The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-04-25
Is to be Much Larger Than Originally
Planned and VIII Make All Its
Own Accessories Here in
Keokuk.
GOOD THING FOR KEoKUK
Construction Moved Along Rapidly
and Every Detail OF the Business
Being Pushed by Its
President.

/ The newest industry to come to Keo-
kuk is going to be built on consid-
erably larger scale than at first plan
ned, make more things, and employ
more people.
After acquiring still more land for
the plant. giving orders to increase the
size Of the plant itself to correspond
| to the larger site, being informed that
| the principal machinery yAlll arrive be.
fore it is needed for installation. see.
| ing unloaded several cars Of brick for
| the first construction, arranging for
rapid work on the building contracts
which are all let, President F.sJ. Pa
gels, Of the Gas Tank Recharging
company went to st. Louis last night
to negotiate for thirty carloads day
LOT raw material for operation. He
will return the first OF next week to
push the work along.
IL Varied Industry.
When the Industrial association in
duced Mr.. Pagels to build his new fac
tory here, his intention was to make
carbide of calcium. After spending a
couple Of weeks here at different
times, he told The Gate City last even
| ing that he likes this town and has
decided to do much more. He will
make his own lime, one constituent OF
the carbide; he will build factory to
make the drums in which the carbide
| is shipped; everything needed in the
carbide making business will be made
here except the coal which is the 9TH
er constituent of the product. and he
will make the coke in ovens in Keo-
kuk.
The rest of this week President
Pagels will spend in st. Louis and
Springfield contracting for thirty cars
| Of coal day. BY the time the plant
lis built, materials will be coming In,
and there will be no delay in starting.
Performs Double His Promises.
How many men will you employ?"
asked Tho Gate City, and Mr.. Pasels
replied:
Many more than we promised at
first. I told the Industrial association
+ we would employ twenty-five or thirty
five men, for like to keep clean in
all my promises, but 1t will be twice
| that and In all the departments we will
| have seventy-fve men on the pay
rolls"
The outstanding characteristics of
Mr.. Pagels, learned from his presence
here on the ground are, that he talks
little, conceals big business mind be-
hind a very cordial social manner,
knows exactly what he is doing all the
time, let's contracts without delay
when he has 1eached decision, and
hustles things in way that reminds
one of water-power construction times
An Old and Prosperous Concern.
His company has been very success
full and prosperous in Milwaukee for
years. It has been charging tanks
with acetylene for welding and other
purposes and selling a welding outfit
to garages and machine shops. Acety-
lene is made from carbide of calcium.
which II has been buying in the mai
ket. Last winter it decided to make
Its own carbide.
Carbide of calcium is calcium. in the
form Of lime. combined with carbon.
in the form OF coke, by the heat of an
electric furnace. The lime and the
coke are handled somewhat like the
silica and the iron in the making OF
ferro-silicon here.
The biggest one piece OF mach1n-
cry is the large transformer for the
electric current. This is now under
way in the factory and will arrive here
in plenty Of time.
Everything Moving Rapidly.
The brick for the lime kilns is COM
ing in daily. Excavation for the drum
factory is begun. The plans OF the
main plant had to be enlarged to con-
form to the enlarged site, and these
changes were ordered by telegraph to
the architect, while the engineer was
resurveying the ground for the layout
of the big plant
The location is Just above the old
Taber mill between the Rock Island
tracks and the river