New Britain Herald Newspaper, May 26, 1915, Page 5

NEARING EIGHTY-SECOND MILESTONE stopher Miner Spencer, Hale and Hearty, Tells of Shooting Match With President Lincoln and Proves Dr. Osler’s Theory a Fallacy---Recipe for Longevity old in- ted exi If yéu want to live to a ripe c be a total abstainer from foxicating beverages, don't drink coffee, take plenty of outdoor ‘Cises, don't smoke and above all e an optomistic view of life in te of amy obstacles which may ismo in your path. is the recipe for longevity wu Ly Christopher Miner Spencer, ho Is emptoyed as a designer in the ‘New ' Dritain Maé¢hine company and ho is the inventor of the Spencer n and the holder of many patents, Ho will celebrats his eighty-second hday on June 20. . Although an e ogenarian Mr, Spencer is enjoying Wife with the zest of a young man, nmuting back and forth to Hart- | éach day without the least fa- #iWhen the Herald 'reporter called pon’ Mr. Spencer he found the ven- bie' gentleman seated in an easy r reading the war néws. Hav- invénted the Spencer gun, which ts are practically the same in dny rifles made today,' he is nat- hiirally very interested jn the bellig- ents. His gun played an import-{ factor in the Civil and the Franco- ‘man war. When questioned which | Be tavored Mr. Spencer sald that ‘was strictly neutral snd upheld sident ‘Wilson in his proellnuuon eutrality, Fitén the reponcr first sought the ire of an interview with the fa- s mechanical engineer he was in- d that Mr. Spencer had gone on hing trip down the river, Later agked how he liked fishing he hat it was ‘a tmt_tport. but come up to hunting. fishing trips Mr. Spencer al- perdtes the boat himself. The Inal CHRISTOPHER MINER SPENCER. boat which is’ thirty-eight feet long was constructed, by him twenty-nine years ago, . With slight repairs each year and with the installftion of a gasoline engine instead of steam, the boat is practically the same as He built it. For a man of his age his health {s’ remarkable. ‘With 'the, exception of an attack of rheumatism which he had this winter Mr. Spencer has not been serfously i1l ‘since he was fourteen years old when he had an attdck of the measles. Since he was a small boy he has 'ays been mechanically ‘inclined. ‘When sixteen years of age he showed his inclinations by building & small A‘Nurnuyl' “I.hdve been a trained nurse for #oms fifteen yun and many nurses, drank strong coffee. About two years ago I had to call & halt. I missed my coffee until gome one recommended Postum, which I have used ever since, recommending it to many of my patients.” . *1 have been a coffée drinker ever since I can remem- ber. Pbecame more’ and more nervous. I have been teaching school for sixteen years, and I could not sleep. " After reading soms .of your literature 1 decided to try ~ Postum. nerves have improved; I 1_have been ua!nl' it about thirty days; my shaye no . headache; sleep mce:ulls; and am able to do my school work better.” \ADoetm'!fl?l : .+ "I ‘often '#nd it necessary to prohibit the use of coffee for my patients, and have advised the ‘use, of ‘Postum witk, géod results to the nervoul system and dlge'uve #9° apparatus.” When the timé comes that you want to get rid of coffee troubles, quit coffee and use, PO TUM —the pure food-drink Made of wheat roasted with a bit of wholesome molasses, Postum is entirly free from the coffee- drug, caffeine, or any other harmful substance. Bfith Postum Cereal—which hds to be boiled— “and t Postum—made in the cup instantly—are dellcions;nourishmg, md oos about the same per steam engine. One of the first au- tomobiles constructed in Connecticut, running by steam instead of gasoline, was the product of Mr. Spencer’s brain. After talking ‘about the weather and other various topics the conver- sation turned to his gun and Mr. Spencer at once became very remi- niscent, Coaxed to tell ‘something about the time when he shot at a mark with Abraham Lincoln, the gun maker told some very interesting an- ecdotee. Shooting Match With Lincoln. Mr. Spencer said that one of his most gratifying recollections of the war times was a shooting match which he had with the great emancipator, President Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Spencer as the inventor of the Spen- cer rifle, which played no small fac- tor in subduing the rebellion of the South, was delegated by the Spencer Repeating company to give a dem- onstration of the gun to the war de- partment and to present Mr. Lincoln with one of the rifles. Mr. Spencer arrived at the White House with his rifle on August 17, 1863, and he was at once ushered into the executive room where he found the president alone. After a brief introduction the rifle was taken from its cloth case by’ Mr. Spencer and was handed to President Lincoln for inspection. The president han- dled the gun as one familiar with fire arms and upon thé presifdent’s re- quest Mr, Spencer took the rifle apart as Mr, Lincoln said he “wanted to see the inwardness of the | thing.” The inspection of the gun met with approval of the president as Mr. Spencer was requested to return at 2 o’clock at which time he said “we will go out and see the thing shoot.” At the appointed time Mr. Spencer arrived at the White House and, ac. companied by theé president, his son, Robert, and one of the officials of the mavy who carrled the rifie and ammunition, they mjade their way to the shooting place which was where the ‘Washington monument now stands. While on the way the pres- ident detailed his son Robert to ask Mr. Stanton, then secretary of the war, to come out and see the gun fired.. - While waiting for his ‘son's return the president noticed that one of the pockets in his black alpaca coat was tern. ° Taking a pin from his waistcoat to mend it, President Lincoln sald “It seems to me that this don’t look quite Tight for the chicf magistrate of this mighty republic. Ha, ha, ha!” - ‘When being informed by Robert that Mr, Stanton was too busy to go along with the 'party the president said, "“Well, they do pretty much as they have a ‘mind to, over there.” i o il A board six inches wide and three feet I was used as a target. The rifle ned geven cartridges. The first shot fired- by the presidént was sbout five Inches low But the second shot hit the bullseye as the photo- graph shows. The other! five shots ‘were scattered close around it “Now we will see the ianventor iry his_ luek,” remarked President Lin- ¢oln. The board at which the pres- idént had shét a few moments before was reversed and Mr. Speacer fired, beating the prestdent by a cloge mar- Ein. “Well,” said Mr. Linceln, ‘you are much younger than I am and dve a batter eye and ‘a steadier erve.” After the shoodn‘ match the end of the board which the president shot at was cut off by a navy offical: ahd handed ;o Mr, Spencer as he left the White House with the words:that lte “‘might like to keep it as remem- brance. The target was kept by Mr. Spencer unti] iyear of 1883 when it was plac the ‘cdllection of war relics at Smhgfleld, 1., where it still remains today. Union Army Uses 150,000 Guns. The. demonstraton of the gun¥met with, the favorable approval of. the prwdent- as Mr. Spencer received or- ders for all'thé guns this his company could make and about 150,000 - were furnishéd ‘for the Union army. The Spencer rifle was a very effective inm- plement. It could be taken apart with & screw driver and be put together in about oné minute and wpuld be ready for use. Many a confederate soldier ‘was laid low with this gun. Although many of the implements were cap- tured By the ‘‘rebs” they wére use- less unless they had the right kind of amunition which was only manufact- ured in the north. ‘Mr. Bpencer first conceived the idea of & repeating rifle in 1387 at which time he was employed by the Cheney brothers of South Manchester. Work- ing during his spare time, he perfect- ed the rifle and applied for a patent which was granted March 6, 1860. Not having sufficient funds to manu- facture the Implemenf he was pre- vailed upon by the jeney brothers to put the patent their hands. Through Charles Che who was a friend ot Hon. Gllofi Welles, at that time sectetary of the navy, & trial was given to Mr. Bpencer to demon- strate the gun. # trial proved very satisfactory as M: elies, gave an | Ofder for 1,000 Tifles. With this order as a beginning . a factory was started in Boston and | liter after: the shooting match with Ahie president thousands of guns were suppiied’ to the morth. At the close L of the war the company sold the pat- ents and machinery to the Winches- v - with the firm to -again E ter Arms company of New Haven. On account of the interference with the sale of their own product the manufaeture of Spencer rifles was discontinued, Christopher, Miner, ~Spencer . was porn in Manchester,/ Conn,, on June 20, 1833, the son of Ogden and Asen- ath (Hollister) Spencer. In 1845, he went to live with his uncle, Josiah ' Hollister, and it was while there that he first developed a fondness for mechanical work. His grandfather noticing the boy’s inclinations heart- ily approved and encouraged hm. The first gun he owned was an oid velic of his grandfather's frim the Revolutionary war. The boy showed his passion for fire-arms by hacking off the bgrrel of the gun and greatly impreving the relic. In 1847 Speéncer wentto work for the CGheney Sflk mills. The follow- ing year he severed his connections enter an eight months appraticeship in the machine shop of Samuel Loomis at Manches- ter center. Eollowing his apprenticeship he entered the employ of the Cheney brothers this time as journey-~ man machinist. He remained in‘their employ for three years. However, desiring to become bet- ter acquainted with the methods in othr factories in 1853 he left for Rochester, N. Y., where he worked for a year at making machinists” tools and ‘locomotive repairing. Invents Repeating Rfle, After a vear in Rochester, Mr. Spencer entered the employ of ‘he Colt’s ‘Arms company in Hartford. It was while here that he first con- ceived his first idea for the improve- ment in fire-arms. Working here only a year he returned to his home in Manchester where he again. re- celved a postion with - the Cheney brothers this time as superintendent of their machine shop. While there at this time Mr. Spencer exhibited his mechanical genius and had first patent taken out on an automatic winding machine, which the Cheney brothers considered a great achieve- ment. . A large number of these ma- chines were manufactured and Mr. Spencer received a royalty on each. However this did not deter Mr. Spencer from studying his rifle and through the kindness of Frank Cheney the yourng inveator received | "facility necessary for com- pleting the invention known as the “Spencer seven shooter” upon which he received a patent. . A trial was given by the navy de- partment to Mr. Spencer to demon- strate his gun with the result as ré- lated above. The Cheney brothers af Manchester then purchased the patent for $5,000 and paid a royalty of $1 on every gun sold to:Mr. Spencer. The Cheney brothers united with some Boston parties and formed the Spencer Re- peating Rifie company, with Mr, Spencer as superintendent, During the war Mr. Spencer every the gun and demonstrations-to re- spective union generals. At the ter- mination of the war and with demand for the gun becoming light, the company sold out its entire plant to the Winchester Arms company of | New Haven. . After this Mr. Spencer removed to Ambherst, Mass.,, where, in partner- ship with Henry F. Hills place, he formed the Roper Repeat- ing Arms company and began the manufacture of the Roper shotgun patented by S. M. Roper of Bostoh. The venture, however,, was not fruit- ful and the enterprise was abandoned after- Mr. Spencer had lost $80,000 and three years'"time. In 1869 Mr. Spencer and his father purchased the entire plant and moved the machinery to Hartford where, with Charles E. Billings of that city, the Billings & Spencer company was formed to man- ufacture drop forgings, sewing ma- chine shuttles. etc. This company is still in existence and is one of the most flourishing and successful enter- prises in the Capital city today. Other Inventions. A patent on a machine for automat- ically turning spindles and heads and metal spools used on sewing machines was obtained by Mr. Spencer at this time. All sewing machine companies today: use this machine as it the complete spool from a coil of wire, straightening the wire and turning the énds, reducing the cost of making eighty per cent. This invention suggested the idea of making the turret screw machine which is used - for turning .metal screws automatically from the wire, de- | voted his entire time to perfection of | the. of, ““that | forms | | Atter caretul study Mr. Specer per- fected this machine.. Beéing so con- fident of its practicability he applied | for‘a patent before making a work- | ing machine and privately constructed | a wooden model, taking speclal pains to keep his invention a secret. This largely reduced the cost of manufac- ture, only one man beinig required to ‘attend to from ten to fifteen ma- | chines whije formerly it required one man to each machine. The success of the machine was assured when af- | ter recetving the patent on it he ap- plied the device to a machine in the | Billings & Spencer company - with marked results. Being overwhelmed with enthusiasm at the success of his machine Mr. Spencer determined to manufacture it and with George = A. Falrbanks, then superintendent of the Weed Sewing Machine company, in 1876, he organized the Hartford Machine Screw company. During his interview Mr, | Bpencer said that his forming of this ! new @dmpany wase the fatal step in his career for if he had not left the Billings & Spencer company he would at present probably have been a mil- lionaire. The Hartford Machine Screw com- pany rapidly gained in progress and today is one of the - largest enter- prises in the city of Hartford. Its plant is valued at about §400,000, { Leading manufacturers of this coun- try have adopted its product and the Screw company today operates about 350 machines. A branch of the com- pany was organized in Elyria, Ohio in 1°83. Improves Repeating Rifle. But during all these years Mr. Spencer’s mind - was still - inclined towards the improvement of fire- arms. In 1882 with his old friend, £. M. Koper, he detérmined to pro- duce a repeating rifie that should ex- cel all gthers for rapidity. Joint ratents on lis experiments were ob. tained n April 1882 on wkat 'is known as 1he Spencer rej-eating sho! The success of the gun wa3 A a8 eight,-siv shots were ~m it in cap d succession !n 1wy minates. In May 1°33, the “rm kiown as the €pencer Arms company was organized in Windsor , Conn., with a capital of $100,000. | o8 fue! the & not mas tor to prote able to ward o made but abo guns and sold Brooklyn. Mr. Spencer's turned to perfecting turing. The multip chine of five spindles patented by him, The 1N Machine company of Hartford, is the result tion, Mr, Spencer ma tive connection with until 1912, 1 After leaving the Unli chine company and bel being active he offer from the Ni company, where he has ployed. Age has by no ed Mr. Spencer's genius working at the Machine has invented the six spi screw machinee. This advantege of six spin access to the tools, gives spacc and takes but g amount of the operator's machine is said to be the fection of the screw It turns out any kind of sired which can be mad Has Fine Collection At hig beautiful home | ington street, Hartford, ‘nes a wonderful collectis and it is said to be the tion of ite kiad in the asked why he docs not raphy of his life as it to be very interesting, M plied that'he never wag wards literary work, but “wheels” in. his “nead. 1 One of the most ibte; tions which Mr, Spencer. automobile which iy said’ the first of its kind Connec icut, The autom structed from an old wy steel tires. A bollér | In_its rear and the veile Py steam, soft conl being & The vehjcls ¢ speed of ‘twenty miles af | Epencer said that he had ficult time in keeping it as tiio steel tires would to the hard pavement and clination to dump him inte Whaile speaking of hig' Mr. Bpencer told of & very situation he was once p| out for a ride. He wusl along the road near. ] ter when he was, about to i and ond three children out in a buggy. The horse, culiar looking vehicle ward him, began to shy, It W cary for Mr. Spencer to horse from the wagon and le a circultoug route around hi bile. Ho tied the horse to u § by and then pulled the where the horse was. He cquing to the buggy ™ children on thely way, | of p can without the however, obfl" When questioned I o W he sald that all th. 1 recefved was at a con the knowledge that he | was through his own fine typo of a gelf-made "y GASOLINE AND B PROCESS PROGH Dr. Walter ¥, Rittmsan's to Bo Most Successful, Wasehington, May 26 Lane announced today that progress” was belng mado in ment of the gasoline and be cess designed by Dr, Walter man of the bureau of mi crease the output of finers, and to make u‘-lblo { duction from erude toluene and benzol, bases for dyes and high He sald the gasoline process ready for “large scile plications” and the “hope i m-t the benzol process wta woon.” 2 The benzol process is veloped in co-operation with & ical company of New York, whi sgreed that “all patentable ments, processes, and fdeas as a result of the co-o will be turned over to the to be dodicated to the sublie™ The department stands reas retary Lane sald, to enter agreements with other comp THE WHGLE FATHER JOHN'S Mother and nd Six Chi Tell of Good R For Throat and “1 have used Father Joha' cine for colds and coughs years, for myself, husband children and results derfully satisfactory. it in the house and use it the first signs of cold or (Signed) Mrs. Walter L. G D., No. 1, Woonseoket, R. T The best tonie food m all the family /because it pure and wholesome elements is free dangero; -~ and Seymour Sts. Mr. Spencer is also the father of men officc, 338 Main,