Evening star., 1896-06-23
ABOUT NEEDLES AND PINS
An Englishman Writes to This City on the
Subject
Addresses q Series of Profound Cues
tiOns to the President Of
the Board Of Trade.

There is an old distichs that runs thus:
Needles and pins, needlesand pins! When
a man marries his trouble begins"' This
shows that needles and pins may become
very vital subject of inquiry to some men.
They may be topics that lie very close to
the heart. They may involve great national
as well as domestic problems.
Mr.. J. Russell Endean Of Castario, Cock
ington. Devon. England, is just now follow
ing up this interesting. not to say absorb
ing. line of investigation. 1t may be that
he is trying to solve that old and elusive
problem Of what becomes of all the pins and
needles. 1t Is query that is worthy or the
attention Of the most learned men of both
continents, and Mr.. Endean has gone into
1t very thoroughly, If his recent letter to
well-known citizen of Washington may be
taken as an index.
Mr.. 8. w. Woodward, president of the
washington board of trade, was somewhat
deans letter in his mail. 1t was addressed
ITO the Right Honorable, the President of
the Board of Trade, the Board Of Trade
Offices, Washington, U. 8. A." Mr.. Wood
of any titles whatever, and he was some
what at loss to comprehend the reason
why his unknown correspondent should
have so honored him by the superscription.
Then 1t occurred to him that in London the
president of the board of trade is a member
Of the cabinet and is very high official,
and he made mental bow to the writer at
Castario.
more than the address. 1t read as follows:
Il am making interesting researches into
the history and manufacture Of Pins and
Needles in the United States Of America.
and, as find 1t very difficult to obtain from
your side of the sea the Information want
l trust l may appeal to you to render your
valuable assistance. On PIP. and have
written few questions on which shall be
ho tlo ,1t<e- m,
be given me, and any other information con-
nected with Pins and Needles, and the ad-
dress OF the chief makers of both you may
be able to give. l shall esteem high honor
and Tor Which shall be deeply grateful
Now, Mr.. Woodward knows good deal
ABOUT pms and needles commercial COM
modltles, but the queries propounded stag
gered him somewhat. There were twenty of
tnem-nlne about needles and eleven about
pins. What Mr.. Endean wants to know
about needles would probably fill book.
For example. he asks when it was that the
nrst needle factory was set up in the United
states, and where, and who was the positive
inventor of the sewing machine Next he
wishes to learn the name Of the first positive
inventor OF the sewing machine needle and
Its first chief makers. Drifting off into sta
t1stics, he asks the annual value of the out
put of needles imported from Great Britain
in 1850 and the latest value, or the value on
the latest return. He also desires to know
the yearly value Of the output of needles in
needles.
But needles alone do not absorb all Of Mr.
Endean's interest under this head. for the
next question is: What is the yearly value
of fish-hooks made in the states?" The
list ends with the request for the names and
addresses of the principal needle makers in
the states.
The pin question runs thus: when and
where was the first pin factory set up?
What kind Of pin was in use in the states
100 years ago? Can rough sketch of it
be sent or obtained? Are there many pin
makers in the states? Are there many pins
now made by hand, or are all made by the
machine? What was the yearly output of
pins in 1850? What was the yearly export
of pins in 1850? What is the present yearly
output of pins in the states, and the yearly
export: What was the value Of the import
of pins into the states IN 1850? What was
the value Of the import of pins into the
states in 1862
Mr.. Woodward is just now looking up all
the available Information under the head of
pinology. He is by nature a polite man,
and he dislikes the idea of sending no reply
whatever to his English correspondent, or
of sending back word that he really cannot
tell him all the things he wants to know
so he is reading up on the subject 1t is a
good deal like the proverbial task of finding
a needle in hayStack, for people generally
take pins and needles very much for gra MT
ed, just as though they grew on bushes. and
seem never to give any thought to their
sources of production. Any information
on the subject of needles and pins that any
one in Washington may possess will be
gratefully and gladly received by the pres-
dent of the board of trade.