Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-12-27

We all know Eden w. Hanks
| the hustler.
Most people also know of his fire
| extinguisher-but a less number
know of the study, the development
| and the anxious waiting for it's per-
| lection. That will be the theme of
| this story.
The present manufacturers of the
eXtinguisher is the Hanks Manufac-
| turing Co, Inc, with headquarters,
| laboratory and factory at No. IT
Crosby street, Augusta, Me. This
company was organized in 1915. but
| the inventor has been at work upon
the article for number of years.
! The officers of the company are:
President, Abner S. Nichols, Wiscas-
set; treasurer, Chester A. Boynton,
jefferson; secretary and general
manager, Eden w. Hanks, Augusta.
! The above also composes the board
| of directors.
| The output of the article has in
| previous years, but more recently,
! with its perfection to it's present eff
! cheney, added to its prestige of ear
| lier years, and on account of demon
! STATIONS in the presence of fire fight
! ers in some of our largest cities, its
| growth has been rapid, until now,
| instead of dozens or hundreds in an
! order, they are coming for thousands.
| The demonstrations have been held
in Washington, D. c., before and I'M
der the supervision of army and nav
al officers, who awarded it 100 per
cent. efficiency and only the close of
the war prevented the government
from equipping barracks sheltering
! hundreds of thousands of men with
the Hanks eXtinguishers. Also before
! the officials and firemen of the de-
partments in Indianapolis. Ind, Buff
falo, n. Y, Boston, Philadelphia,
! Halifax, n. s., and other places. In
each case the firemen admitted the
great merit of the eXtinguisher and
I also publicly so expressed themselves.
The Hanks eXtinguishers have
been used on scores and scores of
local fires, every time with success.
Better testimonials as to its efficiency
than those from C. S. Hichborn and
Wilbur 7. Emerson. president and
former manager of the Augusta
House, cannot be written. Hanks has
scores of others from all over the
country. including one of the same
tenor from officials and firemen of
the District of Columbia.
The eXtinguisher consists of a
handsomely labeled tube, with metal
ends and q ring for hanging up, the
tube containing the magic pink pow
der" When used, simply pull on the
tube which detaches the top, throw
from the tube or from q handful the
powder upon the blaze and out goes
the fire.
The laboratory is a secret place,
never entered by anybody but the in
ventOr. The factory. where the la
belling, filling. Gaping, boxing and
shipping is done, is the busy appear
ing part of the business. The force
is constantly increasing The fac
tory's present output capacity is 1000
eXtinguishers per day. The crew has
recently been working night and day
on some big orders. Hanks says:
THE prospects are tremendous. be-
cause the pink powder has no equal
for stopping the small fires most diff
hcult to handle, such as gas and oil,
acetelyne gas, picture films, fires on
motorboats and automobiles and the
little fires in homes, stables, etc,
caused by exploding lamps or Ian
terms. We are soon to open a branch
on the Pacific coast. Why? The de-
mand for the goods forces US to it,
The labelling is all done at the fac
tory. for the only machine labelling
concern is in Joliet Ill, and the dis
lance means great delay and expense
One worker, usually a girl, spreads
the paste on the fiat labels. passing