E D IT O R IA L S T A F F
E. L. S h a n e r Editor-in-Chie]
E. C. K r e u t z b e r g Editor A. J. H a jn Managing Editor
E. F. Ross
Engineering Editor G uy H u b b a rd Machinę Tool Editor
D . S. C a d o t A rt Editor A S S O C IA T E E D IT O R S
G. H . Manlove j. d. Knox
W. G. Gude g. W . Birdsall
W . J. C a m p b e ll N ew Yor/(
I. H . Such b. K. Price
L. E. B ro w n e
Pittsburgh Chicago
R. L. Hartford J. F. Pow ell
Detroit Washington
A. H . All e n L. M. Lamm
London
VlNCENT DELPORT
A S S IS T A N T E D IT O R SA. R. Fin ley Jay DeEulis
|. C. Su llivan La Vernf. Nock G e o rg e U rb a n
N ew YorĄ Jo h n H . C a l d w e l l
B U S I N E S S S T A F F
G . O. H ays Business. Manager
C. H . B a ile y Aducrtising Seryice N ew Yor!(...E. W . K r e u t z b e r g
B. C. Sn ell
P ittsb u rg h...S. I-I. Jasper C hica g o... L. C. P e l o t t C leyela n d... R. C. J a e n k e D. C. K ie f e r ]. W. Z u b e r
Circulation Manager M A IN O F F IC E Penton B m liling, Cleveland
B R A N C H O F F IC E S
"■ ...110 East 42111I St.
Chicago. . . . . .520 N o rth M ichigan Ave.
P ittsburgh...Koppers Building
“ ' lr°h ...6560 Cass Avc.
Washington...N ational Press Building Cincinnati ..., 734 Carew T ow er rancisco...1 100 N orw ood Avc.
Oa/(land, Calij., Te!. G lencourt 7559 L cW on ... Caxton House
W rstm inster. S.W . 1
Penton !<„nyn Tik ,,1’knton Publishino Co..
Pfnt!w
* C le.v c la n d , O h io .John
A.PrrsKf
Ł nrlti T r e a s u r e r :'!!-an
01Boar(l: E- T" Shaner.
G . O. H a y s V !c pP r e sid e n t: F . G . S t e i n k b a c h . S e c r e ta r y . r ta tp d "'n m w S S l* „ B u r c ,' uI o l C l r c u l a ti o n s : A sso -
ASoXlon“Pera In°- and Natlonal rub‘
u rn te rt C4 n t ™ ry^ 5i o n d ?,5'- S u b s c r lp tlo n In t h e r e a r « ?,t e s ' Cut>'''' » < « l c o a n d C a n a d a . o n e c o u n tr tJ i n n y e a r 3 . f S : E u r o p e a n a n d fo re ig n S u c ś ) M c y e a r S in g le c o p le s ( c u r r e n t
®econ[J " a s s m a t t e r a t t h e p o s to tn e e
& D v S > u i d n t‘l^ r £ c t o1 M a rc h 3. 1879.
'^O DyrlcI.t 1940 b y th e P e n t o n P i-b llsh ln g C o
/ / eS T A B L I S H E D 1 8 8 2
a
t e n t ^
V o l u m e 1 0 6 — N o . 2 4 J u n e 1 0 , 1 9 4 0
READERS COM M ENTS ...
H IG H L IG H T IN G T H IS ISSUE ...
NEWS
News of National Defense Plans
Canadian Railrcad Shops Will Rcceivc Large Allied Tank Orders.
Buy Steel T o Avoid Overloading Mills, Purchasing Agents Told.
Reports Britain Exports Machinę Tools in F.fTort to Hołd Markets.
Steelworks Operations for W eek...
Men of Industry ...
Medals for Invcntion, Discovery Awarded by Franklin.Institute. . . Obituaries ..., ...
Expanding Production Increases Hazards to Health of W orkmen April Steel Exports Decline, but Four-Month Volume Rises...
W IN D O W S OF W A S H IN G T O N ...
MIRRORS OF M O T O R D O M ...
ED ITO RIA L—Simpiification Is N eeded...
T H E BUSINESS T R E N D ...
T EC H N IC A L
Electric H eat for Protection and Preventative M aintenance...
Economical Oxygen Cutting ...
Supporting Fixtures of Bending Press Eliminate Reverse Bends...
Broaching Machines Assemble Press-Fit P arts...
Northwestern Inaugurates New Technological Institute Facilities.
Stamping
The Press Brake—A Versatile T o o l...
jot 11 m g and Stamping
Welded Dual Powered Press Brakes...
Could You Use a
4000-Ampere Arc W elder?...
Angular Distortion ...
Arc Welding Used to Repair Huge
25,
000-Pound Stone Crusher Jaw.
Finishing
Prepainting Treatments Covercd in Test Reports...
Materials Handling
Packi ng for Export
Progress in SteelmakingSheet Galvanizing Machinę Increases Production Between Heats with Shorty...
Heat Treating
Transmission Shifter Yokcs Are Flame Hardened Automatically IN D U STRIA L E Q U IPM E N T ...
M ARKET REPORTS A N D PRICES
BEH IN D T H E S C E N E S ...
C O N STR U C TIO N A N D E N T E R P R IS E ...
INDEX TO A D Y ER TISER S...
• 4
19
1 1 , 23 24
24 25
■ 27
. 28
3°
30
3135 3 2 .37
4 0 -
45
5 2 62
66 7 ‘ 79
48
5»
5 ‘ 72
7654
56
60
68
6 4 80
93
104
111
1 1 8
P R O D U C T I O N • P R O C E S S I N G • D I S T R I B U T I O N • U S E
J u n e 10, 1 9 40
M E T A L F U N D A M E N T A L S ---
T o m a k e s u r e i t ’s M A C H I N A B L E . . . m a k e s u r e y o u A D D N I C K E L
A dding iNickel to cast irons elim - P rod u ction m en k now that N ick el inates carbides, disperses graph- cast irons are always easier to ite and d evelops the m atrix. m ach in ę because tliey are:
1 /' ree from chill and hard spots even on edges and thin sections.
2 Free from porosiły, shrinkage and open grain that canse costly rejects during and after machining.
0 Dependably uniform in hardness and structure through thick atul thin sections.
4 Of rnaxirnutn machinahle hardness.
5 Fine grained perinitting mirror-smooth finish.
THE INTERNATIONAL NICKEL COMPANY,
18 INC. 6 7 W A L L S T R E E T
N EW Y O R K , N . Y.
/ T E E L
Photo courtesu of York l e t Machinery Corp., York, Pa.
Producing cylinder blocks or ollier cast
ings with sections of varying thickness, a nianiifacturcr’s first thought is ma- chinability. From long expericnce, lic depends upon Nickel alone or in bal- anced combination. He knows Nickel added to cast iron assures improved machinability and uniformity of struc
ture, plus higher strength and wear resistance in finished parts.
Y o u r c o n s u lta tio n o n a p p l ic a tio n s i n v o l v in g N ic k e l a llo y e d ir o n s is in v ite d .
^wci q a
P R O D U C T I O N • P R O C E S S I N G • D I S T R I B U T I O N • U S E
H I G H L I G H T I N G
T H I S l S S U E
B R A P ID L Y m o v in g ev e n ts la s t w eek did m uch
to dispel d o u b ts a s to th e a m o u n t of under- sta n d in g an d d riv e behind th e n a tio n a l defense p ro g ra m . P re s id e n t R oosevelt re p e a te d ly (p. 21) gav e a ssu ra n c e th a t th e n a tio n a l defense com- m ission w ill hav e com plete ch a rg e of th e p ro g ra m an d its execution. B ased on a re p o rt by E. R. S te ttin iu s J r., he d eclared th e situ a iio n sur- ro u n d in g s tra te g ie m a te ria ls to be “well in hand. H e nam ed Mr. S te ttin iu s c h a irm a n of a co m m itte e to re p o rt im m ed iately on consoli- d a tio n o f g o v e rn m e n t p u rc h a se s. . . . On the o th e r h an d , c o n g re ss (p. 23) added im p etu s to its p ro g ra m o f le g islatio n aim ed a t im p lem en tin g ex ecu tio n o f th e d efense p ro g ra m .
A good s t a r t h a s been m ade a t a u g m e n tin g th e d efense co m m issio n ’s personnel. Jo h n D.
B ig g ers (p. 22) becom es a ch ief aide. D efense m obilization o f th e m achinę tool in d u s try h a s been placed u n d e r H aro ld S. V ance as rig h t-h a n d m an to W illiam S.
■ K nudsen. O th e r a s s is ta n ts to Mr. K nu d sen a re G eorge J. Mead, head of the
a e ro n a u tic a l section, and E. F. Jo h n so n , a s s is t
a n t on o rd n an ce. W . L. B a tt is M r. S te ttin iu s' a s s is ta n t on ra w m a te ria ls. O th e rs a re to be d ra fte d . . . . I t w as in d icated la s t w eek (p. 21) th a t th e s e n a te w ould follow th e ex am ple o f th e house in em p o w erin g th e P re s id e n t to p ro h ib it e x p o rts o f m ac h in ę tools and o th e r eąu ip m e n t and m a te ria ls o f w ar.
Aides to C o m m is s io n
As steel p ro d u ctio n m oved up 3 p o in ts last week (p. 27) to 81% p e r c e n t o f in g o t capacity, it w as p re d ic te d (p. 91) th a t o p e ra tio n s soon will go to n e a r c a p a city . Dom es-
S p re a d tic co n su m e rs a re sp re a d in g
n. th e ir b u y in g o v er th e com ing
i u y i n g m o n th s so as to enable th e m ills b e tte r to m eet g o y ern m en t a n d A llied re ą u ire m e n ts . T he steel o r
ders placed by th e A llies la s t w eek w ere e s ti
m a ted (p. 21) a t 200,000 to 300,000 tons, w ith m ore to come. S h ip m e n t on p ig iron an d scrap c o n tra c ts placed by I ta ly is jeo p ard ized by
th e w ith d ra w a l o f th a t c o u n try ’s sh ip s fro m w orld ch annels. . . . N ew c h a irm a n of th e U n ited S ta te s Steel Corp. o f N ew J e rs e y (p. 23) is I r v in e S. Olds.
M any m odern tools a re m ore v e rsa tile . T he press b ra k e (p. 48) is being used ex te n siv e ly fo r both lig h t and h e a v y -d u ty m u ltip le p u nching, alone o r as p a r t o f a p ro g re s- sive p u nching, n o tch in g , form - in g se tu p . T h ro u g h novel fix tu res, b ro a c h in g m achines (p. 71) a re used fo r p ress-fit assem b ly of precision p a rts . R ev erse bends th a t fre ą u e n tly occur w hen p re ss-fo rm in g lig h t-g a g e sh eets, due to w h ip p in g of th e sh e e t (p. 66), a re avoided th ro u g h a su p p o rt p rin cip le th a t is ap- plicable to a n y p ro d u ctio n problem . . . . Blaw - K nox Co. uses a 4000-am pere a rc w eld er (p. 51) w ith w hich it can join p la te s fro m >/2 to 2%
inches th i c k ; e x p e rim e n ts on th in n e r an d th ic k e r m a te ria ł a re u n d e r w ay.
Tools M ore Versatile
A vo id in g D is to r tio n
C h arles H. J e n n in g s (p. 72) tells how d is to r
tion m a y be avoided in m a k in g fillet-w elds.
C. T. E ld e r (p. 52) describes th e use of ele c tric h e a t in o rd e r to g u a rd a g a in s t break d o w n s of e lectrical e ą u ip m e n t t h a t r e s u lt fro m condensationj a n d a b so rp tio n of m o istu re. . . . W. J . A u b u rn (p. 56) discusses accepted p ra c tic e s in ex- p o rt p a c k a g in g of steel sh eets, tin p late, bolts, screw s, tools and o th e r p ro d u c ts. . . . H aro ld L aw rence (p. 62) tells o f econom ies t h a t can be effected in c u ttin g w ith th e oxygen to rch . H ig h -g rad e galyanized sh e e ts a re produced in a W elsh m ili (p. 60) on e ą u ip m e n t of la te s t A m erican design. . . . N o rth w e ste rn u n iv e rsity (p. 79) is a d d in g a technological in s titu te .
June 10, 1940
1.)
3 8 S .
D earborn.
S t r e e t , C h ica g o • S a le s O ffic e s : M ilw au k ee, D e tr o it, S t . P a u l, S t . L o u is, K a n sa s C ity ,Cincinnati
WHEN THE
IS TOUGH!
S H E E T S • S T R I P • T IN P L A T E . B A R S • P L A T E S . F L O O R P L A T E S . S T R U C T U R A L S . P IL I N G • R A I L S • T R A C K A C C E S S O R I E S • R E I N F O R C IN G B A R S
"W h e n "tough” draws are easily made and reject losses drop, the result is greater profit. This can happen only when the right quality of sheets is fitted to shop eąuip
ment, fabrication methods and product.
Inland experienced metallurgists are able and willing to study your problems and to recommend the steel best suited to your need—the steel that will take your "tough”
draw, reduce rejects to the minimum,
make finer products and add to your profit.
At your request, an Inland metallurgist will
cajl at your plant to discuss your problems
personally—write us today!
D e fe n s e P la n s Go F orw ard: B r o a d e r
P o w e r s fo r S te ttin iu s . K n u d §en
Former U.S. Steel Chairman Heads Group To Study Government Purchases.
Commission in Complete Charge.
Machinę Tool Industry Already Mobilised.
Unification Approaching on Aircraft Program.
Rooserelt Calls More Industrialistś To Aid.
■ INDUSTRY’S role in planning and developing this country’s na
tional defense program last week began to em erge from the nebula that has surrounded W ashington sińce its announcement.
The national defense commission has been assured it will have com
plete charge of the program. The commission has been and is being augmented by top-ranking executives who have suspended for the time their careers in private industry in favor of the defense plan.
E. R. Stettinius Jr. has been named chairman of a com m ittee which will
study the problems of government purchases through the procurement diyision. The army and navy w ill be represented on the committee, as will be Don Nelson, procurement director.
A report on the consolidation of purchases has been asked for im
mediately.
President Roosevelt has asked the army and navy to consult with W il
liam S. Knudsen, in charge of in
dustrial production, regarding all important contracts.
At the comm ission’s second m eet
ing last Thursday, Mr. Stettinius,
in charge of raw materials, made a preliminary report on strategie materials, including tin and m anga
nese. Later the President announced this situation is “well in hand.”
The President also announced that no action has yet been taken to em
bargo machinę tool exports. The President, however, is reported to be supporting a bill in congress which would control exports of ma
chinę tools and m ilitary eąuipment.
The house already has passed the bill and it is expected to be acted upon by the senate June 10.
A national inventors’ council, eom- posed of outstanding scientists and industrial research experts, to stim- ulate development of new defense weapons, is being created by Secre
tary of Commerce Harry Hopkins.
Hopkins has urged legislation au- thorizing the patent commissioner to keep such inventions secret and to withhold grant of a patent if pub- lication m ight be detrimental to the defense program.
Answers to many other ąuestions being asked by businessmen are still awaited. Neither the defense pro
gram/s ultim ate size, cost, nor speed of execution can be forecast on the basis of information available.
Only certainties are that it will be big, expensive and—at the start—
com paratively slow moving.
A llies N ow B u y in g S iib s ta n tią l T o n n a g e s of S teel
■ ORDERS for between 200,000 and 300,000 tons of steel reportedly were placed with several United States producers by France last week. Al
though details were withheld, it was understood most of the orders were for rounds for shell manufacture, early delivery being demanded.
Heavy tonnages o f shell steel, bars and semifinished are under nego- tiation and may be placed early this week. Great Britain’s mills, operat
ing on a 24-hour, 7-day week basis, aie exerting every means to inerease pioduction, but Britain wants to pur
chase large amounts of semifinished
here to keep rolling mills and forg
ing plants working fuli time.
French production has been seri- ously eurtailed by the German in- vasion, and it is believed futurę purchases from there will be fin- ished products or products that will reąuire a minimum of finishing.
Most allied steel buying to date has been placed on the other side.
In the futurę an increasing amount of this business will be placed by the Anglo-French purchasing com
mission in N ew York. Offices of the commission, at 15 Broad Street and the adjacent building at 37 Wall
Street,
are
being expanded asrap-
idlyas
possible.It
is proposed touse three
additional floors.Additional personnel arrived last week to facilitate the eom m ission’s steel purchases. So far the com
mission has devoted most of its ac- tivities to procuring eąuipment and materiał other than steel.
The commission has placed about
$600,000,000 of orders for Amer
ican airplanes and accessories sińce the “real war” began a month ago.
Aircraft orders sińce January, 1939, have totaled $1,200,000,000.
Informed ąuarters declare deliv- June 10, 1940
2 1
eries have been speeded up in the past two months, although no offi- d a l reports on deliyeries are ayail
able. The navy department last week released 50 of its Curtiss scout bombers for shipment to the Al
lies. Others will follow.
Large stocks of war eąuipment left over from the World war may soon be sold by the United States to Great Britain and France. Solici- tor General Francis Biddle has
ruled such sale would violate neither international law nor the present neutrality act.
The etjuipment, classified by the army as “surplus,” includes 100,000 old British Enfield rifles; 10,000 Lewis, Vickers and Marlin machine guns; 58,000 old fashioned guns for airplanes; 98 obsolete 40-ton British tanks; 300 British 75-mm field guns;
110 British 6 and 7-inch field guns;
133 British 8-inch howitzers; 245
trench mortars; considerable stocks of shells and ammunition.
Much of the eąuipment was made in British factories during the World war before American factories were geared to the war’s demands.
Acute demand for war eąuipm ent for immediate delivery, result of heavy Allied losses in Flanders, is reported to have led British and French agents to attem pt to buy the stocks despite obsolescence.
C o m p lete P l a n T o C o -O rd in ate M a c h in ę P r o d u c tio n
■ AN ORDERLY, clear-cut proce- dure for the m anufacture of ma
chine tools for national defense has been established and production will go forward rapidly as soon as spe
cific reąuireiiients are determined, Clayton R. Burt, chairman of the defense committee of the machine tool industry, said last week.
“The production plan was devel- oped in conference with William S.
Knudsen, of the governm ent’s ad- visory defense commission in charge of m anufacturing. The plan is as follow s:
“1. The setting up of a machine tool co-ordinating committee, con- sisting of Mr. Knudsen as chair
man, and Harold S. Vance, chair
man of the board, Studebaker Corp., as vice chairman, two representa- tives from the defense committee of the machine tool industry, two rep- resentatives from the navy, and two representatives from the army.
“2. This co-ordinating committee w ill then determine the specific re
ąuirem ents of the army, the navy, United States manufacturers, and
foreign customers, and establish priorities for the guidance of the machine tool industry in filling these reąuirements. In determining pri
orities national defense w ill take precedence over all other considera- tions.
“3. It is anticipated that congress will shortly pass a law authorizing the navy to reąuisition for national defense purposes machine tools now on order for foreign customers. This, however, is purely a matter of se
lection and is not in any sense an embargo upon foreign shipments.
“4. The machine tool industry will undertake to make deliveries of machine tools in time to m eet the reąuirements of the national de
fense program by expanding pres
ent working forces and facilities, and by subletting production of parts, and if necessary complete machines, to various factories not engaged in important government work.
"5. The machine tool industry will inaugurate a comprehensive pro
gram of training the additional men reąuired to speed up production.
“It is expected that in the near
futurę the army and the navy will be prepared to subm it details cover- ing sizes, kinds and types of ma
chines which will be reąuired, and the tim e at which they must be available. As soon as this specific information has been obtained, the machine tool industry, under prior
ity rulings of the co-ordinating com
mittee, w ill be able to set up defin- nite delivery schedules.
“It m ust be emphasized that this program covers not m erely machine tools to be purchased by the army and navy, but the entire machine tool needs of the United States. Ma
chine tools bought directly by the governm ent will represent only a sm ali share of the machine tools ac- tually needed for national defense purposes. The largest portion will be those reąuired by manufacturers of aireraft, munitions, and other types of defense eąuipment. It is for this reason that the establish
ment of the co-ordinating commit
tee to determine priorities is of the utm ost importance."
M o re I n d u s t r i a l L e a d e rs D ra fte d h j A d m in is tr a tio n
■ PRIVATE industry last week was called upon to supply additional talent to supervise and plan the na
tional defense and industrial mobil- ization program.
John D. Biggers, president, Libby- Owens-Ford Glass Co., Toledo, O., who had charge of the census of unemployed a year ago, will be added to the national defense commission as a chief aide. It is understood he will work with Mr. Knudsen who has charge of industrial produc
tion in the defense program.
H. S. Vance, board chairman, Studebaker Corp., South Bend, Ind., has been placed in charge of the machine tool section under Mr.
Knudsen.
George J. Mead, former vice presi
dent and director of United Aireraft Corp., East Hartford, Conn., is be
ing transferred from the treasury department to be director of the
aeronautical section. He will be assisted by Capt. Sidney M. Kraus.
E. F. Johnson, former General Motors executive, will assist Mr.
Knudsen with ordnance problemu.
W. L. Batt, president, SKF Indus
tries Inc., Philadelphia, and chair
man of the commerce departm enfs business advisory council, is already on duty with the commission. He is working on raw materials prob
lems, with Mr. Stettinius.
Allen W. Morton, vice president, Koppers Co., Pittsburgh, and Gano Dunn, president, J. G. White En
gineering Corp., N ew York, also will be industrial aides to the com
mission.
Dr. Theodore Yntema, University of Chicago, will be an economic ad- visor and statistical expert for the defense group. Dr. Yntema directed preparation of the United States Steel Corp.’s presentation before the
temporai'y national economic com
mittee last winter.
Charles G. Leith, University of W isconsin geologist, has been des- ignated as a consultant on strategie materials.
Another business adviser will be Clarence Francis, president, General Foods Corp., N ew York.
Numerous others w ill be added to this list within the next few days.
Invitations to serve have been issued to representatives of yarious indus
tries.
In addition to the personnel being recru'ted outside the government, Mr. Stettinius and Mr. Knudsen are being assigned staff members of the army and navy. Col. Jam es H.
Burns, formerly associated with A s
sistant Secretary of War Louis H.
Johnson, and Capt. Allen Reed, of the navy, already have been as
signed to Mr. Stettinius.
/T E E 8 -
i\a v a l I k p a n s io n B ill F in a lly P a sse d : S ta tu s of A p p r o p ria tio n s
B SENATE last week approved the
$1,473,756,000 naval appropriation bill, already passed by the house, and the measure w as sent to the President.
Corresponding arm y supply bill carrying $1,823,252,000 at w eek’s end was aw aiting approval of con- ference report by both houses.
Earlier in the week the senate without a dissenting vote, had passed the Vinson bill proposing an 11 per cent increase in naval vessels which authorized a total additional expenditure of $654,902,270. This bill provides for the construction of 22 new warships to cost $372,750,000, 22 auxiliary vessels estim ated to cost
$183,000,000, and 1011 more airplanes for the navy to cost $99,152,270.
The P resid en fs latest defense esti
mates contem plate a total of $4,- 625,000,000 for the arm y and navy next year. The Chief Executive’s latest “over a billion dollars” reąuest last week w as revealed to include
$960,400,409 in cash and $317,540,761 in contract authorization.
Of this, the army would receive
$452,751,239 cash and $254,176,761 contract authorization. More than one-third—$180,889,395 in cash and
$109,259,597 in authorization is for planes and eąuipment for the air corps, w hile $96,513,530 in cash and
HIRVING S. OLDS, sińce 1936 a di
rector and finance committee mem ber of United States Steel Corp., New York, was elected chairman of the Corporation last week, succeed
ing Edward R. Stettinius Jr. Ten- dered to permit him to devote his services to the national defense com
mittee, Mr. Stettinius’ resignation as chairman of the board of directors and as a member of the finance committee was accepted at a special board of directors’ m eeting earlier in the week.
Associated with W hite & Case, a New York law firm, sińce 1911, be
fore which he had served as secre
tary to Mr. Justice Holmes, United States Supreme Court, Mr. Olds was admitted to the firm as a partner in 1917. He was counsel for the purchasing department of the Brit- ish war m ission to United States during 1917-1919, and in 1918 was
$90,085,520 in contract authorization, is asked for tanks, guns and other eąuipment under the ordnance de
partment.
An em ergency fund of $200,000,000 is proposed for stim ulating produc- tion of munitions. Construction of more than 25 powder and arms plants is contemplated under this appropriation, either by private com
panies or the government.
N avy would receive $507,253,170 cash and $63,560,000 in authoriza- tions. A total of $222,400,000 is al- lowed for construction of ships in
cluding armor and armament, which would provide for starting three air
eraft carriers, 13 cruisers, 30 destroy- ers and 22 submarines, together with auxiliary vessels and patrol craft.
Included in the large warship pro
gram ai’e vessels authorized by the Vinson bill. Construction of 19 other warships is proyided under funds carried in the regular 1941 naval supply bill.
An additional $25,000,000 in con
tract authorization is allowed for the
“rental and conversion” or acąuisi
tion and conversion of ships for use as auxiliaries and patrol craft. A total of $103,800,000 is asked for con
struction of naval bases and inereas
ing shipbuilding facilities at navy yards.
appointed special assistant in United States war department.
Mr. Olds has been engaged, sińce
Iryiiift S. O lds
the World war ended, and as a m em ber of White & Case, in legał work related to m atters of organization and administration of corporate business enterprises.
Graduated from Yale university and Harvard law school, Mr. Olds was admitted to the bar in Penn- sylvania in 1910, and in 1912 to the N ew York bar. He was born at Erie, Pa.
Actively participating in industry sińce 1924, Mr. Stettinius that year entered General Motors Corp., N ew York, through the H yatt roller bear
ing division at Newark, N. J. Two years later he was appointed assist
ant to John L. Pratt, vice president and a director of the Corporation.
In November, 1930, he became a s
sistant to Alfred P. Sloan Jr., Gen
eral Motors president, and w as elected a vice president in 1931.
When W. J. Filbert w as made chairman of the Steel corporation’s finance com m ittee in 1934, Mr. Stet
tinius w ent to United States Steel as the com m ittee’s vice chairman.
He succeeded Mr. Filbert as chair
man when the latter retired in De
cember, 1935, was also made a di
rector. Mr. Stettinius had been chairman of the board sińce April, 1938, when he succeeded Myron C.
Taylor.
T h yssen S a y s G e rm a n y W ill Be D efeated
■ Germany’s weak spot is its lack of industrial preparedness, accord
ing to Fritz Thyssen, exiled German steel leader who financed H itler’s rise to power. In a m essage to the
A m erican M agazine he said Germ any will be defeated despite its
"astounding” early successes.
“N ever w as a war so recklessly started and with less industrial preparation,” he added, sayin g he vigorously opposed w hat he consid
ered to be an ‘unjustified war1 and that he had vainly warned Field M arshal Goering the country w as not ready to fight.
“H itler did not consult his min- isters or the R eichstag about going to war. Therefore he blundered,”
Thyssen said.
B ald w in Locom otive Opens N ew D ispensary
0 Baldwin Locomotive Works, Eddystone, Pa., last week placed in service a modern $20,000 6-room dispensary covering 1700Lsquare feet of floor space. A full-time physician and registered nurse have been added to the staff. Dispen
sary will remain open for night shifts under a trained nurse.
N ovel feature is a dental room where non-accident dental work, if desired, is done at moderate cost.
New Cli a i r m a n of U. S. S teel C orp.
E x p e rie n c e d in L aw , E co n o m ics
Ju n e 10, 1940
23
B u y S teel T o A void © v erlo ad in g M ills, P u r e lia s in g A gents T o ld
■ REAL problem in the present drive for national defense is to find men w ith the skill necessary for op
eration and manufacture of war m aterials, Louis Johnson, assistant secretary of war, stated at the an
nual convention of the N ational As
sociation of Purchasing Agents, Cin
cinnati, last week. “The (defense) program m ust be extended yigorous- ly so that no prudent enem y w ill be tempted to attack us,” he said.
An appeal to spread steel buying regularly over the com ing months so that it w ill not add to difficulties of m ills endeavoring to meet the governm ent’s rearm am ent needs, w as made by Frank H. Carter, pur
chasing agent, Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore.
“We should make a careful survey of our immediate reąuirem ents, as w ell as those for the futurę, and build up adeąuate stocks to carry us only until such tim e as the mills w ill be able to schedule other roll- ings from which to replace those item s which have been consumed in our production program. . . There is an apparent tendency on the part o f m ills to hołd to reasonable prices and avoid a runaway market.
"Many things may happen 1o change the price structure, but with every indication of high operations, which mean more eeonomieal pro
duction and higher profits, it is iea- sonable to assum e the steel industry w ill do its part to keep the m arket on an even keel.”
Object to Price Cuts
In discussing base prices and extras, N. J. Ciarkę, vice president in charge of sales, Republic Steel Corp., Cleyeland, said: “I am con- vinced that m ost purchasers are opposed to sudden upsets in the pi ice structure of m aterials used in the m anufacture of their products. If they have reasonable inventories on hand they face substantial write- downs, which, rightly or wrongly, refleet on the buyer’s judgment.
“Moreover, they are a.t once eon- fronted w ith the necessity of decid- ing whether to load up at the low level or wait for a still low er price at the risk of m issing the boat en- tirely. Production plans, based on a certain price level, must be revised.
If the flurry is a short one, it is high- ly ąuestionable whether the lower prices benefit anyone.
“This spring, for exam ple, w hen unwarranted price concessions be
gan to appear in certain steel mar
kets, som e of the severest criticism
was heard from important steel users.”
Greatly inereased demand for steel products points to capacity or near capacity operations in the near futurę, according to Mr. Clark.
A special comm ittee of American Iron and Steel institute now is en- gaged in efforts to codify the exist- ing underlying Information neces
sary in working out rational stand- ardization for the steel industry, ac
cording to R. E. Zimmerman, vice president in charge of research and technology for the United States Steel Corp.
That all nonferrous m etals are m oving into stronger positions and that price trends should refleet this situation in the near futurę w as the opinion expressed by Fred A. Comp-
ton, purchasing agent, Detroit Edi
son Co., Detroit.
“Private enterprise hasn’t been washed aw ay entirely by the flood of depression fears, and restrictive legislation but it has been seriously weakened,” said Charles R. Hook, president, American R olling Mili Co., Middletown, O.
Interstate trade barriers exist to
day which are a serious interference to the movem ent of trade, accord
ing to Irvin E. Walton, purchasing agent, H eppenstall Co., Pittsburgh.
Hundreds of laws, ordinances and r e k u l a t i o n s , aimed at products brought in from other states, have been put into force throughout the country, and m any of these are in conflict with sim ilar regulations in other states.
Concerted action by large num- bers of citizens in all states will be necessary to break down these in- terstate trade barriers, he said.
The new president of the associa
tion is George E. Price Jr., purchas
ing agent, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, O.
C a n a d ia n R a ilr o a d S h o p s W ill R eceive L arg e A llie d T a n k O rd e rs
TO RO N TO , ONT.
■ CANADA is preparing to manu
facture large numbers of tanks for the Allies, and at the sam e time is speeding up production of other war
m ateriel. British war supply boardsoon will place the tank orders with railway eąuipment manufacturing companies which are alm ost fully eąuipped to start production.
Guns, shells, munitions and other contracts are planned on a much more extensive scalę. Large pur
chases of machinery and tools will be necessary to effect the increase.
Canada’s aircraft industry is slat- ed for sharp rise in operations, fol
lowing announcement from London that the British goyernment will not be able to continue supply aircraft for the commonwealth air training plan. Additional orders soon may be placed in the United States, while Canadian plants will be enlarged and new eąuipment installed. Plants also will be established here to pro
duce engines for Canadian built air
craft.
Purchases made by the depart
ment of munitions and supply, Ot
tawa, Ont., and its predecessors, now exceed §300,000,000. These fig
ures include som e $260,000,000 for Canadian account. Orders include the following: Railway eąuipment,
$24,900,000; shipbuilding, $47,000,- 000; defense projects, $13,700,000;
antisubmarine defense, $2,000,000;
aircraft, $46,800,000 and m iscellane
ous, $34,300,000.
Department of munitions and sup
ply last week awarded 765 contracts, yalued at $2,893,953. Following are the more important awards:
Mechanical transport, General Motors Products of Canada Ltd., Ottawa, $78,881; W. D. Beath & Son Ltd., Toronto, $99,173; Canadian Top
& Body Corp. Ltd., Tilbury, Ont.,
$120,022; Brantford Coach & Body Ltd., Brantford, Ont., $41,424; Cock- shutt Plow Co. Ltd., Brantford, Ont.,
$41,424; Ford Motor Co, of Canada Ltd., Windsor, Ont., $92,350.
Aircraft, Robert Mulhall, Ottawa,
$14,653; MacDonald Brothers Air
craft Ltd., Ottawa, $13,402; National Steel Car Corp. Ltd., Hamilton, Ont.,
$32,200; Canadian Kodak Co. Ltd., Toronto, $39,031.
Machinery and tools, Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Co. Ltd., Ottawa,
$28,448.
Electrical eąuipment, Canadian General Electric Co. Ltd., Ottawa,
$8004; Northern Electric Co. Ltd., Ottawa, $6005; Norton Steel Works Ltd., Toronto, $6290.
Dominion Steel & Coal Corp. Ltd., Sydney, N. S., now is shipping to Great Britain between 75 and 80 per cent of its entire output. This com
pares with 30 per cent or less a year ago.
2 4
, r T i EL
R e p o rts B r it a in E x p o rts M a c h in e T o o ls in F J fo rt T o Ifo ld M a r k e ts
■ DETERMINATION to hołd and even inerease her foreign m arkets is indicated by Great Britain’s con- tinued shipm ents of machinery and machinę tools to Latin-American countries, even while importing sim ilar eąuipment from United States, according to A. E. Reed, as
sistant vice president and export manager, W. S. Tyler Co., Cleyeland.
Mr. Reed returned recently from a trip throughout South America where he studied prospective mar
kets for steel and nonferrous prod
ucts.
Faced with the problem of financ- ing a war on a scalę far greater than at first anticipated, England is show ing signs of regim enting ex- ports and in some instances is creat- ing blocked sterling accounts, the sole purpose of which is to force re- ciprocal purchases of its products by the countries from whom it buys.
Natural inter-American sympathy, however, plus advantages United States possesses in transportation facilities, superior delivery possibili- ties and high ąuality of products combine to make the United States potentially the chief supplier of Latin-American needs. Preference for American products is strong, with very few exceptions, Mr. Reed discovered.
American m etalworking m achin
ery, w hile highly respected, fre
ąuently is considered less desirable than either British or German eąuipment because it is believed too highly specialized and is too expen- sive. Comparatively undeveloped, Latin-American industries reąuire simpler eąuipment for production of high tolerance articles. American tool builders are not inclined to turn out such eąuipment while faced with large backlogs for their regular product.
American Products Fayored
German trade penetration of South and Central American mar
kets in recent years has been large
ly at Great Britain’s expense, has not kept pace with growth of United S tates’ exports to those nations.
Japan, despite freąuent sensational reports to the contrary, seems com- pletely out of the picture as far as trade domination in Latin America is concerned. Imports from Japan of 14 major Latin-American nations declined about one-third during the past year, aggregated only 1.6 per cent of their total. Nations principal- ly involved in the struggle for the Southern m arkets are and have been
United States, Great Britain and Ger
many.
Futurę, as well as present Latin- American imports from United States seem to be limited only by ability of those nations to pay for their purchases, m ost of which to- day are on a cash or short term basis. It is obvious their imports w ill rise in proportion to our pur
chases of Latin-American products, and here lies the key to the futuro.
Every new product of Latin America that we can buy and every inerease we can make in the traditional im
ports from that area will come right back to us in inereased sales of our manufactured products.
With possible exception of Ar- gentina, traditionally pro-British jn its import program, Mr. Reed found United States is definitely favored throughout Latin-America as a source of manufactured articles.
Germany’s m arket gains of recent years are being doubly dispelled, by war and by weakness inherent in her barter trade system . Many of the southern republics have on hand large trade balances in blocked marks, entirely useless at present and not very satisfactory at best.
Reciprocity Is Key to Problem
Industrial developm ent in Latin America, at present in its first stages, Mr. Reed feels, will not in- jure our ultim ate trade yolume.
Lacking the reservoir of skill, ex- perience and financial resources that has taken generations for the older industrial nations to build up, the American republics will be in posi
tion to manufacture only a fraction of their needs for m any years. Their productiye facilities will be engaged in fabrication of relatively easily m anufactured articles. Specialized and precision items as well as those products that reąuire large yolume production to achieve low costs, will still be imported, probably from United States, sińce it seem s the fayored source for such eąuipment.
One factor adyersely affecting our trade development in Latin America, the price differential between United States’ products and European eąuipment, said Mr. Reed, is being rapidly narrowed, at least for the period of the war.
United S tates’ problem is to de- termine how best we can inerease our purchases from Latin-American nations without injuring our do
mestic economy. Upward trend in industrial actiyity during 1939 was reflected in inereased purchases
from Latin-Americas, resulted in im
m ediately greater exports to the sam e nations.
Exports of m etals and manufac- tures from United States to Latin- Americas during first six months of the European war inereased 137 per cent; m achinery and vehicle exports inereased 27 per cent. Inerease in total exports to the sam e nations was more than 50 per cent, to better than 359 million dollars.
Commerce department statistics indicate the Latin-American nations imported during the fairly normal, peace-time year of 1937 substantially m oie than 200 million dollars worth of iron and steel products, yehicles and machinery. Although complete figures are not available, it seems probable United States furnished w ell above 50 per cent of that total.
This was despite strenuous efforts by Britain and Germany to take over Latin-American outlets.
M etalw o rk in g M ach in ę Exports R each N ew Peak
B Additional details regarding United States exports of power- driyen m etalworking machinery in April show an inerease of more than 600 per cent over April, 1939, in the value of som e classiflcations.
As reported in S
teel, June 3, page 33, the exports reached the new record m onthly yalue of $21,281,332, an aggregate gain of 140 per cent over April, 1939, when they totaled
$8,854,755. Expansion was reflected in all classiflcations. Some of the most important:
A pril
1940 1939
L a t h e s ... 33,823,750 $1,104,093 M illing m a c h in e s . . 2,173,723 1,520,573 T h r e a d - c u ttin g an d
a u to m a tic screw
m ac h in e s ... 2.078,130 318,433 V e rtic a l b o r i n g
m i l l s , c h u c k in g
m ac h in es ... 843.652 291,093 G e a r c u tte rs ... 678,213 198,952 V ertical d rillin g m a
c h in e s ... 1,400,979 187,249 P la n e r s an d s h a p e rs 429,766 348,268 S u rfa c e g rin d e rs . . 519,932 185,753 In te r n a l g rin d e rs . . 946,807 271^892 E x te r n a l c y lin d ric a l
g rin d e rs ... 813,712 392,978 O th e r g rin d e rs . . . . 1,090,954 310,367 5 h eet an d p la te m e t
a lw o rk in g m a-
■• • • „ 1,020.457 661,681
F o rg in g m a c h in e ry 805,763 615,961
