Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-02

called experts at diamond cutting, and these few jealously concealed the secrets of the art. Mechanics were in crude state then, and work which required months to accomplish is done now in hours. The conditions which surrounded the work in olden times were such that it was comparatively easy to conceal the knowledge and the art was handed down from father to son as rich heritage.
 Some two years ago one of the largest diamond concerns in Maiden Lane con- ceived the idea of doing it's own cutting. Emissaries were sent to Amsterdam and arrangements were made by which a number of the most expert cutters were to come here and do the work. But the agents here of the contract labor law got wind of the scheme and took steps to prevent the importation of the Hol- landers
 The Maiden Lane people set up the novel plea that the coming of the Amster- dam cutters would not interfere With rights of the American workmen in any way for the reason that diamond cutting was not an established industry here. But the treasury department agents made thorough research of the whole matter and discovered that Americans did know something of the art.
 Learned the Art.
 It seems that back in 1861 a diamond expert named Morse, living in Boston,
 
 of rough stones. He failed signally to ob- tain fine results, but he gained knowl- edge which was of use to him later on He became associated with a diamond dealer named Pray and they decided to bring over some Amsterdam cutters. Mr. Morse, however, kept his q res open, and presently learned the secrets of the trade He then established in secret an auxiliary shop in the suburbs of Boston, where he taught some young men how to cut diamonds
 Presently the Dutch workmen, believ- ing that their work was indispensable to their employers, made exorbitant de- mands on them. MT. Morse thereupon turned them off and put his young Amer jeans to work. From that time diamond cutting became subject to competition, with the best possible results to the trade.
 The scheme of the Maiden Lane people was blasted, but for all that the Amster- dam cutters have been coming here in a steady stream, and today there are probably more diamonds cut in New York than any other large city the world over. Some of the great Amsterdam firms have been forced to follow the trend of the trade, and several of them within the last year have moved their entire es- tablshments here, including machinery and equipments. They could not bring their old employees under contract, but they were nominally discharged and la ter on drifted into this country and were re-engaged.
 The Process of Polishing.
 Compared with the work of genera tion ago. the cutting of diamonds Is now quite simple. Workmen of extraordinary skill, of course, earn good pay, but the average wages earned are not more than those paid to the skilled mechanic in general.
 Machinery does most of the work. From the rough to the finish the dia- mond passes through four stages. The rough diamond is fastened in cement at the end of a tool. Another rough dia- mond is fastened in the same way to a similar tool, and the two are rubbed to- gether until the very sharp points have