Show the utah consolidated stone company com any by WILL C HIGGINS the utah consolidated stone company of salt lake a utah corporation and strictly a home proposition is an enterprise concerning which the general public knows but little but which is a most im factor in the up building of the in i 1 du bulwarks bulwa of the state 4 As a matter of fact this is one of the argest concerns of this character to be und in the west and its activities are f far ar ching beaching ea while its suc success cess means much here the material interests of utah are concerned loncer ned indeed a monument to its till ill resources and enterprise which will abt into coming centuries is even now aking ng form and shape on the north bench within the environments of salt lake city for the company has the contract for the furnishing of the granite which is being used in the construction of the utah state capitol building an imposing structure which is now fair fairly ily well on an its way to completion ion this company owns the great wasatch 4 A 7 X N ak 1 I 1 j 1 I 1 re ram OF 51 x photo by utah photo materials co salt lake granite surfacing department at the ashton whyte plant granite quarries near the mouth of little cottonwood canyon twenty miles southeast of salt lake these quarries being the source from which the granite was obtained for the building of the magnificent mormon temple in this city a quarter of a century ago and it is pleasing to know that the same quality and character of beautiful stone is being used in the rearing of the capitol building and for three reasons first because it is fitting that the stone that has given such perfect satisfaction in the construction of the temple should be used in the erection of another public building second because little cottonwood cotton wood granite has no superior as a building stone in the matter of durability dura ability and beauty of finish and third because the adoption adopts on of this granite gives recognition to a home industry the company as above stated has the contract for the granite used in the building of the state capitol building the contract prie being the construction of this edifice will require cubic feet of rock all of which is to be dressed and cut ready to be set in the building which is to be embellished on the outside by fifty two circle columns three feet nine inches in diameter and thirty one feet in the company has installed its own equipment for the operation of this quarry and has put in a water power plant by means of which compressed air is provided for the driving of the power drills and the operation of the two big derricks used in its erection were hauled from wa satch to salt lake by means of ox teams and some of it was actually floated into this city through the canal which had been taken out from the jordan river to supply the stone for the capitol building it was wag wal ar 13 V t e r fit T men employed at the ashton whyte plant heigh heights th each exclusive of the base and cappinus cap pings which are eight feet six inches in heigh heights th the little cottonwood quarry the utah consolidated stone company owns acres of granite at wasatch near each of which has a lifting capacity of twenty tons the company is shipping from seventy five to tons of stone daily thirty five men are employed at the quarry under the of james S walker photo by utah photo materials co salt lake found necessary to provide quicker and more economical methods of delivery and this led to the building of the fhe salt lake alta railroad for the construction of which the money was advanced by the utah consolidated soli dated stone company this road is V A M 17 T J le W whom ar working force at the midvale plant the mouth of little cottonwood cotton wood canyon this represents a solid mountain of 0 the finest kind of building granite and from this quarry blocks of stone can be taken in which there is hardly a flaw or blemish seventy five feet in length and of any other dimension required when the capitol commission let the stone contract to the utah consolidated stone company transportation facilities were lacking for the moving of the granite to the dressing plants of the company in the early days during the construction of the salt lake temple the blocks of granite photo by hollard photo co salt lake connects the tb about ten miles in length and plant pa dressing companas comp anys quarries with its extended extend ek at midvale this road has been no qa UP the canyon a mile or two above tk convenience convene satch and has proven of great or eight e to the mine owners at alta seven miles above its terminus dressing and cutting plants the company operates three dressing and cutting plants two of which are for hard and one for soft stone the largest of these is located at midvale where the and cut to any thickness desired from four inches up steel shot is used with the saws in cutting the stone the saw blades are twelve inches in width and twelve feet in length and they are the largest saws in e 4 ax J showing progress made in construction of capitol building view from the east photo by bv will C higgins lathe cutting work is performed this plant is devoted exclusively to the handling of stone for the capitol building and the heaviest work is carried on there as this is the only one of the three plants which is equipped with lathes the midvale plant the midvale plant of the utah consolidated stone company is located at midvale on the site of the old of the bingham consolidated company and adjoining the smelting smelling sm elting plant of the united states smelting smelling Sm elting refining mining company the shed is feet in dimension and is reached by a spur track of the D R G railroad which connects with the salt lake route and also with the railroad connecting midvale with the granite quarries of the stone company a short distance above the mouth of little cottonwood canyon in this shed where the largest of the granite blocks are dressed preparatory to being delivered to the capitol grounds a large amount of machinery has been installed including gang saws traveling cranes blacksmith forges emery wheels grindstones drill press lathes cutoff cut off saws the big lathe and surfacing machines and band a planer equipped with a wheel which is more than twenty four inches in diameter and which runs at more than 1800 revolutions per minute this plant is one of the largest in operation west of chicago the gang saws there are two gang saws in the shed using from five to eleven toothed blades each and which can easily handle masses of solid granite feet the saws operate at the rate of three inches per hour any plant in this intermountain region they were purchased from the lincoln iron works traveling cranes the plant is equipped with two 50 ton tribally tri cally operated and handle all the stone coming to the plant unloading from flat cars and reloading the finished product jn in addition the cranes convey the stone to the big lathe and to the surfacing department the big lathe the big lathe about which there has been so much comment in building circles is certainly all that has been claimed for it this lathe can swing a stone weighing sixty tons and it can handle a shaft of granite thirty two feet in length and seven feet in diameter and if the capitol commission had decided deci on using monoliths in the embellishment of the capitol building no trouble would have been experienced by the utah consolidated stone company in fulfilling its contract in furnishing columns of the desired dimension this lathe in an 8 hour shift turns out four column bases at one time completing them in four days which is at the rate of one column base per day these bases are five feet three inches in diameter by one foot four inches thick the columns themselves will be turned in long drums and afterwards cut into hito sections according to specifications by the architect the lathe was manufactured by the F R patch manufacturing company of rutland vermont from two to four men can be em 7 om 44 EL F LAR A pr t MV w z 3 N q the great turning lathe at the midvale plant photo by hollard photo co silt lake traveling cranes furnished by the morgan engineering works of alliance ohio and one 15 ton crane designed by H L of salt lake and built by the stone company these cranes are elec aloyed at the lathe at the same time the cut cutting is done by a steel discs fourteen inches in diameter baluster lathes there are two baluster lathes in ahe the companas comp anys midvale plant these can turn out four lusters balusters ba each per day and can handle stone three feet in diameter and twelve feet in length surfacing machines there are eight surfacing machines in the shed which are operated by compressed air these machines dress and surface the face of the blocks of granite to be used in the construction of the capitol building each machine has a capacity of eighty square feet per day of eight hours these machines are of sullivan and livingston makes the power plant the plant is electrically driven each machine having its individual motor the equipment consists of three horsepower westinghouse type C motors for general use and one horsepower general electric generator for the traveling crane service there are two sullivan angle compound air compressors which furnish air for the resurfacing machines forges and more than stone cutting hand tools A large switchboard controls the electric power service throughout the entire plant electricity for power is furnished by the progress company of murray the plant is handling about sixty tons of stone daily and the company is well ahead in furnishing dressed stone for the capitol building the plant gives employment to a force of men george curley is superintendent the finished stone is shipped over the D R G from midvale to the ashton whyte plant of the company at sixth west and south temple transferred to cars of the street railway system and conveyed to the capitol grounds each block of granite is numbered or lettered according to plans and specifications furnished by the companas comp anys draugh ting department part ment and is easily placed in its right position in the splendid edifice now in course of construction the ashton whyte plant the ashton whyte plant of the company compan y is located at W second south shit saat lake bake city this plant is equipped with seven surfacing machines two traveling cranes three gang saws and stone cutting machinery about halt half of the stone work for the capitol building is turned out at this plant which has about the same equipment as the midvale plant with the exception of the lathes about men are employed at the ashton whyte plant under the direction of james 13 whyte the walker plant the walker plant of the company is located on third south street salt lake between sixth and seventh west streets this plant is well equipped for the dressing and cutting of soft stone at this plant twenty men are employed under the direction of superintendent S H belmont the utah consolidated stone company co pany is capitalized at shares of a par value of 1 each the officers are S H belmont president james B whyte vice president geo S ashton secretary treas aurer and E T ashton general manager main alain office dooly block salt lake city |