The age-herald., 1899-01-12
DIMMICK
 ON PIPE PLANT

General Manager J. K. Dimmick, of th' American Pipe and Foundry company, is i the city. He is one of the best known ant most successful pipe manufacturers in tn country and is personally man of prepos sessing and engaging personal qualities. H. is very retIcent in answering leading busl ness questions as pr sR~unded by newspape reporters, who are required to ask all sort of things of all sorts of people.
 MT. Dimmick has the royal quality O seeing the humorous side of things, and i skilled in that irony which is other thal pig-irony.
 He was reluctant last night to tell abou the proposed extension of the great plan of the American Pipe and Foundry com pany at Bessemer, but in answer to a direc question he said:
 "Yes, we contemplate increasing the capacity of our plant at Bessemer when the conditions will permit, and we will shortly remove our general offices to Bir- mingham."
 What do I think of a new pipe works of 200 tons capacity being built by the Addyston people?' asked MT. Dmmick. Well, now have you considered other new developments of a startling nature in the pipe world? No? Well, of course not We'll 1t is centrifugal notion that's the thing. Sugar rehneries, laun- rieS and such manufactures have adopt ed them to the exclusion of the old method of clay retorts, the washboard and battling benches. Circumlocution prevaricators are also an improvement, by the way But to come to plain facts, did knnw that centrifugal DlDe machine had been invented? II you have kept close watch on your columns lately probably you do. This machine has been tested by the newspapers and found to be a grand success that Will revolutionze the manufacture Of cast iron pipe. A centrifugal pipe machine does away with molds, cores, corebars and drying and all objectionable features incidental to pipe making. All that Is necessary is the flask and the centrltu- gal machine. The melted iron is poured directly into the flask, the centrifugal machine is started and the pipe IS bored out by wind power.
 By the way, from recent newspaper publications 1t appears wind power mas assumed great proportions in the malu- facture of pipe and the building oI pipe foundrieS in these latter days. mere was a time in the pipe business when tSAAACN'N+''''c
 port (Ky) plant, and later in building the Addyston works and still later In constructing the Radford Va.) plant and operating these industries, to say nothing of the shop over at AhhlSloh, that diligence, experience, braWh ahu brain had place; but now in thls pro- gressive age, to judge by recent publi- cations. the centrifugal air machine has supplanted the old methods.
 Then there are other beaches With pebbles on them. Edison, or some other scientist, has lately discovered that the greatest and most wonderful of all mineral deposits exists on the planet Mars and possibly all the pipe plants whose stock has run down to something like 15 or 20 cents on the dollar VIII De establishing a ow-you-see-lt-noW-you don't branch plant in that planetary district with balloons and other aerial connections.
 "These are hard times for the pipe manufacturers: but we recognize that we must meet the conditions, and we understand that while the Birmingham district is up-to-date and knows the difference between successful dividend paving concerns who seek bona hde locations and those who talk through their hat for a purpose and locate only on blue prints in the hotel corridors. We know also of the close competition and the advantage offered by the planet Mars over the terrestrial sphere of the Birmingham district and we apprehend that the "branch plants' will have to be located in Mars, as our company expects not only to supply couple of blast furnaces at the base of the roseate mountains of that planet and furnish all of the pipe not only for that part of the solar universe, but also for the whole planetary system, and as evidence of the good faith of our com pany and of it's advocacy of this plan I want to say that our office boy stands ready to guarantee 1-500th of the amount necessary to establish the solar system plant. provided the centrifugal machine is adopted.
 'To come down to brass-tacks and talk business. the American Pipe and Foundry company is not chasing phan- toms. is doing strictly legitimate busi- ness. has met with reasonable success, appreciates its patrons and the advan- tages of this district. and will be doing the same business. I hope, with the same or even better success. and cer- tan1y with the same appreciation when the will O the wisps have vanished as I have seen many such fade away in the face of the realities of practical pipe manufacturing in which I have been engaged for nearly ha'f century.
 'I have for years predicted great future for the Birmingham district. I am glad to see so many substantial evil dences of it's rapid approach, and be- fore the yearvis out hope and believe that we will see many more: and you may be assured that the Bessemer plant of the American Pipe and Foundry company will keep pace with the on-