,illustration3 ,works at ,elizabeth1 ,n4,j4 ,the ,singer ,manufacturing ,company ,genius ,rewarded2 ,,or1 ,the ,story of the ,sewing ,machine ,illustration3 ,the ,story of the ,sewing ,machine ,,new ,,york3 ,,john ,j4 ,,caulon1 ,,printer1 ,,no4 #bj ,,vesey ,,street4 ,,copyright1 #ahhj1 ,,by ,,john ,,scott4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,sewing ,,machine4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,sewing ,,machine',s ,,rivals4 8,with fingers weary and worn1 ,with eyelids heavy and red1 ,a woman sat1 in unwomanly rags1 ,plying her needle and thread-- ,stitch6 stitch6 stitch6 ,in poverty1 hunger and dirt1 ,and still1 with a voice of dolorous pitch-- ,would that its tone could reach the ,rich6-- ,she sang the #8,song of the ,shirt4'0 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,song ,,of ,,the ,,shirt4 ,in a back street of ,boston two men sat one sultry ,august midnight upon a pile of boards4 ,they were penniless and friendless2 they were smarting under failure and keen and bitter disappointment4 ,actual want stared them in the face and made them desperate4 ,and yet1 upon the outcome of that midnight scene mighty issues hung quivering4 ,all the world had a stake in the thoughts of those poor1 friendless1 desperate men4 ,one of them had heard from across the seas the 8,song of the ,shirt20 he had heard its sad echo even from the more prosperous homes of our own land1 and its dismal chords had awakened in his breast a burning desire to still its horrible refrain1 and carry relief and help to the weary seamstress4 ,golden visions1 too1 had floated before him of the princely reward the world would offer for such service to its great sisterhood4 ,with great difficulty he had persuaded two other men to join him4 ,one furnished the scanty capital of forty dollars2 the other gave the use of his machine shop1 workmen and tools4 ,day and night he had worked to produce a ,,sewing ,,machine1 sleeping but three or four hours out of the twenty-four1 and eating1 generally1 but once a day1 as he knew the machine must be built for forty dollars or not be built at all4 ,the hour of trial had come that very day4 ,the machine had been completed and put together1 and did not work6 ,one by one the workmen left him in disgust1 but still the inventor clung tenaciously to his purpose1 and refused to yield to defeat4 ,all were gone but this companion1 who held the lamp while the inventor worked4 ,loss of sleep1 insufficient food1 and incessant work and anxiety made him weak and nervous1 and he could not get tight stitches4 ,sick at heart1 the task was abandoned at last1 and at midnight the worn and wearied men turned their backs upon their golden dreams and started for their lodgings4 ,on their way they sat down upon the pile of boards1 and were gloomily discussing the sad fate of the project1 when his companion mentioned to the inventor that 8the loose loops of thread were all upon the upper side of the cloth40 ,instantly it flashed upon the inventor what the trouble was1 and back through the night the men trudged to the shop1 re-lighted the lamp1 tightened a little tension screw1 and in a few minutes ,,isaac ,,merritt ,,singer had produced the first ,sewing ,machine that ever was practically successful4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,critical ,,moment4 ,it was a great stake which the world had in the gloomy midnight reflections of two desperately poor men1 seated upon that pile of boards1 thirty years ago6 ,rarely has so much hung upon the thoughts of two humble men4 ,that midnight scene settled the question whether woman should have a tireless helper in her weary task of stitching--whether or not the world should thenceforward have a machine for sewing4 ,out of that lumber-pile conference came the ,sewing ,machine and all the mighty interests involved in its manufacture1 sale1 and use4 ,it was the answer to the 8,song of the ,shirt20 its dolorous tone had reached--not the rich--but a poor1 struggling mechanic2 and his invention has done for woman and for the home-circle what no other invention ever has done4 ,we look back upon ,james ,watt1 sitting before the open fireplace1 watching the pot lid rise and fall with the then undiscovered power of steam1 as the scene whence issued all the blessings which followed the ,steam-engine4 ,we think of ,franklin flying his storm-riding kite and drawing down the lightning1 as thereby bringing to us all the civilizing influences of the ,telegraph4 ,but neither of these men1 if they could have looked down the dim vista of the coming centuries1 and foreseen what their inventions should do for humanity1 could have contemplated results more surprising than those which ,isaac ,merritt ,singer lived to see crowning the invention which hung trembling upon the results of that talk upon that pile of boards6 ,the ,telegraph and ,steam-engine live daily in the broad blaze of public view2 the ,sewing ,machine modestly hides itself away beneath three million of the nine million roofs of ,america4 ,they are public blessings2 the ,sewing ,machine is a purely domestic one4 ,it earns a woman's dime2 they earn a railroad king's millions4 ,they deal with the great arteries of trade and commerce2 it deals with the fireside circle4 ,the ,telegraph and ,steam-engine proudly boast their alliance and familiarity with ,capital2 the ,sewing ,machine contentedly takes up its humble quarters mainly with people who never drew a dividend in all their lives4 ,capital and wealth must run the former2 slender and humble feet most often run the latter4 ,the ,locomotive puffs defiantly in nearly every legislative hall2 the ,sewing ,machine sings its tireless tune to ears that would not know what 8lobby0 meant4 ,the former haughtily issues its dictum to primaries and conventions2 the latter could not control a solitary vote4 ,steam and the ,telegraph deal mainly with creation's lord2 the ,sewing ,machine with his lowlier sister4 ,a certain class of people are apt to underrate domestic affairs1 simply because they are domestic1 forgetting that the real progress of the world is always made beneath the shelter of the homestead roof1 not under the resounding domes of ,senate ,chambers2 and that a ,nation's surest hope for greatness and for safety is found in the character of its homes1 rather than in the shrewdness of its merchants or the skill of its artisans4 ,it is the atmosphere of the boy's early home which clings like an indestructible and exhaustless aroma to his entire life2 it is the influence and memory of what his home and his mother were which mould his after life1 control his habits of thought1 and make him a power for good or for evil in the world4 ,and for the most part he remains unconscious of any such influence4 ,he has imbibed it with his daily sustenance and inhaled it with every breath of his native air1 until he involuntarily weighs everything1 measures all affairs1 and judges all men according to the standards and traditions that prevailed in the now hallowed precincts of his early home4 ,whatever1 therefore1 brings added comfort to the matron and the maiden2 whatever saves the busy housewife's time and increases her opportunities for culture2 whatever lifts any of the heavy household burdens1 and disenthralls to any degree the ,,women of our day1 contributes an ever-augmenting influence towards the highest and best progress of the world4 ,illustration3 8,,happy ,,homes0--,,effects ,,of ,,the ,,answer4 ,and so the importance of the ,sewing ,machine in its influence upon the home2 in the countless hours it has added to woman's leisure for rest and refinement2 in the increase of time and opportunity for that early training of children1 for lack of which so many pitiful wrecks are strewed along the shores of life2 in the numberless avenues it has opened for female labor2 and in the comforts it has brought within the reach of all1 which once could be attained only by the wealthy few1 becomes so apparent that few1 if any1 will dispute its right to stand at least beside its powerful rivals1 the ,steam-engine and ,telegraph4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,growth ,,of ,,the ,,idea4 ,the idea of sewing by machinery had been cherished for a hundred years before the first successful machine was built4 ,the earliest attempt at sewing by machinery of which any authentic account exists was made as early as ,july #bdth1 #agee1 when a machine was patented in ,england by ,charles ,f4 ,weisenthal1 having a needle with two points and an eye at mid-length4 ,the next sewing machine was that of ,thomas ,saint1 of ,england1 who obtained a patent ,july #ag1 #agij4 ,this man seems to have understood1 with remarkable clearness1 the main essential features of the invention1 for his machine had a horizontal cloth-plate1 an overhanging arm1 at the end of which was a needle working vertically1 and a 8feed0 working automatically between the stitches4 ,these features have been preserved in every successful machine ever made4 ,the needle was notched at the lower end1 to push the thread through the goods1 which had been previously punctured by an awl4 ,as the needle passed upwards1 leaving a loop in the thread1 a loop-check caught the loop and held it until the needle descended again1 enchaining the thread of the new loop in the former one4 ,in #ahjd an ,englishman1 named ,duncan1 made a chain-stitch machine1 having a number of hooked needles1 which passed through the cloth and were supplied with thread beneath the goods by a feeding needle1 whereupon the needles receded1 each drawing a loop through the loop previously drawn by itself through the cloth4 ,in #ahah ,rev4 ,john ,a4 ,dodge1 of ,monkton1 ,vt41 invented1 and1 with the assistance of ,john ,knowles1 an ingenious mechanic1 constructed a machine having the double-pointed needle and eye at mid-length4 ,it made a stitch identical with the ordinary 8back-stitch10 and was furnished with an automatic device for 8feeding0 the work4 ,mr4 ,dodge never applied for a patent1 nor attempted to manufacture any more machines1 because of the great pressure upon his time as a pastor1 and further on account of the bitter opposition of journeymen tailors1 who denounced the machine as an invasion of their rights4 ,the first patent issued in ,america for a sewing machine was that of a man named ,lye1 in the year #ahbf4 ,lye's device could hardly have contained any useful or striking features1 for when the fire of #ahcf destroyed all the ,patent ,office ,records1 it consumed all that remained of this machine4 ,in the year #ahcj ,barthlemy ,thimmonnier1 a ,parisian1 invented a machine which operated much as ,saint's did1 except that the needle was crocheted1 and1 descending through the goods1 pulled up a lower thread and formed a series of loops upon the upper side of the goods4 ,eighty of these machines1 made of wood1 are said to have been used at one time in ,paris1 making army clothing2 but though patented in ,france in ,august1 #ahdh1 and in the ,united ,states ,september #c1 #ahej1 it had too many defects to become anything more than an important step in the onward march of this great invention4 ,illustration3 ,,bird',s ,,eye ,,view ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,singer ,,factory4 ,many other machines1 of more or less merit1 were constructed before ,mr4 ,singer made his machine1 but all fell short of being practical and useful4 ,the nearest approach to success prior to #ahej was made by ,walter ,hunt1 of ,new ,york ,city1 in the years #ahcb-c-d4 ,his machine had a curved needle1 with an eye near the needle-point1 which was operated on the end of a vibrating arm4 ,a loop was formed beneath the cloth by the needle-thread1 through which a shuttle1 reeling off another thread1 was forced back and forth with each stitch1 making an interlocked stitch like that now made by the best machines4 ,george ,a4 ,arrowsmith1 a blacksmith1 of ,woodbridge1 ,n4 ,j41 being of a speculative turn1 bought one-half of ,walter ,hunt's invention in #ahcd1 and afterwards acquired the remainder4 ,soon afterwards1 ,adoniram ,f4 ,hunt1 a brother of ,walter1 was employed by ,arrowsmith to construct some sewing machines upon the same principle1 but differing somewhat in arrangement of details from the original4 ,these machines were made and operated at a machine shop in ,amos ,street1 ,new ,york ,city4 ,arrowsmith neglected to obtain a patent upon the machine for reasons which1 in the light of events now past1 make singularly interesting reading4 ,he assigned three reasons for not procuring a patent3 7#a7 ,he had other business2 7#b7 the expense of patenting2 7#c7 the supposed difficulty of introducing them into use1 saying1 it 8would have cost two or three thousand dollars to start the business40 ,there appeared also a prejudice against any machine which had a tendency to dispense with female labor4 ,a proposition made by ,walter ,hunt to his daughter to engage in the corset-making business with a sewing machine was declined1 after consultation with her female friends1 principally1 if not altogether1 as she afterwards testified1 8on the ground that the introduction of such a machine into use would be injurious to the interests of hand-sewers4 ,i found that the machine would at that time be very unpopular1 and1 therefore1 refused to use it40 ,the neglect of ,hunt and ,arrowsmith to procure a patent upon this sewing machine was fraught with momentous consequences a few years later1 not only to them but to the entire sewing machine trade and the world at large4 ,john ,j4 ,greenough1 on ,february #ba1 #ahdb1 procured the first sewing machine patent in ,america of which any official record now exists4 ,his machine sewed with two threads1 both of which were entirely passed through the cloth at every stitch1 the needles being pulled by pincers through holes previously bored with an awl4 ,it was designed principally for leather work4 ,r4 ,w4 ,bean1 of ,new ,york ,city1 patented a machine1 ,march #d1 #ahdc1 for making a 8running0 or basting stitch4 ,another machine1 having two threads and generally like ,greenough's1 was patented ,december #bg1 #ahdc1 by ,george ,r4 ,corliss1 of ,greenwich1 ,n4 ,y4 ,it had eye-pointed needles reciprocated in horizontal paths1 through holes previously made by awls1 the goods being fastened between clamps and fed in front of the needles4 ,illustration3 ,furnace ,another form of sewing machine1 of which several varieties were patented between #ahdd and #ahej1 adopted the somewhat primitive method of first crimping the cloth and then forcing it upon the needle1 which was driven through a number of thicknesses at the same time1 making a running stitch4 ,in the year #ahdf1 or over twelve years after ,walter ,hunt's machine was built1 ,elias ,howe1 ,jr41 having probably ascertained that ,hunt had never patented his machine1 built a sewing machine upon the ,hunt plan1 adding two puerile devices 7both of which were subsequently abandoned as useless71 and procured a patent thereon in his own name4 ,these devices were a 8clipping piece0 to control the unwinding of the shuttle-thread1 and a 8baster-plate10 to which the work was basted1 and thus hung vertically in front of the machine4 ,this machine never became of real utility until the inventions of ,mr4 ,singer1 five years later1 had been added to the principles of action applied originally by ,hunt and appropriated by ,howe4 ,after ,singer's inventions had been recognized as giving to the sewing machine a practical and immense value1 ,walter ,hunt testified1 under oath1 as follows3 8,,elias ,,howe has several times stated to me that he was satisfied that ,i was the first inventor of the machine for sewing a seam by means of the eye-pointed needle1 the shuttle and two threads1 but said that he had the prior right to the invention because of my delay in applying for letters-patent40 ,in the year #ahec1 ,hunt applied for a patent upon his invention1 but was refused upon the ground of abandonment4 ,judge ,charles ,mason1 ,commissioner of ,patents1 in delivering his decision in ,may1 #ahed1 upon the evidence in ,hunt's application1 used the following language3 8,hunt claims priority upon the ground that he invented the ,sewing ,machine previous to the invention of ,howe4 ,he proves that in #ahcd or #ahce he contrived a machine by which he actually effected his purpose of sewing cloth with considerable success4 ,upon a careful consideration of the testimony1 ,i am disposed to think that he had then carried his invention to the point of patentability4 ,i understand from the evidence that ,,hunt actually made a working machine in #ahcd or #ahce4 ,the papers in this case show that ,howe obtained a patent for substantially this same invention in #ahdf40 ,notwithstanding this1 the ,commissioner was forced to refuse ,hunt's belated application1 for the reason that an ,act of ,congress in #ahci had provided that inventors could not pursue their claims to priority in patents unless application was made within two years from the date when the first sale of the invention was made4 ,hunt had sold a machine in #ahcd1 and had neglected to make application for his patent till #ahec4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,singer ,,company',s ,,steamer1 8,,edward ,,clark40 ,thus it was that one of the grandest opportunities of the century was missed by the man who should rightfully have enjoyed it2 the honors and emoluments of the great sewing machine invention passed to a man who neither had invented a single principle of action1 nor applied a practical improvement to principles already recognized2 and ,elias ,howe1 ,jr41 acquired the power1 by simply patenting another man's invention1 to obstruct every subsequent inventor1 and finally to dictate the terms which gave rise to the great ,sewing ,machine ,combination about which the world has heard--and scolded--so much4 ,howe's machine was not1 even in #ahea1 of practical utility4 ,from #ahdf to #ahea he had the field to himself1 but the invention lay dormant in his hands4 ,he held control of the cardinal principles upon which the coming machine must needs be built1 and planted himself squarely across the path of improvement--an obstructionist1 not an inventor--and when1 in #ahea1 ,isaac ,m4 ,singer perfected the improvements necessary to make ,hunt's principles of real utility1 ,howe1 after long and expensive litigation1 laid ,singer and all subsequent improvers under heavy contribution for using the principles of ,hunt1 patented by himself4 ,morey ,johnson procured a patent ,february #f1 #ahdi1 for a single-thread machine1 making a stitch by a hook acting in combination with a needle4 ,lerow ,blodgett patented a machine ,october #b1 #ahdi1 the peculiar feature of which was that the shuttle was driven entirely around a circle at each stitch4 ,this took a twist out of the thread at every revolution1 and was soon abandoned1 but not before ,howe had sued the proprietors and laid them under tribute4 ,allen ,b4 ,wilson invented a double-pointed shuttle1 making a stitch at each passage of the shuttle1 which he patented ,november #ab1 #ahej4 ,grover ,baker1 ,february #aa1 #ahea1 obtained a patent for a machine using two needles1 one passing through the goods and the other operating beneath the cloth4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old ,,and ,,the ,,new4 ,other patents1 of more or less value1 were obtained1 but not yet had a sewing machine of any practical working value been produced4 ,machines had been made by hundreds1 factories had been built for their manufacture1 territorial rights had been sold for machines that contained more or less merit1 but which would not and could not do continuous stitching4 ,the idea of a successful substitute for woman's deft fingers at sewing had come to be regarded much as the member of ,parliament viewed the project of an ocean steamship1 when he offered to 8eat the first ship that should cross the ,atlantic by steam60 ,the sewing machine had bitterly disappointed those who purchased it for use in the household2 it had bankrupted those who sought to manufacture2 it had turned to ashes upon the lips of those who bought territorial rights4 ,if any one had profited by it1 it was the vendor of territorial rights4 ,indeed1 a sewing machine patentee named ,blodgett told ,singer he was an idiot for presuming to make sewing machines to sell4 ,they would not work1 and the only money to be made out of the business was in 8selling territorial rights40 ,deep-seated distrust pervaded the public mind1 and well-deserved odium had settled upon the entire invention4 ,such was the state of affairs when ,isaac ,m4 ,singer turned his versatile mind towards the ,sewing ,machine4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,first ,,singer ,,machine4 ,the humble origin of the first practically successful sewing machine was told by ,mr4 ,singer himself a few years before his death4 ,we reproduce the interesting narrative in his own language3 8,my attention was first directed to sewing machines late in ,august1 #ahej4 ,i then saw in ,boston some ,blodgett sewing machines1 which ,mr4 ,orson ,c4 ,phelps was employed to keep in running order4 ,i had then patented a carving machine1 and ,phelps1 ,i think1 suggested that if ,i could make the sewing machine practical ,i should make money4 8,considering the matter over night1 ,i became satisfied ,i could make them practically applicable to all kinds of work1 and the next day showed ,phelps and ,george ,b4 ,zeiber a rough sketch of the machine ,i proposed to build4 ,it contained a table to support the cloth horizontally1 instead of a feed-bar from which it was suspended vertically in the ,blodgett machine1 a vertical presser-foot to hold the cloth1 and an arm to hold the presser-foot and needle bar over the table4 8,i explained to them how the work was to be fed over the table and under the presser-foot1 by a wheel having short pins on its periphery1 projecting through a slot in the table1 so that the work would be automatically caught1 fed1 and freed from the pins1 in place of attaching and detaching the work to and from the baster-plate by hand1 as was necessary in the ,blodgett machine4 8,phelps and ,zieber were satisfied that it would work4 ,i had no money4 ,zieber offered forty dollars to build a model machine4 ,phelps offered his best endeavors to carry out my plan and make the model in his shop4 ,if successful we were to share equally4 ,i worked at it day and night1 sleeping but three or four hours out of the twenty-four1 and eating generally but once a day1 as ,i knew ,i must make it for the forty dollars1 or not get it at all4 8,the machine was completed in eleven days4 ,about nine o'clock in the evening we got the parts together1 and tried it4 ,it did not sew4 ,the workmen1 exhausted with almost unremitting work1 pronounced it a failure1 and left me one by one4 ,illustration3 ,,deserted ,,but ,,determined4 8,zieber held the lamp1 and ,i continued to try the machine2 but anxiety and incessant work had made me nervous1 and ,i could not get tight stitches4 ,sick at heart1 about midnight we started for our hotel4 ,on the way we sat down on a pile of boards1 and ,zieber mentioned that the loose loops of thread were on the upper side of the cloth4 ,it flashed upon me that we had forgotten to adjust the tension on the needle-thread4 ,we went back1 adjusted the tension1 tried the machine1 sewed five stitches perfectly1 and the thread snapped4 ,but that was enough40 ,persistent efforts have been made by interested parties to create an impression upon the public mind that it was ,mr4 ,howe who first evolved order out of the chaotic essentials of the sewing machine and brought it into practical use4 ,of this let the reader judge for himself1 after comparing the features of each machine set forth below4 ,let him note the features that are still preserved in every successful sewing machine and those which have been abandoned as practically worthless1 and he will find little difficulty in settling for himself the merits of the respective claims of ,howe and ,singer4 ,,howe',s ,,machine ,,had ,,singer',s ,,machine ,,had #a ,a curved needle4 7,now obsolete in ,a straight needle4 7,now in general machines of this class47 use47 #b ,a needle arm swinging like a ,a needle bar moving vertically4 pendulum in an arc of a circle4 7,now in general use47 7,now obsolete47 #c ,a clamp1 or 8baster-plate10 from ,a horizontal table1 upon which the which the work was hung work was laid flat1 by means of vertically in front of the which it could be instantly and machine4 ,in order to make a turn readily turned in any direction4 in the seam1 the machine had to 7,now in general use47 be stopped1 the goods taken off from the plate1 and then readjusted to it4 7,now obsolete47 #d ,a feed motion imparted to the ,a feed motion imparted by means of baster-plate by the teeth of an a roughened feed wheel extending intermittently moving pinion1 through a slot in the top of the working into the holes of the table4 7,replaced by the present baster-plate1 from which the work feed1 similar in principle but was suspended1 which had to be improved in action47 readjusted every time a seam had been sewed the length of the plate4 7,now obsolete47 #e ,two shuttle drivers1 entirely ,two shuttle carriers attached to distinct from each other1 which the same bar1 sliding steadily 8threw0 the shuttle from side to and regularly in a horizontal side1 producing violent groove4 7,now in general use47 concussions1 and liable to throw the shuttle drivers out of place4 7,now obsolete47 #f ,a spring presser-foot by the side of the needle1 to hold the work down4 7,now in general use47 #g ,an adjustable arm for holding the bobbin containing the needle-thread4 7,now obsolete47 #h ,a single acting treadle4 7,now ,a double acting treadle4 7,now in obsolete47 universal use47 #i ,an eye-pointed needle4 7,,invented ,an eye-pointed needle4 7,,invented ,,by ,,walter ,,hunt47 ,,by ,,walter ,,hunt47 ,the tests of time and actual service have been applied to the original features of both machines1 and these1 at least1 know no favoritism4 ,it matters not in these tests how broad or loud is the claim of any man2 history may be blinded for a time1 but the 8survival of the fittest0 is the inexorable law in useful inventions4 ,none of the devices used by the man who claims to have 8invented the sewing machine0 can be found in any successful shuttle machine to-day4 ,thirty years of actual service have swept away every vestige of ,howe's original machine except the eye-pointed needle1 invented twelve years before by ,walter ,hunt1 and used by both ,singer and ,howe4 ,meanwhile every feature of ,singer's original machine has been adopted by every successful machine builder of the class to which these machines belonged1 with the single and unimportant exception of the adjustable arm2 and in nearly every case when a device of ,howe's has been found worthless1 and been abandoned1 it was ,singer's device which was substituted1 as the foregoing table explicitly shows4 ,in the clear light of such facts it is not difficult to understand to whom the world is really indebted for the inestimable boon of the sewing machine4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,great ,,oaks ,,from ,,little ,,acorns4 ,starting with a capital of forty dollars1 and that borrowed from another man1 this poor mechanic launched upon the stormy sea of commercial life4 ,discouragements and disappointments met him at every turn4 ,people had learned to look upon the ,sewing ,machine very much as we look upon the 8,keely ,motor40 ,every man who pretended to have a working machine was considered an impostor4 ,thousands had bought machines on the faith of inventors' statements1 which they were obliged to throw aside as useless4 ,whoever now attempted to introduce the ,sewing ,machine must face all the consequences of previous failures1 and this ,mr4 ,singer quickly learned to his sorrow4 ,everywhere he found people unwilling to believe that a successful sewing machine had actually been built1 and repeatedly he was shown to the door the moment he had stated his business4 ,mr4 ,blodgett advised him to give up manufacturing1 and sell territorial rights4 ,he said he was a tailor by trade and knew more about sewing than ,singer possibly could2 that the ,blodgett machine had been the leading machine in the market1 and he could rest assured that 8sewing machines would never come into use40 ,still the undaunted mechanic struggled on in poverty1 bearing up under reverses and disappointments1 resolved to force an unwilling public to recognize the fact that a successful sewing machine could and actually had been made4 ,slowly he gained ground2 gradually he obtained access to the public ear2 by degrees he induced people to at least give his machines a test4 ,a few hundred dollars borrowed from friends expedited the work of introduction1 and just as the skies seemed to brighten1 a new and formidable trouble appeared4 ,the news that ,singer had made a machine which would actually do continuous stitching brought ,elias ,howe1 ,jr41 to his door with the patent he had obtained upon another man's invention 7as before stated71 who claimed that ,singer infringed his patent1 and must pay him the modest sum of #be1jjj or quit the business4 ,it did not take long for a man who had recently borrowed forty dollars to begin business1 to decline paying twenty-five thousand dollars tribute-money1 and the consequence was that ,singer found himself burdened with litigation that threatened to swamp him4 ,illustration3 ,,yard ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,singer ,,factory4 ,at this juncture he called in the aid of ,mr4 ,edward ,clark1 whose recognized legal and financial skill were taxed to the utmost to prevent the utter ruin of the inventor4 ,mr4 ,clark became an equal partner1 and business was thenceforward conducted under the firm name of 8,i4 ,m4 ,singer ,co40 ,other inventors were stimulated by ,singer's success to vigorous efforts at making machines of practical utility1 and the consequence was a series of infringements upon existing patents1 resulting in a perfect epidemic of litigation4 ,principal among the litigants was ,elias ,howe1 ,jr41 whose patent enabled him to bring all the rest under contribution1 and this he did1 sueing right and left for several years4 ,the patent of #ahdf had made ,howe complete master of the situation1 and enabled him to dictate the formation of a combination1 by the terms of which licenses were issued to manufacturers upon the payment of a heavy royalty for each machine manufactured4 ,from this royalty ,howe received the monstrous stipend of over two millions of dollars1 not because he had invented anything useful to the world1 but simply because he had obtained a patent upon the inventions of another man6 ,from the outset1 ,singer ,co4 resisted1 at great expense1 the demands and pretensions of ,howe1 fighting single-handed the battle of the inventors and the great world which was waiting for cheap machines4 ,howe was endeavoring to establish a monopoly1 strong and compact1 which meant dear machines to the weary-fingered women who were still singing the dreary 8,song of the ,shirt20 ,singer ,co4 were struggling to throw the business open to fair and honest competition at moderate prices4 ,for three years the unequal contest was continued against the monopoly4 ,all the other manufacturers had yielded to ,howe at the first1 and were conducting their business without interruption under his licenses4 ,they viewed the contest between ,howe and ,singer ,co4 much as the traditional frontiersman's wife regarded a terrible struggle between her husband and a grizzly1 merely remarking that 8it didn't make much odds to her which won1 but she allers loved to see a right lively fight40 ,if ,singer ,co4 won1 all the others would reap the full benefit of the victory without cost to themselves2 if ,howe should win1 they would be no worse off than they were before1 and he would probably cripple their most formidable competitor4 ,meanwhile the business of ,singer ,co4 was suffering every possible obstruction1 while that of their competitors1 now wholly uninterrupted1 was making great strides4 ,illustration3 ,,screw ,,department4 ,at last1 in ,may1 #ahed1 self-preservation dictated a withdrawal from such a contest1 and an agreement was made by which ,singer ,co4 were to pay ,howe a royalty upon each machine manufactured by them4 ,thus was taken the last and most important step towards the great ,sewing ,machine ,combination1 into which ,singer ,co4 were the last to enter1 and then only when driven into it for self-preservation1 after a long and exhaustive drain upon their means4 ,in settlement of this suit1 ,howe received #ae1jjj royalty1 and the total sum paid to ,howe by ,mr4 ,singer and his associates1 up to #ahgg1 was over a quarter of a million dollars4 ,by the year #ahfc1 the annual sales of ,singer machines amounted to #ba1jjj1 and agencies were established in the principal cities of the ,united ,states4 ,in that year the firm was merged into an incorporated company1 bearing the title of 8,the ,singer ,manufacturing ,company10 and both the original partners retired from the active management of the business1 though they remained the heaviest stockholders1 and had seats in the ,board of ,directors4 ,in four years' time the yearly sale of machines had more than doubled4 ,in two years more even this large figure had been doubled4 ,two years more and the annual sales had again doubled1 the sales of that year 7#ahga71 amounting to #aha1bfj machines4 ,in seven years more even this amount of business was doubled1 the number of ,singer machines sold in the year #ahgh being #cef1dcb4 ,it would seem as if the extreme limit of business must now have been reached4 ,but still the yearly sale increased1 and1 in the single year1 #ahgi1 the world bought the immense number of #dca1afg ,singer ,sewing ,machines1 and1 at the time of writing1 it appears as though even this figure might be surpassed for the year #ahhj4 ,three-fourths of all the sewing machines sold throughout the world in #ahgi were 8,singers40 ,perhaps no company ever before was officered as the ,singer ,manufacturing ,company was at its organization in #ahfc4 ,the business had been originally started by a penniless man upon a borrowed capital of forty dollars1 and had brought to him and his partner a golden harvest4 ,both were now rich1 and in stepping out they placed the control of the new ,company in the hands of men who had risen to notice solely by their own merits and exertions4 ,the new ,president1 ,mr4 ,inslee ,a4 ,hopper1 had been an entry clerk with ,i4 ,m4 ,singer ,co42 the ,vice-,president and ,general ,manager was found in the person of ,mr4 ,george ,r4 ,mc,kenzie1 who had been a joiner and cabinet maker for the old firm at eleven and a half dollars a week4 ,he was a hard-working mechanic1 whose solid business worth and prodigious ability as an organizer and an executive took him by degrees to the post of ,general ,manager of a business giving employment to forty thousand men1 which post he fills to-day with eminent and acknowledged skill4 ,the ,secretary was ,dr4 ,alexander ,f4 ,sterling1 a physician of ,new ,york ,city1 who possessed an unusual tact for business2 and the ,treasurer's post was assigned to ,mr4 ,william ,f4 ,proctor1 who had spent years at a machinist's bench1 and whose practical judgment and skill in mechanics are important elements to this day in the management of the business4 ,in #ahgf ,mr4 ,hopper resigned1 and ,mr4 ,edward ,clark was unanimously called to the ,presidency of the ,company1 and the active management of the business to whose early days he had devoted his abilities with such signal success4 ,nor are these the only instances where men have risen from the ranks to high position in the ,singer ,company4 ,many years ago1 when the old firm was battling with poverty1 ,mr4 ,singer sent a bright1 energetic1 but poor young man1 to ,new ,haven1 ,conn41 to open an office and try to establish a business in ,singer machines1 saying to him1 8,jim1 we will send you all the machines you want1 but not a cent of money40 ,it was the practical application of the polite ,southern phrase1 8,root1 hog1 or die40 ,the young man fought his way to business with desperate energy1 and to-day is manager of the ,central ,office at ,chicago1 having a district covering several ,states and ,territories1 and has1 within a single year1 sold over two million dollars worth of ,singer ,sewing ,machines4 ,another young man1 who worked as a clerk at six dollars a week in this same ,new ,haven office1 is now manager of the immense office at ,london1 which manages the ,company's business in ,great ,britain and ,ireland1 ,france1 ,spain1 and ,western ,europe generally1 also ,africa1 ,australia1 ,south ,america and the ,british ,possessions of ,asia4 ,not many years since1 a bright ,german boy was employed in the factory1 carrying water for the men and doing odd jobs4 ,he did his trivial duties well1 however2 so well that he was rapidly pushed forward4 ,step by step he was promoted1 and now is manager of the great ,singer office at ,hamburg1 ,germany1 which does a vast business throughout ,central and ,eastern ,europe1 and is pushing its way into ,western ,asia4 ,like the others1 he began without friends or influence1 and has won his present proud position by faithful adhesion to duty in the humblest post1 by modest energy and strict integrity4 ,illustration3 ,,assembling ,,room4 ,the ,central ,office managers at ,cincinnati and ,st4 ,louis1 each doing a large business and entrusted with great interests and responsibilities1 began at the lowest round of the ladder1 and have climbed unaided to their present positions4 ,surely there has been no royal road to position in this remarkable company4 ,it is doubtful if the history of the entire world can furnish an instance in which any single house1 doing a legitimate business1 has had a growth so stupendous within an equal length of time4 ,the reader will remember that ,arrowsmith1 the purchaser of ,hunt's first machine1 failed to patent the invention because1 among other reasons1 it would require 8at least three thousand dollars0 to begin the business of manufacturing and selling sewing machines4 ,little did he dream that within thirty years a single company would have millions of dollars invested in the manufacture of one form of sewing machine6 ,arrowsmith urged for his fatal delay in procuring the patent to which he was then entitled1 that the fees were so heavy--some #fj6 ,and now one company spends thousands of dollars annually in the various forms of advertising6 ,still another reason urged by this enterprising smithy was that he 8had other business40 ,yet1 within thirty years a single company finds itself with over ten thousand employs under regular salaries or wages1 and thirty thousand more working the whole or part of the time on commission4 ,and this ,company1 investing many millions of money in its business1 spending thousands every year in advertising1 employing some forty thousand persons1 eight thousand horses1 and having its own locomotive and steamboat busy in transporting its machines and materials between ,new ,york and its great factory at ,elizabeth1 is1 as the reader may have surmised1 ,the ,singer ,manufacturing ,company4 ,illustration3 ,,japanning ,,furnaces4 ,its system of agencies embraces the entire civilized world1 and even pushes its outposts across the boundaries into semi-civilized lands4 ,all of the ,united ,states and ,canada are covered with this grand network of agencies2 ,mexico1 the ,west ,indies1 and ,south ,america are familiar with the name 8,singer40 ,every nook and corner of ,europe knows the song of this tireless ,singer1 too1 and so do the colonized portions of ,africa1 ,asia1 and ,australasia4 ,an immense business is done in ,singer machines in ,australia2 thriving agencies and sub-agencies may be found throughout ,china1 ,japan1 and the ,islands of the ,indian ,ocean4 ,calcutta has a large business in ,singer machines1 and even ,cape ,town and ,transvaal1 in ,south ,africa1 are giving the ,singer agents an increasingly large patronage4 ,on every sea are floating the ,singer ,machines2 along every road pressed by the foot of civilized man this tireless ally of the world's great sisterhood is going upon its errand of helpfulness4 ,its cheering tune is understood no less by the sturdy ,german matron than by the slender ,japanese maiden2 it sings as intelligibly to the flaxen-haired ,russian peasant-girl as to the dark-eyed ,mexican ,seorita4 ,it needs no interpreter1 whether it sings amid the snows of ,canada or upon the pampas of ,paraguay2 the ,hindoo mother and the ,chicago maiden are to-night making the self-same stitch2 the untiring feet of ,ireland's fair-skinned ,nora are driving the same treadle with the tiny understandings of ,china's tawny daughter2 and thus ,american machines1 ,american brains1 and ,american money are bringing the women of the whole world into one universal kinship and sisterhood4 ,illustration3 ,,casting ,,in ,,the ,,foundry4 ,the ,principal ,office of the ,company is finely located in ,new ,york ,city1 overlooking ,union ,square4 ,from this office the general business of the ,company is directed all over the world4 ,the ,american business is transacted from twenty-five centres1 located in the larger cities1 such as ,philadelphia1 ,chicago1 ,san ,francisco1 ,boston1 ,pittsburgh1 ,new ,orleans1 ,richmond1 ,cincinnati1 ,st4 ,louis1 etc4 ,each ,central ,office is controlled by a manager1 under whose direction ,branch ,offices are located throughout the territory assigned to his care4 ,under the ,branch ,office agent1 again1 are located subordinate offices in every town or village within his district where business seems to warrant it4 ,the territory controlled by a ,central ,office often embraces an entire ,state1 and1 in some cases1 several ,states4 ,in other instances two or more ,central ,offices are located within the same ,state4 ,while the ,central ,office manager is charged with the general direction of all his ,branches1 and the ,branch ,office agent with the care and management of all his subordinate offices1 yet the reader should not suppose these superior offices to be nothing but a sort of head-quarters for the officers of higher rank4 ,every ,central ,office is equipped with its force of canvassers1 collectors1 etc41 and is expected to accomplish as much of the actual work of canvassing and selling as though it were the only office the ,company ever opened4 ,the same is expected of the ,branch ,office1 and woe to that manager who cannot do duty as a private soldier1 and make his own office an example in all respects to the smallest 8sub60 ,it were better for him that the ,general ,manager had never been born6 ,the ,canadian business is similarly managed from two ,central ,offices3 one at ,montreal1 the other at ,toronto4 ,all these twenty-seven ,central ,offices report to ,new ,york1 and receive their instructions direct from the officers of the ,company4 ,the ,london office has immense interests confided to its care1 as before stated4 ,the ,south ,american business is managed from ,london1 principally because ,england enjoys facilities of communication with that continent which even ,yankee enterprise has thus far neglected to secure for our own country4 ,illustration3 ,,needle ,,department4 ,the business of ,middle and ,northern ,europe and of ,western ,asia is managed from the ,hamburg office1 which1 like the ,london office1 makes a consolidated report to the principal office in ,new ,york4 ,the total number of the ,company's offices throughout the world is over #d1ejj1 of which over one-third are in the ,united ,states4 ,the foregoing are but a few of the interesting details of the organization and management of this remarkable ,company4 ,it is doubtful if any public or private corporation in the world can show so complete an organization4 ,no bank is more scrupulously exact in every detail2 no army has a more systematic discipline4 ,and while such a complete system is necessary to prevent so enormous a business1 covering so much ground1 from falling to pieces by its own weight1 yet it is also true that the very completeness and compactness of this organization are themselves the best possible guarantees for the permanence and indefinite prosperity of this gigantic corporation4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,great ,,factory4 ,our lady friends may like to know how and where the 8,singer0 was made which has done such valued service in their homes1 and as it is a most natural desire1 we are glad to be able to gratify the same4 ,we1 therefore1 cordially invite all who feel disposed to come along while we take a hurried1 but1 we hope1 interesting glance at the various parts of this mammoth workshop4 ,illustration3 ,,forging ,,shop4 ,illustration3 ,,clock ,,tower4 ,leaving the ,city of ,new ,york by the ,new ,jersey ,central ,railroad1 we dash through a dozen pretty ,jersey villages1 cross ,newark ,bay upon a bridge which lacks but a few feet of being two miles long1 rush past the walls of the great ,singer ,factory1 and alight at the ,elizabethport ,station1 just beyond4 ,this is one of the seven railroad depots of the beautiful ,city of ,elizabeth1 ,new ,jersey4 ,looking back down the track1 we see a finely laid-out park1 with well-kept walks1 handsome shrubbery and trees1 and a profusion of flowers1 in the centre of which stands a large fountain4 ,this is the private park of the ,factory1 and is by far the handsomest in the city4 ,the ,singer ,company bought an entire block in front of the ,factory1 and transformed it into a park which they maintain at their own expense4 ,beyond 8,singer ,park0 loom up the massive proportions of the ,singer ,factory1 four floors high1 the upper story having a massive ,mansard roof4 ,the building is built of brick1 iron and slate1 with iron beams and girders1 and is proof against those conflagrations which so often destroy human life in large manufactories4 ,the front is constructed of handsome pressed brick1 and the structure is adorned with a tower in which a large clock shows the 8hours as they fly0 to all the neighborhood4 ,illustration3 ,,shipping ,,sheds4 ,passing through the light and handsome offices1 we find ourselves in what at first sight appears to be another park1 shut in on three sides by long lines of high buildings4 ,this is1 however1 not designed for a park1 but is nothing more than the superbly-kept ,factory ,yard1 embracing ten or twelve acres4 ,asphalt walks run down and across1 connecting the various buildings that skirt the yard with each other1 and with the dock at its foot4 ,beside and between the walks1 every square foot of ground in this immense yard has been seeded with grass1 whose green and well-kept borders are here and there fringed with shrubs and flowers4 ,the walks are neatly kept1 and though over two thousand workmen tramp daily through the yard1 we will not see a bit of dirt as big as a filbert anywhere4#a ,up and down run railroad tracks from the main gate to the dock1 with branch tracks to each shop door4 ,these tracks aggregate over five miles in length1 and are in constant use in bringing coal1 iron1 and lumber from the ,central ,railroad track outside1 or the dock at the foot of the yard1 or carrying car loads of machines to one or the other outlet4 ,for this purpose the ,company owns a locomotive1 the 8,i4 ,m4 ,singer10 which puffs away busily at its work from morning till night4 ,here are long sheds1 beneath which cars are being loaded with ,singer machines for ,chicago1 ,st4 ,louis1 or ,san ,francisco4 ,there are long trestles opposite the foundry doors1 upon which coal cars1 direct from ,pennsylvania mines1 are pushed by the 8,i4 ,m4 ,singer10 and their contents deposited 8where they will do the most good40 ,iron1 sand1 and lumber cars are sent similarly to the exact spot where they are to be worked up1 and so an immense cost of handling is saved4 ,at the dock1 which lies along ,staten ,island ,sound nearly a thousand feet1 the ,company's steamer 8,edward ,clark10 is taking on board a cargo of machines for ,new ,york ,city1 or perhaps for some ,european steamship lying in ,new ,york ,bay4 ,footnote #a3 ,an amusing instance recently occurred in a ,southern ,state of the use to which these grass plats could be put by persons whose tender consciences would not permit outright lying4 ,a man interested in selling a cheap imitation 8,singer10 sent a letter to a ,southern paper1 enclosing a spear of grass which1 he said1 he 8had plucked in the yard of the ,singer ,factory10 as evidence that the ,singer ,company was falling into decay1 and its great factory being overgrown with grass and weeds4 ,taking it for granted that all women are methodical1 we must ask our fair visitors to go with us to the foot of the yard1 and begin studying the manufacture of sewing machines just where the manufacturer is obliged to begin making them--at the foundry4 ,illustration3 ,furnace ,illustration3 ,,brass ,,furnace4 ,passing the great piles of pig-iron and the greater heaps of coal1 we enter the foundries4 ,upon yonder high platform two men are throwing great lumps of coal into the blazing1 roaring mouth of a fiery furnace2 and presently they stop throwing in coal1 and begin to pitch in heavy bars of pig-iron1 while the furnace hisses aloud with its fervent heat till it reminds us of ,nebuchadnezzar's4 ,at the foot of this furnace or 8cupola0 two or three men are catching the molten iron in a huge pot on wheels which1 when full1 is drawn to another part of the foundry1 and there another lot of men surround it1 their hand ladles are poured full1 and away they hurry with their hot and heavy burden to fill the long rows of moulds which cover the floor4 ,four such cupolas are breathing out great blasts of fire at their tops1 and running streams of fiery liquid iron at their bases4 ,three of them have a capacity for melting eight tons of iron each per hour1 and the other converts six tons of pig-iron into liquid each hour4 ,the morning hours are occupied by the moulders in making moulds in sand of the various parts to be cast2 and for about two hours in the afternoon the cupolas send out their sparkling streams1 and the men fill the moulds with molten iron4 ,when sufficiently cooled1 the moulds of sand are knocked to pieces and the iron taken out and thrown into piles about the floor1 while the sand is shoveled up and moistened for another day's moulding4 ,four hundred men are employed in this immense foundry1 which melts up sixty-five tons of iron every day in the week4 ,the ground floor of the foundry has an area of over two acres4 ,imagine a two-acre field filled every day with iron castings of ,singer sewing machines6 ,and this is only a part of the iron work composing the machine4 ,much of the machine is composed of steel and wrought iron1 which starts on its trip from the ,forging ,shop1 instead of the ,foundry4 ,the portions cast in the foundry embrace the machine legs or 8stands10 the 8arm0 and 8bed10 the balance-wheel1 band-wheel and a few minor parts4 ,these parts1 after cooling and being removed from the moulds1 are taken to the ,rumbling ,room1 #ej feet wide and #bjj feet long1 and put into revolving barrels filled with small five-pointed cast iron stars1 which tumble about the barrels among the castings for hours together1 and by the constant friction wear off all the sand and roughness4 ,the machine legs or stands then go to the ,drilling ,room1 where the screw-holes are drilled out1 and thence to the ,japanning ,room1 where a set of grimy men1 in half undress costume1 souse them into a vat of liquid japan1 after which they are put into great brick ovens1 and left for several days for the japan to thoroughly bake and harden4 ,this gives them a handsome1 black1 glossy finish and prevents rust4 ,the other cast iron parts are similarly treated1 except the 8arm0 and 8bed20 these1 after being firmly secured together1 are japanned and scoured down2 then japanned again1 and again scoured down4 ,a third japanning and scouring is then given and they go to the ,ornamenting ,room1 of which we shall see something shortly4 ,the wheels1 and other parts which work against other portions of the machine1 go before japanning to the ,milling ,department1 an immense shop #a1bej feet long1 upon two floors1 and #ej feet wide1 where they are put upon a lathe and shaved off with steel knives to the exactness of a hair4 ,next above the ,rumbling ,room we come to the ,forging ,shop4 ,here numbers of great drop hammers are stamping out1 at a single blow1 the steel and wrought iron parts of the machines4 ,these hammers weigh from three hundred to fifteen hundred pounds each4 ,they are made with a 8die0 on their face1 and the bed or anvil on which they drop has a corresponding die1 so that a bar of hot iron held on the anvil is1 by a single blow of the falling hammer1 converted into a shuttle1 a feed driver or a completely formed lever4 ,even the shuttle1 which looks so much like a little boat1 is made with a single blow of a huge drop hammer1 which converts a square bar of iron in an instant of time into a perfectly formed shuttle4 ,it is afterwards taken to another room1 where another machine1 with just one vigorous push1 forces the shuttle through a sharp-edged aperture in a steel die1 which trims off all unevenness and every bit of steel that may have projected beyond the edges of the die in the drop hammer4 ,in another room the shuttle is drilled with holes for the thread2 in another it is polished on an emery wheel1 and in yet another is fitted with the little check spring1 and then1 after receiving the bobbin1 it is ready for service in your ,singer machine4 ,the ,forging ,shop is #dbc feet long and #ej feet wide4 ,illustration3 ,,stock ,,room4 ,leaving the ,milling ,department1 each article is passed to the ,inspection ,department for 8,parts10 where every piece or 8part0 is examined and measured with an accurately made steel gauge1 and only such as are found to be exact and true to the thousandth part of an inch1 are permitted to go on to the ,stock ,room4 ,the rejected parts 7and such is the accuracy of the machinery that these are comparatively few7 go again into the furnace to be made over from the beginning4 ,it is largely owing to the impartial rigidity of these inspections that the ,singer machine has become so famous for evenness of work and for immunity from the periodical 8fits0 of misbehaving which so often afflict machines of other makes4 ,and so the ,singer ,company makes no second grade articles1 and puts nothing but the very best material and workmanship into any of its machines1 finding1 by practical experience1 that it pays to put just as good parts into its cheapest as into the highest priced pearled and ornamented cabinet machine4 ,indeed1 the only difference between the cheapest genuine ,singer and the most costly machine is in the finish1 decorations and cabinet work4 ,all the working parts are exactly the same4 ,the carefully inspected parts1 after passing muster1 are sent to the ,general ,stock ,room1 where long rows of cases1 extending nearly to the high ceiling1 receive each sort into its appropriate box or shelf4 ,thence they are distributed in due proportions to the ,assembling ,department when called for4 ,the ,stock ,room is #ej feet wide and #ahj feet long4 ,our fair friends will remember that we left the machine heads and bed plates in the ,japanning ,room1 being scoured down after japanning4 ,we must go back to them in order to keep up the connection4 ,after being carefully scoured1 the heads are sent to the ,ornamenting ,department1 where skillful workmen pencil out1 with a fine camel's hair brush1 the designs of flowers and scroll work which ornament that portion of the machine which rests upon the table4 ,the rapidity with which these pretty and often intricate designs are traced is wonderful4 ,look at your machine at home2 observe all the gilded ornamentation and design1 and then fancy a man doing such a machine head 8offhand10 without the least guide for hand or brush1 at the rate of #ajj machines a day6 ,as quickly as the penciling is done the machine is seized by another man1 holding in his hand a book of gold leaf1 which he deftly lays over every pencil-line4 ,the gold leaf firmly adheres to the 8sizing0 laid on by the brush and the rest is rubbed off by a single touch of another man who passes a piece of soft cotton batting over it4 ,the whole is then varnished with the best quality of white varnish and placed in a huge oven1 where it bakes till it has become perfectly dry1 hard and glossy4 ,the ,ornamenting ,room is #abe feet long and #ge feet wide4 ,illustration3 ,,ornamenting ,,the ,,machine4 ,the larger parts of the machine having now been japanned and ornamented1 are brought to the 8,assembling ,room10 and at the same time the small working parts are brought from the ,stock ,room1 and here all these parts are 8assembled10 or brought together1 and each placed in its proper position within or upon the machine head4 ,each of these parts has been so nicely fitted1 and so accurately worked by the machinery which made it1 that when the numerous and varying pieces come together in the assembling process1 it requires little and often no adjustment whatever1 and each fits in the place made for it1 resulting in a complete and harmonious whole4 ,connecting with this ,department is the ,adjusting ,department1 where long rows of machines on benches are being run by steam at a very high rate of speed4 ,this is yet another of the many testing processes through which your family 8,singer0 has gone in order to insure the absolute perfection of its working parts4 ,up and down these long rows of humming machines1 skillful and patient mechanics are passing1 narrowly watching each machine to see if it runs smoothly and properly4 ,if a wheel revolves unevenly here1 or a 8bearing0 pinches or is too loose there1 back goes the machine to have the deficiency remedied1 after which it must again pass the same ordeal4 ,the ,assembling and ,adjusting ,departments are #ej feet wide1 and occupy a length of #a1ajj feet on two floors4 ,the views in these rooms cannot be adequately described1 and we therefore give our readers accurate full page representations of the same4 ,next comes the ,machine ,inspection ,department1 #bjj feet long and #ej feet wide4 ,here the machines are again inspected by competent artisans1 and if perfect in every respect are passed over to long rows of girls1 who put them through the further test of stitching1 and see that they are capable of producing an absolutely perfect stitch4 ,over fifty girls are constantly employed in this particular work4 ,illustration3 8,,setting ,,up0 ,,the ,,machines4 ,the next process is what is technically known as 8setting up40 ,the ,setting ,up ,department is #dfj feet long and #fj feet wide1 and here the stands and tables are put together and placed in long rows2 the complete machine head is properly fastened in its place1 the belts and treadle are adjusted1 and the machine stands on its table ready for duty4 ,only one more operation is necessary for transportation1 and that is packing or crating the machine4 ,this is all done in the ,shipping ,department1 which is #bcj feet long by #fj feet wide4 ,the boxes and crates have already been completely made up in the ,box ,shop1 and nothing remains but to put the machine into the box or crate1 as the case may be1 drive three or four nails1 mark the package with a stencil plate for its proper destination1 on ,new ,england's shores1 on the great prairies of the ,west1 amid the savannas of the ,south1 or1 perhaps1 across the seas1 lower it upon the elevator to the great shed1 where it is loaded upon the cars4 ,if its route lies via ,new ,york1 it is placed upon a platform car1 which the ,company's own locomotive1 the 8,i4 ,m4 ,singer10 draws to the dock to be shipped on board the ,company's boat1 the 8,edward ,clark40 ,a few parts of the machine require to be smoothly polished in order to secure the very best working capacity1 and these are sent to the ,polishing ,room1 which is a study of itself4 ,black wheels of all sizes are here revolving with great speed2 some are rolling around on a horizontal axis1 some are whizzing rapidly on a perpendicular axis1 and from all of them the streams of fiery sparks are flying in unceasing currents1 throwing the grimy room and the darkened forms of the busy workmen into a still darker background4 ,this ,department is #abe feet long and #ej feet wide4 ,illustration3 ,,polishing ,,room4 ,another room is devoted to the manufacture of the steel springs used in the machine4 ,in another large department1 #bjj feet long1 screws are being made by automatic machinery4 ,in another room1 #ajj feet long1 the tools are made and repaired1 and here a large force of skilled workmen is constantly employed4 ,in still another room1 filled with electro baths1 the silver plated attachments are covered with their silver coats4 ,the ,button ,hole ,department is #aej feet long and #ej feet wide1 and here the new ,singer ,button ,hole ,machine is put together4 ,this is an intricate and wonderful piece of mechanism1 by which an expert operator can make from #a1ejj to #b1bjj button holes a day1 and sew the same thoroughly4 ,this machine has but recently been introduced into general use1 but has come rapidly into favor with manufacturers1 especially tailors and makers of shoe uppers4 ,it makes and works a complete button hole in either cloth or leather1 and has come so extensively into favor that the ,button ,hole ,department has outgrown its original quarters1 and must be considerably enlarged4 ,this1 indeed1 is true of almost every ,department in the entire factory4 ,when this great establishment was built1 in #ahgc1 it was thought a good week's work to turn out #d1jjj complete machines2 but at this time its weekly product is upwards of #h1jjj complete machines4 ,besides these1 the ,singer ,company's other factory at ,glasgow1 ,scotland1 is turning out between #d1jjj and #e1jjj complete machines each week1 and yet the offices throughout the ,united ,states and ,canada are complaining of the injury their business receives because they cannot get enough machines4 ,the factory at the time of writing is largely behind its orders4 ,enlargements of various departments have been made from time to time1 but the demand is yet far ahead of the capacity for production4 ,the ,needle ,department is one of the most interesting features of the entire establishment4 ,here a coil of steel wire of fine quality is put into a machine1 which straightens1 then grooves it on both sides above and below the spot where the eye of the needle should be1 and cuts it to proper length4 ,a girl then takes a handful of needles1 and1 feeding them into a machine1 punches the needle eye at a single blow4 ,then they are ground down to a point2 after which they are tempered1 and then the inside of the needle eye is polished out to prevent its cutting the thread4 ,the whole needle is finally polished1 and nothing more then remains but counting the shining bits of steel and packing them away in boxes for the trade4 ,the ,needle ,department gives employment to #ajj men and #ej women4 ,below the main building is a three-story brick building #bjj feet long1 in which the cabinet work is partly done4 ,the ,company has a large factory at ,south ,bend1 ,indiana1 where most of the black walnut tables1 covers1 and cabinet cases are made4 ,portions of these are sent to ,elizabethport in a partly finished condition1 and all such receive their finishing in this shop4 ,still below is another similar building1 the 8,box ,shop10 where some sixty men are employed in making the packing boxes and crates in which the machines are shipped from the factory4 ,the ,box ,shop cuts up for this purpose no less than #cjj1jjj feet of pine and spruce lumber every month4 ,to run this immense establishment1 six stationary steam engines are required1 which have a combined strength of one thousand horse power4 ,it takes twenty-two boilers1 averaging seventy-five horse power each1 to furnish the steam for running these engines and heating the buildings4 ,the floors of the buildings have a combined area equal to thirteen acres of ground2 and every square foot of the entire area is in constant use4 ,the whole premises1 including the fine dockage1 covers no less than thirty-two acres of ground4 ,such1 in brief1 is the factory where your ,singer machine was made1 dear reader4 ,it is believed to be the most complete1 systematic1 and best-equipped in the world4 ,it is believed to be the largest establishment in the world devoted to the manufacture of a single article4 ,it gives employment to over #b1cjj men and women1 and when it 8shuts down0 to take the annual account of stock1 it takes #bjj men to do it2 and this they call 8shutting up the factory60 ,the men are paid off every ,monday1 instead of every ,saturday1 and thus in more than one family the wife and children have had cause to bless the kind forethought which removed temptation from the path of some easily persuaded man1 and saved him and his week's earnings to themselves4 ,illustration3 ,pouring ,molds ,the ,singer operatives are among the most thrifty of mechanics4 ,in every case of injury to any of its employs1 the ,company has dealt with great generosity1 and many are the households from which much of the black shadow caused by sickness has been chased by the substantial aid it has afforded4 ,nor do the hands leave this work alone to their employers4 ,hardly a man is stricken by disease among their ranks but his comrades interest themselves in his case2 and if pecuniary aid is required1 the subscription list goes around till every want is supplied at the sick man's home4 ,these kindly offices are not confined even to these ample limits4 ,when the ghastly ,yellow ,fever ,spectre was carrying dismay and death throughout the ,southern ,states1 the employs of this great factory made up1 in less than four days1 the splendid sum of #d1ajj1 and sent it out on its errand of mercy to men whom they had never seen nor known4 ,the factory hands have organized among themselves several very creditable associations4 ,one is a fine ,rifle ,team1 to which the ,company contributed a handsome badge for an annual prize2 another is a ,brass ,band of excellent reputation1 besides several ,ball ,clubs having very good records4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,reason ,,why4 ,there is a valid reason for everything in this world1 whether we are able to find it or not1 and for all this wonderful growth and ,aladdin-like success there is a reason too4 ,in #ahgb1 when the great ,chicago fire had impoverished thousands of the residents of that city1 the ,relief ,committee undertook to furnish sewing machines to all the needy sewing-girls who might apply4 ,each girl was permitted to choose her machine from among the sixteen different kinds kept by the ,committee4 ,the total number of women who took machines was #b1idd1 and of this number #b1dbg chose ,singer machines1 and the other #eag women distributed their choice among the fifteen other kinds of machines4 ,these poor women expected to earn their living on these machines1 and there must have been some reason why such an overwhelming majority of them took 8,singers0 instead of machines of other make1 each of which was loudly proclaimed by its manufacturers to be the 8best in the world40 ,the ,singer ,machines have been awarded the first premium over all others more than two hundred times1 at great ,world's ,fairs1 at ,state ,fairs1 and at ,county ,fairs in every part of the ,united ,states4 ,as we have before stated1 three-quarters of all the sewing machines sold throughout the world in #ahgi were 8,singers10 and there must be a reason for that4 ,when any one style of machine1 used in millions of homes1 leads all the other kinds to such an extent as that1 there must be some way of accounting for it all1 and if our readers choose to read on they will shortly discover why4 ,an interesting fact in this connection was related to the writer recently by ,mr4 ,galland1 a large manufacturer of ladies' garments1 whose factories are located at ,scranton1 ,pennsylvania4 ,the ,gallands use several hundred sewing machines in their factories1 operating them by steam4 ,they had machines of many different makers originally1 but gradually1 as these machines wore out1 had been replacing them with 8,singers40 ,the reason assigned was that they had noticed1 from time to time1 that when a ,singer machine became vacant1 the girls who worked on machines of other kinds were clamorous to obtain the ,singer and leave their own2 and1 when machines of other make were vacant1 the girls were full of excuses for not taking them1 but seemed desirous of waiting for the next vacancy1 in hope of getting a 8,singer40 ,these observations led to inquiry from their master mechanic1 who explained that the girls working on 8,singers0 lost less time in repairing1 and in those peculiar sewing machine 8fits10 than the girls who operated other machines4 ,at this point the pay rolls were consulted by the inquiring proprietors1 and there the whole secret lay exposed to view2 for the work was paid for by the piece1 and the rolls showed that the girls operating ,singer machines were earning from one dollar to two-and-a-half dollars a week more than the other operators6 ,illustration3 ,,testing ,,the ,,machines4 ,here then is the open secret of the ,singer ,machine's favor with the people4 ,it is so simple that a child can understand it2 it is so strong that a bungler can hardly get it out of order1 and every part 7as we have seen7 is made with such scrupulous exactness out of the best materials1 fitted in its place to the thousandth part of an inch1 and tested and re-tested so many times before it is permitted to leave the factory1 that it does not get the 8fits0 which try a woman's patience1 destroy the fruits of her labor1 and consume her time in vexing attempts to coax the machine back to duty4 ,a gentleman wrote to the ,company quite recently that he had a ,singer ,machine bought twenty-three years ago1 and in use all that time1 which sews perfectly to-day4 ,many people sit bewildered by the immensity of the ,sewing ,machine trade1 and wonder what becomes of all the machines4 ,the answer is very simple4 ,if the trade is large1 the world is larger still4 ,carefully prepared statistics show that the entire world contains at the present time not over six million sewing machines1 good1 bad1 and indifferent4 ,the ,united ,states alone contain nearly ten million families4 ,but fully one million machines are not in homes but in factories1 operated by steam1 driven at the highest possible speed1 and consequently wearing out in a few years4 ,therefore1 if all the machines in the world were brought here they would supply only half the families of our own land4 ,the civilized countries of the globe1 where sewing machines are now being introduced1 have over seventy million families1 not including ,china1 ,japan and ,india1 where a trade is being rapidly developed4 ,in a word1 the sewing machine is now being offered to a population of not far from a hundred million families1 and the world contains not more than six per cent4 of the number of machines necessary to supply them1 without considering the enormous consumption of machines in shops and factories4 ,it is plain1 from these figures1 that great as the trade has grown from the small beginning1 it is yet in its infancy4 ,nevertheless1 it has proved1 except in a few instances1 one of the most hazardous of enterprises4 ,probably as much money has been lost in the sewing machine business as has been made4 ,the introduction of steam into manufactures and commerce has wrought changes so marked and rapid that none but keen and careful students of their own times could keep track of them1 and thousands of good men have gone down because they had not considered the new elements introduced1 particularly into manufacturing industries1 by steam and improved machinery4 ,these have brought in a subdivision of labor which our forefathers scarcely dreamed about1 and which we have seen in our trip through the factory4 ,it is almost incredible what speed a mechanic acquires whose task consists in performing one single brief operation1 and repeating it over and over a hundred times an hour for months and years4 ,we watched1 with wondering interest1 a man varnishing the under surface of the machine bed-plate4 ,the space to be varnished was about a square foot in area1 filled with obstructions and angles1 every one of which must be touched with his brush4 ,the operation was reduced to an exact science4 ,his left hand caught the machine arm in just such a place every time2 his brush went into the pot in just such a way2 just so many sweeps it gave this way1 exactly so many that way1 and with precisely such a toss every time it was spun across the table to his assistant4 ,spring and summer1 fall and winter1 that man did nothing but wipe that brush just so many times across that square foot of iron1 and he did it with a precision and rapidity that was marvelous4 ,the quickest painter we ever saw could not do one machine while he would finish five4 ,illustration3 ,,punching ,,the ,,needle ,,eye4 ,and this is but a type of several hundred different operations into which labor is subdivided here1 and which1 by such subdivision1 is so cheapened that employers whose capital and business will warrant it1 can pay labor a good price and yet drive out competitors who are without large capital1 large business and skill to use the advantages which are thus available4 ,on this rock many sewing machine manufacturers have split without1 perhaps1 knowing that it was only the lack of a large demand for their machines1 and the absence of a large and well-directed capital which wrecked them4 ,in the last few years over fifty sewing machine companies have failed1 and swamped large nominal capital in the aggregate4 ,the lesson is almost too obvious to justify the formulating of a prophecy that the sewing machine business of the future is likely to concentrate in a comparatively few corporations1 whose skill1 capital and facilities will be sufficient to bring out the best machines1 made of the best materials2 paying their skilled operatives liberal wages1 and yet enabled1 by this subdivision of labor1 to offer them to the people at a price within the reach of all4 ,such is the story of the ,sewing ,machine from its paltry and inauspicious beginning4 ,such were the struggles and trials of the man to whose genius the world owes the vast1 incalculable1 and forever accumulating benefits of this great invention4 ,and when we try to conceive what the world would be to-day if the ,sewing ,machine and all its concomitant blessings were suddenly removed from among its inhabitants1 we look at this record of his achievements and rich triumphs1 and rejoice that the common experience of inventors was not realized in the ,sewing ,machine invention1 but that in this instance1 at least1 a great mechanician lived to see his ,genius ,rewarded ,illustration3 ,,singer',s ,,original ,,machine4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ,page ,changed from ,changed to #ah 8cat the first ship that 8eat the first ship that should cross the ,atlantic by should cross the ,atlantic by steam60 steam60 ,typos fixed2 non-standard spelling and dialect retained4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4