Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1893-09-12
WORLDS FAIR LETTER.
The Past Week One of General Jolli-
fcation at the White City.
CHICAGO. Ill. Sept. 10, Is


CHICAGO, ILL, Sept. 10, 1898.
The attendance at the Worlds fair
is booming now as it never has before
and when the returns are all in for
the past week it will doubtless be
found that ali previous records, in
Guiding that of the banner week when
Illinois day was celebrated, will have
been eclipsed. The record for that
week, ending Aug. 26, were 1,00S,454.
For the first four days of last week
the attendance aggregated 708,491, an
average daily attendance of 1883.
If the average kept up the total tor
the six days did not fall short of
100000. So satisfactory has the at
tendance been of late that the execu-
tive committee of the local directory
at its meeting Thursday night decided
to pay another installment of 10 per
cent on the debenture bonds Sept. %.
This will make 40 per cent paid on
the total of $4,5OO,OOO. More could
doubtless be paid but the council of
administration has also decided to pay
all the balances due on construction
contracts.
The past week was one of jollifica-
ton and celebrations. New York
state celebrated on Monday, Wiscon-
sin on Wednesday, Pennsylvania and
Brazil on Thursday and California
and Utah Saturday, which was also
Transportation day and Grand Army
day. Superintendent of Administra-
ton Tucker figured on 250,000 at
tendance Saturday, and the special
features for that day promised and, it
is thought, made good his anticipa-
tions. School children also took part
in dedicating the new liberty bell on
that day.
The Higbee inquiry is finished and
q verdict of guilty has been rendered.
Mr.. Frank D. Higbee, it will be re-
membered, was one Of the judges of
awards who was charged with cor
ruption in the awards of prizes for
Other judges are likewise
of prostituting the work OF
the judges and it is said fresh evil
dence has been submitted showing
without shadow of doubt that
exists to influence and
sell awards.
Machinery hall offers new discov-
cries daily to the observing student.
Whoever passes the lathe of Charley
Sontag, looks about and then insists
on crowding up to the glass partition.
Charley Sontag is one of the few
makers of this country. Son
tags lathe is mimic When the
is in the chuck it gives mar
veous imitation of the mocking bird
whistle which shrieks its blood-chill-
ing notes from the top Of the machin-
cry hall. 1t does this when the thin
is "knurling" the end or top
of the thimble. The knurling tool
gives out seven distinct notes during
the operation and is one of the most
musical instruments in the machinery
hall orchestra. Three hundred silver
thimbles are turned out daily at the
factory. The operation is
simple and interesting. The prelimi-
nary steps in the making of a thimble
are taken in the eastern factory, for
The machinery hall exhibit has not
the space to accommodate the ma
chinery. The thimble blank is cut
and formed at one operation. The
silver, III strips of about two inches
wide and of varying thickness, is fed
into press which cuts disk and
stamps the thimble out of the round
blank. The thimble is not cone
shaped but straight sided cup of
silver 1t is next placed under a
punch which stretches it to
the required thickness after which it
is shaped to the familiar thimble form.
A boy takes the thimbles and in a
lathe turns the edge and
turns the rim over, and then
the souvenir design is placed
on the band Immediately above the
rim by a roller die which is held
against it in q lathe. In this condi-
ton the blanks come to the Worlds
Fair to have the finishing touches put
on them. The thimble maker places
the blank in a chuck and sets the lathe
spinning. lie first knurls the the top
of the thimble as he calls the process
of putting in the dimples which catch
the head of the needle. The knurling
tool is a little narrow wheel OF hard
steel which has teeth cut in its rim.
Tho wheel revolves at the end of the
tool which is held on tool rest. The
spinning thimble whirls the wheel
around SO rapidly that the silver and