HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



gestioBs whicli would inilicate that the character of th e T.iinibor 



men's buililiug will l)e first-class in every way. He said' that 

 325,0110 persons eutereil the MeCorniick building between Sept. 15 

 and Oct. 15. and that the elevators in that period traveled 5,335 

 miles. He stated that cleanliness is insisted upon by Mr. Me- 

 Corniick as of paramount importance and that in order to satis- 

 factorily take care of this feature in the McCormick building it 

 requires 120 women and (>5 men every day, also G men washing 

 93 pairs of windows diiily one week to complete the entire 

 building. 



William II. Beelie. formerly connected with the lumber busi- 

 ness and now having charge of the business administration of 

 McCormick buildings, also talked of the advantages to be de- 

 rived from centralizing tlie lumber interests in the Lumbermen's 



_buiUing. Ho si'okc particularly favorably of the location se- 

 lected. He urged upon those present that they give the matter 

 of signing for space their immediate attention. One of the points 

 which Mr. Beebe made was that the centralized arrangement 

 would be of great assistance to the small yard man who has 

 but a limited time in his visits to Chicago to buy a small amount 

 of lumber. It would be of ecpial and in some cases correspond- 

 ingly greater assistance to other lines of the consuming industries. 



Frederick L. Brown, former president of the association, talked 

 in behalf of the project and said that to have success one must 

 have a definite aim and that with any branch of trade following 

 a certain ideal, a considerable stimulus is created. 



Before the meeting adjourned, a unanimous resolution was 

 passed favoring the building project. 



^y5w;i;j!tyk >A<,:v:,:<^i;i>\yfci^^>';i<ss^^iK;.^^ 



The iSfew Type of Car 



Editor's Note 



Tlie following inforniatiun was rcci'lvcd by Hardwood Record just iicfoi-e aoi 

 ceived. with apologies for the duplication appearing as seen on pages 3:i and 35 



press, and U run in full 



Commissioner C. C. McChord of the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission, has stated that the lumber manufacturers need feel no 

 hesitancy about communicating their views regarding the steel 

 car agitation to the commission, stating that the commissioners 

 recognize that there are two sides to the question, and that they 

 desire to ascertain the facts. It is feared that the hysteria for 

 the rapid installation of steel ears will cause many car builders 

 to engage in supplying the demand, whose plants are not prop- 

 erly equipped for producing steel cars made as they should be, 

 and that as a result there will be many so-called steel cars placed 

 on the railroads of the country which are inferior to strongly 

 built wooden cars. The commission is now engaged in investigat- 

 ing this phase of the matter. 



The Pullman Company, which has a large -number of well built 

 wooden sleepers still in its service, in its desire to comply with 

 public sentiment, and safeguard its passengers, has just adopted 

 a method of construction adaptable to ears either of steel or 

 wooden type, by reinforcing the underframe and ends of the ear 

 in a manner which offers sufficient resistance in the vestibule and 

 platform to prevent collisions telescoping, or battering down on 

 the walls. This method, which has just been perfected, is being 

 offered to the railroad companies which desire to strengthen the 

 platforms an^l vestibules of their wooden cars. "The principal 

 feature of the new design is an ' I ' beam, heavy in section, bent 

 in the form of a 'U,' the legs of which extend upward through 

 an aperture in the platform casting, the upper ends of the 'I' 

 beams being thoroughly anchored in an end superstructure made 

 up of structural shapes. One leg of the 'U' forms a door post 

 at the entrance of the car, while the other forms a door post of 

 the vestibule. The loop of the 'U' is under the platform, and 

 connected with the underframe. In case of collision, should one 

 underframe override that of the next car, its progress will first 

 be obstructed by the legs of the 'U' beams at the buffer sill, 

 which, as they bend, will tend to lift the whole car body, thereby 

 •jiving greater resistance to the further advance of the overriding 

 ■ ar. The construction is most substantial and efficient." 



Many prominent railroad men are not in favor of all steel car 

 construction. Erank expressions are being obtained from compe- 

 tent car builders and railroad men. The following is quoted from 

 the report of the engineer of the Minnesota Bailroad & Warehouse 

 Commission: 



In our effort to eliminate the oausos of collisions, we should confine 

 ourselves strictly to questions which are pertinent to the problem. The 

 wreck-rfslstlng qualities of steel and wooden cars should not enter Into 

 consideration, because to anticipate the continuation of this lamentable 

 feature of railroad operation, with a view toward the construction of 

 wreck-proof cars and equipment, would be equivalent to a suggestion to 



tbe public that they should not expect to obtain satisfactory relief from 

 preventable railroad accidents. 



A bill directing the use of steel cars, block signals and other 

 safety devices by the railroads of the United States in the discre- 

 tion of the Interstate Commerce Commission is being drafted by 

 Representative Stevens of New Hampshire, the chairman of a sub- 

 committee of the committee of the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion. The bill will specify a time limit within which steel 

 cars shall be substituted for wooden cars. It will also include the 

 operation of trains and other safety regulations to be administered 

 under the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission, 

 which is co-operating in the preparation of the bill. The bill will 

 be submitted at the present session of Congress, but will not be 

 considered until the next session. Mr. Stevens' committee will 

 meet again about November 15. 



Steel Cars Unpopular in England 



V. S. Consul Albert Halstead, at Birmingham, England, says that 

 the English do not take kindly to the steel car, and that the matter 

 of fireproofing wood used in cars is preferred, to lessen danger from 

 nres in case of accidents. "The idea, " he says, "that steel care 

 should be constructed for passenger traffic does not seem to meet 

 with any great consideration at present. It seems as if American 

 firms who fireproof timber might find it to their advantage to ap- 

 proach British railways with a view to selling them fireproofed 

 timber for new car construction, as well as to approach the big 

 railwav-carriage makers in England." 



Work Well Outlined 



The Fifth National Conservation Congress which meets in Wash- 

 ington, D. C, Nov. 18, is to be devoted largely to forest conservation, 

 because of the national importance of the subject in its many phases. 

 Public interest is involved, because upon the proper solution of the 

 various problems depends the cost of the wood without which our 

 civilization would decline; the perpetuation of the timber supply; 

 the development of hydroelectric power; the utilization of non- 

 agricultural lands; the availability of water for irrigation; the 

 preservation of forest areas for health and recreation, and many 

 other developments essential alike to every citizen from' the lumber- 

 man to the man who owns neither a tree nor a foot of land. 



Two billion seven hundred million dollars is the amount of our 

 annual bill for drinks and smokes, according to a magazine author- 

 ity; one-fourth of it being for tobacco and three-fourths for liquors. 

 Verily Uncle Sam has some jag bill, even for a family of size and 

 pfirts. 



