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Masjid-i-Su1aiman.—There have been no new developments in the Masjid-i-Sulaiman oil fields during the year 1938. In spite of the age of this field, the fall in dome pressure shows no appreciable variation from the low rate of about 0.3 lb. per sq. in. per million tons net production. Drilling has been limited to deepening old wells and to new wells required for maintenance of production and general reservoir control. The rate of offtake has been reduced over the past few years, partly because of depletion of the oil column, and it is expected that future offtake from the Masjid-i-Sulaiman field will be stabilized for some years at around the present figure of 3,000,000 tons per annum. Haft Ke1.—An exploratory well to test deeper formations in the Haft Kel field has proved the existence of productive conditions in the Eocene, which underlies the Asmari limestone (the main producing horizon). Drilling to the northwest in the white-oil springs area has revealed the presence of a separate structure with productive potentialities. One well with a satisfactory production rate has been completed. Offtake from the Haft Kel field has steadily increased since it first came on to production in 1929. Naft-i-Shah.—Production from this field has continued to supply market requirements in northwest Iran. The policy of returning surplus products to the reservoir, which was adopted at the beginning of 1936, has been continued.

Jan 1, 1939

Masjid-i-Su1aiman.—There have been no new developments in the Masjid-i-Sulaiman oil fields during the year 1938. In spite of the age of this field, the fall in dome pressure shows no appreciable variation from the low rate of about 0.3 lb. per sq. in. per million tons net production. Drilling has been limited to deepening old wells and to new wells required for maintenance of production and general reservoir control. The rate of offtake has been reduced over the past few years, partly because of depletion of the oil column, and it is expected that future offtake from the Masjid-i-Sulaiman field will be stabilized for some years at around the present figure of 3,000,000 tons per annum. Haft Ke1.—An exploratory well to test deeper formations in the Haft Kel field has proved the existence of productive conditions in the Eocene, which underlies the Asmari limestone (the main producing horizon). Drilling to the northwest in the white-oil springs area has revealed the presence of a separate structure with productive potentialities. One well with a satisfactory production rate has been completed. Offtake from the Haft Kel field has steadily increased since it first came on to production in 1929. Naft-i-Shah.—Production from this field has continued to supply market requirements in northwest Iran. The policy of returning surplus products to the reservoir, which was adopted at the beginning of 1936, has been continued.

Jan 1, 1939

By B. H. Sage, R. T. Carter, W. N. Lacey

The phase behavior of a number of binary systems consisting of parafin hydro-carbons has been determined in recent years. In addition, the composition of the coexisting phases of mixtures of crude oil and natural gas has been investigated.~ However, the latter study did not include information concerning the influence of the concentration of a component upon its distribution between two coexisting phases. Owing to the paucity of such information it was considered desirable to investigate in some detail the composition of the coexisting phases in the methane-propane-n-pentane system throughout the greater part of the two-phase region at a tempera-ture of 100°F. Information of this nature also permits the establishment of the critical behavior of this ternary system. Method The compositions of the coexisting phases in this ternary system at 100°F. were deter-mined by withdrawing samples from a pres-sure vessel containing a heterogeneous mixture of the three components that had been brought 10 equilibrium by mechanical agitation at the desired pressure and tem-perature. The samples were withdrawn under such conditions that the equilibrium was not disturbed and the composition of each of the phases was ascertained by means of the conventional low-temperature fractionation procedure. The apparatus employed in this investi-gation was nearly the same as that utilized in an earlier study of the methane-pentane system.~ Several minor modifica-tions in the arrangement of the apparatus were made in the interest of simplifying the procedure and avoiding the possibility of condensation in the tubing connecting the equilibrium apparatus with the analyti-cal equipment. The pressures were meas-ured by means of a pressure balance with a precision of 0.5 lb. per sq. in. It is believed that the equilibrium pressure was ascer-tained with an uncertainty of not more than 2 lb. per sq. in., even though small varia-tions in pressure obtained during the withdrawal of the samples. The tempera-ture of the equilibrium equipment was maintained by use of an automatically controlled oil bath. The bath temperature was determined by means of a copper-constantan thermocouple, the electromo-tive force being determined by means of a potentiometric circuit of such a nature as to reduce the uncertainty of the tempera ture to less than O.I f. The fractionating column employed in the determination of the composition of the gas phase had a diameter of 0.12 in. and was approximately 4 ft. long, while the column employed in the analysis of the liquid phase was 0.18 in. in diameter and about 5 ft. long. Each column was equipped with the conventional constant-volume receivers, which were maintained at a constant temperature by means of an automatically controlled oil bath. In nearly every case the distillation in thr neighborhood of the transition between

Jan 1, 1941

By W. N. Lacey, R. T. Carter, B. H. Sage

The phase behavior of a number of binary systems consisting of parafin hydro-carbons has been determined in recent years. In addition, the composition of the coexisting phases of mixtures of crude oil and natural gas has been investigated.~ However, the latter study did not include information concerning the influence of the concentration of a component upon its distribution between two coexisting phases. Owing to the paucity of such information it was considered desirable to investigate in some detail the composition of the coexisting phases in the methane-propane-n-pentane system throughout the greater part of the two-phase region at a tempera-ture of 100°F. Information of this nature also permits the establishment of the critical behavior of this ternary system. Method The compositions of the coexisting phases in this ternary system at 100°F. were deter-mined by withdrawing samples from a pres-sure vessel containing a heterogeneous mixture of the three components that had been brought 10 equilibrium by mechanical agitation at the desired pressure and tem-perature. The samples were withdrawn under such conditions that the equilibrium was not disturbed and the composition of each of the phases was ascertained by means of the conventional low-temperature fractionation procedure. The apparatus employed in this investi-gation was nearly the same as that utilized in an earlier study of the methane-pentane system.~ Several minor modifica-tions in the arrangement of the apparatus were made in the interest of simplifying the procedure and avoiding the possibility of condensation in the tubing connecting the equilibrium apparatus with the analyti-cal equipment. The pressures were meas-ured by means of a pressure balance with a precision of 0.5 lb. per sq. in. It is believed that the equilibrium pressure was ascer-tained with an uncertainty of not more than 2 lb. per sq. in., even though small varia-tions in pressure obtained during the withdrawal of the samples. The tempera-ture of the equilibrium equipment was maintained by use of an automatically controlled oil bath. The bath temperature was determined by means of a copper-constantan thermocouple, the electromo-tive force being determined by means of a potentiometric circuit of such a nature as to reduce the uncertainty of the tempera ture to less than O.I f. The fractionating column employed in the determination of the composition of the gas phase had a diameter of 0.12 in. and was approximately 4 ft. long, while the column employed in the analysis of the liquid phase was 0.18 in. in diameter and about 5 ft. long. Each column was equipped with the conventional constant-volume receivers, which were maintained at a constant temperature by means of an automatically controlled oil bath. In nearly every case the distillation in thr neighborhood of the transition between

Jan 1, 1941

By Paul Merica

THOSE of you who, like myself, have had the privilege of hearing previous Howe Memorial Lectures will note, and I hope without too much disaffection, that for the first time in this series of lectures iron has been chosen as the subject. I feel sure that the predominant choice by previous lecturers of subjects relating to steel has been principally in deference to the well-known interest this subject held for Professor Howe, and that their choice has not reflected any lack of respect for the material, iron. Nevertheless, in the face of this record, I feel some diffidence in introducing this "Cinderella" of materials into the circle of distinguished subjects hitherto treated by Howe lecturers, which is relieved only by the fact that I hope to be able to present some evidence that this Cinderella has at last undergone some of those magical trans-formations which render her acceptable even in the society of her dis-tinguished sister, steel. Fortunately I can cite the old master himself in support of my choice of subject and recall to you that Professor Howe by no means overlooked or neglected cast iron in the long course of his metallurgical meditations. Indeed his attention was early arrested by a metallurgical aspect of cast iron which he believed and we still recognize as of the most funda-mental importance-namely, the genesis of graphite in gray iron and the means for the control of its quantity and distribution. He made some comments over 20 years ago regarding the nature of J. E. Johnson's oxygenated iron which indicate that even then his thoughts were taking directions which today we are finding it useful to explore in connection with the theory of high-strength iron. Had we had in the subsequent years the continuing benefit of Professor Howe's illuminating consider-ation of this important subject, our progress in the improvement of cast iron would undoubtedly have been even more rapid.

Jan 1, 1937

By H. W. Gillett

Unlike most previous Howe lecturers, I had not the good fortune to be associated with Henry Marion Howe, nor to be directly one of his students. Yet, through his writings, he has been my teacher, as he has of all American metallurgists. Instructive as his writings are—I use the present tense because Howe thought so keenly and reasoned so surely, seeing clearly, as if by intuition, what was hazy to lesser minds, that his writings are still vital—it is not those books and papers, nor even the minds he trained in his classes, that were his most outstanding service. It was the spirit of Howe in his approach to the problems of metallurgy, his broad-mindedness and fairness, his recognition of the need for theories and hypotheses to explain metallurgical phenomena, his willingness to use them as servants, as well as his questioning attitude—his refusal to accept them as masters—that comprise his greatest service. This most thoroughly warrants the honor the Institute pays each year to his memory. These traits I so respect and honor in any man that I glory in this opportunity to do reverence to him in whom they were so notably united. Howe's Discussion of a Creep Problem I have often wished that Howe were still with us to turn his keen insight upon the problems of the use of metals at high temperatures, a field much studied but still very hazy. Indeed, 53 years ago, in a paper1 before this Institute, Howe stated a problem closely allied to some that still perplex metallurgists and engineers dealing with the high-temperature field. Howe was intrigued by a report2 from another old master, Robert Henry Thurston, on the behavior of annealed vs. cold-drawn iron wire, and in order to broaden the foundation for metallurgical generalization, Howe made experiments of his own on copper and silver. In these tests by Thurston and by Howe, the wires were rapidly loaded to determine the

Jan 1, 1939

By K. Huessener

INTRODUCTION THIS paper attempts a survey of the principles involved in the com¬bustion of blast-furnace gas in boilers and stoves. I do not expect to be able to give much information which is actually new, since the laws and methods of calculation pertaining to this problem are contained in a number of handbooks; but, so far as I am aware, they have nowhere been treated exclusively with reference to this one problem of gas economy. The road which I follow is less that of strictly scientific research than that of the practical engineer, faced by operation problems which require a. quick solution by easily accessible means without a prolonged search in scientific handbooks. For this purpose I give a number of tables and diagrams, as well as the results of many years' practical working experience as combustion engineer, which I trust will prove useful to my readers. HISTORICAL Considering the tremendous efforts made during the last 15 years to increase the efficiency of all kinds of power plants, it is highly surprising that until a comparatively very recent period, progress in the economical combustion of blast-furnace gas has been so slow. The explanation generally put forth, that fuel has been so cheap that it was hardly worth while to bother about this economy, will not hold good, for the greatest trouble was taken to improve the combustion of coal and to reduce the consumption of steam. The most plausible explanation appears to be the general impression, held as an accepted fact, that gas, especially hot, uncleaned, blast-furnace gas, was not a good boiler fuel. Many managers of high repute had tried unsuccessfully to improve the conditions of its use, and the dictum went forth that efficiencies of over 60 per cent., particularly with high loads, were impossible. This was the situation not only in the United States, with very cheap fuel, but also in Europe, where fuel prices are twice and three times as high.

Jan 2, 1916

By Thomas Egleston

DURING the year 1873, my attention was called to the frequent accidents, resulting from the breaking of rails, on the different railroads in this' country, and I was requested to investigate the subject. The plan of investigation I proposed was to ascertain, in as many cases as possible, the exact hist* of broken rails, both in this country and in Europe; to collect information in Europe relating to the tests which rails used there were required to undergo, and to experiment upon the pieces of rails broken on the road, with a view to ascertain whether their fracture was due to their chemical constitution, bad manufacture, to a reduction in strength owing to temperature, or to physical changes in the constitution of the rail. The investigation was commenced by the collection of statistics, and for this purpose I spent several months in Europe, collecting information on the subject of broken rails, as well as the life of iron and steel rails generally, and inquiring into the systems of purchasing and of testing them employed by the railroads there, intending, on my return, to make a series of analyses of rails broken, both in this country and in Europe; to ascertain, if possible, how far great cold had an influence on the fracture; to examine whether the rail broken, either on the road or afterwards, underwent, at or about the fracture, any physical change, and to make a series of experiments on the strength of rails manufactured in the United States or sold in the American market. Unfortunately, the panic of 1873 came on, just before my return from Europe, and prevented the carrying out of the larger part of the plan proposed; as, however, I had collected in the meantime, a large number of statistics of different kinds from all parts of Europe, and had made a number of interesting experiments and investigations, I have thought it would be worth while to communicate some

By T. Egleston

DURING the year 1873, my attention was called to the frequent accidents, resulting from the breaking of rails, on the different railroads in this country, and I was requested to investigate the subject. The plan of investigation I proposed was to ascertain, in as many cases as possible, the exact history of broken rails, both in this country and in Europe; to collect information in Europe relating to the tests which rails used there were required to undergo, and to experiment upon the pieces of rails broken on the road, with a view to ascertain whether their fracture was due to their chemical constitution, bad manufacture, to a reduction in strength owing to temperature, or to physical changes in the constitution of the rail. The investigation was commenced by the collection of statistics, and for this purpose I spent several months in Europe, collecting information on the subject of broken rails, as well as the life of iron and steel rails generally, and inquiring into the systems of purchasing and of testing them employed by the railroads there, intending, on my return, to make a series of analyses of rails broken, both in this country and in Europe; to ascertain, if possible, how far great cold had an influence on the fracture ; to examine whether the rail broken, either on the road or afterwards, underwent, at or about the fracture, any physical change, and to make a series of experiments on the strength of rails manufactured in the United States or sold in the American market. Unfortunately, the panic of 1873 came on, just before my return from Europe, and prevented the carrying out of the larger part of the plan proposed ; as, however, I had collected in the meantime, a large number of statistics of different kinds from all parts of Europe, and had made a number of interesting experiments and investigations, I have thought it would be worth while to communicate some

Jan 1, 1875

By W. R. Ingalls

THE paramount subject of interest and concern at the present time is the readjustment in economic conditions following the cataclysmic disturbance produced by the war and the misconceptions leading to an orgy of extravagance that prevailed during two years following the armistice he, time is too short for me to undertake to review the nature and extent of the upheavals occurring between August, 1914, and October, 1920. Bulky volumes will be written about them. . But I shall have to refer to some of the results in order to outline a prognosis. It is the future, not the past;' that is of most interest to us. Let me be so bold as to say, without further preface, that I am not optimistic as to the near future. .We shall, indeed, have revivals in trade, but they will be delusive if their nature be not 'understood. We shall build hopes and expectations upon political maneuvers and events, only to find in the end that they were folly. In the meanwhile fundamental economic influences will continue to exert their steady and irresistible pressure. The new administratiow at Washington has no magic wand with which to kindle the fires in our idle steel furnaces, or create a million new houses for the people; nor can the premiers of Europe put into motion the spindles of the cotton and woolen mills, or by any incantations compel the people of the Orient to buy goods. The people of the Orient, and of, Europe, and of the two Americas are in the grip of the same economic forces. The readjustment has proceeded further in some parts of the world than in others. In the United States I do not think we, have gone more than over the threshold. I shall tell you why 1 think thus, but in telling you I shall be limited, in view of the immensity of the subject, to a series of bald statements, without much elucidation.

Jan 1, 1921

By Edward Keller

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) UNDER the title, Labor-Saving Appliances in the Works-Laboratory, I published a paper1 in which was described how multi-manipulations, in a works-laboratory, and in the furnace-room of an assay-laboratory, can be condensed into single manipulations by applying the proper mechanical devices. For example, I now deposit in, or withdraw from, a muffle a set of 48 cupels as one unit. The front row. (8) of these. are blanks or heaters; the other 40, when they have attained the proper temperature in the muffle, are charged simultaneously with the 40 lead-buttons. Three manipulations here accomplish an operation which by the generally customary method requires 136, and this number is only limited by the size of muffle and cupels. This operation is an enlargement of what I have already described in my former paper, and Fig. I shows the improved implements. In the paper referred to I described a gold-silver bead parting-bath, which is the last of the devices used in regular sequence in practice. This bath was designated as being convenient, but was not a labor-saver properly. Fig. 2 of the present paper shows a new device. Instead of the original tray, there are now sectional holders for the test-tubes, each having a wooden handle on either end, so that the holders may be removed from the boiling bath, and the acid or water poured off from each set of tubes (in this case, 7) without waiting to cool. The tubes, held in place by clutches, as shown in Fig. 3, rest in holes in the base-strip, having a smaller diameter than the tubes. Each holder is stamped at either end with a number, so that the bath becomes further useful by permitting several men to use it at the same time without interference. Apart from the handles, the holders are made of sheet-copper. ' Trans., xxxvi., 3 to 18 (1906).

Aug 1, 1910

By Oswald J. Heinrich

IN this paper I shall attempt a description of the successful extraction of coal from this property after it had been on fire for probably fifty years, or more, and after attempts, made at various times, which had still left considerable coal behind. The Richmond coal-field has a well-founded bad reputation, arising from the circumstance that many of its collieries have had to be abandoned, from time to time, if not entirely, on account of fires, caused by spontaneous combustion, to which the character of the coal in this field renders them peculiarly liable. While I fully assent to the opinion that this trouble lies in the nature of the coal, which is highly bituminous, and the seams of which are, moreover, divided by slaty bands, through which, as also in the coal, iron pyrites is more or less disseminated, often in microscopically small particles, I must, nevertheless, declare that many lamentable disasters, causing great loss of life and property, could have been avoided if a suitable system of mining had been pursued in all the collieries. If this could not have been done from the be-. ginning of mining in this section of country (the history of which can be traced back to over one hundred years), at least experience enough existed upon this subject thirty and forty years ago to dictate the avoidance of the dangers to a considerable extent. I t is therefore necessary here to refer first, in a few remarks, to the character of the coal deposits, particularly in this immediate neighborhood, the Midlothian being one of the oldest and most extensive mines, and some of its coal being much subjected to spontaneous combustion. I must also refer to the history of former managements to explain more clearly the results which were arrived at. The Midlothian coal-mine property, situated upon the eastern outcrop of the basin, about four miles south from James River, exhibits

By William Firmstone

On the 19th December, 1833, a patent was granted to F. W. Geisenheimer, for smelting iron ore with anthracite. In his claim he says: " Sixthly, though I cannot, and do not, claim an exclusive right of the use of heated air, for any kind of fuel, nevertheless I believe to have a right to claim the use of heated air, applied upon, and in connection with, the said principle and manner discovered by me, to smelt iron ore in blast-furnaces with anthracite coal, by applying a blast of air in such quantity, velocity, and density, or under such pressure, as the compactness, or density, and the continuity of the anthracite requires, as above amply and fully described and illustrated." Dr. Geisenheimer made experiments in smelting iron ore with anthracite at the Valley Furnace, near Pottsville, but he failed to carry out to good practical results the principles enunciated in his patent. In the .Joozcrnal of the Franklin Institute for February, 1838, a communication was published that was made by Mr. George Crane, of the Yniscedwyn Iron Works, South Wales, to the British Association, in September, 1837. On the smelting of iron with anthracite coal, Mr. Crane states therein, that he began the use of anthracite with hot-blast on the 7th February, 1837, in a cupola blastfurnace, 41 feet high, and 10 feet across the boshes ; product, 34 to 36 tons a week. Mr. Crane goes on to say, "It may not be uninteresting to be informed in what matter the idea first occurred to me of applying a heated blast to anthracite coal. One evening, after I had placed a piece of it upon my parlor fire (which had before been made up with bituminous coal), arid had allowed it to arrive at a red heat, upon applying as fierce a blast to this piece of coal as I could raise from a pair of bellows, I noticed a black spot or mark

By William Firmstone

ON the 19th December, 1833, a patent was granted to F. W. Geisenheimer, for smelting iron ore with anthracite. In his claim he says: "Sixthly, though I cannot, and do not, claim am exclusive right of the use of heated air, for any kind of fuel, nevertheless I believe to have a right to claim the use of heated air, applied upon, and in connection with, the said principle and manner discovered by me, to smelt iron ore in blast-furnaces with anthracite coal, by applying a blast of air in such quantity, velocity, and density, or under such pressure, as the compactness, or density, and the continuity of the anthracite requires, as above amply and fully described and illustrated." Dr. Geisenheimer made experiments in smelting iron ore with anthracite at the Valley Furnace, near Pottsville, but he failed to carry out to good practical results the principles enunciated in his patent. In the Journal of the Franklin Institute for February, 1838, a communication was published that was made by Mr. George Crane, of the Yniscedwyn Iron Works, South Wales, to the British Association, in September, 1837. On the smelting of iron with anthracite coal, Mr. Crane states therein, that he began the use of an¬thracite with hot-blast on the 7th February, 1837, in a cupola blast-furnace, 41 feet high, and 10' feet across the boshes ; product, 34 to 36 tons a week. Mr. Crane goes on to say, "It may not be uninteresting to be informed in what matter the idea first occurred to me of applying a heated blast to anthracite coal. One evening, after I had placed a piece of it upon my parlor fire (which had before been made up with bituminous coal), and had allowed it to arrive at a red heat, upon applying as fierce a blast to this piece of coal as I could raise from a pair of bellows, I noticed a black spot or mark

Jan 1, 1875

By Thomas M. Drown

IN the course of some experiments on the analysis of pig iron, I heated, in a platinum crucible, some borings of a graphitic pig iron with sodium carbonate. When the crucible was at a full red heat and the carbonate was thoroughly fused, I noticed a lively ebullition of the mass, and an escape of gas, which burned on the surface. On investigation this gas proved to be carbonic oxide, and on examining the borings in the bottom of the crucible after an hour or two, they were found to be perfectly malleable, although unchanged in general form and appearance. Analysis showed that the carbon was completely removed. I then repeated the experiment, to ascertain whether the silicon and phosphorus were affected, and found that these elements too were largely removed, and could be found in the fused mass as alkaline silicates and phosphates. In order to ascertain whether the removal of the silicon and phosphorus was merely a surface action or whether the reaction really extended into the mass of the iron, I tried the following experiments : A number of bars of pig iron were cast about one foot long and planed down-accurately to one inch section. These were immersed in a large wrought-iron pot full of molten sodium carbonate made by fusing the commercial bicarbonate of soda. Through the kindness of Mr. Frank Firmstone, Superintendent of the Glendon Iron Works, Easton, I was enabled to keep this pot at a reasonably constant high temperature for a long time in one of the hot-blast ovens. One of the bars was removed from the pot every twenty-four or forty-eight hours, according to the rapidity of the action, and after cooling was broken and the fracture examined. The change from pig iron to malleable iron was progressively inwards and always sharp and easily recognized, the rate of progression being in a decreasing ratio with the time. The temperature of the oven had evidently

Jan 1, 1879

By Thomas M. Drown

In the course of some experiments on the analysis of pig iron, I heated, in a platinum crucible, some borings of a graphitic pig iron with sodium carbonate. When the crucible was at a full red heat and the carbonate was thoroughly fused, I noticed a lively ebullition of the mass, and an escape of gas, which burned on the surface. On investigation this gas proved to be carbonic oxide, and on examining the borings in the bottom of the crucible after an hour or two, they were found to be perfectly malleable, although unchanged in general form and appearance. Analysis showed that the carbon was completely removed. I then repeated the experiment, to ascertain whether the silicon and phosphorus were affected, and found that these elements too were largely removed, and could be .found in the fused mass as alkaline silicates and phosphates. In order to ascertain whether the removal of the silicon and phosphorus was merely a surface action or whether the reaction really extended into the mass of the iron, I tried the following experiments : A number of bars of pig iron were cast about one foot long and planed down 'accurately to one inch section. These were immersed in a large wrought-iron pot full of molteu sodium carbonate made by fusiug the commercial bicarbonate of soda. Through the kindness of Mr. Frank Firmstone, Superintendent of the Glendon Iron Works, Easton, I was enabled to keep this pot at a reasonably constant high temperature for a long time in one of the hot-blast ovens. One of the bars was removed from the pot every twenty-four or forty-eight hours, according to the rapidity of the action, and after cooling mas broken and the fracture examined. The change from pig iron to malleable iron was progressively inwards and always sharp and easily recognized, the rate of progression being in a decreasing ratio with the time. The temperature of the oven had evidently

Jan 1, 1879

The opening session was held on Tuesday evening, June 28th. Mr. F. S. Witherbee, of Port Henry, a member of the Local Committee, welcomed the Institute as follows: Mr. President and Gentlemen and (if I my also add) Ladies of the Institute: In the absence of the Chairman of our Local Committee it is my pleasant duty to give you a cordial welcome once more to the shores of Lake Champlain. I think some fourteen years have passed by since we last had the pleasure of receiving you at a meeting in this vicinity ; but the pleasure of that meeting still lingers in our memory; and the profit which we derived from your discussions and from your presence with us has made us heartily desirous to have you here again. If the truth must be known, we were for a time much embarrassed by the difficulty of providing adeqriate and comfortable shelter for the large number of friends whom we hoped (and, as this assembly indicates, had good reason for hoping) to receive. But the liberality and zealous co-operation of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company and its hotel manager, in offering to open Hotel Champlain, at no little inconvenience, before the usual time, presented a solution of this difficulty, provided the date originally proposed for the meeting could be changed to a week later. This change was duly authorized; .and I think you will all agree with us that it was wise.. At all events, I am sure, I now need offer no apologies for the roof which covers yau. During the fourteen years which have elapsed since your last visit to us, great strides have been made in the industrial development of this country. The meetings of the Institute, held from one end of the land to the other, have permitted you to witness the transformation of small hamlets? like Birmingham, Ala., into populous and thriving industrial centers. You have seen the Minnesota and the

Jan 1, 1893

By GEORGE H. DERN

IF THE engineer is to go into politics, as I think he should, I believe the curriculum of every engineering school should be amended to include a good stiff course in public speaking. My observation has been that the engineer in private conversation can scintillate as brightly as a life insurance agent or an oil stock salesman, but before an audience, with rare exceptions, he is a total loss. He will not get up and talk. He hides his light under a bushel, and sits on the bushel as dumb as an oyster. I have seen meetings of the Utah Section at which some topic of general interest to the members was up for discussion, and where an animated debate was the logical thing to expect. After the chairman states the subject and invites discussion, there is dense silence. Finally a member, bolder than the rest, gets up and with trembling voice and knees makes a motion. The motion carries, the meeting adjourns, and then the members gather into groups and begin to discuss the question seriously -and intelligently, giving cogent arguments on either side and embellishing their remarks with appropriate or inappropriate epithets illustrations and figures of speech. Now, I am not pleading for more speechmaking. The good Lord knows we have too much of this great American indoor sport already. But I think every man ought to be able and ready to express his opinions at the proper time. Some men have a reputation for wisdom because they do not talk much. We speak of the wise old owl because she never speaks, but in my opinion the owl's reputation for wisdom is vastly overrated. silence is more apt to be a cloak for stupidity than for wisdom. The person who has ideas can- not exert any influence by keeping them locked up in his own mind. The great motive force of the world is not muscle, but ideas, and ideas in order to get in their work must be released.

Jan 1, 1925

H. H. Campbell, Steelton, Pa. (communication to the Secretary) : I wish to thank Mr. Webster for the copious quotations he has made from my writings, as he has given nearly all the arguments I wish to advance. It is necessary to note, however, his statement that most of his experiments were made on universal-mill plates, and that these were not subject to my condemnation of irregularity. I think this is a mistake. It is well known that universal-mill plates are finished under very different conditions of temperature, with the express purpose of regulating the tensile strength. This is a perfectly legitimate practice; but it renders almost worthless any calculations on the relations of the chemical and physical equations when the influence of such finishing is omitted. Another important point Mr. Webster has not answered at all. I have shown by an excerpt from his own table that two entirely different formulæ may be constructed; and it is undeniable that one is as valid as the other, since Mr. Webster started with no premise at all save an assumption that the effect of carbon was constant. This was an assumption pure and simple, and hence has no special virtue. The whole result of Mr. Webster's investigation is not that the effect of carbon is a constant, and that those of phosphorus and manganese are variables. On the contrary, there are two answers, with nothing to show which is right. We learn that if carbon is a constant, then phosphorus and manganese are variables; but that if phosphorus and manganese are constants, then carbon is a variable. This is a distinct advance over complete ignorance, but it is not final and satisfactory from either a mathematical or metallurgical standpoint. Regarding my own formulæ, I would say that they are used regularly in the testing-laboratories of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. The tensile strength of every heat is calculated

Jan 1, 1899

EdgaR S. Cook, Pottstown, Pa.:—Many friends and acquaintances seem to be under the impression that the Warwick Iron & Steel Co. received a' license from Mr. Gayley, free of cost, as an inducement to adopt the process. This impression is not correct, since the license was paid for, and I think it was the first payment that Mr. Gayley received for the use of his process. As president of the Warwick Iron & Steel Co., I am responsible for its earnings, and with only the experience at the Isabella furnaces as a guide, the directors of the company considered that there was a great risk in expending the large sum of money required for the plant. They, however, acted favorably upon my recommendation, and to this extent I am responsible for the installation at the Warwick furnaces. I made the best agreement possible with Mr. Gayley, and naturally our company received certain advantages. It will be contrary to all experience if subsequent plants do not show some improvements and economies in construction. It is to our indirect benefit that all subsequent licenses granted by Mr. Gayley should be charged at a much higher rate than we paid; and I trust that he will see to it that all such licenses granted, especially to companies making merchant iron, shall be at a maximum figure. The Warwick Iron & Steel Go. is not interested in any way in exploiting the merits of the Gayley dry-blast process; on the contrary, looking at the subject from a narrow and selfish standpoint, it is to the advantage of our company that no merchant blast-furnace competing with our iron-product should be equipped with a dry-blast plant. There is a clause in the contract with Mr. Gayley, whereby our company agrees to furnish him with all the data derived from the operation of the dry-blast plant, and that he or his

Jan 1, 1909