The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-21
WONDERFUL NEW METAL
WHAT ALUMINIUM Is AND WHAT
IrMAY BE USED FOR.

most Destined to Rank Alongside
If Iron and Steel-rriumph OF the
Busy Metallurgiss.
From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
Aluminium is fast taking the place among
the metals of everyday life. One Of the
arrest indications of this is that we find 1t
quoted on the commercial price lists along
with tin, lead, zinc, copper and iron. The
true meaning and Importance OF such az
incident is apt to be underestimated by the
general public.
We all agree that large part of the
progress of civilization with all that that
term means) during the last half century
has been due TO the splendid advances in
from working, whereby this universal metal
has been produced In undreamed of quanti
ties at unthoughht of prices. The comfort OF
every inhabitant Of civilized countries have
been increased with these advances In the
metallurgy Of iron. Yet there are many
uses for which iron Ia unsuitable, and for
which other metals are better suited. Cop
per, Tin, lead. zinc, etc., are used for pur-
POSES for which iron is not SO well adapted
or not at all adapted. The work Of civiliza~
ton and progress is, therefore, distinctly
forwarded by artisans having variety
of metals to work with adapted TO
widely varying purposes. Each metal
IS used for certain purposes, be-
cause all things considered, it Is better
suited for these purposes than any other
metal The remarks concerning iron are,
therefore, true IN similar manner of other
metals. But, If progress is forwarded by
improvements in the production OF well-
known metals, what shall we say Of the dis
ooyery and the introduction of q new metal
In the worlds busy workshopsl 1t Is really
20 put a new tool into the hands of the
49,. -.
grand work Of civilization, and all man
Kind feels the benefit.
THE HISTORY OF ALUMINIUM.
Aluminium comes, the fruit of the Iabors
of the metallurgist, handed over to indus
try TO be put TO use. It does not need to be
received with any favoritism, il ought not
90 meet with prejudice against it, but the
question of putting it to use should be taken
up fairly and squarely. The plain question
than any other metal, all conditions being
taken into acoountp The experimental an
swer TO that question will fix the usefulness
OF aluminium to the world.
This new and beautiful metal, discovered
by the German, Wohler, In 1897, and intro
duced to the world by the Frenchman, De-
vile, IN 1856, has short yet interesting
history. When first made in quantity by
Deville the world at once fell In love with
Its latest acquisition. II was rightly re-
gsrded as great achievement of science,
and its future usefulness was mapped out
10 glaring colors. With each increase In
price more numerous applications were
suggested, but very few made. In 1862
the metal was sold at S12 a pound, but
many expectations had already been
disappointed and its uses limited princi-
pally to articles of luxury. The trouble
was not so much that aluminium itself had
been found lacking, but that its price was
too high for many prospective uses. To
make bsd worse it was then found that
aluminium oould not be made any cheaper
by the Deville process. Then came an era
of disappointment For twenty-five wears
the world was in the tantalizing position Of
knowing uses for tons of aluminium IL it
could only be had at a low price. After the
rapid advancement In production and swift
decline in price. from 1856 to 1861, the sub
sequent twenty-five years dead level seemed
to mark the limit OF the aluminium in
industry. and many metallurgists had
given up hope of any great future for
aluminium.
THE DAWN OF NEW ERA.
In 1S66'67 new era dawned. AN inflow
of new and successful methods OF produc-
tion reawakened hopes for the future Five
years of activity followed the price dropped
rapidly, larger and still larger quAnti-
ties were produced and more and moro
utilized.
The first ripple of this tide of activity
was felt In 1886, when a German manufact-
urer, said then to be producing aluminium
by electricity, lowered the selling price to
S. The next year an Improvement In max
ing metallic sodium infused new life into
the Deville process. and Mr.. Cashier sold
aluminium for S. In 1889 the electric
method received great impulse by the APP
plication Of Halls process, now in operation
on the banks of the Allegheny river, eigh-
teen miles above Pittsburg, and aluminium
" at In ut
Processes similar to Halls were started
abroad, and wholesale reduction In prices
began. Sharp competition reduced the
price in 1891 30 as low as 30 cents a pound,
at which figure there was really TO little
profit to the Makers and this present year
1t has rebounded to 90 cents, which is the
present selling price for the ingot metal in
large quantities
The present status Of the aluminium in
dustry is unique. All the aluminium now
being made commercially is made by cleo
trical processes. The chemical method,
using sodium, is entirely superseded.
Further, it appears as if. after five years of
development, the electrical methods have
almost reached their limit.
THE COST OF THE METAL
The method of passing an electric current
through molten bath of fuoride salts in
which aluminium oxide has been dissolved
Is in theory one Of the simplest processes
conceivable, and Is IN practice rapidly ap-
preaching perfection. Having the right
principle to work on, manuf acturers trouble
themselves very little about radically new
processes and are putting all their atten-
ton to perfecting details of the present
method. With cheaper aluminium oxide.
cheap power aud the decreasing cost of all
minor items such as comes from working
on large scale, it is estimated, without ex-
Rggeration, that aluminium will be manu-
featured in the near future at about Is
cents pound. 1t costs at present between
40 and so cents.
We may almost surely expect aluminium
to be selling again at so cents pound inside
of year but it is probable that somewhere
about this figure will Limit its price for sew
eral years to come. At this price aluminium
is about on par with copper, bulk for bulk.
An aluminium aud a copper rod Of the same
size would cost nearly the same. There are
really at present only six metals selling
cheaper by the pound than aluminium, viz,
iron, lead, zinc, copper, tin and antimony,
which. If We compare the cost of equal
bulks, only iron, lead and zinc are materially
cheaper.
ITS PRESENT GREAT PRODUCTION.
H. Il. 10