Robert Hemingray and Ralph Hemingray part of reception committee for Commercial Club

MANY VISITORS

Will Make a Tour of Muncie's Big

Factories Today.

Formal Opening of the Whitely

Malleable Castings Works.

Two Hundred and Fifty invited

Guests Coming Today.

Commercial Club to Assist

in Entertaining Them —

Program for the Day —

Something About the Big Factory.

A large number of citizens of Muncie took advantage of the invitation issued them by the Whiteley Malleable Cast­ings Company and visited the plant of that company yesterday, notwithstand­ing the extremely bad weather.

The visitors were cordially received and were shown every courtesy by the man­agement and employee.

The methods of manufacture were explained in detail and a practical illus­tration was given quite a crowd who re­mained to see the work of "running off a heat" in the foundry department. The visitors did not choose any particular time of the day for their calls, but dropped in at all hours and took their time about looking over the factory and its equipment.

TODAY'S EVENTS.

Yesterday’s opening for the benefit of the citizens of Muncie was a prelude to the formal opening that will occur to­day, at which the visitors will all be from a distance and will be here as the guests of the Whiteley Malleable Cast­ings Company and the Commercial Club.

There will be about two hundred and fifty of those visitors, all prominent, business men, manufacturers, mer­chants and agents from New York, Pittsburg, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Springfield, Indianapolis, Columbus and other cities. They have been invited by Col. Burt H. Whiteley to make an inspection of the plant. Their visit to Muncie will be made enjoyable as possible and they will leave the city with nothing: but the most pleasant impressions of Muncie and her people.

At the meeting of the Commercial Club last night it was decided that that organization should take an active part in the entertainment of the visitors. This is eminently proper, as they will be men who will appreciate the entertain­ment and to whom such recognition is due. Seldom has such a large number of men of importance been in the city as a body.

A reception committee was appointed to take charge of the visitors as soon as they arrive and escort them to the fac­tory and to the other points of interest in the city. This committee will meet at the Commercial club rooms at 9 o'clock this morning and march to the Big Four depot to meet a large number of the visiting gentlemen, who will ar­rive on the 9:50 o'clock train from the east. The city band has been engaged for the day and will accompany the com­mittee to the station and from there to the factory. The following compose

THE RECEPTION COMMITTEE.

A. L. Kerwood, C. M. Turner, George Spilker, C. H. Church, Edward M. Olcott, Hardin Rhodes, F. A. Brown, J. F. Wildman, C. F. W. Neely, Thos. McKiliip, W. J. Hilligoss, C. H. Anthony, M. S. Claypool, George Cromwell, George Bard, R. S. Beatty, J. C. Johnson, G. C. Janney, J, D. Briggs, T. C. Kendall, Robert Hemingray, Ralph Hemingray, Frank Reed, S. C. Cowan, Henry Keller, Carl Spilker, Charles Bender, Frank Ball, Ed Ball, Thomas Hart, A. G. Patton, A. V. R. Patton, James Bell, D. Walter Bell, C. N. Wilcoxon, Charles Boldt, H. B. Athey, Ed Tuhey, James Boyce, T. H. Kirby, J. H Smith, A. F. Patterson, Frank R. Thrall, O. B. Bannister, C. H. Over, A. J. Williams, W. A. Sampson, R M. Ball, Milton Gray, Fred Klopfer, Leslie Wachtell, Geo. F. McCulloch, Fred W. Heath, David Cammack, C. A, Kitts, Geo. W. Cromer, A. W. Brady, Geo. H. Koons, C. M. Kimbrough, O. J. Lotz, M. E. Vandercook, W. E. Hitchcock, Ed Haffner, Lon M. Neely, J. W. Little, H. C. Klein, J. V. Gilbert, A. L. Johnson, T. F. Rose, Emmett Smith and F. J. Claypool. Each member of the committee will be provided with street railway transportation. The sub-committees are: Street cars, Geo. F. McCulloch; reception at club rooms Ed Haffner; band, C. N. Wilcoxon.

PLAN OF ENTERTAlNMENT.

A dinner will be served to the visitors at the factory at noon. There will also be a natural gas display. Several short speeches will be a feature of the banquet. During the afternoon the visitors will be taken over the city and will be shown through the other important factories of Muncie. In the evening they will be tendered a reception at the rooms of the Commercial club.

Every citizen should assist the club in making the stay of the strangers as pleasant as possible. They will leave on this evening's and tomorrow morning's trains for their homes. The following description of the

MALLEABLE CASTINGS WORKS

Will be found of interest.

In pursuance of contracts entered in­to April 12, 1893, by the Whiteley Land Company and the Citizens' Enterprise Company with Messrs. Burt H. Whiteley and Elmer J. Whiteley, who had for several years operated the Whiteley Malleable Iron Company’s plant at Springfield, O., the Whiteley Malleable Castings Company, of Muncie, Ind., was incorporated May 31, 1893, by Burt H. Whiteley, George F. McCulloch, Elmer J. Whiteley, A. F. Patterson, A. L. Johnson, John Whiteley, Thomas Liggett, R. R. Armor and W. D. C. Bidwell, with a capital stock of $200,000, and was organized with the following directors and officers: Burt H. Whiteley, Presi­dent; George F. McCulloch, Vice Presi­dent; Elmer J. Whiteley, Secretary and Treasurer; Thomas Liggett and John Whiteley. While a large majority of the stock of the company is held in Muncie, its stockholders embrace successful in­vestors of other points in this State, Springfield and Columbus, O., Pittsburg, New York and Chicago.

WHERE IT IS LOCATED.

The factory is located on what is known as "Wysor Heights," a beautiful elevated position. The company's land embraces about twenty-seven acres within a half mile of the court house and extending from White river to the Centennial pike, with a frontage on the Lake Erie & Western R. R. of about 2900 feet. The plans and specifications for the factory were prepared under the direction of Col. Burt H. Whiteley by Mr. J. M. Gable, who successfully superintended the erecting and equpping [sic] equipping of the works, which are the largest and most complete works ever erected for the manufacture of malleable iron, gray iron and brass castings.

THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

The moulding department is 571 feet in length, embracing 67,948 square feet of floor space. Tracks are laid the full length of this building and castings and heavy materials are transported on tramway cars throughout this and other departments.

Connected with the moulding room are projecting buildings containing the air furnaces, cupola, brass furnaces, ladle ovens, etc. This room has the capacity for working 150 bench moulders and fifty floor moulders. At each moulder's bench is a hose connected with a water supply pipe, and each bench is equipped with an improved Reynold's moulding machine. These features are of great convenience to the workmen and some­thing not found in general use in other works of this kind.

The core department, embracing 6,886 sq. ft. of floor space, is divided into two seperate [sic] separate rooms with the capacity of working thirty female and fifteen male core makers, with the necessary helpers, etc. This department is also equipped with four large core ovens, two of which are supplied with steel skeleton cars and tramway tracks, for handling very large cores.

The annealing department is 350 feet long, with 28,600 sq. ft. of floor space, which it substantially covered with metal plates. This room contains six­teen double annealing ovens, each with a capacity of twenty five tons; and is al­so equipped with an electric Universal crane running the entire length of the room, for annealing pots, oven doors, etc.

The milling, pickling and assorting departments embrace 15,597 sq. ft of floor space and are equipped with forty-seven latest improved friction mills or rolling barrels, together with the necessary emery grinders, drill presses, pick­ling vats, etc.

The Pattern making and shipping de­partments contain 15^1,316 sq. ft. of floor space and they are fully equipped with the latest improved machinery of every description required.

The storage warehouse for flasks, matches and all kinds of materials and supplies contains 17,188 sq. ft of floor space.

The power house, embracing boiler room, engine room and foreman’s headquarters, contains 4,796 sq. ft of floor space.

The boiler room is equipped with one battery of two boilers, sixteen inches in diameter by eighteen feet long, together with purifiers, boiler feed pumps, tank water pumps and deep well pump.

The engine room contains a 150 horse power, high speed Corliss valve engine, 150 horsepower generator, switch board with attachments, etc.

The foremen’s headquarters are fitted up with wash stands, lavatories, furni­ture, etc., for the use of the foremen of the respective departments.

A MAMMOTH SAFE.

The fire proof safe, which is a special feature of this plant, contains 7,550 square feet of floor space and is con­structed of heavy masonry with metal roof, metal doors and metal shutters or window openings. All of which are firmly closed every night, making the building perfectly fire proof, in which the patterns belonging to the company and its customers are stored. This building is fitted up with shelves and bins arranged in departments, every shelf or bin is numbered and every pat­tern is labelled, numbered and recorded in a pattern record book so that the man in charge of the pattern safe knows where to find promptly any pattern re­quired.

The office, barn and wagon bouse con­tain 13,394 square feet of flooring space. The office is a separate building con­nected by an enclosed porch with the shipping department. This building consists of five rooms conveniently ar­ranged for transacting the business of the company, with a large fireproof vault, and is fitted up complete with modern conveniences.

The manufacturing plant proper em­braces something over twelve acres of land and the buildings erected thereon contain 469 acres of floor space.

In addition to this the company has laid out, platted as an addition to the city of Muncie, about forty choice elevated business lots, fronting on popular streets, which they will reserve primari­ly for parties occupying important posi­tions with the company who want desir­able building lots.

The balance of the company's land on the opposite side of Highland avenue from the factory and adjoining the barn, wagon house, etc., has been graded seeded and fenced for use as a pasture lot.

A WELL EQUIPPED FACTORY.

The factory is equipped throughout with the very latest improved machinery, tools and fixtures. Much of the special machinery, also air furnaces and other equipment are the invention of the Whitely brothers and are not found in any other factory.

The floor line of the factory is eight feet above the main track of the Lake Erie & Western railroad and about 20 feet above the bed of White river, which furnishes excellent drainage. The company owns its side track connected with the Lake Erie & Western road for deliv­ering materials to all parts of the fac­tory and loading its products in cars at the works. The moulding department and material yards are also equipped with tramway tracks and scale cars far weigh­ing and transporting materials to other departments. The supply of tank water used for steam purposes, wetting sand, etc., is drawn from Muncie creek and pumped into a 15,000 gallon tank from which it is conveyed through pipes to other departments, while a supply of drinking water is drawn from a well over 100 feet deep and pumped through pipes with drinking stations throughout the works, furnishing a constant supply of pure running water for that purpose.

This company receives its supply of natural gas through a 6-inch main line which now extends about three miles north on the Centre pike with the necessary branches connecting the gas wells and additional well sites controlled securing to the company an abundant supply of natural gas for fuel and light, for the use of which the factory is piped complete with three separate systems, one for 50-pound pressure, one for 10-pound pressure and one for 10 ounce pressure, which furnishes gas reduced to the proper pressure for operating pumps, furnaces, annealing ovens, heating stoves and for lighting.

PERFECT FIRE PROTECTION.

This magnificent plant is also provided with a complete system of fire protection, embracing four hydrants connected with the city water mains and four hose reels conveniently located and equipped with 2,000 feet of fire hose, making a complete fire protection in addition to the efficient fire department of the city.

This company is now working a force of about 300 operatives, which is being increased every day, and when every department is put in full operation about 500 men will be employed.

Elmer J. Whiteley is the general superintendent of the manufacturing departments, and the work in each department is under the direct charge of foremen who have had vast exper­ience in this particular line of manufac­turing.

The sales department, correspondence and general business of the company is under the management of Burt H. Whiteley, president, who directed the erection of the works and has had many years experience in the manufacture of malleable castings.

The accounting department, book­-keeping, pay-rolls, etc., are under the direct charge of Mr. E. J. Wallace, the efficient cashier of the company whom it is a pleasure to meet and transact business with.