The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-19
THE KING OF STEEL.
Rise Of Andrew Carnegie, the
Humble Messenger Boy.
HIS GREAT ARMoR-PLATE MILL.
An Old Associate Tells How His Indus
tries Have Grown-ais Employees
Share His Prosperity.

The approaching visit OF Andrew Carnegie re-
calls one Of the nos, interesting careers IN
American business life Mr.. Carnegie began
life as messenger boy al PiItsourg, then be-
came train dispatcher on the pennsylysnIs
railroad, next bcugat interest IN small iron
miu near P.tisbgrg. and from that time grad
uslly extended his business until the corpora
tons OF which he is the head probably manu-
fscture more iron AMI steel than any other IN
the world An interesting account Of the
growth OF Mr.. Csrnegie's business was given
PosT-ISTELLIGEScEE reporter yesterday by VIII
lam Hsinswo--h, the steel manufacturer, VINO
watched his career during the tveaty-alns
years he was in Pi;;sburg. lie said:
well remember visiting what is called the
inlrty-ia third street mill, at PlItsburs, n i6s
infancy. Its capacity At tast t.Ine was not 100
tons per day; az present Il Is loo.oVo tons per
year.
Il was then thought 10 be something wonder
tul 10 roll three inch square bar. twelve feet
long, weighing S25 pounds. while st the present
time Caruegie's Homestead mill will roll plate
six inches wide, one lucA thick, seventy-two
feet long, and weighing 100 tons Eight-inca l
beams were not rolled IL the United state and
they were the largest rolled IL England anu
France a. that time.
I shall never forget when M: Carsegie's
partners. NJ. BoEEtru=ger and Nj. Phlpps. Win
great delight with their success asked me TO 20
and see some OF the tyelye-!lch beams which
they had been successful IN rolling. They have
i4S,@lS L-SC14BGEN nearly a. A+4-4E
Homestead works which Will roll thirty-six-
inch l beam. The machinery alone to rol. this
beam cost quarter OF million dollars
Though Carnegie was very Young ant scarcely
OF age al that time, everything he took hold OF
was financial success. some industrious
wcrkinguen were struggling hard 70 make
money out Of the iron bridge building business,
but were not much OF success uEtll Andrew
Carnegie took az interest with them. In few
years he made them very wealthy. He then
bUilt one OF the largest oriGge works in the
United states at FifIIeth street, Pitt-burg, that
employs hundreds OF men. His next venture
was IN the Braddock steel WORKS, which az that
time were not hnane al success. He and his
brother Thomas first bought out one iutere I,
then another. untilit became known as Carnegie
Bros. steel Works. They were making at
that time $50 TOYS OF finished rails per day; at
present the output is 10000 tons OF cast iron
and $4,000 tons OF finished rails per year. He
than purchased the Homestead steel works, two
miles below the Braddoe4 works, the
south side OF the Monongahela, which
at the time was also not Il financial
success At the present moment this
Homestead mill IS the most wonderful plant
for the manufacture OF steel in the world.
where ingots weighing hundreds o. toas can
be rolled into armour pate. The present out
put OF tais mill Is eO0,Ju0 tons, but IL is being
increased TO 10000 tons per year This armour
plate mill was built oy profits made from pro-
lection, and is the oaly mil able TO roll armour
plate 20 protect.
might mention that six years ago no iron or
steel pate, i've tons weiglt, could be rolled in
the Navy Whitney, with ais good business tact
and am oition--and We must give him c:edis for
o=ing the originator OF the results detained of
our present uayy-brought about By his lnhu-
ence the building al the Bethlehem iron worEs.
Pa, or more powerful forging press than
Wnitworth 5, in England, larger steam ham
mer than thesl00-ton hammer at CreaSot. in
France, which was six years IN building and
cost $40, 90, 600 But large this plant is, the
armour plate could not be manufactured last
enough tor secretary Tracy, one more good man
n Ea n called - IA
last summer and asked him II he could roll HIM
some armor plate certain size. Carnegie's
action in tnis case illustrates lis prompt ousi-
ness methods Alter receiving the Glmeus .ons
he te,egrsphe1 from New York to his head
manager il Piitsburg Mr.. Abbott: How long
Will IL take TO prepare the universal mill to roll
certain aFmov plate, giving dimensions. Mr..
Abbott telephoned superintendent Potter. az
the Homestead works, TO give an estimate OF
cost and what approximate time II would take
TO change the uuv.r sai mill 20 roll arTnor plate
from ingOts To- tons welglt,and send his report
in by u a. II. next day. The report was 10
days; rough estimate Of cost, s-e0.N10. Mr..
Abbott then wired The report 20 M Carnegie,
who .imInsdiately telegrapaed back: Com
mence Immediately on alteration OF plant.
Tie armour Plate was cast. rolled and sue
cessiully stood the government test a few wae2s
age, and the lGQ-toa Ipgor Viii be rolled IN
short time. Nowhere on the face OF the earth
can an Iusot Of this weight be rolled exec t at
this great Homestead mill
The Twenty ninth street mill ~ PittsbCrg
turns out 1900 tons OF railroad Supplies ana
1000 tons OF castings year the Beaver Falls
wlIe works, 40 100 tons OF WIRE year, the Csrue-
gle mills, near Nckeesport, 29,Co1 tons 0. rails
and b:lirtS per year; TIE two blast furnace, IN
PiItsoGrg, 10000 tons OF pig ZION year. To
supply ali OF these blast furnaces with his own
make OF coke requires l0,.o0 ovens, with daily
capacity OF l,lUJ cars, OF train OF SIX miles
in length
In the twea;y-nius years l have known
Andrew Carnegie-ani having been II the iron
and siee. business myself the last iwenty wears