The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-26

should show the same result the consumption
would be 800 pounds pr head, requiring an an
nuaI make Of lao, 900 900 tons But the pOpu-
Iation Of the world is rapidly increasing and in
100 years will probably be nearly douhird which
would raise the consumption to over 10000 900
tons per annum.
Mr Hewitt then put forth a table, based upon his
studies Of the past, in which he had predicted that
in 1875 the production would be l4,0OO,OOO tons,
in 1895, % coo 900 tons in 1915 48,O0O,OOO tons,
in 1895 90. 900. 900 tons and In 1855 1872 600 600
tons. The world justified his foresight. reaching
the II 900 900 mark in 1873 and holding about
there until 1880, when II made great jump and
in 1898 IL had got we'll past the 20, COO 900 Mark
aud Is now reaching for Tie higher mark VI Hlj.
The production for 1928 was IS 100000 TINS,
( America is already reaching out into the world
for a market and for a long time she mus, he tho
wgrds great storchousc Of iron. but II is ubt.
full II We shall not soon have again greatly 10
increase our facilities merely to meet The ever
increasing demands OF our owl people and colo.
MES 10 whom we will take steel and civilization
The history Of the growth Of the iron industry
in America is divided into four periods, and coin.
,idcnt with some Of these aud closely intcrwovcn
with the story NJ iron is the tale Of other indus
lutionizc the manufacturing systems Of the world
The first era in the history Of iron in this country
ended in 1910. when, following tn, discovery Of
W anthracite coal and Of the hot. Hast furnace
4 for the making 81 cast iron. Before that iimc
the methods in use were uf the most primitive
: kind. There was no lack 81 orc, for tn great
ridge ot iron mountains which MI tie upper end
81 New Jersey and contain as much iron as n !
the rest Of the earth, send shoots both north and
south and exhibit their ore freely In Massa-
chusetts tie records say iron making was hrst
begun and then a furnace for working bog orc
was opened at linton Falls. few miles hack of
4 Long Branch. y. j. Primitive furnaces spranE
up thereafter in almost every one OF ihC older
II factories and their market was only for such
uses as the local black smiths could make Of the
iron. Charcoal was the fuel, and had tile In-
creased demand fallen upon the old methods,
the whole country would have been dcnudcd To
mel, the ore. Within fifty miles Of this city may
still b. found the ruins Of the furnaces uf that
early day. They WERE hut a few feet tall and were
filled with alternate layers Of charcoal and orc
after having been previously heated. There
was no draught except such as the low furnace
produced aided perhaps by a hand bellows and
The product was u wrought and not cast iron.
The contents II a furnace never got To- hc more
than half iud and 1t was no, uncommon Tor
them to chill and become solid masses. Such u
chilled fuTnRCr stands to-day ON the shu e. Ut
/ Greenwood Lake. munumc nj To- old time methods
The highest degree of the industry was reached
in the few places where mills with simple trip
hammers ~ rullcrs and sllttcts We're added IL
4 turn the product into bars Hnd plates and rods
d1adS for !EG SIgc Of G' the s lr5 :" no.
! forge, including the nails for carpenters and
! !oneTs. About l7D5 machine was invented
which cut nail blanks from the end Of strips Of n
proper width by strokes Of a foot-propcllcd cut
/ Ter and these were aiierward headed in vice by
hammer blows \ few years later a machine
, was made which cut and headed tho nails autu
matiCay and there was laid the foundation Tor
one Of the great branches If the iron industry.
The first Uf the important industrial develop
mCnis which fo;ced change in the iron trade was
The building Of railroads Beginning in 1880,
were before long tn exceed in extent the railways
II all the rest If III, world and bind all her parts
lugcther into a contract and industrial whole
They were but littl" thngS using Hat strap
rails laid ON longitudinal slccpers Of wool
IN all like the old horse car tracks which are Just
disappearing from our streets. They demanded
but little ron, but our nls could not supply that
little When Stevens invented the I rail for the
camden and Ambuy road, he had ~ 60 To- Eng
land to gel II rpllS and We rolled NJ rails until iSii
But with the Use oi tho hot blast furnace and an.
ihtacite fuel. came also the pudding furnace 10
fhAn a lFH "a he fratF
mace into mGcE farS ready Tor factory or forge
and reaching out into the mountains and valleys
with railroad and canal f,r new sources ~ ore
aud fuel aud the founding Of nc" settlements
70 work IN, Sc NJ the tine Of the revolutionary
war the scat Of the principal iron industry was
among the mountains Of northern New Jersey
congress worked the mines there during the war.
making supplies for the army and It was on tho
shores Of Greenwood Lake that the great cham
to go across the Hudson was Smeltc,l aud forged.
link by link But anthracite coal mad" tho mines
II Pennsylvania more economical T." work aud
thenceiorth the keystone State became the great
centre Of the iron industry rs well % ~ coal pr
by is45 when we began To roll our own rails.
the railroads were lushing their way over oil
demands for NE thousands 81 tons 81 iron, iut
only for rails hut for wheels. hXleS and lcCuu olives
and factories were sprlngine up Grace 10 mel"
things 81 common use or luxury IN all 81 which
iron played an important part by 1861 the con.
sumption had increased 10 considerable NOR"
than III. III pounds per head Of 1853 and We
were making something like a million tons
Then the two parts Of the nstion set Themselves
at the work 81 destruction, zach With = million
men in the hcd North and South. industries
were left crippled. but II was the North which
began first 10 recover and was destined Ia vrrSt
, trial progress that the world has ever had This
! is the duplicate part system of manufacture.
! Out Of the great needs for ans II grew. SrC lc
fore the war had ended it had spread into fact. =
after factory, taking mdClin" tools IN its trr =
| and making every man equal IN effect 10 ten.
| Will. improving tho PRODUCTS Ws,rh fsrtoric.
lgl, fact MN obi F.Ef grt..
lowed the lead 81 thos" for arms ard IT, dsv tho
reason that many 81 our goods 70 10 Turor"Sr
markets is because Eurorr he's not yet caught
| up with the progress which the duplicate system
! 81 rufncturc l-avc 10 Us.
The Fundamental idea Of interchangeable rarrq
| has sine, been applied 10 carriage rlrkinp. rp~
| cultural machine making, bicycle making cut,rTv
| manufacture ard N met, into N. hines Of c,c-y
! IT has standardized the relationships ~ thrrHI-
, 10 bolts and IIIcS 81 various sizes, every iapHnd
die in use is alike for sirin, Tu;roscs a"d there
| which cannot hc had of standard size End form
| Ia ~ rhuRes common IT, every Shop Rails nrs
all rolled to STANDARD 'izgs and shapes aud srnc,
way until Il i Possible for contractor :" Gru.r
on the building Of an elevated railway, - hridu.
OF a steel skys"raprr with only a knOHYlrdgr 81
| market prices aud careless II what rill h" r'ay
eventually hug his, material from. In fact h.
h" vii b" able To buy in the open market from H.,
stock already prduc'd and not have 10 d"ucu'
,ar T All 1t "my rC SS %
v
! point that Engineer J.. L. Buck. in DIES gning
the now East River Br dgc was able Ia adhp his
designs III such way rs 10 make II possible thu
ihis structure 10 I've th" greatest of its kind M
the world could be- built from ca blcs to towers nm
roadway all OF the regular steel work Ia be- found
| NJ nll times IN the stock Of the big mills
When tiy war was over tho demand for lnhr
! in the fields had Ia he met and the inventor mad.
the mower and reaper the thrcShcr the horse raic
Sow"r and CulilyhtOr I he extended farm land,
demanded more railroads, the railroads more iron
md every industry added Ia the call. Rails suOr
gir'c tho country from Atlantic to Pacific and from
LNEt' 10 Gulf Every State and Territory crrC
ont for railroads and land loans aud credit wcrs
given or pledged Ia have them butt The grca
unHuod"d prairIcs called for fencing and il was H.,
itonmaStrr who gave 10 them the barbcd wire hS
| millions " tons
Although there have been "cnrS ~ 'rcmond ~,
advances like those ~ 1871 aud 81 1882 s. wiz
I falling oil in n few following years. the genera
history Of the iron trade shows certain inCreE =,
IN demands and at the end NJ each period the need
~ new methods 10 meet IT, Iron rails were II,
longer tough enough To stand the heavier tran,
~ the railroads, nor was iron strong enough ~
satisfy the steamship and bridge builder when
Tho dawn of the steel era was AT hand lcSSrmrr
had read his first paper, describing his method OF
making steel directly from cast iron al q mrclinI.
ot the British Association for the Advancement
II Science IN 1886 Within sixty days after that