The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-15
Trieste, Yosohsms...nd el..vher.' abroad.

va oOha saNS
the manufacture Of pig iron during the past
nifty years. at q recent meeting of tho Ameri-
can Society Of Mechanical Engineers said that
prior to 1910. when anthracite fuel was intro
duced in blast furnsces. the metal was nearly
all made with charcoal, a Rood-sizcd furnace
of that day producing fifteen to thirty tons of
pig iron n week. In q lecture on pG iron. which
/ delivered before the Franklin Institute In
1888. I called attention to the fact that blast
furnaces were then producing 1000 tons OF pig
iron per week. and q still larger OUTPUT might
be expected In the future.
The Carnegie Company IL now building an
extensive now plant at Duouesne. Pa. and
furnace No. 1 10 already In operation. During
the past month tNovember) this furnace pro
duced q daily Average Of b72 tons Of standard
Bosse ner pig iron, something hitherto unprec-
edentcd. and Mt the same time lowered the
record with respect TO proportion Of fuel and
cost per ton; 1000 pounds of coke suficed to
smelt q ton Of iron.
This company now controls ore beds Of enor-
nous extent on the famour Mesaba Range In
Minnesota. from which II obtains It's low rhos-
phorous iron ore at phenomenally low pricef.
II has taken from one mino aione-thc oliver
during the past year more than SOC. 1000 tons,
Mt a cost OF less than 20 cents per ton. all
charges included. The mining tso-called) con-
NlstH IN 9COOpluR Out tHo htiibluO Wth bsN"hA
s'iovels and dopositing the ore directly on the
cars.
An idea Of the capacity Of this labor
saving machinery may be gained from
the recent statement OF Prof. winchell. that.
In spite Of certain unavoidable delays. IAN out
put OF sos. coz tons was made during the year
with three shovels. one OF which was Idle about
half the time"
The estimate of 90 cents per ton. here given.
as cost OF mining. appears to be ex ecssive, as
Prof. wincheil, who has itemized the factors
going to make up the coet, states that the
stripping charge per ton OF ore. uncovered.
docs not usually exceed o or z cents per ton,
and the cost Of shovellinR the ore out OF Its
natural bed. after strlr ping, does not exceed
10 Genus. and with a very large output mai be
less than half this amount.
Crude pig iron stands near the bottom Of the
list OF articles involving n high degree OF
skilled labor. American watches. on the other
hand. head the iist Yet they are exported in
constantly increasing quantities to all parts of
the world.
Very recently the American Consul at Brad
ford, England. reported as follows;
''one Bradford frm Of jewellers alone has q
stock Of 10000 wal,ham watches. In adj.
ton. / has watches of he Elgin and other
makes. and sells large numbers" American
files. made by machinery. according to the tes-
timony OF Consul Meeke-. compcte with Eng
li,h handmade files. He mentions one or
der. recently sent to this country, for 1000
dozen. whereas an orier for 200 dozen English
Hles would DO considered, ordinarily, as a large
one.
Go into any cutlery or hardware shop In
Bradford" sai3 Mr. Moeker. and ask for
shears. and you will Be HANDED . pair bearing
- N----- - r--a- --a nI--
arc considered superior in every way. and one
Of the strange things about It Is that they must
be purchased through shefield. which Is sup
posed to DO the rival of American cutlery man
ufacturers. These shears. q dealer said to me.
are superior to all others. because they are
sweet cutters The shears used by tailors and
cutters are almost entirely of Americ IN make.
Turbine water whec's-and printing presses
OF American manufacture are also sold In Brad.
ford" /
The export Of machine-made boots and rhoes
Is RAPIDLY growing. and has indeed already as
sumed largo PROPORTIONS.
Within q few years past great improvements
have bsen made IN the shoemakinr machinery
and In the product accompanied by M equally !
noticeable reduction in cost
Few persons are aware Of tho present extent
Of this business. which has grown up from
NoiI bhAAA tAtiosiC bhoW tuet. III
the census year OF 1890. no less than 179. $780, |
900 pairs Of boots and shoes were made in fac
tories in this country. by 1o4. 900 operatives.
An average Of nearly 1000 pairs Der snnum for
each employee, and an average OF nearly three
pairs of shoes for every inhAbitant
A single factory employing 233 hands (chiefy
girls, turned out o,100 pairs Of women's shoes
a day.
The best qualities OF machine-made shoes
are now fully equal to the lest handmade |
shoes, and are produced at one-third tho cost; |
this accounts for thu favorable reception In
n number Of new markets. in spite oil former
prejudices and OF occasional Misrepresentation
OF rivals. who naturally fear loss Of business.
Seven thousand tons OF steel rails. he sides
enormous quantities 81 other railroad material
are now being made In Pittsburgh for japan,
and large orders have, IL 1, said. been booked
for China.
A complete locomotive manufacturing plant !
recently shipped from Philadelphia TO
Russin. and railroad machinery 10 now on its
way from this port to Australia.
A multitude Of similar illustrations could DO
given. but these will serve a. straws 70 show J
tho direction In which the trade winds' arc
now lowing. and II only remains for Ameri- |
can cntsrDrtso.to take advantage NJ tho oppor-
tunities which favorable circumsta ices offer to
enter upon . new ora Of industrial prosperity. |
The secret Of success in these tentative OK
perlments is TO DO found In tho wonderful ad.
vances which have been made In labor saving
machinery. supervised by intelligent highly |
paid o operatives. whereby the prod uctiva capac-
ity Of each employee is enormously increased
and tho cost per unit OF product correspond
inRly reduced.
The possibilities of reduction in cost Of manu-
NJ INV uiyap arflrIaa - not .I.u.-. |