The evening times., 1898-08-12
During the six months of 1898 e


June 50. the expectations were $l.1Sl.529.
The English manufacturers Of chemi
Gals freely concede that the principal rea.
son of this decline of expectation to the
United States Is owing 10 the recently
established American home industry. Al
a general meeting Of one Of the largest
concerns in this district Drummer. Mond
& Coz. the president. Sir John Brunner
NJ. p, referring TO the fact that the
dividend on the ordinary capital had de-
creased from 30 to % per cent. as compar.
ed with last year. said that the share
holders "were all aware that the com
pany had suffered very severe loss in
their American trade through the opera
tion of the Dingley tariff
THE chemical trade Is intimately con-
nected with the salt industry. as salt is
by far the most important of the raw
materials in the manufacture of chemi-
Gals. The county of Chester. within this
consular district and Immediately south
of the River Mersey. produces more salt
brine than any other territory in Great
Britain. and this fact accounts for the
establishment of the chemical industry
here. In a statistical circular letter upon
the Cheshire salt industry. published by
a local authority at the commencement
of the year. it was stated:
In 1887 Liverpool sent to the United
States of America 1926 tons Of salt; in
the year just expired (OssO the total
amounted to only 81. TT tons-a terrible
decline. 1t is at all times difficult for
England TO compete with the salt works
of America on their own continent. and
this difficulty Is turned almost into an
impossibility by the fact that the Gov
ernment OF the United States in the year
just concluded. placed upon common salt
duty amounting to lJ0 per cent of its
cost at the works in Cheshire.
The greater portion Of the salt ex-
ported to the United States goes over In
bags and ballast. The duty under the
present tariff act q SIS a ton on salt
cake. cents per le5 pounds on salt in
bulk, and T. cents per 100 pounds on salt
in packages. Under the tariff law OF
1885, salt cake and salt u buk and in
bags. barrels. etc, were free. but the
bags or other packages paid the same
rate of duty as II imported separately.
For some years. there has been ar. ac-
tive rivalry in the production of chemi-
Gals from salt by two methods-the Leb-
lane process and the ammonia-soda pro-
cess. The hrst stage Of the Leblanc
process Is the decomposition of common
salt by the agency of sulphuric acid. In
this process there Is great waste. and
until recently II was very objectionable
on sanitary grounds. About forty years
ago the by-projuct hydrochloric acid
was utilized for the manufacture Of
bleaching powder. the processes for which
have been greatly improved upon within
the past twenty years. Some years af-
terwards. the ammonia-soda process
was established on a commercial footing
IN this and other countries. The new
process was made financially successful
by the establishment of works in Brus-
sci. and by Messrs. Brunner. Mond &
Co., at Northwick. Cheshire-S3 miles
from Liverpool As carried on by Messrs.
Brunner., Mond & Co.. the ammonia
soda process has long yielded the prin-
cipal article required. at a saving OF cost
so considerable as compared with the
Lsblanc process that IL the manufactur-
ing exponents OF the'latter had been con-
fined to the production of soda. they
would before now have been driven from
the field.
at Is the utilization of their by-pro-
duct hydrochloric acid. for the manufac-
ture Of chlorine products-including not
only bleaching powder. but chiorate Of
potash fused for making matches and
percussion caps) and chlorate OF soda
which has been their mainstay. to such
an extent that II Is. commercially. quite
true to say that in the Leblanc soda In
QuStfY at tNe p!cSCut tiniC. Stud 10 u
by-product of the manufacture Of chic
rine products The utilization OF other
has been of great service to
the Leblanc manufacturer in his fight
with the ammonia-soda process. Every
of every substance employed
at every stage is. II not altogether. yet
to a very large extent, used in way to
have a market value. Yet, not a few of
the houses engaged in the Leblanc pro-
cess found their profits reduced so much
that they dropped out of business.
about the end of 1890 there was a
of practically all the alkali
in this country, with the
exception of Brunner. Mond & Co. This
syndicate is known as the United Alkali
Company. limited. and rs headquarters
are at Liverpool. 1t has a capital of
nearly $50. .0O0.0lO. Its principal works
are at st. Heiens and Widnes, within
this consular district. but it also has
works at Newcastle. Briston and Glas-
gow 1t employs 5000 persons at the
St. Helens and Widnes works. and 1850
on the Clyde and Tyne. The United Al
kali Company. until a short time ago.
produced nearly all its chemicals by the
Leblanc process. In order to meet the
cess the United Alkali Company has been
tions have been made In the wasteful es-
cape of gases. Yet. in spite of the saw
|ngs and improvements. there seems to
be no doubt that the production of soda
by the Leblanc process must continue to
steadily decline.
.sThe amount Of salt decomposed In
England by the Leblanc process declined
from 434. 296 tons In 1891 to $50 SO tons in
1885, while the amount decomposed by the
process rose from 3Sl, ,608
ions in 1894 to 1915 tons In 1886. A short
lime ago, the United AIkaM Company es-
a plant for carrying on the am
process at Widnes and Fleet
wood Q.ancashire). and its output of am
is now between 60,000 and &C.
700 tons.
chemical manufacturers to so reduce the
enable them to compete with the Ameri-
AN concerns. In order to have share in
he American home trade, the United AL
IaM Company Is now erecting works at
Bay City, Mich. and will operate under
he name Of the North American Chem
cal Company.
Perhaps the question Of greatest inter-
.st in connection with this industry Is the
OF producing bleaching powder
md other chlorine products cheaper than
hey can now be produced by the Leblanc
process.
ut is at this point that the revolution
IN the chemical trade, spoken Of at the
of this report. Is making
tself manifest.
I'm 1885. an address was delivered by
Dr.. Ludwig Mond. president Of the chem
cal section Of the British association. IN
vhieh he gave . descriptioa Of q new