The Cecil Whig., 1874-05-09
SHOT MANUFACTURE IN BALTIMORE.
THE DISCOVERY OF DROPPING SHOT.

THE DISCOVERY OF DROPPING SHOT.
Many people think almost all great dis
coveries and inventions are by accident. L
believe in no such thing as accidents. There
is one great Almighty designer. He orders
all things in his own good way, and in his
own best time. and employs whoever and
whatever he pleases as his instruments in
accomplishing His purposes. Nooo for
shot An old sexton of an old church in
Europe (the sexton was fond of shooting
and sporting) one rainy Sabbath discovered
leak in the metal roof of the church, on
the next day he determined to ascertain
the cause, and repair it. He carried up
with him into the tower of the church, his
little rude furnace with charcoal and lead
so rs to stop the leak if he should find it,
He got out of window in the tower on to
the roof and discovered the trouble. He
re-entered the tower by the window (and
accidentally as people say struck the little
furnace with his foot and tipped it over,
with its contents of melted lead, which ran
through the cracks in the floor and fell on
the floor at the foot of the tower. The old
man became very angry as it incurred the
necessity of his making long journey
down the tower after more lead and char
coal. Down the steps he went grumblipg
and scolding to himself, and, on landing at
the foot of the tower, to his infinite sur
prise, he found globes of lead, or pellets,
or, in fact, drop shot, imperfect of course,
but many of them quite equal to the bull
lets or shot he had been in the habit of
moulding for his own shooting. He clap
ped his hands and shouted, GO have found
it! l have found it l can make my bull
let's now without the trouble of moulding
them" This was the first discovery, i'm
perfect of course, but the principle was
there. 1t was improved upon for years,
but very slow, until the latter part of the
last century, when Paul Beck, Jr., of Phil
adelphia, Pa, improved on all the rude
improvements and obtained a patent for
drop shot from the United States Govern
ment, and erected Beck's shot tower on
Arch street, Philadelphia, near the Schuyl-
kill river. The price for patent shot did
not vary much from twenty-eight and one
half per one hundred and twelve pounds
during the continuance of his patent for
fourteen years.
In 1914 there were three shot towers in
Baltimore, viz: the Phoenix Shot Tower
Company, the Gay street tower and Gist's s
shot tower. The two latter not in opera
ton, the business being overdene. The
Phoenix tower was rented and worked by
a New Yorker. During the exciting polit
ical campaign of 1874 the tenant being 4
strong anti-tarltf democrat, determined to
wind all around the Phoenix tower, from
top to bottom, one and One-half yards wide
muslin with political enblems of Polk,
Dallas and the Tariff of 1910" in large
letters. The whole grocery trade, as well
as the gunsmiths of both political parties,
who were all purchasers of the shot made
by the New Yorker at the Phoenix tower,
respectfully and earnestly demonstrated
with him, as they did not wish the tower
prostituted to political purposes, but with
out avail, and the emblems were put up.
This was particularly obnoxious to some
of the Henry Clay Wings, and a few gen
tlemen determined to purchase the 60 Gist
Shot Tower" and organize new com
pany, which was done, first getting every
purchaser or dealer to subscribe for two to
ten shares of the stock, and thereby get
ting them interested in the success of the
new company, and securing them as custo-
mers; the balance of the stock was taken
by three or four of the originators. The
new company went into successful opera
tion, and the New York tenant of the
Phoenix company was left without the
large city trade, and thus was he punished
for forcing his political opinions on bust
ness men. The new Merchants Shot
Tower Company was now success. They
made overtures to the stockholders of the
Phoenix tower which were accepted. The
"Gist tower" was torn down and the new
company took possession of the old Phoenix
tower in 1S47, and has been successfully
was also torn down. and now there is but
one shot tower in Baltimore.
Now for the present Merchants shot
tower (the old PhUnix) the corner stone
was laid by Charles Carroll, of Carroton
zone of the signers of the Declaration of
independence on the 4th of July, 1923,
the same day Mr.. Carroll laid the corner
stone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The tower is circular, built on a solid rock
fifteen feet below the surface, of good hard
red brick, mortar and cement; it is two
hundred and seventeen feet and eight
inches high; diameter inside in the clear at
the pavement, thirty feet and seven inches,
aud seventeen feet on the roof the walls
are five feet thick at the pavement taper
ing off to eighteen inches thick at the top
of the tower This tower is believed to be
the finest brick and mortar structure on
this Continent, without a crack, flaw or
blemish from the foundation to the sum-
nit There is no vibration i'll the tower
whatever Except on one occasion in a
most furious gale, when once there were
| found to be a vibration of four inches on
the floor next to the roof To this perfect
steadiness of the tower is attributed the
perfection of the shot made by this com
pany.
THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURES.
! In the tower there are several floors, but
| t,co Of them are used only for dropping
shot. One next to the roof, two hundred
feet high, from which Tits to b shot
are dropped. The other, one hundred and
| thrty-five feet high, from which No. to
13 are dropped. On each of these floors
there is brick furnace with an iron kettle
large enough to hold five tons of lead; here
the lead is melted. The dropping pans are
circular with holes punched through the
bottom like an ordinary collender, except
that the holes are perfectly smooth, and a
pan made for each size of shot. The pan
is suspended on frame directly over a
/ II Al, l. 1.