8316 Streng Avenue, Citrus Heights, California 95610
Joe Graham sent us a copy of a letter he found in an antique
shop in Savannah while on a trip through Oklahoma in 1998. The
letter was printed on Fuller & Johnson letterhead, and had been
mailed with a two cent stamp, on October 3, 1913.
10-2-13-B D. C. Cripe, Stanley, Wisconsin.
Dear Sir:
It has just occurred to the writer that you might be interested
in our plant here and the manner in which the Farm Pump Engine is
built. We therefore take pleasure in writing you in this
connection.
In the first place, the Farm Pump Engine was designed by a man
who was not only a born genius and a mechanical engineer with years
of experience, but a practical farmer as well. This man knew the
work that the engine should do–he knew the conditions under which
it would have to operate. That is why the Farm Pump Engine is so
adaptable to farm work and it is why the engine has met with
unparalleled success.
You very likely are familiar with the wide range of uses of the
engine after inspecting the one that Sliter & Hazen Company
have, but the other side of the question, the factory side, will
likely interest you now.
The foundry in which all of the castings of this engine are
made, covers almost a square block. The furnace has a capacity of
between 75,000 and 100,000 pounds of iron per day. A large force of
skilled moulders is employed in this foundry–every man carefully
picked and every man paid a wage that insures his interest in his
work. This of course, is the foundation of efficiency in any
foundry and the foundry, as you know, is the foundation of any
engine.
It would be a most interesting sight to be in the foundry about
four o’clock some afternoon when the molten iron is allowed to
flow from the furnaces and is delivered to electric cranes and
poured into the molds that have been made during the day.
The smaller castings, after being removed from the molds, are
put into a ‘rattler’ where they are cleaned and entirely
freed from sand. This ‘rattler’ is a big barrel-shaped
affair, built of iron, with many projections on the inside. It
revolves on an axle running through its center and throws the
castings around in great shape, relieving them of any loose
particles. This in itself is quite a test of the castings.
The main part of our machine shop consists of a well lighted
building 350 feet in length and 200 feet wide. The equipment of
lathes, drills and automatic machines is unparalleled by another
manufacturer. Volume of output is what we have always been after
and volume of output is what we have succeeded in getting through
the excellence of the design of our engines; the thoroughness with
which they are built, and the low prices that we quote.
You know what a large volume of output means to you and to us.
It means that we can make the same engine for less money than a
manufacturer with a smaller output–or that we can make a better
engine at a certain figure than the man who has a smaller
output.
After the first machine work is completed, every casting is
inspected very carefully and in case the least flaw is revealed,
the casting is consigned back to the foundry. All of the perfect
castings are sent to the next machine department for further work
and after every operation performed on a lathe or drill, the
casting is again inspected. With this system, every casting is
inspected from one to ten times which makes it practically
impossible for a casting to get to the erecting room that is not a
perfect one in every respect.
Special stress is laid on the testing of Farm Pump Engines, for
this is the final place where faults in workmanship and material
can be located. It is on the test floor that it can be determined
whether or not the engine is right–whether or not it will develop
its full rated power– and whether or not the engine can be shipped
with the knowledge that the owner is going to be more than pleased
with the mechanical efficiency and general operation of the engine.
Nothing but gasoline engine experts are employed in this
department.
Every Farm Pump Engine is tested from ten to twenty hours under
the most severe conditions that you could imagine. The fuel
consumption must be a minimum one and every engine must pull its
rated horse power with a liberal margin over and do it continuously
without overheating.
From this floor, the engines go to the paint room. A very nice
finish is put on all of them–a deep green striped up with
gold.
Then they go to the shipping department where the crates are
built. The crates are made extra heavy because we know that in
transit the engines are very apt to receive rough usage and we want
to eliminate all chance of the engine reaching destination in any
other than A No. 1 condition. Our warehouse is an enormous one and
we always keep enough of these finished engines on hand so that we
can make immediate shipment of all orders.
Just before sending out a Farm Pump Engine, one of the slats of
the crate is removed–the engine is connected up with batteries and
left to run for several minutes. This is done to remove any paint
that might have gotten into the mechanism and to be sure that our
customer gets a good, live set of batteries so that he can start
the engine up as soon as he gets it without any trouble.
We wish we could show you all of these things. You would be
greatly interested in them and after carefully studying the
different operations–the faithfulness of the men in the plant–
the up-to-date factory equipment that we have–and the enormous
volume of engines going through, you would be fully convinced of
the high character of the FULLER & JOHNSON FARM PUMP ENGINE and
realize fully just why your opportunity to get the most for your
money lies in your placing your order for one of them.
This engine, remember, is designed especially for pumping water
and operating cream separator, churn, grind stone, etc.–it is the
engine that has relieved thousands of farmers–thousands of women
folks and thousands of children of the dreaded, monotonous jobs of
farm work.
The fact that over 50,000 FULLER & JOHNSON FARM PUMP ENGINES
have been sold in a little less than four years’ time will give
you an idea at least, of how rapidly the farmers of this country
are coming to the conclusion that they cannot afford to be without
a FARM PUMP ENGINE. This engine is one of the biggest time and
money savers that has ever been put into the hands of our
people–it is as big a one as the plow, the cultivator or the
binder.
Join the ranks of FULLER & JOHNSON FARM PUMP ENGINE owners,
the people who, by making a very small investment, have made their
work easy–have given the women folks a chance to rest and the boys
to go in for a little good, healthy sport. See what some of the
owners themselves say about the engine in the enclosed booklet. Get
ah ‘IRON HIRED MAN.’
Your dealer can supply you with one at a price easily within
your reach and is right on the ground where he can see that the
engine gives you the best of satisfaction–long and economical
service.
Very Truly yours, FULLER & JOHNSON MFG. CO. Burle C.
Parkinson, Sales Manager
