Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 August 1901 — Page 6

UTILITY OF STEEL

A Fascinating Story of a Wonderful Discovery. \ —— v - ' MADE FROM CAST IRON How a Bit of Carbon Brought About an Industrial Revolution. Arabian Night* Tale of Enchantment— The Stupid World of Science Ehughed When the Wonderfnl Secret Was Made Known—Some *f the Marvels Wrought —The Debt Mankind Owes to Twd Men—This a Steel Age. Steel is king. To it in a large measure America owes her industrial and commercial supremacy. Yet only a few years ago steel entered very little into the world's manufactured products outside cutlery and numerous small articles. In the making of steel, America’s primacy is recognized, and, so rapid has been her progress in this field of activity, she is likely soon to put Great Britain out of business as an important source of the world’s supply. *Yet it was an Englishman, Henry Bessemer, afterward knighted by Queen Victoria, who discovered the process of converting cast-iron into steel at a nominal cost, and thereby revolutionized the world’s industries; and it was to England that America had to go to learn the process and secure the right to use it. The process is simple, but its discovery has aptly been characterized as the most wonderful single incident in the nineteenth century. It is an Interesting story; its narration is timely, too, In view of the prominence steel has been brought into by its commercial triumph, the organization of the steel trust, and the industrial war in which the steel trust and organized labor engaged. The Bessemer process of ready steelmaking consists of mixing diamonds with cast-iron. That is a startling statement, but it is practically true. At least It is true in. this sense: A diamond is composed of carbon. Carbon is mixed

SIR HENRY BESSEMER.

with cast-iron to make steel. Now, metallurgical!}' speaking, there is nothing in common between iron and steel. They are more individual than gold and copper; yet the addition of one part of carbon to 99 parts of cast iron converts the mass into steel fit for the manufacture of the best cutlery, and it is worth about S3OO a ton made up. It is not like the steel that .is used for bridges and ships, which cannot be made to take an edge suitable for cutting. Yet there is not much difference. The steel from which ships', rails, etc., are made costs only from $35 to SSO a ton, yet It has only a little less .carbon, from one-fifth to one-tenth of that in cutlery steel. Without the small bit'of carbon, iron would be nearly as useless as gjold as an element of construction, for castiron also contains it, only in different proportions from steel. There are many steels besides those In which carbon is the principal agent, including manganese steel, chrome steel. Harveyized steel, nickel, Krupped, etc. But these are manufactured for special functions only, and nearly all the steel made in the world to which civilization owes so much is Insignificant in itself, turning up in various aliases. In the uninviting form of soot and coke, in the fldsiiing* diamond, in charcoal, in the black lead pencil, in plumbago, it is the same essential element. We do not know in. what way so slight a trace of this element works so tremendous a change in common iron, transforming it into most aristocratic steel. It is believed that iron holds carbon in solution, as sea water holds its salts. Revolution of 1855. It was not until 18(55 that the age of steel began to dawn. But it. dawned slowly, and the world was reluctant to Welcome It. hi the year mentioned, “Bessemer read a paper before the British Association at Cheltenham, •which, though the most important technical contribution of the nineteenth century, provoked only merriment among the members. Og the morning of that day Mr. Bessemer, when at breakafst at his hotel, overheard an Ironmaster, to whom he was unknown, say laughingly to a friend: ‘Do you know that there Is somebody come down from London to read us a paper on making steel from cast Iron without fuel? Did you ever bear. of. such nonMnae?* To these ironmasters the thing was a huge joke. It 1 is useless to search tor that paper In the report of the year

TOILING IN THE GREAT SOUTH CHICAGO STEEL MILLS.

—lt was not deemed worth' printing. ‘And yet,’ says an English writer, ‘in the year 1899, by that outrageously nonsensical process of Bessemer’s, this country made over 4,000,000 tons of steel, while the United States produced a trifle of 9.500,000 tons—made from over 12,000,000 tons of cast-iron without fuel.’ ” Continuing, the same writer says: “In 1865, ten years after his invention, Bessemer and his partners, for he was not a wealthy man at that period, were receiving royalties in Britain to the amount of $1,000,000 per annum. Enormous profits were also made in those years by the steel manufacturers who secured the right to manufacture under royalties. They obtained from S2OO to $250 a ton for steel, which cost them only about SSO a ton to produce. Trade rolled in in huge volumes, until in 1872, when the first fourteen years’ partnership into which Bessemer had entered expired, it was found that his firm—Henry Bessemer & Co.—had divided in profits fifty-seven times the capital invested in the business, or 100 per cent for every two months for twelve years, while the works, which had been largely extended out of revenue, were sold for twenty-four times the amount of the whole subscribed capital. In all, the fortunate partners received eighty-one times their original capital in fourteen years.” Great Britain, until the United States

dethroned her, was the greatest iron and steel producing country in the world. Yet in 1855, when Bessemer announced his discovery to the incredulous world, Great Britain produced only 50,000 tons of steel. But in 1899 she produced 4,855,000 tons, or over nine-ty-seven times the quantity made for-ty-four years earlier. In the same year the total production of the world was 20,595,000 tons. But it was long years after Bessemer made this output possible before her late gracious majesty

AN AMERICAN STEEL BUILDING.

the Queen rewarded him with knighthood. “Steel,” says a trade writer, “is the most precious material which is used by engineers, for it is the greatest triumph of the latter half of the closing century, as steam locomotion was that of the earlier.” Thirty years ago iron took first rank among the metals most useful to man But steel is employed to-day for almost every purpose for which iron was then used, and for many others, and the time is near when, except tor a few special articles, the iron age will have passed away, as those of stone and bronze have departed. And yet, the basis of steel is cast iron, to the extent of more than 99 parts in the 100 in most specimens. Thus, 28,000,000 tons of pig iron were used in 1899 in the manufacture of the'world’s steel. The steel of which your knives are made, though strong, breaks off abruptly when overstrained. The steel with little carbon, though strong, can be bent and tied into knots, and it will stretch one-fourth of its own length before it parts in two. The first is so strong that a bar of an inch square will support a load of sixty or seventy tons, the second will only sustain half as much. The first kind is termed cast, because it is prepared in crucibles; the second is called mild steel, because it is of so accommodating and yielding a nature, enduring almost any amount of ham-

mering and twisting—even doubling close, without breaking. The first kind has been made for more than a century, the second only since Bessemer and Siemens—those modern magicians—showed how to do it In 1866 Halley went from America And purchased the Bessemer rights for this country for $50,000. Immediately previous to that time $125 a ton had been paid.here for imported steel rails, and the duty on them was about SSB a ton. To-day rails are made and sold In the United

States for about S3O a ton, and this country, in which so many gigantic fortunes have been made by the Bessemer process, has honored the inventor by naming seven towns and cities after, him. A few years after the Bessemer converter was introduced William Siemens produced steel of similar quality to Besemer’s, but in an entirely different method, using a large “open hearth” furnace, in which the irqn was first purified previous to the addition of carbon. It is said that Abram S. Hewitt was the first American to use the “open hearth” process. The maker of Bessemer steel, on the other hand, pours pig iron into a converter, and while the iron is in a molten condition drives a hurricane of air through it, and burns out the carbon, sulphur and other impurities, leaving a pure, soft iron. Then a small measured quantity of an alloy of iron with carbon is introduced, which contains the exact amount of carbon and manganese required to convert the iron into steel of the precise quality wanted. And, presto! In five minutes it is ready to pour like a stream of liquid gold into the ingqt. Within twenty minutes of the entry of the pig, the steel is produced. The Age of Steel. Many of us have been born since the advent of the age of steel. We enjoy its advantages quite as a matter of course, and scarce bestow a passing thought upon it But consider how much we should have lost if the inventions of Bessemer and Siemens had not been given to the world. Then your trains would not have been so luxurious, nor so swift—these,are only possible on a track of steel. The heavy fast trains of the present day would have crushed the iron rails of the 60’s out of shape. Steel* moreover, is used for railway wheels and axles, and for the frames which support the cars. To this material, therefore, the democratic passenger owes his seat in a vestlbuled car in the fastest expresses, his dining car, and berth in the sleeper, because steel permits the use of faster, longer and heavier trains than iron ever did. On the ocean the influence of steel is equally apparent. Without cheap steel the ocean ferry between the United States and Europe could not be crossed in six days; nor that to the Antipodes in a month, because iron ships of the same strength and capacity would be heavier, and the cost of propelling the added weight would absorb the profit. At the present time, for one ship built of iron there are more than ninety-nine constructed of steel. A modern linOr appropriates enormous quantities of steel. The Oceanic at the time of launching contained in hdr hull, without any machinery, about 11,000 tons. The fifteen boilers in the Oceanic, each of which is sixteen feet in diameter, weigh 1,100 tons. Without steel we should have no armored navy worthy of the name.

His Misfortune.

“What is the matter. Tommy?” asked the mother of the small boy in tears. “I’m lonesome. The other boys wouldn’t play fair.” "What was the game?” “We were playing United States Senate. I resigned and the other boys forgot to coax me back.”—Washington Star. The worst thing that cab be said of some people is they are never seen at their best—ls they have such a thing, A scientist says that climate affects the character. Perhaps it does, but not so much as conviction by a jury.

STATE CARE OF CHILDREN.

Indiaaa’a Scheme Seems Beat and Michigan’s Most Economical. A statement showing the progress made by the child-saving work of the Board of State Charities was issued recently by Secretary Butler. “The problem of the care of dependent and neglected children,” says the statement, “la one that has had earnest consideration in all our more progressive States. Various methods have been tried. Some have been successful, others not so. In New York the plan was tried of boarding these children in private institutions, but eventually the influence of these institutions became so strong that it could not be overcome. Ohio adopted the method of establishing county orphans’ homes, in which the dependent and neglected children of the county aould be gathered and reared. Indiana started out with the same plan, but its evils became apparent in time and another plan was tried. Michigan proceeded on the theory that children of this class are wards Of the State and an institution was built for them, called the State Public School, to which all such children are regularly sent by action of court. 'The school has a capacity for about 350 children. As soon as fitted for it, the children are placed in homes. An effort to adopt the Michigan plan was made in 1895, but without success. The present plan was inaugurated in 1897. It is the Michigan idea modified to suit our conditions, the theory being the same. The best place for a child to grow uf> is in a good family home. We have a number of orphans’ homies instead <ff one receiving home. Our children are not committed by the courts, although the law makes them the-State’s wards and objects of its careful oversight.” The statement furnishes interesting comparisons of the three systems. New York now supports in orphans’ home oyer 30,000 children; Ohio cares for 3,000 excluding those in the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home; Indiana is caring for 1,650, not counting inmates of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home;. Michigan maintains less than 200 children in its State Public School, “Since the cost of a child’s support in Indiana is SIOO per year and probably the same elsewhere,” says the statement, “the economic feature of child-saving is obvious. New York spends millions of dollars annually on this account, Ohio over a quarter of a million, Indiana more than $150,000, and Michigan only a few thousand dollars.”

DEATH RETURNS IMPORTANT.

They Are Often in Demand in Law■nits—A Recent Case. “It is surprising that people cannot be made to understand the importance of the death returns that are sent in from counties in all parts of Indiana to the State Board of Health,” said Capt. Anderson, clerk of the vital statistics department of the Health Board, in Indianapolis. “Scarcely a day passes that we do not receive requests for copies of these returns from people who wish to use them in lawsuits, in settling up estates or in .obtaining pensions. The death returns ought, of course, to be written legibly and in ink, but we receive a great many that are so illegible that often we cannot decipher the name of the deceased. Only the other day we received a ctril for one of these certificates from a man who wanted to use it in settling up an estate in Germany belonging to a man that died in Indiana some time ago. I understand that in Germany they have death re- ' turns running , back several hundred years. We in Indiana began tp keep such a record as recently as October, 1899, less than two years ago. It seems to me we ought to start right and have these certificates in perfect shape. » “There is a rule of the State Board of Health that requires that no burial permit be issued for a corpse unless the death cerlifiddte shall have been made out in prop.er t form and in ink writing, but this rule is often disregarded. I hope that the pbople who are interested in this inatter-*-physicians, coroners, health officers and undertakers—will m,ake up their minds to co-operate with the State Board of Health, to th# end that a perfect set of death records may be kept; one that will be valuable, for all time to come.”

MARRIAGE LAW IS VIOLATED.

Gross Transgressions by County Clerks Discovered in This State. Investigation of the practices of issuing marriage licenses by the clerks Of the counties in Indiana shows that in but a few counties is the law being obeyed, and it is believed that thousands of illegal licenses have been issued during the past year. Each county, it appears, has its own method. In few counties is an affidavit required that the bride lives in the county, as the law commands. In Marion County the clerk,, does not obey the law and when asked if he required the affidavit he said he did not. “There has been some question about that, I know,” said he, “but I can see no harm in a woman getting married in any county she wants to.” The Attorney General said: “Every licence issued to nonresidents is illegal and the clerk who issues the same and flic justice or minister who solemnizes the marriage are liable to prosecution for eflth offense. The license must be issued in the county in which the female resides. I will order a thorough inquiry.”

EXTENDS BENEFITS TO WOMEN.

Formin' nn Auxiliary to the Indiana Furmere’ Institute*. An innovation in educational work in Indiana will be started by the State Agricultural College. Prof. Latta,, superAlftendent of fanners’ institutes, s»cefeeded in secnring a large sum tiioney from the last legislature to be used in institute work. The plan adopted is to establish a branch of the 'regular institute work, to be known as he woman’s auxiliary, the purpose of w hich .will be the treating of subjects of interest to women.- Experts have been, employed to lecture and give instruction in household economy, and questions of interest, V» homemakers will be giv/m special prominence. Th 6 wonfen of the State are manifesting.fcreat interest-Jn-the movement,-and It alppears certain that it will prove very por>ulAr. 'Virginia C. Meredith, tne *jtdl-known lecturer on “Home Economics,’’ has been engaged to start the work.

INDIANA INCIDENTS.

RECORD OF EVENfs OF THE PAST WEEK. Attempted Kidnapins at Vincennes — Street Car Collides with Freight Car —Gypsies Clean Ont Dundee—Jail Delivery Prevented at Marion. Vincennes was again visited by a kidnapper and his attempt bore little fruit. The victim was Mabel, the "13-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Paynter. She was lying on a bed in a room when a man entered, picked her up and started for the door. She screamed, attracting the attention of her parents in the next room. They reached the door just as the man went out of the gate and the father leaped after him. Seeing escape with the child was out of the question, the thief dropped her, jumped into a buggy and drove rapidly away. 1- ■ To-rrn Terrorized by Gypses. Dundee was terrorized the other day by a band of gypsies. The nomads became drunk, and, after cleaning out the two saloons of the town, they rode up and down the main street in wild-west fashion, punctuating their whoops with shots in the air from revolvers. There being no police protection they were allowed to continue their revels unchecked, while residents feared to put their heads out of doors. After frightening women and children the gypsies returned to their camp on the outskirts of town and left the place. * J One Killed an 1 Six Injured. ■ An interurban street car, well loaded with passengers, crashed into a box car which was being backed on a Vandalia branch track across Main street, in Brazil. Brakeman Mort Hunt, of the Vandalia crew, was caught in the collision and instantly killed. Patrick Coolihan, watchman at the crossing, was bruised and all the passengers on the car were thrown across the seats. The conductor says the air brakes refused to work and* he could not stop the car. Prevent Big Jail Delivery. A wholesale jail delivery at Marion was prevented by Sheriff Bradford and his deputies. Bars had been cut from the cell leading to the main corridor and one bar had been sawed from a window by which the prisoners could have escaped in a short time. Forty prisoners are confined in the jail, charged with murder, arson, grand larceny and other crimes. The officers surprised the inmates while they were making ready to escape. Finds Long-Lost Brother. Mrs. Martha A. Martindill, of Cincinnati, advertised in a Chicago paper for information of her brother, William Yarnell, from whom she had been separated for forty-four years. The published notice came to the attention of James Yarnell in La Porte. He traced the relationship, being a grandson of William Yarnell, with the result that brother and sister will be reunited within a few days. Within Our Borders. Mrs. Clark Stoneking, Terre Haute, has asked the police to find her daughter, who went to St. Louis recently with Fred Lewis. Robert Brown, 73, who says he was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, was given shelter in the Jeffersonville jail recently. Two hundred bushels of oats belonging to John Garrett, near Hartford City, were burned from a spark from a thrashing machine. Frank White, 23, was fatally kickjed in the head by a vicious horse while stooping behind the animal to recover a fctrap which fie dropped. The body of Miss Nora Fiers, who committed suicide by drowning in White River at Decker, was recovered. The parents of the young woman live at Oblong, 111. Near Lafayette four hundred ton's of hay, owned by H. B. Cochrane, ex-Coun-ty Commissioner, and thirty tons belonging to Jacob May were consumed by flying sparks. " . . The South Bend Board of Education has secured the consent of the City Council to erect a $75,000 high school building and also a ward school. building to cost $5,000. The attempt of 2,000 South Bend bicycle riders to secure a repeal of the bicycle lighting ordinance, which has worked up so much contention, was defeated in the Council. Owing to the dry weather it is probable that none of the canning factories in the vicinity of Scottsburg will open. With the tomato crop almost a failure, the factories would find it unprofitable to operate their plants. The death of Prof. James M. Woffington, for several years manager of the Magic City Business College, of Muncie, occurred under mysterious circumstances. There are some who believe his death, was the result of poison taken with suicidal intent. Petrified logs of a peculiar form have been unearthed on Mdrgan’s Hill near Logansport and the discovery indicates that they belonged to a primitive forest or were flooded to the place ages ago. All the logs are entirely foreign to the variety of trees indigenous to this section of the country and some lopk very much like northern cedar. Developments in the Key forgery cases at Andrews show that the American trust and savings association, Chicago, holds a large amount of forged collateral paper.' A mob named Jamison, repre4he company, called on the signer of every note, and found that evehy one was a forgery. Mrs. Key has retained attorneys. She will claim individual property and the statutory S6OO allowance. The grocery house of John L. Sullivan at Kokomo closed its doors. Assets S2OO. liabilities $3,000. Mrs. Laura Blair, of Connersville, ha« filed suit for SIO,OOO damages. She was injured, recently while driving through the street, the horse striking a rope and throwing her from the vehicle. Her husband has also brought suit for $5,000 damages against the city. Texas capital is being invested in the Indiana oil field. M. M. Bright, of Beaumont, is said to he at the head of a new company, which will operate near Richmond.