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in its own area because of that.

But U.S. Steel was losing in another way and came pretty close to going over. They were losing because steel companies like Inland Steel, Republic, and so on, had seen that there was a new kind of market which could be developed for steel in small objects - little things. U.S. Steel could only operate if there was great structural iron work to be built, great railroads needing steel rails and steel equipment, great bridges being built. That's what they produced. They didn't want to bother producing steel to make tin cans, razor blades, pencil sharpeners, and so on.

Bethlehem, for instance, stepped into the tin can field and did an amazing job. With the new rolling mills that they put in at Sparrow Point, they made a thin, light- weight, cheap sheet steel which was admirably adapted to making tin cans for canned peas, canned soup, and so on. They deliberately worked for that market and got it. They ran U.S. Steel out because U.S. Steel couldn't make that kind of steel. They didn't have any equipment for that.

Bill Irwin had been preaching the doctrine of small products for years. Finally U.S. Steel pulled itself together and built the new Irwin mill, named for Bill Irwin, and got into the market. The Irwin mill is a magnificent thing - a wonderful, beautiful place. With that mill they can make anything. They now make little steel as well as