The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1912-02-23
How theS
Was
Strengthened
A Story of a Mechanical
Genius
By SAMUEL C. MoNTFoRD

Happy the man who has found his
vocation" This is an old adage which
In these times, when life seems too
short to learn a profession before mid
die age, the saying should be. Happy
the boy In whom some especial gift
shows itself that can be later on turn
ed to success"
Tom Swartout, farmers son. seem
ed to his father to be worthless be-
cause, as the older man said, he was
too lazy to eat. And there was rea-
son for the imputation Tom detested
farm work The hoe handle would
never stick to his hands, or il 1t did
he would constantly be stopping In his
work to look up in the sky at some
bird soaring above and wonder how
it kept n fixed position without the
slightest visible motion of Its wings.
Under the circumstances life was
intolerabe to Tom and his parents.
No one can blame fathers and mothers
whose children seem to be useless for
showing their disappointment Tom
knew that he was q disappointment,
and one night after an expression or
his fathers disapprobation he resolved
to leave home and go somewhere else.
In the morning, long before dawn and
before any one was stirring on the
farm. he got out OF bed, dressed him
self and started down the road he
knew not whittier.
Then followed hardships that might
have been expected. A week after his
departure he stopped at an open door
of q factory to look In at an engine
that was moving machinery distribut-
ed through a whole building. There
was something In the regular and con-
tinued stroke of the piston, the steady
revolution OF the nywheel, that fas-
cinated the boy. He wondered what
kept 1t going He had seen machinery
on the farm moved by land power,
but nothing driven by heat While he
was looking the engineer. pale man.
who was evidently suffering from some
disease. began to shovel coal into the
furnace The work was evidently hard
on him. and he stopped to rest between
every shoyelful
"I'll do that for YOU" said Tom.
The man looked at him, then, taking
a ten cent piece from his pocket, said
II wish you would"
Tom put IN the coal, then asked the
engineer all about the engine-the prin
cples on which it worked what the
piston accomplished, why the fywheel
was there how uniform motion was
achieved and lot of other questions
The man answered his questions and
WAS surprised ut how quickly he I'M
derstood the explanations. Then Tom
told him that he had left home. had
no means Of a livelihood and asked II
he might not shovel coal and do odd
jobs about the engine room.
The engineer went into the office,
and when he came back told Tom
that he could stay ut salary OF 81 q
week The boy was beside himself
with JOY.
one day wooden post that was &
part OF one of the machines In the
building aud that was intended t.
turn ON II pivot like rudder post be
gan to open III assures rs 1t turned
Every time It turned the assures grew
larger. and IL was evident the pos
would soon be twisted in two. Some
work that had been promised the mex
morning was dependent on the ma
chine. aud there was no time to put IN
new post. Tom stood beside the fore
man, who was looking at the post not
knowing what to do.
Get some wedges" said the Goa
HEAVIER, land every time the assures
open ill them up"
The foreman turned to the begrimed
boy in establishment, Then the wedges
were brought driven in and the post
was again rigid
The incident advanced Tom many
pegs In the opinion OF his employers
and they tried him in various places
where good worE was needed, but h,
failed in them all He had no apti
tude for work that did not interest
him. 1t was drudgery, and he had moi
been made for drudgery any more in q
factory than ON farm. There seem
ed nothing that he could do but assist
the engineer, who was a sickly mar
and often was obliged 10 absent him
self from his duties. SO Tom was SEN
back to the engine room and made as
slstant engineer At this work h,
seemed TO get ON better than at any
thing else, for he loved the machine
that could keep the mills supplied will
power all day-and all night, for tina
matter-w without getting tired. In Ii
own field, though seuseleSs iron. II wa,
better than man. The man con
sumes different kinds OF food; Goa
alone would feed the engine. The
man must stop for sleep and rest: the
engine need never stop.
Several years passed during which
Tom got nc further up In the ladder
of success than assistant engineer
There was vague idea among his fel
lows and his employers that he was
born for success. but there was 1
screw loose somewhere in his bodily
mechanism, one day when he was ,
grown man his opportunity came, AMI
the only person unconscious of its ar
rival was Tom himself
He made the discovery that thu
smokeslack, Il huge brick, hollow, rounc
tower set on square base and {
hundred feel high, had lost its origina
perpendicular position, yeering at the
top about two and half feet. With
in few days 1t was found to veer
six inches more. At this rate 1t would
not be long before it would fall, not
only ruin in itself, but crushing one
OF the most costly wings of the fac
tory
The management were in sore dis
treSs They were In the midst OF their
busiest manufacturing season. yet work
must be stopped while the chimney.
valuable as 1t was. must come down
to be replaced by new one. First
scaffoding to the top must be erected.
brick after brick must come Off, then
be replaced from the bottom till the