The sun., 1909-02-14
SEED OF THE STEEL TRUST.
YOUNG Andrew kiomsn Planted II Flfty
Years Ago.


Just half a century ago the seed was
planted which has since grown into the
mighty tree known as the steel trust.
In the year 1858 one Andrew Kloman.
with his brother. constructed a small
iron making plant at Millvale, Pa, now
part Of Allegheny.
The valuation Of this plant as appraised
by it's owners at the time was A.soo.
Within one year after formation q third
partner was taken in and the style changed
TO Kloman Bros. Another year ana
Henry Phpps became interested. and
again. says Moodys Md0dxine. the firm
name was changed. this time to Kloman
a Phipps. 49, -.
Now the business began to grow
by leaps and bounds. The OWL war had
come on. the demand for iron products
nearly doubled. and with this demand the
prices trebled. From $500 a ton In
1891 the cost TO the consumer rapidly
climbed 70 s73 80 a ton before the war
period was over. sa..-..
Almost before people realized II the
Kloman furnace had forged TO the front
in iron making. was employing perhaps Q
hundred men and doing business OF
500 600 or more a year. This meant tho
production Of probably fifteen hundred
tons OF iron year. an amount which is
exceeded by the production Of an hour
at the present time. 49,.
About this time q young man OF 90.
Andrew Carnegie by name. reco gnized the
growing possibilities Of iron manufacture.
and was induced 70 acquire an interest
in the enterprise. He soon dominated the
policy OF the concern and in the course OF
time the firm name was changed to Car
neSie. Ph,pps d Co.. Ltd, and it's capital
had increased to $4,000, on which an
annual net profit Of from 10 to Is psr
cent. was being shown, INV. si-
Prior to 1870 commerce and industry
worked ct 2. handicap. With the pres
syre for material progress on every side.
the extension Of the railroad systems,
the construction of heavier vehicles, OF
machinery ard Of larger buildings, and
the development OF inventions, came an
irsistent demand for a now metal.
that should be as strong as eteel and a.
usirg iron rails, which broke up con-
stertly and usually wore out In . year or
two Of hard usage. The high cost Of
steel. however. made II impossible for
them to use anything else but iron. :"
Almost simultaneously two inventive
gcniuses proved themselves men OF the
hour'-Sir Henry Bessemer. an Eng
lishman. and William Kelly, an Irish
Americca OF Pittsburg. They both, tn-
known to each other, arrived at prao-
ticaly the same solution of the problem
CT about the same time. Theyinvented
whft has become known as the @besse-
mer process" by means OF which the iron
and steel trades were revofutionized.
Kelly as far back as iS47 knew that he
he'd discovered the process. Bessemer. as
long ago as 1855, but IL was not until nearly
1879 thet the merit OF their discovery
was widely recognized. The process as
worked out by these men, however. was
rot entirely complete, and the work Of
third inventor. Robert F. Mushet. was
needed before perfection was reached.
This was in 1870. Other improvements
in the process were afterward intro
duced as the method came widely into
vogue
1t Is interesting TO note that Mushet.
the perfector Of the process. never re-
ceived pecuniary reward for his oontri-
button TO posterity. William Kelly. the
pioneer. received In all about half q
million dollars. but little fame In the great
outside world Henry Bessemer secured
the lions share Of worldly fame and
honor as we'll as great financial gain.
In money ten million dollars was his
portion; In honor. an English knight
hood; In reputation, worldwide fame.
his name being the only ore of the three
commonly known in connection with the
modern process of steel manufacture