USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Braddock > The unwritten history of Braddock's Field (Pennsylvania) > Part 9
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For these little 5-ton converters A. L. Holley invented the re- movable converter bottom, vastly prolonging the converter's usefulness. The Blooming Mill was a 32-inch mill, run by Mackintosh-Hemphill en- gines. In the boiler house were 20 cylinder boilers with two large flues passing through the center about 25 feet long. The rail mill was a "three- high" 23-inch, hook-and-tong mill, operated by a 46 x 48" engine. At the stands were six men, three on each side, who with hooks suspended from above, caught the rail when it passed through and lifted it to the next
(1) The Edgar Thomson plant was not, as is sometimes erroneously supposed, a pioneer steel plant in America. In 1875 the country had about a dozen Bessemer plants, producing almost 400,000 tons of Bessemer steel annually. Regarding the steel business in the Pittsburgh district, I quote the following from Mr. George Stevens Page, manager of the Park Works of the Crucible Steel Company of America :
"In 1813 Tupper & McKowan operated the first 'blister steel' furnace in Pitts- burgh. It did not prove a success.
"In 1841 Patrick and James Dunn made 'blister steel' for J. H. Schoenberger. The business was unsuccessful, and was abandoned in a year or two. About the same time Tingle & Sugden began making cast steel on a small scale for their own use for files. Not a success.
"In 1845 Jones & Quigg began making 'blister steel' for springs and plows. About the same time Coleman, Hailman & Company started making 'blister steel' for the same purpose.
"From about 1844 most of the manufacturers of puddled iron made 'blister steel', but Jones & Quigg, and Coleman, Hailman & Company were the only two estab- lishments that could then be classed as 'steel works.' Both these firms tried to make cast steel but failed to make a success of it.
"In 1848 Singer-Nimick & Company engaged in making 'blister steel' and in 1853 took up the manufacture of cast steel for saws and agricultural implements, and in- creased their plant to make the finer grades of tool steels.
"What was known as 'blister steel' was made from puddled iron by packing the iron bars between layers of charcoal in a retort furnace and heating up the retort for a week or more, the wrought iron absorbing the Carbon. This product might well have been called 'carbonized wrought iron.'
"The 'cast steel' referred to was steel melted in a crucible and cast into moulds as is done today, producing crucible steel ingots.
"From all appearances, Singer-Nimick & Company in 1853 were the first to suc- ezed in making crucible cast steel in Pittsburgh, the attempts of other parties at earlier dates having been without success."
1.
7
THE EDGAR THOMSON STEEL WORKS. 1876.
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.THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
pass (it was a positive roll train, horizontal construction). There were twelve to fourteen rail passes in all. The hot saws were operated by a 14 x 24" engine. There were four straightening presses, and four drill presses operated by a 12 x 20" engine. Two cold saws were operated by an 11 x 20" engine.
We must pause to note a change in the name of the concern, even before this plant commenced operation. The panic prompted the Pennsyl- vania legislature to pass an act in 1874 authorizing the formation of lim- ited liability companies. In the failure of Andrew Kloman, a member of the original firm, his partners saw the dangers of the existing contract, and accordingly on October 12, 1874, the firm of Carnegie, McCandless & Company dissolved into the Edgar Thomson Steel Company, Limited, capi- tal $1,000,000, which purchased the new plant for $631,250.43 and as- sumed a mortgage thereon of $201,000. From an old catalogue, whose date I have placed at 1877, we find the organization of this firm to have been as follows :-
MEMBERS.
A. Carnegie, of Carnegie, Bro. & Co., 57 Broadway, New York. John Scott, President, A. V. R. R. Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.
D. McCandless, Vice Pres., Exchange Nat. Bank, Pittsburgh, Pa. D. A. Stewart, Pres. Pgh. Loco. & Car Works, Pittsburgh, Pa. Thos. M. Carnegie, Treas., Keystone Bridge Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. H. Phipps, Jr., Treas., Lucy Furnace Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. Wm. P. Shinn, V. P., A. V. R. R. Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.
MANAGERS.
John Scott,
D. McCandless, Chairman. Thomas M. Carnegie, D. A. Stewart, Wm. P. Shinn, Secretary and Treasurer.
OPERATING OFFICERS.
Wm. P. Shinn, General Manager,
Capt. Wm. R. Jones, Gen'l Supt. Capt. Thos. H. Lapsly, Supt. Rail Mill.
CAPTAIN JONES.
JULIAN KENNEDY.
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THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
ADMINISTRATION OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM R. JONES.(1)
Here must have been a remarkable man. After a lapse of almost 30 years his aging employees still glow with pleasure at the mention of his name, and the most calm and philosophic of them flush with resentment at the suggestion that he could have had a fault. The whole world, in fact, seems leagued together to give this man a title of nobility "which it will forever defend."
Frankly admitted on all sides is the fact that Jones had a fiery temper. Beyond that, the most cynical, the most philosophic of his men utterly refuse to say one word that is not complimentary to the dead lion, and the conscientious historian can do nothing but record eulogy on eulogy.
His remarkable hold on the hearts of men originated in his physical and moral courage. Physically he was absolutely fearless, and morally he had the courage to give expression to every good impulse of his soul; to give freely and generously on every impulse, undeterred by fear of unto- ward consequences or accusations of partiality ; likewise, he had the cour- age to confess his error when he was wrong, to apologize to the humblest of his men when he thought he had erred, and under any circumstances, to do or say whatever he thought at the moment to be right.
He was a great lover of sports, and in encouraging them estab- lished a tradition for his office which has ever since obtained. On the old race track (now the Union R. R. yard) he and C. C. Teeter and others of- ten had horse races, and the Captain was himself a stockholder in the old Pittsburgh Base Ball Club.
One of the greatest mechanical geniuses of his time,(2) and a born leader of men, he was a most fortunate head for the young plant to secure.
(1) Born in Luzerne Co., Pa., Feb. 23, 1839. At age of ten apprenticed to Crane Iron Co. at Catasauqua, Pa., foundry and machine shop. At 16 regular journeyman machinist. Next to William Millens Machine Shop, Jeanesville, Pa. In 1856 went to I. P. Morris & Company's Philadelphia shops as machinist. In the panic of 1857, farm hand and lumberman at Tyrone. In 1859, machinist at Cambria Iron Works, Johns- town, and in the same year went to Chattanooga, Tenn., assisting in erection of blast furnace, where he married Miss Harriet Lloyd. In 1861 machinist with Cambria Iron Co. In 1862 volunteered on Lincoln's call, enlisting as private in 133d Reg. P. V. Pro- moted to corporal. Captain of Company F, 194th Reg. P. V. Was in battles of Fred- ericksburg and Chancellorsville. In 1865 returned to Cambria as Assistant General Superintendent. Resigned August, 1873.
There was a quiet rivalry between Jones and Barnes for the Edgar Thomson Superintendency, but Jones secured the appointment.
(2) Patented device for operating ladles in Bessemer process; improvement in hose couplings; fastenings for Bessemer converters; washers for ingot moulds; hot beds for bending rails; machine for sawing metal bars; apparatus for compressing ingots while casting; ingot mould; cooling roll journals and shafts; feeding appliance for rolling mills; gas furnace for boilers; appliance for rolls; housing caps for rolls; and the famous Jones Mixer, an "apparatus and method for mixing molten Pig Metal."
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THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
On the operating staff of Captain Jones were the following men :- Engineers and Chief Draughtsmen: Jno. Stevenson, Jr., Simon C. Collin, Wm. I. Mann, P. T. Berg, and C. M. Schwab, C. E .; Blast Furnaces, Julian Kennedy,(1) J. Cremer, James Gayley; Furnace Master Mechanic, Rich. Stevens; Mill Master Mechanic, Thos. James; Electrician, Wm. R. Pierce; Superintendent Boilers, John Noey; Converting Works, John Rinard and H. W. Benn; Carpenter, Geo. Nimon; Transportation and Labor, F. L. Bridges and Thos. Cosgrove; Chief Clerk, C. C. Teeter; Roll Designer, Robert Morris; Rail Mills, Capt. Thos. H. Lapsly and John Hutzen; Fin- ishing Department, John Frederick; Secretary, W. E. Gettys; Masonry, Thos. Addenbrook; Chief Chemists : A. J. Preusse, S. A. Ford, H. C. Tor- rance, Albert DeDeken.
During that September the young plant put out 1,119 tons of rails, at a cost of $57 per ton. The very first rails sold for $80 a ton, but the average price for the month netted $66.50 f. o. b. (2) works, making a profit for the firm of $10,630.50 at the very start. By the end of the year the . . rail profits amounted to $41,970. During 1876 they made $181,000 and in 1877, $190,379.
The profits of the young concern would have been even larger but for the steadily decreasing price brought by steel rails :-
1873 $120 per ton
1874 100 per ton
1875 70 per ton
1876
58 per ton
1877 45 per ton
1878
42 per ton
With such a falling market, the ingenuity of Jones was taxed to the utmost, and the economy of Shinn and Phipps exerted to the full. It was at this time, in fact, that Wm. P. Shinn, General Manager, introduced the exact cost keeping system, which, perfected by Phipps, has obtained ever since. Only by constant invention and improvement could Jones keep operating costs below the falling market prices, for you will note that the selling price of rails in 1877 was $12 below the cost of producing those rails in 1875. As early as 1877, therefore, we find Jones making marked improvements at the mill, one of which was an automatic roller table, operated by a single man, to displace the hook and tong men at the stands.
----
(1) Mr. Kennedy was at E. T. Works from 1879 to 1883.
(2) "Free on board cars at ...... "
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. THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
The longest rail rolled in ordinary practice was 40 feet, although at the Centennial of 1876 the young plant had a 90-foot rail on exhibition.
We come now to the next great period of development at the plant. While blooms for the rail mill were secured sometimes from Cambria and occasionally even from England, most of the pig iron came from Lucy Furnaces. All of the Edgar Thomson firm were not interested in Lucy's welfare, and hence discussions arose as to the proper price Edgar Thom- son should pay for pig iron. Furthermore, under the direction of Captain Jones, the plant was rapidly proving itself a most profitable venture, and the success of the Lucy project was very enticing. From these considera- tions it was therefore decided to erect a blast furnace plant at Edgar Thomson, and the campaign started in 1879 under the supervision of Mr. Julian Kennedy. Andrew Kloman, one of the original partners, had failed, and a small charcoal furnace which he had built at Escanaba was purchased for $16,000 or so and transported to Braddock, where it became the old 65 x 15 ft. Furnace "A."(1) This furnace was blown in January 4, 1880,(2) and on her first lining produced an average of 56 tons daily, with about 2,650 pounds coke to the ton of iron. Mr. Richard Stevens, who had come to the plant in March, 1875, was given the position of Master Mechanic at the new Furnace Department, and ably assisted in making it a success.
A second furnace, "B", was blown in April 2, 1880, and the third furnace of the group, the "C", November 6, 1880. Furnace "B" in her first year produced an average of 5,500 tons per month on 2,570 pounds
(1) The "A", "B", and "C" Furnaces were constructed (according to Mr. Ad- denbrook) from drawings and plans furnished by the Philadelphia branch of Chas. Cochran & Company, an English concern.
The "A", "B", and "C" engines were built by Mackintosh, Hemphill & Company, of Pittsburgh. Originally they had 32" steam cylinders, 84" air cylinders, and 48" stroke. The shaft was 12" in diameter and crank pins 6", and engines were built for a maximum pressure of 7 pounds. There was one engine room with six blowing engines, and one pump house with three Worthington 3,500,000-gallon duplex pumps.
(2) The first furnace was lit by Captain Jones' daughter, Cora, and this pretty custom has been generally followed ever since. For some inscrutable reason what sentiment there is in the steel business seems to converge on the grim and fairly silent blast furnace. The far more impressive converter is ignored. Many blast fur- naces received affectionate titles, such as "Carrie," "Edith," "Lucy," "Isabella," "Mary," Alice," etc.
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THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
coke to the ton of iron, and the "C" Furnace produced similar results. (1)
Labor was cheap, (2) and improvements came rapidly, and by 1881 the new plant had cleared $2,690,157.57 and its prosperity remained un- checked. During that year the rapid growth of the steel industry justi- fied further expansion, and on April 1st, Carnegie Bros. & Co., as the firm was now called,(3) purchased 26 acres from Wm. Martin and wife, cov- ering part of the present Open Hearth site and the Union Railroad yard tracks. In that year a Blooming Mill was erected, being enlarged to 36" size, followed in 1882 by a new converting works. Plans were also drawn for a new General Office building, and in the spring of 1882 the Captain at last took a well earned vacation and went to Europe, an experience which we may imagine he enjoyed to the full.
The corner stone of the present general office building was laid May 27, 1882, and from the papers found therein we learn that even at that early date the Amalgamated Association, a labor union, was having trouble with the manufacturers, although it did not develop into anything serious for years later.
In England, Captain Jones, who was such a common, every-day, fig- ure on Braddock streets, where he would stroll along eating peanuts (which often cost him 25 or 50c a package-"no change, thank you,")- in England, this man was greeted as a marvel and a genius. What he had accomplished in production had astonished the British manufacturers and revolutionized the steel industry. The profits of the Braddock plant had rolled up enormously, and already repaid in full the original investment :-
(1) "B & C" were 20 ft. diameter of bosh, 80 ft. high. They had eight stoves, six being 75 x 20 and two 75 x 21 ft.
(2) Boys, 50c daily; general laborers, $1.20 and $1.30; blacksmith, $2, helper, $1.40; machinist, $2.25, helper, $1.40; carpenter, $2.10; bricklayer, $1.30; heater, $100 monthly; roller, $120; spiegel melter, $85; vesselman, $90.
(3) David McCandless, first chairman of the Company, died in 1879, and Wm. P. Shinn, General Manager, expected to succeed him. Thos. M. Carnegie, however, was elected. Shinn was bitterly disappointed, and at this time became involved in legal tangles with the other partners, finally resigning from the company. Consequently, a new firm was organized April 1, 1881, Carnegie Bros. & Company, Ltd., capital $5,- 000,000, the stock being divided as follows :-
Andrew Carnegie $2,737,977.05
Thos. M. Carnegie 878,096.58
Henry Phipps 878,096.58
Dav. A. Stewart 175,318.78
John Scott 175,318.78
Gardiner McCandless 105,191.00
J. W. Vandervort 50,000.00
Although frequently invited, Jones was never a stockholder. He once told the execu- tive officers, "Oh, pay me a h-I of a salary and let it go at that." His request was generously niet for he received $50,000 a year.
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THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
1875
$ 41,970
1876
· 181,007
1877
190,379
1878
250,000
1879
401,800
1880
1,625,000
5-1/3 Years $2,690,156
Meanwhile the blast furnace development continued, Furnace "D" being blown in April 19, 1882,(1) "E" June 27, 1882,(2) "F" October 7, 1886, and "G", June 20, 1887.(3) On April 1, 1887, an addition to the plant was purchased from John Mckinney, 21 acres in all, covering the site of the present No. 3 Mill and Splice Bar department.
Just as the early steel makers gave their lives to the development of the young plant, so did their families abandon their very homes to its encroaching progress. About where the electric shop now stands, two rows of ten houses each had been built in 1876 and across the old road was another row of houses where No. 3 Mill now is. Four fine brick houses were built in 1882 on the site of the present "J" and "K" furnaces, and at different times were occupied by Julian Kennedy, Richard Stevens, Thom- as Cosgrove, C. M. Schwab, C. C. Teeter, Morgan Harris, Michael Killeen, and Thos. James. These houses now began to be too close to the smoke and dirt of the works for the comfort of the occupants, and row by row they went down, the last ones, at the Furnace Department, being destroyed in 1890. (Capt. Jones himself lived in the house now occupied by Mr. A. E. Maccoun) .
In September, 1888, Jones' greatest invention, the "Jones Mixer," 125 tons capacity, was placed in operation. The iron from all the furnaces is poured into this mixer, and thus uniform iron is supplied to the con- verters. The patent on this mixer was successfully defended by the Steel Corporation in 1905, and the idea has been used in all the steel plants of the world.
(1) The "A, B & C" engines had proved inadequate, so the "D) & E" engines were built, for a maximum air pressure of 12 pounds. They also became inadequate for the work required, so the steam cylinders were changed to 40" diameter. These engines were built by Robinson & Rea, of Pittsburgh. Here were six engines for two furnaces, 40 x 84 x 48" stroke, 12" shaft and 6" crank pins.
(2) The "D & E" furnaces were 23 ft. diameter of bosh and 80 ft. high. They had six stoves each 7812 x 21 ft. and one Whitwell stove 78 x 20 ft. Cast houses were 54 x 180 ft.
(3) The "F & G" were 22 ft. diameter of bosh and 80 ft. high. They had seven stoves, 7812 x 21 ft. Cast houses 55 x 160 ft. Five 40 x 84 x 60" stroke blowing engines.
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. THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
The plant up to this time had been under the control of labor or- ganizations. The Amalgamated Association broke up in 1884, only to be succeeded by the Knights of Labor. The plant had been run on an eight- hour basis, and when the company attempted to inaugurate a twelve-hour basis in 1887, trouble ensued. The men refused to sign the annual agree- ment, and a strike followed December 31, 1887, which continued until May 12, 1888, the plant being entirely shut down except for the mechanical de- partment. When the men finally surrendered and signed the sliding scale inaugurated at that time (by which their pay, in many cases, varies with the selling price of the product) also accepting the 12-hour day, the back- bone of Union labor was broken in the Edgar Thomson mills. To C. C. Teeter much of the credit for this first sliding scale must be given.
Captain Jones had often told the officials of his company that if they would only give him the chance he would build them a rail mill that was worthy of the name and would far surpass the old one that they had, and in 1887 he got his chance. In that year the new mill, now known as No. 1, was constructed, with every late improvement of the day installed, and the old mill was slated for the scrap heap.
In the new mill the ordinary three high, positive roll train, run by a single engine, was divided into three trains, the first five passes being made in one three-high 24" train, the second five in a second three-high 24" train, to which the first delivers directly, and the last finishing pass in- a two-high train of 24" rolls. Each train is run by its own independent engine, the first and second being 46 x 60", and the third 30 x 48". This mill was nearly automatic, one man handling the levers which lift the tables, move the tumblers, etc. Each roll train had a hydraulic crane for changing rolls. From the bloom furnaces to the hot beds, the roll trains, tables, etc., were in one long, straight building 520 x 60 ft, the hot beds being in a wing at right angles to this. The straightening department was another long building 625 x 47 ft., parallel to the mill. The roll shop was in a wing 60 x 60 ft. on the north side of the roll trains. The steel de- partment got its steam from 70 boilers of various makes. The converters were also changed at this time to 10-ton capacity, to supply the increased demand for steel.
Needless to say, the new mill was fully up to expectations, and in 1889 the annual output of the plant in rails leaped to 277,401 tons.
In that year, the last one of his life, the Captain placed a capstone on a life of charity and benevolence by his humane and vigorous efforts on the occasion of the Johnstown flood. As soon as word was received of this
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THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
terrible disaster (May 30, 1889) he dispatched a trusted messenger to in- vestigate, and immediately upon receipt of reliable information he sys- tematized the collection of supplies which formed the first relief to come to the stricken people. He shortly assumed command of the Penn- sylvania Railroad workmen sent to Johnstown, and did heroic work in alleviation of the suffering of that devastated district.
We come now to the close of this remarkable administration. Jones had taken a new and untried plant, built up an efficient organization, and made a name for the firm all over the commercial world. Just as he had erected the old G. A. R. monument on the hill above Braddock, so did he put Braddock itself on the world's map.
On the night of September 26, 1889, Furnace "C" had been "hang- ing" for 36 hours, and Captain Jones, Schwab, Gayley, Addenbrook, and others were working around it. A workman was engaged in striking a bar inserted in the tapping hole, to open the furnace up, when Jones, dis- satisfied with his efforts, said, "Let me do it," as was his habitual expres- sion. Seizing the sledge he struck the bar, and at the same moment the fur- nace burst, its contents splashing over his head and shoulders. Springing quickly backward, the Captain struck his head, in falling, upon a modock cinder car. He never regained consciousness, and died in the Pittsburgh Homeopathic Hospital September 28, 1889.
The whole community was appalled and the country shocked by the death of this famous character, and according to one historian a throng larger than the population of the town itself followed the casket to the grave. In this catastrophe more than one man saw the loss of his best friend and counsellor, and, filing past his departed leader cold in death, felt with Marc Antony,
"My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar."
ADMINISTRATION OF CHARLES M. SCHWAB.(1)
OCTOBER 1, 1889-SEPTEMBER 30, 1892.
Under an able master had been trained and developed one of the greatest brains in the American steel industry. Starting in 1880 as stake driver on the engineer corps, (where he worked with a son of Captain Jones) C. M. Schwab's engineering ability and knowledge of men early gained attention, and by the time of Jones' death he had become Chief Engineer of the plant, and assistant to the Captain, having supervision
(1) Born in Williamsburg, Pa., 1862.
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THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF BRADDOCK'S FIELD.
of the Homestead plant under that official. (The Homestead plant was under the direction of the Edgar Thomson General Superintendent up to October 1, 1892). He was, therefore, an experienced executive when he took charge of the Edgar Thomson establishment on the death of Jones.
The historian is not a little puzzled by the conflicting descriptions that he receives of this man : some say he was a superlatively great en- gineer, others that he was not; some say he was a great inventor, others that he was not; some say he achieved a high technical development, others that he did not. But a man does not rise from stake driver to General Superintendent in nine years without some very good reason.
The best analysis of his genius is, perhaps, as Mr. Wm. P. Bren- nan(1) expresses it: He was a great general. He had a true sense of pro- portion, an appreciation of the relative value of conflicting factors, a mind that could grasp the most complex situation, and last, but not least, he in- spired his men with confidence in him and his ability, had perfect knowledge of human nature, and absolute mastery over men. I believe that unskilled in military tactics as he was, Chas. M. Schwab could have assumed command of the Union armies during the Civil War and achieved as great success as Ulysses S. Grant, and incidentally I doubt if he would have wasted 10,000 men in 20 minutes at Cold Harbor. An intuitive grasp of essentials and consummate tact made him great.
Schwab was (and is) a thorough going democrat to the very core. To William Powell (clerk to Thomas Addenbrook) he confides: "Do you know, I can hardly realize that here I am General Superintendent of this plant. Why should I be General Superintendent? What do I know so much more than you fellows about this business?"
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