The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-09-23
SURE THE SHOE WOULD NOT DO.
30 Practical Men Told the inventor Of .
Sewing Machine

30 Practical Men Told the Inventor Of Q
Sewing Machine
Gordon Mckay, with whom shoe man
ufacrurers were once better acquainted
than now, was recently honored with
the degree of master of arts by Harvard
college.
When Mr.. Mckay sought to bring
his sewing machine into use, he was told
by all practical shoemakers that ths
thread must I'LL the hole" This was at
once seen TO be impossible. for il this
machine the needle must draw the
thread through the hole, and when the
needle was no longer in the hole, OF
course the thread could not fill it. II
was then that Mr.. Mckay said: I'll
it is true the thread must fill. then the
machine (which was then a finished in
vention) is so much scrap"
It was here that r III. Nathies again
showed that wonderful quickness Of
perception which had played so inn
Portant a part In the Improvements that
finally made the machine a practica.
success. Needing not the fact that ex
perts were against him. he said: "Ont
experiment is better than q Thousand
expert opinions Try it." So pair o.
shoes were made, each sewed with the
same thread, one with the smallest
needle possible and the other with 8
needle ridiculously large-and being
worn by Mr.. Mathies. in two weeks the
shoe sewed with the small needle ripped
while the other stood well till the sole
was worn through and then served 4,
. welt to sew on a tap which yves worI
out and renewed. The sewing never
failed It is ON this discovery that the
whole business Of Mckay machine.
eewed shoes rests to-day, and there ART
probably 100000, 900 pairs of them made
every year.
An amusing anecdote relating to this
feature in the shoe may not be out o.
place. When these shoes had been al
lowed TO be taken as equal to hand
sewed shoes in the army, by order OF
Gen Meigs eome cases were sent &c
the arsenal at Philadslphia on a con-
tract. Col. Crossman gave them to IN
inspector who had been long in the
shoe department making army shoes.
He examined them AMI soon discovered
the thread did not ff1 the holes ard
reported that they were worthless
Nevertheless, under orders from Gen
Meigs, they were accepted and given
out 10 the army. In few months Col,
Gresham informed Mr.. Mckay that
he heard the shoes were failing in the
army and that he had sem his In.
spector 10 look into 1t. The Inspector
returned with the report that the shoes
that failed were "hand made"
Cod. Crosxman then, TO make III end
OF the doubt cast on machine shoes,
scnt the same inspector@wbo. by the
WY, was tho same one who first re-
ported against the shoes becaps. the
threod did not fill tho hole - to go
through al the hospitals and see every
man, and get a report from all who had
worn the Inachipe shoe. The report
was made covering one ream Of fools
cap. Each mans name, regiment, etc,
was given, and the words he used, as
far as possible There were over e.ooo
soldiers statements in the report. and
the inspector concluded his report by
eayfng: az have executed the work
given me, and / must say have not
heard of . machine shoe that hss
ripped Nevertheless, / know n ma
chine shoe cannot be good. because The
thread does not fiji the hole II Ia
probable That nine IN ten OF the shoe
manufacturers who uin read this sEti
Gle ere Of the same opinion as The In
spector.-Shoe and Leather Reporter.