Glass Industry, Muncie, Indiana

THE GLASS TRADE SITUATION

IN THE INDIANA GAS BELT.

Breezy Budget of Live Trade News Contributed

By Our Hustling Western Representative.

Immense Quantity of Ware Being Turned

Out at Ball Bros.' Plants — Daily Output

Estimated at 800,000 Pieces — Something About

the Automatic Machines at Muncie — At the

Chas. Boldt Glass Co.'s Works in the Magic

City — D. C. Jenkins Will Likely Rebuild His

Flint Glass Plant at Kokomo.

MANY ITEM OF GENERAL INTEREST.

By Chas. C. Mayer.

All of Ball Bros. factories are being worked to their full capacity. One of the Muncie furnaces is being operated on wide-mouth machine bottles, another is manned by 56 white liner shops, and the remaining four continuous tanks, together with those at Marion, Loogootee, Belleville, and Coffeyville are being operated mainly on fruit jars. This firm's daily output of this line of ware is nearly 800,000 pieces. Heavy shipments of jars will be made soon, according to General Manager Fred E. Jewett and E. B. Ball and the intention is to keep all plants in full operation during the entire season.

The construction of the new tank furnace at Muncie is being rushed as fast as possible and the management expect to have it ready for operation some time in March. Machine-made bottles will very likely be the output on the new furnace.

One of the fruit jar tanks in No. 1 factory at Muncie is now equipped with a number of automatic machines, which, in the opinion of the men as well as the management, are doing good work. A gatherer is required to feed the machine and a boy to remove the jar from the mold, which opens automatically. In the manufacture of fruit jars this machine is thought to eclipse the Owens invention, inasmuch as the former can be introduced on any tank furnace without alterations or special adjustment of the tank. Another feature of the Ball Bros.' invention is claimed on the ground that 10 or 11 of their machines — each equaling the output of one Owens machine — may be installed on one furnace, while the small revolving tanks especially built for the Owens machine cannot feed more than one or two of the latter. More machines are being built at Muncie and while some time may elapse before other furnaces will be fully equipped their gradual introduction is bound to continue. The general opinion among Ball Bros. skilled force is that they are doing better than ever before.

Thos. Holden, manager at the Muncie works of the Chas. Boldt Glass Co., reports favorable prospects for the season. The plant has been operated since Sept. 1 with six machines on milks and some on cherries; also, one stopper press.

It is reported that the Kokomo Improvement Association has closed a contract with D. C. Jenkins, the well known flint glass manufacturer, whereby he agrees to rebuild the glass factory destroyed at that place by fire last June. It is said the new works will have double the capacity of the old plant and will employ 400 persons. It will be rebuilt on the old site. A subsidy of several thousands dollars will be paid by the Improvement Association. Mr. Jenkins recently returned from a trip through the Kansas gas belt, where he investigated the several offers which had been made the company.

The entire plant of the Hemingray Glass Co., Muncie, Ind., is in operation under the personal supervision of R. G. Hemingray, president of the company. In addition to the three continuous tanks in operation the finishing touches are being put on a fine new 12-ring tank furnace. Manager J. C. Gray has not been at the works for several months. He is near Lexington, Ky., where he is reported to be regaining his former good health. It is hoped that a few more weeks will see him back at his post again. — Chas. Arduser reports plenty of work in the mold shop.

The Canton Glass Co., Marion, Ind., resumed operations last Tuesday after a week's shut-down for the holidays. The business outlook for the remainder of the season with this company appears to be bright.

Everything is reported to be going nicely at the Marion Flint Glass Co.'s works, where a general good run is being recorded.

The Lippincott Glass Co., Alexandria, Ind., are blocking their tank furnace and the men began to work on a division of time this week on the large pot furnace.

Workmen who expect to be employed in Root Bros. fruit jar plant at Terre Haute, Ind., report that the plant is almost ready for operations and it is believed that fruit jars will be turned out there in the near future.

The Coffeyville, Kan., white liner department of Ball Bros. was closed down before the holidays. Most of the workmen returned to Philadelphia and a few found employment in the Indiana gas belt.

Gas City, Ind., window workers are practically a unit in opposing a revision of the wage scale. Needless to say that the workers who view the situation in a similar light are conferring a great favor on manufacturers who have warehouses well filled with this fire's production, inasmuch as the revision of the scale to a lower standard would entail tremendous losses by stock depreciation. Some concerns have now rounded out a rather large assortment of glass for higher prices than have prevailed up to this time.

The plant of the Hayes Bros. Glass Co., of Marion, is being electrically equipped besides other preparations that are being made for the installation of the automatic liner machine.

The Marion Clay Pot Co. have a number of good orders for window and flint pots. The booked a large order recently from the Cambridge Glass Co.