By brooklynbadboy at Daily Kos:
A Story About A Pencil, A President, and Priorities.
The Ticonderoga wood and graphite pencil was developed by inventor Joseph Dixon, who developed his first pencil at age 13 in Salem, Massachusetts.
Dixon singlehandedly built up the pencil industry in the United States -- with government help.
Dixon's success allowed him to dig a graphite mine in Ticonderoga, NY. He also built a large, world-class factory at the other end of the Hudson River in Jersey City, NJ, that employed hundreds of workers. They made all sorts of things from graphite from paints to lubricants. The Ticonderoga pencil was made there for more than 100 years. The pencils I used when I was my nephew's age were made there.
None of this would have been possible without government. You see, what made the Hudson River valley an attractive place to open a business like the Dixon Company was the state chartered and financed development of the Erie Canal and a system of river navigation along the Hudson. The Dixon Company also was allowed to grow due to a system of protective tariffs, specifically on graphite pencils and other graphite products. Most importantly, the government had a national policy for the development of railroads. Dixon's company made a huge fortune supplying various graphite-based chemical products for railroads. The vast expansion of public schools in the 19th century created a demand for...you guessed it...pencils. The Dixon Company had a Schools Department and spent a great deal of time sponsoring events for teachers and pencil and crayon art exhibits for students. Furthermore, Joseph Dixon spoke often in the halls of government on behalf of public schools, especially for the Morrill Act which created so many of our universities. Joseph Dixon didn't invest someone else's money in a hedge fund and call himself a businessman. He built things. He made things. He built and made America. And it never would have happened without government.
"Dixon singlehandedly built up the pencil industry in the United States -- with government help.
ReplyDeleteDixon's success allowed him to dig a graphite mine in Ticonderoga, NY. He also built a large, world-class factory at the other end of the Hudson River in Jersey City, NJ, that employed hundreds of workers. They made all sorts of things from graphite from paints to lubricants. The Ticonderoga pencil was made there for more than 100 years. The pencils I used when I was my nephew's age were made there."
Um, while this isn't completely wrong, it might lead someone down the wrong road..
Joseph Dixon BOUGHT American Graphite, an existing Ticonderoga company that had a large graphite mine and the best refinery anywhere. Years later he started a new mine in Hague NY..