A CLEVER WORKMAN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 83, 17 June 1881, Page 4

A CLEVER WORKMAN.

igrlniyheAeai^r da#f d^thef^ottfn. B t^imsn^raaoflineryi a great deal of typuble used, ,tp,be. caused, ]by filaments of cotton adhering to the bobfbi^s^oK tapes, ] which then^ f^med 'portions bt'tne looms. These flla- ', jnents accumulating soon clogged the and other pails oi the ma- '- chin cry, fend rendered it neoeasary that they should be cleared, which iwAbmJr^^egngpt - stoppages; an^ much 1 foir of time' 9 " ; The great des* • Horatum was toshd out some plan .ofyprtven^ne ith|a:cloggbffr by; the l ootton,lana Sir Robert -(then' Mi Peel) spent vasfc. sums in experi< ments. He employed some of the ablesif (machinist* in the kingdom — among them James Watt —who •acgejtejl various; QQrreTtfiqns ; rbut , injbpitpM Au they cobldfao, the**lii7 convenience remained,— the cottoii wonld'adnefe to the bobbins, and the evil appeared to be insurmountable. Of course thebe delays seri-j wag^s of; the opf etativ^s r |Wlip, on Saturdays, gene-j ... ral) y, came sliprt in proportion to the yßtppp^ges. during the previous, days! It was noticed, however, that one man always. drew his full pay— his wprk^ was .^lways accomplished; in fact, his loom never had to s^pp* .while ail £he others in the factory wera idle. Mr Peel was informed of this^and khew r there must be a secret somewhere It was important, that it shov.l9 be discoverod, if,possiJbie. taan was watched, but airto r b6jpurpose; his fellow wprk-i men triefto "pump" him, but they • were unsuccessful. At last Itfr Feel 1 sent for the man into his private? office. He was a rough Lancashire ; man, unable read or w/ite, with; apparently more of the animal than the homan in his character. He eh- : tired the office pulling his forelock,' and shufflng on the ground with his great clumsy wooden shoes. " Digk," said ! n i fl iwafeter, " Ferguson, the overlooker, tells me that your bobbins are always dean ; is that so ?" "Ee's, master, 't be," was the ie% ply. "Well; Dick, how do you manage it? Have you any objection to lat me know?" "Why, Master Pill, 't be a soavt o' saeret loike, ye see ; and if pi told, t othersVi know's moch as o»V' said Dick, with a cunning grin. "Of course, Dick,, I'd give you something if you'll tell me, and if you can make all the looms in the faotpry work as smoothly as yours " " Ev'ry one 'n them, Master Pill." "Well, what shall I give you? Name your Dick, and let me hafety ? pur^secret." Dick grinned, soiWoh^rkad sHdpk his 'great head, shuffled fo>va few minutes, while Mr Peel^'anxionsly -awaited his reply. The cotton lord thought his servant would ask a hundred pounds or so, which he would most willingly have given him! Presently Dick said : "Well, Waster Pill, I'll tellep all about it if you'll give me— a quart o' beer a day as long as I'm in the mills ; you'll.save that ten." Mr Peel .lather, thought he should, and quickly agrWeo* to te terios. v You shall have it Dick." "Well, then," said Dick," first looking cautiously round to see that no one was near, "this be it ;" and put- ' ting his lips close to M r Peel's ear , he wKispered : : " ejialk your bobbins]" [ lhat, indeed, was the great secret. Dick had been in the habit, of furtively chalking his bobbins, which simple contrivance had ; . effectually prevented the adherence' of the cot- . i t°%" ■--; As]ijh« bobbins were white, the. < challfeipg had escaped detection. Mr t Peel was a sagacious man, and saw 1 through the amiir at a glance. He at once patented the invention, had " chalking machinery" contrived, and soon took the lead in tha cotton spin- . ning department. It is but right to ' add, he pensioned off ..Dick handsomely. — Charles Bruce.