“Another risk must be avoided, that is, of getting bad castings. The castings must not have the least imperfection. The time lost, through finding defects that make it necessary to reject arms after more or less work has been put on them, would soon wipe out all the little gain you look for; as these castings, at 40 cents a pound, only cost about five dollars a set, as an average of all the sizes. “I made a careful study of this subject when I commenced the governor manufacture about fifteen years ago, and found David Francis, who had a small gun-metal foundry on Vestry Street, to be just the man I wanted. No inferior metal ever goes into his place. He enjoyed the entire confidence of manufacturers. He has made my governor arms and balls ever since. I have never had a bad casting from him, and always got the pure metal, and have paid him the same price that everybody pays him for small castings. I consider the security that I have had respecting this metal to have been fundamental to the great success of my governors, and that I would be crazy to make any such change as you propose.” He made no reply, and I left him, supposing my statement to have been perfectly satisfactory. What was my amazement when, a few days after, he informed me that he had made a contract with a brass molder on Rose Street for casting our governor arms, “subject to your approval, sir,” and he asked me to visit the place and see what its facilities were. I told him I would go, but that my position on the subject was already well known to him. I found the place on a little lane, and that the business done in it was making brass castings for plumbers. The proprietor told me he had never made gun-metal castings, but he could make any kind of composition, and I could rely on getting them of just the metal I furnished him. I reported to Mr. Smith that such an arrangement would be ruinous, that his plan of furnishing the metal was most unbusinesslike. “What do you know about business?” he shouted with a sneer. “I know,” said I, “that if you should propose this plan to any well-informed, practical man, he would laugh in your face, and tell you if you wanted to ruin your business this would be as good a way as any to do it.” He replied, “That is not the question, sir; the only question is, will you, or will you not, approve the contract I have made?” “I will not,” I replied, and walked out of his office.