Dominion Glass Company - Canada

BUSY PLANTS VISITED.

Representatives of The Glassworker Gives

Interesting Description of Factories

in Michigan and Canada.

By A. E. Bristow.

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Everything is humming at the Dominion Glass Co.'s large plant at Wallaceburg, Canada. This is one of the busiest factories to be found in the glass industry on this continent.

Three tanks are in commission at present, and the fourth, which is in the new plant known as the "Academy," will be started Nov. 15, and several more hand blow bottle shops will be put to work.

On the large tank 21 hand blow bottle shops and six side lever press shops are employed on three shifts, producing a miscellaneous line of bottles and lantern globes.

On the second tank 36 off-hand chimney shops are employed on two shifts, producing all styles of chimneys. One Owens chimney machine is worked on two shifts making a combination chimney and punch tumblers, two Owens machines on two shifts making tumblers, and two combination press and iron mold shops on two shifts making lamps and four hand punch tumbler shops are employed on two shifts making all sizes of punch tumblers.

On the amber tank six hand blow bottle shops are employed on two shifts producing a miscellaneous line of bottles.

The opal tank has not as yet been put in commission this fire.

Harry Mitchell is day superintendent; C. A. Murray, formerly manager of the Delormier avenue factory at Montreal, is day manager, and Frank Carey and W. A. Taylor are the night managers.

Supt. Mitchell states that with the exception of some difficulty in procuring sufficient small help, due to the fact that the sugar beet industry in the vicinity of Wallaceburg is at its height, everything is moving along smoothly and satisfactorily and a very good production is being obtained.

L. P. Holston, who has charge of the mold shop, reports that his department is rushed with work and that he is in need of another lehr hand. There are five mold-makers and one apprentice employed in the mold shop.

The Dominion Glass Co.'s Delormier avenue factory at Montreal is not being operated this season and the ware formerly made there is being made at the Wallaceburg factory, and a number of workers from Montreal are also employed at Wallaceburg.

The plant at Hamilton, Canada, is being operated this season and a number of hand blow bottle shops are employed.

The Point St. Charles factory is being operated this season and the plant at Redcliff will be put in commission in the near future.

Alphonse Shaaf, formerly a manager at the Wallaceburg factory, is now with a new firm in Buffalo, N. Y., which has a small tank, and is experimenting on lenses. James Rabbitt, one of the chimney workers employed at Wallaceburg, enlisted in the Canadian army and went to the front in Northern France during the first part of the war. He was in some of the bloodiest battles, was wounded several times and had some extremely narrow escapes.

He was in the battle of Ypres when the Germans first used the deadly gas. He states that the reports in this country relative to the effects of the gas were not exaggerated at all, as he saw hundreds that were killed by it, and the victims turned blue in the face as soon as they breathed it.

After being discharged from the army a few months ago on account of a wound in the arm, he embarked on the Hesperian and was on this boat when it was torpedoed by a German submarine. He was among those who took to the small boats, and was picked up by a larger boat and taken to Ireland, sailing a few days later for Montreal on another boat, arriving home a few weeks ago.

During the time he was away his job was held open for him, ad he is now back in the chair making chimneys again.

The officials of Branch No. 70 are: A. M. Armstrong, president; D. Jones, vice president; Ed Mathany, recording and corresponding secretary; Wm. McMillen, financial secretary; e. Middlemiss, treasurer; W. H. Robinson, conductor; J. McNoughton, inside guard; Ed McDougall, outside guard.

The bottle blowers state that they are becoming accustomed to the three-shift system and are doing fairly well.

The boys report that Jas. Bachus and D. Jones come back on the footbench, as their foundry business got too warm for them.

It is reported that Geo. Foster, Jr., and D. Jones have formed a company to control the beef market, and the last seen of Geo. Foster, Jr., was on his way to 'Frisco to buy a cow.

Another report is to the effect that A. M. Armstrong has sold his cow and brick house and is on his way to the Sunny South. Mr. Armstrong was one of Branch No. 70's delegates to the G. B. B. A. convention held at East St. Louis, Ill., last August.

Among new arrivals are Ed Brumfiel, Chas. Burkley, Geo. Cahill, David Deanies, Harry Denney, T. E. Gross, Bob Wade, Lawrence Herrington, Dan Hutton, Clyde Kegerreis, Alfred Ley, Jess Merchant, Burr Nose, L. A. Noble, Chas. Pond, Isaac Rice, e. Ketcheort, Arlie and George Snowden, Chas. Seamer, Wm. Shockley, Rory Shively, Wm. Taylor, Jas. Wright, Jos. Tutt, D. and Wm. Jones, and Roland Taylor.

W. S. Murray, bottle blower, left for Bellaire, O., recently.

Secretary McMillen represented Branch No. 70 at the Marion, Ind., convention of the G. B. B. A., held in August, 1913.

Among the workers employed here whom the writer met are W. J. Hayes, T. W. Warren, Geo. Foster, Jr., Ed Ross, Chas. Shipley, Ed Larsh, F. Miller, Wm. Kee, Fred Crosby, W. Shockley, Jas. O'Brien, Geo. Ferrett, Guy Christian, Oscar Bolt, Geo. M. Scheiring, John Skehan, Fred Handley, Alfred Brewster, Chas. Binckley, Dave Furgat, Hubert Watson, Wm. Yates, Phil Labadie, and Edwin Leigh.