Oct., 1914
T H E J O r R i Y d L O F I N D C S T R I . 4 L A N D EAVGI-VEERING C H E M I S T R Y
students and alumni of Vanderbilt University than any other person; he was loved by all of them, and that was his sufficient compensation ” The \-anderbilt athletic field is called “Dudley Field.” He extended his influence to students of other institutions by organizing the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association about twenty years ago. I t became very powerful and he was its president up to two years ago. He was a member of .the Executive Committee of the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association and an active member of the Football Rules Committee which brought about many reforms in the modern American game. He organized the University Club of Nashville and was its president through the trying years. He had many interests in students’ affairs, being grand consul of the Sigma Chi fraternity (1897-9). Dr. Dudley had collected a very large and valuable scientific library, which he left to Vanderbilt University. His recognized administrative ability brought him offers in executive positions in other institutions, but he preferred to remain a t Vanderbilt with the upbuilding of which he had had somuch to do. He was a loyal member of the American Chemical Society (since 1890). urging all his graduates to become members. He served the Society in many ways, organizing the Nashville Section and being a Councillor-at-large when he died. He was an active fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, especially “Section C” before the Chemical Society became active. He was secretary (1888) and then chair-
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man of Section C (1889), his retiring address being a splendid presentation of an extensive study of the nature of amalgams.‘ He was a Fellow of the London Chemical Society (since 1890). a Member of the German Chemical Society, the Society of Chemical Industry (since 18871, American Electro-chemical Society, and others. He was secretary of the section of inorganic chemistry a t the International Congress of Arts and Sciences in St. Louis in 1904. He was an United States Commissioner to the Seventh International Congress of Applied Chemistry, member of the Executive Committee and Vice-chairman of the Section on Law and Legislation of the Eighth Congress. He, as other members of that committee, took long trips to New York and did much towards making that Congress successful. He long ago became a non-resident member of the Chemists’ Club2 and fathered the splendid paper about the Club which was presented a t the Cincinnati meeting of the Chemical Society3 and later appeared in THISJOURNAL. This is only a part of the life-story of a good man, whose intimate friendship I was privileged to share a quarter of a century. He had many intimates, who loved him. He was a man whom men loved. The influence of such a man goes on through generations. He was noble in all that is associated with a gentleman and now rests with his forebears in the place of his birth. CHARLES BASKERVILLE COLLEGE OF THE CITYO F NEW YORK September 21, 1914
CURRENT INDUSTRIAL NEWS B y M. I,. HAMLIN
SOME PHASES OF T H E INDUSTRIAL SITUATION IN GREAT BRITAIN The European war has created such unprecedented conditions in the foreign industrial world that all other factors fade into insignificance, and because of the tremendous recent changes even the latest news before the development of general hostilities is entirely out of date. Since the beginning of the war German periodicals have been stopped and there is practically no news directly from the continent, but the English journals give a complete and accurate description of the conditions existing there. In a long editorial Engineering (London) says in part [98 (-4ug. 2 1 , 1914), 2531 after praising the course of the government: The Commercial Intelligence Branch of the Board of Trade have done well to offer guidance and help by emphasizing the importance of prompt and vigorous progagandism, in order t o extend our markets by the taking of every legitimate means of utilizing the opportunity presented by the cessation of exports from Germany and Austria-Hungary, particularly to our Colonies. The total exports from Germany during the six years ended 1912 increased fiom 3 1 2 ~I )to 4 4 0 ~ : ’million ~ sterling( I 1. sterling = 54.86). If we take only manufactured articles, we find the million, while in iron and steel and increase is from 2 I I to 2841,’2 manufactures thereof the advance has been from 353/4 million to 60 million sterling, and of machinery, including locomotives and boilers, from 17.3 to 34.8 million sterling. In 1912 Germany’s exports of electrical appliances and apparatus exceeded 8 million sterling. Of dynamos, our exports in 1913 were 2,269,000Z., whereas Germany’s total in 1912 was 2,521,000L. In the case of electric glow-lamps the disparity is enormous, the exports from Britain being 152,50ol., as compared with z,447,0001, from Germany. And so i t is throughout practically the whole range of electrical industry. In this respect alone, i t will be seen that there is a great field for British endeavour. The textile industry is one of very great consequence, even t o engineers by reason of its machinery requirements, and it is found, for instance, that while our exports of cotton stockings and socks
in 1913 totalled only 19g,oool., those from Germany totalled g,g~g,oooZ.in 1912, the last year for which German export statistics are available. The United States, Argentina, France, and almost all countries in the world have been captured by Germany. Of woolen and worsted piece goods Germany’s exports totalled 13l’2 million, and here Canada, Australia, Argentina, Japan, and British India, in the order named, account for a very considerable part of the total. In respect of cutlery our exports were 836,0001., whereas Germany’s were 1,747,8ooZ.-double our total. In the case of iron and steel wire our exports totalled 1,058,100l., and Germany’s 3,176,oool., or three times our total. Of enamelled hollow-ware, etc., our exports were only 531,0ooL., and those of Germany 1,776,0001.again more than a threefold total. The great disparity which is brought out by these Government returns of the British and German exports serves to illustrate clearly the efficiency of Germany from a commercial and industrial point of view. N o one can for a single moment have doubted this efficiency, or the keenness with which commerce, particularly overseas commerce, has been pursued by the people of Germany. Time and again we have enforced this, and have sought to point the moral. Consequently there can be no base motive attributable to us in again directhg attention to this question. We have contended that if we are to fight Germany in neutral markets we must adopt the German methods so far as these are essential. I n the great majority of cases the superiority of our products has been recognized, but less durable and cheaper goods are obtainable from other countries. This is a fault of our qualities. In iron and steel wire, where the German exports are treble those of Britain, the same holds good. In the interior of Africa and in the uplands of Australia, the purchasers of fencing-wire, whether plain or barbed, do not think that any advantage is to be gained by the superior and climate-resisting qualities of the British wires, except where they are in use close 1
Proc. A . .A. A . S . , 38 (1889), 149. Mr. Berolzheimer, t h e Librarian of the Club, kindly collected t h e
bibliography here used. 3 THIS J O U R N A L , 6 (1914), 4 0 i .
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t o the seaboard, SO t h a t the black wire is often preferred t o galvanized wire. Thus, as our Trade Commissioner in Xew Zealand points out, practically any wire will last under such conditions, and people want the cheapest. The same applies throughout the whole gamut of manufactures, and the time has probably arrived when in this, as in other matters, the British manufacturer must be prepared t o meet the wishes of the client, We would, however, be false t o ourselves as a nation if we assumed a superiority throughout the whole field of manufactures. It is right t h a t we should be fair to Germany. The producers of t h a t country who have taken up new industries have profited by a study of our appliances, and, in some cases, have succeeded in achieving greater economy in production with equality in efficiency. They are therefore able to underbid us in some manufactures, assisted as they are also by the procedure of sending t o foreign countries, and t o Britain even, the surplus productions of their factories, against which there is not debited either establishment charges or profit. iMoreover, wages are lower, hours of labor longer, and idle time less, so that, with the same, or as good, plant, the cost of production is lessened There are many respects in which our producers do not sufficiently closely study the particular needs of clients. We have persistently advocated t h a t designers in engineering structures ought t o utilize as far as possible standard practice, and it must be admitted t h a t there is a sufficient range, for instance, in sections of steel bars and beams t o meet all requirements. But in details we show great reluctance in meeting the specified needs of the prospective purchasers of our manufactures. Another important consideration is the representation of British firms in neutral markets; in this respect the Germans have offered a n example which ought t o be very carefully considered. The agencies for engineering firms ought t o be in the hands of trained engineers, so t h a t a maximum of information may be obtainable and the fullest measure of compliance with requirements assured. The Germans have made a special feature of quoting “ex-warehouse,’’ which includes all duty and port dues. These efforts towards simplifying purchase operations by clients in colonial and foreign markets are of incalculable advantage, and those who conform t o them invariably profit immensely. They involve, we admit, a certain measure of intelligence and care in the commercial departments of our industrial establishments, but we are convinced that with the extension of commercial education, the requisite posts can be filled by capable men, with immense advantage t o the export trade of the firm and of the country. The State has also a duty in this matter of increasing the area of British markets. The Commercial Intelligence Department of the Board of Trade, who are undertaking the new campaign, have done useful service in the recent past, and they will, we doubt not, increase their efforts. But much more can be done, particularly in the ensurance of favorable conditions for transport and for a greater measure of financial assistance in co-operation with the British and Colonial banks. On former occasions (see Engineering, 92, 801) we have referred to the assistance rendered by the more liberal banking conditions in Germany, and we see no reason why similar help should not be given by our banking and financial institutions in connection with the foreign and colonial work of our industrial firms. Britain has wakened from a state of complacency in many matters, and we hope t h a t one result will be t h a t the banks will, without in any way jeopardizing t h a t safety which is so pronounced a feature of their organization, see their way t o give more liberal consideration t o what is, after all, a safe speculative businessthe promotion of export business on easy terms. Regarding transport, we regret t h a t some of t h e shipping companies are dealing very hardly by the shippers, especially a t the present juncture. Had the British Navy not maintained the command of the sea, and had the British Government failed t o insure war
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risks by direct financial help, there might have been some reason for heavy freight charges a t the present moment; but war risks having been minimized or greatly reduced, the duty of the shipowner to-day is t o cast in his lot with all who are doing everything in their power to maintain normal industrial conditions. FIh-ANCIAL RESOURCES
England’s financial resouices are one of the most important if not the’most important factors in her position. A new hook which has received considerable favqrable criticism, “The Industrial Histcry of Modern England,” by G. H. Perris, has many interesting data on this subject. The author states that the total capital of the United Kingdom is broadly estimated a t $15,000,000,000. He continues: According t o the report of the Census of Production, first taken for the year 1907,only about a tenth of the whole consists of manufacturing capital, including the value of lands and buildings; and i t is remarkable that this capital is equal only t o two years’ net output of industrial business (not including cost of materials or transport). On the other hand, Sir George Paish estimates the amount of or more than British capital invested abroad a t Sg,~oo,ooo,ooo, twice as much as the capital engaged in home manufacture. The total annual income of the country is put a t about S2,000,ooo,ooo. This appears t o be shared and contributed, approximately, in the following proportions: Industrial production (net). , . , . . . . . . . . , . , . . . . . . , . . , . . . Agriculture a n d fisheries., . . . , . , . . . . . , . . . , . ..., Distribution. . . . . , . . . . . . . . , , . . . . . . . , . , . . . . Professional, governmental, and F r o m foreign investments a n d s as imported materials). . . , . , .
f760,000,000 ~220,000,000
f400,OOO. 000
Perhaps the most remarkable fact of all is the increasing part which foreign investments play in the budget of the British a year; people. Their amount is increased by S~oo,ooo,ooo to and the income from them is estimated a t from E140,000,000 S170,000,000, which is equal t o two-sevenths of the sum brought under review of the Inland Revenue Department as income, properly so called, from business concerns, professions, and private employments a t home. British exports, which had stood at &180,000,000in 1867 and S190,000,000 in 1869, rose in the first year of the [FrancoPrussian] war t o S~gg,ooo,ooo,then t o S223,000,000and in 1872 to a maximum of S256,000,000; in 1873, when France paid her indemnity of ~ ~ o o , o o o , o o oand, , for the rest, was kept busy restoring the public and private property t h a t had been destroyed, this maximum was maintained. But the loss of two competitors now proved itself to be also, the loss of two consumers. The two countries had sacrificed t o their ambitions nearly 200,000 able-bodied combatants killed, and a larger number wounded. France had now t o pay the money penalty-that is, had t o enter upon a n arrangement by which a sum of about &8,000,000 was t o be paid yearly in perpetuity, or till the capital debt was redeemed. Germany had t o learn t h a t a victory may be only a degree less costly than a defeat. Much poorer than France in hoarded wealth, she had been deprived for many months of the labor of a million of her stoutest men. With the return of the armies, this labor-force was suddenly restored, not to a normal activity, but in a feverish effort t o recover lost ground. The expenditure of the French milliards-chiefly on railways, a class of manuother public works, and armaments-created facturers and workers .which was t o be, in future years, dependent on Government favors, and led t o a rage of industrial speculation. I n five years the number of joint-stock companies increased nearly fivefold. There being no corresponding increase of the power of consumption-because, while the French indemnity may be said t o have paid for the maintenance of the German armies, it did not and could not compensate for the
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Oct., 1914
T H E J O C R - V A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERI*VG C H E M I S T R Y
arrest of wealth-making during the war-an acute reaction took place in 1874; and serious depression continued until 1879, almost every branch of German industry being affected. Between the two years named, British exports declined from fz39,ooo,ooot o the minimum of ~191,000,000, rising again to ~241,000,000 in 1882, and then once more falling. Austria, always bound economically t o Germany much more closely than England is, received a still more severe shock. The mischief of warfare is comparatively easy t o appreciate. It destroys capital and labor a t once; it destroys past wealth, present wealth, and the means of creating wealth in the future. It thus compels more strenuous labor on the part of a weakened community, and a t the same time compels abstinence-that is, i t reduces the power of consumption from which alone the demand for labor can arise. THE LABOR SITUATION The general temper both among employers and employees is indicated in many typical news items. The Engineer (London), 98 (xgrq), 251, says that labor disputes are subsiding; settlements of three disputes were arrived a t by the joint sub-committee of the Welsh Conciliation Board, a t a n adjourned meeting a t Cardiff. These disputes affected over 3500 men, who had been rendered idle. The object in view is to eliminate all labor troubles from the South Wales coal field during the war. Hopes are entertained that other disputes may be satisfactorily disposed of; the trouble a t the Ffaldan colliery was settled on Monday. In a letter to the district committees (printed, Ibid., p. zq7), &Ir. J. T . Brownlie, the chairman of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, and Mr. Robert Young, the general secretary, make the following statement: “ I n view of the fact that the nation is involved in war with European Powers, the executive council have had under consideration a request from the Employers’ Federation, due to pressure being brought t o bear by the Government, for the completion of vessels required by the Admiralty, and all ordnance work necessary for the nation’s requirements. As this undoubtedly has special reference to the working of overtime, the council have given serious consideration to the matter, and to all that is involved therein, and hereby request that district committees shall instruct our members to work the overtime necessary under the circumstances.” The condition of the labor market has of course been markedly affected, and some works have been compelled t o shut down on account of the shortage of labor. According to the Jour. of Gas Lighting and Water Sup., 127 (1914),380, Mr. John S. Ineson, the Engineer and Secretary of the Ventnor Gas and Water Company, has written that (except the foreman) every man on the works-stokers, yardmen, and laborers-has been called up to serve in the Navy and Army Reserves as well as in the Territorial Force. By the second and third of August every man had left; and there are now on the office staff only the collector and the office boy. The gas and water works and the reservoirs are under the protection of the military. Mr. Ineson doubts whether there is another company so severely affected as his has been. Again from Engineering we learn that the agricultural Consultative Committee, appointed by the President of the Board of Agriculture, issued a statement in relation t o the shortage of harvest labor owing to mobilization. The committee announce that active steps are being taken to supply the deficiency, by means of special instructions issued to the Labor Exchanges. The committee appeal to landowners to facilitate the employment of members of their estate staffs, such as keepers and woodmen, on neighboring farms. Further, the committee have accepted a timely offer from the Boy Scouts’ Association to use scouts in the conveyance of messages between farmers and possible sources of labor, and they record the fact that local scouts are being encouraged to assist farmers in their respective
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neighborhoods. Scouts, i t is added, are entitled t o receive fair remuneration for their work. The situation has not redounded to the disadvantage of all trades and classes, for the Yorkshire Post writes with evident satisfaction: “It will be good news t o the many thousands of clothing operatives in Leeds, and to citizens generally, that this district-the most important clothing center in the kingdomis likely to share in the Government orders for Navy and Army clothing. A local firm of wholesale clothiers, accustomed to this particular class of work, have been asked t o place their factory a t the disposal of the Government, which means that other work which they are therefore unable to undertake will be distributed among other houses. A week or two, however, must elapse before activity can become general. The khaki has t o be manufactured-largely in the Leeds, Dewsbury, and BatIey districts, where some mills are now working full time-and until deliveries of the piece goods are made little can be done a t the clothing factories. The Government supplies the whole of the materials; all that the clothing factories have to do is t o make them up, and everything has to be carried out strictly according to Government specifications. Only a limited number of iirms who make a specialty of the work are on the recognized Government list, and, of course, when they are busily employed thus, the ordinary trade must be done by others.” And the workmen a t the famous Yarrow yards may benefit, for it is announced that if the firm are fully satisfied with the speed of completion, when the last of the three new destroyers, Miranda, Minos, and Manly, on which their men are working night and day and on Sundays, has been handed over, 100ol. (nearly $5,000) will be distributed among the leading hands and others. THE PATENT SITUATION The new patent legislation, both the enacted and projected laws, and the reasons which in the eyes of the Government necessitated the passing of these laws, are commented on a t some length in London Engineering, 98 (rgrq), 280. According to this journal, the number of British patents granted annually to Germans and Austrians is very large. I n the last annual report issued by the Comptroller-General of Patents, the numbers were as follows: Total number of patents granted.. . . Number granted to Britons, Xumber granted t o Germans
..... .. .. ....... ,.. ~. . ,
16,154 8,263 2,606
From the latest particulars as to the number of patents granted annually in Germany it would seem that of 13,080 patents granted in one year, 8831 were granted t o Germans and only 749 to Britons. It will thus be seen that the percentages are very different. A cry is raised periodically as to the hardships that are caused to British labor by foreign patentees who work their inventions abroad, to the benefit of their own labor markets, and import, free of duty, their products into this country. Now we are confronted with the proposal that all patents granted in this country t o alien enemies should be forthwith revoked. The proposition seems attractive, but there is, as we have pointed out, a large patent property in Germany which belongs to British inventors. If we revoke all the patents belonging to the subjects of the States with which we are a t war, we must expect that the Governments of those States will act in a similar manner as regards the patents held by US. Our gain would then be a good deal counterbalanced. The Government do not propose any drastic measures, but have taken certain steps for the protection of British trade, and to that end have passed an Act (Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (Temporary Rules) Act, 1914) amending the Patents and Designs Act, 1907, and the Trade Marks Act, 190.5, in a certain manner, and have taken power to make rules and t o do such things as they think expedient for avoiding or suspending, in whole or in part, any patent or license granted to, and the
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registration of any trade mark the proprietor whereof is a subject of any State a t war with His Majesty. The Board of Trade has set up the necessary machinery t o carry out the Act, and has issued rules from which i t appears that they may, on the application of any person, and subject to such terms and conditions, if any, as they may think fit, order the avoidance or suspension of the rights of patent and registers of trade-marks of aliens. The Board, before granting any such application, may require to be satisfied on three points. The first point of which the Board will require t o be satisfied is that the patentee, licensee, or proprietor is the subject of a State a t war with His Majesty. This point looks very simple and easy of proof, but when the time comes, i t may raise difficulties that are not apparent t o those who are not well posted as to the preparations of our enemies. The second point requiring proof is that the person applying intends to manufacture the patented article, or to carry on the patented process, or intends to manufacture the goods in respect of which trade mark is granted. We cannot say what sort of proof the Board will require on this point, but it, and the third point, are evidently intended t o prevent applications under the Act by persons who have no interest. The third point on which the Board will require to be satisfied is that it is in the general interests of the country or of a section of the community or of a trade, that such article should be manufactured, or such process carried on, or the registration of the trade mark avoided or suspended. The Act and Rules made under the new Act are to continue in force only during the continuance of the present state of war in Europe and for a period of six months thereafter. This provision raises an interesting question. Are patents, designs, and trade marks t o be avoided or suspended for not longer than six months after the termination of the war, and then to be automatically restored, or is the avoidance or suspension t o be irrevocable? Evidently the latter is not to be the case, for the Board of Trade have powers to revoke any avoidance or suspension a t any time in their absolute discretion. The matter appears to us to be in a state of confusion, and the Government has evidently found it to be so, for the President of the Board of Trade introduced a Bill into the House of Commons to amend the Patents Act they passed only a few days previously. The President in his introductory remarks explained that the new Act was not as clear as it might have been.
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have been used with more or less success for gears in machinetool construction. One machine-tool builder in the MiddleWest has tried both these alloys for gears; very unsatisfactory results were obtained, and he has gone back to ordinary carbon steel, having a carbon content of 0 . 2 0 per cent, heat-treating the steel in the most scientific manner known. The article states that with special alloy steels the limits of fluctuation in the heat treatment are much narrower than in ordinary carbon steel, and the material must be handled much more carefully if good results are to be expected. Since using carbon steel the machine-tool builder in question has found that his troubles in the way of breakage and stripping of gear-teeth are practically eliminated. THE UNITED STATES COAL OUTPUT The Iron A g e states that the coal output in the United States for the year 1913 has again broken all previous records. The figure given by our contemporary is 570,048,125 net tons, or considerably more than double the output of 1900, and more than eight times that of 1880. The value of the coal mined in 1913 is given as $760,488,785. Compared with the year 1912, the output for 1913 shows a n increase of 35,581,545 tons, or nearly 7 per cent. Pennsylvania mined more coal in 1913, both anthracite and bituminous, than in any previous year in the record of the industry. The output reached 265,306,139 tons, of which 91,524,927 tons was anthracite and 173,781,212 tons bituminous. BY-PRODUCT COKE OVENS IN RUSSIA The United States Consul a t Odessa reports that there are in South Russia ten plants owned by nine firms for the production -and utilization of coke by-products. In the first nine months of 1913 these firms were operating 887 coke ovens producing by-products, besides a large number of the old type. The increase in the last four years in these ovens was 563, or 15.8 per cent. In 1912 5,689,411 tons of coal were consumed to produce 4,252,697 tons of coke, as compared with 2,774,733 tons of coal to produce 2,020,831 tons of coke in 1903. Sulfate of ammonia is beginning to be used in Russia as a fertilizer; but most of i t is still exported. The pitch is used mainly, if not exclusively, for the production of briquettes, and the heavy oils for the impregnation of railroad sleepers.
THE IRON AND STEEL TRADE
O N ACCUMULATOR ELECTROLYTES
Manufacturers are beginning t o find that the decline in activity is not nearly so sharp as they were led to expect, though i t is entirely possible that by the time this is published, some new turn of the situation will have changed this. According to London Engineering (98, 276 August 28, 1914), while “the condition of affairs in the malleable-iron trade in the west of Scotland is most satisfactory and makers are very busy, business in the Scotch steel trade has been rather a serious problem t o the different managements for a long time back, and the newer phase is also one requiring careful handling. During the past week the outlook has improved considerably, as shipping facilities are more favorable, but heavier freights and increased costs for raw material are all against buyers, who are still somewhat backward t o fix up contracts. The mails from abroad are bringing in very satisfactory inquiries and orders from markets which have remained loyal t o the Scotch makers, and those which in recent years purchased large quantities of steel material from the Continent will now require to pass their business here or else to America.”
The July issue of the Proceedings of the Soci6tC Belge des electriciens states that most of the patents taken out in those countries where there is no preliminary examination cover reinventions, not genuine inventions. This is due to the fact that the majority of researchers explore fields which are not familiar to them and neglect to inform themselves thoroughly on all points. According t o our contemporary, this state of matters prevails in the construction of electric accumulators more than in any other branch of industry. The immobilization of the electrolyte, for example, constantly gives rise to a number of patents dealing with processes, some of which have been known for the last thirty years or more.
ALLOY-STEEL GEARS IN MACHINE TOOLS The issue of Machinery, for August of this year, says that alloy steels, such as chrome-vanadium and chrome-nickel,
THE FULLAGAR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE A gas engine of such novel type and combining many new features was recently demonstrated a t a joint meeting of the Institutions of Naval Engineers and Shipbuilders a t Newcastleupon-Tyne, that it is worthy of a fairly extensive description. Three fundamental factors are chiefly responsible for the difficulties in the construction of internal combustion engines of existing types. These factors are: ( a ) That the heat per unit of surface radiated by the flame to the cylinder walls increases with the size of the cylinder, while the thickness of metal through
