Evening journal., 1914-07-28
New News Of Yesterday
How Waterbury Became a
Brass Manufacturing
Center
Ry HOLLAND.

Gen. stephen w. Rellogg repre-
sented the New Haven Comm dis
trict in Congress for three terms In
the mid-seventies. The district was
normally Democratic, and yet Gen.
Kellogg's influence and popularity
wero 30 great that at each Of the
three elections in which he appeared.
as the Republican candidate for Con-
gress he was triumphant Political
life. however, did not especially ap-
peal to him, although he gained n
leading position when in Congress.
He stood among the leaders of the
Connecticut bar and his title Of
general was no courtesy title, for he
was the commanding officer OF the
Connecticut militia for a number Of
years.
It was my good fortune to have a
pleasant acquaintance with Gen. Kel-
logg, and If l happened to call upon
him when he had a little leisure
found him ready, even willing, to talk
reminiscently about the great deve-
lopment Of manufacturing industries
which at one time made Connecticut.
proportionately to population, first
among the manufacturing States OF
the Union
Gen. Kellogg's home was at Water
bury, and his entire professional life
vas spent in that community He
therefore was familiar botn as a citi-
zen and also as a lawyer who was
retained by some of the large manu-
featuring interests of that community
with the wonderful growth of the
brass industry, of which Waterbury
is the center
asked Gen. Kellogg one day how
it happened that this community was
first interested in the manufacture
of brass, since there seemed TO be no
special reason why it should be estab-
lished there
We'll, 1t is due almost entirely to
one of those singular and unexpected
and apparently trifing causes which
have led to the development in par
ticular localities of some OF the other
great American industries" replied
the general
You will be astonished when I
tell you that this enormous brass
industry can be traced directly back
to the fashionable use of polished
! copper buttons-big as a copper cent
for mems garments.
Forty or fifty years ago every
/ gentleman who had a standing in his
community. and particularly every
man in public life, was accustomed
to wear a swallow-tail coat all day.
II was usually of dark blue material
and there was a heavy collar attached
to it. 1t was adorned with copper
buttons, highly polished. These were
! purely ornamental, and there was a
very great demand for them. At first
they were imported from Great
| Britain. but after a while certain
energetic and clear-headed men who
! lived in Waterbury were persuaded
that they could make buttons fully as
good as the British buttons and sell
them at a price which would COM
J mand the market.
so they started out in a small
way. One of these men went to Eng
land and induced some of the skilled
buttonmakers there to come to
Waterbury and to bring with them
/ the secrets, if there were any, Of the
/ British manufacture.
well, the venture was successful.
Several factories were established.
And these American buttons after a
while completely commanded the
market. But when Webster and Clay
| and some of the leading bankers and
| great lawyers of the time who were
/ accustomed TO wear the swallow-tail
coat adorned with brass buttons
passed away the fashion gradually
/ died out So then il was necessary
to supplant buttonmaking with some
ether industry in which copper was
used. The proper alloy of copper
and zinc which makes brass was
learned by these men and they began
to convert their establishments into
brass manufactures In this way
they got a fresh start and never lost
their grip, pursuing the industry un-
til there was established here the
chief and for long while practically
the only brass manufacturing estab-
lishment in the United States"
Copyright. 1914. by z. J. Edwards
All rights reserved).
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell
[ uTTOvv Norn,an u Doop, Ct,,ds.a .