METALLURGY. 



439 



We re|x*at with renewed emphasis our declaration 

 of laM year in favor of tin- repeal of tin- ilaii-.'.-nun 

 Republic*!) silver ai-t of Isyo, aiil we airain denounce 

 thi;* inraMiiv at< " u menace to the maintenance of a 

 sound and stable currency, threatening to derange: 

 . impair the obligation of contracts, and bring 

 tin- currency of tin- eountry to u purely .silver baais. 



We believe that, us the circulating note features of 

 the national hanking system are becoming obsolete 

 in consequence of tlio contraction of the lia.sis of cir- 

 culation, it is necessary that Rome expedient should be 

 found for tin- issuance and withdrawal, us the needs 

 of trade may demand, of credit notes, under such 

 form of Federal supervision as may be thought desir- 

 al'le. 



Believing in a government of the people, and in the 

 local control of local affairs, we insist that each mu- 

 nicipality shall have the entire control of its own 

 concerns without the interference of State officials. 



The People's party nominated the following 

 ticket: For Governor, Henry Winn ; for Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor, William J. Shields; for Secre- 

 tary of State, George Kempton ; for Treasurer, 

 Thomas A.Watson; for Auditor, Maurice W. 

 Landers; for Attorney-General, Herbert Mcln- 

 tosh. There was also a Socialist Labor ticket in 

 the field, headed by Squire E. Putney as the can- 

 didate for Governor. 



At the November election the result was 

 largely in favor of the Republicans, but the 

 great personal popularity of Gov. Russell again 

 won for him a re-election. The Republican 

 electoral ticket was successful, receiving 202,- 

 814 votes to 176,813 votes for the Democratic 

 ticket, 7,539 for the Prohibition ticket, and 

 3.210 for the People's party. For Governor, 

 Russell received 186,377 votes; Haile, 183,843; 

 Jlainlin, 7,067; Winn, 1,976; and Putney, 871. 

 For Lieutenant-Governor the vote was as fol- 

 lows: Wolcott, 180,358 votes; Carroll, 170,121; 

 Kendall, 9,162; Shields, 2,732; Wcntworih. 

 1.: !")!. All the Republican candidates on the 

 State ticket, except the candidate for Governor, 

 were elected by substantial pluralities. Seven 

 of the 8 members chosen to the Executive Coun- 

 cil are Republicans. In the congressional dis- 

 tricts, 10 Republicans, 2 Democrats, and 1 In- 

 dependent Democrat were elected, a gain of 4 

 seats by the Republicans. For members of the 

 Legislature of 1893 the result of the election was 

 as follows: Senate Republicans 30, Democrats 

 10 ; House Republicans 165, Democrats 74, and 

 1 tie. The constitutional amendment abolish- 

 ing the property qualification for the office of 

 Governor was submitted to the people at this 

 election, and was adopted by a vote of 141,321 

 yeas to 68,045 nays. 



METALLURGY. Iron and Steel. Not- 

 withstanding the study that has been given to 

 the conditions under which carbon combines 

 with iron.it is still doubtful, according to Mr. 

 John Parry, whether true chemical combinations 

 of carbon and iron are formed. It has been al- 

 ternatively assumed that carbon is with diffi- 

 culty soluble in iron, and tl.at at low tempera- 

 tures solution may proceed very slowly. In other 

 words, carbon is not easily dissolved except at 

 high temperatures, and it follows that if highly 

 heated iron fully charged with carbon is cooled, 

 a portion of the carbon must l>c precipitated in 

 this state, existing simply as foreign matter in 

 the metal, but, on reheating, it may again enter 

 into solution. Low-carbon steels may be regard- 



ed as dilute solutions of carbon in iron ; pig or 

 cast iron as saturated ; and intermediate grade, 

 may be termed moderately concent rated solu- 

 tions. Against this, however, there is a mass of 

 evidence which deserves attention, and can not 

 be ignored. After reviewing a number of facts 

 and statements bearing on this matter. .Mr. Parry 

 continues by saying that so far there can be no 

 difficulty in assuming at least the probability of 

 the solution of carbon in iron, and that the phys- 

 ical qualities of the metal are determined by the 

 quantity of carbon in solution, i. e., Akerman'u 

 hardening carbon. The facts, on the contrary, 

 appear mainly to indicate that carbon is merely 

 sparingly soluble in iron at temperatures below 

 its fusion point. A more serious objection is 

 that carbon is practically infusible, more espe- 

 cially in the graphite form. How this intracta- 

 ble body so readily interpenetrates iron is a prob- 

 lem not easily solved. The ordinary chemical 

 theory of solution as usually understood does not, 

 however, seem applicable on the whole ; but some 

 of the results accruing from the recent develop- 

 ment of the gaseous, or rather physical, theory 

 of solution, may be made available for this pur- 

 pose. The application of the law of osmose ren- 

 ders the conception of the transfer of carbon to 

 iron very easy. This force, exerting probably 

 almost illimitable power in Nature, seems the 

 only one capable of overcoming the inertia of 

 bodies, such, for instance, as that of iron and 

 carbon. The physical theory of solution has 

 hitherto only presumptively herein been applied 

 to the solution of solids in liquids; and it may 

 be asked, Is it applicable to the case of the solu- 

 tion of solids in solids, such as carbon and iron, 

 when heated? To this one -can reply with confi- 

 dence that the absolute solid has no existence. 

 Unless wo reject the atomic theory, it is evident 

 that no tangible mass of matter can be termed a 

 solid ; it is an agglomeration of atoms. Further, 

 accepting the definition of what is termed an 

 atomic volume the space occupied or kept free 

 from the access of other matter by the material 

 particle itself, together with its investing sphere 

 of heat it follows that the atoms must be apart 

 from each other in the so-called solid mass, and 

 the distances between the atoms are probably 

 considerable as compared with the actual volume 

 or size of the atoms themselves. Therefore there 

 can be no difficulty in conceiving that osmotic 

 pressure plays a part in the case of a mass of 

 matter ''conventionally termed a solid." It is 

 only a question of degree; the quantity of mat- 

 ter dissolved in a given time is simply a function 

 of the temperature, and, at a low temperature*, 

 the effective osmotic pressure in the ense of solids 

 seems comparable to that of a liquid evaporating 

 under pressure of its own vapor. 



Discussing some features in the properties and 

 behavior of fused alloys of iron which the re- 

 ceived theories do not adequately explain. Nature 

 agrees with Prof. Roberts- Austen in suggest ing 

 that iron is a compound body, the relations be- 

 tween the constituents of which are so close that 

 they have not been isolated. We have evidence, 

 it says, of the possibility of one element merging 

 into another, as has been supposed by M r. CrpoKes, 

 and any one who has studied the periodic law 

 can not fail to see at least the probability that 

 minute variations in the composition of eleinen- 



