The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-03-12
AN IRON SKYSCRAPER.
Marvellous Method In Rearing the
Towering Structure.
MAGIC OF ITS MECHANISM.

The Building of II is Akin to the Put
ting Together of Modern American
Watoh-SimpIy a Matter of Assem-
bling the Various Members"
On the twentieth floor Of a towering
Office building In lower New York
young man sat at roll top desk talk
ing into a telephone. He was clean
shaven, clean collared young man, with
gray eyes and cool. dry, even voice.
1t was a sunny Office, with an admira-
BILE rug ON its oaken floor. and from its
windows you could see over into New
Jersey. The young man at the desk
was the general superintendent Of
company which builds "skyscrapers,"
and he was performing the functions
of his Office.
"Whar report ON those l beamsr' he
was asking. There was some reply.
How many men have your he In
quired and then presently remarked:
We'll make it 610." Then he turned
to the reporter who had come to ask
him how big buildings are erected.
But the telephone claimed him again,
and again he asked:
What reportY and to the reply an
nounced;
THE masons must catch up by
Wednesday This is inal. Goodby."
He turned again to the reporter, and
the reporter asked:
How do you put up skyscraper?"
The COOL clean faced superintendent
looked across to New Jersey for sec
ond and said:
The building of an iron constructed
skyscraper is huge counterpart Of the
building of a modern American watch.
1t is simply matter Of assembling
the parasitic members we call them.
The fact is that little of the real work
is done on the site of the building at
all. as In the old days of stone con-
struction. Broadly speaking, the dig
cling of the cellar and the sinking Of
caissons In order to lay a bed for the
ironwork comprise most of the engi-
neering done on the spot. The rest we
do In the Office"
"What is the advantage OF iron con-
struction, aside from it's having made
the skyscraper possible? Is it stron-
gerf"
ssNo; it's cheaper"
s.But you have to use stone anyway.
One would think that the added en-
pense of the ironwork, say, on com
paratively small building would in
oroa 20 the cost"
at isn't material that costs It's
time. You see, in putting up an iron
construction building everybody can
work at once-excavators. craftsmen,
rolling mills, ironworkers, masons.
plumbers, finishers and all Suppose
YOU come here and tell us you want to
spend $1O,O00,000 on building to take
the place of big stone hotel. To as
certain the shape and dimensions OF
the lot Is of course easy. This done,
we turn the diagram over TO an archi-
feet. He does the aesthetic part OF
the work, and we don't bother mucn
with him after we get his ground ana
side elevations. though of course we
keep in close practical touch with him.
Wen. HOW, Us SOOh aS w NAOSN 49,
deal with you-not week afterward,
but the very next day-we are tearing
down the old building, the architect 10
roughing out his floor plans, and we
are figuring. with your assistance, how
much weight each floor will have to
carry. And all the while this Is being
done our superintendent are arranging
for calsson men, ironworkers, masons
and all the rest of the labor. At the
same time our foundrymen and quarry
men are planning to be in readiness 10
ship material when It is needed. In
fact, everything moves forward stimuli
taneously."
what Is the first step Of actual con-
structionT'
@To get the architects finished
ground plan away from him. He dear
" loves continually to make changes
In that end of the work. AS soon as we
have the ground plan we can tell by
the shape of the future building just
where the uprights are TO go and SO
WHARF We shall haYa Is. sink our cas-