The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-07-27
DAVID THOMAS TRIUMPH
FIRST ANTHRACITE COAL SMELL
ING FURNACE.

NsIueless Coal.
!, was on the Fourth Of July 1870 ",'''
months of weary labor. that the UIs' '"'
mace 10 successfully and proh'ao'> '"v
iron ores bv the use Of anthracite coa' maui
az first cast. Several attempts TO accom-
,lish this end had been made previously III
other parts Of Pennsylvania ana WIN So"''
,o,,rcc of success. but it remained for an
unknown man from a distant land 10 'haN'
moi only mechanical, but commercial
trial Of the undertaking.
In 1899 the Lehigh Coal and Na'is"uo"
co,,,onv brought David Thomas 10 inns
country. and at their suggestion ne se'ec''"
,,ba, is now the site Of the prosperous ITO"
horouch of Catasauqua rs place L" ny '''
oxnerimcnt Of utilizing the almost NalueleSs
iron ores of Lehigh county by the use Oh 'no
almost equally Nlluclcss coal OF '"I ~"
county. Single-handed he Wenl I'M" 'I'9
,vorl. no trained help at MS ul"Iln-, Nv
e,,ndrios. no machine shops, no mechaNl'"i
ENGINEERS. no fire brick worthy tne hai'lc !"
me whole land. Every phase OF uisco 5l!,'.,
mont consprcd 90 make the ula' '1"",,
~ oil obstacles were sumOuntcd hA tue III
Il
,ho outcome has been marvellous. puiIn-
~. ~ - than 500 tons Of anthracite ll-
ron was prOduced in the nitcd states III
tso0 10 OOi on tons will likely be Inc output
n,xid Thomas. who may justly DC IT,
var,led as the pioneer anthrAcllc IRON """
,Ifacturcr Of America. was born lh ,"u'"
Wales, November g, li'i, ana ehle'Vu 'n
ironmaking business as carry aS -
After work ing IN various places ne WENT !"
1917. 10 the NnisccdWid works, bIeCNu".
sbire i'm the southern edge Of an anthracite
coal basin. the only one IN inc isl"Iv ~
Great Britain. These were the ohil o'ds'
r,rnaccs erected ON fnat bed OF coal tne
others being where the coal was olther bl'u-
n,inous or scmi-hituminOus. The WORKS
young Thomas was engaged IN WERE. '"'i'
fere more Interested i'm the use OF ahlhIdCi''
Tor nicl than those i'm other paris OF Tue
country. inasmuch As they hau 10 nilnI
their coke 10 Dc used m smelling IRON IRON
ten 10 fourteen miles 10y canal. y cary
AS $50. Mr.. Thomas, with mr. 'eoI-I
frame. one-ibird owner Of the niscedWlu
tv"rIs beoon 10 experiment with anthra-
cite. burning il in small proportions WIN
coke. but not with commercial success. ID
1876 he had small furnace built, twenty
five feet high. with nine feet bosh, Which
was mt in blast with coke and increased
omo,ints Of anthracite, but the experiments
were not promising, and the cHor' was
abandoned. In 1850 the same furnace was
enlarged, and attempts were renewed u
discover the secret Of success, with no pct
ter results than formerly, ana the uhpIoula-
bic work was abandoned.
while Thomas and Crane were expert
menting i'm Wales. others were wrestling
with the same question I'M America WIN
the same discOuragin- results. I'm ~"
Joshua White and Erskinc Hazard h0th ol
Philadelphia. being largely interested lh
ihe mining Of anthracite coal I'm the then
recently -Opened Lchigh basin. ana nav
successfully used this coal i'm the manuiac-
ture of iron wire 40 their mill near the
Falls Of Schuylkill, erected "a small lur-
mace at Mauch Chunk for the purpose oi cN-
uerimenting a. 10 the practlcahiitY OF
smelling iron with the coal. Among other
methods tried was that OF passing the blast
through a room heated as not as pos
sihle with common iron Stoves. Ihey soon
abandoned this furnace and erected new
one. in which they used charcoal exclusive
Is. thus acknowledging their effort 20 have
been failure, though il contained the I'M
recognized suggestion Of the true and alter
terward adopted method.
In Wales David Thomas was still toilins
on persistently and patiently To- discover
the mystery. key 10 unlock 10 was FUR
nished i'm 1854 hy one Nelson, manager OF
the Glasgow Gas Works, who discovered
the use Of the hot blast. Its value was not
Immediately fully appreciated. The pam
phlet on the hot blast, issued by Nelson
was read by Thomas, who had been
ON the alert and had carefully peTused
all the treatises on iron manufacture ana
the combustion of anthracite coal which De
could find. one evening, while sitting with
Mr.. Crane in his library, talking the mat
ter over. he took the bellows and began 10
blow the anthracite fire i'm the CRATE. ~ on
had better not" said Mr.. Crane; YOU VIII
blow it out" Thomas replied: "lf we only
had Nelson's hot blast here the anthracite
would burn like pine" Mr.. Crane then
said: david, that is an idea In fact.
it was the origin Of the application OF the
hot blast in making iron with anthracite.
In 1896 Thomas went 90 work, with
Cranes consent. and built ovens for heating
the blast. The result was success IN aidr
greater degree than the two men had dared
To hope. after their many disappolntments,
and from that time on there was no Difficult
" in making hon with anthracite as iuel.
The news Ofihe success was spread over the
kingdom. and the London Mining journal
gave il great prominence. its account ap-
bearing in the press Of the United states.
In the great anthracite region of Pennsyl-
Vania enierprising men were in readiness
10 utilize this valuable discovery. In lN}N
the Iehigh Coal and Navigation company
had offered to any persons who would estaO- |
lish a furnace, lay out S3O,oOO, and run sue
cessfully on anthracite coal exclusively Tor
three months, the valuable water privileges |
from the llOkendauqua 10 the Al
lentOwn dam, along the Lehigh river. n
der the inducements of this offer, the Le-
high Crane Iron Company, consisting OF
members Of the Coal and Navigation Com
pany, was organized the same year, and IN
the fall of the year Erskne Hazard. one OF
the leading spirits OF the company, went TO
" ales TO engage some competent person 10
come TO this country in their interest and
superintend the erection OF furnaces. lie
went TO Mir. Crane, who recommended MI.
Thomas.
Together they went to see him. At first
he was reluctant 10 leave his native land,
but at last influenced by liberal Olar
and the consideration that his sons would
have better opportunities in America than
they could hope for in Wales or in Great
Britain. he consented, and upon the night
OF the last day Of the year concluded an
agreement, the original Of which Is stlll III
existence. 1t stipulated that he, Win his
family, was 10 remove 10 the works 10 DE
established by the company at certain
pOint alone the Lehigh river, where he
naces and TO give his best knowl
edge and services 10 the company for
the term Of live years; that lac was 70
be furnished with "a house and fuel, and 10 be
paid at the rate Of 600 a year until the hrst
furnace on the l.ehigh was gotten into blast
with anthracite, aud making good iron,
when his salary was TO be increased 500,
and when other furnaces should have been
built and put in successful operation he was
to have $50 added 10 his salary for each fur
mace. Ii was also agreed that should Mr..
Thomas fail in putting up and in success
fully operating a furnace using anthracite
coal, the agreement should be void and the
company should pay a sum equivalent to the
expense Of removing him and family back TO
Wales.
The organization Of the Lehigh Crane
Iron Company, prior TO Mr.. Hazards going
abroad. had been only an informal one, and
on the 10th OF January, 1889. il was per
fccted. The board consisted of Robert
Earn, Josiah White, Erskiue Hazard
Thomas carp. George carp, John McAllis-
Ter. Jr.. and Nathan TrOtter. I'm April they
formed articles of agreement, making the
capital stock OF the concern 100000. In
Nav. 1859, Mr.. Thomas and his family
sailed from Liverpool on the clipper ROscius,
which made the trip 10 New York In the
then unprecedented time of twenty.three
DAYS. reaching New York june >. Before