The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-16
STRUGGLE OF THE KRUPPS.
HOW THE FAMOUS GUNMAKERS
ROSE SLOWLY FROM POVERTY.

der Krupp Melted Family Plate to
Pay His WOrkmen-HOw the Vast
Establishment Employs an Army
of Al. GOO Men.
From the New York Sun.
The smoke clouds lowering over Essen
reveal its situation long before the tray
eler comes within sight of its scores of tan
chimneys and the trains laden with coal
and iron ore moving into the far-spreading
grounds of the Krupp works, the greatest
industrial establishment of Germany.
Everybody knows that Essen supplies Eu-
rope and the world with the famous cast
steel guns which made the reputation and
success of Krupp their inventor. There is
one country in Europe, however that has
no Krupp guns in its armament and that
IS France, for the great guumaker has re-
fused to sell France a single cannon since
her war with Germany. Krupp is best
known by his guns, though they are only
a small part of his steel and iron pro-
auctions and the present head of the house,
with his father and grandfather before
him, made the city of Essen what it is
Eighty-nine years ago when the first
IA ulyp OpGHG0 MS lAttlS mon WINS III
which he toiled with rolled-up sleeves from
dawn to dusk, the town had only 1900 in
habitants Last year Essen entered the
list of cities having over 100000 residents,
and it is now one of the most populous
towns of Prussia. The growth of the
Krupp works has made Essen.
A little book entitled Bel Krupp" writ
ten by DR.. Kley, has just been published
in Germany. 1t will attract much atten-
I pflNr
statistics and interesting bits of history
connected with the rise of the Krupps that
have never appeared in the numerous ac-
counts of the great establishment "A more
| remarkable story of industrial develop
ment was never written. 1t is the his
| tory of an enterprise that had the hum
! blest beginning and struggled for many
| years to overcome crowd of difficulties
| that often threatened TO stifle it, and it
! tells of the sudden success that came like
! a flood and soon made the name of Krupp
| known everywhere. Here are some of the
most interesting facts and incidents, taken
| from DR.. KEYS book, that marked the
growth, first slow and then impetuous,
that has marked the development of the
| Krupp works.
Hard Fight of the Founder.
The grandfather of the present Krupp
was an iron worker of Essen who saved
/
| thousand marks, with which he went into
| business on his own account by starting
| little foundry in 1910 1t was not his for
| tune to make much Roadway in the six
| teen laborious years he spent with two or
| three employees in his humble building. He
made a bare living, but managed to keep
! his small property, and It was the nucleus
| from which the Krupp works sprang In
| 1926 his son Alfred became the owner OF
! the establishment and he tasted all the
| tribulations his father had known and
many more for years and years before the
| tide turned and carried him TO great pros
| perity 1t was only by enormous labor
| endurance and pluck that Alfred Krupp
was able al last to master the situation.
| In 1882 six years after he had entered
upon the management of the enterprise
| he had only nine men in his employ, and
this was twenty-five years after the works
| had started.
He struggled along for quarter of
century making good steel good guns and
! other good articles all that time, but there
was so little demand for his work that he
scarcely kept his head above water. He
| had a few pieces of silver plate family
| plate, heirlooms, and he was reduced to
| such straits at one time That he melted
| the plate and sold the silver in order to
raise a little money with which to pay his
workmen. He often said after he became
/ prosperous that for fifteen years it was a
| constant struggle to get cash enough TO
! pay his help. Often, when things were
| at their worst, he found the purchase of
| postage stamps with which to mail his few
! letters a rather annoying necessity.
The trouble was that ne seemed unable
! to secure a recognition for his products
| either at home or ABROAD. Tho old adage
! that "a prophet Is not without honor save
| in his own country" was at last verified
| again in Krupps case. He took his steel
| ton in 1851 and before it was over the
British were calling him a great steel
| maker. He emerged from the competition
with the English steel industry with flying
colors and found himself talked about as
a man whose technical methods were NOT
| understood, but whose products Were UNI
| doubtedly first-class. II may be said thar
there are processes in the Krupp manu-
! facture and manipulation Of steel that are
not known in the trade to-day, and they
are carried on In buildings that no visitor
| or emDloye who does not work in them is
permitted to enter
At Last on the Up Grade.
The London Exposition of 1851 made the
| tide in the affairs of Krupp that led on to
| fortune His own country followed in The
| wake of other lands and Krupp had his
| hands fun of business when Prussia gave
| him, in 1855, her first order for breecb
leaders. HIS first large comm 'ssions
were received from the Khedive of Egvpt
| and the Bey OF Tunis and they did him
| the unusual honor of paying SPOT cash
| for his goods Russia has been the hest
customer Of the Krupp works. Since 1873
when the Russian government purchased
| ! 800 Krupp guns as the new equipment of
| its field equipment, the cannon king"
| has sold to that country over 5000 guns
| Business came In by leaps and bounds
and Krupp did not have sufficient capital
to enlarge his plant fast enough to meet
| the demands upon II. So he borrowed
10000 marks ana with the profits of his
! business in twelve years he was able to
| discharge this debt He used the borrow
| ed money and his own not only 10 in
| oraaee hls faclllIiea for rnnlllnc, aiaol 81