Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-01-27
BETHLEHEM STEEL PREPARED
FOR PEACE AS WELL AS WAR

That the Bethlehem Steel company
is prepared for peace with a program
for rebuilding Europe, and is better
prepared for peace now than it was
for war two and one-half years ago,
is the feature of an article on the
Bethlehem company, written by David
II. Biddle, of the editorial staff of the
Philadelphia North American.
Mr.. Biddle was formerly with the
, Harrisburg Telegraph. Since joining
the staff of the North American, he
has made an industrial survey of COM
munities of Central and Eastern Penn
| sylvania and found unprecedented
prosperity. He is making another tour
| of the same communities with view
to ascertaining the permanence of
prosperity as he found it in 1915. His
account of future prospects of the
Bethlehem Steel company follows in
part:
Bethlehem. Pa, Jan. 23.-There
will be no war baby" bubble burst
ing in Bethlehem when the war ends.
Bethlehem Steel is prepared for
Europe and plant big enough to car
ry it out.
Even the doubling Bethlehems are
at last convinced that a plant into
which $25,000,000 has already been
poured for expansion and which still
goes on growing cannot slip away in
the night. A monthly payroll of ST.
100000 and 10000 new inhabitants
building 1000 new homes are rather
comforting things TO an awakened
pair of "show-me" communities.
The most convincing thing about
h. -. x.f II l.. -
that every department is choked with
orders to 1918. nor that almost every
week new building goes up, nor any
of the well-known bullish tips to the
market and the street.
But Bethlehem is better prepared
for the coming of peace today than
it was for the coming of war two and
one-half years ago.
In all of Bethlehems foreign con-
tracts for shells and ordnance there is
written a clause which means that
European governments when they no
longer need shells will turn to Bethle-
hem for the steel of reconstruction.
1t is estimated that war orders total
ing more than $100,000,000 are held
here. If the war should end tomor-
row the foreign governments have
agreed to substitute at once for the
shells they don't want an equivalent
order for commercial steel.
With less than half of the produc-
ton of the giant plant going into
munitions making and this to be re-
placed with foreign commercial busi-
ness when munitions are no longer
needed, officials have no hesitancy in
saying that the full force of 10000
mon now at work Will be needed when
peace is declared.
Sudden peace might, for the mo-
ment, halt work in some departments,
it is admitted, but peace will not come
that way, the feeling is here. When
it does come, this steel giant will be
ready to take up the job of putting
Europe on its feet again with plant
that can make almost anything peace
able that Europe may want.
A constructive program is being
worked out, q program that will keep
lathes turning when no more 14-inch
shells are wanted abroad, a program
that will add new products to the va
ried production of "Schwab's folly"
Crucible steel products are already
being made here, and that line will
he expanded. Ingot and molding
foundries are considered as another
line. There is possibility that Beth
lehem will go into the making of
standard parts of steel ships which
will be put together at the three ship
yards now held by the Schwab inter
ests. All of these possibilities are con-
sidered in the program which is to
keep the Lehigh valley filled with
smoke after the battleflelds of Eu-
rope are cleared.
New Buildings All the Time
There is no mushroom growth about
the score of buildings and additions
under construction now. These new
machine shops, new rolling mills, new
blast furnaces, new power houses, are
permanent expansions of commercial
departments to handle the demand
for steel which peace cannot stop.
Since the war started S25.000,000
has been spent in building additions
to the plant. Millions more are be-
ing spent now or will be spent this
year. One expansion alone is costing
100000.
The capacity of mills in which
structural steel is rolled is being doub-
led by building operation which
started this week. This department
has been increased 60 per cent. since
the war started. The milling capacity
has already jumped from $4,000 tons
q month to 10000 tons a MONTH
and this capacity is to be doubled.
Six new open-hearth furnaces have
been built since august, 1914. A as
inch blooming mill. five bar and billet
mills have been added. The blast fur
mace capacity of the plant has jump
ed third. Seven generators, each of