The indicator., 1904-11-19

fact that the retention of their po
sition depends upon their ability tc
"fll the bill" here are no "sinecurt
snaps" there now While there was
small reason and less desire on the
part OF the steel works army to OBJ
serve last Thanksgiving, it will be
different for the coming one, because
all are employed. with the prospect
of the present activity at the plant
bein~ continued and greatly augment
Gu by the first of the coming year
Heavy shipments of pipe have been
made during the past week from the
pipe foundry to Pacific coast points,
several car loads OF nine and twelve
inch water pipe going out daily, The
pipe foundry is running full blast and
both sides are in daily operation.
A large force OF men are engaged
in cleaning out "B" blast furnace. the
smallest one of the battery and it is
from there the daily blasting explo-
sions are heard 1t is understood that
Superintendent Means intends to
have furnace refined and will also
make many improvements on the iron
producer to conform with his ad-
vanced ideas of getting full capacity
results.
The work of refining "E" furnace,
has commenced and Superintendent
Thompson, OF the bricklaying de
partment has large force OF men
thus engaged. 1t will take many
thousands OF the finest quality OF fire.
hrick to complete the work, and it
will DOAAk Least six weeks before the
furnace will be feWn 70 dry out. -.
Aside from a little
nothing whatever is being dohe>sp
"F," the last of the new furnaces
Nothing of this iron producer is up
but the new Jackets" of the fur
mace, the gas stoves and pipes, which
comparatively speaking is like the
skeleton of structural steel build
ing. Before the furnace can be put
into commission the four gas stoves,
"down-comer" and other pipes, as
well as the furnace proper will have
to be lined with from eighteen inches
to two feet of fire brick, and last but
not least, the great skip or almost
perpendicular bridge, over which the
"buggies" or cars, that feed the fur
mace with ore, coke and limestone
pass, will have to be put together and
raised, a most stupendous and time
absorbing job. In toto, if every
thing we're put on rush double time,
it would take fully six months from
now to put "F" furnace in an iron
producing condition, and with three
other furnaces that can be got ready
for service in less than one third
that time, there seems to be no cause
for unusual strenuousness about
II, n
There is general impression about
the works, however, that either "A
or ID" furnace will be in operation
on or before the first OF the year
As stated in the Indicator last week
the converter and rail mill went down
Saturday night last, as much for want
of steel scrap as for shortage OF
pig iron. These departments Will re
sumo operations again about the 10th
of the present month, or not later
than December l. The supply of pig
iron is accumulating at the rate OF
nearly 200 tons per day and steel
scrap is coming into the yards cor.
respondingly fast. On Tuesday OF
the present week twenty-seven car
loads of scrap iron and steel were re-
ceiyed and the daily receipts since
have been nearly that figure. :,
Another one of the old time land
marks in the plant disappeared dur
;np the past week, when the cold saw
building at the north end OF the old
finishing department of the rail mill
was torn down by the. riggers, and
the machinery removed. The work
of completing the north end of the
new rail mill extension department is
progressing rapidly. and the new hot
he'd rails are being laid, 1t is proba-
bie that the entire new finishing eX-
tension to the rail mill will be ready
for use when the Bessemer depart
ment again resumes operations.
A frame structure is being erected
north of the machine shops to cover
the cleaning pit for the c, K w.
switch engines, an innovation that
will be greatly appreciated during the
coming cold months by the night
hostlers in charge of the engines,
Who have heretofore been compelled
10 do their work in the open, The
/ building covers two tracks and VIII
house all the switch engines now on
duty day times in the yards. go,
The drawing room of the wire mil
now runs until 8 o'clock at night tour
days in the week, commencing al z
o;clock in the morning. On the re
naming two days Of the week the
men are let off at $50 in the evening;
The Ralvanizing room runs a day ana
night shift, as does the ball WIRE
! room Both the barb wire and nail