stabilized hoisting unit, originally ap
plied for handling racks in anodizing operations and successfully applied in plane assembly, has recently been ap
plied to handling automatic welding heads on continuous welding operations, producing a smooth, straight-line weld.
Two welding heads have been applied on the stabilized platform, permitting the adjustment of the heads for welding operations at two points. The applica
tion of the stabilizing unit in the air
craft industry suggests its use for assemb
ling large bulky objects, permitting the suspension of the assembly at the most convenient working height and at all times maintaining a clear working floor.”
Diesel-Electric Ore Transfer for diesel-electric powered transfer cars for use in connection with car dumpers and stockyard reclaiming activities at blast furnace plants.
"This self-propelled equipment elimin
ates the necessity for standby power to satisfy transfer car demands, eliminates the necessity of installing and maintain
ing electric conductor systems, and pro
vides flexibility of operation not obtain
able with the usual electrically operated
equipment. It appears that operating costs will compare very favorably with
These relate to arrangements which pre
vent incorrect operation even in the hands of the most inexperienced person
nel. Automatic dials for coke weighing with electric, hopper heaters to prevent freezing of the load during severe winter weather. Improvements have been made in methods of installing, insulating and Adopted for Postwar Shipping
Adolf Larsen, v i c e materials handling operation cannot be considered as complete. In a broader sense, completion of the task is achieved otrly after the commodity arrives at des
tination in a usable condition.
“War has made necessary proper pack
ing and proper reinforcement of round and flat steel strapping on all types of shipments. In many instances, harbor facilities are not available at invasion points. Supplies, therefore, are subject to excessive rough handling, and the factor of added strapping reinforcement has proved to be of the greatest import
ance in assuring satisfactory arrival con
dition at destination of all kinds of round or flat strapping reinforcement for all types of containers; and the palletiz
ing of individual units, we believe, is here to stay.”
"Shark Tooth" Bucket for S lag, Limestone Bids for Attention
Arnold Hooper, man
naces and from the cinder recovery yards and skull cracker pits.
“Contributing to this improvement is the use of special bucket teeth somewhat similar to the dipper type teeth used on power shovel dipper. They are known as ‘Shark Teeth’. Like fingers, these literally work their way between the limestone pieces, gaining greater depth of penetration and, therefore, more load per grab. Furthermore, ‘Shark Teeth’
protect the cutting edges of the lips from abrasive wear. Buckets so equipped handle considerably more limestone than buckets equipped with conventional teeth. Their use also results in a marked improvement in handling open-hearth slag.”
War Dem and and Reconversion To Stim ulate Conveyor Output
F. E. Moore, presi necessary for handling heavy ordnance, especially the 240 millimeter and 8-inch manufacture has required many special devices which had been unnecessary in the production of lighter ordnance. I believe that I can say, without reserva-
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January 1. 1945 301
Hundreds of unemployed aircraft workers stage a demonstration outside the Houses of
Parliament, at upper left
British workers unload prefabricated housing sections, in preparation for building shelters for persons whose homes were destroyed dur
ing bombing raids or by rockets, lower left.
A t left is an unusual scene where postwar bungalows and aircraft parts afe being con
structed in the same factory. In th e foreground, parts for Halifax bomber wings are being made;
in the background sections of prefabricated houses are being constructed. N E A photos By VINCENT DELPORT
E u ro p e a n E d ito r, ST E E L
O ld fight between capitalism and socialism given impetus b y wartime conditions. Conflict grow ing in Britain between those favoring state control of industry and those upholding theory of private initiative
WAR IN Europe reached its climax during the second half of 1944 and the end is within sight. The outcome, when Japan has also been brought to her knees, will be the overthrow of the sys
tem of personal dictatorship and the eradication of its roots.
Concurrently with this result, definite action will have to be taken to lay the foundations of a saner world, and to remove once and for all the possibility of war minded nations inflicting another v ur on mankind. If these objects are not achieved this war will have been fought in vain.
Apart, however, from the war between nations which is being fought to a finish to preserve the independence of free
dom loving peoples, another conflict has been emerging, a conflict of ideas which has developed away from the battle
fields, and which has arisen within the nations themselves.
Reference is made to the opposition that has been growing between those sections of a community that propound that industry and trade should be con
trolled by the government, and those that retain their belief in the initiative and the stimulating action of private en
terprise.
The origins of this conflict go back to prewar times, in fact it is an aspect
of the old fight between capitalism and socialism, but the conditions under which a modern war must be waged have given a sudden impulse to the lat
est rivalry between the two creeds.
That this impulse has been all in one direction is proved by the fact that in every warring nation the government has, either by enforced compulsion or by agreement with parliamentary insti
tutions, concentrated in its hands all the levers controlling industry and trade and has thus accomplished total centraliza
tion of a nation’s activities.
The conflict is dramatic because de
fenders of wholesale government con
trol believe they are serving the interests of democracy by erecting a barrier against “vested interests” and more or less disguised monopolies, and against large profits being made at the expense of the wage earner and the consumer.
They also believe that government control insures a more just distribution of this world’s goods among the less fortunate. Controls and regulations by decree have, in fact, during the war, constituted one huge government mon
opoly, and it cannot be denied that restricted necessities have been fairly distributed under this system. On the other hand, those who favor the gov
ernment controlled system overlook the fact that the experiment has taken place in quite abnormal circumstances, thanks to which the many deficiencies of the system have been passed over because
of the overriding necessity of centraliz
ing all war controls in order to win it.
These matters are of vital interest to the steel industry because, in common with mining, transport and banking, with which the industry is closely asso
ciated, it is one of the most likely fields at first to be invaded by the extreme penetration of control, that is, nationali
zation or government ownership.
Before taking position on these mat
ters certain points must be considered:
Government control is a question of de
gree, and some control from the higher authorities is necessary if complete an
archy is to be avoided.
The extreme limit of government con
trol is nationalization or state owner
ship of an industry. The trade unions in Great Britain would like to see this treatment applied to coal mining, the steel industry, public transport, banking, insurances. Owing to war contingencies the British government has, in fact, taken over certain factories; this is pre
sumably a temporary measure which will be rescinded when the war is over. The provisional French government has taken over coal mines in the north of France and also the Renault factories; this may be a provisional measure. Already be
fore this war, the French government had taken over the armament factories from private ownership. The greatest experiment in state ownership so far has been in Soviet Russia.
From this extreme, the state can ex
ercise its powers through all forms and shapes of varying degree. Such powers can be extremely drastic as exemplified during the war, when the British gov
ernment obtained powers from Parlia
ment, whereby government departments could impose regulations by order under
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Shell blank is being formed to contour in a hydraulic press in a British plant. N E A photo
SWIFTLY moving, epoch making events followed each other in 1944 as the Allied armies swept forward in their march towards victory. Small wonder that a wave of optimism flooded Britain bringing with it a feeling that the war was as good as over in Europe, and though further time might be needed to deal with fanatical Japan, the day for relaxation had arrived.
There has been, naturally, a reaction to that feeling, with repeated warnings from those in office—including Prime Minister Churchill who has never prom
ised easy victory—that the end is not yet. But the knowledge that peace is in sight has served very forcibly to re
mind all engaged in industry, and par
ticularly basic metals, of the problems that must be faced when the day of peace dawns and of the preparations which must be made to meet that day.
A year ago British iron and steel indus
try entered a state of transition. Produc
tion was equal to and in some cases in excess of requirements and adjustments were necessary in the raw material posi
tion to meet changing demands of the various government departments. It soon became clear early in 1944 that the peak