The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1950-04-20
MASS PRODUCTION

Mass production, developed to a high degree under our
sponsible for the high standard of living which we Ameri-
cans enjoy-a standard which tops any ever enjoyed by any
other people, at any time, anywhere.
But, if our American Government had had it's way, there
is serious doubt that mass production would have progressed
to the point which it has reached today. History records
that instead of encouraging the individual who invented the
process OF using machinery to manufacture machinery, the
authorities at Washington went to great lengths to discour-
age him-just one more example of governmental ineptness.
A few years after our War of independence, Europe
was in a state of turbulence due to the French Revolution.
Our own peace was threatened. Our Government belatedly,
but finally, awoke to the realization of it's unpreparedness
to defend this country should the war spread here. It con-
tracted with. Eli Whitney, a Yankee machinist, who was just
coming into prominence for his invention of the cotton gin,
to make ten thousand nnuskets, to be delivered within two
years.
started on his big contract in a manner that convinced the
wiseacres that he was a bit "balmy." The stupid fellow
didn't start making muskets. Instead, he set about building
a series OF strange machines, none OF which had any APP
parent relationship to the muSket.
A year passed and Whitney had not turned out a single
gun. To the unreasoning bureaucratic mind, it was quite
obvious that if he couldn't produce one gun within the first
year of his contract, he couldn't be expected to deliver ten
complaint reached his ear, but he calmly went ahead build
ing his strange machines. Whitney had other virtues in
addition to his inventive genius, among them, patience,
Among these odd machines with which Whitney appar-
emily was wasting his time, was one to bore out the barrels,
another to form the stacks and various others to make ali
kinds of parts. Then one day, when he was threatened with
bag with miscellaneous musket parts and HE'D himself to
Washington to confront the bureaucrats. Dumping the con-
tents of the bag on a long table, he told his critics there were
the parts for ten muskets: They were invited to fit the
parts together for ten complete weapons.
And what do you know? Surprise! Surprise!-ten ex-
celent muskets evolved. Whitney had invented the pro-
cess of using machinery to manufacture machinery; turned
out from the precision operation of his strange machines,
the parts were exactly alike, standardized and interchange
able. These parts could be made at almost incredible speed,
and very little highly skilled labor was required. In short,
Eli Whitney had invented the revolutionary process of mass
manufacture.
Whitney had accomplished this in the face of the sharp
est criticism from Government quarters. But seeing was
believing. In fairness it must be recounted that the Govern
ment satraps didn't take Whitneys contract away from him.
That perhaps was as much as Government could reasonably
be expected to contribute to the greatest single advance ever
achieved in industrial processes.
PJS.: The Government got its ten thousand muskets ahead
of schedule. George Peck