The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1898-12-24
PASSING OF WASH DAY.
STEAM LAUNDRIEs DANISH BLUE
MONDAY" AND BOILED DINNERS"
Thousands of Labor-savlng Devices For
All branches of the Work-shlrts
Ironed, Polished and Folded Auto
MISUNDERSTANDING Saw Edge Of Collars


All branches of the Work-Shirts
Ironed, Polished and Folded Auto
matlcaly-Taking Saw Edge ON collars
Several big concerns do the bulk Of
each city's laundry work, these being
divided into trough dry" fiat work
and collar and cuff laundries. That
Fat work requires entire factory build
ings with hundreds Of employees.
Their work is collected principally
from hotels, steamships, saloons and
restaurants by wagon loads, and in
many places is finished up at the rate
of 40, 600 pieces day, says the Chi
cago Record. A steamships table
cloths, sheets, towels, etc., are fire.
quently received and delivered clean
within two OF three hours time. I'm
proved machinery has revolutlonlzed
this work, and it is now done on o
wholesale basis; for, whereas twelve
wears ago fifteen cents was charged
for one sheet, 100 are now washed
and ironed in these establishments for
seventy-fve cents, or 100 towels for
forty cents.
The trough dry" laundries collect
general household work from hun
dreds of small laundries and agencies
around town. This central business
has so developed that only the collars
and cuffs are accepted by some, as
there is more profit in them and
smaller machinery required. Twen-
ty-fve thousand shirts is not al IN
common weeks work for great
trough dry" laundries, and this
means at least two or three collars,
cuffs and other garments with each
shirt.
Since the first steam laundry was
started in 1853 the Patent Office has
been besieged with thousands of labor
saving devices for all branches Of
laundry work. Electricity is largely
employed in the most recent of these,
and, in fact, laundrieS are now using
it for their motive powers and in heat
ing irons, etc. One Of the leading
machinists in the trade states that IS
soon as its success is understood cleo
tricity will be used exclusively in some
of the works for running the machin-
cry, heating the dryrooms, mangIe
rollers, the irons, choking stoves
even for bleaching-as we'll as light
ing and heating the buildings.
There are, too, some wonderful
machines in use which are kept from
the public eye, and others which ere
expected to work wonders when put
into operation. One Of these is o
combination of ironing machines in
which rough shirt is automatically
ironed, the bands and bosom polished
and the shilt folded up rea1y Tor de-
liveEp Another man claims to have
a machine which will wash, starch and
iron pieces without any rehandling.
AS a result of Yankee ingenuity in
this line, our laundry machinery is
being used in all parts Of the world
Notwithstanding the improved ma
chimes already used, it may surprise
many to know that our collars and
cuffs are handled twenty times in the
improved laundry flor two cents),
shirts fifteen times and other articles
proportionately less. A brief descrip-
ton Of the workings of "rough-dry''
plant will explain this point.
From the collecting wagons the
work is piled up before the clerk fo1
entry, after which private symbolic
mark is put on each agency's work. A
sorter next distributes the various az
ticles, quantities of which are con-
, veyed to the washing machines. The
latest models wash as many as 300
shirts at once. The work is put in
divisions Of the inner perforated cylin.
drical roller, which, connected with
the driving pulley, is automatically
rolled around, first one way, then the
other, the suds being forced through
the clothes as they continually fall.
! Twenty minutes sufices to cleanse
them, when the suds are run off and
clean water substituted for rinsing.
From the washers the dripping
clothes are packed in so-called cen.
trifugal ''wringers." These are
shaped like large tubs, their sides are
full of small holes and they are fitted
into iron stands of the same shape
but larger. The clothes are packed
: in, covered over and the power turned
on, revolving the inner tub 1000 OF
perhaps nearly 1000 times a minute
The rapidity of movement forces the
water to the sides, through the holes
to wastepipe, and in twelve min
utes they are effectually squeezed dry,
with buttons, trimmings, etc., intact
Ten thousand pieces q day can be
wrung out by each one of these ma
chimes, which were invented and used
originally for extracting strip from
sugar.
As the clothes are som ewhat in
twined when taken out they are next
put into shake. out machines. These
are simply clean cylinders turned by
power, in which they roll until each
piece Is free, thus preventing hand