Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1903-08-27
cuTPur OF rooTHPIcKa.
Millions Manufactured In Amerle
and More Imported.

Millions Manufactured In America
and More Imported.
There is one article OF manufacture
that is used so extensively In the Uni
ted States that no one has an Idea Of
the annual quantity consumed. namely
wooden toothpicks. According to an
expert. the number Is simply lncalcul
able Millions upon millions OF the tiny
wooden slsreFs are turned out eveTy
year from American factories alone
and on top OF this tremendous output
come importatlons from Portugal and
Japan and other countries nearly AZ
large as the domestic product.
Most Of the American toothplcks, ac'
cerd.ng to the New York Times. come
from Franklin County. in Maine. near
the forest home OF the white birch, out
Of which e5 per cent OF the domestic
toothpicks are made. This wood is soft
and pllable and OF admirable resistance
for the purpose for which Il Is used.
Whole mills In Maine are devoted to
supplying the country with toothplcks.
and in the industry Is to be found some
OF the finest aud most intricate of ma.
chinery. So tremendous Is the output
ef these machines that In a brief sea-
son, during the spring. enough tooth
picks can be made TO supply the mar
kets Of the entire country for the year
20 come.
A further idea Of the capacity Of the
machines may be had from the fact that
only 100 men are necessary to operate
and run all the mills in Franklin Coun-
ty. Other mills OF this kind are scat
tered throughout Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts, and western New York,
but the real home of the toothpick is
Maine.
White birch Is not the only wood used
for the domestic toothplck; maple and
poplar are employed as well. but birch
has the property Of retaining its forest
Odor and sweetness.
The Telling OF toothpick trees is only
Incidental to the regular lumber work
OF the Maine foresters. No especial
men are sent out to hunt up suitable
trees. But whenever the foreman of a
gang Of woodsmen comes across a tree
especially adapted to toothpicks he or
ders 1t felled and laid aside. The
branches Of the tree are then trimmed
md only the trunk itself Is transported
to the mills. There the bark is skinned
and the naked trunk is run through a
machine which sewers II into veneers.
''Veneers" is the technical expression
for thin strips OF wood no thicker than
piece Of blotting paper and no wider
than the length Of toothpick Once
the trunk has been cut into these sheets
of wood, only one process remains TO
turn out the tcothpicks fit for packing
and shipping to market. The veneerS
are fed into second machine supplied
with sharp, rotary knives that whirl at
tremendous high speed, shipping the
veneers into toothpicks at the rate Of
hundreds OF thousands an hour.
II is only the so-called fancy" tooth.
pick that is not made in this country.
In Portugal, from where most Of the
picks are imported, the
sticks are sharpened by yeung girls
who, In return for turning out picks"
sharp as needles and smooth as ivory,
are paid cents day.
The japanese toothpicks are made of
dne reeds. and are distinct from those
sent to this country by the Portuguese
manufacturers. A japanese toothpick
is delicate and thin as tissue paper, and
nevertheless strong and pliable. The
Japanese toothpick-maker earns even
ess than his Portuguese fellow crafts
nan, his remuneration being a fraction
more than 2 cents a day. In short, a
thousand toOthpicks may be bought in
'apan for as much as It costs to pack |
nd box 5000 Of American make.