Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-28

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Couuty's Industries-How the Nail Busi-
ness Largely Went to Wheeling-Some
Personal EecoiIections.
Thomas S. Blair spoke upon ''The Past
and Future of the Manufacturing Industries
Of Allegheny County" in the following
language:
Just a century ago George Anshutz built
IN the locality now known as Shadyside q
diminutive blast furnace whose machinery
was &Ctuatcd by the water power of Two
Nile Run, its fuel supplied by the surround
ing forest and its ore obtained from the out
crops of Mennonite in the adjacent gullies.
THIS supply was soon exhausted ana the
plan OF bringing ore down the Allegheny
river on RATS fOund too expensive. On a
certain day in l774 the deSpairing expert
1BeHtCr loaded up his family and chattelS on
q wagon and started of in search OF better
liclE of enterprise, leaving the little stack
fail charged and the primitive bellows blow
ing away. Let US stop here to sketch our
first picture. As Anshutz wends his way
.liuu- the Greensburg pike he mounts the
NIkiu SbUrg grade and when at last he finds
himself at the summit of Turtle Creek hill
lie aalJs his weary team and turns about to
take one last look at tine spot where two
ve.rs nave passed for him in transforming
high nope into disappointment.
There is a highly respectable class of our
fellow citizens not yet entirely extinct who,
from his farewell look at Shadyside, would
have exclaimed: "ServeS him right! Who
but ii visionary fool would ever think of
manufacturing iron in Iittsburg?"
Over Third of the Total.
In steel to-day Allegheny county pro-
duceS IS per cent of the aggregate product
OF the United States; 4212 per cent OF the
figures for Great Britain; 5s74 per cent of
those for Germany: Ia times the product of
"a Of
ga that OF Belgium: % times that of Spain; 5
times that OF Russia: times that of Sweden,
and y times that OF Italy.
Thus in pigkiron Allegheny county turns
ont almost as much as Belgium and Austro-
hungary together, and more than the COM
hned output OF Russia, Spain and Italy;
while in steel she turns out more than
Trance and AuStrO-Hungary together, and
naNre than AuStrO- Hungary, Belgium, Spain,
Russia, Sweden and Italy combined Fancy
any one Of the above combinations of great
nations piling up daily at the Chicago
columbia Exposition their united product,
aud Allegheny county mate ling it every
time! That is whore your manufacturing
lndustry stands to-day.
As respects the future, take lesson from
any nine tons OF dumata blooms See to it
tlat your technical skill and experience,
your superior advantages in fuel and in the
means Of transportation for both raw mate
Iials and products shall still draw manu-
featuring industry to this spot.
Industrial schools will enlarge the supply
and improve the quality of your skilled
Ia Dor. As regards the fuel question, let me
>ecall, aDpropos of the recently published
acNDult OF the manufacture of satisfactory
fuel -as,at the Union mills for less than
CcnrS Der Thousand feet q closely connected
incident. Dr. Slenens some years ago made
5he following proposition to the town of
birmingham, England. Ii the town would
grant him the right of way for his pipes
under ground and exempt his entire plant
and business from taxation he would supply
every fuel consumer in It. large or small, at
slE pence per thousand feet for gas pro-
d-ced from the refuse of the adjacent coal
mines.
Some Personal RecoIlections.
AS regards the transportation question, to
discuss it with Pitcairn for railways, Batch
,lor .or rivers and Roberts for canals as
auditors wOuld be to talk of war in the
presence of Hannibal i turn, therefore, to
some personal recOuections in which think
You Will perceive some pertinence to the
0rll OF the Chamber of Commerce Some
thing like 40 years ago a note was received
l'y Il PittsbuIs firm, largely engaged in the
manufacture OF nails, to the effect that a
rarity OF their employees, about Is in number
desired TO meet representative of the firm
IN private consultation. The meeting was
neld, and ct it the managing partner of the
concern was informed that the employees as
sembled there had taken that method of
privately informing him of the fact that they
lad about completed their arrangements for
manager. being already well informed re-
sDectinT the movement. requested them to
DELAY committing themselves finally until
lie could see whether he could not offer them
Inducements to build their works in or near
lirt~lur1S. This suggestion was agreed to.
N'Uhln the next few days proposal was OBJ
1aIHeI from the late james IL Hays, offer
Tug five acres OF coal ground on the
rIGnUngahela river, near the SiX-Mie ferry
aud q supply OF coal on very favorable
terms. Meantime, the terms of the offer
made by the Wheeling banks has been ascer-
tanned and were found to be these: Three
banks had agreed to discount drafts drawn
or notes given for actual shipments of nails.
TO the extent OF a constant line of $40 600
cGch, provided the nail company would per-
1uit n close examination into their financial
condition whenever asked for.
The manager laid the whole subject be fore
the senior partner who at once acQuiesced
in the desirableuess OF keeping the new COM
pCtitor in the same neiyhborhood, and
promised to see what could be done in the
financial matter. Two days later he an
nOunced that he had talked on the subject
with some leading bank men and he had
been brought to sec that it was bad policy to
help a rival to build up his business and.
sayhOw, the banks would have none of such
Uuheard-Of undertakings. And so it came
about that an industry that developed out of
sis start into the leading business of a rival
locality reluctantly lett, or perhaps we
J.. igEt say was driven out from Allegheny
county.