New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-11-04
LOCAL MISCELLANY.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
GATHERING AT THE ANNUAL SESSION OF THE AMEF
CAN SOCIETY.

CAN bOCltlhs
The American Society of Mechanal Engineers
held the first session of its annual meeting YESTERDAY
afternoon at the Turf Club Theatre. PROFESSOR
Robert H. Thurston. of stevens institute lhe Plc ~
dent called the society to order. After Lycurgus d..
Moore the treasurer, and Thomas w. Rae the secre-
tary had read their annual reports the society re-
elected its officers for the ensuing year Ta, II
Porter, of Philadelphia, read a paper on n NC"
System of Keeping Drawings" ,c,.-.... uoo5
At the evening session ftesldeht @ onr
Progress in Mechanical Engineering" lie SPOKE
first of the advances in the materials nsea IN p"
chanics. Wood and weak ana Drltte l,iateIlas iina
given place in great part 70 ron which was being
displaced in turn by steel Special alloys, having
extraordinary strength and uniformity OF com
position were also being used Inc most lmpoL in'
advance in the use of materials have, perhaps
been in the general introduction OF n genera
systematic inspection. The principal growth OF me
iron manufactures OF the United Gates m"' oaG
iron and steel works in this country, employing
$3.50, 100000 in capital, with ahnuai produces W.
abOut $500 600. 900. Pennsylvania stu heaus the
LIST of the States with works which produce
q 200 600 tons a wear: Ohio comes next, WIN
200. 900 tons: New-Iork manu-, ctures o VV,VuV
tons Illinois 400, 900, and Ncw-JeTSey Zou,oOO;
Since 1920 the weight of pig metal had lncIeHseu
from 2 900. 900 10 100000 tons year, OF o. pr
cent. The rolling mills now make anhn ~
800 600 tons of rolled On an increase OF 90 - pei
cent The product of Bcsscmer steel ms lncraSou
from 90 900 in 1870 to 100000 IN 1851 ~ open
hearth STEEL $4,000 tons were produced last year.
oil WnlCn was manu- III l'''' VI
chile steel 10000 tons were made last year, an IL
crease in ten years of $50 per cent Great BRIAN
still stands at thchcad of iron producing nations
When the last generation was ~ lts iIllhe' Con-
tinucd the speaker, factories we're IN OPERATION
twelve or thirteen hours day. Mans WORK WIS
from sun 10 sun, and woman work was never "o!:''
To-day man works ten hours aud woman Is coulhE
10 Stage when she will work where, Whell' anu nov
she plcasos. In twenty years the annual pI"uucI
in cotton mills had risen from tw3ahH-a-iih I"nS
10 thrce-and-a-haf tons a mill hand, and the iuXuI-
les and cOmlor of the working classes nave p''ii
increased fifty per cent. There hIs Deen Glttl H.,
vance in the construction OF war ships. me HIut
nr sailor IS giving y ace tn the ilghtlng engineer
and mechanic. All nayics must sooner or Idter Do
divided into three classes of ships ;d an ma PEN
dent service of torpedo vessels Vessels o.
size and speed. with a few heavy guns, nh'IH"'''t
and with great sail power unaiih"Itd NeaScI' ~
hugh speed with hight batteries, ana NcsNeiS
for heavy fighting, carrying Tho h'iNtsI OF NIuls'
and the most Uncomfortable of amor. The lulTudlt
ton of tOrpedOcs and torpedo vessels mas p'eh &c
coInpishyd, and Will become important IN warfare
1t may BE- looked upon - probable that t9rptuo
ships of very high speed viii yet drive an h'aN{
arnOred ships from the sea, ana complete inc patl
lei Of the mcn-in-armor oi the middle ages, ana Ie
armored men OI-war In the present IWe' ll'
production of such vessels rs The Pol}pheh;uH,
making seventeen knobs and EncssohS bI-
stroyer with its great submarine gun anu ilt s'lI
propclling torpedo, are very large su!WS, showing
that the coming days of freedom on the high seas
and cessation oi uaval warfare are not Jar away; .
II has sometimes been sald that 'ht No.iu =
waiting for the appearance OF three great engineers
first aman who would show how To produce cleo
tricity from coal with a small loss second the III
,,nntnr who would show rs the source
of tbo beautiful and soft bcaming
HIGHT Of the FREELY and glow worm,
and third. the man who should solve the problem OF
aerial navigation. The only hope IN aerial naFisII
ticn lies in the direction OF lying macHlheS' HItyt
i,y their own power, and not buoycd by sas. II -
the volume not weight that Is tine impeachment 10
aerial navigation. Taking the weight ana area ol
the wings oi the crane as a basis ot cuati"n,
man of ordinary weight should be able to fly with
wings having an area al forty square feet.
Mr. IhurStou closed by urging that trade schools
shnnld be INCORPORATED IN the common school sys-
tenn and that universities Of science and art be
placed beside the older academies al learning.
C.. j. H. Woodbury., OF Boston. then read a paper
on Mill Floors AMI their Supportsp his was dls-
cus>ed briefly nj its close bv Professor William L.
Trovbrdgc and President ThuT-tou. The society
then adjourned in order 10 attend q reception gwen
10 lis members by David Williams. Of No. % East
Sixty-seventh-s The Society VIII hold sessions To-
day a 10 a. NJ, and at p. NJ. az the luri tluD
Theatre and the evening II VIII have dinner al
DelmonIco's.