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Page 11 text:
“
My dear Graduates of 1947; It is with much interest that I learn that the Classhook this year is to have for its central theme the fact that Pawtucket is proud of its history as a city noted for its textile industries. I am sure that this Classbook will do full Justice to Pawtuckot and its textiles. The Class of 1947 will thus show once more its ability to carry a project to a successful conclusion and the Classbook will be one of your treasured possessions through all the years of your life. I am glad to have this opportunity to express to this graduating class my appreciation of their efforts and achievements. You have been cheerful, courteous, respectful, and likeable at all times. The record you have made here will live in the annals of the school. I see you leave with regret. You have earned my respect and friendship. Be assured that you have my very best wishes for your success and happiness, if at any time in the coming years I can be of service to you in any way do not hesitate to call upon me. I bid you Godspeed and Good Luck. Very truly yours.
”
Page 10 text:
“
Samuel Slater Samuel Slater farther of Textiles in Am erica ii T ALL of The Water”, or Pawtucket, as the Indians called it. was the birthplace of an industry that has brought prosperity to our city and state, and leadership in world trade to our nation. The narrative of this birth and growth in a rude building at the site of the Slater Mill is no ordinary one but. rather, a story of a brilliant mind, patience, and an unconquerable determination pitted against the rigid principles of a great empire. Let us turn back the faded leaves of history in order to understand the complete chronicle. “'King Cotton”, often a pawn in the rise and decline of nations, was first mentioned in the annals of India of 5400 years ago. Slowly its use spread to Asia Minor, Rome, then Christian Europe; during the Renaissance it became a basic commodity. After man had sought for centuries to perfect a pratical machine to replace the crude, slow method of home spinning. James Hargreaves and Richard Arkwright, about 1767, succeeded in inventing the first machine and establishing the first water power spinning mill, a fact which revolutionized the manufacture of cotton. Prior to this achievement the English Colonies in America had boasted of the fact that all their spinning and weaving were done within their boundaries: however, after the termination of our Revolution in 1781. England flooded our market with inexpensive, machine-made goods, at the same time maintaining vigilance against importation of machines, models, or skilled workmen, who knew of Hargreaves's discoveries. Quickly our young cotton industry threatened to become extinct. However, another Englishman. Samuel Slater, born in 1768, was soon to save the industry by a dream. Although an excellent student, due to the death of his father he was forced to go to work at the age of fourteen. Apprenticed to Arkwright. Slater worked diligently and observed keenly, always with one idea—that of building his own machine after emigration to the United States. Forbidden to copy machines or make models, he committed the designs to memory, and sailed from London in 1789. After his arrival he signed a contract with Moses Brown of Providence on April 15. 1790, to reproduce cotton machinery used by Arkwright in England. Deriving his water power from the Pawtucket Falls, in a humble shack he and other skilled workers labored behind closed doors. Often physically and mentally weary. Slater several limes was on the verge of surrendering his project, but his persistent will urged him onward. When the apparatus at last seemed properly assembled, he suffered his worst blow—the machine would not operate smoothly. Exhausted, he fell upon his bed and dreamed. In the sub-conscious mind of the machinist, the cogs, gears, and wheels became a whirling mass, but he discovered that one essential part had been left out. With this part in place, the next day Slater’s dream was realized. The present building, erected in 1795, is today a fitting memorial to the man to whom we of Pawtucket owe so much. We all realize the importance of the cotton industry in our history, in our economic progress, in our present world level of commerce: let us not forget that it all began a few steps from our school.
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