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T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
fermenting period, texture and size of loaf. We also suggest t h a t the color be determined on the samples of flour rather than on the bread and t h a t this color be determined with an instrument such as the Lovibond tintometer and t h a t it be expressed in the number of standard color used rather than by any percentage system which may be based on the standard flour. At present there seems to be a different method of expressing color in use by each laboratory engaged in flour testing. We may sum up the results we have been able to obtain in our experimental work on the milling of wheat and testing of flour by saying t h a t we are able to secure results which are satisfactory to us in showing the flour-producing qualities of any wheat. We shall qualify this statement by saying that, a t the present time, it is very difficult to express our results in such a way that they will convey an adequate understanding of these results t o other parties such as millers or flour jobbers. The primary object of this paper is to present the need for uniform methods t o be employed in the milling and testing operations and a uniform method of expressing the results obtained so that any party receiving a report from any laboratory on any particular wheat or flour, will be able t o read this report intelligently and t o compare it with any other report which he may receive from this or any other laboratory on the same sample of wheat. It is impossible t o interest the millers, or to any considerable extent the grain dealers, in the testing of wheat and flour, until they are able t o obtain concordant and satisfactory reports on any sample which they may submit. The first move in the satisfactory solution of this question must be made by the chemist and the chemical laboratories who
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FULLER’S EARTH According to official figures as given in the Oil, Paint and Drug annual report, the value of Fuller’s earth produced in the United States in 1912 was $305,522, and Florida was the leading producing State. The principal use of Fuller’s earth in this country is in the bleaching, clarifying or filtering of fats, grease and oils. The market for Fuller’s earth was quiet, but steady through the year, and prices varied according to quality. Imports of Fuller’s earth for the fiscal year with comparisons were: 1913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tons
Values
16,866 16,175 15,813 13,192 11,489
$145,588
138,111 125,899 118,956 100,269
FINANCIAL AND LABOR CONDITIONS ON ENGLISH RAILROADS In a n editorial commedt on the railway situation, during the past year in England, Engineering (London), 97 (1914),322, publishes the following: “The past year has, on the whole, been a very prosperous one for the railways, but the gross increases have, to a very large extent, been swallowed in additional charges. The London and h’orth-Western Railway Company, for example, have had a record year: the net receipts amounted to $30,722,786, which is an increase of $4,525,000. Expenses, however, increased by $3,472,600, of which a very large fraction is attributable t o increased wages. The Great Western Railway Company’s receipts again showed a n increase of $g,194,350 on the year. At the same time charged increases by $3,482,300. These figures may be taken as fairly typical. The increased
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are seeking the trade of the grain dealer and the miller. The importance of this work may be inferred to some extent by stating that on single days in the past year one firm of grain dealers disposed of, to millers, more than 200,ooo bushels of wheat. Another factor which enters into the importance of such work is that in many years the wheat crops of certain localities are short, while an abundance of wheat of a different variety may be obtainable from other sections. This is very well illustrated by the conditions of the past year, when the winter wheat crop throughout the country was unusually low. Millers using quantities of Winter Wheat in their milling mixture had t o pay a considerable premium above the normal price of wheat to secure varieties of wheat they desired. In some instances this premium amounted to 16 cents per bushel or S160.00 per car. Substitutes for the desired varieties of wheat were consequently in demand and these substitutes also brought a considerable premium in price, ranging from 8 to 16 cents per bushel. You will note, therefore, that any grain company, which by the service of its chemist may be able to pick up any quantity of these wheats so much desired by the millers will thus make a handsome profit above the expense connected with the operation of a laboratory. The extension of the wheat and flour testing will undoubtedly be determined by: ( I ) The ability of the chemists to agree upon a uniform method for conducting the testing and in expressing their results; ( 2 ) The ability of the chemists to convince the grain dealer and the miller of the profit which may be derived from a satisfactory knowledge of the wheat being purchased. ARMOUR INSTITUTE OF T E C H N O L O G LABORATORIES Y CEIIC.ACO
CURRENT INDUSTRIAL NEWS B y M. I.
V O ~6. , NO.
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HAMLIN
wages cost is, of course, not wholly due to increased rates of pay or shorter hours, but in part to the necessity of employing additional hands t o meet the necessities of the exceptional traffic. Such additional labor is necessarily somewhat inefficient, and a feeling of good comradeship also has its effect in inducing the old hands to slack off a little, so as to avoid the risk of “working the new men out of a job.” In the case of the London and KorthWestern Company, for example, of the two and one-half million dollars total increase in the pay bill, only one and one-half million was due to the extra rates of pay. The companies have, of course, to pay, in addition, insurance charges, which in the case of the London and North-Western line were equivalent t o nearly I per cent on the net receipts. The total wages bill is equivalent to about one-fourth the gross receipts. The 4 per cent increase in rates demanded by the railway companies is claimed to be very far from meeting the increased wages cost. “The very large amount of capital which must be ventured to provide employment for one railwayman is truly remarkable-averaging about $10,000per head. This is, of course, out of all proportion greater than in other large industries, and the tendency is for it t o increase. I n the shipbuilding industry the capital risked per workman amounts t o no more than $900, according t o a n estimate made by Dr. J. Inglis. “One of the great problems of the day is the arrangement of some reasonable modus vivendi with labor. Notices for the termination of the existing agreement as to conciliation boards have been handed in pretty generally. To no small extent the difficulty with labor resides in the circumstance that while the men demand more wages, the capital for necessary extensions and developments can only be obtained if these wages are actually earned. The men, however, in many cases object to the adoption of the only means by which this desideratum can be attained, since every improvement in operating methods devised by the
