The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-11-17
IAox IND STEEL ~ FRANCE


The recent session Of the Iron and Steel
Institute at Paris has directed attention 70 one
Of the most important industries OF France
Not ouly were general statistics VI great utility
made public. but some interesting details were
brought out " visit oil the members 10 tho
iron works o. The Massrs. Schneider. OF Creu-
t)t. md tho equally colossal establishments Of
the Mcssrs. DE W0ndel. The vast scale Of these
mauulactories. and tho perfection Of their ap.
p!ianccs. deserve TO b0 widely known, for
nothing In our country more strlkingly attests
the triumph OF systematic organization and ex-
ecutivc genius.
Ono word as to the present volume OF iron
and steel production throughout France. We
mus, bear In mind that the country IL far from
possessing the remarkable and almost unllm-
tied resources which have favored the develop.
ment Of the iron Industry in England. The
French ores are relatively scarce aud poor. aud
need 20 be largely supplemented with importa-
lions from Algeria. Belgium. and Spain. Last
year. Tor example. the making Of a million and
| quarter tons Of pig iron required not less than
| 915.UO0 tons Of foreign ores. Notwithstanding
! these drawbacks, Il appears that rig iron is
/ now produced for AIS per ton. a result not
| easily or o!.,a aitainablc elsewhere I'm the
/ world. The fact is thnt although the cost Of
lucl is considerably higher than In Great Brit
lin. this disadvantage Is more than offset by
the larg" production per shift. and the small
consumption Of coal. together with the lower
rate " wages. As regards the actual amount
OF output. the figures show falling on since
1874 although the iron trnde In France il by no
means so markedly depressed as 1t lie In Ger
many. The returns for 1877 exhibit n decline
Of 10000 tons OF crude iron. "a against 1866.
when the figures wore 100000 tons. But
while this Is the position Of tho iron industry
proper. the manufacture Of steel has bcen
steadily advancing. Within twelve years the
steel production has increased some six hun
bred per cent. namely. from 10000 tons In
1895 10 upward Of 100000 In the past twelve
month. Much tho largest part OF this metal was
produced by the Bessemer and Marlin -Siemens
processes. and more than half OF the whole
quantity was devoted to the making OF steel
rails. In 1877. the French manufacturers sup
Piled no less than 10000 tons Of steel rails TO
railway companies in their own country. In
deed. the most significant feature Of these sta
tstcs is the fact that during recent years
while the imports Of iron ores have increased
those OF steel have been steadily declining
Such Is the ratio Of progress that France may
soon expect TO be not only self-supporting but
to vie with England In foreign markets US
purSeyor OF steel.
The Schneider iron works at Creusot-some
$50 miles southeast Of Paris-ropresent an an.
nual production OF 10000 tons OF iron and
steel. wrought into rails. plates. forgings. and
finished engines. AZ early as l772 a cannon
foundry was established here but very little
was done to utilize the neighborinR coal dc.
poslts for manufacturing purposes until 1896
when the existing coal mines and iron works
were turned over TO Messrs. SCHNEIDER. Within
five years four blast furnaces were at work.
forge containing luy furnaces was In opera
ton. one Of the first steam hammers ever mad,
had been introduced. and a railway trans ported
the products OF the factory 10 the nearest canal
At the epoch OF the Crlmean war the works ha.
attained q productive capacity OF $50 900 tons o
iron. which was taxed. however TO the utmos
; by the demands for material Of war. BY and b,
the mines OF Mazenay were purchased and con
nected With Creusot by private railway twenty
two miles long, and others were added. unit
= the total number Of workmen employed In thu
Ave groups Of iron stone mines now reaches
nearly 2U0O. while the total annual production
Of crude ore 10 about 4V00O0 tons. Beside
this. supplies are drawn from mines owned b.
the same firm In Spain and Africa. On tn,
other hand the yield Of coal in all the Schniede
; col!ieries for the year ls7I-7S 10 returned q
4 $40 .0Oo tons. while the coal mines at creuso
alone give employment 10 ! 200 workmen. Re
turning to the plant and machinery. we fin
that In 1863 works on very extensive seal
, were erected FOR the manufacture Of Besseme
- steel. AT present the firm are owners OF twenty
y seven locomotives and i.5le wagons and the
: employ Isl stationary engines with AN aRRre
!, gate Of more than 1900 horse power. So stear
= hammers. and 1850 machines Of various othe
q kinds. The area covered by the building,
> depots and workmen's houses Is 1851 acre,
while the total number Of workmen employe
= Ia 90 ltgsrfInfa.i ha a..
: partments. In n word. nourishing city. whic
:. may DO termed the Pittsburgh Of France. stand
y on a site occupied by a small hamlet In tn
middle Of the last century.
No less than three establishment are owne
: by the Messrs. De Wendell. the works at Hay
ange having been in the possession OF the fam
y ily since 1905. and the other two FORCES hay.n
boen opened within the last ATTY years. Thes
combined factories produced last year 46T %
tons Of lion ore. S22 900 tons OF coal and las 90
tons Of pig iron. II appears that the manufa,
ture OF wrought-iron sleepers here receive
: much attention. especially what is known a
', Hilrs system Of iron permanent way. % whic
. there are said 70 DO over 8 0OO miles tequivaleI
" to $4,000 tonsl already laid upon tho Cor
tinent. According 10 the members OF the inst
n tute who visited these works the perfect ordc
. and cleanliness presented q most fuvorabl
u contrast with the state OF things In Englis
II establishments. II was observed likewise thI
u the best and most recently improved forms
,. machinery had been imported from Englan,
z or mad been constructed Ia accordance with Nh
0 most efficient English practice. When tn
}. spirit Of enterprise was considered in coniunr
n ton with the conditions above noted tendln
Il 10 cheapness OF production. the committee
u the institute were able to understand VIII
= French iron and steel workers are beginning
8 wrest orders from their English competitors
II the markets Of the world.
n The Crass-Cr own stiIe.