Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-05-06
lalcaster fsltelhQenrer.
SATURDAY EVENING. MAY 8, 1882.
Bessemer Steel.

Bessemer Steel.
The secretary of the American iron
and steel association writes to Judge
Kelley to correct the statements OF con-
gressmen made in debate upon the tariff
bill which is now receiving
the consideration of Congress. One
statement he excepts to is that of Sena-
tor Beck, who said that the capital in
vested in the Besse mer steel companies
in 1880 was $50, ,975, ,999, and that the net
profit amounted to Sl4, ,O47 1888, or &c per
cent. Secretary Swank says that the
senator erred in this, because the figures
applied to the twenty-five manufacturers
of steel by the open hearth process as
we'll as to the eleven Bessemer concerns,
and he declares that the twenty millions
of capital includes only the sum invested
in machinery and accessions required in
the conversion of pig iron into Bessemer
steel and not the amounts invested in
ore and coal mines, blast furnaces,
foundries and machine shops, lateral
railroads and other enterprises necessary
to the production Of the raw material. !"
No doubt that is so /; but SO also is it
true that the profit in preparing the raw
material is distinct from the profit of
the Bessemer steel production.
Secretary Swank seems to be
particularly careful not to say what
the profit of the Bessemer manu-
facture in 1880 was nor does he venture
to say that it was less than G6 per cent. {,
though he seems to desire to create that
impression. The truth is that he could
not conscientiously say that it was any
thing like as low as 6G per cent. lie
knows u great deal better and so does
every man who knows that steel rails
were sold for some twenty dollars ton
above the price of iron rails, although the
cost of their production is about ten dol
lars Il ton less. The Bessemer mills
could not well have realized less than
&c per cent. profit upon their manufac-
ture, although Senator Beck's statement,
we believe, only charged upon them a
profit of GG per cent. on their capital.
Mr.. Kelley, fortified by the data fur
nished him by the steel association, made
4 speech yesterday, during which he as
sailed Mr.. Dunnell, of Minnesota, for
stating that the Bessemer manufacturers
realized profit of sixty-seven per cent,
and Mr.. Dunnell does not seem to have
been sufficiently master of the subject to
maintain his position against the array
of authorities Judge Kelley brought to
bear upon him.
But Secretary Swank, of the American
iron and steel association, might he en-
gagged in Il better business than that of
furnishing misleading facts as to the
Bessemer industry, which is profitable
to degree that is simply scandalous con.
sidering that it enjoys the "protection .
of a heavy duty. 1t is simply silly to
speak of men who are levying the enor'
nous tribute upon the industry of the
country tha, is realized by the Bessemel
manufacturing, as Secretary Swank does
in this paragraph: "If those who, with
undaunted courage but often with fail
ing strength, faithfully nursed it fol
many years when it was a sickly child
are nov able to recover their losses
through the general prosperity of the
whole country, and it can he shown, as
it most certainly can he, that their en-
terprise and courage have resulted in
giving to the country vigorous industry
that has cheapened the cost of our rail.
roads and reduced the cost of Transports
tion, who shall say that they are not
worthy Of their reward -
"SoLELY in the interest of honest
elections we venture to suggest to the
editor of the Examiner that he had bet
ter move on with that First ward cleo
ton contest case which has been insti-
tuted by himself, Charley Eberman
Charley Triple and other perspirin9
patriots who are known to labor all the
year round solely in the interest OF
honest elections" The oyster months
::.ro gone and the summer will soon be
at hand, when election contests are
apt to spoil, ,especially.if not entrusted to
that experienced political undertaken, J
W. johnson, esq, who has cof1ined most
of the Republican contests here. 1t i:
highly important, at least, that it he de
n