The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-08-22

hyc9s
correspondent of the New York Epsning Post
speaking oil the manufactures of Waterbury, Con
necdcu, and the enterprise and prosperity of that
town, thus describes two of its establishments:
.'And first of the American Pin Comnanv. this
ID the largest pin mandatory in the United States
and believe in the world. Ii has but one competi
tor In this country, and that is at Birmingham in
this State The patent to which this company
owes its success Is profound secret, not known
even to its stockholders. 1t is never shown there
fore, to strangers Ii consists in an improvement
Tor the making the pin and head solid and all from
one piece OF wire. Till within few years the head
OF most of the pins use was separate and twisted
on to the pin by machinery. A few solid pins were
manufactured in England, but they cost from
thirty to fifty per cent than those of the older
fashion. The discovery of the American patent
has driven the twist heads entirely out of USE The
privilege Of using it sold in England for $50,
700, where the same kind of pin is manuhc-
tured.
"Of the portion Of the works which was permit
ted to see, was most struck by the process of stick
ing the pins upon papers. My intellect had stri-
ven In vain to conjecture any process by which
machinery could bring order out Of the unspeaka-
bic confusion OF several million of pins thrown into
box together. was here shown row of very
simple machines, each tended by a young girl
which arranged on papers more pins in day than
any one person could have possibly done by hand
III. fortnight. A practised person, was told,
would pick 1000 papers day, each paper con-
tanning $50 pins, making in all 336, 900 day. In
a day OF ten hours this company throw Off on an
average 4,00OOuO pins per day, or about twelve
hundred millions year. When learned this ex-
traordinary fecundty of single pin mill felt that
1t was OF but little consequence what became of all
the plns for 1t is pretty certain that the supply
not likely TO give out very soon, in spite of any
conceivable extravaganza of pin money. The cap
ital OF this company is only 100 600 but its profits
reputed to be very great
"Upon the same premises we were shown the
works OF the Waterbury Hook and Eye Company,
where capital of $4,000 is employed in the
manufacture of hooks and eyes, Here were ar
ranged long rows OF little machines about the size
of small washstands, under which constant show
of these little feminine conveniencies was pour
ing down. but from what cause or by what agency
il was difficult to conjecture. Upon a closer in
spection, large spool of wire perceived revolv
ing slowly in its growing shorter inch by inch
in mechanical harmony with the machinery. while
iron fingers, curiously articulated, were ready to
grasp the severed fragment and pass it along from
change to change, until it finally dropped into the
receptacle beneath perfect hook eye, ready for
use. For moment it seemed as if each machine
was instinct with life and intelligence The power
of speech appeared TO be all that was lacking to
complete the deusion. There were but four or
five men in the apartment, who passed around oc-
casionally from one stand to the other, to oil the
machinery, to supply new wire when the previous
spool was consumed, or to empty the vessels when
filed by the silvery shower. The whole perform
ance more resembled voluntary process of nature
than the result of mechanical art The duty of
the superintendent of one of these machines seemed
to me curiously alike to that Of the gardener who
plants his peach stones, which, after many days,
sprout, grow into tree, blossom, and finally bear
peaches, which, when ripe, drop from their
branches and are gathered for use."