El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-01-16
MiIIiOnsMade From Needles
Women of the United States Use
About 300, 100000 Needles
Frederic J. HasI1in
AsHINGT0N, D. C., Jan.


tion of human civilization. Civiliza-
ton cannot EXIT among unclothed hui
man beings, and clothing cannot be
produced without needles to sew it
Consequently, the use of the needle
dates back to the stone age when it
took the form of a hooked bone by
means of which the primitive woman
drew together the skins OF the animals
captured by her lord and master 1as-
tening them with sineWs in lieu OF
thread And because needles were
difficult TO obtain and sinew even
more so, and also because different Oc-
equations required a change in the
manner of draping the prehistoric
robe, a temporary fastening had to be
evolved This was pinning and nature
provided strong, smooth thOrns which
required little or no preparation to
make them serve their purpose. Thus
the primitive family was quite as de-
dependent upon the needle and pin for
their bodily comfort as is the family
of the present.
Endless Variety of Needles.
There is an almost endless variety
of needles and the different uses OF
them are increasing. The use of ma
chinery for knitting, shoe making and
garment-making calls for special
needles which must be changed fre-
quently to keep up with the improve
ments developed in the machines
ing needles which were well known
in Europe, but it took an American TO
invent the ham needle which IS used
in all of the great meat packing es-
adjustments OF this country. 1t Is
really thin knife blade tapered to a
point, but it has long oval eye TO
carry the stout Irvine drawn through
the end of ham and other pieces Of
meat which have TO be hung in the
smoke house.
The improvements upon the various
kinds of machine needles are largely
made by Americans although the best
hand sewing needles are still sup
posed to be imported from England.
The development of the shoe-making
trade called for many special kinds
of needles, one of the most unique be-
ing grOOved and curved into a frac-
lion of a circle. It is used for putting
the wells upon shoes. Many of the
needles used in sewing leather are
triangular in shape instead of round.
The fine glove needles are triangular
down to the extreme point.
The knitting machine could not be
made practical until the idea of hav-
ing the needles hooked at the end oc-
CURED to the inventor. After that
principle became recognized the evOlu-
ton of the knitting machine was as
Sured. No less than 1887, 533 gross OF
machine needles OF various kinds were
manufacture in this country last year
and about One-sixth of these were
designed for some part Of shoe manu-
facture.
Needles in Surgery.
The Development of surgery calls
for an almost endless variety Of
needles for their somewhat gruesome
uses It is the DEVELOPMENT of the
surgeons needle which is largely re-
spOnsible for the success of many ope-
rations and for the comparatively IN
noticeable scars resulting from the
use of the surgeons knife upon the
face or hands.
Expert dermatoIogists, who devote
their skill to the Improvement Of fac
ial defects, have originated several
new forms of surgeons needles, one CT
the most remarkable of which is the
nose needle which can sew clean
through the cartilage of the nasal Or
gan when a chanse in its outline has
been 6eemed desirable.
DaiE Consumption Is 5000, 1000.
According to a recent estimate, the
daily consumption of needles through
out the entire world amounts to over
5000, 900. The women of the United
States use about 900, 900, 900 needles each
year. In addition to the machine
needles, about a half million gross Of
ordinary sewing needles are manufac-
tured in this country each year and a
little more than that number are i'm
ported from England. The manufac-
ture of needles takes an intricate
routine requiring at least % distinct
processes from the time the wire is cut
into proper length until the finished
needles are finally stuck into the pur-
pie paper used TO prevent their rust
ing.
To many people the placing Of the
eye in the needle is the most interest
ing process, because of the minute ex-
actltude required. 1t is related Of a
russian prince who went through an
English needle factory that he ex-
pressed his surprise that a hole could
be put in so fine an object as the silver
OF steel designed for a fine cambria
needle. VIII your highness give me
hair from your head?" asked the
manager who was showing the dis
tInguished visitor through the factory.
The hair was given and the manager
passed it to the workman at the drill
1t and presented it to the prince
threaded with a bit Of silk of micros-
copic fineness.
Annual Output Is S5,OOO,OOO.
The manufacture of needles and pins
IS usually conducted in the same fac
tory and the output is usually reck-
oned together in the making up Of
government reports. There are now
46 of these establishments, fewer than
were reported several years ago, al
though their aggregate production is
much greater. They employ about 5000
wage earners, a large percentage Of
whom are women and children, because
with the improved machinery, there is
The total products of these factories
amount to over $1,000, 900 in annual
value. The larger part Of this is in
pins, for the United States does a
large part of supplying the world
with pins for which there is an ever
increasing demand
The oft repeated question, what
becomes of all the pins?" has never
yet been answered and last year there
were used in this country alone about
one hundred and ten billion common
pins which is an average Of more than
125 for each man, woman and child
The average was only Y a few years
ago, butt in al, probability, in a few
years it will reach a pin a day Of
which no trace is found and the stu
dents of waste products have before
them a complex problem The great
est number of common pins are manu-
featured in Connecticut, which last
year turned ont almost 5O,OOO,OO0 gross
Ban on Pins at One Time.
The common pins were first made
in Europe about the middle of the
14th century, and they became general
in England some time later In 1888
the importation Of pins from France
was forbidden by an English statute,
although in 1910 queen Catharine had
them imported for her own use About
this time they began to be manufac-
tured in England.
Pins were first made in the United
States during the Revolutionary war
Nv ], Of do