Show A CHIMNEY OF BABEL antwerp village possesses the tallest factory shaft hoboken a village on the few miles above antwerp and con necked with it by river rail and tram boasts to day of possessing the tallest factory shaft in the world it was corn plated last year and can readily be distinguished from antwerp rising above the distant trees its height is feet 6 feet higher than st paul s cathedral its inside base eter 36 feet and that at its summit 13 feet the walls begin with a thick ness of 6 feet but at the top have dwindled to a single flemish brick and measure only 71 inches eight great underground flues connect the monster with the smelting furnaces it is built to serve they are high enough for a man to walk in one hundred feet above the ground the shaft la circled with an immense reservoir carried on stone corbels which feed the works with water at a constant pressure this chimney has been built lor a company that carries on the un usual business of melting down pla lead to extract the small amount ot silver it contains interest and con eide ration for others dictated the unusual ons of the shaft for not only were the furnace fumes found noxious to neighboring legeta alon but also it was discovered that to condense the hea smoke and wash the soot for escaping silver was a profitable course to adopt |