The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-03-31
COUNTLESS USES OF FELT.
Many of Them the Devices of Invent
 i've Cranks.

| Many or Them the Devices of Invent | i've Cranks,
 | Felts are remarkable substances, The great variety of felts manufac- tured and the vast range of qualities have given rise to a curious custom in one of the biggest felt stores in this city.
 "The most curious customers we have" said the head of this house re- gently, are the crank inventors. When these men get to work upon an invention, it seems to me, no matter what the machine is to do they con ceiYe that some part of the device could best be made of felt. Now, if the in ventors would only tell us enough about what they want the felt for to enable us to exercise some judgment for them, we could put our wide knoWl- edge of the many kinds of felt to work and probably suggest pretty nearly the right kind for the purpose. But these men are very secretive, and, as a rule, they will not tell us anything, except that they want to get just little piece of felt. Now, when you consider all the kinds of felt with which our big store is filled and the many other kinds which we either do not make except to order or do not keep in stock this is funny.
 Years ago when the cranks came in we used to do our best to help them out, and spent hours showing them all the felts in the place, and this ended frequently in our giving to them free the little pieces which they thought would answer their purpose. We would feel happy then for a time, thinking that we had done good act at least in aiding a fellow creature, when To, there would be the same crank again looking for piece of felt that was just a little thicker or thinner than the one he had, or piece which was harder or softer, more springy or less springy, more absorbent or less so Then we would mortify the flesh, and the spirit, too, and show him all over the store again, and probably again and again. Now we have better plan. You see that big box down at the end of the room? Into that we throw all the clippings from every kind of felt which are too small to be sure of a commercial value. We make a great many of these every year, for felt is sold in all sorts of odd forms and
 
 poses. We make presents of these clippings to the head office boy, and whenever a crank comes in and we dis cover him we turn him over to the of flee boy. We can't sell anything to you our men declare; here is lad, however, that we think has got what you want, but you must make your own bargain with him.
 "Thereupon the crank and the office boy go off together, and the crank be- gins without fail to tell in a guarded way how he wants just a little piece of felt to fit into some sort of new inven- tion. All right, sir says the office boy, but there is only one way you can do any business with me. It will cost you five dollars cash down to look at the box of clippings. If you pay me that, you can come and look through the box as often as you wish, and as long as you like, and for as long a time, and you can have anything which you find there that you think will answer your purpose
 Five dollars, cash down. usually scares off the fellow, who has only an indefinite idea of what he wants, but every little while a man pays the mon- ey and begins his hunt. Some of the linen get what they want the first time land never come back, except perhaps to order felt from our regular stock, but others haunt the place. There is hard ly day when you cannot see some of them over the box of clippings. A few of them have been here every week for two or three years and have not found what they want, although at every wis it they get fresh samples"
 In the box in question there is be- widering display of felts. The first thing the eye notices is the chromatic display. Every brilliant dye in the scale of color seems to have been used and the samples are jumbled all togeth- CT in delightful kaleidoscopic tangle Some look like boardcloth, so thin and fine and smooth are they, while the next bit, perhaps, is two inches thick and as soft, porous, and sprngy as a Turkish sponge. Here again are pieces so hard that you couldn't drive a nail into them, nor would they take up as much water as a piece of hard wood
 Some are soft and silky in texture; others are coarse and hairy, and be- tween these extremes is every grade that one could think of. Some trades , depend absolutely upon felt No mar would know what to use in place oi felt for some of the most important parts of the piano. Those all-impor- tant parts, the hammers, are of soli6 felt, with only enough of stick glued into them to hold them in the piano.
 These hammer felts are among the most difficult and expensive to make } for the whole set is made in one piece graduated in thickness from the size ot ; the smallest hammer in the treble tc the biggest in the bass. Every pinhole l in the joints of the key action has a lin ing of thin, hard felt to keep it tight
 and free from rattle, and under tht ends and centers of the keys are more sprips or washers of felt and the veal / of a piano depends very largely upoI l the quality of the felt used in it 5 Felts like this cost from one to three ol four dollars a pound
 The most expensive of all the felts t besides those for the fine cowboy hats , is used in the United States Bureau O
 Engraving in Washington, where banl ) notes are printed. For blankets to GOV CT the paper and to give the printing impression, the government ordert ,ojeonc If fa1t fiftv-foI1t. by niphtV-f0u