The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-08-17
COMING OVER TO AMERICA
Welshmen Are Preparing to Move Their
j n.Plate. Works Across the Atlantic.
One Manufacturer Will Soon Establish His
Plant at Joliet, nl-Englishmeu About to
Erect Large Works in Tennessee.

f~lIISbOhO, aug. b-EuSuSuAueu aioiap-
idly changing their minds concerning the
ability of Americans to manufacture timed
plate. To-day's Dispatch says: K Z.
Jenkins Is q tlnned-plate manufacturer,
with works in South Wales and Mon
mouthshire. at Maesteg. in the latter
try, he is In partnership in a mandatory
with w. H.. Edwards, q son-in-law of Will
lam Williams. of Llanelly, known as the
''Tin-plate King" Mr.. Jenkinss other
plant is 1t Maechen. in South Wales. The
capacity of both plants is nine mills, equal
to an output of 400 boxes Q day.
In letters to PittsburR gentlemen, Mr..
Jenkins has expressed his intention of
moving over here. He will ship the bulk of
his plant and bring with him as many OF
his men as he may require. He has studied
the contract-labor law. and can find no
reason why he couldn't do 30. He has been
offered strong Inducements to come across
the water. including the offer of twenty-five
acres of free land at Joliet. Ill.
Mr.. Jenkins says he has accepted the
offer. and will prepare to move in about
two months time. He says that English
men now recognize that Americans can
maze and undersell them in timed plate,
and that as they are already ex-
perienced in the trade, while Ameri-
cams 3 are sSon,S not, not they s,t do mot mot t see why Why.
der the new conditions. Mr.. Jenkins also
adds that William Williams and his sOn-in-
law w. III. Edwards, are seriously thinking
of following his example. They may locate
here within the next six months. Mr..
Jenkins says he 10 aware that steel plates
can be bought in Chicago at cheaper cost
than in England and the difference in
wages is not SO much as to prevent q hand
some profit on the investment.
When Mr.. Williams was in Pittsburg last
October he told q Dispatch reporter that
he would have no hesitancy in investing
capital in the manufacture of timed plate
in this country if he felt any security in
that he came here as much for the purpose
of investing capital in this business as for
any other. At the same time he scOtfed at
the idea of timed plate being made at q re,
munerative price If the Welshmen united
in lessening cost and reducing profits. Sub
sequent events show that while they may
have been content with O smaller profit
it Is because the cost of material and Ia
Dor have both become greater in Wales.
AdvIces from Wales TO Pittsburgers point
to o general acceptance of tho States as q
competitor. and il is admitted sooner than
was expected that the protective policy of
the Mckinley act will throw half the
Welsh mills idle.
~ Z AHOOt
1t developed yesterday that there was
another body Of Englishmen. not asso-
ciated with the MISUNDERSTANDING indus
try. who are arranging to 60 into that
business in this country. The Embreville
Freehold Land. Iron anu Railway Com
papy is . corporation with {, OOO,0 900 of cap
ital. all of which is held in England. 1t
owns $1,000 acres of mineral land in East
TGnnQGQaa and hQa had fwn hIaat
furnaces in operation for some
time. The elective committee, con-
sisting of three titled Englishmen, have
been here for some time obtaining data on
pany with their general manager. Mr..
Love, they saw Mr.. John L. Wilcox. of the
Pittsburg Iron and Steel Engineering Com
pany, and entered into negotiations with
last week to consult with the board of di-
rectors. Their project is best outlined in
what Mr.. Wilcox said yesterday In relation
thereto.
sis composed entirely of English capital,
and it's enterprises have SO far escaped
newspaper notice. 1t has $1,000 acres of
land in Tennessee. and t5o blast,furnaces
in operation. The enterprise, which has
been established for three years, has paid
such handsome dividends that the directors
deemed it advisable to extend operations.
They sent an executive committee of three
over here to investigates. These gentlemen
called me in and made exhaustive inquiries
into the probabilities of a steel and timed
plate plant being o remuDerative invest
ment. i prepared comparative costs or
manufacture here and i'll England, and also
plans.
Il went with them very fully into the
matter, and at length was able to advise
them that capital invested In q timed
plate plant in this country could not be
otherwise than q good investment. The
rncuIf IF aauarnl Vrnnfnna ron that thu
committee decided to recommend the prof.
ect TO their board. They sailed for Eng
land last week for that purpose, and l only
await instructions to put the plans into
cost S650.0O0, with q capacity of SIX thou
sand boxes of finished plates per week and
two hundred tons of steel slabs for the
open market.
doubt" continued Mr.. Wilcox. ''of the Sc
curity of a tinned-plate plant as an invest
ment. The cost of q box of tinned plate
shipped at wansea is S.. The labor on it
costs IS cents. can afford to pay just
double that amount and yet have q profit
of S1.25 per box. The American manu-
facturer has the best of the Welshmen
in all but labor. His steel plates are
cheaper. so Is his coal and 30 is the lumber
he uses for packing. Of course American
manufacturers are going slow, and will for
some time. They desire to get at the best
method of making. rolling. pickling. etc.,
before going into the business. But there
is no ultimate doubt of the possibilities of
making plate successfully. Indeed, il is no
longer ealnsaid. There are men in Pitts
burg to-day who would put up $4,000 to
erect a plant, and they will do so just when
the time 10 ripe"
MANY INQUIRIES o
From another engineer 1t was learned
that q good many inquiries were being re-
ceived for tinned.plste figures. There are
several plants in contemplation, both East
and West. A number of P~ittsburgers. with
a leading pipe manufacturer at their head.
are also considering the advisability of
erecting q large plant. The firms now actu-
ally turning out timed or terne-plate. with
their capacities. are: L. IL. Laufman, 100
boxes q day; the United States Iron and
Tin-plate Company, Demmler. 2.000 boxes
o month; st. Louis Stamping Company, SO
boxes. Marshall Bros. and n. G.. Taylor.
of Philadelphia. and Fleming IL Hamilton.
of this city, purchase the block-plate and
tin il.
The following firms are now actually
erecting mills for the manufacture: F.. III.
| Laufman Is increasing his capacity to 4OC
boxes a day; the Demmler firm is increasing
its capacity TO 5000 tons per annum; Norton
Bros, of Chicago. 200 boxes per day: Somer
Bros. of Brooklyn, four mills; Bri.ton,
Cleveland, 400 boxes q day; the Lewis Sheet
and Tin-plate Company, Joliet, 1900 boxes
o week. and Reeves Bros, of New PhIladel.
phia. are putting in a plant.
Operations at Harney's Peak. IN the
Rlack Hills Dakota ara hainQ nushad for.