Businesses Held For Sale, Discontinued Operations And Dispositions (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2014	Feb. 28, 2013	Feb. 28, 2014	Feb. 28, 2013	Nov. 30, 2012 CMCS [Member]	Oct. 17, 2013 Howell [Member]	Feb. 28, 2014 Howell [Member]	Feb. 28, 2014 Howell [Member]	Nov. 30, 2012 Trinecke Zelezarny [Member]	Feb. 28, 2013 Trinecke Zelezarny [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Business divestiture disposal price					$ 3,900,000	$ 58,500,000				$ 29,000,000
Escrow receivable						4,200,000
Working capital adjustment							3,000,000
Pre-tax gain								23,800,000
Sale of stock, percentage of ownership before transaction									11.00%
Cost-method investments, pre-tax gain	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 26,088,000						$ 26,100,000