MASSACHUSETTS— BEEHIVE OF BUSINESS 



221 



A BATTERY OF FORTY-EIGHT PRINTING-MACHINES AT WORK: LAWRENCE, 



MASSACHUSETTS 



One Massachusetts cotton mill produces five hundred miles of cloth a day, and a large 

 percentage of this passes through the printing-machines here shown, said to be the largest 

 group of its kind in the world. 



It rattles off the knots about as fast as a 

 machine-gun pumps out bullets. If it 

 fails to get both ends properly in its 

 grasp, it makes a second effort. If this 

 be not successful, it tries a third, a fourth, 

 and even a fifth time. If it still fails, it 

 stops and refuses to budge until the at- 

 tendant gives it the missing thread. 



With 24 miles of looms and 62 miles 

 of whirling spinning-frame bobbins, to 

 say nothing of pickers, drawing frames, 

 rovers, and spoolers, and with an output 

 of five hundred miles of cloth every 

 working day, it is but natural that the 

 Pacific Mills of Lawrence should require 

 every device to prevent defective work. 

 If a drawing frame did not stop as soon 

 as a break in the sliver occurred, or a 

 warper as soon as a thread pulled apart, 

 or a loom as soon as a thread in the warp 

 snapped, there would be defective ma- 



terial at every stage of the proceeding. So 

 every strand passes through its own little 

 guide, which consists of a tiny lever. The 

 moment the thread breaks this lever is 

 released, and by its own weight shuts 

 off the power and stops the machine. 



Our cloth is now woven. It is known 

 as "gray" cloth in the mills, but at the 

 dry-goods stores is called unbleached 

 muslin. After careful inspection to lo- 

 cate imperfections, it is sent to the print 

 works. 



REMOVING THE FUZZ FROM CEOTH 



Here it goes through another long 

 series of operations. In the first place, 

 it must be made into great rolls, like the 

 paper for a newspaper press, so the ends 

 of many pieces are sewed together. This 

 makes possible the handling of many 

 yards in one length. Many operations 



