The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1907-09-27
A Stroke In Mechan-
ical Engineering.
[Originall

Joseph Bannon and Thomas Elrod
were friends. Elrod was an educated
man who never secured more than a
competence. Bannon was a self made
man, a manufacturer. and got rich
Elrods son Henry, as a 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 a 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
mer. foremost among whom was Ban
non, looking up at the great smoke
| stack. Joining them and inquiring
what was the matter, he was informed
| that the stack was leaning to one side.
Indeed, an engineer had just deter
mined that at the top it was forty-five
inches out of plumb.
Here was n 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, 1t 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
| by which the stack could be 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, 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 a couple Of hours he went to the
Bannon works. Carpenters We're 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, Il don't think
it necessary to take down the stack. l
have a plan for Strengthening it,"
Bannon looked at him as a general
would look at a 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.
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-fve inches
l would remove ten and half inches
of patchwork at the base on the other
| three sides l 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 l would build brick piers six
inches high, leaving a space four and a
| half inches between the tops of the
piers and the bottom of the undermined
! brickwork Now, if l 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 are de-
scribed at the top where the radius (the
chimney is I'D feet"
Bannon'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"
Il have thought of that" Henry re-
piled. Il will burn them out"
1t seemed as If 400 tons had been
taken off Bannon's mind.
where are your fgures?" 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
burned faster than the others it was
immediately checked till the others
caught up with It, Thus they were
kept burning uniformly while the stack
slowly rlghted. Small assures opened
on the opposite side near the base, but
steel wedges were driven into them,
which maintained q solid mass. When
evening came the work was finished,
and the stack was as good as when it
was first built.
Henry Elrod when at breakfast the
next morning received a note from his
late employer containing a check for
$1,000 and offering him the position Of
superintendent of building and ma