Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-17

/ JcTIdIueu Dy our northern IIie0uSH IOuC0-
ing the probable future development OF
/ the steel industry in the south. With one
| accord they were amazed at the remark
able success attained by the Tennessee
Coal, Iron and Railroad company in MAX
Ing pig metal suitable in every particu-
lar for basic open hearth practice The
| three elements in the iron around which
| restrictions are thrown are silicon, sui
| phur and phosphorus; the specification
being / per cent silicon and phosphorus
| and .05 sulphur. Not only has that COM
| pany been able to comply with these stip-
| ulations with remarkable degree of reg
| ularity, but they have succeeded in pro-
| ducing pig Iron running uniformly about
| one-half of l per cent silicon, .02 to OBS
| sulphur and 6 to Z phosphorus Prac-
tically all Of the large producers of basic
| open hearth steelsin the country have
| used, and many are using today the pro-
| duct of the Alice furnace, located in this
| city. In my rounds on the trip above re-
| ferred to. | did not meet with an unfavor-
able criticism of the southern basi6 pig.
| They look upon this as the future field
| of development and are forced to accept
| the fact that the basic open hearth pro-
cess Is rapidly pushing its way to the
| front and displacing all other classes of
| steel in every conceivable direction. I'm
| known and impractical few years ago,
| 1t is now encroaching upon the Bessemer
| and driving 1t back to a narrow channel
| of trade, where inferior stock will an
| that remains for the Bessemer and 1t is
| freely predicted that when the produc-
| ton of basic open hearth steel reaches a
| point where 1t Is necessary to extend and
| enlarge its market, rails will be made by
| that process. That this can be done Is a
| fact so well recognized as not to admit of
| discussion. it being, as in the case Of the
| question of the use of scrap iron, purely
a commercial proposition. This feature
| of the subject we shall again allude to
| later on.
For bridge and structural material,
boiler plate armor plate, and any and
all other uses where great strength, du-
rability and ductility is required, basic
| steel has no equal; and, realizing this to
be true. engineers and builders are now
specifying It, Thus we find the causes
for the enormous demand, even at price
| from 50 to Sc per ton above Bessemer
and which cannot be met by the present
| productive capacity. OF course the day
| will come when the supply will fully
| equal and probably exceed the demand.
| Then will 1t fall to the lot of this favorite
| metal to capture the rail trade and not
a difficult undertaking will it be when
| we remember that high phosphorus is
| especially Objectionable in superinducing
| segregation, which is the cause of many
broken rails. AS you know, it cannot be
| controlled or regulated by the Bessemer
| process, but the basic open hearth may
| be reduced to any point desired or speci-
| fled; In fact, may be practically elm
| mated. High carbon in rails Is required
| in either case, and in both Is obtained in
a manner identically the same. A fixed
hardness being required, and both carbon
| and phosphorus possessing hardness Civ
| ing qualities 1t will devolve upon the
1 maker of basic open hearth rails to in
| crease his carbon to the same relative ex-
tent that the phosphorus is reduced. In
| other words he will make up in an adj
vantageous element carbon, what he
| loses in very detrimental element, phos-
| phorus, thereby materially improving the
quality of the rail. Instead of containing
| 10 per cent phosphorus and IS to 40 per
cent carbon. it will carry only 2 to. per
cent phosphorus and say y of per cent
| carbon. Once the trade is provided with
a rail of this composition, it is not diff.
| cult to imagine the railroads specifying
open hearth rails. That this will come
seems inevitable. Should not we in the
south anticipate this and prepare for it?
We have seen that, concurrent with the
| introduction of this process into the
United States, Birmingham, with her
| matchless natural advantages and re-
| sources, was enjoying her greatest devel-
opment and progress In furnace building,
| and crude iron manufact ure. Had the
then existing conditions continued to pre-
| vail the necessity for the step now SO
! urgent and important would probably
! never have arisen, but by the march of
| pIOSitSS duu ClNtllZdllOH tHOSt cOnulElOnS
| have materially changed; the wants and
\ necessities of the advanced and modern
ideas of man have brought it about. To
| keep pace with, the times we must join
| in this march of progress. 1t is but the
establishment of the survival of the
| flttest," both metals being suitable for
like purposes and uses that the one of
the greatest purity and strength should
| encroach, excel and finally overthrow is
but natural In this wonderful progress
and development our section has not par
| ticipated, and rather than being bene-
flied thereby we have been handicapped
and embarrassed in undertaking to place
our products in a crude and unfinished
| state on a market gradually becoming
restricted and diminished. To such an
extent has the consumption of crude
iron, as iron, been curtailed that today
our markets are practically limited as to
large consumers to the cast iron pipe
| trade and to the stove trade, and the
| already insignificant foundry and rolling
mill trade is slowly but surely slipping
from the grasp of the crude iron man
ufacturers. -
/ The possibilities of Birmingham as a
| steel-making center are unlimited 1t Is
| q conceded fact that pig iron may be
| manufactured here at less cost than
any other point in the United States; in
| deed, IL not cheaper than anywhere In
| the world, and the self-same conditions
| which render this possible will enable
| Birmingham to make the cheapest steel.
1t would eem-that kind providence has
smiled upon this particular spot with
special favor and has endowed 1t with
resources and advantages administered
by natures most lavish hand. The Clin-
ton ores, extending in an almost unbroken
chain from Clinton county New York, to
! point about thirty miles southwest of
! Birmingham. growing in thickness and
assuming regular uniform vein as they
approach their southern terminal here
come In intimate contact with the coal
measures of the Warrior, Cahaba and
Coosa fields, and in conjunction with an
inexhaustible supply of the purest lime.
the bed rock Of limpid streams flowing
| and gushing from the mountain side,
form one grand combination and assem-
bly, OF materials available for the uses
and employment and service of man.
The supremacy of our district as pig
iron manufacturing center is attributable
to the contiguity of these raw materials,
and upon the same conditions may We,
Justly base our hopes and predictions Of
her possibilities and prospects as a pro-
Queer of steel. a product removed from
| v,txr ;~nv, br ana short SimpIa cfpD fur