New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1847-08-19

Afer this We commenced with the cirshops.
and these especially must be an object OF ssonish
msnt 20 the Russians here, as every KIND OF ma.
chinery imaginable for turning logs INTO railroad
cars. and in expedition goes somewhat ahead OF
the Russian carpenters who with no other tool but
their darling Ratchet DO every thing-pisne- bore
split cut boards make modIngs, grooves lemons,
and am credbly informed, even mortises win
their wonder working Ratchet They cann't be In
duced 70 use anything else, and certainly consser
ing the tool they use, are very expert worSmen
Peter the Great tried 10 get them TO use saws by
Offering a bounty upon sawed boards and timber
but II was " no GO And they subsequently In
the interior-stick tenaciously to their old method
Of manufacturing everything, even TO the ooarcs'
with ther Ratchet Such tremendous innovation
as this in the shape OF steamPower carpentry
tools they must indeed consider as something aP-
pertaining 20 the supernatural
Going through the first range OF shops, We passed
along various machines saving, planning boring
mortisng. tenouing. growing. moldIng ana nttlns
all the different parts required Tor car In the
next range of shops they were engaged IN ut'ins
them together: eight days soiced h put the pieces
together and finish a car ready for services FIVE
cars were made here per day, and the plumber
painted on the last showed thai 200 had already
been dispatched TO town. Every other day traln
Of ten finished started for the city and put
in the Government repositories III wanted Nom'
ing back from these shops, We passed whole acres
of tenders and trucks ready tor service: Ihey
have finished the whole OF their contract ior . -OV
trucks We stopped also 10 see one OF the most
extraordinary sights IN Russia, III venture 10 say
This was the stabie where are kept the t0a h0rses
that are ready for use. Here were. and in perfect
order ready for immediate service, l24 Ocomoti, es
the remaining so which completes their contract
for locomotives will be finished IN year, and thus
the whole work will be completed which they con
tracted to do for the Emperor in about three years
instead Of the SIR specified, and which every one
here thought il would be impossible To do IN that
time In the centre OF their works rises taAtower,
where we observed wstchmen. This has guard
waysupon the .Op-and similartothe ire towersln
the city-who looks out for fires and oversees stna'
il passing beneath. We also passed through 'he
village OF about one hundred houses when oeiong
to the works and where the Government sers
live We saw. too, in various places guards or po'
licemen stationed. The police OF the establishment
numbers 90 men. We now came to the Offices
First, we passed through the " Time Omce,
through which all the workmen coming In In the
morning have 10 pass Around the walls were
hung boards thckly filled with names, aud against
each name was a number and a small hole bored,
into which, as each number or name was called out
by the man passing through lfOr each man has a
brass billet on which his number Is inscribed and
which number is placed against his name) peg
was placed after all have gone through, those
Numbers against which no peg IS placed are
checked Oft and given to the book keeper, who
each month draws of the list. and by the account
of absentees given in from the Time Office has Just
the amount OF time each person or number has been
in the works.
This is given TO the Cashier to whose disbursing
Office we now went. Here again were large
boards ranged upon shelves and tables. Each
board divided oil into small divisions or boxes by
narrow strips OF wood Ia each division was
number. these numbers corresponding to the mum
bers on the list from which the time worked by
each person during the month was calculated into
~ 81 int tho divi DOnt-
ing TO the number on the list
On the first Saturday Of the month the men are
paid off and come through the narrow passage
leading by the Cashiers Office, each man as he
comes in holding up his number, when the money
in the division corresponding to that number Is
handed to him, and ne passes on. They conduct
this business expeditiously, paying Oh thus at the
rate of 900 per hour which even at this quick
rate takes however, about ten hours, the number
of workmen now employed being 1900
We then went through some rooms where were
clerks scribbfng and men drafting models Tor ma
cbines and new improvements, ems also ior machi
merry ordered for, apart from their Government
contract they also do private work.
Then we passed through the Passport Once,
where a man was receiving the passports and CIV
ing numbers to new hands.
And now, having run over, In lear not very
connected or finished manner, what impressed me
principally during our three hours visit there, i
/ think il will be interesting 10 you at nome II
recapitulate as it were, little, and give you IN
more condensed form some account OF these works
and the reason Of their being established and
being sort OF a national thing, in which |, an an
American, feel much pride, wish to give you all
the information have on the subject
Major Whistler soon after coming here to take
charge of the construction OF the St. Petersbugh and
! Moscow Railroad. (which. by the way, viii be com.
peted in 49, proposed that an establishment should
| be started TO make the machinery, locomotives
| and such like that would be needed for the road.
He met with much opposition 10 his plan, as Il was
| thought much loss must be incurred by the TO
vernment in building machinery under so many
/ disadvantages here, which could DE bought IN
England at the lowest rates that they could be
made for under the most advantageous circam-
stances.
He however contended that even II, In the hrst
clsce II cost more Russia would thus render her
self independent OF other nations either IN the max
! ing repairing or managing their machines ana en-
gines and she would in the end, beside raising up
a corps OF her own workmen and engineers De
able TO make as cheaply and as well as England.
Hi. arguments succeeded and he accordingly in
duced to come cver here three gentlemen-Messrs
Harrison, Winaas and East~ick-wen known at
home as celebrated engine builders. " TN these
the Emperor made a contract 10 furnish, "lthh SIX
years, 200 locomotives, $500 trucks IO passenger
cars $50 platform cars. &c &c The contract
amounted 10 about 8 600 900 silver roubles and as
the high contractor Of the first part did not con
ceye il possible that this could be finished In SIX
years our Americans easily had clause inserted
that they should receive money for the work as
fast as fnshed-that is. 1t the expiration OF each
month and by the end Of this year-say lttle over
three wears from the time OF commenclng-tney
will have finished up their contract and got their
money. and the locomotives and cars will be taking
a long rest preparatory to being brought into use.
The conditions of the contract were, that the EN-
peror should give them, for the six ears the use
of some machine works at Alexandroilsky, In which
was already a considerable amount oil suitable ma
chnery and as a consideration for the use OF them,
all The machinery they should introduce and use
there should on their giving up the works aPPer-
tain 10 him The amount OF machinery they have
thus put up here is worth about $4,000.
Appertaining to the works-s there are 10 all
properties in Russia-were some 200 serfs. These
our Americans contracted To take and employ, Civ
ing them ZOO roubles a month, or . roubles mot
quite SIS per head, together with portion OF flour
and wood The houses In which these lived were
of course part Of the establishment
They also bad the privilege OF importing all ar
ticles as coal, iron, steel &c for use in the works,
duty free. All these came from Eng and, the oioe-
nan iron being too long getting here after being or.
Ihar raff IN