The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-09-14

cesses. tempting the market with novelty
Of design, attractive finish and general
excellence Of product. ,,u,
The fundamental processes tthe poitefs
art have not changed greatly since 10
kim and the men Of Chgzsbar, and Jossh,
and saraph, who had dominion IN Moab
. were the potters and dwelt WIN
the King for his work" Modern lnVe9'
ton has not displaced the early potters
wheel, though In sCme oil the preparatory
stages machinery has been devised to ex'
pedite tho process and improve the pro-
duct. For these reasons American enter
prise embarked in earthenware msnutac-
inTe has not baen aided to the same ex'
tent that most other industries have by
the introduction OF labor-saVlng msChin,
ery. The war brought the protection Of
the tariff OF 1851 and high premium on
gold, and the abundance OF paper money
made Il good market for every hing,
Under there stimulating conditions the
potter's industry grew 10 handsome pro;
portinR, TCprTttd at an Gnnuul pIoeuct OF
about 500 100000 in value .Notwith'
standing this CiedilaOIe exhibit Of the
growth Of al important American indus
try, this country sill imports more earth
ware than II makes, though the greater
pOrt OF the foreign ware has no superior
ily in quality md Ia rather behind IN do
sign and finish, The excellence Of Ameri'
can earthwsre Is nowhere more iorClbly
shown than in the Wheeling Pottery.
THE WHEELING POTTERY.
On the sd day Of OctobeF, 1870, the
Wheeling Pottery Company was inCor'
poraLed under tho laws OF West Virginia,
with OH authorized capital Of Sl,OOO,UOO
and $lg5,0O0 paid up capital. Al that
time George X. Wheat was elected Presl'
dent, Charles W. Franzhiem, Vice Presi'
dent, w. A. Igett, Secretary, and Il, NJ.
Pearson, General Manager. No changes
lave ever occurred in the list OF officers,
as tho annual earnings Of the company
were such as to prompt the stockholders
10 recognize the fact that by their dlscTG-
ton at the start they secured material that
could not not DO improved upon, and no
doubt the success oil the pottery il due 10
the wisdom displayed by ito present man
agement,
The company bought the property Of
the Wheat tannely, occupying the block
bounded by Thiry.frst and Thirty'BeCond
streets on the North md South, and Eoh
and ChaplinO streetson tho EsEt and West.
Ga this Ii erected a large fourBtory brick
building, with tho necessary outbuildipgs
Tor kilna and fuel housed. Tho building
ia admirably arranged. beginning with
the Clay.bns and mixing rooms on the
ground floor, theClsy IL carried through tho
process oiniXlng until II comes out IN q
Salidlhel form, and lie carried by elevators
10 the room above whtre the holding Is
done; thence to CuCloEed bus or racks for
drying. On the first floor large fan Is
30 arranged that Il current Glhot air pro.
tiuctd by tho condensed stean, forced up
through tho building by system OF pipes
and distributed III the bins where the ware
is placed fer drying, preparatory TO being
placed in BaggeIs to 90 through the burn.
ing process in tho kilns.
MERIT WINS.
As indicative Of the growth Of tho pot
terry 1t need only be Bnid this concrn
started with FIVE kilns, and now seven are
taxed to their utmost capacity TO meet the
demands made upon the company. The
one kiln that answered for the decorative
department has been increased to four,
and with q continuance OF the increased
demand for decorative ware additional
improvements in this department will
have to be made.
Perhaps there Is no other pottery in the
world that puts 90 many designs upon the
market as the Wheeling pottery. This
may poasibly be attributed TO the location
among the largest and most progressive
glass houses in tho country, whose prod.
uCts are 10 nearly allied, and the sharp
competition in the manufacture OF glaGs.
Whether or not such is the case, 1t ia nev.
ertheless fact that tho Wheeling pottery
leads the world in unique deaignB In every
variety Of ware In It's line.
Two hundred and fifty people are em.
ployed in turning out capacity OF $780,.
900 per annum, and in answer TO tho
queation how that number oil employees
could turn out that amount Of work, the
manager, Mr.. Il. NJ. Pearson, said: "Be.
cause it 10 the most complete pottery in
the world" There is certainly great
deal covered In Mr.. Pearson's answer, but
10 90 through the immense building, and
observe closely, 1t would readily be seen
that to further economist would be
next to impossible.
From one machine to another, from one
workman to another, the ware is carried
in its varied shapes without the loss OF one
step from the clay bins, till 1t reaches the
packing room. wolarge steam elevators,
on in each end Of the building, appear
TO 30 with the precision Of clock work, so
thorough Is the system.
The clay is shipped from New Castle
county. Dell: Woodbridge and Amboy,
New jerHey, and also from England; The
feldspar from Maine and Connecticut, and
lllnts or quartz from Pennsylvania and
Maryland.
The principal markets for tho products
are III the North, West and South. The
company enjoys unusual advantages for
shipping. In addition to tho three rail.
roads that enter upon the block, II Is
located within a few minutes haul 10 the
lower wharVes. The railroad switches are
30 arranged that the packed ware Is rolled
from the packing room into the care, or
laid In straw in the car without packages,
saving q considerable Item Of cost.
CHEAT VALUE OF NATURAL GAS.
In speaking Of natural gas Mr.. Pearson
Hulu bubIb was AU VuSbtluu Nuuut ~ Deluh
far superior to coal. Already, Ito said,
they had an advantage over Trenton
(N.J. pottGFies Of $40, 900 per annum, aud
with the introduction Of natural gas a
further saving Of Of lsast twenty-five per.
cent can 10 added. In addition 10 the
saving In fuel tho kilns will require less
repairing, and much labor will necessarily
have TO b. dispensed with. Further than
this, what has always been looked upon
IA an almost unavoidable loss will be
entirely obviatedby tho Ute Of gas, When
the ware ID placed Into the Baggers and set
in the kilns there Ia always more or less
loss BY the BmokO aud sulphur getting 10
the ware. With gas this will nOt be the
case.
IN answer 10 tho question as 10 whsath.
or gas would produce better ware, Mr..
Pearson replied that there was no doubt
about II. The ware would be white aud
putOf tint. The temperature could bereg.
iilatod with precision by the use Of gas,
which would DO imposslble to attain with
coal,
In speaking Of tho advantages Of Wheel.
Ing over the East In the pottery business