NEW STEEL PROCESS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1710, 29 March 1913, Page 14

NEW STEEL PROCESS.

(0y Telesrraph— Special CorresDondent.) Christchurch, March 28. Mr. J. L. Scott, a local ironfounder, speaking of the reported new' invention for converting iron oro into steel without blast furnaces at greatly reduoed cost', told' a reporter that the cable message was 100 meagre to give an adequate idea of tho degree of efficiency reached; but if a process had been actually discovered which would really do away with the blast furnace, the saving would be enormous. Ho hardly thought that it vfould amount to two-thirds of the present cost, but if the ore could be reduced direct without having to go through the two processes in use at present the effect would be' felt in all parts of r the world. Tho pronouncement, of course, recalled'Bessemer's invention, and the i circumstances in which it was giVen to the world. It seemed to Bessemer to be foolish to have a double process to take carbon out of the iron and fo put part of it back again.' Ho read a paper on his proposals before the Royal Society of Great Britain. The .society by a unanimous vote decided that his scheme was quite impracticable, and that his-paper should not. be published in its "Transactions.", Later - developments, of course, showed that even great scientists could err, and on the twenty-first anniversary of tho date upon which his paper was read tho society decided that it. should receive publication. It was interesting to note also : that a few years ago Edison e'xperinvented extensively in regard to reducing iron ore electrically. The experiments were successful to a large extent, but apparently they did not result in commercial value. ■ v /