The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-01
RAILROAD 4NEWS.
Defense Is Made in Behalf of
Steel Rails.
Iron Age Becomes Champion of
the Manufacturers.
CALLS CRITICS UNJUST
Public Is vitality Interested in
the Controversy.
Other Items of Interest to
Railway People.

In the controversy now in progress
| between the railroads and the manu-
facturers of steel rails regarding where
the responsibility rightfully belongs for
the many disastrous accidents traced
directly to faulty rails. the Iron Age
comes to the defense of the raiImakers,
and charges the daily papers with talk
ing on subject about which they are
not duly advised, when they report
that any of the blame rests with the
manufacturers. The trade paper in
question attempts to demonstrate that
the accidents are due to the fact that
the steel rails now in track are being
subjected to both use and abuse such
as they We're never intended TO with
stand.
From 1879 to 1888 the output of Bes-
semer and open hearth steel rails, the
Iron Age has this to say:
From 1879 to 1888 the output of Bes-
semer steel rails ranged from !, 900 900
10 2,O0O,OOO tons year, the high point
being reached in 1887. That the posi-
bflity of any competition between the
two processes in rail manufacture was
not entertained at that time is evident
from this comment, which appears in
the report of the American Iron and
Steel association, issued under date of
May 1. 1884:
No special significance attaches to
the decreased production of open hearth
open hearth steel will never be a COM
petitor with Bessemer steel in the man
ufacture of rails
The output of open hearth steel was
1ncOnSequential from 1855 to 1903. In
the latter year the total. which was p
093 tons in 1901 and 6.O29 tons in 1902
rose to 1904 with the starting up of
the Tennessee Coal. Iron and Railroad
company's mill at Ensley. In 1904 the
total was 145.ss3 tons, in 1905 it was
1S3.264 tons and in 1906 over 200. 600 tons.
In the last week the attitude of the
Hartman lines, whose position respect
ing rail prices and rail specifications
has been one of protest for some years,
was emphasized by two developments.
One was the placing of contracts for
100000 tons of open-hearth rails; the
other was the reading of a letter con-
corning rail breakages at the meeting
of the directors of the Union Pacific
railroad. The letter was addressed to
President Hartman by J. Kruttschnitt,
the Union Pacific director of mainten-
ance and operation. and said that 449
broken rails had been discovered on the
Union Pacific line in February last,
119 of the number having been 90
pound rails. Mr.. Kruttschnitt suggest
ed that Mr.. Hartman personally bring
the matter to the attention of the di-
rectors of the United States Steel cor
pora ton.
method of attack employed in some of
the publications of the last few weeks
is not sanctioned by railroad officials of
prominence. They have too thorough an
appreciation, not only of the serious
import of some of the sweeping asser-
tions made, but of the extent to which
the railroad practice of recent years is
involved, to want to try so important
and many-sided an engineering prob
lem in the public press. Where rail-
road men high in authority and steel
men qualified to speak for their COM
panies have soberly taken up the ques-
ton of rail failures there has been
nothing of heated accusation, but a re-
alization that all the light is wanted
that either side can throw on the sub
ject."
1t appears to be overlooked or for
gotten by the Iron Age that there is
a third party vitality interested in this
controversy While hundreds of hu-
man lives have been sacrificed during
the last few months. through the fail
ure of one of the other two. or maybe
BOTH to meet the full requirements of
the case, it seems rather unreasonable
to expect the mouthpiece of the public,
the daily press, to remain silent on the
subject.