Evening Star Newspaper, January 18, 1931, Page 112

NTERESTING BITS OF HisTory .u.'mnouau THE YEAR 1844 ELIAS HOWE,WITH THE AID OF HIS WIFE , HAD> BEEN PATIENTLY STRIVING TO INVENT A MACHINE THAT WouLD SEW. His FIRST IMPORTANT STEP WAS TAKEN WHEN HE DISCOVERED THAT A NEEDLE WITH THE EYE NEAR TME POINT WoullD CARRY THE THREAD WELL BELOW THE CLOTH To FORM THE LOOP. NEXT HE USED TWO THREADS AND> EMPLOYED> A SHUTTLE To MAKE THE STITCH. FINALLY, AFTER MANY EXPERIMENTS, Howe FOUND THAT A BETTER "LoCk STITCH" couLD BE MADE WITH A CURNED> NEEDLE. (Copyright, 1931, by J. Carroll Mansfield) THE HOWES WENT TO LIVE WITH THE FISHERS. ELIAS QUIT HIS JOB AT THE FACTORY AND WORKED DAY AND MIGHT ON HIS INVENTION N THE- ATTIC OF HIS PART HoPEFULLY HOWE DEMONSTRATED HIS MACHINE ON THE STREETS OF BOSToN AND NEARBY TOWNS.SEAMSTRESSES WHO COULD MAKE 30 STITCHES AMINUTE WATCHED HOWE SEW 250 PERFECT STITCHES 1IN THE SAME TIME QuiLL PeNs WERE FIRST USED> IN THE 7™ CENTURY A.D., THE FIRST SPECIFIC MENTION OF THEM BEING MADE IN THE WRITINGS oF [SIDORUS WHO DIED IN 628. —° =BEFORE THAT TIME WRITING WAS DONE WITH REED PENS, SHARPENED TO A POINT AND SPLVTT, ———° The Story of the Sewing Machine—Part IJ The *Iron Needlewoman"’ ol 1T wouLD CoST SEVERAL HUNDRED DoLLARS TO BUILD A MODEL , AND> HoWE HAP NO MONEY. ANXIOUSLY HE SOUGHT AID FROM GEORGE FISHER, A FRIEND WHO HAD JUST COME. INTO A SMALL INHERITANCE, HAVING SOLVED> THE PRINCIPLES OF HIS IDEA ,HOWE,WITH HIS EX- PERIENCE AS A MECHANIC, COULD NOW COMBINE ALL THE VARIOUS OPERATIONS INTO A PRACTICAL DESIGN. IN 1846 HoWE WENT TO WASHINGTON AND HAD HI(S INVENTION PATENTED, AFTER WHICH HE HURRIED 1o BOSTON, CONFIDENT THAT EVERY TAILOR IN THE CITY WOoULD GINE HIM AN ORDER FOR. A SEWING MACHINE. AT LAST THE " IRON NEEDLEWOMAN" AS HOWE CALLED IT, WAS COMPLETED, AWD PROVED CAPABLE OF SEWING STRAIGHT SEAMS WITH TIGHTLY- LOCKED STITCHES AT A SURPRISING SPEED- MONTHS PASSED WITHOUT A SINGLE ORDPER FOR A SEWING MACHINE, HOWE- WAS DISCOURAGED AND> FISHER MuCH WORRIED:. THE LATTER HAD ALREADY INVESTED 2,000 IN THE PROJECT AND WAS BEGINNING TO FEAR HE WoU LOSE ALL OF IT. - Q CuRIouS CROWDS COLLECTED TO WATCH THE IRON NEEDLEWOMAN SEW. ALL WERE AMAZED, BUT NOBODY OFFERED To BUY. b e Roman BRIDEGROOMS ToRCH. = THIS MARRIAGE CUSTOM WAS SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO THE MODERN ONE OF CATCHING THE BRIDES BOLQUET. In THE EVENING OF THEIR WEDDING DAY THE NEWLY-MARRIED PAIR WERE ESCORTED IN A TORCHLIGHT PRO~ CESSION FROM THE BRIDES FATHER'S HOUSE TO THAT OF THE BRIDEGROOM, ARRIVING AT HIS DOOR THE BRIDE - GROOM THREW HIS TORCH TO THE GROUND>, AND THE GUESTS ¥l SCRAMBLED FOR IT. -~ By J. CARROLL MANSFIELD FISHER WAS ENTHUSIASTIC OVER. THE PROPOSITION.HE AGREED TO FINANCE THE VENTURE AND GIVE HOWES FAMILY A HOME I RETURN FOR WHICH HE WASTO BE A PARTNER AND RECEINE HALF OF THE PROFITS. = ® HowevER WHEN HOWE TRIED 70 SELL HIS MACHINE TO THE TAILORS, HE FOUND 7O HIS DISMAY THAT NONE OF THEM WOLILD HAVE ANYTHING To DO WITH A “NEWFANGLED CONTRAPTION WHICH THEY FEARET MIGHT SOMEDAY ENTIRELY REPLACE HAND SEWING AND DRIVE THEM OLT OF BUSINESS. ENGLAND WAS THEN THE GREATEST MANUFACTURING CENTER IN THE WORLD AND HoWE N DESPERATION RESOLVED TO GO THERE AND TRY TO FIND A MARKET FOR SEWING MACHINES., — ° 70 BE CONTINUED> ——;‘