The Iron Age 1925-03-26: Vol 115 Iss 13

revs (© bap THE IRON AGE New York, March 26, 1925 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 115, No. 13 Pulverized Coal at Trumbull Steel Mills Costs Cut Through Reducing Number of Men and Using Cheaper Grade of Coal—Annealing Furnaces and Boilers Served ULVERIZED coal eventually will be used exclu- Paves for fuel for heating and annealing furnaces in the sheet and tin mills of the Trumbull Steel Co., Warren, Ohio, according to present plans, as well as for firing all the boilers. One continuous annealing furnace and two box annealing furnaces are now fired with pulverized coal and other furnaces will be con- verted gradually to powdered coai fired units. Anneal- ing furnaces formerly used, now rebuilt to adapt them for pulverized coal, present a number of interesting features. When the installation is finally completed the company will have 32 sheet and pair furnaces as well as 18 box annealing furnaces and two continuous annealing furnaces, all fired with pulverized fuel. An outstanding feature of the coal pulverizing plant is the complete remote control, from a central point, of the distribution of fuel from the pulverizing plant to the furnace bins. A man in the pulverizing plant fills the bins by operating a series of push buttons on a switchboard located in this plan:; lights on this switch- board show when the bins are empty. The coal pulver- izing plant and the system of conveying the powdered fuel to the point of consumption were designed and built by the Fuller-Lehigh Co. N the Pulverzing Plant, Showing the Four Fuller Pulverizing Mills, Each of Which Discharges Into « Puller-Kinyon Pump. Which Delivers Pulverized Coal to a Storage Bin. At right is the switchboard with push-button control. From this statics the operator has complete control of the flow of coal through the entire transport line, from the weight bins to the individual furnace bins. The indicating lights on the board show whether the corresponding bin is full or empty. Another series of lights shows whether the valve is set so that the flow of coal is being directed into the corresponding bin or is being by-passed this bin and on through the main line. 885 ee err aes 886 THE IRON AGE March 26, 1925 The pulverized coal plant has a capacity of 700 tons Pulverizing Plant in 24 hr., or sufficient to supply all the furnaces in the sheet and tin mill department and the entire fuel re- 7 , , ; ) quirements of the new boiler plant. The first boilers coal, is discharged from hopper cars into a track | using pulverized coal were placed in operation three hopper from which a reciprocating feeder delivers it to years ago. There are two 400-hp. and one 500-hp. a 30 x 30-in. Jeffrey single-roll crusher with a capacity Fuel for pulverizing, which is run of mine or slag mersereenaate UVUUENTDEUOUEDAONUNDADEAEYOGOONERGADOOODEOOCOOOBLEGODODEDOLOnOOUHUELSLAnsoMeNtoeRenOO OU aeNaneyseneuanensasenenesreveeuanuaPananesneAconDersE seston B OX- Annealing Furnace Fitted for Use of Pow- dered Coal, Showing General Arrangement of Bins, Piping, Burners and Feeders. Four burners are used, two on each _ side, symmetrically placed. The blowers are in- dividually driven by small motors below the coal bins ae eee C oNTinvous Anneal- ing Furnace for Sheet and Tin Mills, Fired with Powdered Coal Through a Single Burner. This furnace was so designed that rollers may be removed for replace- ment without tearing down brickwork. The steel moves toward the impinging flame, i.e., toward the left (Below) HOVENEEDONBDOSUNOONONPO HORNED DRLUEONRADEEAUEHEOD Stirling boilers using pulverized fuel, while five addi- of 50 tons an hour. tional boilers of 500-hp. capacity and designed for the crusher onto a be operation at 400 per cent of rating will be built. The it to a bucket elevato boiler plant when completed with its eight boilers will veyor located in replace the old boiler house having originally 13 stoker- above a 600-ton Crushed coal is discharged from It conveyor which in turn delivers r. This carries it to a spiral con- a monitor above the roof and directly raw coal storage bin, into which the fired boilers, of which nine are still operated, using spiral conveyor delivers the fuel. untreated coal. Coal passes from this storage bin through one or March 26, 1925 more of 16 openings onto an 18-in. belt conveyor that delivers it to a bucket elevator, which in turn discharges it into a two-way spout that feeds into two bins, each of 15-ton capacity. These bins, through a cradle feeder on the bottom of each, feed into two 5-ft. 6-in. x 42-ft. Fuller dryers. The dryers are fired by pulverized coal, the products of combustion being drawn through them by an exhaust fan and discharged into a cyclone col- lector. The waste gas passes from this collector to the atmosphere, while small particles of coal that are drawn from the dryer by the fan are discharged from the bot- tom of the collector into spiral conveyors that deliver this material back into the system. Each dryer has a capacity of 15 tons per hour. The coal is dried to moisture content of 1% per cent, from approximately 4% per cent initial moisture in summer and 7 to 8 per cent in winter. Leaving the dryer, the coal passes over a recording thermometer and its tem- perature is recorded on a chart. On the discharge spout of each dryer is a magnetic separator that re- moves tramp iron from the coal. From the dryers the coal is discharged onto a screw conveyor, therace to an elevator that delivers it onto another screw conveyor. This discharges it into any one of four 15-ton bins located severally above four 57-in. screen type Fuller-Lehigh pulverizing mills. Coal passes by gravity from the bins to the mills, each of which, with a capacity of 8% tons per hour, pulverizes the coal to a fineness to permit 73 per cent of it to pass through a 200-screen mesh. Coal thus pulverized is discharged to 6-in. Fuller- Kinyon pumps, one for each mill, being direct connected to the mill discharge spouts and having individual drives. The pumps deliver the fuel to an 80-ton storage bin, beneath which are four 5-ton weigh bins, each mounted on an indicator dial Fairbanks scale. This permits keeping an accurate record of the amount of fuel used in the various furnaces. After weighing, the coal passes by gravity into four 6-in. Fuller-Kinyon pumps which distribute it to the boilers and furnaces. Distributing the Prepared Fuel The material is aerated by a small amount of com- pressed air at the discharge end of the pump, thus THE IRON AGE 887 changing the fuel from a dense mass into a semi-fluid, in which condition it passes through the distributing bins to its destination. The air pressure is regulated by a reducing valve. It is stated that there is no danger of an explosion in the supply lines, as the amount of air used is much less than would be required to make the mixture combustible. The four pumps discharge the coal into one 6-in, steel conduit leading overhead to the boiler house and from which another 6-in. line diverts and goes to the furnaces in the finishing mill building. The fuel is carried approximately 500 ft. to the boilers and 1500 ft. to the annealing furnaces. Each boiler and each fur- nace has a separate supply bin, these varying in size and holding sufficient fuel for 24-hr. operation. Distributing valves, one located at the top of each bin, control the flow of coal, diverting it into the fur- nace bin or allowing it to continue on through the main distributing line. These valves are of the multiple socom HE Two Dry- ers Are Indi- vidually Fired by Pulverized Coal, One of the Com- bustion Chambers Being Shown in Rear at the Left The burner is supplied by a 3 in. screw feeder A magnetic sepa- rator is located in the bottom of the discharge spout for remov- ing metal discharge pert type, electro-pneumatically operated and remote'y controlled from the switchboard in the pulver- izing plant. By pushing a button on the signal board the valve is set and a mercoid switch connected to the valve mechanism completes a circuit which lights a lamp on the same board, indicating to the operator that the coal is flowing into the indicated bin. An air line by-passing the pump parallels the conduit and furnishes air for the electro-pneumatic distributing valves. A materia! level indicator is mounted over each bin. This consists of a paddle suspended on a pivot and con- nected to a mercoid switch on the top of the bin. The paddle is deflected when the material reaches a pre- determined level. The mercoid switch makes and breaks the electrical contact that furnishes the light on the switchboard. The lighted bulb shows that the bin is empty, but goes out when it is filled to its high level. The mercoid switch connects also with the dis- tributing valve, automatically actuating the closing mechanism of that valve, shutting off the flow to the bin when the latter is filled and causing the fuel to pass on to the main line and to the next bin. A vent pipe at the top of each bin allows the air that enters with the fuel to pass out to the atmosphere through a butterfly valve, which is closed when the bin is filled. ae as ry RR see En Te , 888 THE IRON AGE Each boiler has five Fuller horizontal flare-type burners, each fed by a single-screw feeder. The feeders are driven through a gang drive and individual clutches from a variable speed motor, so that variable loads on the boiler may be controlled by the speed of the feeder screws. The feeder delivers the coal into mixing tees, where it is mixed with primary air that carries the fuel from the tees to the burners. Primary air is furnished by a Buffalo Forge Co. blower for each boiler, with a capacity of 4500 cu. ft. a minute at 3% oz. pressure. About 40 per cent of the air necessary for combustion is mixed with the coal before reaching the burners. The remaining 60 per cent of air is introduced by stack draft through adjust- able openings around the burner and through the front and rear ash clean-out doors. The boilers are regularly operated at 250 per cent of rating, with peak loads going up to 380 per cent. Draft for the three present boilers is supplied by a sheet steel stack lined with fire brick, approximately 10 ft. in diameter and 210 ft. high and having sufficient capacity to take care also of one of the new boilers. Rebuilt Annealing Furnaces Substitution of pulverized fuel necessitated rebuild- ing and enlarging the combustion chambers of the an- nealing furnaces formerly hand fired. The continuous annealing furnace, of the Costello type, is 26 ft. long and 6 ft. 6 in. wide. This has an overhung combustion chamber 5 ft. 4 in. wide on the delivery end and ex- tending 5 ft. beyond the end of the furnace proper. The top of this chamber is 3 ft. 11 in. higher than the top of the furnace. The steel is discharged through a door underneath the combustion chamber. This door is a curved casting, carried on four track wheels, and lined with Sil-O-Cel brick. The position of the burner brings it in a straight line with the center line of the first roller on the en- trance side. The furnace has eight 36 x 18-in. cast iron plug doors on each side, built in two sections, so that it is not necessary to take out the brick work to remove a roller. The roller shafts extend through the doors. Each door has a hinged flap near the bottom for cleaning out the dust and another at the top to permit inspection of material going through. Fuel is supplied from the bin through a 3-in. screw feeder. The entire air supply for combustion is fur- nished by a Buffalo blower with a capacity of 2500 cu. ft. at 2% oz. pressure. This pressure may be varied according to the amount of coal consumed. Formerly 300 lb. of coal was used per ton of steel but this fuel consumption has been reduced considerably by the sub- stitution of pulverized fuel. Two box annealing furnaces of the under-fired type Veceeue EUMNOUuenLecenneneoecececunenaueneounesndaccnacuenavenecountonseateuveengpearenesentensseeenitonegnereien March 26, 1925 were rebuilt for powdered coal. One is a single-cham- ber furnace and the other a double-chamber furnace. with hearths 9 ft. 7 in. wide and 21 ft. 6 in. long inside and 7 ft. 6 in. high to the spring of the arch. The furnace is located in a concrete pit 10 ft. below the floor. The double-chamber furnace is fired by four burners, two on each side, the fuel being burned in two combustion chambers below the hearth. The distance from the hearth to the bottom of the combustion cham- ber is 6 ft. 6 in. The combustion chamber, 5 ft. wide and 4 ft. high to the spring of the arch, extends the full width of the furnace. Products of combustion pass from the combustion chamber to the annealing chambers through two open- ings, one for each chamber, 18 in. wide and 6 ft. 9 in. long. After entering the annealing chamber they pass over and around the chamber and leave to the stack flue through three openings, each approximately 9 in. wide and 3 ft. long. The flue, which is 30 in. wide and 30 in. high to the spring of the arch, extends the full length of the furnace. Each chamber is served by one 3-ton powdered coal bin, with two spouts through which the coal is dis- charged into two 3-in. Fuller screw-type feeders, from which it is carried to the combustion chamber by one Buffalo blower with a capacity of 3000 cu. ft. per minute at 6 oz. pressure. Forty per cent of the air required for combustion is supplied by the blower and 60 per cent is induced. Before the air supplied by the blower is mixed with the coal at the feeder it is preheated by being forced through a system of piping installed in the stack flue. The preheated air is delivered from the fan into an 8-in. pipe, reduced to 7 in. in the flue, and reaches the burner at a temperature of 500 to 600 deg. Fahr. This arrangement lowers the temperature of the flue gas and tends to increase the efficiency of the furnaces. Each feeder is driven by a 2-hp. variable speed motor with a speed range 500 to 1500 r.p.m., providing a wide range of fuel feed. The control of the motor regulating the fuel supply is at a switchboard at furnace side. Savings found from the use of the system are both in coal and labor, particularly the latter. The fuel cost has been reduced by the use of a cheaper grade of coal. At present three men are required to fire five coal-fired annealing furnaces and it is expected that when the system is completely installed one man will take care of 18 furnaces, his work being mostly looking after the burners. It is stated that only about three men will be required to take care of the eight pulverized coal-fired boilers, one for water tending and two for ash removal and general cleaning up, oiling, etc. This will eliminate a stoker and boiler repair gang of about eight men, making a total reduction of five men in the boiler house. HUOUEEHGLUAEUUUNS LONE VOeEEOOGEON ANU TONNE DE GEENEORAENOESREDEEECEECEREREREONAGNER EROS I*% Foreground Are the Four Fuller Pumps Which Deliver the Fuel to the Boilers and Furnaces. Each i a 5-ton weigh bin mounted on an indicator scale. The coal passes by gravity to the weigh Secs ve — is connected to The switchboard for remote push-button control appears in the center © the distributing pumps. peeencecenenernenen March 26, 1925 Buffers and Polishers Equipped with Chain Drive The use of chain drives is a feature of the heavv- duty buffing and polishing machines illustrated, which have been placed on the market recently by the Cleve- land Armature Works, Inc., Cleveland. The motors are mounted close to the spindles as shown, and a variety of spindle speeds can be obtained with alternating- current motors, 60 or 25 cycles. The double-spindle extra heavy-duty buffer and polisher, shown in the left-hand illustration, consists of one casting forming the motor base, central chain box and spindle housings. Special motors equipped with flanged end-bells are bolted to each side of the chain box, their shafts projecting into the chain box through slotted openings, which permits of moving the motors back to compensate for chain slack. The spindles are inclosed in tubes which are part of the main casting The Double Spindle Buffer and Above. The single spindle machine inclosing housing removed to Polisher Is Showr at the right has show drive arrangement and one end of each spindle projects into the chain box. The spindles are driven by silent steel chain run- ning on hardened steel sprockets. The chain box forms an oil reservoir of 2 gal. capacity, and lubrication is by means of slingers on the motor shafts which dip and keep the chains and sprockets constantly bathed in oil. Pet cocks at the rear permit of checking the oil level, and a drain is provided so that the chain box may be cleaned conveniently when necessary. Shafts are of chrome-nickel steel, and Timken tapered adjustable roller bearings are used throughout. There are eight such bearings and adjustments, required only at long intervals, may be made from outside without disturbing the set up. Each spindle is provided with a Dictionary of Specifications Being Published Present plans for the Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Specifications, which is to be compiled and published by the United States Department of Commerce, in cooperation with various technical and industrial or- ganizations, provide for ten major divisions or classi- fications, of which two or more will be of definite in- terest to the iron and steel and allied industries. One section will be devoted to ores, metals and manufactur- ers (except machinery and vehicles) and another sec- tion will be devoted to machinery and vehicles. There will also be sections on chemicals and allied products, wood and paper, textiles, non-metallic minerals, etc. In compiling data for the dictionary correspondence has been carried on with about 500 public purchasing agencies and with a similar number of trade associa- tions and technical societies. Some of the material for the book has already been sent to the printer. The printed dictionary will be a book of some 600 pages and its index will contain 6000 or more references to THE IRON AGE 889 shaft lock to hold it rigidly while changing wheels. The spindles are 1% in. in diameter in the wheels and 1% in. in diameter in the body. The right-hand and left-hand halves of the machine can be started and stopped independently and may be operated at different speeds. Each motor is controlled by an oil circuit breaker, which is operated by button in front of the operator, and is provided with time- limit overload protection. The bearings are lubricated by light grease contained in cups. The standard spindle speeds on 60 cycles are 2300, 2600, 2900 and 3100 r.p.m. and on 25 cycles 2300, 2600, 2800 and 3100 r.p.m. Other speeds may be arranged for. Four sizes of the machine with spindles 48, 58, 60 and 70 in. long, respectively, are available. The motors are from 2 to 6-hp. or from 4 to 12-hp., total. The heavy-duty buffer and polisher has a single spindle which is driven by chains from the motor, as shown in the right-hand illustration. The chains are multiple, one for each horsepower, are leather faced and run deep in V-grooves on the pulley. The motor base and spindle housing are one casting and provision is made for adjusting the motor to compensate for chain slack. Control is by means of oil circuit breaker, which is operated by a button at front of the machine. The standard spindle speeds are 2200, 2500 and 2800 r.p.m. on 25 or 60 cyeles. Timken tapered adjustable bearings with light grease lubrication are employed. The V-chain does not require lubrication. The machine is available in two frame sizes with spindle lengths of 48 and 60 in. overall, and with motors of 2, 4, 6 and 7% hp., 60 or 25 cycles. The weights are from 1200 to 1500 Ib. commodities or groups of commodities. The cost to the public for the book will be $2, which is stated to be the actual cost of printing. It has been agreed to adopt the so-called standard catalog size, namely 7% x 10% in. and it will be in loose-leaf form. At the latest meeting of the advisory board the fol- lowing organizations were represented: American Electric Railway Association, American Engineering Standards Committee, American Society for Testing Materials, Associates for Government Service, Inc., Chamber of Commerce of the United States, National Association of Purchasing Agents, National Confer- ence of Governmental Purchasing Agents, Society of Automotive Engineers, Bureau of Foreign and Domes- tic Commerce, United States Bureau of Standards, and Division of Simplified Practice of the Department of Commerce. Other associations en the advisory board which were not represented are the American Hospital Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Conference of Business Paper Editors and the National Electric Light Association. 890 THE IRON AGE HARDENING METALS Three Methods, Covering Also Alloys, Discussed by Dr. Carl Benedicks WASHINGTON, March 24.—At a joint meeting of the Washington Academy of Sciences and various tech- nieal societies held at the Cosmos Club, Washington, March 19, Dr. Carl Benedicks, noted Swedish metal- lurgist and director of the Metallographic Institute, Stockholm, delivered an address on the hardening of metals and alloys. " On the basis that hardness is the resistance of a body to a permanent change of shape there are three main methods of increasing the hardness of metals which deserve special consideration: (1) Cold work- ing, (2) Admixture of another constituent which itself is very hard, (3) Production or retention of a solid solution. According to Dr. Benedicks, the amorphous metal hypothesis is not necessary for an adequate explana- tion of hardening, including that produced by cold work, as the twin lamellae, frequently formed by slip when metals are deformed, interlock and so resist further deformation. A similar result is obtained when uni-directional slip takes place as when the displace- ment in the space lattice is in more than one plane. Quad City Foundrymen’s Association Major R. A. Bull, research director, Electric Steel Founders’ Research Group, Chicago, was the speaker at the regular monthly meeting of the Quad City Foun- drymen’s Association held March 16, at the LeClaire Hotel, Moline, Ill. Major Bull traced the history of the steel castings business and showed changes in methods of production of steel castings during the last few years. His statistics indicated that crucible steel castings have practically disappeared from the market and that converter steel castings are a very small per- centage of the total. Electric and open-hearth steel castings are now the predominating kinds of steel cast- ings manufactured. Reference was also made to prog- ress in the heat treating of steel castings. The meeting was one of the largest held by the Quad City Foundrymen’s Association this winter, hav- ing been attended also by members of the American Society for Steel Treating and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. American Machinery Sales in Europe ERIE, PA., March 24.—Speaking last Thursday be- fore the Foreign Trade Conferenée of the Erie Cham- ber of Commerce, Samuel H. Cross, chief of the Euro- pean division of the Department of Commerce, declared that the European outlook has improved. He said that this is due to the satisfactory settlement of the more important difficulties in connection with the repara- tions problem and the complete entry into effect of the Dawes plan. Mr. Cross said, in part: “As far as Europe is concerned, the American ma- chinery industry is primarily interested both in the markets there offered and in the intensity with which German and French competition may be expected to develop throughout the markets of the world. From time to time complaints are heard of increasingly lib- eral terms granted by German exporters which hamper the extension of American machinery sales. Such a report reached the bureau last week from our Warsaw office, and if this situation prevails in Poland, it doubt- less may be traced also in the more important markets of South America, the Far East, and the Dutch East Indies. While some apprehension is entertained as to the possible use of credits to German industry to finance exports competing with our own products, it is not believed that this apprehension need prodsce any widespread alarm.” March 26, 1925 A well-known example of hardening by the second method is the addition of carbon to iron. Pure iron had a hardness in the neighborhood of 80, which is increased to about 200 when 0.9 per cent carbon is added. Probably the most important method of hardening is that relating to solid solutions. There is now con- vineing proof for a wide range of substances that solid solutions are harder than either of the constituent metals. Copper-nickel alloys were cited as one ex- ample. Likewise stearic acid with a hardness of 5.6 and palmitic acid with a hardness of 8.0 when com- bined to form a solid solution show an increase to 11.0. It was stated that the more similar the constituent metals the less is the increase in hardness of the solid solution. The hardening of carbon and high-speed steels, when quenched, may be explained in the same manner. In these cases there are two solid solutions: (1) Aus- tenite, which is a super-cooled solid solution of carbon in iron, and (2) martensite, which is a supersaturated solid solution of carbon in alpha iron. The high tem- perature of heating, required in the case of high-speed steels, is largely due to the high proportions of tungsten present which raises the temperature of transforma- tions on heating. In this respect tungsten acts like chromium, silicon and other metals which appear to be more soluble in alpha than in gamma iron. To Lecture on Automobile Design Dr. Pierre Lemaire, an authority on automobile de- sign, and named by the French Ministry of Education as exchange professor to the United States in engineer- ing and applied science, is lecturing at Columbia Uni- versity and will continue his work at the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale. Professor Lemaire, who resigned from the French Navy in 1920, has since built up and directed a labora- tory of scientific research at Lyons for Rochet-Schnei- der, manufacturer of automobiles. He has given par- ticular attention to problems relating to the vibration ef chassis and the proper adjustment of springs of automobiles. In his lectures, Professor Lemaire will deal with “Spring Suspension of Vehicles.” He has recently published his researches on oscillations of torsion of crankshafts, on the dynamic equilibrium of rotating parts, on the recording of accelerations, etc. During the war he directed the large wireless sta- tion at Bordeaux. Later he organized at Toulon a cen- ter for physical studies applied to marine warfare. Upon his arrival in America Professor Lemaire was welcomed by a committee representing the American Institue of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. New England Trade Conference _ PROVIDENCE, R. I., March 23.—Preparations are being made for the New England Trade Conference to be held here April 29-30 under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce. Secretary Hoover has assured the committee on arrangements that the Department of Commerce will cooperate fully in the efforts to make the conference the most successful gathering for the promotion of New England’s foreign trade ever held. S. H. Cross, chief of the European division of the Department of Commerce, and H. A. Butts, assistant chief of the Far Eastern division, are already listed on the conference program. Several experts from the department who have specialized ; 5 specialized I f ucts will attend. ed in New England prod C. D. Snow, director of the Forei Trade Department of the U. § e Foreign will also speak, e U. S. Chamber of Commerce, Robert S. Holding, Jr., of Co., is chairman of the gener the Brown & Sharpe Mfg. al conference committee. Steel Corporation Earnings Decline Annual Report Shows Sharp Reduction of Iron and Steel Production—Wages Not Changed—Large Capital Expenditures to Be Repeated This Year HE twenty-third annual report of the United T States Steel Corporation for the year ended Dec. 31, 1924, covers a period which Judge Gary, in his general remarks, describes as “fairly good.” The aver- age earning per employee was virtually the same as in the preceding year despite the fact that 1924 showed a sharp decrease in earnings of the corporation. The average earning per employee, including general ad- ministration and selling force, was $5.85 per day in 1924 and $5.83 in 1923. The production of rolled and finished steel products for sale shows a decrease for 1924 of 20.4 per cent compared with 1923. The blast furnace production declined 24.2 per cent and the steel ingot production 18.9 per cent. Production of cement increased 5 per cent. “The very favorable condition which attended the steel industry of the United States at the opening of the year 1924 continued during the early part of the year,” says Chairman Gary. “The operations of the subsidiary companies as reflected by their tonnage out- put of finished products, which equaled 86 per cent of capacity in the first quarter, dropped to 69 per cent in the second quarter and to 55 per cent in the third. In the last quarter there was a substantial improvement, the percentage of production rising to 69 per cent, the average for the entire year being 70 per cent of rated capacity. Concurrently with diminution in the domes- tie demand for products there was a gradual weaken- ing in prices of a number of the leading products. For the entire year, however, the prices received in 1924 for the total tonnage of rolled and finished steel prod- ucts shipped to the domestic trade netted $3.17 per ton more than the average price received in 1923 for an equivalent tonnage of similar products respectively. The export business for the year, while of fairly good ‘OUTPUT OF ROLLED AND FINISHED PRODUCTS |. volume as to tonnage, was largely conducted under severe price competition and the average price received in 1924 for all such products was 74 cents less per ton than the 1923 average for a similar tonnage of the respective products shipped in 1924. “Beginning in August there was a noticeable in- crease in demand for products which continued during the early fall and reached substantial proportions fol- lowing the Presidential election. Since August inclu- sive and to the date of writing this report, new tonnage booked has exceeded each month the output shipped although the latter has been on a constantly increasing scale, reaching in February, 1925, about 90 per cent of capacity. At the close of 1924 the tonnage of unfilled orders on the books of the subsidiary companies for various classes of rolled and finished steel products totaled 4,816,676 tons compared with 4,445,339 at the close of the preceding year; and at Feb. 28, 1925, the tonnage of unfilled orders was 5,284,771 tons compared with 3,187,072 tons at July 31, 1924, the low point in that year. With the increased demand for products which developed in the fall of 1924, there has been an improvement in prices obtainable although substantial tonnages were booked for delivery in the early part of 1925 at the lower level to which prices receded in 1924. The cement business of the corporation's subsidiary engaged therein was maintained during 1924 at the maximum capacity of the plant, the output shipped exceeding any previous record. “Notwithstanding the general adverse conditions as mentioned which attended the business for the year, the results from an earning and net income standpoint, while not yielding a proper return on the value of the investment employed, may be considered as fairly good under the circumstances. Compared with 1923, the K IURTEEN Years’ Course of Five Significant Features in the History of the Business of the +— DOMESTIC CUSTOMERS | 1 “(ielled oat nished Produch, SHIPMENTS TO. ay I, /Or7s of ors , Untted States Steel Corporation. In 1924 all five of the iterns showed ay decrease, the cut- put of rolled and finished products dropping to the level of 1922 and 1915 and consider- ably below those of 1912, 1913, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920 and 1928 Total business done with outside cus- laaaaail ‘a i \ [} "FOTAL BUSINESS DONE WITH | t/ OUTSIDE CUSTOMERS ios Hondreds of Millions / ____| of Doers) i_ te ols TOTAL COMPENSATION | OF EMPLOYEES tomers was at the 1916 level and much below all subsequent years except 197i and 1922 Yet EISEN SESS Fee Re eee e 892 operating earnings for the year before deducting de- preciation and depletion allowances, interest and sink- ing fund charges, show a decrease of 14.2 per cent only, notwithstanding the volume of business done as re- flected by shipments of rolled and finished products shows a decrease of 19.8 per cent.” Employees and Pay Rolls The average number of employees in the service of all companies during the year, and the total wages and salaries in comparison with corresponding results for the preceding year, were as follows: 1924 1923 Employees of Number Number Manufacturing properties.. 177,078 180,727 Coal and coke properties. . 26,054 33,354 Iron ore properties....... 15,022 15,311 Transportation properties 24,264 27,135 Miscellaneous properties. . 4,335 4,259 WOON bs ccticacenda wt 246,753 260,78? Total wages and salaries $442,458,577 $469,502,634 Average Earnings per Employee per Day for Year All employees, exclusive of general - administrative and selling force...... $5.74 $5.73 Total employees, including general administrative and selling force. via 5.85 5.83 Volume of Business The total value of business transacted by all com yanies during the year, as represented by their com- bined gross sales and earnings, equaled the sum of $1,263,711,469, as compared with a total of $1,57),414,- 483 in the preceding year. This amount represents the gross value of the com- mercial transag#lons conducted by the several subsidiary companies, and includes sales made between the sub- sidiary companies and the gross receipts of the trans- portation companies for services rendered both to sub- sidiary companies and to the public. The earnings for the year resulting from the above gross business represent the compined profits accru- ing to the several corporate interests on the respective To ) tennennenanernvenenannnettee ew THE IRON AGE March 26, 1925 sales and services rendered, each of which is in itself a complete commercial transaction. Capital Expenditures The expenditures made by the corporation and the subsidiary companies during the year for the acquisi- tion of additional property, new plants, extensions and improvements, less credits for property disposed of, and including net additional lock-up in stripping and development expense at mines, equaled the sum of $79,- 619,986, classified generally as follows: For manufacturing properties........... $55,920,958 Por coml properties «oc ccs edicts cabs - 5,798,073 For iron ore properties, including addi- tional net investment in mine stripping and Gerenepeeent 3...» 64s icv erséwtuxeede 6,298,763 For railroads and lake docks............ 6,547,726 For ocean, Great Lakes and river trans- portation: OOTVICE =» .scvsnvelsncpeyy wan 2,490,231 For limestone, fluorspar, gas and water DTI . o.0:3. 5 cn cdannn tees ceeded eae 1,299,878 For land companies—largely for housing facilities for employees..............6. 1,264,357 OG ¢isedes ss ueeeeddeeke suas $79,619,986 “The expenditures on capital account in 1924 were large, but were necessary,” says the report, “in order to maintain the plants and properties in modern con- dition, to enable operations to be conducted in the most economical manner, to diversify production and secure the greatest benefit through the production, transporta- tion and conversion into marketable steel of the raw materials resources of the organization; also to pro- vide added capacity to meet the growing demands of the trade in certain lines of products and in certain ter- ritories. A material part of the outlays was for the rebuilding of departments and facilities which had become more or less obsolete and had served their term of usefulness. This is especially true of coke plants, power plants and some of the rolling mills. In the rebuilding and replacement, however, a far greater capital outlay and investment are required to pro- duce a given product result as compared with condi- tions prevailing in earlicr years, since rebuilding now calls for from double to treble the amount of invest- ment necessary to secure substantially the same ca- Comparative Income Account for the Fiscal Years Ended Dec. 31, Earnings—Before charging interest on bonds and mort- gages of subsidiary companies First quarter Second quarter PN ican ChaGEs SOR WEED OP Ke SES POR MEE kine c cee ted4s hehehe eaKeaeen es OE OE i io. a hc eins Adc arcs d dd sesenes } Less, interest on outstanding bonds and mortgages of the subsidiary companies...........seese0% Lat Balance Of OMFUIMBBsc con ccccccscrceesvere Less, charges and allowances for depletion and de- preciation applied as follows: viz.: To depreciation and replacement reserves and sink- ing funds on bonds of subsidiary companies.... To sinking funds on U. S. Steel Corporation bonds Met Incomes th Che POR s cccccsiscceccesves Deduct: Interest on U. S. Steel Corporation bonds outstanding Premium on bonds redeemed and acquired for sink- ing fund, viz. : On subsidiary companies’ bonds...............6:. On U. S. Steel Corporation bonds. ............0::. OED pcb cpses > Kur eats WER OSes aa wena Add: Net balance of sundry receipts and charges, in- cluding adjustments of various accounts........ Dividends on U. S. Steel Corporation stocks, viz.: er. 2 OF CQONs «sc4050005 Shas nsdedekesebuns Common—1924, regular 5 per cent, extra 2 per cent; 1923, regular 5 per cent, extra % per cent...... Perens wat - GOON. «0.0006. ss Keene tans sums appropriated and expended or to be ex- pended account of additions, improvements or betterments to plants and property............ Less, Balance carried forward to undivided surplus *Balance of earnings after making allowances for estimated amount of Federal] income t seeunecsnseuevonsenenenonsnonsenensnnenswenentnnnenssaunsnsnenesestisnenseennrennrncassenaneiennanennersvO{s eNUROEUQSDANRQEORADAIEAAISOORITIDEDALEDOEREEDEE*EDEEROGDEDEOOINOADEOUEDEDEDN DEUS UREOEDOCLEVNYOY¥CY VO ««HCHUNLOLROOHVALHOGiNN (A 1924 and 1923 + Increase 1924 1923 — Decrease $52,129,738.62 $36,874,674.77 + $15,255,063.85 43,407,005.15 49,940,029.97 6,533,024.82 32,715,060.16 49,112,517.68 16,397,457.52 32,931,664.06 52,026,445.43 19,094,781.37 *$161,183,467.99 *§$187,953,667.85 - $26,770,199.86 8,068,656.07 8,306,993.48 238,337.41 $153,114,811.92 — $179,646,674.37 "$26,531,862.45 38,687,668.14 41,745,434.23 - 57,766. 10,205,168.92 9°724/720.38 a eee es $104,221,974.86 $128,176,519.76 - - $23,954,544.90 18,274,207.49 18,764,567.62 a 490,360.13 182,350.09 165,611.86 4. 16,738.23 __ 785,295.44 774,464.84 + 10,830.60 $84,980,121.84 — §108,471,875.44 — $23,491,753.60 87,069.77 $85,067,191.61 235,188.82 148,119.05 $108,707,064.26 — $23.639.872.65 25,$19.677.00 35,319;677.00 8 ivsceuleeeee 35,581,175.00 29,227,393.75 + 6,353,781.25 $24,266,339.61 $54,259,993.51 — $29,993,653.90 __20,000,000.00 40,000,000.00 — 20,000,000.00 $4,266,339.61 $14,259,993.51 — §9,993.658.90 axes, Heese teannener tina iteea ree riartaaspeeenerN ee SVUUTATOTO HEAD OEOTETHETepReNELEONELEpNeNEDEADEnES HeenenEEONSNERNEREOREREREROROOOOD March 26, 1925 THE IRON AGE Production for Two Years Products Ores Mined— In the Lake Superior region (iron ore): Missabe and Vermilion ranges Gogebic, Menominee and Marquette ranges. In the Southern region—Alabama (iron ore) In Brazil, S. A. (manganese ore).... ‘ Limestone Quarried (includes dolomite and fluorspar) Coal Mined— For use in the manufacture of coke For steam, gas and all other purposes... Total Coke Manufactured In beehive Steel Ingot Production- Bessemer ingots .. Open-hearth ingots Rolled and Finished Steel Products for Sale Steel rails (heavy and light tee and girder).. Blooms, billets, slabs, sheet and tin plate bars Plates Merchant bars, hoops, skelp, light shapes, Tubing and Wire rods Sheets (black and galvanized) and tin plates Finished structural work rake Angle splice bars and all other rail joints.. Spikes, bolts, nuts and rivets...... ; Axles Steel car wheels......... us wed abe Sundry steel and iron products..... Total Miscellaneous Products— Zine Sulphate of iron . Fertilizer—‘“duplex basic phosphate” Fertilizer—sulphate of ammonia Ammonia (as liquor) Benzol products Universal Portland cement. *Increase. pacity of output, due to both the very much higher prices prevailing for construction cost than when the previous facilities were installed and the fact that mod- ern types of facilities are invariably of a vastly im- proved character, permitting operation at a lesser op- erating expense, though involving a higher initial in- vestment cost. A safe conservatism demands that within reasonable lines these added capital require- ments should be provided, if possible, from current earnings rather than by the issue of fixed interest- bearing debt and of capital. The amount unexpended at the close of 1924 on appropriations authorized dur- ing the year for additions and improvements will call for an outlay on capital account during 1925 of the approximate sum of $80,000,000.” The capital expendi- tures in 1923 amounted to $60,762,920. Miscellaneous Employees Stock Subscriptions—The employees of the corporation and of the subsidiary companies were in January, 1925, offered the privilege of subscribing for shares of common stock of the United States Steel Corporation at the price of $125 per share, all other conditions and terms being substantially the same as those under which similar offerings have been made in previous years. To the date of this writing subscrip- tions have been received from 39,470 employees for a total of 82,948 shares. At Dec. 31, 1924, there were 49,152 employees who were registered stockholders, holding an aggregate of 149,451 shares of preferred stock and 538,553 shares of common stock. There were also 14,821 additional employees who had in force open 1924, Decrease 1924 1923 — Tons Tons Tons Per Cent .658,317 ,793,523 3,005,181 162,535° 3,239,370 450,892° 112,241 60,472 17,864,794 3,167,716 3,690,262 51,769 74,541 31,015,109 5,575,694 .234,030 055.871 35,289,901 .142,901 11,694,730 18,837,631 5,527,830 201,396 .729,226 5,451,390 878.560 329,950 ,649,906 715,244 .783,846 .204,395 1,007,662 563,982 213,518 636,580 774,467 458,595 288,118 84,456 154,876 104,271 $1,553 Sten — _ — eo! =| - ,721,469 982 64,205 2.483 36.079 1 Sd 3,009 5,748 157,961 150,000 811 2,528 140,314 143,312 Bbl Rbl 15.156.000 440,000 5 7. 7 5 7 5 7 ‘ ae 2 1 716,000° . = . subscription accounts covering purchase of stock, but were not registered holders of shares. Profit Sharing Plan.—In accordance with the profit sharing plan adopted by the stockholders in 1921, ap- propriation was made from the earnings of 1924 of a fund for distribution under and in accordance with such plan. The allotment and distribution was made in Feb- ruary, 1925, by the profit sharing committee of stock- holders elected at the annual stockholders’ meeting in April, 1924. Of the awards made by the committee, 60 per cent was paid in cash and the remainder cov- ered by certificates of conditional interest in shares of common stock of the corporation in which the com- mittee invested such part of the appropriation. The stock covered by the certificates is deliverable to hold- ers in January, 1930, provided they are then in the ser- vice of the corporation or its subsidiaries, or is deliv- erable prior to that date if they die while in the service or are retired under the corporation’s pension plan. Pensions.—Pensions were paid during the year by the trustees of the United States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund to retired employees to the amount of $1,683,921, compared with $1,448,113 disbursed in the preceding year. Pensions were granted during the year to 843 retiring employees. At the close of the year there were 4478 names on the pension rolls, a net in- crease of 424 during the year. Since the of the plan in 1911 an aggregate of $11,227,156 has been paid in pensions. Housing and Welfare.—During the year a net addi- tional amount was advanced employees on contracts and mortgages to assist them in building and acquir- ore Sse sar a rs ant i 894 THE IRON AGE setreevensent WUE LUNNUNR NACHO NENEEEADORALOEN LIRA ° Foreign and Domestic Shipments The shipments of all classes of products in comparison with shipments during the preceding year were as follows: Domestic Shipments tolled and finished steel products..........+--+++> Pig iron, ingots, ferromanganese and scrap.....-. Tron OTe, COA] ANA COME... cccccccccccesvvccevicces Sundry materials and by-productsS..........+s+++: Total tons all kinds of materials, except cement Universal Portland cement (bbl.)..........-++5. : Export Shipments Rolled and finished steel products..............5.+- Pig iron, ferromanganese and scrap.... Sundry materials and by-products Total tons all kinds of materials.............. Aggregate tonnage of rolled and finished steel products shipped to both domestic and export PP rrr TT Tere Tree Tee Te Total value of business (covering all of above ship- ments, including cement, completed cars, barges and car floats delivered and other business not measured by the ton unit): March 26, 1925 TOEUOEEEEDEREDULTECELDS OUCHONE LOR OERPORONEPELODNRDOLEANESLOGNETEERDD OCH OONEONON DUET OEODERUFHDEDED Ns Domestic (not including inter-company sales) RE: ‘sath wie. Kaus ewe siibvece Total $842,969,442 $992,916,162 1924 1923 Increase or Decrease—, Tons Tons Tons Per Cent 10,493,102 13,196,298 2,703,196 20.48 Dec. 271,418 308,475 37,057 12.01 Dec, 289,561 405,875 116,314 28.66 Dec. 118,681 108,965 9,716 8.92 Ine. "41,172,762 14,019,613 2,846,851 20.31 Dec. 14,941,143 14,329,295 611,848 4.27 Inc. 1,033,788 1,177,524 143,736 12.21 Dec. 3,089 2,691 398 14.79 Inc. 115,141 106,049 9,092 8.57 Inc. 4,152,018 —«i1, 286,264 134,246 10.44 Dec. 11,526,890 14,373,822 2,846,932 19.81 Dec. 7——_Decrease————_, 1924 1923 Amount Per Cent $763,251,221 $905,744,282 $142,493,061 15.73 79,718,221 87,171,880 7,453,659 8.55 ing homes under the corporation’s home-owning plan. At Dec. 31, 1924, the advances due from employees on loans for above purposes, secured as stated, totaled $8,907,726. These advances or loans are repayable in installments over a period of years, with interest at 5 per cent. Accident Prevention.—The activities of the corpora- tion and the subsidiary companies which were inaugu- rated 20 years ago under a formally organized plan in the effort to reduce the number of accidents to em- ployees at the various operations, were continued with intensity during the past year. In the year 1924 the total number of disabling accidents of all kinds per 100 of employees was 75.69 per cent less than in 1912 (the earliest year for which statistics are available for all disabling accidents); and for serious and fatal accidents the number per 100 employees was 54.65 per cent less than in 1906, when the campaign for reduction in acci- dents was first formally undertaken. Liberal outlays are currently made for accident prevention and safety work. In 1924 the total expended was $1,911,954, cov- Inventories Dec. 31, Dec. 31, holding preferred was 78,115 and common 95,828. 1924 1923 Ores—Iron, manganese and zinc... $81,518,333 $73,907,919 Limestone, fluxes and refractories. . 5,388,401 5,255,856 C . f Coal, coke and other fuel......... 12,153,798 16,414,130 omplaints as to Railroad Rates Invited by Pig iron, scrap, ferromanganese C oe ; ; and spiegeleisen ...........+-- : 23,213,114 23,934,176 OmmMission Pig tin, lead, spelter, copper, nickel, aluminum and dross and skim- NEE ks cxkindbd bin cenkaue elie 10,216,726 10,632,742 Cognate industries manifestly are included among Rolls, molds, stools, annealing those from which the i <a EE a TE ae 13,323,733 12,759,194 will accept communie: Interstate Commerce Commission Ingots—Steel PS eee 1,676,510 2,112,229 >mmunications charging that railroad rates Blooms, billets, slabs, sheet and tin ; sa are out of line, provided such correspondence is sent plate bars, etc. ......sesseeeese 28,922,181 25,934,058 in connection with the ge . . : ame - sc cuxkeas 1,617,042 492,927 rate structure of the general investigation of the Skelp ,abcingsee see 1,922,705 2,355,456 d € country which the commission Finished products ..........++.+: 68,218,528 58,872,408 as ordered. Manufacturing supplies, stores and sundry items not otherwise clas- $149,946,720 15.10 TOU ering both installation of devices and appliances, rear- rangement of equipment to minimize danger to em- ployees and protect them from injuries, and in instruct- ing employees to avoid liability to injury. Accident Relief—The payments made during the year by subsidiary companies for work accidents, in- cluding liabilities accrued under State compensation laws, actual payment of which is spread over a period of years, totaled $5,080,775, compared with $4,843,172 in preceding year. Eighty-nine per cent of the total payments in 1924 was paid directly to the injured em- ployees or their families. Sanitation.—The expenditures by the subsidiary companies during the year in providing modern sani- tary facilities at the several plants and operations for the health and comfort of employees totaled $3,231,- 880, compared with $3,019,363 in 1928. At the close of the year there were in and about the plants and works 4581 s