43. "If At First You DO Succeed




Short Stories of Science and Invention A Collection of Radio Talks by Charles F. Kettering INDEX		*43.* *"If At First You DO Succeed - "* Bessemer now took out patents on his process and sold licenses to many ironmakers. After he had gone to great expense to fit up crucibles and blowers, the process would not work. He had to return the license money and almost went broke. For months he was in disgrace, criticized and ridiculed on every hand. Bessemer knew his process had worked. What was wrong now? After a great deal of experimental work, he found there was phosphorus in all the iron used by his licensees. Purely by accident, in his first experiment, he had used iron without phosphorus. With his new knowledge, he was able to repeat his results every time. Now the process was a success. But the iron masters felt that they had been fooled before and no one would try the process again. However, a few of Bessemer's friends helped him build a steel works at Sheffield. Soon he was selling a high quality of steel for $100 per ton less than his competitors. Now the very men who had criticized and ridiculed him asked for a renewal of their licenses. Whatever Bessemer received as royalties, the world at large profited 10,000 times more, for at this time the world was on the threshold of a vast industrial expansion.