Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-10-23
: A Stroke In Mechan-
: ical Engineering.
[Original.1

Joseph Bannon and Thomas Elrod
were friends. Elrod was an educated
man who never secured more than a
| competence. Bannon was self made
man, manufacturer, and got rich.
Elrod's son Henry, as boy, had a
mechanical shop in his fathers cellar
| and showed considerable aptitude for
| mathematics and mechanics. When
his father died, leaving him nothing,
Henry persuaded Mr.. Bannon to give
| him subordinate position in his
| works. Bannon, who considered both
the boy and his father impracticable.
| 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.. Bannon discharged
him.
The morning Henry stepped out OF
the office building at the factory to
hunt another job he saw group Of
men, foremost among whom was Ban
non, looking up at the great smoke
stack Joining them and inquiring
what was the matter, he was informed
Indeed, an engineer had just deter
mined that at the top it was forty-five
inches out Of plumb.
Here was a serious matter. From
all appearances a scaffOlding must be
erected about the stack, the stack must
be taken down and another built in its
place. Indeed, it would be 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
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, had
got into his head, and he could not
get it out. He thought all day and
toward evening took pencil and pa
per and began to figure. At midnight
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 slept
only couple Of hours, he went to the
Bannon works. Carpenters were just
beginning to erect the scaffolding
around the stack. Henry went into Mr..
Bannon's Office. Bannon, supposing
that he had come to protest against
his dismissal, frowned.
"Mr. Bannon," he said, 81 don't think
1t necessary to take down the stack. I
have plan for Strengthening it,"
Bannon looked at him as general
would look at corporal who was
about to inform him how to save his
army.
IF you wish it, you are welcome to
it," Henry added.
Still there was no word from Ban
non. He was considering whether the
young man had lost his senses.
1.-THE base of the stack" continued
Henry, who gathered confidence the
moment he entered upon his plan, "be-
ing square, simplifies the problem. The
stack leans to the east forty-five inches.
| would remove ten and half inches
Of brickwork at the base on the other
three sides. | would insert in the
spaces left blocks of wood of equal
size, thus resting the three sides of the
structure on the blocks. Between the
blocks | would build brick piers six
inches high leaving space four and
half inches between the tops of the
piers and the bottom of the undermined
brickwork. Now, if can reduce the
height of the blocks by four and half
inches the gap will be reduced by this
amount and the stack will veer to the
west forty-fve inches at the arc de-
scribed at the top where the radius (the
chimney is 122 feet
lannon's eyes were fixed on the
speaker during this statement with
growing interest. He had forgotten the
lesser in the more important matter.
He continued to stare for a few mo-
ments after Henry had finished, then
asked:
with the enormous weight (nearly
400 tons) on the blocks, you can't cut
them down and get out the surplus"
II have thought of that" Henry re-
piled. II viii burn them OUT
1t seemed as if 400 tons had been
taken off Bannca's mind.
Where are your figures?" he asked
Henry produced them and waited
while Bannon went over them again
and again.
Come" said the latter when he was
satisfied; ''you shall have charge of the
work"
After the successful removal Of the
bricks and the insertion of the blocks
Henry Elrod marked off the space to
be burned out, set the blocks on fire
and kept them burning evenly. If one