Glass Industry, Muncie, Indiana - Hemingray Glass Company Plant and Employees

FROM INDIANA'S MAGIC CITY.

The Commoner and Glassworker's Capable

Local Correspondent Submits a Newsy

and Very Interesting Report — The

Automatic Machines at Ball

Bros. Plant — Personals.

Muncie, Ind., Nov. 28. — The glass business in this city continues to prosper and the manufacturers are exceedingly well pleased with the outlook. The workmen at Boldt's and Hemingray's are satisfied also, but those at Ball Bros. are brought face to face with the introduction of automatic machines, and consequently cannot be expected to be overjoyed the prospect. These machines have been in use in the green department at this place for more than a year, and this season 12 more have been installed in the flint house, where they are now giving results.

Ball Bros. during the past week also installed a pyrometer, an instrument for measuring the degree of heat in the lehrs. This particular pyrometer is connected with each of the 33 lehrs by means of a separate wire, which leads to a central box containing a dial and an electric battery. When it is desired to ascertain the exact temperature of a certain lehr, by simply moving a small lever the wire leading from this lehr and the pointer on the dial are connected, thus transmitting the electric current to the pointer, which immediately indicates the exact degree of heat. Thus the apparatus obviates the necessity of judging the heat of a lehr and it is said to be infallible.

A serious wind storm passed over the city last week, doing considerable damage to local plants. Several holes were torn in the roof of Ball Bros. plant, while a section of the roof was torn off at Hemingray's factory, causing the men to cease work for the day. However, no one was hurt and the resulting damage was rather light considering the velocity of the wind.

A determined effort is being made by manufacturers throughout Indiana to have the legislature pass a bill confining saloons and clubs to the business portions of the various cities. It is claimed by manufacturers that the presence of saloons in the factory districts has a tendency to lower morals and interfere with the successful operation of factories and mills. A Kokomo man is at the head of the movement, and from present indications the subject will be vigorously agitated by the time the legislature convenes in January.

We are sorry to chronicle the sad deaths of the wives of Thomas Doran and Frank Nosman. The former expired suddenly Saturday last without having been ill previous to the hour of death. The remains were interred in the family burial place at Covington, Ky. Mrs. Nosman had been in a critical condition for three weeks. She was unconscious most of the time and died Sunday without regaining consciousness. The body was taken to her old home at Lockport, N. Y., for burial. The most distressing feature of this case is that Mrs. Nosman's mother died last week at Wheeling, W. Va., and on account of his wife's serious condition he was unable to attend the funeral. He is left with a three-weeks-old infant to care for, and is certainly deserving of the many expressions of sympathy he is receiving from a legion of friends.

Wm. Finan, the popular insulator executive officer of the flints, is able to be at work after sustaining serious injuries some ten days ago by accidentally slipping at the top of a long flight of stairs and falling to the bottom.

John F. Tobin, of this city, was in Minneapolis attending the convention of the American Federation of Labor.

John H. Clark, who has been with Ball Bros. for the past ten years, has resigned his position is now employed at Hemingray's

John Deekin and gatherer left this city recently for Montreal, Canada, where they secured lucrative employment.

"Pody" Caton, the erstwhile champion euchre player of Muncie, lost his laurels a short time ago, so his friends at the Jackson House say. "Pody" had been winning quite regularly until he began to mingle with the fair sex. Even then he was winning handily until they conspired to defeat him. He suffered an unmerciful drubbing at their hands, but he has vowed to get even. If the writer was acquainted with these ladies he could tell them something interesting. — Observer.