The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-02-04

hammer away with confidence, and
without fear of seeing the head of the
hammer leap into the next field, unless
stopped by comrades head.
When all six carpenters had been
supplied with these improved hammers,
the contractor came and ordered two
more. He seemed to think, and in
fact said as much, that the blacksmith
ought to make his hammers little bet
ter than those he had made for the men.
l can't make any better ones
said honest David. when | make
thing, / make it as well as 1 can, no
matter who it's for
"Soon after, the storekeeper of the
village, seeing what excellent hammers
these were, gave the blacksmith mag
nificent order for two dozen, which, in
due time, were placed upon his counter
for sale.
cat this time something happened to
David Maydole which may fairly be
called good luck; and you will generally
notice events of the kind in the lives of
meritorious men. Fortune favors the
brave, is an old saying, and good luck
in business is very apt to befall the man
who could do very well without it.
at so happened that a New York
dealer in tools, named Wood, whose
store is still kept in Catham street, New
York, happened to bel in the village get
ting orders for tools. AS soon as his
eye fell on those hammers he saw their
merits, and bought them all. He did
more. He left a standing order for as
many hammers of that kind as David
Maydole could make.
"That was the beginning. The young
blacksmith hired a man or two, then
more men, and made more hammers,
and kept on making hammers during
the whole of his active life, employing
at last one hundred fifteen men.
" During the first twenty years, he
was frequently experimenting with a
view to improve the hammer. He dis
covered just the best combination of
ores to make his hammers hard enough,
without being too hard.
" He gradually found out precisely
the best form of every part. There is
not a turn or curve about either the
handle or the head which has not been
patiently considered, and reconsidered,
and considered again, until no further
improvement seemed possible. Every
handle is seasoned three years, or until
there is no shrink left in it.
"Perhaps the most important dis
covery which he made was that a per-
feet tool cannot be made by machinery.
Naturally, his first thought, when
he found his business increasing, was
to apply machinery to the manufacture
and for several years parts of the pro-
cess were thus performed. Gradually
his machines were discarded, and for
many years before his retirement every
portion of the work was done by hand.
Each hammer is hammered out
from piece of iron, and is tempered
over a slow, charcoal fire, under the in
spection of an experienced man. He
looks as though he were cooking his
hammers on charcoal furnace, and he
watches them until the process is com.
plete, as a cook watches mutton chops
81 heard some curious things about
the management of this business. The
founder never did anything to push
it. He never advertised. He never re.
duced the price of his hammers because
other manufacturers were doing so.
His only care, he said, had been tc
make perfect hammer, to make just
as many of them as people wanted, anC
no more, and to sell them at fair price
If people did not want his hammers he
did not want to make them. If they
did not want to pay what they were
worth, they were welcome to buy
cheaper ones of some one else.
For his own part his wants were
few, and he was ready at any time tC
60 back to his blacksmith's shop.
"The old gentleman concluded his
interesting narration by making me {
present Of one of his hammers, which
now cherish among my treasures.
If it had been picture should have
had it framed and hung up over my
desk, perpetual admonition to me t
do my work well; not too fast; not too
much of it; not with any snowy, false
polish; not letting anything go till
had done all l could to make it what i
should be.
"In telling this little story l have
told thousands of stories. Take thu
word hammer out of it, and put glue il
its place, and you have the history o
Peter Cooper. BY putting in othe
words you can make the true history o
every great business in the world which
has lasted thirty years.
1.-The true protective system o
which we hear so much is to make tn,
best article, and he who does this neet
not buy a ticket for Colorado. "-ChriS
tian Union.