Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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October 19, 1889 Record and Guide. 14';6 AN IMMENSE PIER. This pier is about 4,000 feet long, aud it bas been built out that distance so as to reach water deep enough to load vessels going to Southern and West Indian ports. Besides, it keeps the sbore ice away from the vessels in cold weather, so tbat they can load in the depth of winter. Along this pier the engine starts every twelve minutes with 7,300 manufactured bricks. Wishing to see the thing out, from start to flnish, I jumped on one of these cai's mth Mr. Lorillard, and was whirled at a good speed along tbe pier right out into the water for about three-quarters of a mile. Hei'e the engine stopped to attach some coal cars which were unloading coal for use iu the factory. These cars were drawn back on a switch, wbich at tbe same time hauled the bricks alongside of a large barge. The wheelbarrows Were afc once taken off the cars by a crowd of laboi'ers, who theu wheeled them on to the vessels, wbere they were stacked by men on board for ship¬ ment to theh destination. That was the last 1 saw of them. It takes from twenty to twenty-four days from the time the clay is taken out of the ground to tbe time wben the bricks are delivei'ed' at the buUdings where they are to be used. While I stood tbere I noticed a lot of wheel- hai'rows from wbich the bricks had been taken, returning empty with the coal cars, the eugine doing adouble work, thus in thismanner economizing time in hauling. ECONOMIZING LABOR. Indeed, everything is done on the same principle. Duriug tbe few hours i spent at Lorillard I saw the brick tn every stage of its manufacture aud handhug, and I noticed that not only was everything planned by the use of machineiy, so as to save labor, but that no time seemed to be lost any¬ where, from beginning to eud. Each difi'erent process bad a different set of workmen, whose specialty it was to look after their particular functions, and everything passed from one stage to another like clockwork. Mr, Lorillard is said to be the authoi'of the system, wbich took bim two years to perfect, He is by profession a ci\'il eugineer, aud though very wealthy found pleasure lu evolving the plans wliich brought this remai'kable factory Into existence, as well as iuto perfect consecutive running order. It is, indeed, remai'kable to see the clay and sand dug out of-fche ground &nd then passed on from stage to stage fciU fche bricks are shipped. And aU fchis before one's vel'y eyeSj Some points. The fact that the brick are turned out by machinery enables fcbeiu to be manufactured all the yeai' round. Not ouly tbat, they cau also be manu¬ factured night and day; so that there need be no cessation from work, should an amplitude of orders demand it. Electric lights and steam beat nm through the entii'e buildings, and this enables^nigbt work to be done, and makes the place comfortable in winter. As other yai'ds ai'e closed foi' about half the year and do not work at night, it gives the Lorillard factory au advantage as of four to one on an ordiuary factory of the same producing capacity, as it can pioduCe every (Jay in the year if desired. The largest brick factory in tbis State has turned out about 40,000,OOU bricks iu a year. The Lorillard factory turned out 511,000,000 without any effort, while it is possible for them to supply brick iu almost unlimtfced quantities. They expect this year to turn out.about 100,000,000, There are uo less thau eight and a-half miles o. steel tracks in and about tbe factory. On these tracks everything is conveyed. The men do no carrying at aU, unless wben absolutely necessai'y, everything being doue to reduce labor, and therefore the maiu cost of production, to a minimum. TheNew Jersey Central RaUroad also runs a switch into the factory, so that freight care cau be brought right up to the kilns, and the.manuract- ured brick shipped directly from the spot to auy part of the country. There are numerous engines aud bjders. The largest is au engine of y50-horse-power. There ai'e engines for hoisting, grinding, blowing aud motive powei', thii'teen in aU. There are also dyuamos for supplying elec¬ tric hght to the whole works. An important erraugement is tbe duplica¬ tion ot evei'y piece of machinery, so that should au accident occur to ren¬ der any one of fchem inoperafcive, fche meu cau within a few moments start the reserve macbine. There is also a fire-pump, wbich is kept in motion night and day, iu case of conflagration. Some two hundred men are employed altogether, exclusive of those who handle the brick after shipment. With sixty-two more men Mr. LoriUard says he cau double his prodnciug capacity. The men eat, drink and sleep in large bouses adjoining the factory set apart for them. I went iuto the dining-room and found that it contained room for about tbi'ee hundred men. Tbey have also theu- sitting-room. The workmen aud laboi'ei-s include colored men and Italians. Each nationaUty and race lives in dif¬ ferent quarters, although they work together aud no difference isjmade .in their wages, Tbis has avoided any strike on tbe LoriUard works. The system of checking the number of bricks produced and shipped is perfect. The foreman at the kiln checks tbe count firsfc ; the engineer ou the dummy keeps tally of the number of wheelbarrows with 100 bi-icks each placed on the train, aud the foremen of the meu at the scow keeps tally of the bricks tbat are wheeled on board, and every evening these ^ures are checked. THE CHARACTER OF THE BRICK. The clay of which fche brick is made is of rai'e quality. When takeu out of the ground it is smooth to tbe touch, aud cut out as easily as though it were cheese, Tbe following analysis, made by Columbia College, shows its quality : Ferric Oxide (irony............................................... r,2H iiumuia....................................................... 30,08 Silica............................................................. oa.aa m.6s The balance of 0.34 per ceut, showed a trace of magnesia aud sulphur. To fiad a clay almost absolutely free from sulphur is remarkable. Tbe .';amples were taken from a depth of (1, li) and .30 feet below the surface ol tbe earth. It comes out of the kiln without leaving a trace of sulphur. Tbe ordiuary Jersey bricks, even of a good grade, leave the black sulphur marks all over fchem, and cannot be used tn a front where a nd the Surrogate for tbe preservation of records almost as impor¬ tant as those in tbe custody of the Register, are a Uttle more cleanly, but are equally insufflcient, Tbe records in these thi'ee offices are in constant use by the legal pro¬ fession in the investigation of titles, and it only needs a visit to them to satisfy any investigator that the new biulding proposed for their accom¬ modation is a peremptory necessity. The law, beyond any qnestion, made the choice of tbe site and fche erec¬ tion of tbe building a duly. The language of the statute was clearly man¬ datory aud compulsory. Tbe commissioners, instead of preceding to caiTy out tbe clear obhgation which the Legislative will had thus imposed upon them, calEed a series of town meetings to consider whether or notthecitizens of New York aud tbe newspapers were in favor of obedience to the law. The frantic appeals of the disinterested newspapers adjacent to the site to 1