Norwich bulletin., 1916-01-28
PRIZE WINNING ESSAY
Francis Powers Wrote Upon the Cot
 ton Industry

The essay upon the Cotton Industry,
 which was the one that won the first
 prize for Eastern Connecticut essay and was written by Frances Powers, ared IS. of this city was as follows: At first New England had a great
 water power, and 8 moist climate
 portant in the cotton manufacture in
 dustry. Then again the people of
 New England came mostly from farms
 and they made the best laborers for
 the mills. Steam is now used greatly
 because the people have found out
 not inexhaustible as they once
 thought Now that they have ventil-
 ating and moistening systems they
 can regulate the climate inside the
 factories no matter what is Is out
 side Some of the great advantages
 meanest to the large cities, great mar
 kets, skilled labor, good reputation
 and a capital that holds the cotton
 bushes where 1t Is.
 The earliest kind of weaving as we
 know was done with rushes instead
 of yarn or thread in the making of
 baskets After people learned how to
 make yarn or thread, the same thing
 was done with yarn or thread as the
 rushes were in the making of bas-
 kets A number of threads were at
 tached to a beam at the top. and the other ends of these threads were attached to another beam at the bot tom so they hung straight at a short distance apart Then the weaver passed a thread horizontally through in and out among the threads that were attached to the beams, going back and forth across the whole of them and pushing the cross threads tightly against each other with a stick. This was very slow work and when it was done, unless the greatest of care had been taken, the weave would be loose, that is, the threads were not firm enough and as close together as they are in our modern textiles. This was the foundation of all weaving and the operation today is that merely the same thing is better done. If you look at a piece of cloth or pull it to pieces you will see that there are two sets of thread. or the warp and the wool" One goes across and the oth- CT under. The lacing back and forth of these threads is what forms and makes the cloth.
 The machine for weaving cotton cloth, whether it is two beams, a limb of a tree, or made into a frame, it is known as the loom.
 In order to have the thread pass more easily through the warp and woof' it is at first wound on bobbin which when placed in a large or small wooden tube with two steel tips on it called the shuttle passed swift ly across between the warp and time which is showed up very close to the one before it, this is what makes the cloth. This process is known as weaving.
 The inventions in spinning in creased so that the spinner could lyo a1a o1, fo- more easily than the weavers could use it up. At first as we all know as far back as colonial times they had the old spinning wheel in each house. This was very slow process but it answered the requirements of the which could be run sitting down, and by keeping the shuttle going by nov ing the hand back and forth.
 Now Cartwright invented a better means for doing this work and that better way was the power loom, the little invention that made the spinners keep so far ahead of the weavers.
 It was patented in 1875 but was not put into much effect until a long time had elapsed because the people were used to the old hand loom, but when the manufacturers did find out its loom they at once got busy and went to set them up in their great factories because power looms could be run very much more quickly and easily in the factories. Some of the old home manufacturers at first tried to compete with the power looms but all turned out very fruitless. The change between handicraft and ma chinery brought along machinery breaking riots that were put down by force. Mercerizing was at first started by an Englishman named John Mercer; he was a hand loom weaver in England. Mercerizing was started with cotton goods although it can be used wit hother goods. It is treated ito the action of caustic soda dissolved in water, and a weak solu- tion of sulphuric acid is then used to wash out the soda remaining in them. This process is said to bring about a number of changes in the makeup of the fabrics. Mercer asserted after being subjected to his process fabrics would be stronger than before, and would more easily take the dyes.
 The dyeing and finishing of goods Is, strictly speaking, a part of the 1t IS common practice of the estab- lishment. Half of all our cotton goods are colored either by dyeing or printing. before they are used. Dye ing itself is a mans job. Up to 1905 for-hfths of the labor hired were men, but the women and children were beginning to be hired to do this kind of work. The dyestuffs being used in coloring fabrics come from all the different parts of the world, and the number of them have in creased so greatly since the very early times that there is feeling that the great European war will have a great effect on the dyestuffs be- cause of the submarines and bombs that the ships would be afraid to go