The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-16

train unexcelled in length, weight, and
elegance; 1t S54 tons weight, $50 feet
long. Thus 500 pounds of coal are
converted into energy for each pas
senger travelling between London and
Glasgow, allowing that the train has
its full complement of 22S; but should
one more go the stroker need only add
4 ounces of fuel to the boiler in the
eight hours. For luggage train one
pound of coal will take a ton for a.
distance Of 80 miles.
With such transport by land and
by sea the markets of the world are
now at our door. The raw products are
brought from the East and the West
power can be developed where it is
needed and when it is needed, and
instead of a few working in an isolated
part with a windmill or waterwheel
providing the power, there has been
great aggregation of workers, and a
consequent reduction in the cost Of
management. Thus also there has been
scope for the cheapening of steam
power by larger installations, and in
the years to come it will be found
that electrical power is more easily
and cheaply distributed than steam,
so that we shall have wider ap-
plication. of mechanical power, even
to the mental tasks of the Kitchen
maid. We have specialized work in
these days; men, boys and girls are
perhaps too apt to become a part of
the mechanism, being kept for years
at one Job which only constitutes a.
small part Of a complete product That,
however, is a defect for the individu-
alist not from the collectivist point of
view.
There is no reliable record for the
number of machine tools at work: they
are legion. 1t is computed, however,
that $780, 900 boilers are in use in Great
Britain, providing power for the indus
trial establishments, and it is but the
measure Of the possibiliti of the fu..
ture to say that, owing to imperfect
combustion of fuel in these, nearly
LOCO, 900 tons Of coal are wasted every
year in that smoke, which, while pro-
claiming the glory Of manufacturers,
greatly Injuries health. What a mag
nif1icent idea it would be to celebra te
this queens year by saving this coal
and many weak lungs.
The utilization of this steam power
Is almost without limit in it's variety
and possibilities. Nature and the hu-
man anatomy have afforded many ex-
amples-the universal joint Of the arm
pit, the reciprocal action Of elbow and
knee-but there is no need to elaborate
every movement and joint is repro
duced in machines. 1t would be i'm
possible even to indicate the methods.
results Of themselves are significant
enough. Even here it must be remem-
bered that we are only at the begin
ming Of a new development for the
"fiuidity" of electricity-the ease with
which it may be distributed, suggests
higher economy, especially for port
able machines. Thus an electric drill
for boring holes in steel plates has
reduced the cost of q given amount of
work from los to 5s, and even at that
does the work of six men in a given
time
In making steel rails or plates five
men now do the work formerly requir-
ing seventeen. The wages OF the
twelve are saved, for the plant soon
pays itself. Nail production has in
creased twentyfold Each worker,
makes two tons Of steel rivets in 3
day, at about one-fifth the cost oP
twenty years ago.
Take the more familiar pin-ever
the pointing of it is not too insignifi
cant for mechanical genius. a dam
Smith regarded the making of $4,000
per day by ten men as a triumph, now
100000 are made per worker per day
the man starts the machinery. II
does the rest Then there Is the pins
cousin, the needle. Sixteen machines
are used to make sewing machine
needle, but they produce 100000 per
week The sewing machine itself is
the product of nearly 200 separate ma
chine tools. Again, in the making of
the lock Of gun there are 131 differ.
ent machine operations, and in the
making of balance wheel Of q watch
weighing only seven grains there are
eighty separate machines. One of tho
machines makes each day 1920 wheels,