The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-20
A Great Revo.ut:onist Gone.

One may well question the symmetry
that devotes three lines to the an
nouncement Of the death of Sir Henry
Bessemer and the page given to the
death Of MaceO. Both were revolution
lists. but had the latter bought
the freedom Of the island of Cuba
would have been insignificant as
compared with the results Of the dis
covery by the former forty years ago,
OF the method of converting raw pig
iron into steel by a process that may
be called instantaneous when measured
by the time required by the method
previously obtaining. AS one contem-
plates the revolution in the iron and
steel industries and, through them,
man, one may question if ever revolu-
zionist, through the art Of war,
brought to mankind a greater good
than did the quiet, modest English
man, pursuing his chemical studies
until he found how the carbon in the
iron might be Immediately expelled in
stead of being coaxed out by a process
that consumed weeks. A Napoleon
comes and changes maps temporarily;
Bessemer comes and the whole con-
ditions of industry over the civilized
world are permanently altered.
1t is we'll to consider some Of the
leading changes following the intro
duction of the converter and the dis
placement Of the hardening meth
cd for the production of by far
the greater quantity and most numer-
Gus uses Of steel. Prior to Bessemer's
invention and its notifications, the rail
used in railway construction was Of
iron. short lived and costing around
500 a ton. Steel rails were made, but
their cost. over $160 a ton, prevented
their general use. These prices for
rails were reflected in those Of all other
articles Of iron and steel going to the
equipment Of railways. Immediately
upon the development of Bessemer's
invention the price Of rails began to
fall until now they are around $50 a ton
and the steel has entirely displaced the
iron rail. All over the world every in
dustry has felt the impulse Of the de-
Velopment Of railways made possible
py the lessened cost of construction
which Bessemer made possible. I'M
mense areas have been opened to prof.
table agriculture that otherwise would
have remained unoccupied. Related in
transportation came the use of this
cheapened steel in the construction Of
ships and their development into the
enormous Cymrics of today, minimiz-
Ing the cost Of ocean transport.
But it was not to railways and ships.
both sail and steam, that the effects
Of Bessemer's invention were limited
One need but go into our cities and see
the "skyscrapers" rearing their twenty
and more stories above the streets. to
see another effect in the application Of
his process to the production of struc-
tural steel. Without it the very thick
ness Of wall required to support the
superstructures would make such
buildings Improbable. With the utili-
cation Of the upper air for business
purposes came relief from the conges-
ton that was forcing prices of real
estate to fabulous heights, thus affect
ing land values and rentals. In the
minor matters of steel utility the eff
fects have been as far reaching The
wire fence displaces the wooden, and
the cost has fallen from a shilling to
2 or cents a pound. The steel
wire nall displaces the wrought cut nail
and is sold at a price that would have
been impossible twenty-five years ago.
Thus briefly touching the changes
wrought by Bessemer one can say of
him what Emerson said of those who
worked in other fields: Beware when
God lets loose a great thinker on this
planet, for then all things are at risk"