The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-06-01
NOT APPRECIATED.
DIN BULLS MEANNESS TOWARD a
FOREMOST INVENTOR.

OIL Things British Tried Hard to Crust,
the Discovcrcr OF the "Iscsscmer Proc
ess'-ihe Great Change Wrought by the
Invention-Bc ssemcr's Safety Stamp.
The inventor of the celebrated "Bc;-
senior process" is tho most modest of
men, stunning rather than counting OBJ
servation. A few years since he was
sometimes to be seen taking "consti-
tutional" III tho ncighborhood of his I'M
pretentious abode mt Denmark Hill, in
England, but the venerable gentleman
with the benevolent face, in the old
fashioned frock coat and voluminous,
many folded checker ncckcloth, is now
rarely seen even by his immediate neigh
bors
The British public, the British gov
eminent and British manufacturers did
their very best at one time to crush one
bf the most useful men ever born in
Britain, and failed ignominiously. Shelf
field laughed at him. and Woolwich gave
him the official cold shoulder, but Shelf
field and Woolwich would be crippled
indeed at tho present timc were it not
for Bcssemcr steel" Yet, even now,
although foreign potcntatcs have show
cred crosses and stars upon him, the
English government has not conferred
upon him any honor more important
than an ordinary knighthood, and this
i'll spite of the fact that he has created
one OF the largest and most important
industries i'll the world.
Some fascinating calculations, made
by Sir Henry himself, prove that one
years production of Bcsscmcr steel
might be represented by IA solid column
161a times the height of ST Paul's ca
thedral, and as thick through as an or
binary gasOmetcr-about 100 feet.
Henry Besscmcr, son of the late Mr.
Anthony Bessemer, was born in Hert-
fordshire i'll the year 1918. His earlier
years were devoted to art, and we find
that he was an exhibitor at the ROYAL
academy ut the age of 20 At this early
age he had discovered means by which
impressions of the designs on coins,
medals and other rcliefs could be repro
duccd i'll any numbers on cardboard.
Some of his work i'll this line is still cx-
tant, and when specimens come into the
market they bring high prices
This led him indirectly to IL moro
important invention. He discovered that
the government of the time was robbed
to the tune of e100, 900 per annum by
INSCRIPTIONS persons, who were i'll the
habit of removing tho embossed duty
stamps on legal and other documents
and using the same again. Young Bes-
scmer invented the useful little contriy-
ance by which the stamp is embossed on
the paper or parchment of the document
itself, and submitted it to the then chief
of the stamp department. Mt Somerset
House
The potentate i'll question saw the ad-
vantage of this system at glance, and
soon afterward the authorities expressed
their willingness to make use of it. A
pretty little story is connected with this
invention. When his model was com
pleted, Bessemer showed it to the young
lady TO whom he was then engaged. Her
first comment upon it showed that she
was well fitted to become tho vito of an
inventor. She said:
Yes, understand this, but surely, if
all stamps had date put upon them
they could not at n future time DO used
again without detection -
This proved Il very valuable sugges-
ton, for Bcssemer soon hit upon the idea
of n steel die with space for movable
date, and in that form his invention was
adopted by the authorities Will it be
credited that he never received IL solitary
farthing from the government fur his
services or the use of his invention?
Such is nevertheless the fact, and
when he limited mildly at legal remedies
he was told by the solicitor to the stamp
department that he was entitled to no
compensation, inasmuch as he had pre-
sented his invention to tho government
gratis! This was at time, too, when
he was by no means we'll off, when in
deed he lacked the necessary money to
set up housekeeping with the clever
young lady whose brilliant suggestion
had resulted i'll a perfect stamping ma
chine! He received many generous prom
lses from various ministers, of course,
but one government went ont of power
after another, and to this day no has
never been compensated i'll any shape or
form.
a man of vast wealth now, Sir Henry
Bessemer can afford to regard the trou-
bles of that period of his life with com
parative Indifference, though he has
since had more ample reason to cherish
dislike for all British governments
and politicians. Bnt his disappointment
i'll this instance taught him very salu-
tuy lesson. When he made the great
discovery Of his life-that by which it
is possible to convert pig iron into steel
by il simple and Inexpensive process