Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-08
A FIGHT TO A FINISH.
MIR. Stafford Will Press the Contest
Against the AmOskeag Engines
NO MATTER HOW THE CASE GOES.
He Claims His Only Interest Is in Seeing
That Pittsburg Doesn't
PAY TOO MUCH FOR HER FIRE ENGINES

| AmOSKe4g IRE engines, Is uO1 uoWh ny
| the result of the test of these engines. He
| says he still believes the examination before
Master Hamilton will bring out about all he
| expects, and afford the courts sufficient data
| on which to condemn the fire commission
| methods of doing business. Mr.. Stafford says
| preliminarily that it is not a fight between
| engine companies and that he is not making
| it in the interest of anyone. and does not
| represent any company, but is in the fight
| to stay until it is definitely ascertained
whether Pittsburg is to pay 900 more
| for an engine than it is sold for
| to other cities He says he is not
champion of the Silsby, in which he finds
merits and demerits, but on the whole seems
| to regard it as pretty fair piece of mechan-
ism. He says the fight against the manage
ment is to the finish, and is progressing
! fairly satisfactorily, and so far he is in good
| condition, without hair turned. He fur
| nishes some figures. For instance, he states
| that the oath of February, $780, Boston
| got two Amoskeag engines from the Man-
| chester Company of the first size for 1890,
| or s. $50 each while Pittsburg has been pay
| ing from $4, $50 to $4,700 for the second size,
and that Boston got one of the third size for
$500, while Pittsburg paid R. c. Elliot $1,000
for one that size and calfber.
Claims Job Was Set Up.
Mr.. Stafford says that Mr.. Schinneller adj
mitted that he wasn't an expert, and also
that the highest test he had ever seen was
at 200 revolutions minute: t'and," says SAT-
ford, "an interested party fixed up the
whole matter to suit himself and George
Browne signed the necessary papers on ac-
count of his position demanding the
Mr.. Stafford says he proposes to have
Brownies and Schinnellers report of the test
published in every fire journal IN the Unlted
States and read in all the fire and hydraullc
engineers meeting and before all the water
department boards in the Union. lie ap-
peared to think that this was about as nara
u blow as could be dealt them.
Speaking of the certificate that the Amos
keag engine made SO many revolutions per
minute, and consequently pumped
certain amount of water, Mr.; safiord holas
that the testers either testified to ignorance
or were making report to suit the pur-
poses of interested parties. On this mead
he says the capacity of fire engine pump Is
what it can lift by suction from clStern or
from a river, and not what it can take from
Il fire plug of Is or 10 pounds pressure, as it
may be necessary 10 use engines where there
are no plugs to draw from, and not lntre-
quently plugs are out of order and an engine
is wanted that has power to throw water OF
itself and not by pressure These engines
may work well enough at the foot OF " o1u 1s
or Market street, but how much WouIu De
lacking if attached to plug where the pres
sure was but 10 pounds?
Warmed Up to His.work.
Warming up as he proceeded, Mr.. Stafford
asked why did not the Manchester Manu-
featuring Company appear and testify as to
the capacity of its engines? and he an
swers that it wouldn't have been policy.
"Why should the members of the company
do so? They get their money and give no
guarantee" Continuing, he says that the
Amoskeag has not been sold in New York
since 1877, as the company will not submit 1t
to the test required. Other engines are pro-
vided with boilers that make steam faster,
and in which the steam pressure does not
run down from l5j pounds to 20 pounds IN 60
seconds, as in the case of the AmoskeaS
during the test, when, after making one
and make steam before another Was
undertaken. Further, he says the
Amoskeag is the heaviest engine in the
country compared with the amount OF work
it is able to do and that this is an important
matter where long distances over hllly
streets are to be run.
Mr.. Stafford gave figures on the work OF q
considerable number of engines, but much
of his talk was technical, and his tongue
ran nearly at the speed of the Amoskeag n.y.
wheel during the late test, making it impos-
sible for anyone except hydraulic en-
gineer to follow him. He was asked again
and again, and repeated all he had to say
willingly over and over, but still the hear
er's comprehension was much the same.
The following, however, may be taken as re-
liable data, as he wrote it himself:
"The Clapp Jones pumps are 5H inches
IN diameter DIV S-lnCn StrOk6 On uTSC SlZ0.
The engines capacity is $50 gallons per min
ute based on speed of 300 revolutions per
minute the extra first size Clapp u Jones is
~ inches in diameter, by S-inch stroke;
L. 100 gallons per minute, based on 300 revolu-
tions per minute. Laf1ance, first size, 5% by
s. capacity $50 gallons per minute, based on
800 revolutions per minute; and extra hrst
size, 5A by s, capacity 100 gallons per min
ute based on 800 revolutions per minute"
Mr.. Saffords Comparative Figures.
NJ. ~,
Amoskeag with pump 45s inches in dame
ter. and s-inch stroke is claimed to have
thrown 1850 gallons per minute. Now he
contends that it did not do the work claimed,
even from a fire plug, and says the
test does not consist in the number
of revolutions made by the fy-wheel,
but in the number of times |
the pump chamber was filed and emptied. |
s.All admit said he, "that the other engines
l have named can be run as fast as the |
Amoskeag, but it is not pretended that at |
the highest rate of speed the pump chamber |
is filled and emptied at each revolution" |
He also cited number of engines of various |
makes that had been repeatedly proven and !
did big work that had no fly wheels, and |
asked how Messrs. Brown and Scheneller |
would go about it to test their capacity. He |
said he supposed they would put the speed |
indicator on the hub Among those cited |
were Button, Silsby and Waterous engines. |
The builders of the Clapp Il Jones and |
of pumping capacity ou the basis of 800 rev
olutions per minute, or 400 feet of piston |
speed per minute, and produce the results |
given above. Now, why do they not run |
faster? Simply because it is test OF work !
they want and not speed at which their nr- |
gines might be run. They know the engines |
cannot pump any more water than can be |
filled into and emptied out by the pump |
barrel and they do not seek to manufacture |
a record they cannot prove. The Amoskeag
test is based on a piston speed of 1000 feet
nd u hn DIR
stands the subject, or is capable of any kind |
of reasoning whether he understands me- |
chanics or not, pretend to say that the pump
barrel was filled and emptied to correspond |
with this speed climaxing?
Not Considered a Test.
Mr. Stafford said there had been no test at
all; that the opposition had no judge, but
but that the show was instructive and would
give the courts valuable pointers on the
merits of the fight. He also confidently vent
ured the assertion that no one financially in
terested in the Manchester Company will
come to Pittsburg to testify to q capacity of
i. loo gallons per minute for the Amoskeag
engine.
Mr. Stafford explains that the reason the
capacity of steam fire engines is seldom
tested is that buyers usually ask for an en-
CINE that will throw certain sized stream
4 given distance, but that when test of ca
pacity is made water is taken from a tank or
river and not from fire-plug.
In conclusion, he said that before the con-
troyersy ended the courts could pass in full |
in the meaning of the Wallace act popu-
larly supposed to require contracts to be |
riyen to the lowest responsible bidder and |
he expressed entire confidence as to the
final result of the shindy, basing that conf
dence largely on the result of similar one |
i1ad a1r,bi traa n f<,. |