The Iron Age 1926-07-22: Vol 118 Iss 4

ot Notice—Y ou will find a convenient summary wot of the week’s news on the orange-bordered editorial page. THE IRON ACE eveNEROEEAEOEDEEGUEOEEEEOEREOUR EGER OGUESROEASULEDOEOOOOREGUOEODERODECROEEOGULEGODOGOUEOGEEOUOEOGUREOOOEOOOEEOENOOOERONGCHOERGOOODOERROUEGCARSOOREGRERC ERRORS CORROEOEEDD OOORCOOEEAGEAGOEROROORCSOeREEEEtES CUEEEDEDOCOREREAEEEDOOOUOREOEEREEEDEEDDOOORSEEOREOROGREOESESEREROCOROOREROR ERE OREDOSOOORORROOEORReseeSeORaseneeeS. : NEW YORK, N. Y. JULY 22, 1926 Single Copy, 25 Cents PblitedW — Entered as ae matter fies 18, 1879, at Post Office Six Dollars a Year in a Ss. Vol. - NO. at New York under the Act of March 3, 1879 Canada $8.50; Foreign $12 UNDUEUEDEOAOEOEREDORDEDEDEDEGEOEOEOEDOOEDAOEOOOLODONSEDSOROROEUEOGOEUDO RODD EORGRESUOOORSERUGEDESODOROOEOEOOOROECOGESRORONDEOROEOOOUDEORUEDRUOOEOROROUUEOOOOOOEDOEUGECUREGEGLOUDEGEDEDEHOOGEOEOEGROUEEOSORUEOEORUGREOOUGUDEGADOGHOUOEDEDEUEORO OOOO RUSUGUROROGSGUGUOEOROROEOSOSOSDEGGUSOSNGCOHSCSUSEROSUSOOUOOOUONESRCEROSEOOONSE ‘ @ at dye a sf SME nip nae ape TIE AEN i Se at wigan rma Sk Nn ner —~ — a en eens te ee Pe ce ne i id NE fi Hi f ai 2 THE IRON AGE July 22, 1926 Write for the Journal and Stock List—the “key” to Immediate Steel. Order from the Nearest Ryerson Steel-Service Plant Whether you order a single bar or a carload, Ryer- son deliveries are universally prompt. There are seven complete Steel-Service plants, buy from the one nearest your job or shop. If your work or plants are scattered, you may still order through your local source, but shipment will be made from the other plants with consequent saving in time and freight. Stocks are so complete and varied that you may secure prompt delivery of everything in iron or steel. A wire, letter or phone call will start the steel on its way. Bars Plates Boiler Tubes Shapes Sheets and Fittings Structurals Rivets Reinforcing Steel Rails Bolts ‘ Firmtread Plates Shafting Wire Alloy Steel Strip Steel Chain ‘ Tool Steel Turnbuckles Forging Bars Small Tools Babbitt Billets Machinery, etc. JOSEPH T. RYERSON & SON te ESTABLISHED 1642 PLANTS: CHICAGO ST. LOUIS DETROIT NEW YORK MILWAUKEE CINCINNATI BUFFALO BOSTON REPRESENTATION IN: DENVER LOUISVILLE SAN FRANCISCO JERSEY CITY MINNEAPOLIS TULSA HOUSTON LOS ANGELES NEWARK THE IRON AGE New York, July 22, 1926 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 118, No. 4 More Steel and Cement from Europe France and Belgium, with Cheap Labor and Low Freights, Will Sell Continuously to the United States—Plans for Direct Representation Here BY EDWIN C. ECKEL* URING the winter and spring of 1925-1926 it D was possible to carry out a rather detailed inves- tigation of industrial conditions in western Europe, particularly in so far as these conditions bear on the question of exports to the United States. This work was for the individual account of a client who happens to be interested in several industries now sub- jected to heavy foreign competition. There was no idea of publishing its results in any form, since the work had no public or official basis whatsoever. But some of my conclusions having seemed of interest to a lead- ing steel manufacturer, the editor of THE IRON AGE has asked that they be summarized for general use. This statement, which explains how the article comes to be written at all, must also serve as an apology for its limitations and its personal character. The conclusions reached are entirely my own. They are expressed with entire freedom, and are here presented as being merely personal judgments on a very difficult situation. I regret that they can not be more optimis- tic; but only a stock broker could see anything bullish in this situation; and only a hardened politician could pretend to offer any simple remedy. Pre-War Struggle for Outer Markets It will be recalled by those readers whose memories can go back to a world before the war, that the years immediately preceding the outbreak were not particu- larly prosperous. From January, 1912, to July, 1914, there was indeed industrial struggle for markets, car- *1503 Decatur Street, Washington, D. C. CONS SAAAADRAAAAAAA ANOS TAGLAR NAA Ag kM R. ECKEL’S close-range study of indusirial conditions in Western [ Europe dates from his engineering service in the A. E. F. as major, from July, 1917, to July, 1919. One episode in that experience was the opera- tion of several cement mills with troop and civilian labor. has been in Europe on three extended investigations for American clients— In 1901-1905 he was assistant geologist United States Geological Survey, and in 1906-1907 geologist in charge of investigations of tron ores and structural materials. He resigned in 1907 to take up private in 1921, 1923 and 1925-26. practice in iron ores and cement materials. Mr. Eckel is author of “Cements, Limes and Plasters,” “Cement Materials and Cement Industries of the United States,” “Coal, Iron and War” and of numerous papers on engineering and economic geology. It will be seen that Mr. Eckel looks for increasing European competition ried on between the overbuilt industries of the United States, Germany and Great Britain. This lack of profit- able outlet was more noticeable in some lines than in others, but it was a broadly general condition. The point I wish to make now is that in spite of that pre-war condition, no one in America was troubled by actuality or fear of shipments from our competitors into the United States. The areas of competition were still without our own borders. Today, on the other hand, the competition is here, as well as in South America and other former over- seas markets. And what we are interested in determin- ing now are the conditions which make such compe- tition possible, the regions from which it is most press- ing, and the period over which it is likely to persist. If we can reach sane conclusions on these three points it will then be possible to talk rationally about possible remedies—if indeed any remedies are prac- ticable. Conditions Now Favoring Exports to United States In 1926 certain European nations can ship certain products, very profitably, to the United States; in 1913 this was not possible. We know that European coal and iron ore supplies have not changed for the better during that period, and that our own raw materials are not sensibly worse. We know that, with few excep- tions, European mines and mills are not in markedly better shape than they were in 1913; our own have probably gained a little by comparison. The conditions which now favor exports to the United States must arise, therefore, from matters not AUUUUULLUUAUSI4ANUUUAUOUUTEALASUUNO LEAN SEE AAO REOPENS TOMA HUN TLPNA ATMA EGAN AUER Since the war he for American manufacturers in their home market, partiewlarly in certain products which he names and on which Belgium and France have low wages, low European freights, low ocean freights and low overhead. TUUALEVAL GLUTEN EA AAATAOEAE OREN ETE TT TATA EA LENA gN PN H LSPA A UA EPROM LE Ut 110007 0UNUASUOULLUCTAAUUUUELELLU EEDA LL SU40UURLUALEE GOERS 1 LEMURS NASSAR ETN 205 206 included ordinarily under the head of raw materials or plant. That might have been anticipated when we con- sider that the present export pressure exists in such widely divergent products as iron, steel, cement, brick, pottery products and glass. Thus the causes which make European exports to America possible and profit- able—for they are very profitable indeed—must be of very general character, affecting a broad group of in- dustries and products. My own judgment, as the result of an investigation which was carried on with an entirely free hand and without prejudice, is that the causes which contribute to the present situation may be grouped as follows: 1. Low ocean freights 2. Low European water freights 3. An abnormally low European wage level 4. Low European overhead costs 5. Cheap handling of European export trade. I may note that these factors are not listed above in the order of their importance, which indeed varies greatly when different products are considered. Each of them will be discussed briefly, in the order listed, which will give an opportunity at least to suggest their relative We may safely go further, and say that such com- parisons will also point out very clearly what lines and types of products are most likely to suffer from Euro- pean competition in the years to come. The reader will probably notice, and perhaps with some surprise, that I have not included depreciated importance to one industry and another. currency among the factors listed above. But currency depreciation in itself has no serious bearing on the question at issue. It does bear very seriously, how- ever, if the depreciation has been deflected unequally, and as we shall see kater that seems to have occurred with regard to wages and salaries. 1. Low Ocean Freights Two causes cooperate to keep ocean freights ab- normally low. One is the large amount of tonnage con- structed during the last year of the war and the year or so of false hopes which followed. The other is that, due to the adoption of extreme protection by almost all countries, the amount of freight space needed is in all probability less than before the war. The first cause is commonly realized; the existence of the second is commonly overlooked. Yet I think it will be the de- cisive feature of the ocean freight situation for many years to come, and that ocean freights will remain low until the tonnage afloat has died down to the actual requirements—which may be ten years or more. This applies to everything except tanker tonnage, which is in a class by itself. Depreciated Currency Not a Factor Currency depreciation does not affect the ocean freight situation in any noticeable way. Coal and oil have to be bought from high-currency countries in any THE IRON AGE July 22, 1926 case; and the cheapest tramps now available are Nor- wegian and British—both owned and manned by citi- zens of high-currency countries. So freights from France, for example, are not necessarily lower than those from Sweden, time and distance considered. On the other hand, there are some causes which do affect freights notably. The chief of these, of course, is the fact that the actual costs of ocean freights to the ship owner are fixed by the round trip, while in most cases the selling prices of the freights are based on a full cargo one way and a part cargo in return. In most of western Europe the commodities bought from Canada or the United States are bulky and cheap, relative to space occupied; while the shipments in return are high-priced and com- pact. There is, therefore, chronically cargo space west- ward at very low rates, and frequently the westward rates for a fill-in cargo are merely nominal. Open rates this spring out of Channel ports to our own North Atlantic ports were ranging around 13s. a ton. But every day it was possible to load from a few hundred to a thousand or so tons of pipe, brick or cement at rates far below this figure, just to complete the cargo of a ship waiting partly loaded. A Typical Canalized Belgian River. The Escault at Tournai, Belgium, showing barges used for trans- port of fluxing stone to Belgian furnaces and of cement for export via Antwerp Ocean Freights Will Stay Down To sum up the ocean freight situation, therefore, we may say that rates are lower than before the war; that they are apt to remain relatively low for manv years to come; that currency depreciation does not af- fect them seriously; but that rates from countries buy- ing heavy commodities in the United States or else- where will be always lower than rates from countries of evenly balanced commerce. This in turn means that Belgium, France and Italy, for example, will constantly have low rates to the United States and Canada. 2. Low European Water Freights When an American exports steel, either it comes down to the coast by rail, or if made at a coast point its coke and ore come down by rail. In either case there is a high interior freight charge to the coast point. When a German, Belgian or Frenchman exports iron or steel products, canals or canalized rivers are used for the assemblage at coast points. The freight costs on such canals are, I believe, around one-tenth cent per ton-mile. We may assume for convenience that from Pont-a-Mousson in Lorraine to Dunkirk the canal distance is less than 250 miles. From Essen to Rot- terdam it is around 150 miles. From Mons to Antwerp it is less than 75 miles by water. If in an emergency the exporter paid as much as one-quarter cent per ton- mile it will be seen that no one total freight cost would be a serious item in the export profits. At this stage of the matter currency depreciation does begin to play a part. Both wages for canal boat- men and the government charges for lockage, etc., are lower in gold on French and Belgian than on Dutch or July 22, 1926 German canals and rivers. So here is an additional point slightly in favor of exportations from the Franco- Belgian-Luxemburg union as against Westphalia. Finally, we can see that these low interior water rates are specially in favor of cheap and bulky commo- dities, while they will not specially aid in the shipment or export of dearer and lighter articles. If we sum up the ocean and interior freight situa- tion so far discussed, it seems as though $4 to $5 per ton in gold would carry pig iron, pipe or cement from Typical French Mill Workmen. eighty cents a day; and if on piecework perhaps as much as a dollar They can earn any producing point in western Europe to any North Atlantic port, in large cargoes, at any time. On the other hand by spreading the total shipment, in say thousand tons lots, over a number of ships, the total freights from European mill to American port might be only half these figures. 3. Low European Wage Level Having considered transport costs, we may now turn to the other factors affecting possible selling prices i.e., manufacturing and selling costs. The European wage level, in gold, was always lower than ours, even before the war. The disparity was made up, to a large extent, by cheaper raw materials, better plant, and greater labor efficiency on our side. Today our former English competitors seem to be for the time, and probably permanently, out of the struggle. Their coal situation is not a matter that can be mended by either politicians or labor leaders. Our other former competitor—Germany—is loaded with ob- iigations which primarily force her to create a great export surplus, while at the same time they make ex- port marketing difficult. Interior taxes, export dues and a gold currency, along with the loss of her only cheap iron ores, suggest that competition from Ger- many, like that from England, is more of a tradition than a future danger. Low Wages in France and Belgium the Main Danger When we turn, however, to the Franco-Belgian- Luxemburg region we find an area with a newly con- quered supply of iron ores, with rebuilt mills and newly re-opened coal mines, and with the cheapest labor THE IRON AGE 207 level in western Europe. If we are seeking the source of competition in the decade or so to come we do not have to go farther. American Wages Relatively Higher Than Ever The wage level in Belgium and France was always low, before the war, even as compared with German and British wages—and of course far lower than our own scale. Since 1914 the disparity has increased very sharply, far more than is commonly understood. Ameri- can wages have risen fast, even faster than the cost of living, so that today the American workman can buy more for his day’s pay than before the war. French and Belgian wages have risen as expressed in frances, but the gold value of both francs has fallen at an even faster rate; so that today the Belgian and French laborer can not buy nearly so much with a day’s pay as before the war. Since, even in 1913, neither Bel- gian nor Frenchmen received an average decent living wage, as measured by our standards, his condition today is very bad indeed. It is partly compcnsated by one fact—that today there is full-time work for every man in either country; so that the annual wages of a la- borer, measured in gold, are higher than in pre-war years. In other words, by working some 40 per cent more days per year, on the average, the Belgian miner cr other workman can earn more money than he did in 1913. But as commodity prices have risen also, even this increased annual earning still can not buy so much food and clothing as his 1913 earnings got for him. In countries with intelligently managed trades unions such a condition would not last long, because a series of strikes would end by raising the wage level at least until it corresponded to current living costs. But the trouble is that the Continental trades unions, unlike our own, do not concentrate their efforts on wages and working conditions, but wander off into the Beys Working in Packing House at a French Ce- ment Mill. This labor at present costs about sixty cents a day domain of political action and social theory. In west- ern Europe a strike is more likely to be a complaint against some government policy than an attempt to raise wages; and in almost every case it is involved in socialism. Now socialism, pleasant though it may be to dream about, looks toward the future rather than to the immediate present, and is more concerned in killing capitalism than in extracting higher wages from it. So long as this difference in trades union ideas and management exists, I do not look to see French 208 and Belgian wages increased very rapidly—and that is the point of interest to us at present. Average Wage About a Dollar a Day So far as actual wages go, I may say that after talking with many men in the two countries named— employers, superintendents and laborers—I would place the average hourly rate in France and Belgium today as somewhere between three and four francs. That covers the bulk of the industries which are our present concern—blast furnaces, foundries, cement and glass plants, mines. In all of these taken en masse we are safe in assuming that the whole payroll including over- time and piecework does not average as high at $1 gold per day; it is probably much nearer 90 cents per day average. As against this we average, perhaps, for the same industries and classes, some $4 to $5 per day. Having had a good deal to do with French workmen, my feeling is that they will give about the same amount of work per day as ours, and will do it with far less supervision. Recent comparisons of working forces and output, in French and American mills, seem to confirm this conclusion. Above the manual labor grade, in mine, mill or fac- tory, the disparity is perhaps still more pronounced. A good clerk or bookkeeper will cost not over $40 gold per month in France; a chemist gets little if any more; a technically trained manager of one large mill gets this year $130 gold per month—and thinks that he is doing rather better than the average. 4. Low European Overhead Costs The factors so far considered—foreign wages and freights—are things which we will have to accept, for the time at least, as being definitely outside of* Ameri- can influence or control. But with the matter of over- head costs the case is not quite so clear. Here, it may be, there are possibilities of economies in our own in- dustries. Actual mill overhead—made up chiefly of labora- tory and office salaries, depreciation and real estate taxes—is far less in western Europe than here. The matter of salaries has been touched on in the last sec- tion. The depreciation is far lower, both because of the prevalence of better construction and because a mill, per ton of output, will cost to build today between 60 and 75 per cent as much in Europe as here. Local taxation is no higher than here—and probably averages lower. In the sales department the European mill will have far lower salaries and bonuses, and practically no ad- vertising expense. In the general offices the European company will have a rather poorly paid managing di- rector; and an important steel plant-in Europe is likely to have office space which a single-furnace company in America might think beneath its dignity. The net result of all these differences in conditions and practice is that the French or Belgian mill or foundry can sell closer to its actual mill cost than can an American company of equal size. High Taxation Handicaps Europe At this point we reach the first item which counts against the European, and that is taxation. Only those who never pay taxes can get the idea that French or Belgian taxation is low. It is in reality very heavy indeed; though mostly indirect, so that it is paid with- out suffering at any one point. Still, an income tax which takes 40 per cent of any dividend or interest payments can hardly escape notice, and it is an inter- esting commentary on Americans who write about low French taxation to note that none of them seems to have ever encountered it. From our immediate standpoint, however, the im- portant items are sales and turnover taxes of one sort or other, in both France and Belgium. For products which go into individual retail consumption these accu- mulate and become ultimately very heavy additions to cost. For bulk products sold direct, such as pig iron, pipe, cement, glass, etc., the totals may add 3 to 5 per cent to actual costs. THE IRON AGE July 22, 1926 5. Cheap Handling of Export Trade With the actual handling of export trade in such heavy products, we reach a stage which is as yet cheap- ly conducted. As the export trade increases, its man- agement is likely to become more expensive. This apparent paradox is due to the fact that for the year past foreign mills have made no special effort, in most cases, to develop American markets directly. They have been satisfied to sell to buyers who came to them, or to export firms acting as middlemen, thus avoiding all expenses of introducing the article or brand on the American side. If they finally enter the American market direct, as some are beginning to do, they save, it is true, the middleman’s profit, but they also involve themselves in advertising, in an American agent’s sal- aries, expenses, etc. One or two mills have had bitter experiences in that way already, and most of them at the moment seem to believe that it is more economical merely to sell their goods f.o.b. ship and let some one else market them in Canada and America. My own idea is that in time this feeling will disappear, and that the larger units at least will prosecute their export business more directly and more actively, but also per- haps more expensively. The Situation in Summary Having discussed the various factors separately, it will pay to summarize the results very briefly: Ocean freights are low, and show no sign of rapid advance. Canal freights in Europe are low and are likely to remain so. Neither of these is seriously in- fluenced by currency depreciation; and neither will be seriously increased by stabilization of any currency. Labor is cheap in Belgium and France. That is due partly to currency depreciation. It may be remedied slowly by strikes or, partly, by currency stabilization. At present France and Belgian wages per hour are about one-fourth to one-fifth of American wages. It is un- likely that on any stabilization plan that can succeed they will rise to over one-third of our average. Overhead and selling costs are lower than ours. The export movement is as yet conducted rather casu- ally. It is not dumping; it is on the contrary highly profitable. In Belgium this year the export trade must average 20 per cent higher prices than the domestic sales on some important products. Mills can be built abroad for two-thirds or so of the American cost, and operated far more cheaply. Their product, under any tariff now existing or likely to exist, can reach our coast ports more cheaply than can our own output from our interior mills. As we leave the coast this foreign competition will decrease, owing to our own high rail rates. Possible methods of meeting this competition are: (1) Abandonment of our coast markets. (2) Lowering prices in the coast markets to meet foreign competition. (3) Buying the American pool. (4) Building mills abroad. foreign output for account of an Of these methods one and possibly two, requiring concerted action, are probably illegal. My own feeling is that the particular companies which feel the com- petition most keenly are likely to try the fourth method finally, when they become convinced that foreign com- petition is here to stay for a time. At the outset of this article I noted that my inves- tigation was entirely a private matter, and that it had no public or official bearing whatever. That fact makes it all the more necessary, as well as pleasurable, to acknowledge the very active aid given me by the De- partment of Commerce, both through its officials in various Washington bureaus and through several of its commercial attaches abroad. It would have been impossible to gather the mass of prices and statistics on which my original report was based, in any reason- able time, had it not been for the assistance extended so promptly and so completely by that department. Blast Furnace Slag Analyses Practical Interpretation of the Significance of Slag Characteristics—Iron, Manganese and Sul- phur Are the Heat Indicators BY WALLACE G. IMHOFF* t ai AILY iron and slag analyses are made in most D blast furnace plants to guide the superintendent and the blower in regard to the condition of the furnace. The silicon and sulphur analyses are brought back an hour after casting; a slag analysis is made daily. The silicon and sulphur analyses aid the blower in checking up more accurately on his estimated con- dition of the furnace, although, if there is a decided change one way or the other, he adopts measures to rectify the condition before he receives the analyses. Under ideal conditions a large amount of heat is removed from the hearth at cast time and, in addition to the heat carried out of the hearth by the removal of the iron, a large amount of cold stock is precipitat- ed into the hearth when the wind is taken off to close the hole. The normal thing to expect then, on the first flush after casting, is a somewhat colder hearth. Circumstances, of course, govern each case. Thus, if the furnace is beginning to grow cold, casting may aggravate this condition; if it is beginning to grow hot, and is carried along by “heat momentum,” casting may only retard the heating-up process. Those familiar with the practical operation know that it is one thing to figure a furnace burden, and quite another to obtain results which correspond to the Fig. 1—Showing at Left the Complete Oxidation of Iron Shot Carried Out in Blast Furnace Slags. At right, the black spots are iron shot in suspension figures. The answer, uf course, is the constant varia- tion in the composition of the raw materials and in the conditions. The coke may be fine and dirty one day and clean the next; the stone bin may be almost empty and the limestone may also be fine and dirty; or the ore may be wet and not uniform. All these variations in the character of the raw materials affect the condi- tions of the furnace, and this in turn is reflected in the composition of the slag. To Know What the Slag Indicates The iron is made by observing the practical ap- pearance of the slag. It is important, then, to know what the practical condition of the slag indicates. Three important factors should be considered when in- terpreting the condition of the furnace from the slag. These are the appearance of the slag in the molten condition, the appearance of the cold slag sample, and the slag analysis as brought back by the chemist’s report. We can not consider one, without considering all three, if we expect to derive the greatest benefit. The question which arises at once, then, is the importance of a complete slag analysis. Does it pay to make a complete slag analysis? If a complete slag analysis is made, what information is thus made available? The routine analyses of slags at a number of fur- *Buffalo, N. Y. 209 naces merely classify the results in a general manner, for example—silica, alumina and bases. A typical in- stance is as follows: —————I ron — Slag — Time Cast Silicon Sulphur P Mn SiO, Al,O; Bases 9 a.m. 1605 2.35 0.015 0.75 0.67 30.20 15.78 49.02 2 p. m. 1606 2.02 0.015 7 p. m. 1607 2.15 0.013 12 m. 1608 1.82 0.014 5 a.m. 1609 1.95 0.013 z . 9 a. m. 1610 2.19 0.014 0.78 0.69 29.80 14.76 50.44 2 p. m. 1611 2.10 0.016 7 p. m. 1612 2.53 0.011 { | 12 m. 1613 2.33 0.012 ‘ 1) 5a.m 1614 2.74 0.012 s4 These analyses show a number of things instantly. The iron is hot and the sulphur low. The extremely Fig. 2—Slag Samples Colored Black by Iron Oxide. The slag samples at the right are cold “lime ” slags; those at the left are cold lean sla . gs low sulphur in the iron and the low silica in the slag indicate a small slag volume. The bases in the slag are high. The furnace is becoming hotter, a fact which is shown by the decrease of sulphur in the iron, higher manganese in the iron, and higher bases and lower silica in the slag. The iron is also higher in silicon. A short time later the furnace becomes cold. Trouble develops. The sulphur in the iron rises; the furnace drives irregularly; the tonnage decreases; it will not take the usual number of charges. What is the matter? Reference to the slag analyses throws little light on conditions, save that the furnace seems to be getting too much lime. What benefit would have been derived if a com- plete slag analysis had been made every day? The best answer to this question is to examine some com- plete slag analyses and give a practical interpretation Fig. 3 Slag Samples High in Free Sulphur, the Gas Escaping as the Sample Cools of what the results show the chemist, the blower and the superintendent. A complete slag analysis shows: ao adda Kowa Swe sio, REE 9 S80 ce eG Al,O SS Sa ae Pee CaO Magnesia ..........-MgO Manganese ..........-MnO i ...Fe (shot) ; FeO ER This is merely a statement of the slag components, which in no way indicates how they are combined, or what each one signifies from a practical standpoint. There is an additional feature to complicate matters further, and that is the question of slag temperature, 210 as a separate and distinct condition from slag compo- sition. An attempt will be made to show clearly how all these factors indicate the exact condition of the furnace, if they can be but rightly interpreted. Highly Refractory Materials Included The first thing to consider is how the components are chemically combined with each other. This can be understood better by considering the slag in the molten condition. ° All the components are present. The silica, which melts at about 1650 to 1750 deg. C., forms the main body of the slag. The melting point of lime is in the neighborhood of 2750 deg. C.; that of alumina about 2050 deg. C. Magnesia, also, is a refractory ma- terial. Iron oxide tends to lower the melting point. The sulphur combines with the lime to form calcium sulphide. We can now say the slag is essentially a silicate of lime, magnesia and alumina, with manga- nese, iron and sulphur in smaller amounts. Further study of the slag shows that the relation of the components to one another changes continually, depending on the temperature and on the quantity of the components available. This is indicated in a prac- tical way by the different appearance of the slag when it becomes cold. Some slags are gray and the fracture is “grainy”; some are blue and the fracture is “stony”; some are white, some are black, some are green, and some are brown. Each component plays a distinct part with each condition, and it is the practi- cal interpretation of this réle that is valuable in regu- lating the furnace operation. A brief discussion of the results as indicated by the outward appearance of the slag will be valuable when considering the slag analyses given later. Heat Indicators Tell Hearth Condition Iron, manganese and sulphur, the heat indicators, show at once whether the hearth is hot or cold. Lime and silica also show the temperature, but they are not so sensitive. Iron is the most reliable heat indicator. An extremely hot slag with plenty of lime is pure white (see Fig. 4); an extremely cold slag is black (see Fig. 2). White slags have very low iron content; black slags may carry an iron content as high as 7 per cent. Iron is found in blast furnace slags in three forms: as iron shot, as iron oxide (FeO) and, in extreme cases, as iron silicate. The condition of the sulphur directly influences the amount of iron found in slags. Free sulphur in slags gives them a “greasy” appear- ance when molten. This condition gives rise to a net- like state which holds the iron shot in suspension in the slag and completely envelops the iron shot with a sulphur film. When the slag is run off, the iron shot are carried out in suspension. When the shot comes in contact with the air, the sulphur film starts the iron burning. For an instant yellow (when hot) or purple (when cold) sparks jump from the slag runner. The temperature of the shot quickly falls below the burn- ing point of the iron and the ball, with its black sur- rounding of iron oxide, may be seen embedded in the cold slag sample. Black Iron Shot in Slag Fig. 1 shows the black iron shot embedded in the white slag crust; note the large black spots in the sam- ples at the right. These black spots are iron shot. Again, note the sample at the extreme left. This sam- ple is entirely black, because the iron shot have been completely oxidized to iron oxide (FeO). This series illustrates how the iron shot are completely consumed and shows the black coloring due to the formation of the black oxide of iron. When the iron shot are completely oxidized the en- tire slag will be black. This indicates a very cold slag. The iron shot are burned completely to the black oxide of iron (FeO) and this coloring is the most sen- sitive heat indicator. Fig. 2 shows some extremely cold slag samples. It will be noticed that the black color in these slags is not merely a surface coloring, but contaminates the entire slag. THE IRON AGE Of interest also in Fig. 2 are the white specks of undigested lime in the slags at the left. The samples in the middle are glassy, showing that the hearth tem- perature was very low. In extreme cases of coldness the slag is blood red when molten, and becomes a dark, glistening, heavy black iron silicate slag when cold. Indications of Manganese and Sulphur Manganese is also a fairly sensitive heat indicator. When the hearth is hot and the slag lean most of the manganese is reduced and goes into the iron. When the hearth is cold the manganese, if present in large quantities, will impart an olive green color to the slag. At times manganese will color the slag brown, indi- cating a slag hotter than a black slag. Sulphur also is an extremely reliable heat indica- tor. Since the reduction of silica to silicon is a fairly high temperature reaction, the formation of calcium Fig. 4—An Extremely Hot Hearth Is Shown by the Snow White Color. There was practically no iron in these slag samples, which were high in sulphur sulphide indicates a high hearth temperature. A large part of the lime which was combined with the silica is freed and combines with the sulphur. The practical indication that this reaction is taking place is heavy white “fog” or smoke rising from the slag runner at flush time. Free sulphur is indicated in a practical way by thin blue smoke rising from the slag runner. Additional evidence of free sulphur is the choking smell and smarting of the eyes when in the vicinity of this thin blue smoke. Slags high in free sulphur are indicated by a spongy, porous structure. Fig. 3 shows a slag sample high in free sulphur. Free sulphur may occur on a hot hearth or a cold hearth, and with a lean, glassy slag or a heavy “limey” slag. A few of the practical indications of the conditions of the furnace have been discussed, before giving the examples of slag analyses, to show the interpretation of the slag analyses more clearly. Actual cases will now be cited, to demonstrate the value of a complete slag analysis, and also to show what practical condi- tions are indicated by the analysis. ALONNL NNN ANNEAONNREENNLONERAN UEULOUELEUANODEUEHOEUNEAUOOEEEDENEROEERBENGERADHNHOUDUCHAAO LO EEDOCOLAHELUNGNEO eee aconeaeanouaRneneE (To be continued) Wholesale Prices Moving Slowly Upward Further slight increase in the index number of wholesale prices is reported for June by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure given is 152.3, compared with 151.7 in May and with 151.1 in April, which was the lowest figure of the recent move- ment. The change from a year ago was more than five units, for 157.4 was registered in June, 1925. Despite the increase in the average, there was an- other slight decrease in metals and metal products, which already for several months have held the lowest position of all the eight major groups. Metals stood at 125.1 in June, against 125.2 in May, 126.5 in April and 127.7 in March. The June figure was just one point below that of June, 1925. Fuels, clothing mate- rials and building materials, in that order, continue to hold the highest relative prices of all items. All three of these are above 171. The only other items which are above the average are housefurnishing goods at 161.7 and foods at 156.6. July 22, 1926 Productivity Per Man in Steel Industry Gain of 49 Per Cent in Per Capita Output Over 1914 and of 25 Per Cent Over 1914-16 WASHINGTON, July 16.—Taking the output per man in 1914 as a base of 100, the output in 1925 for the iron and steel industry was nearly 150, according to a statement by Ethelbert Stewart, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor. Mr. Stewart declares that there is taking place in the United States today a new industrial revolution which may far exceed in economic importance that older in- dustrial revolution ushered in by the series of me- chanical inventions which occurred in England in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and which even- tually transformed English industrial, political and social life. Other Industries Included in Survey Comparisons with output in the automobile, boot and shoe, and pulp and paper industries, also, were made. In the case of the automobile industry, Mr. Stewart said the output per man last year was three times as great as in 1914. He referred to this as an almost incredible increase in an industry which had attained even in 1914 a high state of efficiency. In 1925 the ratio in the boot and shoe industry was 117, while on a 1917 base the output per man in 1925 in the paper and pulp industry was 134. These figures, surprising as they are, cover only about a decade. Many people, Mr. Stewart said, are aware of the fact that great improvements in machinery, processes, management, etc., are taking place. But, except for magazine articles from time to time, little has been done to express in comprehensive terms this advance in productive efficiency. Some people have hesitated to accept as typical of industrial production as a whole the surprising figure of improved output in particular plants or establishments. Yet, Mr. Stewart said, “even when we deal in mass figures, the facts stand out clearly and unmistakably.” Changing Hours and Conditions Mr. Stewart took into consideration varying condi- tions in the industries obtaining in the years dealt with. In the case of iron and steel attention was given, among other things, to the shift to the 8-hr. day in 1923-24. Previously, the Bureau has dealt at length with this change and its reports have been published in THE IRON AGE. In the present study of the four industries an index was constructed from the output of products of the SNC TT ALDGREDENNEOUGUNL ROEERERAEAEDEAEDOGREREAONAL LUNES COVELL OHO TENOROOUERENEGDLLEGSAUOEBURDEAH LENE HL LUAAEHECHaLANURONCCEOGGnNERsecuenenenonensocssn rs canneueacasconuneneonensoesiots Productivity of Labor in the Iron and Steel Industry, 1914 to 1925 Pro- Adjusted Produc- duction Employment tivity Year Index* Index Index PEG es the hae h enewe 100.0 100.0 100.0 FO RS ee eee 180.2 146. 123.1 Siew. tithe e «ckeaee ee 188.1 165.2 113.9 RNGiGbcae as ek ks oe 186.1 179.4 103.7 | AS rr eae 145.5 150.8 96.4 Skea n erie caaidae% 176.4 156.9 112.4 RS a oe 82.5 88.5 93.2 EE slate: af wiakach atemtetn ‘6 geese 146.8 113.2 129.7 | ERAS pera pecengeleiare 188.7 144.3 130.8 BEL Se'ecs bee nee Olles 157.8 123.1 128.2 Pik: + Kewnals «wee cn 189.0 126.6 149.3 *Production figures taken from the annual statis- tical reports of the Iron and Steel Institute. MULLS TNOLNDAANNRDAARONNAA ALLURE UNDABORAOLSELDEADORDERBDOGDEONLOTLOOEDLELONEDURBDS( EOSBODONELONREOSEDGROOARDENONEUENADNG / 1041164) 0¢0UNEDOROLOOESEOUALIG LOLA DEAT COOEERNL/ETOORORRED INDEX NUMBERS 0 1914 1916 1918 With Higher Index Numbers for Production in the Iron and Steel Industry in Recent Years Than for Employment, Increased Unit Labor Output Is Indi- cated 1920 1922 1924 1925 industry, in accordance with two well known and rec- ognized methods. First, is that concerning key prod- ucts, including pig iron and ingots in the case of iron and steel; and secondly, weighted averages of the various products which are tied together. The weights used were: pig iron, 9, and steel ingots, 57, as used by the Bureau of the Census. After explaining the means of getting an employ- ment index for every year from 1914 to 1925, except 1915, in the iron and steel industry, Mr. Stewart took up the change in the hours of labor in the industry from 1914 to 1925, and adverted to reports of the Bu- reau on the subject. 8-Hr. Day and Its Effects “Elimination of the 12-hr. day did not begin until August, 1923, and it was announced by the steel com- panies that the change would be gradual and would take considerable time,” said Mr. Stewart. “Consider- ing, then, that fully half the year was worked on the 1922 basis of hours, and that during the remainder of the year the reduction in hours was taking place grad- ually, it is probable that not more than one-fourth of the total eventual reduction took place in 1923. Ac- cordingly, the working hours for 1923 were estimated on the principle that they were 25 per cent removed from 1922 hours and 75 per cent removed from the hours in 1924. This is probably a liberal estimate of the amount of reduction in hours during 1923. “The index numbers of the various kinds of mills were then combined into a composite index of full-time hours for the iron and steel industry as a whole. Divid- ing the employment index by this full-time hours index gives an adjusted employment index, which is as close to actual man-hours as can be had from existing data. This does not make allowance for part-time or over- time work; it takes account only of the changes in standard full-time hours.” The final step in the computation consisted in dividing the production index by the adjusted index of employment, to obtain a productivity index. This is shown in the accompanying table. Improvement of 50 Per Cent an Exaggeration “The table seems to show that the output per worker in the iron and steel industry increased about 50 per cent from 1914 to 1925,” said Mr. Stewart, “but this is undoubtedly an exaggeration of actual facts, for the year 1914 was one of severe depression, while 1925 was at least a good year, if not one of actual prosperity. In an industry so sensitive to good and bad times as the iron and steel industry, there is need for caution in drawing comparisons between depression and prosperity years, since there is in the figures no adequate adjustment for changes in man-hours due to changes in business conditions. “But it will be noted that the production index for the industry is remarkably constant for all good years; for the years 1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1923 and 1925 the maximum difference in output in any two years is less than 13 per cent on a 1914 base or 8 per cent on a 1916 base. Taking into consideration these peaks only, the general trends in productivity stand out quite clearly. “With the expansion of production and the introduc- 211 tion of new workers into the industry during the war years, the productivity fell markedly. The low index for 1919 is, of course, due to the strike in September of that year, and it is not at all improbable that the productivity for 1920, also, was influenced by the strike. The low index for 1921 was due to the depression of that year, when production fell off in greater degree than did the number of workers. “But with returning prosperity the figures for pro- THE IRON AGE July 22, 1926 ductivity become more significant and, despite the aboli- tion of the 12-hr. day, or perhaps because of it, the index reaches new high figures. In view of the fact that the index for 1914 is probably much too low for a fair comparison with the year 1925, it may be more satisfactory to use two-year averages in each case. Taking an average index for 1914 and 1916 as 100, the average for 1924-25 is 124.5. This makes an in- crease of about 25 per cent between the two periods.” Steel Treaters Prepare for September Technical Program Partly Arranged—Eminent German Metallurgist for Memorial Lecture—S. A. E. and A. S. M. E. to Participate coe are progressing rapidly for the eighth annual convention and steel exposition of the American Society for Steel Treating to be held in Chicago the week of Sept. 20. While the complete technical program has not been decided upon, a partial list of convention papers has been made public and is as follows: “Wear Resistance of Carburized Steel Versus Cast Manganese Steel” by W. J. Merten. “Internal Stresses in Quenched Steel” by S. L. Hoyt. “Graphitization at Constant Temperature Below the Criti- cal Point” by H. A. Schwartz and H. H. Johnson “The Iron-Molybdenum System” by W. P. Sykes. “The Nature of Oil-Hardening Non-Deforming Tool Steels” High by E. C. Bain and M. A. Grossmann. “The Decomposition of the Austenite Structure in Steels” by R. L, Dowdell and O. E, Harder. “Some Notes on Fatigue Properties of Heat-Treated Car- bon Steels” by J. M. Lessells Brittleness” by V. E “Wear Testing of Gage Steels” by “Notes on the A; Stable Schwartz. “Dendritic Crystallization and Grain Formation in Steels” by V. N. Krivobok. “Corrosion—Fatigue of Steel’ by D. J. McAdam, Jr. “Studies on Electric Welding’ by L. J. Weber. “Mechanical and Machining Properties of Annealed Cast Iron” by G. C. Priester. “Use of Electricity in Heat Treatment Furnaces” White. “Failures in Bolt Steels” by V. T. Malcolm. “On the Transformation of Retained Austenite into tensite by Stress’’ by Kotaro Honda and Keizo Iwase. “Krupp Nitrifying Process” by T. H. Nelson. “Effect of Heat Treatment on the Properties of Stainless Iron at Various Temperatures” by P. G. McVetty. “Aluminum Bronze” by Jerome Strauss. “Standardizing the Brinell Hardness Test” by H. M. German. “Correlation of Magnetic Properties Hardness in Cold-Worked Metals’’ “Hardness Testing Outfit for Williams. “Cyanide Hillman and E. D. H. J. French. Transformation” by H. A. Clark. by A. E. Mar- with Mechanical by S. R. Williams. Steel Balls” by S. R. “Basic Open-Hearth Practice” by C. H. Herty, Jr. “Temperature Distribution and Heat Flow in Steel Dur- ing Its Solidification’’ by A. L. Field. “Hair Cracks in Steel Rails'’ by J. H. Whiteley. The technical sessions will all be held at the Drake Hotel, which is the headquarters for the convention. The exposition is to be held on the Chicago Municipal Pier. This is 2280 ft. in length and practically 75 per cent of the equipment at the exposition will be shown in operation. Metallurgical Education A feature of the convention is a metallurgical education, which is scheduled as a luncheon meeting at the Drake Hotel, 12.15 p. m. Tuesday, Sept. 21. The program will be divided into two parts: The metallurgical educational work by edu- cational institutions and the metallurgical educational work by the chapters of the A.S.S.T. The discussion of the first part will be led by Prof. Bradley Stoughton, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., and the conference on introduction to the second part will be presented by President R. M. Bird of the society. Session on Steel Melting The plan, so successfully started at the Cleveland convention last year, of holding a technical session devoted to the subject of steel melting will be continued this year. The program is under the direction of W. J. Priestley, Electro Metallurgical Sales Corpora- tion, New York. Three papers have already been promised for this session and one or two more are expected. First Campbell Memorial Lecture The first Campbell memorial lecture is to be de- livered at the close of the annual meeting on Wednes- day morning, Sept. 22. Dr. William Minot Guertler, director of the Metal Institute of the Technical High- school, Berlin, Germany, has accepted the invitation of the board of directors to deliver this lecture, which has been established in honor of the late Edward Mille Campbell, for many years head of the department of chemistry, the University of Michigan, and an honorary member of the society. The subject of Doctor Guert- ler’s lecture will be, “On the Corrosion Resistance of Steel.” It is stated that he will also appear on the technical programs during the last two days of the convention, delivering papers entitled “On the Hard- ness of Metals” and “On the Light Metal Alloys.” Doctor Guertler will remain in the United States for about eight weeks after the close of the convention and deliver addresses before various educational insti- tutions and chapters of the A.S.S.T. S.A.E. Production Meeting The Society of Automotive Engineers has arranged to hold its annual production meeting the same wee