Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-09-12
MAKING FLINT GLASS.
THE VERY INTERESTING PROCESS
WILDLY DESCRIBED.

Lrmps of Molten Glass Deity Turned Into
Things of Ornament and Use-A Busy
Place Where It Seems That All Is Con-
fusion, but It Is Just the Other Thing.
Flint glass is either blown, nodded or
pressed, and frequently all three meth
DDS may be seen together In the same
establishment.
A flint glass factory Is a most enter
tanning medley of marvels. As you
enter the great building that surrounds
the huge chimney the first impression is
that you are in human ant hill rumbling
with inordinate activity. Or perhaps
the sensation is better described as a
plunge into a purgatorial chamber of in
dustrious demons In the center the
openings in the gigantic furnace dazzle
you like glaring eyes from soul of fire;
but the glow comes really from molten
glass in the dozen monkey pots" about
the blaze. Scores of workers, boys,
youths and men, throng in restless con-
fusion. 1t looks as if every one were
running about on some impish deed of
his own fancy. But stand still and watch
closely, and you will see it is all great
system of human clockwork, each move
ment fitting nicely into the whole effect.
LOOKS LIKE HE WAS PLAYING.
The men at the furnace, who seemed
at first to be devils thrusting pitchforks
into the blazing depths to toast their
victims, are only gathering metal on
their punties. When sufficiently large
lump has been collected the man wan
ders off with it. You think he will GER
tainly burn some one with that burning
ball of, fire, they are all bustling about
him so necessarily. But follow him
carefully and you see him silently hand
the tube to an older man, who blows the
glass into large globe and sits down to
play with it at bench, which has a
horizontal bar on each side of him to
roll the tube on. Back and forth he
rolls it like toy, and the glass keeps
curiously changing its shape. He has
made a hole in the globe and enlarged it
into symmetrical opening, and now the
glass is cooled SO that he can do nothing
more. Will anybody in all that hurry
ing crowd help to help him? Instantly a
young man appears, and without word
he holds up to the cool glass his long
tube with disk Of red hot glass on the
end, which fastens to it. The man at
the bench scratches the globe, jars it,
and it leaves his bar. Off the other man
runs with it to the "glory hole" where
the broken end is quickly heated again
into softness. Then he hurries back with
It to the bench man, who renews his
play. A couple of minutes more and
suddenly you perceive that he has made
a perfect lamp shade, which stroke
detaches from the iron rod into small
bed Of sand. A small boy carries it of
on stick to the annealing furnace, and
now the gatherer is on hand again with
fresh lump of metal to begin the pro-
cess again.
Turn to the next man sitting at his
work and you notice him finishing a
smaller charge into lamp chimney,
shaping the top by mold. Here is a
man amusing himself with a small bunch
Of soft glass on his rod. You are sure
he can have no serious purpose in turn
ing and bending it into those ridiculous
shapes. Quickly boy seizes it from
him and you cannot trace him. 1t has
gone over to fancy vase, where it was
needed to complete the ornament. Sc
each bench has its own little task of skill,
and keeps repeating it over and over,
and eack boy Of the multitude (thcre are
two or more to every many has his own
particular duties, He pops up always in
the moment and place where he is sneeded.
woRKINa IN TEAMS. -..
All the workers are busy as their wits
can make them, for they work by the
piece, and the number of things made
determine their wages. They are grouped
into sets or ''shops" Of three or four, wlc
work together and share profits together
on well understood grade Of division
Generally four constitute shop, the
most skilful workman (the blower) al
the head, the gatherer "a young fellow
next, and two boys, one handling moldG
- or tools, and the other carrying the prod
ucts to the annealing oven. The only
way to learn the glass trade is through
long apprenticeship in these four stages
And no apprentice is permitted to entel
the full privilege and wages of a master
workman without the consent of the or
der. By this severe means of apprentice
ship the glass workers keep the skill O
their trade in their own control, mucl
like the old Venetian artisans, and prac
tically dictate their own prices to EN-
ployers. G- S,-s a,.F So %
The best wages in the glass industr,
are received by the window glass blow
ers, sometimes reaching $12 per day
The master meters rank next, though
they seldom get more than half tha
amount. From these earnings the price
slope down to the small tending boys
who are paid thirty cents for ten hours
work. The blowers occupation is labor
ious, but not unhealthful. He work
eight or ten hours at a stretch, finishing
one melt Of glass. There are foufor fiv'
meats every week, each requiring six
teen hours to fuse, ten hours Of blowing
and ten hours Of fiattening. The worl