The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-17

in this country, and even cast iron from
America is ahead i'm this market. Re
Gently the city of Glasgow opened COM
petitive bids on large order for wat
er pipe, and the lowest figures were
those of a Pennsylvania iron firm; but
so great was the opposition to letting
the order go out of the country that
all of the bids were thrown out on an
alleged technicality. Quotations We're
again advertised for, and once more
Pennsylvania was the lowest bidder.
1t remains to be seen if the Americans
will be allowed to fill the order, but
it is now agreed that our iron mills
can cut below all competition in this
field, and still have a profit.
Some time ago the English AMI
Egyptian governments asked for speci-
fications for a light pattern of railway
locomotive suitable for running across
the Egyptian deserts. The British
concerns said the road must take
their regular make of machines;
the Americans said they would
supply whatever was wanted, and the
order went to the United States. In
Japan a number of railway locomotives
were to be purchased. The English
makers said they could furnish them
in two years, and not before, the Amer
leans promised them in a quarter of the
time, and had the engines on the
ground in exactly six months.
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENTS.
The era of electricity in city trans
portation is just arriving in London,
and it has been brought about large
Ia, hxy ha Of
ufactures. First among the roads to
adopt il is the new line, lately COM
pleted, running underground from the
lord mayors mansion to Waterloo sta
ton, and its heavy passenger traffic
is showing to the other underground
roads the great advantage this route
has over the stuffy, smoky tunnels
through which the steam locomotives
now rum This line has the dstnc-
tiOn of passing under the busiest spot
of earth eXpressiVely known ir London
as slaughter Corner" being the con-
Vergence of queen Victoria street, New
Bridge street and the approach to
Blackfriars bridge. Hundreds of hack
ney cabs scores of omnibuses, a maze
of trucks; all keep up a humming,
drubbing roll, and all sorts of trades
and traffics occupy the ground surface.
while above the trains of the Dover
railway go crashing over their viaduct
nearly every minute. A cross section
of the under earth would reveal a
strange confusion. one railway above
and two below are only items i'm the ac-
tivities of this crowded spot
In the building of the new lower
most electric road, which is seventy
seven feet below street level, more than
half Of the construction was ,,ith
American equipment and large part
of the electrical installation was per-
formed by experts from the United
States.
A much longer line is that now being
pushed by day and nisht to compile
ton from the Royal Exchange to Oy.
FORD street, under the heart of London.
II viii be nine miles in length when its
laterals are complete, and cost about
eS.OOO0oO for the work under way.
There was danger that the American
electricians would capture all the
equipment contracts by the superiority
of their materials, and by making low
er bids than the English could reach;
but compromise was finally agree up,
by which the contracts are now so di-
vided that the English companies will
get about half Of the work. Were il
not that English firms are constantly