The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1906-05-03
BUTTONMAKERS' TRADE.
AN ARTICLE WHICH ILLUS
TRATEs IMPORTANCE or
SMALL THINGS.

for Every Man, Woman and Child
In the United States.
The button Is one of the best ex-
amples of the Importance Of small
things. Read it out of existence in
all its forms and It would affect
our national life. Compelled to re-
turn to the robes of our ancestors,
many of the greatest lines Of mod
ern industry would be handicapped.
Imagine the firemen Of a locomotive
clad in loose flowing garments or
the conductor of crowded trolley
car making change in toga.
Forty-two buttons each for every
man, woman and Child in the United
States represents the annual produc-
ton of the United States, according
to a special report on buttons issued
by our Government in connection
with the twelfth census. Since this
report, however, there have been
great changes in the making of but
tons in this country and the annual
production has greatly increased.
Our buttons are made from bone,
cloth, horn, metals, vegetable, ivory,
wood, celluloid, paper, pearl and sew
eral other materials. Of these pearl
buttons hold first place in both value
and numbers. Twelve million gross
Of fresh water pearl buttons are now
being made in this country each year
and about one-ffth as many salt
water pearl buttons. Since the last
census report the pearl buttons an
nually produced have nearly doubled.
Fifteen years ago it was discovered
that the waters of the Illinois, Indi-
ana, Iowa, Tennessee and Arkansas
produced pearl excellently adappd to
the making of buttons. Up to that
time all pearl buttons made in the
United States were from salt water
shells and the button industry was
confined to cities ON the Eastern
coast. Since the discovery of fresh
water pearl the industry has spread
we'll into the Central and Western
States. Hundreds of shell hunters
busy themselves along the rivers, and
factories for the making of button
blanks have sprung UP on the banks.
The first operation in the making
Of a button is preparing and saw
ing of the shell into button blanks
of various sizes and thickness. The
blanks will be understood, are round
and of the same diameter as the but
tons into which they are made. The
varied thickness Of the shell gives
variety of thickness to the blanks
as first sawed out, thus necessitating
the slicing of them into many addi-
tional blanks of the same diameter.
If the blanks have been prepared up
on the banks of some river they are
shipped in sacks like so much grain
and are thus received at the store
room of the button factory proper.
These bags contain two hundred
pounds or more. A grading machine
automatically sorts bushels and BUSH
els Of these blanks into their respec-
tive thickness.
The various sizes Of buttons at a
button factory and to the trade are
described by number and the word
lines" There are 10-line buttons
and 65-line buttons and some even
larger. There are 40 lines to the
inch, and when we speak of a 40
line button it means that the diam
eter of that button is one inch.
AS soon as the shells have been
turned into blanks the work of shap-
ing, facing and drilling is begun.
The button machines rest upon
bench and are operated by betting.
They are not unlike the bench lathes
Of a machinist. Each button is put
in a sort of socket with one hand
Of the operator and with the other
hand the mechanical facing tool
brought in contact with it and the
power applied. The drilling of the
holes in the button is done in the
same way.
About three years ago a marvellous
new invention made it's appearance
and has revolutionized the industry
to no small extent. In the making
of fresh water pearl buttons one Of
these machines takes the place Of
five girls under the former plan. A
girl seated at one of these machines
places the blanks one after another
rapidly in position. On a sort of
belt-like arrangement these buttons,
as they are put in place, are carried
first to the mechanism which shapes
and faces and then little further to
the point at which the drills automati-
cally operate In piercing the holes.
Carried on further, the button is de-
livered from the machine into re-
ceptacle and the part of the machine
which held it on its journey quickly
comes round in front of the operator
again to be filed. These machines
were invented in Iowa, and are now
coming into quite general use.
Where buttons are of large size
and are made in some fancy design
this work is done upon a hand ma
chine. These buttons are, of course,
more expensive. The styles Of decor
alton In buttons do not change
greatly.
In another part Of the factory an