Birmingham state herald., 1896-04-19

metal by the addition, while In a molten state, of compound of iron, of which ron, carbon and manganese are the pre- dominating elements and of which Spie- geleisen Is the cheapest and most conven- tent form. We shall also find that this great discovery greatly facilitates the op- erations of the open hearth process, and 1t is for this reason that we refer to 1t at this time.
 Thus we see that by the Bessemer pro- cess, as originally conceived by MT Bes- Semer the charge in the converter was desillconized and decarbonized without being able to retain in the metal the per centage of carbon necessary to give it practical and commercial value. This difficulty, however was met and over come by MT Mushet's discovery. But even then, only pig iron which was prac- tically free from phosphorus could be used, and metallurgists and scientists found still another grave difficulty con fronting the situation. Important, there fore, was the discovery of Messrs Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy c. Gilchrist both of London, of the basic process. by which the use of an iron containing a large percentage of phosphorus was ren- dered possible. This occurred in Novem- Der of the year 1877, and the application of the process to the Siemens- Martin open hearth furnace gives us the basic open hearth process of today, with its many advantageous features.
 The name "scaVenger' has sometimes been given to this process, and, in sense, very properly, too it being the one method by which any and all iron avail able for any other process may be used and in addition metal unsuitable for the acid open-hearth or Bessemer by reason of high phosphorus; a process which deals with the hostile element. eliminates it and furnishes the trade with quality If steel superior to that produced by any tl.n Gilchrist Thomas, to whom the credit is due for the discovery of this most valua- ble process, was born in England in 1850 and died on February 1, 1885. In a bio graphical sketch of Nir. Thomas MT George w. Maynard says: Tt has rarely fallen to the lot of one so young to add so much to the worlds knowledge and wealth as did Sidney Gilchrist Thomas" |" Mir Thomas was in his 35th year at the time of his death.
 Although discovered. as above stated in 1877 the basic process was not used in connection with the Siemens- Martin open hearth furnace in the United States until the year 1888, on the 2Sth of March of which year the first basic open hearth steel made in this country was produced at the Homestead works of the Carnegie company, near Pittsburg, Pa.
 From that day, which marked the be- ginning of the manufacture of basic open hearth steel in this country as a commer- cial product its growth has been phe- nomenal and its expansion beyond the expectations and hopes of the most san- guine. Unfortunately, we have no fig ures at our disposal showing the produc- tion of basic open hearth steel in each successive year, in fact statistics do not give them separately, but include both basic and acid under the common head of "open hearth steel" From the following figures, however, it may be seen that the increase in production is very remarka- ble. and especially since the year 1888, when basic open hearth made its advent into this country, prior to that time the productions being confined exclusively to acid open hearth.