The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-09-03
NEEDLES ii AND PINS.
Some Oed Facts which Uncle Sam and 9th.
ers have Grthered About Them.
cAieago Tribune. 1


ort vbero all the pips go. This 10 d ar
old question. Away back in the days
d,he cave dwellers some housewife,
drsssed in skins, probably ssksd it
vbep the pretty bone pins made b,
her husband insisted mystsriously on
disappearing just when she needed
them, and almost every bod vsinee then
has wondered just the samawsy.
Uncle Sam sent puzsle solvers out
10 study the matter. These puzzle
solyers were called census collectors.
They had to solve many, other hard
problems, for finding out about pins
vas only one Of many thousands Of
things that Uncle Sam Unlisted on
knowing. Some Of them he'd to count
his buffaloes, and others had to count
his locomotives, and others his chil.
dren, big and little. Most Of them
did pretty we'll. They got so far as to
count his chickens before they were
hstched. They found out how many
Indians he has in his country, and
how many miles Of telegraph wire,
and how many COWS and horses and
sheep and goats, and lots Of other
queer things.
But the men who hunted after the
pin question did not. manage to find
any lost pins. All that they could
discover was how many are made each
year, and how many everybody in the
country ought TO have if most Of us
did nos keep losing them.
If everybody got his or her share OF
the pins that are manufactured in the
United States, each one Of us ought
to have 1O8 new pins each year, or q
little more than one new pin in every.
three days.
There were ..7,250,00 900 OF pins
made in the United States in the
year, and the needles that were turned
out amounted to more than 261 ,0OO,-
600.
Of course, Uncle Sans puzzle solv-
ers did not count these pins and nee
dies one by one. To do that would
have required more than one mans
life time. They found ont how many
factories Of pins and needles there are
in the country and then they asked
each one of the amount turned out
by it.
The census collectors found out
that there are forty.three factories, all
making them as fest as machinery can
do it. Three and one.quarter millions
Of dollars are invested ID the shops
and machines and tools for making
them. The manufacturers sold their
product fos almost s3, ,O6O, ,O0O.
There are seven timer as many pins
and needles turned foutnow rs there
we're in 1860. Then Che work gave
employment TO only zb6 persons; now
1858 are employed at it. The manu-
facture Of pins and needles has given
ss39,84 to working people in wages
in the past year.
The most pins and needles are made
in Connecticut. New Hampshire, Mas
saohusetts and New York. Conneoti-
cut and Maseaeh usetts aaake almost
all the sewing machine needles used.
Uncle Sam FIRST attempted to make
pins when hewas not Uncle. Sam ut 4
all' but only trying to be. During
the revolutionary war not the least OF
the hardships that the. brave Ameri,
can women had 70 aut7ar. was the laek,l
Of pins; FOR the king's cruisers COB |
Died them mp with everything else
.hat ships tried 70 bring here. So o
fsw pins were made il Conn neoticus
and in the Caroiinas. But even the
patriots had 20 admit that they were
uot gooo pins and they did not begin
70 supply the demand. In the war OF
1917 pins became scarce again. .Xou,
may be sure that for time any child
That lost pin then was scolded and
had to look for it.. A,few pins were
nade here again, bnt when the war
ended and English pins began to ar
i've once more the domestic manufae-
'ure ceased. Then no pins co speak.
Of were made By Uncle Sam until 1890,
when more than one ofS his ahsead
!. Yankee boysbegan TO invent machines
Tor their manufacture. n & q
The firat machines made che pins
Without q head. The head was FORM
"a from tiny coils OF line wire and
q. fastened on the shank BY pressure.
The next Yankee boy invented q ma
saline that made pins with aIsolid
head. Before long Uncle Sans folk
dad m 4.