Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1902-08-29
GREAT INDUSTRIES.
Sabraton to be Leading Man
ufacturing Town in w Va.

rev persons VINO nave not VISITED
the place, yet realize the extent of
the manufacturing industries now
being established in the Decker's
creek valley.
Mr.. Poppleton, the chief engineer
In charge of location and eonstruc-
ton, says the natural facilities are
the best he knows in the country
for manufacturing site. They are
almost IDEAL
A drive through the valley to the
Rolling Mill works and back through
the new town Sabraton, and in over
the East End boulevard was taken
last evening through the courtesy of
one of the promoters OF these enter
prises, by representative of this
paper. One cannot help seeing the
advantages this great valley pos
sesses for manufacturing plants.
The facilities are here and they have
been discovered.
The Rolling Mill was first visited.
More work has been done on it than
on any other OF the industries up
there, though contracts have been
made for most OF the others.
The men experimenting the roll
ing mill work were very courteous
in showing what they have, and talk
ed freely of their plans The works
are of such vast proportions that it
is hard for one unacqualnted with
large manufacturing plants to real
ize the full extent of the industries
and the labor they will employ.
The cement and concrete founda-
dations for the rolling mill have
been completed. They are from
four to sixteen feet in the ground,
thus insuring solid foundation.
The foundations for the two big Is,
900 horse power engines are put
down fifteen feet from the surface
of the ground The wet weather of
the summer has caused much delay
in this work but it is now completed
and the steel frame is erected.
The main building is 408xI10
feet, and finishing room beside it
is 260x60 feet. The steel frame for
this smaller building is just now
being erected. The riyeting of the
frames together is yet to be done,
and they will be covered with CORFU
gated steel for root and sides.
Two engines of l5,0 600 horse power
each are at the works, but have not
vet been unloaded from the cars.
They will furnish the motive power
to drive the mills -Four immense
boilers are on the ground and are
now being put in position. They
are the same boilers which were used
to generate the power for the great
Pan American Exposition at Buffalo,
New York. These four, boilers will
be required to furnish steam power
to drive the tin plate mills.
One of the immense balance wheels
is here and the other is on the road.
These wheels are 33 feet in diameter
with 20 inch shafts, and weigh "a
tons each They are the largest bal
ance wheels used on any machinery
in the state. This will give one
some idea OF the great amount OF
work to be done by these mills.
A rolling mill which makes steel
plates and covers them with tin re
quires an immense amount of hand
labor thus employing great num-
Der of men. There are great many
more men employed in proportion to
the tonnage of manufactured pro-
duct than in a steel mill because
most of the work in the latter is
done by machinery.
In order to insure supply of wa
ter in the dryest seasons, a 100000
gallon reservoir will be built just
above the rolling mill The natural
conditions there are such that it
can be built at about one twentieth
of what it would cost in most other
places where mills are located, and
the water supply to feed it is ample
All the machinery in the vast es-
tablishment will be operated directly
by electricity-no belts to v ear out,
and to kill employees. A 700 horse
power electric motor will be used
1t is already on the ground but has
not been unloaded from the cars.
Mr.. Poppleton says the cost of in.
stalling electric machinery is about
twenty per cent. more than that OF
erecting mill the old way, with
belts and pulleys, but the saving in
cost of production of plates is about
33 per cent. in one year. So the
electrical machinery will more than
pay for itself in one year.
Many carloads OF machinery are
already on the ground ready to be
installed as soon as the buildings
are under root Mr. Poppleton thinks
they will get to making the finished
product in October, if the weather
is favorable from this time on.
1t is the purpose of the company
to eventually build steel mills just
above the rolling mill, and manufac-
ture their own steel from the billets
The conditions are all favorable for
this work here, and capital is behind
the company to do it.
Locations were made yesterday
for the West Virginia Plate Glass
Factory and the Pressed Prism