Show how lowthe the stack was as straightened t a atene r A S story I 1 ry of a mch mechanical ica ge genius iu B by SAMUEL G MONTFORD 06 o 6 happy the man who has found his vocation this is an old adage which in these times when life seems too short to learn a profession before middle age the saying should be happy the boy in whom some especial gift shows itself that can be later on turn ed to success tom swartout out a farmers son seemed to his father to be worthless because as the older man said he was too lazy to eat and there was reason for the imputation tom detested farm arm work the hoe handle would never stick to his hands bands or if it did he be would constantly be stopping in his bis work to look up in the sky at some bird soaring above and wonder how bow it kept a fixed position without the slightest visible motion of its wings under the life was intolerable to tom and his parents no one can blame fathers and mothers whose children seem to be useless for showing their disappointment tom knew that he be was a disappointment and one night after an expression of his bis fathers disapprobation be resolved to leave home and go somewhere else in the morning long before dawn and before any one was stirring on the farm be got out of bed dressed himself and started down the road he be knew not whit whither ber then followed hardships that might have been expected A week after ills his departure he be stopped at an open door of 0 a factory to look in at an engine that was moving machinery distributed through a whole building there was something in the regular and continued stroke of the piston the steady revolution of the flywheel that fascinated the boy he wondered what kept it going he had seen machinery on the farm moved by hand power but nothing driven by heat while lie be was looking the engineer a pale man who was evidently suf suffering dufferin ferin g from some di disease seabe began to shovel coal into the furnace the work was evidently hard bard on him and be stopped to rest between every ill do that for you said tom the man looked at him then taking a ten cent piece from ills his pocket said 1 I wish you would tom tol butla putla put to the coal then asked the engineer all about the en engine gine the lit principles I 1 on which it worked what the piston accomplished why the flywheel was there how uniform motion was achieved and a lot of other questions the man answered his questions and was surprised at how quickly tie he understood der stood the explanations then tom told him that he be had left home had no means of a livelihood and asked it if he might not shovel coal and do odd jobs about the engine room the engineer went into tile the office and when lie he came back told tom that he could stay at a salary of 1 4 a week the boy was beside himself with joy one day a wooden post that was a part of one of the machines in the building and that was intended to turn on si it pivot like a rudder post began to open in fissures as it turned every timit time it turned the fissures grew larger and it was evident the post would soon be twisted in two some work that had bad been promised the next morning was dependent on the machine and there was no time to put in a new post tom stood beside the foreman who was looking at the post not knowing what to do get some wedges said the coal heaver beaver and every time the fissures open fill thim them up the foreman turned to the be grimed boy in astonish astonishment then the wedges wre were brought drajen in and the post ilai wis again rigid 1 hie I lie molded advanced tom many olgs pt ys in the opinion of his employers and they tried him in various places where good work was needed but lie he failed in them all he had bad no aptitude for work that did not interest him it was waa drudgery and he had not been maae made for drudgery any more ins in a factory than on a farm there seemed nothing that he could do but assist the engineer who was war a sickly man and often often was obliged to absent him belf from his bli duties so tom was sent back to the engine room and made assistant si stant engineer at this work he be seemed to get on better than abany at anything else for he loved the machine that could keep keel the mills supplied with power all flay and all night for that mutter without getting tired in its own field though senseless iron it was better than a man the man coo con eumes different kinds of food coal alone would teed feed the engine the man mail must stop for sleep and rest the engine need never stop several lears passed during which tom got no further up in the ladder of success than assistant engineer there was a vague idea among his fellows end and his employers that he was I 1 r rn ra for success let there was waa a f row rew loose somewhere in hla his bodily mechanism one day when aher he be was a glown man ills his opportunity came and the only person ancon unconscious selous of its arrival was tom himself ile he made the discovery that the a huge brick hollow round tower set on a square base and a hundred feet high had lost its original perpendicular position veering at the top about two and a half feet with in a few days it was found to veer six inches more at this rate it would not lie be long before it would tall fall not only a ruin in itself but crus crushing bing one of the most moat costly plugs of the be file fac tory the management wore were in sore dl dis tress they were in ill the midst of their busiest season eason yet wort work must be stopped while tile lie ch chimney luiney valuable as it was must lust come down to tie be replaced by a bew one first a 11 scaffolding to the top must bo be ei e ted brick after brick must come off then be replaced from the bottom till tin tile stack reached its original height standing perpendicular from its base torn tom having reported the matter t to 0 his employers was forgotten by them in their anxiety about the chimney the same evening they called a apet ing of engineers and builders to discuss some means of propping the chimney to tide them over the busy season not an expedient was suggested that could be relied upon it if the stack should tall fall and wreck the wing the loss would lie be far greater than that oc by stopping work while the dimney was being taken down nad aad rebuilt the propping plan was abandoned and the meeting adjourned with the understanding that the stack must come down fhe the next morning tom swartout in overalls wen went into the office of mt mr rogers president of the corporation and leaning ills his bare arms black with coal dust find and grease on a rosewood railing said reflect reflectively irely mr rogers ive been wondering if a way of straightening the stack ive been thinking think ilig about work youve been thinking about it do you know that last night we had the best engineers in the country here discussing the matter and they all agreed the stack must come down tom tm was about to take his departure when the president asked your plan why you know the base Is square well and the stack leans in a perpendicular line with one of the faces of the base yes now if a line of brick on the rides of the base other than that in the direction the stack leans coald ho be removed the stack would settle on that side swinging ginging the top toward the perpendicular di cular the removal of brick brick under so heavy beavy a weight would be impracticable 1 I was wondering if it be done in this way remove the brick at intervals so as to leave several little pillars for support now supposing 9 we wish to take out three inches of the brick we begin by removing six inches on the other three sides filling up the traces spaces with blocks of wood of equal thickness leaving three sides wood instead of brick between the i blocks put in brick piers three inches high which would leave a space of three inches the distance required to right the stack between the top ot of the piers and the top of the brick piers this done burn out the woodwork and the upper brickwork of your base gradually sinks down on to the piers tom made this suggestion with no more consciousness of its importance and ingenuity than it he be had prepared a plan tor for mending a broken machine As he 14 progressed the president kept his eyes fixed on him with a growing interest mixed with wonder when toni had flushed mr rogers continued to stare at him for a few moments then brought his bis ost fist flown down ou on a bell beside him A boy came hurrying in and the president thundered out the order send the superintendent here at once an hour toms plan of righting the chimney was begun and within eighteen hours bad been completed the amount of change to swing the top of the chimney into position was a matter of a brief mathematical cal cu cul atlon lation aud and wa made before tile the removal of cof the brickwork was teas begun when the woodwork had all been removed by fire the settling was found to be correct and satisfactory and the stack stood perpendicular mr rogers inspected the work saw that it was good went to his bla office and called tor for tom swartout when tom reported be ae the slightest ideh idea what he be was was wanted for the president banded him a check for turn tom looked at it then at mr rogers for foi an explanation 1 I would gladly have paid an engineer twice that sum said the dent I 1 for your suggestion it has bar saved thousands on th the stack thou sands for breach of contracts and d thousands besides for contingent loss of business tom get it through his stu pid head how a little matter like that should be made so BO much of A few days after this tom received a leave of absence to jo go home neither hla hie father nor his bla mother knew him for he had bought good clothes and looked prosperous they welcomed him home and when he et about supplying their every want they were thunderstruck now how ever did you do it tommy asked his mother beside herself with wonder oh I 1 did a little job on a smoke stack that any other fellow could coul have dhave done as well as 1 I only nobody happened to think of it tom swartout was given a position at the factory which had no name his duties were to think out all sorts of problems that were impossible to others lie ile was never at a lobs loss for a device and invented methods for ex ting and bettering work which put enormous profits into the pockets 0 of f his employers employ cra and made him rich all this big hl father and mother could never understand |