The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-07-10
~ 90. - 3 ~,
BY kEENE SUMNER

SSsticle, there are three vivid pic
lures inNmy8 mind SIS One Of them IS
man. One is#a machine Both
these have seenrthe man,
ssAssand the amazing mechanical ere
sation which exists, and which has
Sbecause OF this mans inventive
genius
sBItsthe5 third picture is of-a boy
neYer saw, except in my minds
Esasseye,S forsi is fifty years since that
8boyIWas#aSre ality. Yet the picture
ss&pfShim as@he was then. 10 years
col firing in@ the glory hole of
factory#at Wheeling, West
SYirginfa, is as vivid to me as is
the&manishe has become and the
smachins he has created.
And here is a curious and i'm
IMPRESSIVE thing The machine
which bears this mans name, per
3 shapss the ost#marvelous machine
world, has practically elm
sHSfnated child ia Dor in the glass in
stry result which will seem
To nanySpers the greatest thing
sai has accompl ished. let it's in
ssVentor who himself worked as a
ss%child sin glass factory, would not
EWipe tn at early experience out OIL
This life, event he could.
Anyone who knows anything.
ss3Abolt the making of glass will re-
allie that the man refer to Is M.
10 Owens, Toledo, Ohio. The
Owens bo ttle machine is one of
sfthe$gTeat marvels of modern in
sSssdI a n appalling creature
with ,576@ separate parts.
One man wrote OF it 4 have.
seen anything which gives.
ON
sssssangry even malignant-idol.
freed itself with a fiery fluid
mol tenFg1ass; sucks it up meth
sod feaI " clutches it with iron
shand its breath into it, re
AleasesS its grasp nonchalantly
sssdropss Afinishsd bottle-and moves
Ont osStake8an fiery gulp- At
9Th efrate Of $50 bottles a minute
tShas fifteen mouths and arms
and pairs Of shands-it goes on It
M SgInonsterS weighing over one
;sss1 IlIndr ed honsard pounds, and ten
sssss way, the thing is appal-
ling Sbu ts that Is not what Z was
ssthinking a ri s.watched Il work. 1t
he6mo stsp perfect symbol OF any
EsAtnd OF sgachieYement. The whole
story iss8th there; the slow growth
from small beginning:--for the
issFmachine& started as a crude little
almost thirty
sYgars&a the patience and perse-
the saccession of dis
ashearteningfail the courage
ri go#on, and on, and on; the un-
ceasing concen ration on a singrs
Sspurpos and the final fact that
mo great achievement is made
sfnglehande always it is the
ssproducta fRmany men working to-
sgather
So$nowsf for the story of>Michael
s%OMenS;; one Of the many stories
ofsWhich that smachine is Ia symbol.
sSssAAsaWea went Unto his office in
sSa Esole1 ga;Te quick glance lane
posite his#d esk was "a blackboard
covered Wit h figures. and with
SssssasD ESno erase 'S$s wri item large
across the bottom Which reminds
me #of another respect in which
ssthatSmachineSis ia symbol OF a true
ssWprkers ssachfevement It is never
Finished and set aside!
Owens toda az IS still working ~
make his machine capable Of per
.Sf ormingEev great $mira cles.
on thesde sI# and in other places
Sof Svarious sizes, from
haltouncevia to five gallon car
boy; and sheets OF different kinds
gIassSEsy dentl tn 8 man at.
shat RESERVES always busy with
caI$problems.
ssS 1#had sbeenStold that, as boy,
Owens sworked in the coal mines
IL West Virginia yet he is pow
serfully built and l at sixty two
seems to have a physique which "a
man twenty years younger might
envy Ehi i'm .sl{ VI 5
50: owens. l, said tt..f
SyousWorked in a coal mine when
boy and il you are q
sgsample ofstheS health to be acquir-
aEGdShere NE t& seems rat Ter a 8 pity
ssthatEWe cam start IN our boys IL
scoalSmIn n
Born In Mason County
They ia o turn out some husky
n men, he laughed ;as.. but don't
sto#be one OF hem was
sIsginla,e and my father was a miner.
WASH. But worked at a JOB
that NBuess was just as hard. We
moved sto Wheeling when ~ was
(: tan$years old ass and as my folks
sSW9reSpoor#andw we had a large fam
went to work in glass fac
sssStsAtS that time, bottles were made
Theworkman would
IT, ~
&besreheated so that the rim at the
afp could she formed J, To do this,
the bottIsS held with what
sfWars& called snaps and thrust into
sa smal I8round furnace In pitt
hired to feed the coal
1ntost hisafurna The furnace was
called firing in the glory hole
I; That Twas my job when I was
.stans worked five hours in the
snornfng when I came up out
LOT was as black as that
B link there went home washed
sslfcleans ,ateh dinner and weuL
4 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IN the
selkaernoon MI n, ss8s III tss
Pretty strenuous work for a