The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-02-20

was the biggest blouse-maker in
England. l didn't come over for
government work. l had factories
already going which were easily di-
verted to munitions.
But this time it was to be the
biggest job of all-if | could handle
it, and | was sure | could from the
start. They showed me the box
respirator and explained they want
ed a mask with head bands made,
and they wanted it designed so as
to be made in immense quantities
quickly. A million OF the masks
were wanted at once.
well, went to my hotel with
the specifications OF the war office
in my pocket. was pretty solemn
when | faced my wife who, by the
way is a famous designed. Honey
| said to her, It's up to us to turn
out a gas mask that has to be so
and So She told me to hurry along,
that we had to dress for a dinner
party. After the dinner we went
to a theater, but didn't know what
/ ate or saw. ] was thinking Of that
mask. When | got home | worked
with scissors and paper until 4
o'clock in the morning, then went
to sleep and got up at I and started
all over again, my wife helping. That
afternoon about 4 we had it. We
had it cut, we had the folds lined
and numbered; it was an easy and
quick sewing job. The design was
at once accepted.
"Thc next thing was to make it.
There was not an available factory
of the necessary size anywhere in
England that | knew Of. My other
factories were going full blast on
war work. ! looked around Lon
don. In a few days | found what
| was looking for in a big football
grounds, the biggest in England.
1t had concrete grandstands and
bleachers. The lease price was 25O
pounds a week, and | snapped it up.
While the great grandstand and the
floors under the bleachers were be-
ing covered with glass and fitted
with lights, steam heating and me
chanical conveyers, had a thou
sand Singer electric sewing ma
chimes moved in, and we opened up
on June Is.
"The big task was to get workers.
! hired 500 girls the first day, and
400 quit the second, saying the work
was too tedious. There were only
40 left the third day. Then we
added 800 more, and ] took some
seamstrcsses from my other places
until gradually we got under way,
We made three complete masks the
first day, of which two were reject
ed. In three weeks time had co..
600 rejects, but | was expecting it.
1t wasn't long until we were turning
out 10000 perfect masks a day with
only 20 rejects. I am not permitted
to tell you how many we produce
a day now, but l can say it is an
number, and we rarely
have more than one or two rejects
a day"
Why so many masks? After the
millions of soldiers and civilians
near the front are outftted, box
respirators still have to be made to
equip new armies and re-equip old
ones. The life of a gas mask in
service is not very long. The chem
cals will exhaust or neutralize the
gas poison for a limited time Con-
the armies have to be
every few days or weeks. |
Many are lost or damaged beyond |
repair. Those that are restorable |
ire shipped back to London, where
he anti-gas factories scrub them, |
lisinfect them, polish the eye-pieces !
md fit them with a new canister |
If filtration granuIcs. Then they |
ire ready for the front again.
This restoration department OF |
he work has got to be a vast thing
n itself. But it has only a frac-
ion of the Importance of the origi-
lal manufacturing. For instance,
It Ringers football grounds, only
few aisles under the grandstand
we're given over to restoration. In
his department it was typical of
Mr. Ringers methods that the
iris should brush the trench-mud-
y masks and their haversacks over
ir-suction hopperS so that no dust
cached the girls. Also, a man pass
d down the aisles with an air-puri-
ying spray every few minutes.
4 keep these hundreds of girls
efficiently and steadily be-
ause | give them good pay, short
ours, and make their work as in
eresting as possible explained Mr..
Ginger. One reason we have so
ew rejects is that the girls are
aid by piecc-work-that is, by the
oxen. If any one OF a dozen masks
turned down by the government
lspectors, the girl is not paid for