The American railways were among the first to appreciate the possibilities of the system. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad introduced the idea for handling scrap and iron in 1909. Up to that time all scrap had been handled by hand, the cost in and out ranging from 30 to 35 cents--15d. to 17¹⁄₂d. per ton--which, according to the authority cited, could be accepted as applicable to all the railways following such a practice, and to record which figure, be it noted, demanded excellent arrangements and efficient organization. Upon the introduction of the lifting-magnet these costs were immediately cut down to 10 to 12 cents--5d. to 6d.--per ton, in and out, inclusive of every expense, the figure for the actual sorting being only 4 to 7 cents--2d. to 3¹⁄₂d.--per ton. The authorities of this railway stated that unsorted scrap could be unloaded by means of the magnet for 2 to 5 cents--1d. to 2¹⁄₂d.--per ton, while, if the scrap were sorted, the cost came out ¹⁄₂ to 1¹⁄₂ cents--¹⁄₄d. to ³⁄₄d.--per ton! Similar work conducted by hand labour, according to the previous practice, cost about three times as much. That the experience of this one railroad was not isolated was proved by the experience of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, which supplied Mr. Stratton with the following comparative figures for other operations incidental to the conduct of its work:-- Loading locomotive tyres by hand 17 cents (8¹⁄₂d.) ” ” ” crane with chains 8 ” (4d.) ” ” ” ” magnet 4 ” (2d.) ” heavy casting by crane with chains 20 ” (10d.) ” ” ” ” magnet 3 ” (1¹⁄₂d.) ” ” ” hand almost impossible. It will be observed that the handling charges by the magnet were one-half of those by the crane with chains in connection with the locomotive tyres, and one-seventh in the case of the heavy castings, while the advantage over manual effort in the case of the first-named was no less than 32·5 per cent. Little wonder that, during the past nine years, the utilization of the lifting-magnet in connection with the handling of iron and steel in the United States has advanced by huge strides. To-day it constitutes an integral part of the wrecking equipment of every leading American railroad. After the large debris has been cleared up, the lifting-magnet is swept over the ground to pick up nuts, bolts, nails, screws, and any other odds and ends of a ferrous nature which have escaped recovery by the conventional methods.