Wichita eagle., 1888-11-08
RURAL INDUSTRIES.
"oATh'sn CHAT ABOUT SOME OF OUR
SMALL MANUFACTURERS.

0AJ IT'S" Ct1AI A6OOI 0OWC VT OOn
SMALL MANUFACTURERS.
Tho wagonma1er Of IN Obscure Village.
American Mechanics in Country Towns
Tho Peddler, Chicken Merchant, Etc.
Why People Went West.
was about to say that take an interest
in the small manufacturers Of the land, and
ran upon one Of these only yesterday at an
obscure village which is about fourteen miles
from any railroad, and at that distance has
three different railroads tantalizingly de-
scribing kind of diamond around it, but not
one drawing any nearer. The consequence
has been that the artisans Of that little vii
lage have adhered to the crafts Of their fore
fathers Ny wife wanted a wagon and had
been TO this village to see the wagonmakers
assortment, and drove eleven miles to look
into her selection. There was PLAIN man
who had lived through all the civil war
firm Unionist, had manufactured from his
youth up the different kinds of riding
wagons, and was still making them between
the intervals of his job work. Living re-
mote from a railroad, in a country Of
abundant food and wood and leather, be
could afford to make wagon for 20 per
cent. less than city work. His little warehouse
contained ten or twelve new wagons, and
one of these which had been transformed had
been driven nineteen years by its purchaser,
who then sold it back again and got a new
one Here, for $50, you could get a hand
made wagon quite as cheap as the cheapest
pattern made wagons in the western states
For $50 you could buy what Is called o Day
ton wagon with two seats; for $40 you could
buy tongue made to order, and according
to the dimensions you might leave, the
tongue being set with all its paraphernalia,
with front and rear. For a you could have
brake put on any wagon. Of course the
springs Of these wagons are made at different
places, such as Wilmington, Del; the wheels
arc generally made in the adjacent country,
and sometimes come from the west. All the
rest of the machinery, except the iron fix
lures. like the steps, is made on the spot.
We are constantly saying that there are no
American mechanics, but we are only talk
ing about the towns In the country towns
of the United States there are just as many
blacksmiths, wheelwrights, ETC., Us there
ever were. These men, working alone and
making all parts of a finished product, not
dividing their labor into a series Of single
drudgeries, become intelligent and OBJ
servant and keep their eyes upon the manu-
featuring centers of the country and know
whenever new spring has como out or if a
new patent is better adapted to their purpose
than an old one. In this way the old Ger
manic regions Of the United States through
eastern Pennsylvania, middle Maryland and
central Virginia keep up their little shops of
all descriptions, and on emergency you
could collect small army Of country me-
chanicS, every one of them old in this soil
and stock.
Again you will see, about twice week,
through the district have described, tho
chicken merchant come past with his wagon
constructed to put chickens in the body,
turkeys towards the front and other sorts Of
fowl in about the rear. He goes surrounded
with cackling and growing. and his little
game is to forward the said chickens to the
city market in coops and crates made for that
end.
About twice week, also, you will see the
egg az utter man come along in wagon
manufactured for his service. 1t contains
refrigerator part for the butter and q saw
dust body for the eggs. He buys chiefly
from tho poor, and those who want ready
money, who would otherwise put in their
way of bartering, and thus suffer two shaves;
first the shave of their product, and, sec
ondly, the shave upon tho product they ex-
change for. The egg and butter man pays
re.igiously but cents pound for butter to
the country people who keep COW or two.
He pays cents dozen for eggs at nearly
all times of the year. He saves the wayside
q walk of two or three miles to the next vii
iage store. AT the present time eggs are 13
cents dozen at the stores, and therefore
every time the egg man surrounds dozen
eggs he has made 10 cents
You might not suppose that there were
country potters any more in this region, but
you would b taken there. They have an
old pottery -agerstown, which is more
than 100 years old, and know Of one in an
obscure part of the country which has sup
ported two or three generations of the same
family in respectable independence. That is
to say, they may make $500 n year in cash
upon their pots, jars, etc. The man gets his
clay from some distance, and has little kiln
which you would hardly think to be more
than Dutch oven, and he has small shop
where he sits at his wheel and makes his pots
and jars Sometimes he delivers them at the
railroad station, and at other times the farm
ers come with their own teams and place the
pots in the straw and take them home to their
wives, who I'LL the said pots with pickles, pre-
serves, catsup, apple butter, ETC. Really our
largest manufacturers have come from these
little beginnings. The majestic works Of
this country, which employ LOCO hands, fro
quently began with rural blacksmith.
Not long ago drove to the only county
seat or court house town in Pennsylvania
where it is said the whole county is destitute
of railroad facilities. had to cross a mount
ain to get into this county, and there lay tho
court house clustered in beautiful but mar
row valley, with abundant streams. The
whole county vas walled in by nature, like
some parts Of the Alps For fifty years the
people had conceived that railroads would
have to come to them some day, because
they were ON one Of the great lines of com
m1nication between the east and west. At
last some Of the Pittsburg people united with
the Vanderbilt family to run q railroad
through that region, and spent great deal
Of money in beginning the tunnels and build
ing tho steel towers to cross the chamiS But
the exigencies Of many railroads united to
withdraw all tins enterprise Just as the con-
summation seemed within reach. Tho peo-
pie there have settled down to the conviction
that now they viii never have any railroad
whatever.
young man TO Kansas, Dakota and the far
west. The young men ssayed around as hong
Is there was O chance to work on the railroad
and enjoy the fruits Of ih construction
When they found the matter was knocked in