The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1919-10-24
GEOGRAPHIC Society Gives Inter.
esting Chronicle Of Indus
try's Origin.
CHANGED Making OF STEEL
Two Men Working In Different coun.
tries, Without knowledge Of Each
Other, Arrive at Same ConcIu-
sion About Same Time.

Washington. - In view Of the nation
wide attention directed toward the
strike OF steel workers, the National
Geographic society has issued bull
letin based on communication from
william Joseph Showalter. concerning
the making Of steel, which he terms
"industry's greatest asset"
"The story Of Bessemer steel Is one
of the fascinating chronicles OF the
Industrial world" the bulletin says.
ut seems 20 have been one of those
cases where two men working In DIFF
ferent countries. each without knowl-
edge of what the other was doing.
reached the same conclusion about the
same time Both were granted Amer
lean patents; but upon application for
renewal. the patent held Kelly to be
the inventor. The world. however,
gives the credit to Bessemer, and the
process Is known as the Bessemer
process.
Made We Olden Cook Pots.
Kelly was n maker of old-fashioned
cooking pots and kettles. 1t Is re-
lated that one day he was sitting In
front of his furnace and observed a
point of incandescence where there
was no charcoal-only the metal and
the air. This led him to contend that
air alone would burn out the impuri
ties from molten iron.
''When he developed his fitting con
verter his engineer blew such a tire
mendous blast through the frs
charge that iron and all went up a'
sparks, to his discontinue and thu
crowds amusement. He finally sue
ceeded in getting the amount of al
regulated, and poured out Of his con
verter the first Bessemer steel. Pee
pie said Kelly would soon be burning
lee Since his old converter was frs
used. billions Of dollars worth Of stee
has flowed out of the worlds convert
ers.
Both Nelly and Bessemer were bal
fed by the problem Of regulating tn
supply of air SO that 1t would not bur
out all the carbon, little Of which
essential to steel. Furthermore, thei
products frequently proved to be brit
tie, owing to the fact that the molte
metal absorbed oxygen from the al
blast. The first difficulty was solve
eventually by the expedient of burr
ing out practically all the carbon. the
adding exactly the amount require
for the specific quality Of steel d.
sired.
"The second difficulty was overcom
through the addition of manganese
take care of the hurtful oxygen. TT
latter suggestion was the contribute
of Robert f. Mushet. Scotch ste
maker. Goranson, a Swedish ironnNi
ter, had previously achieved the san
results by using pig iron initial
rich in manganese. Thereafter u
derdone and overdone steel disa
peared
More Fire Than In Oante's Intern
ITO go into great building whe
there Is a battery Of Bessemer CONVEX
ers Is to see more heat than Dan
ever pictured A converter Is hu
egg swung 'amidships' on trunnior
The great egg of steel lined with Il
brick has the top of. Twenty tons
molten pig are poured into 1t, and tn
through some 200 little holes in the b.
tom pumping engines pump In
stream Of cold air. AS the oxygt
laden air sweeps up through the m
ten iron, 1t touches the molten carb
and silicon, which constitute the
purities. and carries them away.
millions OF red and white spar
fill the air. as II some demon witt