The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-08-14
NEWS OF OUR INDUSTRIES.
Happenings Of Interest to the Staple
Trades and Particularly to the Trade
in Iron, Steel aud Anthracite Coal.

Furnace No. 8. of the Crane Iron COM
pany, at Catasauqua, has been blown
in. The stack has been idle some
time.
Repairs are almost completed on the
idle stack of the Carrie Furnace COM
pany at Pittsburg, and 1t will blow In
within week or ten days.
The Union Drawn Steel company. of
Beaver Falls, Pa, manufacturers of
cold rolled STEEL has let contract for
two additional buildings, so by 11O feet
each, to be constructed Of iron, steel
and brick. Although 1t Is only two
years since this company doubled its
capacity it has been much crowded
for some months. With the new build
ings and machinery it will have ca
pacity Of about $4,000 tons year.
1t is the intention Of the Lake Erie
Iron company, of Cleveland, o., to soon
begin the erection of blast furnaces
on made ground in Cleveland harbor.
The works of the company are on
Whisky island, and its lake frontage is
365 feet. From the shore Of the lake
to the harbor line Is 1000 feet, and the
land thus made would give the company
total of ten acres, making one of the
most eligible sites on the south shore
Of Lake Erie.
A stock company Is being organized at
Waco. Tex. to operate electric launches
on the streams of Central Texas on a
plan which the projectors believe will
be practical and profitable without
any improvement whatever to the wa
ter courses to be navigated. The boats
to be used. 1t is said, will take 1000
pounds smoothly in eighteen inches Of
water, and over that depth is main
tanned the year round in many of the
rivers and streams.
An ambitious project Is on foot at
Los Angeles. Cal. where it Is proposed
to transmit the almost unlimited power
Of the Kern river to the city by cleo
tricity, and to make strong effort to
build up a manufacturing center. The
most interesting feature Of the plan Is
the length Of transmission. The near
est point on the Kern river Is exactly
100 miles from Los Angeles. The pro-
moters of the plan claim to have elec-
trical engineering advice, however, to
the effect that the scheme Is CONNER
cially practicabl.
The 400 tons Of pig iron recently
shipped from the Mable furnaces at
Sharpsville, Pa, to Birmingham, Eng.
was Of grade suitable for the manu-
facture Of malleable Iron. Heretofore
English malleable iron manufacturers
have been using charcoal pig iron only
for their castings, deriving their supply
from this country and from Sweden,
as England manufactures little II any
charcoal pig iron. or late, however,
they have been adopting some ideas of
their American cousins, one of the re-
suits Of which Is this shipment Of coke
iron. Should the iron prove satisfac-
tory, 1t Is likely that other shipments
will he made. .,.
The output of pig iron has risen
about to the normal quantity In pros
porous years. According to the Amer
lean Manufacturer. of Pittsburg, the ca
pacity of furnaces In blast Aug. was
rate of 4.5S9,130 tons In a half year.
This quantity has been surpassed in
the first half Of 1892 and In the last
half Of 1891 and 1890, burt 1t Is close to the
maximum. 1t does not follow that pro-
ductiOn at that rate for the year will
continue, as some weakening In prices
(which already appears--may cause a
few furnaces to close. but this at pres
ent seems somewhat unlikely. Neither
does 1t follow that the output for the
year 1896. II continued at the present
rate, would be the largest ever known,
as some enthusiastic, journalists say.
1t would be only 8,67G,GSS tons for the
year, which is considerably below the
actual output Of 1890 or 1892, though
there is some probability that, instead
OF q reduction, some further increase
In output may appear before the year
ends. 1t Is important to observe that
this large output does not result, as the
greatest production has In previous
years. from large demand of the rail
roads. because the output Of steel rails.
though larger than last year, has not
been more than about two-thirds Of the
maximum. The enormous production
Of structural iron and steel is shown
by the record-breakang output Of $1,000
tons In July at the Homestead works,
OF which 1850 tons were of steel beams,
the greatest production OF structural
products In any previous twelve months
having been 605,000 at all the works In
the country. The nail production has
also been enormous, though in the best
OF years this does not exceed about
10000 tons. Indeed, It Is rather q puz-
zle TO account for the great output Of
unless 1t is kept In mind that the July
work was largely to make up for de.
ficOiencies In previous months. Prices
still advance. however, the combina.
tlons having raised bar iron and struc.
tural iron and steel, while Bessemer Il
q shade weaker, though Grey Forge has
advanced, and the average Of all kinds
10 now 80 per cent. higher than the
prices of last January, and only. ~ per
cent. below the prices Of Oct. /, 1892,
It II rather the general inpression that
the rise In prices has reached IT. maxi.
mum