The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-09
GOOD PROGRESS
 ON NEW FURNACE Chattanooga Iron Maker Ready
 by October l l50 MEN ARE EMPLOYED Recent Rains and Variable Weather Have Interfered Somewhat, But
 Work Is Going Along
 Very Satisfactorily.
l5O MEN ARE EMPLOYED

Chattanooga, Tenn. July S.-(Special.)- Work on the new Chattanooga blast furn- ace is progressing at rapid rate and unless some unforeseen difficulty arises the new stack will be blown in and ready to make iron by October 1.
 There are over 15O men employed on the work and from the old pills of scrap iron and rust that was on the site sixty days ago. a. smull but modern furnace which will .'stack up with any in the south Tor completeness Is now rising rapidly and In another month the place will begin to show to better advantage the great amount of work and time which has been put in it's construction
 Had 1t not been for the recent rains and variable weather it is probable that the furnace might have been completed by September 15. When the work was started 1t was the intention of the builders to ger it in shape for real work by October l. and to this end they allowed plenty Of time for inclement weather. Master Me chanic Norris was also handicapped to some etxent at first by nor being able to get such material on the ground just at the time that it was wanted. For sev- eral weeks there was scarcity or prick in the town and at one time 1t was stated that lumber could not be secured just as readily as was necessary.
 Labor Was Scarce.
 The greatest handicap to the work at first was however, the scarcity Of com mon laborers. For several weeks in the spring it was almost impossible to secure enough common laborers to do the rough part of the work. For while this condi- ton was serious menace to the construc- ton of the furnace but for the past month there has been little trouble experienced from this cause and Norris stated yester- day that for the past few weeks ne was forced to turn applicants for work away, so great was the supply.
 The masonry work is now well under way and although there Is much to be done the men In charge of the construc- ton state that the supply of brick IS equal to the demand and that good bricklayers are available Already great deal of concrete work has been completed' but the men engaged in that part of the work will be busy for several weeks yet.
 When the work was started three or four months ago the site for the furnace was a mass of old rusty iron which was formerly the property of the old Cnatta- nooga Blast Furnace company. For near ly two months a large gang of men worked exclusively in clearing the place off and even yet there are stiii many traces of the old furnace
 Will Be Three Cast Houses. A month ago work on the excavtions for the foundations of the cast house had just been started. There are to be three of these cast houses, two of which have already been completed. They. are each 60x120 feet and the foundations are four teen feet thick, six of which is under ground These foundations are construct ed of concrete and the two have been finished in six weeks work. This Is con- sidered remarkably fast work, and If the rest of the concrete work is completed ln as good time the furnace may be blown in before October 1, despite the fact that there has been an enormous amount or rain for the past few weeks.
 These cast houses are built parallel with each other and are directly west of the furnace stack.
 Directly south of the furnace stack and very close to the cast house, the skip pit will be located. Work on the skip pit has already been started and the excavations for the pit are nearly completed. The pit Is about 20 feet deep and the foundations will extend at least that far below the surface of the ground There are twenty five or thirty men employed on this part of the work and the dirt Is being exca- vated by the means of two large dumps which are lowered and raised from the pit by steam power.
 new skip hoist will be constructed from the top of the furnace stack to the skip pit which will be entirely new in this section. By the use of this hoist all labor on top of the furnace is dispensed with and the operation of that part of the furnace mechanism will be made en- tirely without the help of laborers. This will be new departure for furnaces in ths immediate vicinity and the success of the venture will be looked forward to with interest.