Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-10-08
NOT APPRECIATED.
ADAM BULLS mEANNEss TOWARD a
FOREMOST INVENTOR.

- 80
observation-disclosures safety stamp.
The inventor Of the celebrated "Bes-
semer process" Is tho most modest Of
men, stunning rather than counting OBJ
servation. A few years since he was
sometimes TO be seen taking a "consti-
t~utional" in the neighborhood Of his UNI
p~retentious abode at Denmark Hill, in
England. but the venerable gentleman
with Ia benevolent face, IN tho old
fashioned irock coat aud voluminous,
many folded chokcr neckcloth, Is now
rarely seen even BY his immediate neigh
bors.
The British public, the British GOV
eminent aud British manufacturers did
their very best at ono time 70 crush one
Of the most useful mon ever born 10
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 the present timo were IL not
for "Bessemer steel" Yet, oven now,
although foreign ~potentatcs have show
cred crosses and stars upon him, the
English government has not conferred
upon him any honor more importaut
than an ordinary knighthood. and this
Ia spite Of the fact that he has created
one Of the largest and most important
Industries IN tho world
Some fascinating calculations, made
by Sir Henry himself, prove that one
years production Of Bessemer stscl
might be represented by a solid column
1914 times the height Of st. Paul's a
thedral, and as thick through as AN or
binary gasomcter-about 100 feet
Henry Besscmer, son Of tho late Mr..
Anthony Bessemer, was born in Hert-
fordshire in the year 1918. His earlier
years were devoted TO art, aud VIC find
that he was an exhibitor at the Royal
academy at the g of 20. AT this early
age he had discovered a means by which
impressions Of the designs ON coins,
medals and other reliefs could be repro.
duced in any numbers ON cardboard
Some Of his work in this line is still ex
tant, and when specimens come into the
market they hiring high prices.
This led him indirectly to a moro
important invention. He discovered that
the government Of the time was robbed
20 the tune Of el00, 900 per annum by
INSCRIPTIONS persons, who were In the
habit of removing tho embossed duty
stamps on legal and other documents
and using tho same again. Young Bcs-
semer invented the useful little contriv-
Rnce 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 at Somerset
House.
The p~otentate in question saw the adj
vantage Of this system Mt a 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, Besscmer showed it to the young
lady TO whom he was then engaged. Her
first comment upon it showed that she
war well fitted to become tho vito Of an
inventor. She said:
Eyes, 1 understand this, but surely, II
all stamps had a date put upon them,
they could not at q future time DO used
again without detection"
This proved a very valuable sugges-
tion, for Bessemer sOon hit upon tho idea
Of n steel die with a space for a movable
date, and In that form his invention was
adopted by the authorities. Will it ba
credited that he never received a solitary
furthing from the government for his
servlrss or the use Of his invention?
Suob is nevertheless the fact, and
when he limited mildly at legal remedies
nc was told by the solicitor TO the stamp
department hat he was entitled TO nc
compensation, inasmuch as he had pre-.
scented his invention TO the government
gfatisl This was at a time, too, When
ne was by no means we'll of, when in.
decd he lacked the necessary money tc
set up housekeeping with the clever
young lady whose brilliant suggestion
had resulted in n perfect stamping ma.
chinei Herecoived many generous prom.
Uses from various ministers, Of course,
but one government went o n Of power
after another, and TO this day he hai
been compensated in any shape OF
form.
A man Of vast wealth now. Sir Henry
Bessemer can afford to regard the trou.
bles Of that period of hi life with com
parntive indifference, though he has
since had more ample reason to cherish
a dislike for all British governments
and politicians. But his disappointment
In this instance taught him a very salu-
tary lesson. When he made tho great
discovery Of HIS life-that by which II
IS possible to convert pig iron into steel
by a simple snd inexpensive process
he kept his discovery a secret. To some
extent it Is a secret to this day. The
importance Of the discovery a hardly
DO overostimatcd
Before the Besscmor process came
into use steel could not be bought under
$50 a ton, and its price prohibited its
uBo In numberless departments Of indus
try where 1t Is now considered essential
At that time, too, only 81, 900 tons Of
cast steel were produced in Sheffield in
a year. In 1892, 8,546 tons Of steel
were manufactured In the world every
day according to the Bessemer process,
the selling price per ton averaging ga
perhaps. Il Is chiefly duo 70 Sir Henry
Bessemer that d Is almost a. safe on q
modern ocean steamship as on land, and
that the modern structure Of steel II
nearly as imperishable as the Pyramida
Such q discovery, IL might be sup.
posed, woulG be hailed with enthusiasm
BY those interested ia the iron trade o
Great Britain. Not q bit Of t. Bes
semer met with every possible disoour
agement The steel manufacturers d
Sheffield were dead against him from
the first. aud the government ignores
him.-BostOn Commercial Bulletin
Mrs. Eliza II Church. who died re