The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1890-12-19

= *"8
o1S- ooo'o oo "a Got Wei-hm~n 10 Cosn~ 10
An r'es and Earn -. 7oo.ooo IN Wages
A tho Amer,cln people arc now 70
Be compelled BY law either 70 make
their oHn tin-piates or else 10 pay .
very high pr CO for them by reason Of
the Mckinley tariff law. u - interest,"
Ing % know just what is the process o.
tln-p.nte manufacture. What Is known
- ! n-plase 10 composed Of sheets Of
steel with . thin coating Of tin. the lat
Ter being only about five per cent OF
the weight OF tho finished product
The first step In the manufacture Il
20 prepare the steel sheets These are
made from open-hcarth steel for the
best quality Of tin-plates. or from low
carbon Bessemer steel for the cheaper
qualities A bar Of steel fifteen inches
long. seven inches vide. from onc-half
to ive-eIghths Of an inch thick. and
weighing nineteen pounds, is rolled
into sixteen sheets measuring l4x20
inches This bar Is first heated red hot
and then put through the chilled rolls
after which IL is reheated and rolled 70
= thinncss which will permit il to be
easily doubled. After il is doubled il
Is heated again. rolled three times in
succession. and doubled at the same
time till the mass IS eight sheets in
thickness This mass is then sheared
through the middle, and girls with
hatchets separate the sheets from each
other.
The sheets are now ready for the
picking house Here they are put in
TO q cradle. or cage. which Is lifted BY
hydraulic power and lowered into q tank
containing dilute sulphuric acid. the
whole mass being made to revolve in
the acid for some time. The cage Is
then dipped into fresh water and again
revolved in order 10 remove all the
acid. When taken out the sheets are
found TO be bright and clean. and are
o ready for the annealing process
They are shut up in iron annealing pots
IT q bright-red heat for twelve to six
teen hours
After being taken out they are passed
three Of four times between cold rolls
which are highly polished. and must be
set with the utmost accuracy. The
sheets are now annealed again At a
lower temperature. and are once more
picked In a weaker acid After . final
washing they are gone over carefully.
one at a time. and such sheets as need
II are secured with sand. the worker
using a pad OF hemp
But all this is only half OF the pro-
cess; we have as yet only steel sheets
These are now taken to the tin house
cd - ~fAAn1 - aIrr.k ~Iorx
water to await the tinman. He takes
up the sheets separately and puts them
in a pot containing palm oil. in which
they are soaked for = short time. The
sheets arc now placed in a large iron
pot containing mol ten tin. on which q
covering Of palm oil floats The tim
man removes the sheets from this first
pot and passes them over TO the ''wash-
man." who immerses them in q second
pot OF molten tin After they have
soaked awhile be raises them sing.y
with tongS as he requires them, brushes
OF both surfaces and gives each sheet .
final dip in another pot Of molten tin
The sheets are then run through rolls
which work in . large pot Of palm oil.
A boy passes the sheets n at . time to
. girl who rubs them a moment in bran
TO remove the grease. Another girl
finishes this part OF the work, and the
sheets then 20 10 the asserting room.
Here the good plates are selected and
assorted according to quality. and de-
fective plates rejected. They are then
counted BY young women and made up
into bundles and pi .cs for packing into
boxes The boxers now take charge OF
these piles and pack them into elm
boxes holding los pounds The final
process is 70 brand tho boxes. and they
are then ready for shipment
The timing process here described IS
that known as the '~'palm-oil process"
BY which the best tin-platcs are made.
Another process is known as the ..acid-
fux process" in which tho pots OF
molten tin are covered with . mixture
OF zinc. hydrochlorate and water. in
place Of the palm-oiL This process
does not produce such good tin-piates
ns the ''palm-oil process"
An American manufacturer who has
seen the whole process in Wales where
pract cally all the tln-plates used in the
W0IlA AlI ulAAFt ACrNtA1-4 WI -
being extremely unhealthy in some
parts OF the process In the picking
rooms. " he says the employees all lose
their teeth and are otherwise 50 scarf
ied a. scarcely 70 appear human The
other part OF the work Is not specially
unhealthy. but. owing 70 the rank odor
Of the oil used. Is very unpleasant and
flthy-~
The Welsh people have long been en-
gagged In the manufacture OF tin-plate.
and 20 expert have they become that
only25. 900 or 30. 900 persons. AZ least half
Of whom are boys and girls, are required
to produce the worlds supply. As an
other evidence or their skill II may be
stated that the price OF these plates has
been greatly lowered Within the past
ten or fifteen years In 1874 tin-piatcs
sold in England as high as6 cents .
pound: but according 10 the Treasury
reports our tin-plates As entered
at the the custom houses tn 1859 were
valued. exclusive Of duty. at . cents q
pound Tho imports for 1890 came in at
about 8 n Under the Mex nley
duty Of 81 tents a pound our importers
vill be compelled TO pay 5 cent . pound
or more.
~-&-~~ = tr.< ~h.< at. Hf~xrfo-