The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-07-15


 mer Managers Valuable
 Contributions to the Sue
 cess of the Industry-In-
 teresting Facts of Early
 Days Recalled-How Won
 Moltke Created a Great
 Enterprise in Bridgeport.
 Jerome orcutt. for 4s years in the
 service of the Union Metallic Cartridge 'Co., was chosen second vice president
 at a special meeting of the directors, yesterday. This signal honor was a
 reward for his diligence and skill ex- erted for more than score of years as the company's superintendent and manager, in active charge of the de- itails of manufacture from which he lis now relieved.
 Harry H. Pinney, who has been as- seistant to MT. Orcutt for the past two years. will assume the active shop tmapagement and have charge of de- ftail of manufacture Before coming ito this city MT. Pinney was the assist sant manager of the National Cash sReg1ster Go. at Dayton and has also fDeen r0S1QenC manager or the SleVe- Hand plant of the Westinghouse Elec- ftric & Manufacturing Co. The Union Metallic Cartridge Go. has not before had an executive in Connecticut. And as MT. Orcutt is the most valuable imam in the service, the post was given Ito him and he is relieved of the de- tails of the manufacturing business in order that his years of experience and knowledge may be preserved for the future use and benefit of the com pany.
 MT. Orcutt came to the company as toolmaker in 1866. The concern employed at this time 106 hands. To- day it has 2,40O hands and is grow ling rapidly. It is the largest taxpayer ] in the city of Bridgeport To this lgrowth zRdr--Orcutt has contributed in Inc small degree.
 MT. Orcutt was born in Stafford, and was rifle maker, before coming to Bridgeport, having learned the art with the Sharp's Rifle Go. of Hart where he worked in the Cooper Pis- tol factory He then came to Bridge port, to what was then known as the. Union Metallic Cartridge and Cap Co. ley & Graham, who were also the sell ing agents. The Hartley & Graham CO succeeded to the ownership and later the M. Hartley Co.,, always with offices at 315 Broadway, New York city.
 The original company was a com bfnation of the Crittenden & Tibbals iCo. of South Coventry and the c. D. |Leete factory of Springdeld, Mass. in the old Lake House, which stood on Pembroke lake. on land that is now directly in the rear of the com pany's factory The house was con at the Lake house at the same time were Col Oliver E. Winchester, found CT of the Winchester Arms Co.,, which
 LI.s I4A removed to New Haven; Col. Berdan, an inventor and an officer in the Un- ion army; Capt Hunnias of the Rus sian army, and Col. Alexander Solgof. Russians were representatives of the Russian government
 The only cartridge that was made at this time was the Smith & Wesson owners of tn patents for the right to make these goods.
 The famous six weeks war between Austria and Prussia was just over and Moltke, having stunned Europe by his suppression of Austrian arms in so short a time with the use of breech loading rifle invented by the German Zundnable, afterwards called the nee experts to this country, who came to search for weapons that would over | come the German supremacy estab- l lished by the needle gun =.
 
 the company in this city with large orders in 1866 and 1868 for ammuni- ton, for use against the Turks In the Franco-Prussian war, which was declared in 1870, France was caught | with its army unmoboliZed, without suitable ammunition, or modern arm ament This again contributed to me growth of the company The surplus from the Russian orders and many of cartridges which had been rejected by the Russians were hurriedIy shipped to France.
 In 1878, when Russia was at war night and day, making cartridges for botf armies. The Turks had head quarters in one corner of the plant and the Russians in the other. tirne the first successful metallic mil itary cartridge for use in rifles. The cartridge had been perfected by Hiram Berdan immemdiately after the SIX weeks war with Austria
 The metallic cartridge rapidly re- p,aced the old paper cartridge. The alter made teethless soldiers useless because the end of it had to be bit ten off before it was inserted into the . Tn 1868, the Spanish government sent large orders for ammunition which was used in suppressing instruction West Indies
 Tn the ferment of invention and Abandonment of Tod procedure MT. Or ,utt found a field to which he was pe- .uIiarly adapted and rapidly made his Eay from the bench to a foremanship, hen to the management of a depart nent and later to be superintendent md manager of the factory.
 dn its early days the rising industry was driven to many expedients that would hardly be necessary to it now. One of these expedients. said to have ,een the device of MT orcutt. is still .emebmered by the older employees The occasion was the visit of the Brand Duke Alexis, of Russia, who >ame to look over the plant, with a d veto placing large orders for Rus ls Iia- It was very desirable that the shops