Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-10-14
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS BwEDNRsDAYsg OCTOBER A. 1886

his heart Of hearts that the result OF the
war was settled - The awful "rub-a-dub-
dub" of those homemade drums was
enough 10 terrify men OF stone. A SINH
lar thrill spread through the community
when another enterprising German open
ed button factory and turned out every
day several &ross OF Confederate military
buttons, perfect beauties, glittering like
gold. 1t was impossible TO examine q
card of those shining buttons without
feeling that the success of the Confeder-
acy was assured. EnvelOpe factories
sprang UP. Men commenced making
clothing, hats, shoes, soap, bareback,
candles, beer, lard, ink, wagons, boats,
etc.
There were some tremendous enterprises
conducted by the government and by pri-
waite individuals. Our foundries and roll
ing mills turned out cannon until acres of
them lay bv the railroad awaiting ship
ment, Heavy iron plates for gun boats
We're made here. An immense wooden
building on Decatur street turned out a
first-class article ofnavy revolvers. Bomb
shells, cartridges, percussion caps and
swords were manufactured in apparently
inexhaustible quantities. The whole
town looked like an arsenal.
Even the lighter and ornamental indus
tries flourished. False teeth were made
by millions. Silver wire was spun for
surgical purposes. Jewelry was made,
fans, ornamental feathers for plumes, etc.
Cigars, candy, canteens, knapsacks and
pocket-bOoks were among the manufac-
lures. Some of the factories, and all the
big flour mills were kept running night
and day.
The first match factory in the Confeder-
acy was in, or rather near, Atlanta. The
owner was an Atlanta man. These
matches were sold from Richmond to the
Gulf Unlike some of our recent expert
ments in that line, there was no trouble
about igniting the matches, A man did
not have TO strike one sixteen times, and
finally hit it on the head with hammer,
or light it by the fire. His main trouble
was to keep the thing from going off pre-
maturely, and the only etfectual safe
guard was to keep 1t in bottle of water.
They were the most utterly too previous
matches ever seen in this or any other
country. The enterprise was never prof.
table, because half the stock was invaria-
bly, lost by spontaneous combustion.
Wagon loads of matches on their way
from the factory to the city would burst
into blaze half way on the road, soaring
the driver and his mules out OF their
senses. Several Atlanta stores handled
these useful marvels of home enterprise,
but customers were cautioned to tread
lightly for fear of Earring the matches into
a conf1agratlon. and clerks were detailed
to sit up every night to watch the trou-
blesome stock.
The owner of this match factory put up
the stuff in which the matches were dip
ped, and sold it for rat poison. 1t GER
tainly killed the rats, but the hasty char
acter of the stuff created such panic in
the city that the industry had to be
squelched. A Whitehall street merchant
bought box of the poison one day. and
carrying it to his store tried to spread a
| dab of 1t on a piece OF dry bread, as a
bait tor the rats. He gave 1t one spread
when there was "whish!" and the whole
| affair blazed up in his face, singing off
his whiskers. A few similar experiments
prejudiced the people against the new
| poison. They said it was too rough on
the rats to burn out their stomachs with
such an explosive.