The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-12-11
THURsDAXyDEC. ii, 1873.
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ExeelsloE AnapWheoling eias eHoEkS'
nv an, IA Rpp,oySS COS Is a. .1,- Va ,ssP, (,
W sweeney NJ M TsGIanay i Go. az lie pro-
prietors Of these works, which Afe loca-
ia in ouf neighboring toSnoof Martins
Ferry. sFhiity sGinea Se6sls sgo hi, sWsei
MAJ came % Fkeeiins And. commenced
the Rll5a bnsinesS, Compared with TO-
day itHasthsh On thiS country d least
. crude art Chemistry. the grandess o.
the applied sciences. hadInot with magic
wand chased away dark mystery rom
naturdD Slrheny nor reVealed'it lie won
dpous heanty. Glass making then was
not 4 scienee--it was largely process Of
ruess work iEfehlinithat early dsy: Nj.
s. was Asuccessful manufacturer and 90
cumulated aconaiderable fortune, After
some years he retired from the glass
business and became actfvely engaged
in thsl first a,tempis to estAhllah the
iron Interest,". in this city. In those
enterprisea be! sunk every dollar. Of
his entire fortune, Past middle age,
broken In spirit and In fortune, Tor some
time he dropped from the roll Of business
men.r rs,t!hia i-s 3iaai s'-saiI
In 1861, with Mr.. Phillips IS partner,
under the name Of N. Sweeney s. Co,
he built small furnace on the site Of the
present WORKS, and commenced anew the
struggle with fortune. For want Of means
the enterprise in short time was likely
TO iail, when Col. james MeCluney, Of
Wheeling, put his shoulder to the wheel,
and with Mr.. Sweeney prepared to enter
uponra scale Of business worthy Of the
lStter .gentleman's skin and experience.
They continued the small Establishment
in Martina Ferry, and in addition leased
the old North Wheeling factories, and
the work went bravely and successfully
On. --.st.r -rs-i- f.-l
In 1868 the working capital OF the firm
was increased BY the addition OF Joseph
Bell to the partnership, under the.ttle OF
Sweeney, Bell s. Co. The work was
carried on with ever increasing success
until 1857, when Mr.. Bell retired.
In 1858 SO, Sweeney, MeCluney s. Co.
having completed their present factory,
vacated their Wheeling works and concen'
rated their energies and capital at Mar
tins Ferry. The factory, situated imme-
diately upon the bank Of the river. Is 2S5
feet long and l05 ieet wide, and has three
turnaees-ten extra large pots in
each. There are eight large tempering
furnaces. Upon the shelves properly Ia.
beled and most conveniently arranged
stand $4,000 value IN monlds alone. On
the outside are the four coke ovens where
they manufacture their own fuel and the
gas works (Conley's pateup from which
the whole building Is lighted. Id
The wareroom, built in 1869, Il one
hundred and fifty teet long difilty feel
wide and stands on the south side Of the
street from the factory, and Is connected
thereto, by 3 covered bridge between the
second stories Of each building. Both
buildings have iron roofs, and the whole
premises Is provided with an effective fire
apparatus. The basement OF the ware
house Is the store room OF the vas, sup
plies ofmsierials commensurate with the
productive capacity Of the works. Recog'
nizing that full two.thirds of the cost ol
glass goods was expended in labor,
Messrs Sweeney 5 mckinney, profting
by experience, have so systematized their
operations rs TO consummate the very
largest productions with the least pos.
sibie amount Of labor. From the mate,
rial room to the wsreroom above II every.
thing moves in one continuous circle, not
asingle retrograde movement nor enc m,
necessary handling Of goods. The com
pany have abandoned the old English
custom Of tour work and have adopted
the more modern plan Of piece work as
giving . very large gain in the pro-
duction Of goods As well as being more
remunerative policy towards their hands.
Their lines Of goods embrace an extensive
variety Of pressed. blown and cut ware
IS well as lamps and lamp chimneys.
They employ three hundred persons, and
their daily product In value amounts 10
one thousand dollars. -
While Messrs. Sweeney & McCluney
cannot perhaps, strictly speaking, be said
to have any special line Of goods, yet they
have many special Improvements, bo;hin
goods and machinery, Of Mr.. sweeney's
invention and secured to them by letters
PATENT or the many Improvements
which have made the production Of glass
goods remunerstive at very low prices,
and added that beauty Of finish Of which
even tie commonest glassware IA suscep-
tible, it is but fair to say that . large pro-
portion Of them are the result Of Mr..
SWeeney's thoughtful research and care
tnl experiment. Others In neighboring
cities have never failed TO seine upon and
appropriate these improvements without
any acknowledgment whatever. Lat
teriy he has avoided this thank
les result by securing patents on
all his recent Improvements In
his long connection with the glass bus.
ines, Nj. Sweeney continued effort has
been 10 eeonomiz, productions 70 cheap
en- the cost and yet improve the quality
Of goods, toproylde DOR the eoufOrt and
elevate the character o. employees a. .
CHS Our notice would be incomplete il
we failed 10 make particular reference 10
some oil his more important improve
ments, The material Tor slxss Is carefully
velshet and 1900 pounds constitute
what Is termed q baieh; on every one Of
these BY his process thete Is q saving Of
ten dollars, the quality Of the glass i'm
proved in toushness and its brilliAncy
greatly enhanced. The double mouthed