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22 MARINE REVIEW. STEEL CONSTRUCTION FOR MINES. IN MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDINGS, SHAFTS, ETC., THE LEADING COMPANIES OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR REGION ARE TO KEEP PACE WITH THE MANUFACTURING CONCERNS-—STEEL TO BE LARGELY USED INSTEAD OF WOOD. The first mining in the Lake Superior region was surface mining. The first blow of the pick ripped the sod and revealed the ore. For many years this method of mining continued and it was thought that it would continue indefinitely. No other method was even dreamed of. Gradually. however, it was discovered that the ore could be won more readily by underground mining by means of shafts and drifts. Sometimes jack pine was used as means of support, but more frequently pillars of ore were left to support the overhang. Then the problem was to gradually bring down the pillars which contained as much ore as the rooms themselves. Orig- inally blasting was all by black powder and ‘all drilling was done by hand. Now it is dynamite and compressed air. Originally the men were low- ered into the mines in the very buckets by which the ore was hoisted. Now there are skips with safety clutches. The evolution has been gradual until today the system of mining has been reduced to a science. The latest innovation is the use of steel, even for shafting in the mines. Ore, having gone through the furnace and mill, may be said to have received its collegiate education; and thus we see the child of iron, returning to the mine, to assist in the deliverance of its parent. An address, recently delivered by Mr. Jackson at a meeting of mine managers in Ishpeming, Mich., relates quite interestingly the advantages of steel in mining con- struction. In part he says: It is quite in line with the doctrine of contraries that a resident of a section of the upper Michigan peninsula, where copper is the chief prod- uct, should be called upon to talk to an audience composed largely of iron country people on the general subject of steel construction for mines. It is a fact that the copper mines of this district and of the west have gone into steel construction more extensively than have the mines whose product is the ore from which steel is manufactured. There are, of course, many reasons why this should be so, chief among which is the fact that the shafts, machinery and equipment about the iron mines are not gener- ally of such an extensive or permanent character, nor do they have to meet such exacting requirements as the various mining plants in copper production. Our iron country friends are, however, gradually beginning to appreciate the usefulness of their own product. On the other hand, the iron counties have been much in advance of ourselves in the matter of electric street railways, electric mine hoists and pumps, and under- ground tramming, in which construction copper enters so largely. SHOULD BE CALLED THE, STEEL AGE. These examples are only new illustrations of the old saying about the shoemaker’s wife having no shoes. The nineteenth century has been _ called the iron age. It should be called the age of steel, and Sir Henry Bessemer’s epoch-making invention has been ranked next in importance to that of the steam engine itself. These two great inventions have been the foundation of the iron mining industry. Whether the new century, whose coming greatness defies the imagination, shall be distinctively the age of electricity, greatly increasing the use of copper, remains to be seen. Possibly there may be developed in the near future some 16 to 1 ratio between the black and red metals, which shall form a sound basis for continued prosperity in the upper peninsula, because we have both precious metals, and in great abundance. There being but two practical forms of building for most mining purposes, the present paper will be largely devoted to comparing the merits and advantages of wood and steel. This task is undertaken with the idea of making comparisons as fair as may possibly be made by a man in my particular business. As the representative of a prominent manu- facturing company it has been my function to assist somewhat in adapting steel construction to the various classes of buildings and other structures erected for iron and copper mining, and auxiliary uses. It is the purpose of this paper to point out some of the advantages and disadvantages of so-called steel buildings. In large cities and manufacturing districts, experience has developed for shops a type of construction in almost uni- versal use, namely, a frame structure to carry all roofs, machinery and loads from traveling cranes; which frame work is encased in by light brick or terra cotta walls, or occasionally a covering of corrugated iron. The steel skeleton sky scrapers of the great cities are generally aralagous construction; that is, all interior and exterior walls, floors, etc., are carried on the steel frame work. Such buildings, although with wooden floors, doors and window frames, and containing furniture and combustible mer- chandise, are generally called fireproof buildings—at any rate the fire risk is reduced as far as is commercially practicable. EXAMPLES OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION AT SOME MINING PROPERTIES. _In the Quincy machine shop and Quincy pump house at the stamp mills we have two fine examples of steel frame and brick construction, This type of construction is, however, obviously not well adapted to shaft and rock houses and stamp mills where there is a great deal of straining and jarring. In this region of severe winter weather we must necessarily make some extra provision to keep out the cold. To accom- plish that purpose we have sometimes used considerable wood sheathing in addition to the corrugated iron covering. This is a great disadvantage and you have made a valid criticism when you state that many steel buildings contain entirely too much wood. I am, however, prepared to show that in most steel frame buildings where wood is used for sheathing of sides and roof, it is used in such a way that there can be but little chance for fire to spread. There is, however, one disadvantage in steel structures, which has been dwelt upon by some theoretical and so-called practical people, and that is the fact that they are not so readily over- hauled, patched up or Strengthened as are wooden buildings when they prove to be poorly designed or too weak for the purpose for which they were built. It is argued very gravely that buildings of timber can much more easily be repaired, columns and beams strengthened and bracing put in when found necessary. My reply to this is that this may be a strong point against the steel building if designed entirely by guess, but when bridges of wood or steel. it is well to bear in mind that the days were built by guess have long gone by. Guess work has been superseded [April 4, by mathematical analysis, and the days of the man who designs large grates of any dark By guess with the comforting thought that he can find the weak places and strengthen them afterwards, when necessary, are also numbered, and he must give way to the man who can design a ma- chine, a tool or a building to meet certain specific requirements in a practical and economical way with reasonable assurance that the thing will work successfully when completed. Coming now to the advantages of the steel bridge, gallows frame, stamp mill, shaft house, etc., we believe that there has been developed a style of construction which contains a mini- mum amount of wood; is practically safe against ordinary fire risks and meets all climate requirements. I do not call this type of structure a fireproof building, because such a thing has literally never been built. Even steel and brick are not strictly fireproof. The advantages of this practical building may be classified as follows: Decreased fire risk; . durability; rigidity;*decreased cost of maintenance; adaptability; better light and moderate cost. pee ‘ On the subject of decreased fire risk in the type now in use for stamp mills, I think an unprejudiced: and capable observer would agree that, taking into account the character of the contents in both cases, we have practically as little danger from fire as the merchant or warehouse man with his expensive fireproof structure. In designing structures for par- ticular purposes this matter of fire resistance should, of course, be given careful consideration and sound judgment will generally determine the happy medium of low cost and practical safety from fire. In the four boiler houses constructed for the Isle Royale Consolidated Mining Co. during the last two years may be seen a happy combination of stone and steel structure, very reasonable in first cost, and worthy of imitation. The buildings are about 45x70 ft. in plan. Each end and a portion of each side of the building up to the level of the eaves is built of common rub- ble. The roof trusses, gable ends and a large portion of each side are of steel frame construction. Pump houses and compressor houses are now generally made with stone walls or with steel frames, so arranged that corrugated iron and wood sheathing may be replaced at some future time with brick walls, should the price of brick get down to a reasonable figure. A pump or compressor that costs from $20,000 to $30,000 should be entitled to the protection of a first-class building. ; This is probably the right place to call attention to the overwhelming importance of having an equipment of machinery, buildings, etc., of such a reliable character that the mine may be kept in operation day and night the year round. A very considerable increase in first cost is war- ranted by this consideration alone, because running expenses go on just the same. The eastern director or stockholder thinks of decreased earn- ings and has bad dreams as soon as a fire or serious breakdown occurs at the mine. It is no longer possible to go to the woods and get out tim- ber to replace a burned rock house or stamp mill in a few weeks. The scarcity and increasing cost of wood as well as the loss of production. loss of property and lives, which have occurred in the past, are valid arguments which make the construction of a wooden rock house no longer defensible. The business of producing copper from an established and successful mine is of such a regular and permanent character that good business policy demands the installation of the best machinery and the best buildings, that you have the money to pay for. ANDREW CARNEGIE AS A SCRAPPER. Andrew Carnegie’s great wealth and his supremacy in the iron and steel business were largely due to the fact that only the best was ever good enough for him. He has been called the greatest ‘‘scrapper” on earth. As an instance we may mention that the immense 150-ton steam hammer costing $250,000, a model of which was shown at the world’s fair, was thrown into the scrap heap after three years’ service, because hydrau- lic presses were found to be more successful for heavy forging than steam hammers. As a successful manager of large’ industrial’ enterprises, Car- negie stands without a peer. He has taught the lesson that we must all leap abreast of twentieth-century progress if we would be successful in a large way—in our case always presuming, of course, that there is iron ore or copper in the ground willing and anxious to be taken out and sold at good figures. Under the head of durability of steel for mining structures, I think it may be fairly said that the conditions are no more trying about a mine. than in railroad and highway bridges and manufacturing buildings. To be sure there are destructive gases arising from upcast shafts, but their effect upon steel work is no worse than the effect of locomotive gases on trusses of train sheds and overhead crossings. Their corroding effect may be provided against by covering, painting or by protective sheathing of asbestos papers or other effective means. Many of the earliest metal bridges are still in use after a half century of wear and no particular care. Where they have had to be replaced it has been more often on account of the necessity of. providing for heavier loads than for any other reason. I think it is without doubt a fair contention that a well-designed steel building will outlast and require much less annual expenditure for main- tenance than a building of wood. And unprejudiced observer can. hardly fail to be convinced on investigation that the high grade and permanent character of the equipment of the Isle Royale mine, lying just south of Houghton, will mean a greater economy in the operation and main- tenance of its plant than has elsewhere been affected in the copper coun- try. The usually very large item of surface work should in this case be reduced to a minimum. IMPORTANCE OF LABOR-SAVING APPLIANCES. Right in line with this statement comes the observation that with the introduction of steel buildings and high-grade machinery has come a larger appreciation of the value and importance of labor-saving appli- ances, in which matter we must confess that mining people are generally much behind their brethren in the manufacturing field. _In this matter Carnegie has also been foremost. The development of labor-saving ma- chinery in the manufacture of steel and, indeed, in all American mantifac- turing enterprises, is the wonder of the world, and has enabled the United States to compete successfully in every manufacturing center of Europe, while paying larger wages to workingmen than are paid by their foreign competitors. With the introduction of the steel buildings has come the possibility of overhead traveling cranes, trolleys, air hoists and various other contrivances. A larger appreciation of the possibilities in the way of labor-saving and fuel-saving machinery and devices is a hopeful sign — of the times. It used to cost 20 to 30 cents per pound to make copper. By the introduction of power drills, high explosives, Ball stamps, first