By that time the mine would probably have become the property of others.
We continued to develop our blast-furnace plant, every new one being a great improvement upon the preceding, until at last we thought we had arrived at a standard furnace.

Minor improvements would no doubt be made, but so far as we could see we had a perfect plant and our capacity was then fifty thousand tons per month of pig iron.
The blast-furnace department was no sooner added than another step was seen to be essential to our independence and success.

The supply of superior coke was a fixed quantity--the Connellsville field being defined.

We found that we could not get on without a supply of the fuel essential to the smelting of pig iron; and a very thorough investigation of the question led us to the conclusion that the Frick Coke Company had not only the best coal and coke property, but that it had in Mr.Frick himself a man with a positive genius for its management.

He had proved his ability by starting as a poor railway clerk and succeeding.