, 1873-06-08


bad the honor Of owning o great public man for
.1aster before they entered the service Of their
present distinguished boss.
-.z aFzazs eu.ez :;>:: - !:
THHsE EXCURSIONS on FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
did moro to acquaint those who took part in
Hem with The resources and manufacturing
capacities Of Chicago than the reading Of
hundred newspaper articles could have
done. They saw for themselves the new harbor
which lie TO supplement the Chicago River, anu
to serve as the nucleus for hundred mills aao
they also saw that other sectoa OF which less
has been said, but which is rapidly becoming Of
equnl Importance, that southwestern part OF the
citv which ia 60 rapidly losing 1ts ba11enness'
md becoming covered with immense manufac-
tories and the homes Of operatives.
THE GREAT FEATURE 1HEEE
is, beyond all question, the immense reaper
works Of G. Il. Mccormick Brothers, in Which
the excuxsionista lunched, and the broad ex-
panses Of which they partly wandered over. This
building, with it's iumensity Of machines and
a1ny Of mon, Ehich has grown up from the
ernallest Of beginnings, twenty-seven years $780,
is but 8 type of the progress Of the great West.
The increasing demands Of The farmers needing
more machines for their crops, have
forced the works to enlarge again
aud again, nntn now it ia thought
that they ara large enough to meet as heavy
demand as can be made On them. They began
by making q hundred machines q year. Ihey
now make fifteen Thousand in the same t1nne'
LOCATION or TIE WORKS
Ip orde- to get elboW-room and breathing
space, the McCormicks decided to establish their
works in that vacant portion Of the city already
referred to, and they purchased twenty-th1ee
acres Of ground on the West Branch OF me
Chicago River, near the 1ntersecnon OF bine
reaV is the latter WM in the course Of time BE-
come, one Of the chief business streets OF Chi
caro-, This locality ia accessible by lake and
canal. having dock front OF over 800 feet, and
It is also the centre OF the great network Oh rail-
roads that converge at Chicago
TIE BUILDINGS
OF these tveuty-three acres over si1 are oc-
curied b7 immense buildings which are i've
stories in height, lighted with gas and heated
With steam oscupypg three sides Of square,
and q four-etory middle building between the
two wings. Ground wss broken for the fo1nda-
tion in August, 1872 and the works are not yet
entirely completed but ten thousand Of their
machines for the coming harvest ere wen fo1-
ward toward completion When the works are
fully completed their capacity will be-
TWENTY THOUSAND COMBINED MACHINES
par wear, The labor Of thus establishment is
done By SEQ men, together with machinery rep
reeenting an almost incredible amount Of manu-
81 power. Mechanics Of ali kinds are employed,
end the manufacto.y is in itself village where
untiring industry prevails. This machinery ls
so numerous as to defy computation In
the important wood department there are
Daniels & Woodworsh' g planners; boring, morsti-
ing, tenoning, matching, shaping, aand-paperng
and smoothing machines, which speedily reduce
the rough labor into the necessary shapes. In
the iron department one first sees the punch
presses, where the iron is cut into lengths, cold,
from fhe minute presses which make the Mill
ions of bo1t-Tashers to the immense one that
shears four-inch bars as Il they we're sheet-iron.
THE FOUNDRY
is building 255 feet by 80, all under one roof.
ing thirty tons Of pig iron. The sir blast IS fur
1jshed tie cupolas By one Of Roots largest-slzed
rotary blowers. The blaeksmiths shop is 80 feet
by 100, filed with trip-hammers and bo1t-forg-
ing machines, the latter turning out from 5000
to /, 600 ho1ts q day. The reaper fpger-1naking
is "a important part Of the work done here, and
requires the most rapid aud slilful blacksnithH.
All the fires are supplied with air blasts from .
network Of underground pipes.
IRON FSIsHTS1.
It REQUIRES thoroughly informed guide to
avoid being lost in the perple1ing mazes Of the
h Ia3hea Of Ii sizes lies Tor turning and dressing,
many Of thcm Of peculiar construction for spe-
C1A1 NOTk4 8lQ ud0H W LAO 4AIoVAI1ASao s4ASo1
selves. There are drills. Upright and horizon
tai, and iron planners, key seat cutters, screw
cutters, and nut tappers, strengthening ma'
chimes and gear cutter The latter is neautl,
ful ricca Of machinery, made With matheraatica
accyracv, aud is used in iron pAt:ern-making TO,
cutting ont the cogs, SO TINT each tooth aIaal
have the right shape and degree OF pitch. and b
ou erocuy alike, ard erdcty spaced
SETTING THEM Up.
After The various PARTS have thug been made
they pass into the hands Of tho mechanics, whc
yet them up and fit them, thence to the painters,
stripers, and va1nisheTs, and thence to the pack
ing and shipping-rooms. There is also sickle
on IL al it's dstails. The sections are cut out
from Sheffield naeet~steeI; the teeth ara cut by
ingenious machinery, the sections are tempered,
polished, and notched On the backs, thus masking
. perfect mower-lnife, reaper-sickle or fax
cutter for the three are required to fit out per-
sect combined machine>
OUTSIDE THE BUILDING
and inside the fence Is patent dry-house, heat
ed by steam to 22 degrees Fahrenheit large
lumber having any sap in it is passed through
this dry-house before reaching the saws. 4d-
joining thia kiln is the extensive lumhar-yard of
the concern, where pine, white ash, hickory,
rock elm, maple, oak, and whltawood lumber is
stacked up to extent Of several million feet.
On tic other side OF the yard lie the
coal piles and the pig-lron stacks, the
whole being closely connected by network Of
railroad tracks, which, when completed through
the Yards and around the buildings, will be the
most perfect Of it's kind embracing track scale
for Weighing material, by carload, on the track.
The extensive cellar-room nnder the entire build
ing, is used for the storage OF har-iron, sheet
steel, eheet zinc copper, brass wire and finish
ed castings. In short, it is equal to any whole
sale metal warehouse IN the city, in extent and
variety Of its atock-
TIE ONE ENGINE
which furnishes all the motive power for the in1-
mense machinery at work, including the air.
hlasta and fater-pumping, is 300 horsepower,
low-pressure upright engine, made By the Cuya-
loga Steam Furnace Company, Of Cleveland, O.
It Is splendid specimen OF strength and beauty.
To give an ides OF its great strength, its dy-
wheel alone weighs over sixteen tons. In the
room adjoining, steam is furnished in abundance
70. motive power and heating purposes By five
immense boilers, the Workmanship Of Carlile
Mason, Of Chicago.
, wATER-sUPpLy.
a 4-inch city main On the ono side connects
the engine aud boilers with tho lake supply OF
water, while supply OF water from the river is
IL