Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-05-07
AMERICANS BEATING ENGLISH Il
INDUSTRIAL LINES.
STEALING THEIR MARKETS
BRITISH RAILROAD ORDERS LOCO
MOTIVES FROM AMERICA.
American Agricultural Machinery
Preferred to That Made in En-
gIand-Russia- Adopts n Chi
= cagO Engineers Plan of
River Improvement.
fcopyrIsht, 1899, by the Associated Press,

Copyright. 1899, by the Associated Press.)
LONDON, May 6.-Public attention has
again Been directed to Americas growing
competition with England in the industrial
markets by the announcement this week
that the new English trunk line, the Great
Central railway. has ordered a batch of
locomotives in America. while adviceS from
abroad show that the Americans are beat
ing the English right along the line. The
British consul at La Rochelle, France, in
a report just submitted. says that the
Americans are fast taking the agricultural
machinery business in his district from
English firms. The latter, it is pointed out
by the consul, would not conform to the
farmers demand for light machinery,
whereas the Americans have adapted them
selves to circumstances and make ma
chinery that is exactly suited to the farm
ers' requirements.
The foregoing is only sample of the
tributes which are now constantly found
in consular reports to American enterprise
and showing that American manufacturers
are slowly elbowing their English rivals
out of markets which the British thought
were their own preserves. Articles on An-
glo-American industrial and commercial
rivalry, which are very flattering to Amer
leans, constantly appear in the English
press The Daily News, in a typical article
this week on american Engines-The
Threatened Invasion compares the enor-
nous progress in power and speed of
American locomotives with the slight i'm,
provements in English engines. The Daily
News says:
1T is trifie humiliating, but still none
the less a fact, that our modern English
engines, both for passengers and goods
trains, have not increased in power as fast
as trains in weight. On the other hand,
technical experts come back from America
with glowing accounts of great improve
ments in railway working there"
The article further declares that this
| recently created superiority, which must
be ascribed to the latest developments in
the American locomotive, in which were
combined speed and power, has not yet
been realized in England.
In connection with this commercial in
| vasion of the Old World by America, a
Chicago engineer named Bates arrived in
London this week Mr.. Bates is playing
an important part in the introduction of
American machinery and methods. Eigh-
| teen months ago the Russian government
requested Mr.. Bates to make a study of
| the river Volna with a view to the i'm
| provement of its navigation. AS a result
| the government has decided to adopt his
| methods for some $500 miles of river i'm
proyement, and has instructed him to con-
struct the largest and most powerful dredg-
| ing machine that could be built. This ma
chine has just been completed in Belgium
1t is an electrically self-propelling hy-
| draulic dredge of $500 horse power. 1t is
creating great deal of comment and spec
ulation in engineering and scientific cir
cles. Prince Hilkoff, the Russian minister
of public works, and the Belgian minister
| of public works, together with large
company of Belgian officials, were present
| at tests of the dredging machine, which
were made on the river Scheldt few days
| ago. Since those tests were made COM
| mittees representing the Australian and the
| Indian government have inspected the ma
| chine, as a result of which Mr.. Bates, in
London to-day, signed contracts to furnish
similar plants for India and Australia.
| Committees from the Panama and SueZ
| canals. from South Africa, China and Ja-
| pan, beside several European countries,
are coming to inspect the machine, while
| the last to announce an intended visit are
| the king of Belgium and Prince Albert
| son of the heir apparent to the Belgian
| throne.
| Regarding the general industrial situa-
! ton, Mr.. Bates said that the present boom
| in iron and steel in the United States has
| had its effect of checking the expansion Of
American trade in Europe. Up to few
months ago, he had been able to import
all kinds of machinery and material cheap
er from America than it could be bought
| in Europe, but this is now no longer the
case.
The Iron and Steel institute held its
annual conference here this week, conclud-
| ing to-day with the reading of a paper by
Bertram Summers. of Chicago. The dele
gates included Andrew Carnegie. Captain
John Jacques, United States navy; John
| Platt, of New York. and c. +. Hennery of
Rochester, N. Y. Captain Jacques, who is
on an official mission to report regarding
new Developments I'm the forging of armor
| and heavy guns, informed the correspond
ent here of the Associated Press that he
had visited Continental centers' in pursu-
ance of his instructions: Everywhere in
| Continental and English manufacturing
tcenters, Captain Jacques said, he had
| found the trend of thought directed to the
| immense advantage of American labor saw
ing appliances, and since his last visit to
| Europe there was an increased respect for