The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-09-09
The Bells Of Lowell.

A stranger in our city who is not IA
miliar with the ways of manufacturing
communities, is very apt to think, on
the first night of his stay here, that
some terrible fire has broken out. or
that. at all events. a vigorous alarm
has been rung, when he hears in the
early morning the general ringing of all
the factory bells. To some OF our bells,
and the time of their ringing, interest
inc histories are attached. while others
are almost of prosaic order. Some ring
through the whole gamut of human pas
siOns, from highest JOY to deepest sOr-
row, while others 90 on from year to
year with the same unvarying sound,
which, falling upon thousands of ears,
carries no relief from the monOtOny,
and means nothing but work, work,
work. If Poe had lived in Lowell, he
doubtless would have added to The
Bells a stanza abiding to the harder,
more practical use of the bells he SO
thrillingly writes about, and which
would have found a responsive chord in
many Lowell hearts.
OF the Lowell bells the mill bells are
the most numerous and proSaic, yet not
the least interesting. Most of the
corporations are provided with them,
and it is their vigorous ringing at I'M
seemly hours of the morning that at
tracts the attention of the stranger. A
majority of them seem to have been
made with direct attention to the guam
tity of tone and reckless disregard of
the quality, but when all are rung to-
gether the effect is not an unpleasant
one. Summer and winter, in storm and
sunshine, the unaccustOmed sleeper is
aroused by the general ringing of the
bells at 4:45 in the morning. This is
for the especial benefit of the boarding.
house keepers, who are expected to
arise at this time to prepare the morn
inc meal. One hour later, at 5;45, the
bells ring again, this time to call the
operatives to breakfast; and in fifty
minutes more the ringing is again re-
peated for the purpose of calling to
their work the thousands of labOrers in
our many places of industry. At noon
the bells signal the hour for dinner, and
at 1880 the operators are recalled for
the afternoons work, which finally ends
by the ringing out at o'clock, five
DAYS in the week. and at 4:30 Satur-
days.
There are about half score of bells
upon the mills, the Appleton, Boot,
Chase, Hamilton, Bleachery, Machine
Shop, Lowell, Merrimack and Middle
sex being the leading corporations thus
equipped. All these bells are regula-
ted by the Merrimack Manufacturing
Company. In their belfry tower is a
regulator which keeps very accurate
time; but this alone is not depended
upoa. The corrected time is received
from Cambridge every day at three
O'Clock. In this way any variation in
the regulator is noted and corrected.
All of the corporations are connected
by telegraphic system, the headquar-
ters of which are at the Merrimack. In
the bell tower of each corporation is a
gong by which the one who rings the
bell is notified when to ring. This is
done by turning a switch at the Merri-
mack; by so doing the various bells
! commence ringing at the same moment.
/ The gongs are also used to signal for
Letting on the speed" five minutes
after the mill bell commences to ring,
and for. closing the gates ten minutes
after the bell rings. At one o'clock the
Merrimack bell strikes for this purpose
and affords an opportunity for people to
note the correct time on their watches.
1t is not exactly correct, because the
attendant has to strike the gong first
and then the big bell, which brings the
latter two or three seconds late. Even
the gong cannot be struck absolutely
upon the exact time. There is an ap-
preciable amount of time between the
instant that the person sees the second
hand on the sixty and the time that he
presses the knob to strike the gong.
That is, for the brain to re-
ceive the impression from the eye,
and receiving, send out an i'm
pulse to the hand, is some
thing that requires time, although very
little. This is called the personal equa-
ton and varies in different individuals.
1t makes no difference in the setting OF
a watch or clock, but in observations OF
stars and astronomical calculations
therefrom, the personal equation of the
operator is always calculated and then
taken into account in all work done.
But to return to the bells.
A number of corporations have aarge
clocks in belfry towers and the bells
strike the hour. The Merrimack bel
has no clock connected with it, but
through the night, from six p. m. tC