Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-05-05
IRON AND STEEL.
Census Office Bulletin on These Indus.
tries.
NUMBER AND CAPACITY or BLAST FUR.
SACEs, ROLLING MILLS, STEEL WORKS,
FORCES ASD BLDHARIEs.

WAsuINGToN, April l4.-Thc Cen.
sus Office to-day issued bulletin on
the iron and steel industries Of the
United States, which shows the mum.
ber and capacity Of the blast furnaces,
rolling mills, steel works, forges and
blomaries in the United States at the
close Of the census year, May 81,
1880, to be as follows:
Blast furnace establishments, 400;
completed blast furnaces, GSl rolling
mill establishments, 324 single pud.
ding furnaces, each double furnace
counting as two single furnaces, 1919 !;
rotary pudding furnace Sellers, J, :;
Dauks' pudding furnaces, 10; ham
mers in iron rolling mills, 239 heat.
ing furnaces, 2l0j trains Of rolls in
iron rolling mills, 1906 nail ma.
chimes, 1878; steel works, 10; Bcs.
semer steel convertcrs. u open hearth
steel furnaces, 81 ; pot holes for cru.
cible steel, 269l ; trains Of rolls in
steel works, 1856 hammers in steel
works, 2l9 forges and blomaries, Is;
forge and blomary fires, 495 Slemcns
rotator, / hammers in forges and
bloinaries, III daily capacity of blast
furnaces III net tons, 92iS; daily ca.
paciiy OF rolling mills in net tons, lG,.
430; daily capacity Of Bt-,cmcr steel
conycrtcrs in net tons, ii67 daily
capacity Of opcn-hcarth steel furnace.
in net tons, S21 daily capacity o.!
cruciblc steel work. 10 net tons, 44j;
daily capacity oi iorge- aud blomari.-
IN net tons, J26.
The whole number Of establishments
in 1850 was 1905, In 1870 it wa. sos.
The percentage Of increase in the ten
years was 2i3S. The size and capac.
ity Of the establishments were. how.
ever, much greater in 1880 than in
1870. As the capacity Of blast fur.
naces only was given in 1870, no com.
plete data are available for compari.
son Of the capacity of all the works in
the two periods. The daily capacity
Of the blast furnaces in 1870 was 1857
tbi4@, aHb III ANN' " Ntr 1880 tNur,
an increase Of 1892 per ccut
The whole amount OF capital in.
vested in the iron and steel industries
of the United States in 1880 was
s230.97l,s ,ssi: in 1870 it was sl2l,
1904; increase, 09,l99,si0, or
S9.6S per cent
In 1870 there were twenty-five
States engaged in the manufacture Of
iron and steel OF these South Caro-.
lima does not appear in the statistics Of
1880. it, total production in 1870
did not aggregate 500 tons. The iron
industry in this State has been prac-
tically abandoned.
Since 1870 three States have for the
first time engaged in the manufacture
of iron, namely: Colorado. kan.as
and Nebraska; also two Territories,
namely: Utah and Wyoming. Utah
did not however, make any iron in
1880. 1t made a small quantity in
each Of the years 1874, 1875 and 1876,
aud it will make larger quantity in
the near future.
California and Washington Terri
tory have made arrangements since
the close of the census year 1880 to
manufacture iron.
New Hampshire made iron many
years ago. but it does not appear in
the statistics for 1870. II appears in
the tables for 1880.
Oregon and Texas each built blast
furnace in the decade preceding the
census year 1870. but they did not
make any iron in that year. They
appear, however. in the statistics OF
production for 1880.
The District of Columbia once had
blast furnace in operation, but in
1870 it had no iron industry whatever.
In 1880 the United States Govern.
ment owned and operated n small roll.
ing mill at the Washington Navy
Yard.
Minnesota appears in 1880 for the
first time among iron manufacturing
States, but its statistics relate only to
the preparations that have been made
to embark in the business.
Thirty States, the District of Co.
lumbia and Wyoming Territory net.
ually made iron in 1880. Twelve
States made over 100000 tons each
in 1880.
Pennsylvania, which for more than
a hundred years has been the leading
iron-producing State in the Union,
made in 1870 fraction over 80 per
cent. Of the total product, and in 1880
1t made a fraction over 40 per cent
At both periods It's prominence in the
production of iron and steel was vir-
tually the same. From 1870 to 1880
ii increased its production 81 per cent,
or from 1,s36,S0S tons 10 3,6l6,668
tons. while the whole country increas-
ed It's production 30 per cent, or from
.855,2l5 tons to 1865, lao tons.
Ohio was thp nnxf Etnfa in frnmi.