The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-30
A THERMOMETER FACTORY.
A Queer Little workshop Where
Thermometers Come From.

Queer Little Workshop Where
Thermometers Come From.
The thermometers used I'm the boiler
rooms and magazines OF warships in al
most every navy in the world come from
the United States. They are made in an
obscure little workshop in Brooklyn II
is fact well understood by naval author
tiles that without shermcmeters the mod
ern warship would be an impossibility.
BY their aid the magazines and coal bunk
ers are guarded against spontaneous ac-
cidents. The temperature In all the vital
parts of a ship Is constantly watched and
carefully reported, and. II il hardly nee
essary to say, Is kept at the lowest point
possible
Brooklyn thermometers are not the
only ones in use on men-of-war, but IL is
safe TO say that none manufactured else
where have the International reputation
for accuracy which those from the bor-
ough of baby carriages enjoy. In the
United States navy and In the national
weather bureau service they are used ex-
clusively. In fact there Is hardly place
In the world In which it is necessary to
ascertain temperature TO the fraction OF
a degree where they are not given the
preference of all others. II you Sre
traveller and are ever IN Japan, step into
any scientific laboratory there and you
viii find visible proof that American In
struments are in high favor among learn
ed Mongoans.
The factory. for this II must of necessity
be termed, would never be recognized
from the outside. 1t consists simply of a
couple of rooms In an apartment house
The thermometer industry is there con-
Quoted so quietly that even the neighbors
in the adjoining dwellings are not aware
of its presence Two skilled workmen
are all that have TO be paid off when pay
day comes around incredible as Il may
seem. Thus il will be seen that the lives
of thousands of sailors aboard men-of-
war in all parts of the world depend for
their safety upon the scientific accuracy
of the work OF two skilled mechanics. If
In making a thermometer one of these
men should make a mistake of few de-
grees, making the reading too low, and
the error were not discovered in(time to
rectify it, an awful but unconscious dan
ger would Turk In the ship In whose mag
azine the instrument were placed. An
explosion as fearful as that which de-
stroyed the Maine or as destructive az
any of the Internal explosions which
wrecked at least one OF Cervera's vessels,
would be liable to occur at any moment.
Such a catastrophe however, Is not like
~ 20 result from the use of a Brooklyn
Thermometer. Those made for use In the
navy are tested every few days for
months until there is absolutely NO chance
of error remaining.
A thermometer lately adopted by some
of the big battleships and orders for which
are now being filled for several of the
smaller vessels In the navy Is that which
Is known among experts as the Hicksu,at-
tern 1t takes its name after the English
manufacturer who invented 1t. II Is 80
complicated In pattern that there is but
one man In America who knows how 20
make It. He is employed In the Brooklyn
factory, where he has his hands full. The
attractive feature about this instrument Is
that II automatically records the lowest
and the highest temperatures to which II
has been subjected since last observed,
This is accomplished without the use OF
ink marked diagram, but by little floats
which stick in the tubes when the mer-
curry has been highest and where IL has
been lowest. Such thermometers. how
ever. are very expensive, as In fact are
all OF those which are made In the queer
Brooklyn factory. Nothing Is there ma de,
but high-priced Instruments for special
scientific tests In which It Is necessary
to ascertain temperature with fractional
accuracy. Cheap thermometers, such as
are commonly seen In ordinary use, are
made in various places all over the world.
Henry j. Green, the owner OF the Brook
lyn workshop, is close student ana IS
little known to the outside world. Among
eminent EctentlStb ana oiANtuio
In the navy and weather bureau, he has
probably a wider circle of friends than
any other man Ia America, however Per-
sonalIy he has made many inventions,
and has added much TO Thermometer
science, though he freely admits that
large share of the reputation of Brooklyn
thermometers Is not due to himself. His
father who established the shop, estab-
lshed it's reputation also, and gave IFS
present owner his practical knowledge of
exact thermometry.
Since the war broke out the shop has
been unable to supply the demands made
lrpon Il by the United States navy alone.
The orders 1t has now on hand are weeks
behind hand, and cannot Immediately be
filled because Of the lack OF workmen who
possess recognized skill sufficient to I'M
dertake them. This Is all due 10 the re-
cent wholesale conversion OF merchant
vessels for active war service. Now that
the war is over II Is likely that before
long the little shop will resume IT'S quiet
ude, Joseph NJ. Kinney.