The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-01
American Steel.

From me Tribune.
The Harrisburg and Philadelphia journals in
form us of the foundation, under the auspices of
eminent capitalists and business men, of large
establishment for manufacturing steel and arti-
cles composed thereof such as axles, rails, tire,
boiler-plate. ship-plate ETC.. in favorable loca'
ton in the valley of the Susquehanna. This
movement we should Judge from the tenor Of
European scientific publications and the reports
of American imports, is one for which our indus
trial world is fully ripe. England, France, Ger
many, Russia and Sweden have been for some
years making the most rapid strides in the sub
stitution OF steel for iron for all uses where great
resistance to wear or strain is required. The
London and Northwestern Railroad, after sub
jectng steel rails to crucial tests, has announced
n1hat one bar of this material will outwear at
beast twenty iron rails, and, at the same time,
his rail will bear the most violent Jars and twists
without fracture. German, French, and English
railroads have tried steel tire on their wheels,
Aand found them so infinitely superior to those
made OF iron, that immense establishments are
engaged in supplying the demand.
The most successful ship-bulders in Great
Britain find that their steel ships are equally
safe when 25 per cent. lighter than those made
of iron, and consequently they can carry
quarter more than the ordinary cargo, to the
great profit Of the owner. In short, steel ropes
for deep mines, steel ships, steel locomotive
boilers, steel wheels, steel guns, and steel shot
appear to be the order of the day; and this pro-
team metal, this malleable ductile tempering,
weldable material - this hardest, toughest,
brightest, most elastic of all available INSTANCES
lis following in Its proper progressive order in
the series OF ages-'the stone," "the bronze"
"the iron,n "the steel'-and is proving itself, in
this period OF incessant motion and change, to
be eminently the metal of motion and progress;
whether that motion and that progress be on
land or on sea, whether it be in the quick mem.
bers of whirling machine, or whether in
political sense, it be working out "fery gospel"
with o thinking bayonet."
But to return: This new movement in the Sus-
quehanna valley seems to have more than
local significance. The United States is almost
utterly dependent upon England for her supply
of TIE essential articles named above, and yet
Philadelphia paper informs us that a few of our
railroad companies of which it is cognizant have
bought, within the last two months, million
dollars of this material from the people who
(Our President in his message has lust told us)
planPed, built, Manned and maintained ships
to prey upon our inotfensive merchantmen-a
million OF dollars sent over the sea in two
months for this single matenal-simply because
the railroads must have it, and cannot get it at
our country stronger for all purposes of war,
and hence more capable of commanding peace.
England already possesses sixteen large estab-
hshments supplying all or part of the above
named articles; kand continental Governments
have thought it necessary to establish the manu-
facture at least, of steel for cannon and Droiec-
tiles in the lands subject 10 their control, by
direct subsidies. The rulers of these countries
have been unable to appreciate the argument
that England, being in condition to turn out a
cheap product at present. should be allowed to
monopoliZe the business. And every intelligent
American, with view to the rapid development
of our varied mineral wealth, must regard with
great interest movement which will add new
activity to our mines, keep our gold at home,
give our nation another industry, and strengthen
us as a nation both for peace and for war.