Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-08-12
DAILY STORY
A STROKE IN MECHAN-
ICAL ENGINEERING


lOTlSsNtli.l
Joseph Bannon and Thomas Elrod
were friends. Elrod was an educated
man who never secured more than Il
competence. BannOn was self made
man, manufacturer. and got rich
Elrod's son Henry, as a boy, had
mechanical shop in his fathers cellar
and showed considerable aptitude for
mathematics and mechanics. When
his father died. leaving him nothing,
Henry persuaded Mr.. Banuon to give
him a subordinate position in his
works. BannoD. who considered both
the boy and his father impracticablc,
took Henry into his service under pro-
test, remarking that the boy would
never get beyond the bottom round of
the ladder. Henry did well enough
till his employer caught him making
love to his daughter. Mary Bannon,
whereupon Mr.. Damon discharged
him.
The morning Henry stepped out Of
the office building Mt the factory to
hunt another job lie saw 4 group Of
men, foremost among whom was Ban
non. looking up at the great smoke
stack. Joining them and inquirinS
what was the matter, he was Informed
| that the stack was leaning to one side.
Indeed. an engineer had Just deter
| mined that ut the top it was forty-tive
inches out of plumb.
Here was serious matter From
| all appearances Il scaffolding must I've
| erected about the stack. the stack must
| be taken down and another built in its
| place. Indeed, it would he fortunate
| if the chimney did not fall on the fac
| tory buildings beneath it, destroying
them, with much valuable machinery.
! Bannon was very much troubled. His
| engineer told him there was no way
by which the stack could he straight
ened and before leaving the spot he
gave orders for the erection of the
scaffolding and the subsequent taking
down of the chimney.
Elrod went away, trying to conCen
trate his mind upon getting another
| position. But the chimney. or, rather
some method of strengthening it, hat
! got into his head. and he could no
get It out. He thought all day ant
toward evening took pencil and pa
per and began to figure. At midnigh
he went to bed, but could not sleep. so
getting up. he went over his figures
TO see that they were correct.
The next morning. after having slep
only couple of hours, he went to thu
Bannon works. Carpenters were jus
beginning to erect the scaffoldins
around the stack. Henry went into Mr.
Bannon'S Office. Bannon, supposin:
that he had come to protest agains
his dismissal. frowned.
''Mr. Bannon," he said, Il don't thinl
it necessary to take down the stack.
have Il plan for Strengthening it,
Bannon looked at him as genera
would look at corporal who wa
about to inform him how to save hi
army.
"If you wish it, you are welcome t
it," Henry added
Still there was no word from Ban
non. lie was considering whether tn
young man had lost his senses.
THE base of the stack" continue
Henry. who gathered confidence tb
moment he entered upon his plan, "be
ing square, simplfies the problem. Th
stack leans to the east forty five inches
l would remove ten and half inche
of brickwork at the base on the othe
three sides. 1 would insert in tn
spaces left blocks of wood of equi
size, thus resting the three sides of tn
structure ON the blocks. Between tn
blocks l would build brick piers 81
t inches high. leaving space four and
/, half inches between the tops of th
piers and the bottom Of the undermine