USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > District No. 15 of Allegheny County Pennsylvania in the Great War : a history of activities at home and abroad from the declaration of war in 1917 to the home-comings in 1919 > Part 12
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In the open hearth department 113,500 net tons of steel ingots for conversion into shell steel forgings were cast, and 46,000 net tons of steel slabs for conversion into ship plates were cast. Ninety-six thousand and five hundred net tons of steel billets for shells were rolled on the bar and billet mills.
The steel shell department, employing approximately ninety men, produced 506,000 4.7 shells, 120,000 4.5 shells, and 4000 six-inch shells. Five million twenty-eight thousand five hundred and ninety nine seventy-five millimeter cartridge cases was the output of two hundred
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employees in the brass shell department. Quite a number of girls were employed in this depart- ment and their work was on a par with the men.
The tube mill turned out 7068 net tons of trench mortar tubes. The one hundred and fifty men at the plate mill rolled 39,000 net tons of ship plates as their contribution toward the "Bridge of Ships."
The balance of the production in all the departments went into products for carrying on the war, either directly or indirectly. In the foundry, in addition to ship castings, rolls for the billet, plate and sheet mills, ingot and slab molds for the open hearth, and all kinds of castings for new and repair parts of the machinery in the Allegheny Steel Company's plant and other plants were cast. The steel plates rolled at the plate mill, in addition to ship plates, were shipped to outside firms, where they went into the manufacture of tanks, cars, etc., for carrying on the war. The sheet mill products, after shipment to other concerns, appeared as metal furnishings on the ships, in electrical goods, areoplanes, "Pittsburg Derbies," and other items too numerous to mention.
The Allegheny Steel Company and its employees were right in the front ranks in all five Liberty Loan campaigns. The subscription of the employees toward the First Loan is not avail- able, due to this loan being handled by the women of the community. The Second Loan was handled by the banks, and although the men were solicited by their foremen, their subscriptions were turned over to the banks and no record of the total subscription is available, other than that each employee subscribed to one or more bonds, making a hundred per cent record for the plant.
The Third Loan was handled by the Company. A special department for handling the accounts was set up and the Company purchased the bonds for the men, allowing them the privilege of either paying cash or having ten equal semi-monthly deductions made from their pay, no interest being charged the men, and the bonds delivered with all coupons attached upon completion of payments. An extensive poster campaign was conducted throughout the entire plant, and each Department was solicited as a unit. Keen rivalry sprang up between the various Departments and the hundred per cent goal was soon reached by every Department. The total subscription was far over the quota set for the plant by the Liberty Loan Committee of the Pittsburgh area.
The Fourth and Fifth, or Victory Loan, were handled in the same manner as the Third, and in each of these the rivalry between Departments was even keener, and the hundred per cent goal was reached very soon after subscriptions started. In both of these the total subscription went far "over the top" as in the case of the Third Loan.
The Allegheny Steel Company's subscriptions to all five Loans, also the employees' subscrip- tions for the Third, Fourth and Fifth Loans are shown in the following tabulations:
Employees Subscribing
Subscriptions of Employees
Subscriptions of Company $1,020,700.00
Total Subscription
Ist Liberty Loan
No Record Available
$1,020,700.00
2d Liberty Loan
No Record Available
800,000.00
800,000.00
3d Liberty Loan
2884
$320,550.00
449,500.00
770,050.00
4th Liberty Loan
3228
583,700.00
696,300.00
1,280,000.00
Victory Loan
2 308
280,000.00
486,000.00
766,000.00
8420
$1,184,250.00
$3,452,500.00
$4,636,750.00
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The average subscription per employee for the Third Loan amounts to $III.15, Fourth $180.82, and Fifth $121.31. Lacking figures for employees' subscriptions to the First and Second Loans makes it impossible to give an accurate total for all five loans, but an approximate figure for total subscriptions is $5,000,000.
Two Red Cross and one United War Workers drive were conducted in the plant, the first in June, 1918, the second in November, 1918, and the last Red Cross drive for 1919 in December, 1918.
The amounts subscribed by employees and Company are given below:
Total
Subscription of Employees
Subscription of Company
Subscription
Ist Red Cross
$17,667.00
$25,000.00
$42,667.00
2d Red Cross
2,068.00
35,000.00
37,068.00
U. W. Workers
1,011.00
25,000.00
26,011.00
$20,746.00
$85,000.00
$105,746.00
The Plant also provided means for employees to subscribe to the Belgian Relief Campaign throughout the mill by equipping the Employment Office with necessary paraphernalia, consisting of buttons and cash envelopes.
On account of the methods used in the Belgian Relief Campaign, contribution being sealed in envelopes by contributors and sent in without opening, it is not known what the total amount subscribed to this fund was, but an estimate is placed at approximately one thousand dollars.
WEST PENN STEEL COMPANY
We quote in part a letter received from the West Penn Steel Company which explains the nature of the production of that company, but it makes no mention of the record bond sales among employees referred to in the report of the industrial team other than to give the figures.
"Due to the nature of our processes and to the limitations on our products, it was impossible for this Company to enter into the production of war materials excepting in an indirect way. Consequently, we cannot submit a very detailed or comprehensive report covering the produc- tion of war materials.
"We are, however, glad to furnish you with a report covering the activities of the Company and its employees during the war period. For this report we are submitting a copy of a letter addressed to the Pennsylvania War History Commission, as we believe that this letter covers our activities in as much detail as is available.
"The product of our plant is limited to sheet steel and bars, and because of this fact we had comparatively few government orders during the war, although a large percentage of our output eventually was consumed in government material. There were practically no changes made in the arrangement of the plant or in the processes of manufacture.
"About 1100 men were employed, of which number about 115 entered national service. It is not possible for us to furnish a complete list of these men. There were no women used to replace those men, nor is the permanent employment of women practicable in our operating departments.
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INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
"The chief effort in the line of war-time activity consisted of concentrated effort in increasing the purchase of Liberty Bonds. These were purchased as follows:
First Liberty Loan
$450,000.00
Second Liberty Loan 650,000.00
Third Liberty Loan
825,000.00
Fourth Liberty Loan
1,100,000.00
Fifth Liberty Loan
585,000.00
"We also prepared approximately 150 war gardens for the use of the employees and we are glad to say that the interest in these gardens continues and that this year we have more than we have had at any previous time."
ALLEGHENY FOUNDRY AND MACHINE COMPANY
The Allegheny Foundry and Machine Company, whose plant is located at Glassmere, Pa., was given a Class "A" priority rating and almost 90 per cent of its products, amounting approxi- mately to 250 tons per month, were among those directly essential to the carrying on of the war. The estimated amount of the manufactured products of this company during the period of hostilities was about as follows:
Five hundred tons of cast iron used in the construction of propellers for ships constructed by the Emergency Fleet Corporation at Hog Island. This material was shipped to the Mesta Machine Company at West Homestead, Pa., which had the contract to furnish the propellers complete.
Seven hundred and fifty tons of transformer tank tops and bases which were used in the construction of the various manufacturing plants built by the government. Some of these were used in the cantonments which were built during the war. These tank tops and bases were furnished to the Pittsburg Transformer Company, Pittsburg, Pa., which had the government contracts for the transformers.
Twelve hundred tons of gear drives, transmissions, and gears for the Fawcus Machine Com- pany, which had direct government contracts covering this material.
Five hundred tons of cast iron used in the manufacture of boring mills for the making of field pieces for the A. E. F. This was shipped to the Niles Tool Company at Hamilton, Ohio.
They also manufactured all the dies used by the United States Aluminum Company at New Kensington, Pa., in the manufacture of kettles and coffee urns for use in the cantonments and commissary kitchens both on this side of the water and in France; also the dies used in the manu- facture of the mess kits that were used by all our soldiers.
The Allegheny Foundry and Machine Company furnished practically all the cast-iron cast- ings used by the West Penn Steel Company at Brackenridge, Pa., which plant in turn was engaged in 100 per cent war work.
Twelve men left the employ of this company to enter the service. Of this number all returned home safely except Robert Pilston and George Singleton, who were killed in action.
The war campaigns received active support and the company boasts a 100 per cent report in every instance.
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1. John Davidson
2. John Charles Davis
3. Charles Francis Dean
8. Joseph Edward Duke
4. Matthew Debay
9. John Frederick Dyer 10. Dr. Charles Crawford Diekey
11. Charles D. Eberle
12. Walter B. Ekas 13. George F. Elliot
14. Roy Howard Epley
15. Ficcadori Elide
16. Erling Elmholt 17. Steve Ewangielista 18. Lawrenee W. Fentzel 19. Andrew Roy Federkeil 20. Louis Finley
21. Franeis X. Fisher 22. Erby Fields
23. William Campbell Fisher 24. Ernest E. Fleck 25. Samuel Flenner
26. Eugene Fountaine 27. Morris L. Friedman 28. Walter J. Gallagher 29. Clarence O. Gamble 30. William T. Gamble
PLATE XV
5. Robert O. DeQuinze
6. Lyman Clifford Duerr
7. Joseph Duffer
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INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
YOST BROTHERS FOUNDRY AND MACHINE SHOP
The Yost Brothers Foundry and Machine Shop, located at Creighton, Pa., has a general line of production a little different from that of other steel industries recorded in this volume. Prac- tically its entire production, in the neighborhood of 400 tons per month, is in the line of general machinery repair castings for mills and mines.
During the war no orders were supplied to the government direct, and so far as is known no orders were supplied to other companies to be used in filling direct government contracts, yet all the castings that were made carried the priority classification and were either for mills and fac- tories that were doing 100 per cent war work or for repair of machinery at the numerous mines in the district. This foundry supplied castings that were shipped to steel plants throughout the east and also in the Chicago district, and an extensive order of castings was exported to one of the large mills in Canada.
The machine shop in connection with this foundry was kept very busy supplying the demands of the coal operations for which this section is noted. Making the great number of repairs required for mining machines and other equipment for the production of fuel was one way in which the firm and employees helped to win the war. While exact figures are unobtainable as to the amount of material produced, the factory was ranked in Class "A" of the priority list and every effort was made not only to keep the plant running to its full capacity but to increase production in every way possible.
In the matter of Liberty Loan Drives they reached their quota in each of the campaigns and contributed liberally to the Red Cross, United War Work Campaigns and all requests for aid during the war as shown by the following:
Campaign
Number of Contributors
Yost Brothers and Employees-Total
First Liberty Loan
I
$200.00
Second Liberty Loan
I6
1,550.00
Third Liberty Loan
36
2,800.00
Fourth Liberty Loan
33
6,000.00
Fifth Liberty Loan
24
2,250.00
Red Cross-100 per cent Contributors each Drive
United War Work-100 per cent
$205.00
Friends League of the Salvation Army
29.00
SHOOP BRONZE COMPANY
The Shoop Bronze Company, whose plant is located in West Tarentum near Peterson Station, is engaged largely in the manufacture of brass castings.
When the war came on its plant was being operated to its full capacity to produce machinery castings for use in other manufacturing establishments in this community, all of which were engaged in the production of war materials and their machinery must needs be kept in uniformly good repair. The demand for castings by local industries made it almost impossible for this corporation to handle any government contract work. However some Stern Tube Bearings weighing about 1750 pounds each were cast for the Emergency Fleet Corporation. These had to undergo a most rigid examination by government inspectors and it is worthy of remark that not a single piece was rejected. Many thousands of castings for small fittings were manufactured
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INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
for an Aluminum Company. These fittings were of various shapes and sizes and for diverse pur- poses and were used in every field and cantonment and on every ship that was built by the United States Government.
A large number of brass fittings for gas tanks was furnished to the manufacturers of aero- planes. The N-C-4 Navy Plane was equipped for its trip across the Atlantic with Shoop Bronze Company's products. Thus the products of the District crossed the seas by aerial as well as oceanic transportation.
ALLEGHENY PLATE GLASS COMPANY
The Allegheny Plate Glass Company, whose factory is located at Glassmere, Pa., is another of the progressive industries that failed to secure priority rating. For this reason it was forced to curtail production to an extent that meant serious loss not only to the corporation but to the employees as well.
Some plate glass was furnished to the United States Building Department, but only in limited quantities. The plant was kept in partial operation throughout the period of the war and the attitude of both Company and men under these adverse conditions toward the Liberty Loan Drives and other war work campaigns was most commendable.
The following is a report of their contributions:
Total amount of Liberty Bonds subscribed by Company and employees . $174,300.00
Fourth Liberty Loan (subscription ran per capita 100 per cent) 122.00
War Savings Stamps (employees) 2,000.00
Contribution to Red Cross (100 per cent) 3,606.39
United War Work Fund 399.00
Armenian and Syrian Relief Fund 87.50
Clark C. Griffith, Ball and Bat Fund, recreation for men in service
108.05
Total
$180,622.94
ATLANTIC BOTTLE COMPANY
The Atlantic Bottle Company, whose factory is located in Brackenridge, Pa., is engaged in the manufacture of glass containers. For some time past milk bottles have been their principal line of manufacture. The factory has a capacity of about 600 gross or approximately four car loads of bottles per day. Only one direct war order was filled and that was for four or five car loads of milk bottles to be shipped directly to one of the cantonments.
This factory enjoyed priority rating and although this was only in Class "D" the plant was able to get raw materials and to keep its operations almost up to the maximum capacity during the period of the war. Milk bottles are always a necessity, and as there did not happen to be an over- supply there was a continuous demand for this line of production.
FLACCUS GLASS COMPANY
The operations of the Flaccus Glass Company were very much hampered during the fall of 1917 and 1918 on account of a strike among the employees, and while the factory continued to operate it was unable to reach anything like a normal output. This plant had a Class "D" industrial rating. Its attention is given largely to the manufacture of bottles and containers of
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INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
different types, and while probably none of this line of production ever was used directly by the government in prosecuting the war, yet the domestic demand was almost that of normal peace times. The Company did, however, depart from its regular line of production on one occasion and supplied a special order of light globes for the British Government for use on ships that were under construction. The exact amount of this order could not be ascertained, but there were several thousand pieces.
In the matter of war campaigns such as Liberty Loan, Red Cross, etc., the employees re- sponded for their full share and the Company boasts of at least two Liberty Loan 100 per cent diplomas.
HEIDENKAMP PLATE GLASS COMPANY
The plant of the Heidenkamp Plate Glass Company is located at Springdale, Pa. Its output, as the name indicates, is plate glass the manufacture of which was not classified as one of the necessary industries; consequently this plant was limited to a 60 per cent production during the period of hostilities. Only two orders for material were supplied by it directly to the Government. One was for a number of port lights for the Emergency Fleet Corporation. This order requires an unusually heavy and strong glass-one half inch in thickness instead of the regular quarter- inch plate glass. The other order was for lens glass for searchlights. This order also required a special make of glass, as each piece had to be without wave or flaw and from 36 to 50 inches in diameter.
There is on display in the president's office four 100 per cent War Work Campaign Certifi- cates, three for the Liberty Loans and one for Red Cross. The employees in this plant are mostly foreigners, a large number of them Austrians who were classified as enemy aliens and who naturally would not be much interested in supporting this Government. A great deal of credit is due the officials of this company for their tireless efforts in supporting these campaigns.
PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY
At first thought the glass industry is not likely to be considered one of the industries neces- sary to the successful carrying on of a war. American factories were well equipped to take care of the nation's demand for plate glass, window glass, lighting fixtures, and the like, and produc- tion for these different lines is demanded at all times. It was only after the precipitation of the war in Europe in 1914 that we realized how totally unprepared we were to take care of our demands for crown and flint glass used in spectacles, field pieces, searchlights, head lights, et cetera. Pre- vious to 1914 practically all the glass used for these purposes was manufactured in Europe, and when the countries from whom we had received our supply turned their attention to the manu- facture of their own vital necessities, it cut off their exports of this commodity and we soon found ourselves almost without any glass with which to equip our army.
The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company theretofore engaged principally in making plate glass immediately turned the attention of its great resources to this line and after repeated experiments in its plants at Charleroi and Creighton methods were finally evolved by which crown glass and flint glass could be produced. Flint glass was manufactured at Charleroi and crown glass at Creighton. So great was the demand for crown glass that the entire Creighton plant was turned over to its production and the force of employees was augmented by the addition of some two hundred girls who assisted in operating the machines and sorted and packed the glass for ship- ment to the various optical companies, where it was ground, polished, and fitted to the numerous
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instruments for which it was designed. The product was at first probably somewhat inferior to that formerly imported, but due to the untiring efforts of the research laboratories, the quality has been gradually improved until the largest users of spectacle glass in America declare the local output to be superior to that of any foreign make. This development was largely the result of effort put forth at the Creighton works. New automatic machinery for making lenses is now being installed and it is likely that the equipment of this plant for years to come will be devoted to this line of production.
Figures will mean little to the average person in describing the amount of glass manufactured at this plant, but it is sufficient to say that at the present time practically the entire demand of the United States for spectacle glass and lenses for cameras is being supplied by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company from their factory at Creighton, Pa.
In the matter of Liberty Loan Campaigns and Red Cross Drives and other community activities the employees of this plant contributed their full share. While the figures are not obtainable owing to the fact that the books were kept in the main office in Pittsburgh, Pa., and the accounts are intermixed with those of the other factories of this Company, yet their contributions in almost every instance were 100 per cent and the individual subscriptions were on an average that compared favorably with those of any industrial institution of the community.
TARENTUM PAPER MILLS
The Tarentum Paper Mills employees displayed a spirit of intense loyalty throughout the war. A number of the young men made great personal sacrifice to answer the call of their country-in several cases an adopted country-and in every instance the immediate rela- tives of these patriotic men concurred with their desire for service, willingly and cheerfully taking up the additional burden where it was necessary to do so. Men from Tarentum Paper Mills served with honor and distinction in the infantry, the cavalry, the motor transport corps, as musicians and as interpreters.
Those who remained at home showed the same fidelity. After the first popular loan, every employee bought bonds of each issue. Meetings were held in the Mill, at which the Rev. Mr. Joseph Kolarik of the Slavish Baptist Church, Rev. Mr. William Dickey of the United Presby- terian Church and Mr. John R. Long, Superintendent of the Paper Mills, all "Four-minute Men," addressed the men. The interest was always intense and the ready responses most gratify- ing. A committee consisting of Mr. Thomas Edmundson, Mr. W. G. Beatty, and Mr. F. C. Hawk had charge of the Liberty Loans, and they gave generously of their time and ability.
Every appeal of the Red Cross met with quiet and liberal response alike from employees and officials.
Mr. Long endeavored to keep in touch with "his boys" after they left Tarentum by writing to them, and the letters he received are most interesting. Not one man but wrote the most cheerful, hopeful letters, full of patriotism, and with never a word about personal discomforts or worries. It is the intention of the Company to publish a little pamphlet containing extracts from these letters as a souvenir for the boys and their friends and it is also planned at an early date to place in the office a tablet bearing the names of all employees who entered the service.
Paper for special purposes was largely manufactured during the war. Perhaps among the most interesting products were papers made for aeroplane blades and gear wheels. Early in the war it was found that wooden propeller blades did not meet all requirements. A bullet from an
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1. Raymond Goodwin
2. Harry Clay Ganter 3. George A. Gass, Sr. 4. George F. Gass 5. Dr. John E. Gestner
6. Dr. George W. Getze 7. George Martin Gibson 8. Stanley Reed Gillespie 9. Wilbur C. Gillespie 10. Burdette Glenn
11. Ralph Earl Goresky 12. Henry Gornall 13. Stanley Ross Gibson 14. Frank Gorney 15. Waldo Clever Heasley
16. Jesse H. Gravatt 17. Clarence Grinder 18. Clarence Daniel Heid 19. William E. Gregory 20. George W. Grimm
21. Victor Gumbert 22. Bert Henderson 23 .. Edward Gunia 24. Herbert Chancy Hess 25. Herman Gunia
26. Harry H. Hackett 27. Charles Halles 28. Calvin B. Hanna 29. Frank Edward Hanna 30. Jay G. Harbison
PLATE XVI
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anti-aircraft gun would shatter the blade, making it necessary for the aeroplane to descend for repairs at least. To overcome this and other objectionable features of wooden blades, paper made by Tarentum Paper Mills, saturated with a special solution and subjected to hydraulic pressure, was made into blades which would successfully withstand enormous pressure. A direct hit had much less serious effect upon these paper blades.
Only one man from Tarentum Paper Mills was seriously wounded. All eventually returned to their homes and many to their former occupations in the Mills.
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