The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-01-09

Standing on the steps of the - no.
tel at Bridgeport, Conn. the other day,
| asked Of the landlord:
"Have you anything in Bridgeport
worth seeing7"
The Yankee host looked at me with a
mingling Of pity and contempt, and, Yam
kee-like, answered my question by asking
another
Haven't you ever heard of the big
factory which makes the Wheeler &
Wilson Sewing MaGhince ?"
had heard of it, as who has net lut
it had slipped my memory that the great
Beehive of industry, employing 1,5OO
persons, and turning out five hundred and
twenty machines por day. was located at
Bridgeport.
"If you want to SEQ sight as is a
sight," continued the worthy man, "you
60 over there, tell them you are De-
troit newspaper man, and they'll put you
through all right"
| had the whole day before me, and
was not long in making up my mind to
heed the landlords advice L did not
need guide to show me the route. l
knew that nothing but powerful mauu-
featuring company could occupy the
mammoth buildings, whose chimneys
sent up such tall columns of smoke in
the morning air, and sauntercd to-
wards them. Imagine to yourself
building having frontage of one thou
sand feet and depth Of seven hundred,
three stories high, and cut in twain by a
public street, and you have the outside
view Of the great Wheeler & Wilson
manufacturing establishment, only your
imagination will not do justice to the
size of the building. The main building
seems as if it could furnish room for five
thousand workmen, and manufacture all
tho machines sold 10 America but, three
or four years ago it was found just one
half too small for the demands made for
the Wheeler & Wilson alone and so
this other huge pile of brick and mortar
was erected. Put the two together and
it makes building which satisfies even
Yankee pomposlty.
Seeking the office | am greeted with
cheerful good morning and when | give
my name and state my wishes the polite
clerk calls in Mr.. w. A. Perry, the Su-
perintendent of the establishment. We
shake and he informe me that hpve
liberty to look through every nook and
corner. He volunteers to go along, that
l may have some one at hand to answer
inquiries, and We start out.
Just at this point | feel like running
away from the manuscript and leaving
the story unfinished. If a man had to
be set down before haystack, and ask
ed to assort'the different lengths of straws,
his trouble would be hardly greater than
is mine to 90 at it in detail and state
what | saw. The first sight you get as
the doors Of this immense mill are open
ed is that of belts, pulleys, shafting and
machinery and you almost believe that
the power of Niagara is wanted to keep
so much machinery in motion. What a
bee hive AS you stand and look down
the long shop, which seems to have no
end, you hear rumbling, striking, u
grinding, polishing-steam Kisses, ham
mers 60, iron and steel clink, and scores
of men and boys dodge about under their
paper caps. You would imagine that by
getting fifteen hundred men in one build
ing all would be confusion and excite
ment, but it is not so. As you walk a.
long, you sec that every movement made
by men or boys is just as true us clock
work, or just as true and methodic as the
motions of the beautiful machine which
is here seen in parts. But there is bit
of excitement after all. The operatives
have got word through the Office that the
establishment is four thousand machines
behind its orders and they are straining
every nerve to catch up For days be-
fore my visit the Factory turned out five
hundred and twenty perfect machines
: per day, and the men worked fourteen
hours out of the twenty-four; 52O every
fourteen hours would be fraction over
81 machines per hour, or one for ever y
minute and half from six O'Clock in the
morning until eight in the evening. Just
think of that and yet working at this
speed, the Superintendent finds himself
four thousand machines behind orders.
As wo 20 along down the seven hun.
dred feet Of busy life, Mr. Perry explains
that this gang of men are working at the
p, bed plates, and this one at the short lev.
er and connection, these are at the ham,
mers, and so on all through the machin'
cry part Of the machine. He also cx.
plains to me that the men do not work
directly for the company, but the piece.
: of the machine are let out to contractors
who hire experienced workmen, the com
pany furnishing tools for ALL
y Everywhere | go. see perfect system
a and wonderful accuracy. Not only mus
:. every contractor work to plans and qua
. ges, but each must work so that his work
n will fit all other work, and the machine
a as a whole be absolutely perfect. There
= are no false blows, no needless filing, nc
q waste Of material or muscle The day.
, do not come and 60 more regularly thar
y each blow is struck here. As we go, W,
!, notice the Automatic Machine that makes
- the rotating hook-the most wonderful
, machine | ever saw-and when told tina
this part of the Wheeler & Wilson wa
"a different from any other machine, anC
y that this rotating motion, which is contin
4 uous in one direction, with no stops o.
4 starts, as is the case with all other ma
chimes which take the lock stitch, wa
q the great principle which had made th'
3 Wheeler d Wilson the leading machin,
.. for fifteen years, | fingered until admon
. ished by Mr.. Perry that time was on tn
70 move, and We pass into the gang drills
!. the jig and the score of other wonderful
machines which are called into use i
10 framing some part of this wonderful ma
., cnine One punches tho holes for til
lo screws, another the bobbins, and you se
: 30 much that you hardly remember any
1 thing. Wa here see a hundred machine
III,