The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-06-21

eral truthfulness, inasmuch rs practical
ly all of the pyrotechnic toys employ.
cd for all purposes OF celebration on
the Fourth Of July depend primarily
upon the paper tube loaded with com.
bustibles Of one sort or another, as the
fundamental element, 70 speak, In their
construction.
Even the great "set pieces which
might be called 6re pictures, and which
are erected upon scaffoldings sometimes
as much a. q hundred feet in length,
depend for their effects wholly upon
such paper cylinders, no bigger than
good.sized fire.crackers, stuck all owe
the lattice work Of the skeleton sttuc.
ture employed by the ire-painter IN
lieu, as one might say, of canvas.
Something more in detail about these
fire pictures will be said later on but
meanwhile IL may be as we'll to speak
d~escriptively Of the processes used in the
manufacture of more simple and famil.
lar kinds of ireworks--such, for exam.
pie as roman candles, bombs, rockets.
p~inwheels and the like. All of these.
excepting the bombs, are substantially
nothing more than cylinders Of paste.
board, filed with combustibles and
fashioned in different WAYS.
One Of the greatest fireworks fac
tories in the world Ii located on the
outskirts of Brooklyn, but the stranger
who passes by II on "a trolley car OF
the way to Coney Island would scarce
suspect the character Of the outfit, which
il scattered over about twenty acres of
land in a series Of small buildings. some
of them being so tiny rs to accommodate
a single workman. The object of this
arrangement is to minimize the conse
Lquences Of accidents. IL the lone man
who occupies any one of the tiny houses
should happen to be blown up he alone
would suffer.
II naturally happens that the only
building of considerable size on the
premises is one in which no explosives
or other lively conbustiblcs are used.
Here, in fact, is where all the paper i.
stored, tom upon tons Of il, for the
outer w%rappings Of the fireworks. Py
rotechnic toys, of course, must be pref
" TO look ut, else they would not sell
TO advantage and the papers utilized
for the purpose are Of all colors Of the
rainbow and a great variety of orna.
mental patterns. For extra fancy goods
more or less gilt or silver paper j. en-.
ployed.
Upstairs in she same building all OF
the paper cylinders are made, the pro-
cess adopted being 40 exceedingly ex
peditious that one person can turn out
. as many as IS gross Of them in a day
j OF course they are Of all lengths and
diameters according to kind and size OF
fireworks for which they are intende,
and though the roc ket cylinders are roll
ed by machine all of the Others mr.,
made by hand. With the aid Of a long
. round stick Of metal and a pot of paste
the operator converts sheets of plaiI
brown pasteboard into neat and com
o pact tubes at the rate Of three or four
: a minute.
A dozen work people engaged in thii
d occupation can turn out an immense
number Of cylinders In a day and tn
manner in which they are utilized il
n the manufacture of different kinds o
fire works will presently be explained
8 II might be as we'll TO say, Incidentally
however, that in this same department
& are made the bombshells, which ar,
stamped by a machine ont Of PAPER
= mache in halves. When they have be
tcome dry the halves are joined by strip
4 Of thin anvas soaked in paste, cacl
4 sphere thus produced having a roun'
= hole at one end for loading.
Bombs are among the most interest
! ing and beautiful Of fireworks an
8 some Of them are Of great size-as mucl
as five feet in diameter. They are dis
& charged from mortors and, reaching
4 height Of 1000 feet or more, explOd,
. with a great noise, liberating shower
Z Of many colored stars or golden rain
{ or sometimes parachutes carrying train
Of stars. Some are made as small a
= two inches In diameter-baby ones
y suitable for family use.
The method of their construction !
y always the same and is at once simpl
3 and ingenious. The paiper.mache shell
is filed with "stars''-that IL to say