! Wide Isles Facilitate Transportation by Electric Lift Trucks + ed bs Ae July 29, 1920 sts of two 100-hp. and two 150-hp. Erie boilers, which arranged to be fired by either gas or crude oil and . venerate steam at a pressure of about 100 lb. Gas ie), being cheaper than oil, is used when it can be at a suitable pressure. During the winter months the exhaust steam from hammers heats the machine shop and other bui:d- and in the summer it is returned to the boiler izh a 300-hp. Cochrane feed water heater. The laces are equipped with Duquesne gas units and Gilbert and Barker oil burners. By their use a iform‘pressure is maintained in the steam line, only two men are required to operate the plant, and a w temperature is had at all times in the boiler room. The oil for use in the boiler room and furnaces is ved in four 10,000-gal. steel tanks and one 40,000- concrete tank, located underground, from which s pumped under a pressure of from 11 to 14 lb er sq. in. by two Burnham steam units and one otor-driven centrifugal pump. A dead-weight gov- nor va:ve is connected to the oil line and acts to nit the oil not used to return to the tank from THE IRON AGE 257 Before the oil reaches the burners it is driven through a special steam heater, which brings its temperature to approximately 175 deg. Fahr. Air is used to atomize the oil at the furnaces and which it was pumped. steam is used to atomize it at the boilers. A two-stage air compressor, driven by a 75-hp. motor, is used to furnish the air. This compressor has a capacity of about 540 cu. ft. per min. The plant is also equipped with two Spencer high-pressure blowers driven by 30-hp. Westinghouse motors and having a capacity of about 2500 cu. ft. per min. each, at a pressure of about 1% lb. per sq. in. A Lunkenheimer lubricating system for the steam hammers is located in the power plant. This is merely a steel tank 12 in. in diameter and 2 ft. long, in which the lubricating oil is stored under the pressure of the steam line. This pressure is sufficient to keep the oil moving to the various hammers and automatically to lubricate them. All the steam, gas, oil and air pipes are carried to all parts of the plant in a concrete tunnel and are readily accessible at all times. A New Chinese Blast Furnace Foundry Iron Being Made at Hankow in a 100-Ton Unit—Iron Ore from Tayeh (Special Correspondence) HANKOW, CHINA, June 30.—The ceremony of blow- ng in the blast furnace of the Yangtse Engineering Works, Ltd., Hankow, took place on Saturday, June 26, 1920. There were over 200 guests present, among whom vere Han Kwong Tsao, chief of the civil service and epresenting the Tuchun and the civil governor of the province, the foreign consuls and prominent Chinese nd foreign business men, as well as the directors and engineers of the railroads, and the superintendents of e Hanyang Iron Works and arsenal. William Pigott, Seattle, Wash., vice-president of the Pacific Coast Steel (‘o., Who arrived here in the morning on a tour of in- estigation, showed his interest in the enterprise by his resence, Shortly after 3 p. m. launches and tugs took the iests from the Racine Ackermann jetty to the site ! the works in Seven Mile Creek. They were received Wong Kok Shan, representing the directors of the npany, and by Wong Kwong, the general manager, o conducted them through the blast furnace plant. were given an opportunity of seeing the tapping iron, which was arranged to take place about t time. The guests were then led to a matshed decorated th flags and buntings, in which refreshments were erved. Wong Kok Shan welcomed the guests in a ‘hinese address, which was replied to by Mr. Han on nalf of the Tuchun and civil governor. Wong Kwong then addressed the meeting in English in part follows: “On behalf of the directors of the company I thank for the interest you have evinced in our works your presence to-day at the opening ceremony of blast furnace, which was blown in on May 22. It ften been commented on that China, with her vast opulation and territory, should do more im the de- clopment of her iron industry, which is the backbone ‘t all industries, than she has done in the past; and ting on this principle, we have been bold enough to ike this modest attempt in adding one more furnace China proper to those already in existence in Han- Ww so long the solitary beacon in this realm of in- istrial possibilities. Our aim is not one of rivalry th others but of mutual help and co-operation, as we leve that there is room for more. “The plant which you see to-day is modern in every spect. With the exception of the furnace, the hot - the stoves and dust catcher with their connections, the de- signs of which were supplied by Perin & Marshall, New York, the whole plant and equipment were de- signed by the engineering staff of the Yangtse Engi- neering Works. The materials for the whole plant, excepting pumps and three ready-made engines, were fabricated and erected by us. Owing to considerable delay attending the acquirement of the necessary land, the foundation work was not commenced till the latter part of January, 1919. The furnace would have been completed earlier had it not been for the one or two months of flood last year and the month of snowy weather in the early part of this year. “Having overcome the initial difficulties in the fabri- cation and construction of such a plant in China, to the extent of even making certain alterations in the original designs to suit local conditions, we feel confi- dent of being able to execute similar orders for other iron and steel works in the Far East. However, the future success of our plant depends upon your good will and support, which we wish to bespeak.” C. C. A. Kirke, acting British Consul in Hankow, replying on behalf of the foreign guests, congratulated the company on the success it had achieved. The following is a brief description of the blast fur- nace plant: Tne furnace is designed to produce 100 tons of ind-cast pig iron per day. It is supported by six cast-iron columns, has six tuyeres and is lined with fire bricks purchased from the Ka