Smyrna times., 1897-10-27
MAKING TOOTHPTCKS.
THE INoUlSlTIVE MAN LEARNS SOME
THING IN LEWISTON.


He Is Shown Over the ToOthpicIs Factory
by Bright Boy Who Was There For
That PurpOse-A Big Machine Too In
tricate For Description.
The inQuisitive man alighted from
the cars in the city Of Lewiston, Me-,
and stood on the station platform in an
attitude of indecisiOn, for he was at
loss to say in which direction it would
be most desirable to turn.
II can earn a dollar day packing
toothpicks, and that is better than
working in the cotton factories" he
heard a little girl say to a companion,
and instantly the inQuisitive man had
found an occupation.
Packing toothpicksl OF all things,
1 prefer to see a toothpick factory, and
it is fortunate 1 blundered ON board
that train, he said to himself.
Then, with the air of one bent ON
most urgent business, the inquisitive
man set out in search of the toothpick
factory.
1t was not so imposing structure as
he had expected to see, but there was
so much hustle and semblance of in
dustry everywhere around the establish
ment that his disappointment as to the
general appearance of the building was
soon forgotten.
Inclosing the structure, as if to pre-
vent its escape, were long rows of small
logs and short rows Of big logs, each
one exactly four feet in length, from
all of which the bark had been neatly
and entirely removed.
Its birch and maple, of course. We
don't use any other kind, small boy
said in answer to the inquisitive mans
question. Il reckon you're stranger
round these parts?"
Il do not remember ever having been
here before.
''Then l guess you never have, be-
cause you wouldn't t be likely to forget q
toothpick factory if you'd ever seen one.
We make 10000 picks a day, and
that s quite pile. Anyhow, you'd think
so if you had to count 'em before get
ting bite to eat. Want to see the ma
chine?"
"Can you show it to me?"
''That's what I'm here for. "
II should think that it would be
moro profitable to work in the factory
than to idle your time away answering
the questions Of ignorant people like
myself" "
That's where you make big mis-
take, mister. It's mighty mean man
who won't pay me for showing him
round, and pick up fair wages when
there's a good crop of visitors Come
along, and II show you the toothpick
business. Here in this yard the stock is
sawed into pieces Ga inches long. y
And the small boy pointed to the in
closure in which a dozen or more circu.
lar saws were buzzing and humming al
they quickly divided the logs into the
required lengths.
All pieces not clear and straight
grained were thrown aside, and the re
! mainder was being packed into barrels
so made that wide crevices appeared be
tween the slaves.
Eyes, that's all right. " the small boy
said, answering the inquisitive man.
look of inquiry. THE stock is being
packed for the steaming room. WheI
the barrels are full, they'll be takel
there and left about three hours, whel
the blocks will be almost as soft a
leather. Charging the wood with steam
drives out all the sap, and it is thel
ready for splitting. Come this way ant
you can see how that part of the worl
is done"
The small boy led the visitor to
room in the main building, where wa
what is known us veneer machine,
piece of mechanism not unlike lathe
which was rapidly converting the WOO
into pliable bands, hardly thicker thai
ordinary cardboard. The keen knive
cut the 81 inch blocks so readily an
smoothly that the general appearance O
the work was much as if a roll Of cream
cOlOred ribbon was being unwound an
thrown carelessly ON the floor. Tw
boys were gathering up the damp ma
terial and winding it on huge spools.
They're getting it ready for the bi
machine, the guide said as he chewe
fragment of the wooden ribbon. "Ev
cry one of the spools holds about 10
feet of the veneer, and the rest Of til
work is done so quickly that you won
have much of a chance to see the opel
alton.
The "big machine" was so intricat
that the inquisitive man realized thl
he could not describe it intelligently
even though he should spend man
hours studying its construction. II
saw at one end Of long, narrow strut
) ture, filed with wheels and knives
arms on which the spools Of venet
were hung and observed that men pusl
ed the ends of the wooden ribbo
through narrow slots, where it wa
seized by little steel fingers.
He knew that somewhere inside th
machine the material was being Gu
, trimmed and smoothed into flat picL
with ohisellike ends, for directly opp'
site to where the veneer was being fe
to the iron workman a long spout shC
= out toothpicks in bewildering number
~ " 40 HOAACSb SAOuO VI DAbs
wood, which would soon have burie
the machine itself but for the fact tn,
boys were gathering the harvest I'M
wooden boxes with wire lotions cap
BILE of holding a peck or more.
"That's ali there is to the making,
the guide said as the inquisitive ma
raised his eyes. "Of course they're so
now, as the veneer was, but these bo.
will take them into the drying room
and after they've had hot air force
through them by the steam blower fl
20 minutes or half an hour they IL
stiff and brittle, so that you can bres
dozen or so day and in that wG
help to make trade good. James OF
i'll Philadelphia Times.
The Reason why.
A lady happened to remark to an at
letio friend that it was very strange tn
most Of the bad bicycling acciden
seemed to happen to women-and cou
he account for it-were they mo
"foolhardy?" "Not at all. )" he reptile
''The real reason is, / think, that woi
en- cannot judge distances Now, fro
his earliest youth up a boy is train
through his games to accurately meG
ure yards and feet. You will see
woman rush in between two carts whe