The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-11
A MINNEAPOLIS LUMBER MILL.
A Place Where They Feed a Forest
Into One End and Draw a Frame
House From the Other.

Into One End and Draw a Frame
House From the other.
From the Minneapolis. Press.
1 wanted to see fin de steele lumber
mill. When was a boy in the pine woods
on the Allegheny hills they had sawmills
on the creeks and rivers that used to do
business with the logs in a way that SEEM
ed to be amazing. They used to have buzz
saws in those days about as big around as
the full moon, and the way that a little
Gypsy engine Of three or four-horse-power
could make them revolve was a wonder
But they told me here that l was out of
date, and that the Allegheny pine woods
were not IN it.
So 1 went down to a real lumber mill
Minneapolis lumber mill-yesterday. The
show is worth the price of admission.
Minneapolis lumber mill is q place where
they feed q forest into one end and dra w
a frame house out of the other A Mime
apolis lumber mill is the Keller of the me-
chanic art. 1t swallows a log and vomits
a wagon-load of toothpicks. There is pres
tidigitation for you. The modern lumber
mill is place where the men are machin-
cry and the machinery seems to do the
thinking. Seems isn't really the word 1t
does think. Or, II you can prove that IL
doesn't, you can't make me believe it,
l saw 1t think. saw a great big
leviathan of a thing a. Jagged
hooked, long-toothed monster, reach over
and pick up log, a log that was half
as big as the steel arch bridge, and pat 1t
and caress 1t and turn 1t over as a woman
would a baby, tuck IL in, and then-rip!
1t was all over with Mr.. Log 1t made me
think of when the wolf unmasked himself
to Little Red Riding Hood. He had been
good and kind and loving, and all that, you
know, but finally he showed his cruel
teeth. That's the way this human monster
this machine that thought, did with the
log; the poor log that it had pretended to
be so fond Of: and had coddled and mad
love to.
Down in this mill where 1 was there
We're three saws running. This isn't tech.
meal, and / don't know for sure what they
call them, but one was q buzz saw-I know
buzz saw when / see it-and another
was a saw like a leather belt piece OF
leather betting, mean. 1t must have been
70 or 80 feet long, and 1t ran over big
wheel that went around a million times a
second. -Four or five feet of the saw came
down vertically, just at the edge of a little
railroad about 50 or co feet long, inside
the mill. There was a nat car on the rail-
road and big piston rod was it's motive
power. The car was fastened to the rod
Ruth was half as surely tangled up.
WHITTIER thou goes?" Well, when the rod
went you may he sure the car went, right
away. A man pulled string and the rod
did the rest.
1t was on to this car that the thing with
the VOLTS teeth dumped the logs, one by
one. When they we're in position. all
tucked in and feeling pretty comfortable, I
thank you, all at once that string was
pulled, and in about a second the poor, IN
suspecting log had its nose up against that
leather belt saw and was being sliced and
trimmed into a stick of square timber. In
about two minutes it has lost all its self
respect 1t was nude, shame-faced, pitt
able.
Then some one pulled another string or
touched button, I don't know which, and
what was left of the log was ignominious-
ly thrown overheard. 1t fell upon NOV
ing sidewalk. something like that thing
they had down by the steamer pier at the
worlds fair, and the sidewalk carried IT
on, first south, then east. l think this
sidewalk thought too. 1t seemed to. 1t
did Just the right thing at the right time
1t never made anything that looked 10
me like mistake. 1t took this big timber
and ran it over to the middle of the mill
and laid 1t on another sidewalk that was
at rest. The brother of the moving side
walk was busy on the other side OF the
mill, taking care of the timbers the buzz
saw was turning out, turning them into
the same center. Every few minutes six
or eight squared timbers would be piled
up on the sidewalk that was at rest. Then
some one pulled another string The side.
walk that was at rest got move ON it.
self; not very fast but about as fast as
fat man with s160 in his pocket would
walk, after taking dinner at the west.
Down the pike a little way was cider
press, or something. Maybe it wasn't a