The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-03-22

10 VI tuILb u IuCIl, C1TTl6u Oub u u
decimal, and when you have been an hour or
two In the Intelligent guidance of the Superin-
tendent OF the Continental Mill you will dis
cover tnat there is meaning in these decimas
and inhnlfesmal fractions that they guard with
ceaseless vigilance, for son these hang the law
and the profits" Success of cloth. making is
the eVepness OF texture, the weight of product.
the whole entire study of the halloween in
days of small margins like these.
Nothing OF the foreign substance enters into
the fabrIcs OF the Continental except the sizing
of the threads, made necessary for weaving,
and this sizing is potatoe starch, its proportion
falling below three per cent. This sizing is
done by machines called Slashers, of English
construction, in one operation dipping and dry
ing the warp and leaving it smoothly laid on
the beam roll, As it passes through the
slasher at each fifty yards, blue streak is
drawn across the threads to mark the cuts as
the basis of the weavers wages, for each is
paid by the cut. This measurement on the
thread before weaving Invariably shows TAX
ing up in the cloth from three to four yards,
according TO the tension; the cut of the cloth,
or what comes to the trade as the piece or bolt,
averaging from forty-three to forty-five yards.
The thread for the warp is now in huge rolls,
the width of the future cloth, or in case of the
filling, on myriads of bobbius And the work
of the spinner is done. There is no guesswork
at any point of the preparation of the thread.
Delicate and infallibe tests are applied at all
stages to ensure the most accuracy. There is
constant vigilance, system and science as the
basis for the uniform excellence for the forth
coming fabric
All the work hitherto has been done in the
upper part OF the great building and its exten.
sions The last preparatory process is one
wherein machinery will never take the place
OF human hands-thA slow process of drawing
the threads of the warp into the harnesses of
the reeds for weaving. A long row of girls are
busy with hooks fitting each great roll Of warn
with simple little guides to the threads, their
passage through which at the flight of the
shuttle will bring the threads into the cloth,
We come down to the lower floors to see the
weavers. And each time we pass through
either of the tower shafts which contain the
flights OF stairs, we are sure to freshly admire
the fittings and appointments of the Cont
mental in respect TO convenience, health and
safety Nothing is taken at venture or left
to chance. Everything that experience has
suggested for safeguards against fire is here.
Water Is carried to all parts of the building,
perforated pipes traverse every room frequent
hre walls aDd tre-proofed passages cut off the
spread OF the destroying element. Watches
aud clocks set every check on the carelessness
OF watchmen. Fire is unlikely, and its spread
through the building seems impossible.
Now we are among the weavers, and it is
literally stunning" sight Think of 1916
looms in operation at once! You look out on
an expause of 694 feet long and IS feet wide,
filed with them. The girls could not be talka-
tive here, even with speaking trumpets. You
gasp at your friend and be moves his lips in
reply but the words of each are lost like the
notes in the frozeh horn of Munchausen's post
man Each girl tends from four to six looms,
according to her experience Paid by the cut,
she turns ont as much as possible; but mulcted
for all spoiled work, she attempts too much at
her own risk, As consequence, under the
vigilant eyes that keep watch of things, there
is no spoiled work. Every yard is like its
fellow, every cut the twin of the other
was astonlshed to see how thirteen hum
bred operators are lost in these great rooms.
You see them here and there silent and busy
There are no groups, no collection of persons.
But saw enough to discover in all the faces
well-kept and contented look, cared for and
caring for in the relations of employer and en-
p'oyeee, all of which had been suggested by the
row OF handsome clearinghouse of this cor
poration that face their mill across the street.
From the looms the cloth passes to the upper
rooms again, where each yard passes under
careful eyes. 1t is then sent through shear
ing machine, is measured by machinery, cut,
and the neat smoothly-laid bolts are ready for
bright, blue stamping. A pair of heavy presses
put them into compact bales, and the ragged
looking bundle of raw cotton we saw climbing
to the pckers is here ready for the worlds mar
kets.
"Why do you tie these bales more strongly
than others?" was our inquiry, pointing to a
pile of more closeytied packages. "Those are
for the Euglish MARKET was the answer 1t
was a light thrown on the possibility of Ameri-
can manufactures We found, and we learned
further since from conversation with members
of the great house of FL. B. Clahin s. Co., that
the product of the Continental Mill is in high
favor in the English market, coming into the
same use in Great Britain that it has won here
"a prime favor among buyers who wish the
utmost value of their money in pure cotton
fabrics. There are none better in the world
than those whose process of manufacture our
brief notes discuss, and they are as staple in
Manchester and London as in New York and
Boston.
We now descend to take look at the motor
that is driving all these miles of shafting and
acres OF busy machinery. And we find it no
uninteresting study. The Continental Mill is
driven by six turbine wheels, working 10 two
wheel pits at opposite angles of the building,
each fed from the canal of the Franklin Com
pany, the owners of this magnificent water
power. The fall for this mill is twenty-three
feet. The wheels and the immense gearing,
from which power is sent to the shafts are su-
perb pieces of their class of mechanism, run
ming as smoothly as Geneva watches. One of
these shafts, ten inches in diameter, extends
beneath the whole length of the building to the
immense pulley which sends its belt through
that section of the premises.
The power that drives the Contne ntal Mill
as given above, is 1900 horse. The estimates
show that the daily difference in favor of water
power at cost of the water in Lewiston is q. 10
cents. as compared with steam-power, which
gives you the secret of these manufacturing
centres among the hills, and why their wealth,
power and population Will grow, even when
man dfacturers' profits are reduced to the
smallest margin, and this power is almost linn
itless Economically cared for, the Androscog.
gin can yield at this point 10000 horsepower
In the Continental Mill, steam is only en-
ployed for heating purposes. S.