The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1907-09-12
a Stroke In Mecf1an-
ical Engineering.


/ IOriginaLl
/ Joseph Bannon and Thomas Elrod
were friends. Elrod was an educated
man who never secured more than q
| competence. Bannon was self made
man, 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 subordinate position in his
works. Bannon who. considered both
the boy and his father impractiCsble,
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,
| whereuDon Mr.. BannOn discharged
him.
The morning Henry stepped out of
the office building at the factory to
hunt another job he saw a group of
| men, foremost among whom was Ban
non, looking up at the great smoke
| stack. Joining them and inquirir:s
| 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 ferty-tive
inches out of plumb.
Here was n serious matter. From
oil appearances Il 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 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 conccn-
tratc his mind upon getting another
position. But the chimney, or, rather
some method of Strengthening it, had
got into his head, and he could nor
get 1T 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 We're correct
The next morning, after having slept
only couple OF hours, he went to the
Bannon works. Carpenters were Just
beginning to erect the scatroldlng
around the stack. Henry went into Mr..
Bannon's office. Bannon, supposing
that he had come to protest against
his Dismissal frowned. d
Mr. Bannon,' he said, 81 don't think
it necessary to take down the stack.
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.
eff 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, "bc-
ing square, simplifies the problem The
stack leans to the east forty-five inches
l would remove ten ana half inches,
of bricl<work at the base on the other
three sides. I 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 Il space four and IL
half inches between the tops of the
DiSiS ilHtl lllc pollOlll Oh IIlC undermined
brickwork. Now, if 1 can reduce the
height of the blocllsby four and Il half
inches the gap will be reduced by this
amount ana the stack will veer to the
west forty-fve inches at the are de
scribed at the top where the radius uhe
chimney is 100 feet
lannon's eyes We're fixed on the
speaker during this statement with
growing interest. He had forgotten the
lesser i'll the more important natter
He continued to stare for few mo-
ments after Henry had finished, then
asked:
with the enormous weight (ncarlv
400 tons) on the blocks, you can't cut
them down ana get out the surplus,
Il have thought of that" Henry re-
piled. 81 will burn them out"
1T seemed as if 400 tons had been
taken off Bannon's mind
NV here 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