The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-07-20
DAMASCUS STEEL SECRET
a PRISONER PAROLEO IN ORDER
THAT 1T MAY BE REVEALED.
The Extraordinary story of the Dis
covery of :. II. Dawson, and Why
Five Years Delay Resulted.

Des Moines Qa.) Letter in Chicago Record
Herald.
In a safety deposit vault OF the Des
Moines National Bank lies secret that
may revolutionze the steel industry of
the United States. To that vault there are
three keys. One is held by the bank, one
by the officers of the Damascus Steel Com
pany, and S. r. Dawson. convict in the
penitentiary at Anamosa, holds the third
key. Because it required all three keys 10
open the vault. Mr. Dawson is at home to-
cay a free man. paroled by Gov. L. NJ.
Shaw during good behavior.
Five years ago Dawson, who discovered
and placed the secret In the strong box,
! entered the walls of Anamosa TO begin a
ten-year sentence for the murder of Wal
ter Scott, who had eloped with his daugh-
ter. Clara Dawson. Behind the walls of
stone and bars of iron the aged inventor
carried the key TO the safety vault. Wheed-
ling, coaxing. threats opportunities and
commands had no effect on him. He
tanned his hold upon his secret, and de-
clared time and time again that he would
die in prison rather than give up his secret.
With good behavior allowance Mr. Daw-
son had fifteen months of his sentence yet
TO serve, when DR.. L. d. Rood, president
of the steel company. interested Governor
Shaw in the case and pointed out TO him
that through the death in prison OF the
old inventor science might lose again the
secret of hardening steel and copper. The
Governor was told that Mr.. Dawson had
promised to give up the key in his pos
session when he became disabled, but that
he had maintained from the first that his
imprisonment was not equivalent 10 dis
ability, and had refused to allow his
cret to get into other hands.
Rather than permit the secret to be
placed in jeopardy Gov. Shaw last week
exercised executive clemency. Thus it was
that the little key TO a strong box In Des
Moines unlocked the great gates of the
State prison and permitted old man TO
go forth free TO realize the dream of his life
to make steel like that of ancient Dam
ascus.
BEGINS WHERE HE LEFT OFF.
Aged. gaunt, with grizzled beard and
hair, Dawson is to-day just where he was
on Christmas eve 1896. He was on the verge
of success after lifetime of work. self
denial and encouragement. During the
tumn he had interested local capitalists in
his discovery and had been assured of
abundant capital to put his process on the
market. The Damascus Steel Company,
with an authorized capital of $3.50 600, had
been formed by his friends and he had just
returned from a visit to the East, where he
had interested some of the great steel men.
To the new year he looked forward as
bringing riches and commercial success
! from his plan Of making steel. But domes-
tic trouble had lowered over him for two
years like cloud and eliminated that
Hateful Christmas eve in tragedy.
Dawsons friends declare that he never
meant to kill Scott. They contend that the
latter drove the old man almost insane
with his determination to wed Clara Daw
son, despite parental opposition. She was
only sixteen when she met Walter Scott.
She was pretty, plump and he was not bad
looking. They fell madly in love, and until
their attachment ended in wedding and Il
murder their courtship was full of storms
First OF all, Clara was committed by her
parents to the state asylum for the insane
az Mount Pleasant. Scott, learning of this,
enlisted the support of some prominent
citizens and secured her release on habeas
corpus proceedings. His victory was short
lived, for his sweetheart suddenly disap-
peared again. Scott searched and searched
and finally learned that she was I'm a con-
vent in Chicago. Finally he went TO the St.
Xavier Academy, at Wabash avenue and
Twenty-ninth street, hoping that he might
see the girl he loved. Miss Dawson hap
pened TO be at window and she told him
that she was imprisoned there against her
| will. Scott sought the mother superior and
begged her to release the girl.
The mother superior declared that the
| girl was pining away and said she would
| keep her no longer, but the lover was foied
again. Miss Clara held in the convent
| until her father arrived. He took her TO
| Canton. O., and later placed her in school
| at Dayton. She wrote to Scott and. escap-
| ing from the school reached relatives at
keokuk, la. The lovers were corresponding
| regularly and arranged to meet at Ottum-
wa, Ia, and get married.
HAD SCOTT ARRESTED.
Father Dawson intercepted the letters
and had Scott arrested, charged with i'm
| proper of the mails. On the evening
| before the day arranged for the meeting
Scott secured bonds and started for Keo-
| kuk to claim his bride. Miss Dawson's
| father learned of il. and securing another
warrant for Scotts arrest FASTENED to Keo-
| kuk to meet him. The lovers had scarcely
| embraced each other befose the warrant
| was served, Scott was taken TO Jail and the
! daughter was taken home by her irate
| father.
| Later Scott was released without trial
and arriving in Des Moines went to Daw-
| sons home accompanied by a policeman.
! Miss Dawson by this time had reached her
majority and Scott asked her to marry him
She refused. declaring that she could not
| do so as long as her parents opposed the
match. In three weeks Scott. meeting her
often, induced her to change her mind and
the day before Christmas they went to a
justice of the peace and were married.
Scott took his bride to the home of his
parents and with policeman called at the
Dawson home TO get her effects. Without
warning the desperate father-in-law fred
three shots at Scott from 4 revolver, in
stantly killing him.
The trial which followed a famous
one and the prisoner received a sentence
! of only ten years on account of his age
and the extenuating circumstances. Soon
| after her aged father entered upon the
peritentiary sentence Clara Dawson Scott
| the cause of the tragedy, married another
man and for three years nothing has been
| heard of her
| Having paid the penalty for his crime
| Mr.. Dawson takes up the work his
steel discovery just where he left it when
| he went TO prison. He will rest short
time and visit with his family and then
| he will meet the officers of the Damascus
| Steel Company. 1t Is expected that at
| that conference. which is 10 be held soon.
| IL will be decided 10 make a thorough
| test of the question of producing the steel
| in commercial quantities. If IL can be DEM
| onstrated, as Mr.. Dawson claims IL can,
| that the steel may be made cheaply. the
| field for it is great as the steel in
| dustry.
! No one can deny that Dawson makes
! Damascus steel Whether he can do il in
! large quantities at small cost or reasonable
cost has never been determined. A few
/ years ago he went TO Chicago with c. c..
! Mccarthy. who was then auditor OF state.
| A room which contained a blast furnace
| was hired and the steel manufactured.
VITAL PROCESS A SECRET.
Dawson allowed Mccarthy and his
friends to remain in the room and watch
all but one portion of the process. When
the time came for the mixing of the Sc
cret ingredient with the melted ore he