The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-05-20
EIGHT YEARS OF INDUSTRY.
Beating England at All Points Of The Steel and
Now Getting Ready for Export
RAPID REDUCTION OF COST.
The Rods for the Brooklyn Bridge and
Springs for the Finest Watches.
PITTsBURG, Pa, May Is, 1877


Only sixteen short years ago the converting OF iron
into steel was virtually English monopoly, aud
Sheffield dcdcd tho entire civilized world with her
Jcssop Sanderson Steel Our agricultural imple-
mcn,s tools, cutlery, required tho constant
Importation OF that English metal To Pttsburg alone
belongs the credit OF having remarkably short
space of time reversed tho picture and no industry,
perhaps these entire United States has made such
rapid progress, especially during the last years.
as the manufacture OF steel 1t may sound strange,
but il Is nevertheless true. that the manufac
ure steel tecth for horse rakes this morning as
part of order for twenty thousand sets received
rom England, and the steel made hero is moro
sought for in Europe, the better quality
material Better suits certain purposes. Still
his IL however. mere incident which l quote
10 illustrate The extraordinary work done in
This wonderful amphithe atrc-such as Pl,tsburg
is, surrounded by its hills which rc-echo
he joyful strains sof Industrial succcss-that
the visitor who at all cares to watch the steps
by when a country is made moro and more indcpen
dent OF foreign manufactures. l permitted this
sf,ernoon inspect et,erbook OF OF tho leading
steel ufacturers VINO sells steel to cutlery and
agricultural implement makers all tho country
and invariably they acknowledged that though their
prdcrs were 10 mako tools from English steel they
would longer submit to that prejudice. as tests
made ana over agsip proved that the Pittsburg
equally good If not superior in quality. Tho
ycry that such abundance of IL Is made here
now and 1t DO used rails well for the
Ene springs OF clocks, Is claimed sufficient evil
aence that Pttsburg has reached that emncnce
In steel manufacturing which would enable this
country TO get along easily II there
not pound of steel imported. The
prejudice for the Englisn material only keeps
Tho i'm portation business alive but day by day il Is
growing less our hammers, our axes, saws, in
TACT all tools being made OF tho American
metal, and the steel manufacturers continually
experimenting with still bcttor ore, which they begin
10 draw IN large quantities from North Carolina. That
the prejudice favor OF English steel has virtually
ground to stand upon illustrated last month whom
complaint reached Pitisbnrg house that the stool
they nau delivered 60 Western firm did not como mp
10 the standard English make. They at de-
Spatched expert the spot, who went quietly to
and took the '.ticketsp s'brand" OF all tho
steal and mixed the English with the American
tcc flo then presented himself TO the man In charge
ofihe works, who had made the complaint, and he
could not himself tell which English and which
American. II subsequently that tho com
painant Eneishman, who has since, owing to
this affair. LOST very prominent position.
STEEL RILs-ExTRAoaDISAaY CAPACITY FOR PRoDuc
ToS.
II IS only since 1872 that the anufacurc OF steel
rails was begun IN this country. Up TO that timo
whatever steel usod here imported.
steel rails made here. Now. mark tho steady
progress OF this industry M to this very date. In
1878 129 900 made; in 1874 las 900 tons; in
1875. 800 900 tons; in 1876, 100000 TONS in 1877,
s2o 600 TONS and during this year, 1875 the total
amount OF tons will 500 00a Lot your readers
bear 10 mind that America has been making Bcsscmor
steel rails only during eight years. and then rcmcm- |
Der the entire product OF Old England, which has
been years engaged in max steel rails to-day
only 700 900 .ons 200. 900 THIS
try Is making in connection with this 1t should |
also DO stated that the value OF ton OF Bcs
emer rail s15 in 1872, and that the average
ralue to-day is about SAL per Now, when it Is
the steel rails last from three to ton
longer than iron rails, and that the price per
ton OF iron rails is $3i IT is not surprising that nearly
I'll the railways having any business at all pur-
chose the steel rails. There does not appear
be a tnat tho price win 60 still lower this
yopr, the demand just is very great At the
Bessemer Steel Works, few miles from Ptsburg, on
the Pennsylvania Railroad. was informed that tho
business Of tho Western railroads had been good
Throughout the winter they were enabled TO re-
place old rails by ones and what is more, they
iad tue pay for them ana did pay up-nn-
pthcr verr singular proceeding on the part Of
Western road. In fact all railroads wcrc paying up
lar more promptly than thcy in the habit OF
dong last year Thus lar Pitsburg ahead in tho
manufacture Of steel rails about hundred and liy
miles over last year. 'sBut," said gentleman who
Is considered authority all affecting the
manu- al steel, getting the rail manu-
acurine business In this country in such condition
now. slowly by degrees, that will enable us 10
Export them. II will be done IRON Ptsburg, but
from the seaboard msllz This OHIO River Is
the greater part oil the year tnat wc can
not rely upon II, but whenever the scaboard mills
become engaged In the manufacture OF rats Tor ex
port Will also benefit ns, the home competition
will thea be somewhat less sharp THIS country Is
4sttl ma 4ttW iuuI nj mil AZ
True our wages yet continue 10 make the cost oi tho
article higher here Inc actual price al the English
works OF a of steel rail to-day about GO. so
IN gold, but We can work quicker thao they can, an
item not 70 be- overlooked when We begin TO compete
In the neutral markets. With a pair OF convertcrs
We can do much mere rs they do abroad with three
sonvertcrs simply owing 10 tho new improvements
have made upon the machinery II will readily I
DC understood that convcrters are the furnaces IN
which ine ron Is converlcdn INTO steel There VIII
% NO export OF hoc rails yet this year but tho mo
mcnt there ~ general Improvement IN bust /
ncss iG Europe az wcii as ~ thls country
closer up 10 us. They arc not making any |
money over there nov. We know Of one house IN
England engaged ~ the steel rail manufacture that
,osi IN ono year EsJ,ouu just thin OF IL, how many
American houses could write OF such loss 4
In SINGLE year aud siill onl II Is their enor-
ca0itai that enables them 10 tide these Pc
GUITAR limos but they ,anuot Always sell a. loss Wo
certainly cannot 10 80 aud must wait Till Engnnd's L
prices 80 FORGET not that American manuIactur-
ar. ais, labor constantly undor tnc dIsadyantnue thai
III capital invested hero III manufacturing costs cght
per cent We must soil rails thirty sixty l
lays anu must get these notes discounted ever
10 be ready with IN hand TO pay high wages
md Tor other purposes, whiie TO English nanufac-
turcrs, with their low wages and enormous capital,
money costs only two per cent Any Improvement IN /
business must enable the Engiisn manufacturers
10 pay higher wages, ana w the time that |
The price OF their rails IS near up 10 our 1
prices and begin the contest with them |
Ia the neural marKct sill get ore suitable Tor
Basgemer steel lower ngHres Than we have been
settlng ~ either from West virginia Lake superior.
Already do NO get inquiries ron south America Tor
our steel rails They st using iron rails there,
but they vii soon change that system. The decline
IN prices from 1872 this year IN this country was
ia Iha nrtn EuWn
principally by the greacr capacity OF this country 10
make rails, the development OF which has been
very large Since the LIST OF January last we have |
been compelled to reduce the wages OF opera
tivcs thirteen per cent bot wo could not help our
seivce.
ri, rARirr aGfrArfOx ASD IRIS CONSEQUENCES
"Wnht been great loss 70 the country at large,