Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-26

of the new, hands were not in their accus-
toned places. On Tuesday morning
they were on board ship bound for Eng
land and the manager Of the wire COM
pany found a very polite note from the
foreman stating that as the English
wiremakers would now rave the benefit
of the American improvements there
would be no hard feelings for the past.
Easy for an Expert.
The ease and certainty with which an
expert can carry away with him the de-
tails of anything he sees that is in his
line is sometimes astonishing to those
who do not understand the mental proc
esses. Many years ago, when marble
cutting machinery was a new thing it
was a great problem to construct a ma
chine that would cut the oval basin holes
that were just coming into vogue.
A certain firm had made a machine
for this purpose but had not patented
1t. 1t was set UP in a separate room in
the shop and was run by a mar who was
thoroughly trustworthy. II night 1t
was covered up and locked in.
A young fellow from the south, sup
posed to be selling patent medicines,
got acquainted with the foreman of this
marble shop and one day he was shown
through the works. He stopped in front
of this particular machine only long
enough to see 1t cut one basin hole in a
marble slab, but in that time he had seen
enough to enable him to go back to his
hotel and make a complete working
drawing of the whole machine.
How did he do it2 All machinery is
simply a transformation of power from
one kind OF motion to another; from
straight to circular, from fast to slow,
or from continuous to interrupted motion.
This young fellow started with the driving
belt from the pulley overhead and noted
the changes Of motion through which
this power was sent from one part Of the
machine to the next until it arrived at
the cutting wheels.
Sometimes a person will tumble on a
trade secret entirely by accident. The
writer was once getting some photographs
made, when a part of the camera shutter
broke. The man that fixed 1t betrayed
the secret Of soldering aluminium, which
was then known to very few. He had no
idea, of course, that the customer sitting ct
the other side Of the room knew what he
was doing and recognized both the solder
and the flux.
One Man Fell Down.
Then, again, a man who has worked his
way slowly and carefully up to a certain
point and has the secret he is after almost
within his reach will betray himself by
some simple action which excites suspicion.
There was at one time a great secret about
certain processes OF treating rubber, and
an expert In the business undertook to dis
cover 1t for the benefit of a rival concern.
Disguised as q clergyman, he got ac-
quainted with the proprietor Of the works,
and after a reasonable time expressed a
very natural desire to go through the
shops. The proprietor took him through
and explained things as they went along in
the casual way that one explains them 70
a person who knows nothing of the techni-
cal side of the trade.
When they arrived at the particular de-
partment in which the secret process vas
carried on the proprietor pointed % some
OF the results before taking his friend The
clergyman into the operating room. The
clergyman expressed his establishment at
the great difference between rubber In this
state and it's appearance as he was accus-
toned to II.
Take a piece OF It with you II you like 9"
suggested the manager, upon which ;he
minister stepped up to the bench, took
out his penknlfe and wet the blade with
his lips.
The manager grabbed his arm and turned
on him like a flash.
Hold on there!' he exclaimed. You
get out of this factory damned auick, or
I'll throw you out, No minister knows
that you must wet the blade OF your knife
to cut rubber"
Had this man not betrayed himself ne
would have been taken into the room
where the process he had been in search Of
so long was being carried on. As II was.
all he saw was the result.
RuAsiA's Trade Secrets.
Every one knows the story OF the man
who stole the secret Of making Russia
iron. that peculiar blush tinted metal seen
in stovepipes which will not rust. The
Russians tried very hard to keep the secret
OF tanning Russian leather, and made II a
penal offense for any one to export the
bark OF the tree which was used In the
process OF tanning the goatskins. The
9 many fancy articles that one brings from
Russia as souvenirs are made Of the wood
] OF this tree
As a rule when one manufacturer staaIs