The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-05-21
.Grnlh your Robbins."

Every one knows that old Sir Robert Peel,
father of the late Prime Minister Of England,
and grandfather Of the present Baronet. made
his money BY the cotton spinning. In the car
w part Of his career his business was not re-
markably extensive, but suddenly he made a
tremendous start, and soon distanced all his
rivals. He grew immensely rich, as we all
know, but We 10 not all know the lucky accl-
dent to which he was indebted for his enor-
nous wealth.
In the early days of the cotton spinning
machinery. a great deal of trouble used to be
caused hv GIaments Of cotton adhering to the
bobbins, or tapes. which then formed portions
ofIoonrs. These flaments accuInulating,s soon
clo@ged the wheels and other parts OF the ma
chinery. and rendered it necessary that they
should be cleared, which involved frequent
~stoppages and much loss Of time.
The great desideratum was to find out some
plan Of preventing this clogging by the cotton
and Sir Robert, or Mr.. Peel as he was then,
spent vast sums i'll experiments. lie employ
ed some Of the ablest machinists in the king
dom-among them James Watt-WhO sug-
gested various corrections, but spite Of all they
could do, the Inconvenience remained-the
cotton would adhere to the bobbins, and the
evil appeared to be insurmountable.
Of course these delays seriously affected the
wages of the operatives, who on Saturdays
generally came short i'll proportion to the
~stoppages during the previous days. 1t was
noticed however, that one mar always accom-
plished-in fact his loom never had to stop.
while every other in the factory was idle
Mr.. Peel was informed Of this, and knew there
must be a secret somewhere. it was lmpor-
tant that it should be discovered if possible.
The man was watched, but all to no pur-
pose. his fellow workmen tried to pump"
him, but they couldn't at last, MIR. Peel sent
for the man into his private office.
He was a rough Lancashire man-unablc
to read or vrite-little better indeed than a
mere animal. He entered the presence" pull
ling his forelock, and sh%ullling on the ground
with his great clumsy wooden shoes.
''Dick," said Mr.. Peel, Ferguson, the over
locker, tells me that your bobbins are always
clean-is that so?'
'.Ee's Master t be-"
s|TVelI, Dick, how do you manage it-have
YOU any objection to let me know"
'NWhv, Master Pill; t be a soart o sacret
loike. We see. and if OF told, t others d know S
moch as OIL" replied Dick, with a cunning
grin. -
sOf course, Dick, I'll give you something II
you'll tell me-and if You can make all the
looms in the factory work as smoothly as
yours" n.u.
s'Ev'ry one N them, Master Pill"
"Welf. what shall | give you? Name your
nrice Dick. and let me have your secret"
sDick orinned. scratched and shook his
great head. and shuf11ed for a few minutes,
while Mr.. Peel anxiously awaited his reply
The cotton lord thought his servant would
probably ask a hundred pounds or so, which
he would most willingly have gwen hlin.-
Presently Dick said =
sNWeli. Master Pill I'll tell zee all about it,
if you'll give me-a quart o beer a day as
long as Pm in the MiIls-you'l save that
ten Z,
Mr.. Peel rather thought he should, and
quickly agreed to the terms.
..You shall have it, Dick, and q half gallon
every Sunday into the bargain"
.dWeIl then" said Dick, first looking eau
tiouslv around to see that no one was near
this it be" and putting his lips close TO Ar-
PeeIs ear, he whispered; 'Chaik your Doo-
bins 2"
That indeed was the great secret. DIck
had been in the habit offurtively chalklng MS
bobbins, which simple contr1yance had eject
ualIy prevented the therence OF the cotton
As the bobbins were white the cotton had es-
capped detection.
Mr.. Peel was a sagacious man and saw
through the affairs at a glance; de at once
patented the invention-had "chaiklng ma
chinery contrived, and soon took the lead IN
the cotton spinning department. ms was
the foundation of his princely fortune 1t IS
but right to add that he pensioned Oh DICK
handsomely.