The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-01-21
MR.. CARNEGIE'S COKE PILE.
Mountain of Fuel on Which a Half
Million Has Been Cleared.

At Bessomcr, a station along the Penn
s~yIFania Railroad. east of BT;idiock. is
piled "A hill of coke which has been the
wonder of this commercial age, says tho
Philadelphia Record. The pile has increased
and CcCrca ed by thousands Of tons, but
not pciceptlbiy. II was placed there as
q guard against strikes in the ConusllsyiiIe
coke region. 50 that the furnaces Of the
Carnegie Steel Company would not have
70 Dc banked. at a loss O.! mliiions Of dol
lars when coke could not be mad.
prosperity IS Undermining i. however. in
stead of strife. The scarcity OF cars and
the fact that the III. =. t'r!ck Coke Com
rany has been unable to Supply its patrons
with iu"i are the direct causes of its re-
inoFal; also. the land ON which the pile
stands j. To be used TOR the erection Of an
extension to the Edgar Thomson Steel
Works.
The coke pile was ordered about month
ago 10 be used up, and from 81, to go tons
~ coke were taken from il daily. This
proved too SLOW, however, and Il contract
was let several days ago for the removal
ol the whole pile, and steam Shoytls VIII
nave to u" used. A switch has been run
around the base Of the coke pile from the
mon Railroad. which is the connecting
INK between the Pi,tSburC ami Bessemcr
ana the Carnegie yards. The coke Is tn be
distributed through the various plants. and
hundreds q cars and a number Of IoCOmI-
lNes VIII be kept busy for d month or more.
II Is estimated thar the pie contains about
2lN,tp gross tons. 1t was placed there carly
~ the F-S, when coke was selling al ~
cents a ton. To-day the same coke Is sell
iHg at $50. and the freight rate To the Con-
IcllSNllie region has also been advanced.
The Carnegie Company has cleared more
than hale u million dollars by the invest
nIent.
The enormous amount of fuel In this hill
cannot be realized unless one walks around
Il and then chambers up one side to the top
and Crawls down the other. The pile il
from so to 1899 feet long. Fara!ielinE the
Pennsylvania main lire. and only about
thirty t"et from the tracks. II Is from 80
70 90 iyct a. Inc base. and tapers TO loo feet
I'm height. Il looks very much like the loose
stone formation seen on the hills of the
Junlata and COnemauCh valleys. through
which the Pennsylvania road travels.
on one side Of the Pennsylvania tracks
the hill Is cut away. showing the clay,
Shale. slate and coal outcroppings. and the
coke pile, with lis dark. broken mass. forms
Il gorge through which trains pass.
1t is told OF a learned professor in Al
Eastern college that in passing the mound
b" ullateJ on the peculiar formation of the
earth that would permit the exposure Of Il
clay vein in such close proximity to a
lava formation. II doesn't look As though
human HANDS placed it there.
This is not the only reserve supply II
material the Carnegie Steel COMPANY main
"f land are covered with ore. Lake Superb
or mines. of various grades for mixing pur-
poses, that would keep the concern running
almost three months II the supply was shit
OFF entirely. So it is with the coal and lime
stone supplies. Great stacks of each are
stored away from time to time. when prices
are low and are consumed during a scarcity.
II Is said that besides putting his money
into libraries. Andrew Carnegie believes i'm
putting as much more into materials when
prices are low; hence the enormous adyaa-
taEes his concern enjoys when they become
scarce ana priced.
The coke pile at Resemer would. II the
whole coke supply was shut of. last the
Carnegie Steel Company six weeks.