The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-11-07

per-; III 1i5eyFn - Of ~ 4
prosperous towns there In as much ov6-
fowding that thous1pds ere ANNUALLY k1f-s
yied tosA pronAture krase; whm ~ 49,
befst6ak nuub>rs whoss labor halpe q <epse
our indusl1i8 Ers6lnses, hHKe % a>(eoe ri
Old age anA u e1eknss1 rprn per1e 49, =
|lbef, Ne muA I thiuk. cous - ~ co1c|rs
sion 80 ~ esonouiss md the pfoa1lcal
man skould mite thoir efGorss IN thA en4e1r
vof 10 show 6o1 tbe vast wsslth which = ~
|nuAlIv prndt6ad might b. % distributed -
20 diadss more general ven being anongds
'DA'D rEoS1-snrss Il -+.------ 81 Gill ii
+. The work Of One Mechanic
What vast results may fow from the pa
tisnt, psrssvssias iadmtry0of Sps humble
mechanic, says the Phlladelphia Ledger, has
seldom, received more farcible demonstration
than IN book unw before the public In .
new edition. How thoroughly railway and
locomotive engines have STRAIGHTFORWARD the
land traffic, transportation aud tratN Of the
whole civilized world within the last forty
years, need not be told, for !: is within the
memory of every one Still there are consl-
derable numbers who have no adequate idea
/ Of the tremendous magnitude Of that revolu-
tion. II is but thirty eight years since the
| Liverpool and Manchester Railway was
opened, by q trial trip. with the first rude
attempt at locomotive for passenger travel,
and yet there are now not less than hun
dred thousand miles Of railway track In op-
Grafton. or this enormous length Of IRON
roadway, the United States possesses great
ly larger proportion than any other country,
aud as great, indeed, as nearly all others
combined.
But the statistics Of the English roads fur.
nish the rsadiest means for popular illustra-
ton Of the vast change. and the immense in
crease in transportation aud travel within
the period named. In 1866 there were in
Great Britain between thirteen and fourteen
I thousand miles Of railway, requiring LIB
locomotives, Is, 22S passenger carriages, and
| 242 ,947 burden cars and trucks, for moving
goods and merchandise, aud all th9 we, in
this country, denominate as "freight." 10
4 that year the number Of passengers carried
/ over the British railways amounted to the
4 enormous aggregate Of 3l3,699, 268, or q
number Of passengers equal to one-third the
population Of the globe. The aggregate dis
lance run by the passenger sDd freight
trains, was l42, s07 ,853 miles This Ia pro-
baby not more than quarter Of the whole
amount OF railway work COW done in the
Countries where they are in use. -
n Having made this very brief reference to
the extent OF the railway system, and the
revolution it has brought about, We may
trace back the brief bat wonderfully rapid
course Of its progress, until we find at the
4 ~. NJ Al 4 A.
mouth Of a coal mine, who, in the year
500, at the age of is, did not know the Jet
tiers VI the alphabet. This boy was George
Stephenson, the fAtner OF the present rail-
4 way system. tie was the son OF a fireman,
tending a mining engine near Newcastle-on.
the-ryne. tie bad been successfully herd
boy, coal-picker, horse driver, assistant fire.
msn, >'plogmsn' and brakeman, before he
had acquired the first rude elements Of I
I school educatioG. Ii was the ambition Of
his youthful life 70 become an engine man
and to reach this, TO him, prond elevation
be devoted all the patient industry, the per-
severing application, and the intelligent in
curry thai boy so clroumstanced could
bring 70 the work.
VI The steam engine he had to deal with was
a stationary engine, used to raise the cOa
rom the mine, and 4 rude contriv ance com.
pared with the grand stationary steam en-.
gines Of the present day. But the unculti-
waited, untutored, int thonghtfu and ambi
tous boy, made that rough machine the
stu y OF has young life. tie closely watched
its every motion, trying 10 trace II back Ia
the moving cause, and to understand the
use ana The necessity for every part. TC
/ iamlliariZe himself still further with its con-
siTucton, it was bis custom once a week
| when all the other workmen were ENJOYING
their holiday, TO take it apart and lean and
repair il as thoTc ughly as he could. 1t was
one of those early specimens, moved partly
by the force OF steam and partly by the pres
sure Of the atmosphere. In his constant in.
qulries on the subject he had heard of he
new and superior engines Of Boulton and
Watt, and these stimulated his eager desire
to know all about steam engines. But none
Of the Watt engines were within bis reach,
and he found that the only way to get a fur
ther knowledge of them was By means Of
books. This WIS great shock to him for
he could not read. To master this difficulty
was his first task Attending his engine
the whole Of the day, be began To take les
sons at poor village school at the rate oil
three pence week. Studying his lessons
at night, and looking at them as opportunity
offered during the day, it took him two or
three years to acquire an ordinary know
ledge Of reading, writing and arithmetic.
Meanwhile be was constantly gaining
Y ground as steady, intelligent aud temper
ate workman. Before he was of age he &C.
eupied higher rank than his poor father.
| Not satisfied at the meagre wages he made
/ Ill hanA,r - 4
in the intervals Of bis mining duty he mend
ed the shoes OF his comrades and theif fam
lilies. He then got to making shoes, and
soon learned to make them well. His own
clock having been damaged by accident, be
took It to pieces and repaired it, and then
added clock and watch cleaning and repair
ing to his other resources. He even cut out
the clothes Of his fellow vorkmen, and when
all other means Of doing extra work'' failed,
he put 10 has spare hours by unloading bal
last from vessels tb. had come for coal.
Ibis gave him money for school, tor books,
and for tools, and eli the while he was car
rylug on Lis studies Of the steam engine.
modelling machines and contrivauces Of his
own, and advancing in grade and character
as n workman.
A pumping engine in the peighborhood
having failed for whole year to keep the
mine clear of water, he expressed his be-
lief that he could set 1T all rightsih a week,
and his patiently acquired knowledge Of the
machine enahled him TO do it. This was the
most important stroke of his life, for 1t gave
him aeknowiedged position as . mechanic,
and his services were soon in demand
throuhout the whole district. Step BY step
he advanced, improving every thing be touch
ed, economlzing the labor Of men and horses,
increasing the amount Of their production,
until at last he undertook and accomplished
the work that had been 80 often tried and
that bad 50 often tailed, Of supsrcsding'
horsepower on the colliery rsilways, by in
venting locomotive ehgine that would,
draw heavy train over q smooth rail. TIE
mighty results Of that improvement We see
around us every day, but 1t may be prof.
table lesson TO trace them back once more to
that patent. observent, ambitious and in