The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-19

heaviest expenses was the purchase OF what
il known as agricultural vermilion.' This
color was used avishly on every farm
ing implement the firm manufa otured
and cost from 81. to 10 cents n pound.
The firm used million pounds year
costing approximately, 100000.
Here was a gigantic bill to reduce. This
firm, and others like it, had operated for
years, using this material and paying this
enormous price. The essentials of the
paint were that it should be durable enough
TO stand the weather.that it should be easy
to apply and that il should always possess
a bright and beautiful appearance. 1t
was said that nothing had been discovered
so far that would take the place Of the
material used in these cardinal features.
Agricultural vermilion was then com
posed OF orange mineral and red lead.
dyed or enriched in color with a more in
tense coloring material, OF which but a
small percentage was used. The bulk ot
the pigment was lead, which cost from
Q 20 IL cents pound. The dye cost from
10 TO so cents a pound.
1T was a problem for a chemist, and
happened TO number chemistry among
my studies ! discarded orange mineral
and red lead for base, and used an equally
effective pigment which cost only 4-l0 Of
a cent a pound The dye necessary TO
use with this pigment cost more than tho
dye used on the other base. but collectively
the latter materials cost less than one-hali
gave an equally satisfactory quality Of
agricultural vermilion.
That item saved the works $4,000 a
year The fee was based on the amount
saved The harvester company never
took occasion TO protect the process, and
now It's rivals all over the country are shar-
ing in the benefits for which II 80 generously
paid.
But the delicate feature Of the expert s
task is when his investigations lead him
up to human agencies. He must steel
himself against criticism and ridicule.
Men who have served a long apprentice
ship at a particular business don't take
kindly 10 the man who is hired to seek out
a better way. Superintendent and assist
ante rarely extend the helping hand. But
the expert Is a sort OF buccaneer, and he
doesn't mind.
-He is backed with authority from head
quarters and can rove where he peases.
Too much retiCence in certain quarter
makes him suspicious that all IA not well
there and he investigates the more assidu-
ously. Sometimes he nnds a foreman
projecting an incompetent hand from
motives Of sympathy. / have run across
cases where incompetents we're shielded
for small weekly monetary considera-
ton peid 10 the mon Immediately over
them. 80,
ment the commercial economist begins on
the books He finds how much j. charged
against each particular article Of manu-
facture for cost OF material, construction,
insurance. storage &c Then he goes
after the machine, takes it apart, tests
its various wheels rods, bolts, &c, to see
whether less material would stand the re-
quired strain; examines every point Tor sur
plus rnatcriR and work, and, II be can, recom-
mends the building OF a machine according
10 his ideas. he takes a risk in this. be-
cause IL his model doeAn't come up 70 the
seryice requirement he's a discredited
III will naturally be asked why men,
engaged in n factory every day OF their
lives, cannot as readily detect ihfractions
of the law Of economics as an outside eI-
pert They do quite frequently. Every
factory Of consequence has some bright
man who devises and puts in operation
plans for Improvement. But, as a rule,
such men are specialists. Their innova-
tons relate to their own particular de-
sTho whole factory is the experts field.