The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-07-15
The Machine Sh0ps.

vexed questions of governmental policy,
and forget those things about which men
have fought and shed each Others blood
1t is better to contemplate the victories
of peace than those that war has won;
the triumphs which mind has achieved
are more noble and glorious than those
obtained by the conqueror's sword We
never realized more fully the superiority
of mind over matter, nor appreciated so
we'll the powerful grasp with which man
forces even the elements to do his bid
ding, than while strolling through some
of the machine shops in this city yester-
day. Rude, insensible matter is nodded
and shaped into ten thousand rariOns
forms which are themselves pressed into
the service Of man and compelled to do
his work. Into some of the machines it
would seem as if the inventor had infused
"A portion of his own intelligence and in
vested the iron and steel with some of
the attributes of mind. The vapor OF
water is harnessed down with iron bands
and made to exert the power of thou
sand horses. 1t is compelled, in obedi-
ence to the wishes of man, to drive the
steamship against wind and waves, in
the very eye of the storm, until she bears
her precious burden in safety to the de-
sired port 1t is made to cut huge bars
of iron into whatever shapes man may
direct, as easily as tailor plies his shears
upon the cloth; and the same powerful
agent is made to move the delicate fing-
ers OF the loom and weave into garment
threads as light as gossamer
The invention of the steam engine has
wrought revolution in the world more
noble in its effects and more enduring III
its good consequences than any that has
ever been brought about by the power "t
armies or the craft of statesmen 1t has
done lnore for the advancement and CIV
ll:zation of mankind than anything else
that human power has achieved. Its
products are everywhere around us, and
some of them have come to be considered
;l!.au,, rs necessary to our daily life as
they are to our social comfort. Much of
the food which We eat has, in some stage
OF its prepare. On for our use, been sub
iected to The w # steam, ard all the
.,Nnsils employee in preparing it for
assumption are the product of steam
over. Wherever we cast our eyes i'll
haunts Of civilization we see traces
al the nandlwork OF that agent which
mind has suhdued and condemned 10 be
mans servant forever Steam is Il slave
which we trust no constitutional amend
men," and - scctionalwar anl no proc
lamation" Will ever set free
a machine shop is full of instruction
AMI presents many subjects fnrprotitable
thought. These workmen whose hard
bands are soiled by contact with ma
chinery and whose faces are begrimed
with the sweat and dust of labor. are
tho civilizers of mankind. To them we
owe our wealth, and, to great extent,
our education They make the pens we
write with, the machine by which paper
is furnished, the type, the printing
press and the engine by which 1t is
moved, aud they furnish locomotives ana
steamboats, by which to bring TO onr
hands the means of education and dis
tribute knowledge to the end, of the
world The mechanic is a true Prince.
He is monarch of the material world and
compels inanimate matter to ackhowl-
edge his sway The world owes him
debt of gratitude and true respect.
But, we designed to speak particularly
of the machine shops of Wheeling, and
must leave to others the vindication of
the claims of labor and the proper de-
,cription of the benefits the steam Ell
CINE has conferred upon mankind. rbr
making of various kinds of lnachinery
is an important branch OF the industry
of our citizens, furnishes employment TO
large number of men and profitable in
vestment for great deal Of money
There are five shops in the city engaged
manly in manufacturing and repairing
steam engines of various patterns and
sizes. In the past year the demand for
engines has been unusually large and the
shops were all worked to their utmost
capacity in filling the orders they receiv-
ed. The.oil excitement was the main
cause of the demand, and, with its sub
sidence, the manufacture of steam EN-
gines has been considerably lessened.-
Just at this time, trade, at all the shops,
is very dull, and several of them are not
employing more than one-third of their
usual complement of hands The mau-
ufacture of machinery for steamboats,
and for rolling mills constitutes large
portion of the business of some OF the
shops and all do more or less repairing of
a general character
SwFENEYs' shop, in North Wheeling,
is devoted to. both steamboat and engine
work. II. " PHILLIPS' shop. in the
same section of tile city, is mainly EN-
ployed in furnishing steamboat machn-