ntry. So about 1850 Mr. Aaron Dennison, a Boston watch repairer,
conceived the idea of starting such a business. Already he had discussed
plans with Edward Howard, and now the two men entered into partnership
and after raising considerable capital they constructed a small factory
in Roxbury. To fully appreciate the difficulties of their venture, you
must keep in mind the fact that previous to this time watchmaking had
never been conducted along modern lines. There was no such thing in the
world as a factory system where every part of a watch was made beneath
one roof. Instead, as I believe I told you, watches were made in
different places--the wheels at the home of one man, the springs at that
of another, and so on, after which the various parts were assembled, put
together, and adjusted. This was the plan followed in France, England,
and Switzerland, and the one which with certain modifications is to a
great extent still followed in those countries. And in our own land
there was not even as much of a system as that, watches being made on a
very small scale by individual workmen. It was this scheme of affairs
that Aaron Dennison and Edward Howard determined to change."

"They took some contract on their hands, I should say."

"A bigger contract than you realize, son," the Scotchman answered. "A
bigger one than they fully realized, I guess. It is fortunate we do not
see all our obstacles when we set forth on an undertaking, for if we did
many an enterprise would be abandoned before it was even begun. These
two men, now--in the first place they had no machinery; nor was there
any to be bought. Moreover, there was nothing to pattern watch machinery
after. It had never been made. So, you see, it was one thing to give a
man tools and leave him to achieve with them a specified end, working
toward the desired result as he went along; and quite another to invent
a brainless device that would mechanically reach the same end.
Numberless difficulties must be overcome. To manufacture watches in
quantity it was imperative that the parts be interchangeable. They must
not vary even an infinitesimal degree or the whole delicate organism
would be thrown out of adjustment. It was not an industry where
hit-or-miss methods could be glossed over; on the contrary, every part
of the process must be absolutely accurate. Do you wonder people were
skeptical as to the possibility of making such a mad undertaking a
success and hesitated about putt