1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 217
It is the nature of people all over the world to love to watch live action.

The first place of the first Liang Yao Invention Award will be contested in the form of a competition, which has attracted the attention of countless New Yorkers.

Even citizens of surrounding cities such as Philadelphia and Boston rushed to New York to watch the game.

America is a young country, a country full of energy.

People have great enthusiasm for new things, especially new things that can liberate productivity.

Sewing machines are such a new thing.

The first winner of the Liang Yao Invention Award was determined in the form of a competition. This open and fair method has won the support of the citizens.

Of course, if you want to ensure the fairness of the competition, you must choose an impartial referee.

Liang Yao invited Fish, the president of the New York Chamber of Commerce, a representative of the Whig Party, and former New York Governor, to serve as the referee for this competition.

After the founding fathers, Fish is a celebrity in New York's political and business circles, and enjoys a very high reputation in New York and even the entire United States.

More importantly, Fish has a good reputation in New York, and he is one of the few governors in New York State who will be missed by New Yorkers after serving.

When Vanderbilt competed with the opponent's steamboat, Fish was also the referee. It can be said that Fish has a lot of experience as a referee.

Although the competition has not officially started, the sewing machines used by the three contestants are still covered with black curtains.

But the citizens of New York are generally more optimistic about Erics and Isaac, who have begun mass production of sewing machines.

Think the $3 prize of the Liang Yao Invention Award will go into the pockets of Alex and Isaac.

As for Walter, few people are optimistic about Walter.

Although Walter is famous in the small circle of New York's invention circle, Walter's fame is only limited to this small circle.

If it were not for the news about the Liang Yao Invention Award, many New Yorkers would have never even heard of the name Walter.

After all, no one in New York, where money is paramount, pays attention to a poor man.

This point can also be seen from the odds at the opening of the game.

Alex and Isaac are both around 2, while Walter is around 8.

Kony came to the casino he used to frequent on Broadway with $5000 in his pocket, and threw a wad of $[-] Bank of America dollar notes on the gaming table.

"I buy $5000! Walter wins!"

Coney has always been known as a money-spreading boy in the New York gambling circle, and he will lose every bet.
There was even a joke on the streets of New York that Vanderbilt's greatest enemy was not his competitor, but his son Coney. As long as Coney let go of the bet, the Vanderbilt family could be bankrupted.

Seeing that Coney bought Walter to win, the other gamblers did not hesitate to buy Alex and Isaac to win.

At the same time, he did not forget to taunt Coney: "Guys, buy the opposite of Coney! You must win!"

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"I've seen the sewing machine, which will put a lot of tailors out of work. There are thousands of professional tailors in New York."

Before the game started, New York Governor Hunter looked sad.

His wife had bought a hand-crank sewing machine, which was surprisingly efficient, and he worried that it would take away the jobs of New York tailors, who would take to the streets to protest.

Not will but has taken to the streets to protest.

The venue for the sewing machine competition was the plaza in front of the New York Municipal Building at the north end of Broadway.

In front of the square, there were not only citizens who came to watch the game, but also tailors holding signs to protest against sewing machines.

These tailors shouted against the sewing machine, the clothes made by the sewing machine will not fit, the clothes made by the machine have no soul, and the traditional craftsmanship of hand sewing has been passed down for thousands of years. Such ridiculous slogans.

It's just that these people are only a minority after all.

Hunter looked away from these protesting tailors. New York had finally been stable for several months, and Hunter still did not want unpleasant things to happen during his tenure.

"Mr. Liang, it seems that Governor Hunter has a big opinion on your awarding the first place in the Invention Award to the sewing machine." Fish said, stroking his thick black hair that he was proud of.

"The emergence of any new thing will be criticized or even opposed."

Liang Yao cast a disdainful glance at the small group of protesters, not taking them seriously at all.

Protest marches are a tradition in the United States, and there is nothing to make a fuss about. He has seen even bigger scenes in later generations.

Liang Yao didn't have much in common with Hunter, a stubborn, old-fashioned conservative.

"The appearance of the steam engine did not make everyone unemployed, but liberated the productive forces. Countless factories sprung up, and more people found jobs in the factories. Human beings created far Wealth beyond the past thousand years."

"Liberating productivity, I like that word."

Fish deeply agreed, and he agreed with Liang Yao's point of view.

"My point of view is the same as yours. It is true that sewing opportunities have created many tailors, but factories that produce sewing machines have created a lot of jobs, and the sewing machines produced must be operated by people. As for those tailors, at least not all All lose their jobs, and some people will choose hand-sewn clothes."

"We are well-educated people and can understand this, but these tailors don't!" Hunter said, frowning.

"These thugs only care about whether they have something to do every month and how much money they make. I heard that the workers in the steel mills in Pittsburgh are going on strike, and some workers hang the factory owner from the street lamp. These people are unreasonable. .

The factory owners gave them jobs, but they didn't know how to be grateful, and they hung the people who gave them jobs on the street lamps. "

"Don't you care how much money you earn every day?" Liang Yao just thought it was funny.

He also heard about the strike of Pittsburgh steelworkers. In fact, Pittsburgh is not the only place where steelworkers go on strike.

Many steel mills in Ohio and Illinois are on strike, but Pittsburgh is the worst.

Fillmore previously went to Ohio to solve the problem of the steel workers' strike, but for now, the problem has not been resolved.

"Of course I care." Hunter touched his nose and asked Liang Yaodao, "When will the locomotive factory you opened in New York be able to produce the Pioneer, the Erie Railway Company has already started laying new tracks, and is waiting for your locomotive. "

"How can it be so fast? The production line has just been set up, and it will take until next month at the earliest for the first Pioneer to be assembled and leave the production line." Liang Yao said.

"Okay, gentlemen, it's almost time, the game is about to start! We'll talk about these things after the game is over." Fish looked at the cover of his pocket watch and checked the time.

The black curtain covering the three sewing machines was lifted, and the three sewing machines revealed their true faces.

Erics and Isaac's sewing machines are similar in that they are hand-cranked.

The basic frame structure is similar to the sewing machine that Liang Yao saw at Walter's house, only minor modifications were made in some details.

The appearance of the sewing machine made by Walter is very different from that of Erics and Isaac's hand-cranked sewing machine. There is no huge wheel to make this sewing machine look lighter and more flexible.

As for the internal structure and driving method, there is a huge difference, they are completely two different machines.

Erics was quite disdainful after seeing the machine made by Walter.

"What kind of weird sewing machine is this? It's long and gaudy, and it doesn't look like a sewing machine at all!" Erics said.

In order to win this competition and win the $3 Liang Yao Invention Award, he specially selected a sewing machine in the last state from the sewing machines that had just rolled off the assembly line in the factory and made some improvements.

This makes the sewing speed of this sewing machine faster, and even the workers who operate the sewing machine are all sewing masters carefully selected by him.

With his improved sewing machine, he can sew at least 380 stitches in one minute!
Erics is very confident in his sewing machine, and he is determined to win the title of champion of the first Liang Yao Invention Award and a prize of 3 US dollars!
"It doesn't even have a crank handle, how should this sewing machine work? Oh? There are pedals, do you rely on pedals?" Isaac also laughed.

"It's so fresh, it's the first time I've seen sewing with feet!"

Isaac had about the same attitude towards the sewing machine as Erics, and he didn't believe that Walter could build a new sewing machine in just a week.

You know, in order to make a more reliable sewing machine, he bought Erics' sewing machine and studied it for several months, so that the needle of the sewing machine does not make a circular motion, but directly moves vertically, and can sew continuously.

Because of this, although his sewing machine may be less efficient than Erics' sewing machine, it is more practical and reliable.

Isaac, who missed the market opportunity, can gain a firm foothold in the emerging sewing machine market and compete with Erics.

"Gentlemen, this is the real sewing machine." Elizabeth solemnly said to the two.

After speaking, Elizabeth walked to the sewing machine, put her feet on the pedals, took a deep breath, and waited for Fish to announce the start of the game.

Elizabeth's graceful demeanor seemed ready to begin playing the piano rather than sewing.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Fish announced the start of the game.

Two sewing workers operating a hand-cranked sewing machine turn the crank handle on the wheel as fast as possible, and the needles on the sewing machine start to move rapidly as the wheel is shaken, which is dazzling.

Compared with the two sewing workers who were racing against time, Elizabeth was much calmer, stepping on the pedal very rhythmically, and slowly moving the cloth on the sewing machine.

"I didn't expect Miss Elizabeth to be so elegant in sewing. It's really a pleasure to watch Miss Elizabeth operate the sewing machine."

Walter on the side also said very calmly.

Pedal sewing machines can sew at least 600 stitches per minute, which is a speed that hand sewing machines cannot achieve no matter how they are improved.

This is where their confidence lies.

(End of this chapter)