Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-07-16
chalk Your Bobbins-"

.b carly davs Of the eottoh-'pI
In tne ah;nsrv a great deal of trouo,e
,nas caused by filaments oil co''o high
her,ng to the bobbins, or 'ap Tbese
.ho, formed portions OF loonis- -. and
sisn,en,s ne soon clogged the wheeiS
nar narts of the machinery, anu ,e
o'nel , F. necessary that they should Oe
oIaaned involving much loss Oh .i" sd
The great desideratum was " L.
nt aome plan of preventing TINS cios
out SUM .pa cotton. and Sir Robert OF
sns posl as he was then, spent Nas
.ums in experiments. He enhpi0
some of the ablest machinists II IA DO
ringlom: but spite of all they eouiu .So S
Mn Nm ;neonvenience remained, anu 'ne
evil appeared unsurmountaoie. Of
of course these delays seriously a.
,.cted the wages of the operatives, wno'
on saturdays generally came snort -
oronortion 90 to stoppages during the pre-
vious davs. 1t was noticed, ho"1 ', na1
that one man always drew MS iuii p
hts work was always accomplished
:. fa., his loom never had TO s'op'
" ,,ory other in the factory was
idle. .t,is and
tnew there must be secret somewhere
II was important that it should Oe uns
covered if possible. The man Wa
watched, but all to no purpose, M
fellow-workmen tried to pump nin,
but they couldn't. At last MI. Ieoi
sept for the man into his private oiiice'
He was rough Lancashire man. uh-
anIa ,o read or write-little better tIah
a mere animal. He entered the pres
enee pulling his foreloek, ana snui
fling on the ground with his clumsy
great wooden shoes.
.sDick." >" said Mr.. Peel, ferguson
tbe overIooker. tells me your boDDihs
are ALWAYS clean. Is that SO:
"E'es, master, It be-" 80
.eWeu. Dick, how do you manage IL
Have you any objections to let me
know"
oWhy. Master Phil, It be a saort oil
secret loike, ye see; and if oil told, totn-
ers' knows much as oi," replied DICK
with a summing grin.
"Of course, Dick, will give you
something if you will tell me-and IL
Won can make all the looms in the fac-
tory work as smooth as yours.
Every one n them, Master Phil"
s.WelI, what shall give you: Name
YOUR price Dick, and let me have your
secret"
Cunning Dick grinned, scratched his
head. shufiled for a few minutes, while
Mr.. Peel an xiously awaited his reply
The cotton lord thought his servant
would probably ask a hundred pounds
or so, which he would most willingly
have given him.
Presently Dick said, "Well, Master
Phil. I'll tell zee all about it, if you Il
give me a quart o. beer day as long a-
, I'm in the mill; you'll save that ten-' =
Mr.. Peel rather thought he should,
and quickly agreed to the terms.
'You shall have it, Dick; and a
) half gallon every Sunday into the bar
; gain"
well, then,' said Dick, first looking
! cautiously around to see that no one
was near-''this it be-" and putting hi:
lips close to Mr., Peel's ear, he whls,
pered, "Chalk your bobbins."
That, indeed, was the great secret
Dick had been in the habit of furtively
chalking his bobbins, which simple
contrivance had effectuallY prevented
, the adhesion of the cotton. As tht
bobbins were white, the chalk escaped
detection.
Mr.. Peel was a sagaciOus man, ant
( saw through the affair at glance. He
at once patented the invention, haC
''chalking" machinery cOntrived anC
soon took the lead in the cotton-spin
ming department. This was the fOun
dation of his princely fortune. 1t i!
but right to add that he pensioned of
} Dick handsomely.