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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1908)
The Omaha Sunday Bee PART VII MAIiUFACTURES FACES 1 TO 12. PART VII JOBBING TRADES PAGES t TO 12. VOL. XXXVII XO. 41 OMAHA, SUNDAY MOKNIXU, A PHIL 5, 1908. SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS. 4 Tf cf El-DOM. If ever, in the life of SI the every 'day boy and girl has I there been a time when the supply or ice cream w as sur flrlent to meet the demand. And a Rood many old folks re In the same box. Many times If tho quantity was sufficient the quality was deficient, so It was all the name In the long run. - Naturally this condition of af fairs made an opening- for an Ice cream plant of large capacity, . a no uncertain investment. The Fairmont Creamery company with its Ideals "To produce the highest quality; to pleas our customers" saw the opening and with characteristic enterprise filled It. To Install a plant of a capacity large enough to supply an immense trade the Stress of Banks Show How Solidly Prosperity of Great West is Founded on the Resources of the Region. ivn months after the financial Fl cyclone struck the eaat and the I gale blew over the. cities of tne Missouri valley, the clear ing house banks of Omaha and South Omaha have $2,000,000 more on deposit In their vaults than they had November 1. the date finally accepted a the beginning pf'tlje panic. This means that after the purely phycho lORlcal phase of the panic was over tho people realized that the banks are the best places for thrtr money. As the business was closed for March, the bankers of Omaha viewed the situation with auch an air of confidence and Indif ference to the effects of the panic, that the common question from the east Is Where were you when the cyclone struck?" "Days of business stress and disaster re-, veal to the public what financial Instltu-' lions are sound, no less than they carry down to dent ruction the pretenders and in competents, whose stock In trade has been deceit or make believe." said an Omaha banker aa he looked over the business of the first three months of "When the gale struck Omaha its winds found the banks sound, and even those with the smallest capital ready to help anyone who needed or deserved help over the flurry and within thirty days were telephoning to business houses, which they anticipated would need money January 1, and offer ing all you need." When financial reports for the first month following the panic showed the fail ures of the country to amount to more than $17.0fl0.0ii0 In thirty days, some $11,000.0(10 of which were faitory liabilities, the Omaha bunkers were ready to loan money to Omaha Institutions. But it was not needed. Factories -went through the gale, hardly drawing on the banks. Not a cent of the $.V.ftO,(-o of business and industrial fall urea of the first ninety days of the panic was contributed by Omaha, nor has there been a failure of any .consequence from May 1 to April 1, reported from any town or city In the state. When the panic's arrival was announced by the bankers of New York, first to Chl rago and then the word passed on to Omaha, the bankers of Omaha felt more indignant than fearful, and when the meet ing of the clearing house' association was called to consider the.advlsihiltiy (,f issuing cashier's checks there was decided oppo sition to any such a plan. Several bankers Mill contend that it was not a good thing o do, and all d-clared that It was unnecessary -except as a matter of pro tection to keep the east from drawing out the actual money of the wtst. . only loyalty to Omaha and Omaha in stitutions prevented one or two of the t4du banker of Omaha from withdrawing creamery has enlarged Its creamery plant, dug out under the sidewalk and practically rearranged its whole establishment. But the officers of the company believe the result will Justify the expenditure and the hard work necessary thereto. Tho ice cream plant which occupies al most one quarter of the building at Twelfth and Jones streets lias been In stalled and workmen are now putting the finishing touches , on the addition. In the manufacture of lea cream, the cream ery company expect to reach perfection and with that end In view it has taken the preliminary steps. The cream from which the ice cream Is manufactured Is not shipped Into Omaha but is the prod uct of Omaha cows or dairy herds lo cated in the outskirts of tho city These Financial Storm Made Scarcely a Ripple from the clearing house association and announcing that every depositor would be paid cash to the full amount of his balance If It was demanded. One bank president, said, "Had it rot been that I felt I should stand by the others, I would have been better off to have withdrawn and paid those who had money In my bank when they wanted It. I never refused a deponl tor all of his money before In my life, and I hated to think of clearing house certifi cates or cashier's checks." Another Omaha bank advertised that the money would be paid all depositors ami nothing held back. For a day or two it looked as though the vaults of the bank would be drained because of the fear of the people, but money began coming In as fast as It went out or faster. Several banks In the suburb did the same. Banks at Benson, Dakota City, Fremont and else where In the state never saw a cashier's check. The panic dawned at a time when the deposits In the Omaha banks were'low, be cause the money had been withdrawn for fall trade, moving crops and various other purposes which always weaken the de posits after August or September. But the deposits In Omaha banks held about even. The reports from tho east showed de creases and while the bunk clearings In the eastern cities showed a decrease of from 20 to 75 per cent each week, the report of the Omaha clearing house showed an Increase of clearings for six consecutive weeks after the gale struck. The situation could not he explained apart from the admission that buaintss In general had been lilt In the Omaha Factories Show Little Reduction in Workers' Roster or Output ITH few exceptions. Omaha fac-1 Overalls S5 I smaller factories 8S i houses when no men were needed, but i on . w tones are running full capacity. The following shows the pel" cent of the normal number of workmen employed at present, the normal number being con 7 i sidered 'he average number working at the trade or industry during the year 1907 the greatest and busiest in the history of th city: INDUSTRY. mal No. Work men Employed, Packing houses 8 Hailroad shojis fr, Alfalfa foods pio Bags and products 73 Boilers and tanks 100 Hoots and shoe (at Breweries (beginning April la lu Hread and bakery products lug Hruk and tile (April 1 t Brooms and brushes t But H Carriage and wagons 6t Crackers , i CM hln f t , U5 mm dairies were selected with regard to the sanitary conditions under which they are kept; the feed given them by the owners and the reputations of the owners for cleanliness. But In addition special ex pert dairymen employed by the Fairmont Creamery company are sent regularly to each of these dairies to Inspect them and report to tho officials of tho company. The officials specified "this. In their con trct with the dairymen and the inspec tions are regular. This insures tho purity of the ml'.k when it reaches the cream cry. After that, the well established reputation of this company Is a guaranty to the patrons that the ico cream they get is clean and pure. No concern of a like character in the United States, more religiously insists on east, but the banks of the west were strong enough to keep all wheels going and the Increases continued to show up in the clearings. Before the fctateui'cnt was called by the comptroller of the currency and mado pub. He December 8, 1907. President Henry W. Yates of the Omaha Clearing House as sociation said: "Omaha bapks will wel-' come a call from the comptroller. I still refuse to recognize, that there Is a panic. Because things have gone wrong In New York City does not mean that the whole world- has ceased tu prosper. Business In general la going cm and will go on quite the same as usual. While the crops are not up lo the best record, there Is 'an abundance of food and textile materials, the farmers are In more than comfortable circum- stances. The higher prices at present wttl doubtless more than compensate them for the Blight decrease of product." When the statements of the Omaha banks were made they showed ' cash re serves of $20,876,521 an increase of more than $3.0"U.UUO. aa compared with the state ment Issued the latter part of November, lis Xt. Deposits had kept pare with the reserves of the banks -and the eight In stitutions belonging to the! clearing house kept their word witli the public. The de posits were $45,w,9u.1. as compared to $15, 373.957, as shown In the statements of a corresponding week in 1!K6. The surplus and undivided profits of the eight buiks showed a gain of $a"'0,(HiO for the year. Iians had bien cut down $2,MiO,i0 as ciunpared with the statement of NovemlsT, 11)06. The detailed statement Confectionery Cornice work Fence, wire Foundry products Furniture iron and steel, structural Jewelry Lead and shot Liquors Optical goods Paint , Pickles Proprietary articles Publishing houses (after April 1). Smelters Harness and saddlery . 100 75 lim 90 . 1.10 :i , 150 nw H0 . 120 . )IM . 75 ino .86- 90 .91- 92 110 . 110 95 ll 70 . 1U0 SO . 125 8 ! Soap Stock and poultry foods White lead Planing mills Sash and doors Whips , Cement blocks and products CiMiperage Wood and paper boxes Washing machines Bearings and automobile supplies Flour and fotd .- Other lines, Including cigars and ViO 110 1U5 .1 v ft cleanliness than the Fairmont creamery, and an Inspection of its immense plant Is a revelation to the average person. So clean is the place that not even the odor of milk permeates the establishment, and yet, hundreds of thousands of gallons of milk are handled in the establishment every year. This home milk which alono furnishes the cream for Ice cream Is kept separate from the butter fat from which the. butter is made. The milk Is put in the Immense separator, and, after the cream Is taken from it,, the cream is pasteurized before It is ready for the mixing vat where the. flavoring for tho ice cream is mixed in with the cream and sugar before freezing. This pasteurising kills every kind of microbe or bacteria that has even been discovered in mi 11 of the cash resources was as follows: 197. 1!M. First National $6,730,428 $ 3,(,725 Omaha National 3.72.!.2 3.XX4,1( United States National.. 3,564.332 Merchants National 2.3i.8h:i Nebraska National l'.I62,019 Union Stock Yards Nat l 1,536,62 South Omaha National.. 2,1R2.5.V Packers National - 623,727 2,679.246 2,129,431 828,670 l.Bno.S.SO 1,827.1 1 6S0.616 Totals $20,876,521 $17.&JS,836 Deposits in the banks -of Omaha at the close of business December 3 were $37,110,897, as compared to $37,329,836 at the same timo last year and $40,813,186 shown In the Au gust statement of this year. That the deposits of Omaha banks should have decreased $3,500,000 since August is not unexpected. The money-withdrawn for handling crops and other fall business would equal that amount any year and ex ceeded $4,000,000 last year. The be.nks have lost but $200,000 In the last year, which waa anticipated because of the remarkable amount of building and the demand of de positors for money to use In various chan nels of trade. The deposits of the eight national banks in Omaha and South Omaha, as compared to the record of 19i. were as follows on December 3, 1907: IW. 19iW First National..... $10,712.3o. $lb.57.7!1 Omaha National li.278,2V 10,fi.ifi.si!9 United States National.. 8.354. 44 Merchants National 5.70.442 Nebraska National - 1.975.352 Union Stock Yards Nati 2.H40.277 South Omaha National.. 3.t30.i54 Packers National 1.774.275 8.7-,n.T64 fi.H1.517 1.3.:3 2.149.714 3.04.533 2.0U3.844 Totals $15,353,903 $15,373,957 Following the statement the Omaha bankers sent notice to all the country banks and grain dealers that they would furnish the money to fill every elevator at every station In Nebraska, and advised tjie dealers to get the grain In from the country and on the way to ihe primary markets while the winter was open and cars could be had by the train. Instead of at long drawn out Intervals, as was the case In 19"6. Shipments of grain Increased Av. normal No. w'kmen employ'd 94.5 Willie there has been talk of sifting iu- dust ria I forces in the east end New York j and Chicago have boasted of having armies ; of 200 regiments each. Idle, the first week , in April finds Omaha factories employing on the average of 94.5 per cent of the num ber of men working in factories at the same time last year. The average la kept well up by the smaller factories, but some of the largest Industries in the city have normal forces. The greatest cut In an in dustrial force which has been made In Omaha was made gradually by the Union Pacific Railroad company, until during the weeks of March only about half as 'many men were employed In the shops as last year. Packing houses did not cut forces greatly and have been gradually Increasing tho number of men. For months there have been applications for work at the packing AU V JT The cream Is Mien cooled and put In the Ice cream ftetz ers which InrlJcn . tally are of tho lat est make and are considerable differ ent from tho o'd time freezers. The cans are In a hori zontal position ar.d surrounding the cyl inder In which the cream 1s placed Is another cylinder, be tween the two licln-i the cold brine which freescs the cream. Then through n small opening In the front the cream, In a mushv ttalc, is pushed out by a slide In the Inside cylinder. The cream Is not touched by hands either before or after freezing. In tills mushy state It If put In cans end placed In a vat of ice cold brine whore , It Is kept until placed In the moulds or sold out In bulk. The Fairmont creamery began making ice cream a y a r ago, and tho result w-ts ... so satisfactory and tho re.spome of a public which en dorses the goods, so generous that the Ico cream plant has become an import ant part of the busi ness of this com pany. The capacity of the fre'zers is 100 gallons an hour. In addition to supplying the de mands of iho peo ple for ice cream Fairmont Creamery nimnunv hi.ls Weil s-j to solve tho liquor minds of t.ie offi cials and many of their customers it had already dis covered or branded tho real summer beverage, buttermilk. Here tofore the buttermilk part of the Institu tion, has been more or less a fide Issue, but now It promises to be an important part of the work of this company. J. H. Rushton, president of the company, was much impressed with the large amount of buttermilk consumed in the east, during a recent trip. Upon his return to Omaha he at once got busy and the result is Fairmont creamery customers are now supplied with buttermilk bottled, just the same aa sweet milk or cream. The num ber of persons in Omaha who drink butter milk and the number of physicians who prescribe it, Mr. Rushton said, is sur prising to one who has not investigated. The following letter which President Rushton sent out to the various physicians Manufacturing- Plants Work Full Forces During- Time When East Suffers Greatest Depression. at the Omaha market following the action of the Omaha bankers, and normal condi tions of trade were reported. Then followed the holidays and the heads of the three big department stores of Omaha subscribed to a statement given to The Bee a week before Christmas, which said: "Trailu has actually been larger than last year. Every day, when weather would permit, the buying lias been heavier than on corresponding days last year." Thus by the limp the Industrial and fi nancial depression was thoroughly on In the east. It had began to yield in the west and at Omaha, known throughout the gale as the "bright spot on the map," every banker said "it is over." A tabu lated statement of the amount of cashier's checks outstanding from Omaha banks at tho beginning of the new year, sixty days after the cyclone struck, was $jo.noo, though at one time over $ii0,0u0 had been Issued. When the new year was opened in earn est,, the record of the clearing house from day to day showed that tho future hud hot been capitalized by Omaha banks. The call for a bank statement camo in the mid dle of February. It was Just as welcome as the call in December. Tills waB shown by the prompt work of the bankvrs in making the statement public. It came to the banks by telegraph, reuchlng Omaha shortly after 10 o'clock. Sonic of the hanks had their statements made up and printed on cards to hand out at noon, and by 1 o'clock The Bee had a complete statement made up to give to Us readers in the afternon paper. nousea wnen no men were needed, nut no man with a desire to work has been turned down during March. The season of the brewers will not ojjen until the last of April, but by May 1 a full force will be working. The usual winter forces were retained since last October. Brick and tile manufacturers have almost all been closed, but several will open the first week in April. The outlook Is for 100 per cent of the men to return to work. Small reductions were made In the forces of the boot and shoe manufacturers and It is not likely that the normal force will be employed until late In the summer. With the publishers and blank book makers the quirt season has just opened. Until April 1 the normal number of work men were employed, but sixty days rest is expected during April and May and the forces have been reduced In all depart ments 10 per cent. The financial troubles did vol effect the publishing business to of the city explains how important he be lieves tills branch of the company's busi ness really Is: While traveling In I he east we were very much Impressed with the Immense demand for buttermilk as a beverage, and the almost universal consensus of opinion among the medical fraternltv that Is was very beneficial for patients suf feting from stomach and Intestinal trouble. We are putting up a grade of butter milk that Is excellent In many ways, us a beverage, as a tonic, and as a medicine. Our cream is all thoroughly pasteurized to the highest point of practical applica tion, and thus freed from every from of barterlal life. We then introduce pure lactic add liac terla which, developing in this pasteurised cream, produce pure lactic acid fermenta tion. The cream Is then churned and the but termilk drawn off without the addition of any water, so that it contains about 9 per cent solid matter. Kxperlence has taught us that when buttermilk Is placed In tin containers the lactic acid acts upon the tin, solder, antimony or Iron, causing the buitermilk to deteriorate In quality. Wo have adopted the plan of putting our buttermilk in glass botf.es, which are thoroughly sterilized before be ing used. Therefore our buttermilk develops more slowly and keeps much longer than raw cream buttermilk, full of all kinds of putrefactive and other undesirable bac terial life. Yours very truly, THE FAIRMONT CREAMERY COMPANY J. H. Rushton, President. President Rushton says the making of butter and Ice cream and milk products Is a science, and his company expects to employ the most learned men In this lino that money can secure. "Dr. Wylie is called a crank," he said, "by a lot of peo ple and In many ways he may be a crank, but he does many good things and there Is truth in the things he says and there is sound sense In the things he advocates. We get many valuable pointers from him and his pure food department, and In our creamery library will always be found his utterances and all the good works that will assist us in Improving our products. We are complying with the pure food laws and we employ scientists who are con stantly at work to improve the products we manufacture." President Rushton is a plain spoken man, and. In talking to the uninitiated, he speaks In plain language. Discussing the pasteurization of cream, he said the pas teurization kills overy kind of bacteria in the cream, both good and bad and then there is introduced a lactic acid fermenta tion which aids digestion and acts as a tonic and a medicine. The-Falrmont Creamery company Isitlie largest In tho United States if not in the world and its dally capacity is as fo'.lows: 60,000 pounds of creamery butter; 10,000 pounds of ladle butter; 2,500 gallons of ice cream; 1,000 cases of eggs this is Ilia capacity in Omaha alone and does not in clude its immense plants in other town and cities. The demand of the directors of the company and tho managers, ab solutely enforced, is for cleanliness. Large twenty-four Inch exhaust pipes carry out al the steam and odors from in Omaha This statement was all tho more re markable from the fact that the grain which was not movid during November and December, was being moved during the op"n wyeks of January end some money wus neded to move it. Then Industries were going on tho same as usual. The Omaha banks were pouring money to the mines of Wyoming and Colorado where they send coin for pay rolls every two weeks. But th five national banks of Omaha hHd $1,883,258 more on deposit In their vaults than they had In February, 1907, and the nine banks in the clearing house association had $718,508 more on dcKsit than they had when the call Vaa made for the statement In December when the panic had been In progrss thirty days. Loans of the nine banks were greater than at the time of the December call and much larger than when tho call was mado tho last of January, 19t7. The statements of the five Omaha banks were considered particularly strong. The deposits of the banks compared to the de posits shown by the statement of January 26, 1907, were as follow y. . Feb. 14. '08. First National $1, 186.445 Omaha National 1..3ii7.'."3 U. S. National ,05.'.7M Merchants National... 5.6H0.-.13 Nebraska National... 1.632,518 Jan. W. '07. $11,106,182 !',6i.215 8 492,741 5,26.8:3 U04.411 Totals i-.'i 9:-9.tW fcj.09U.372 The east applied the ;ule that "tight" money was always succeeded by business depression, an end to promoting, and that even current enterprise would be checked. But It did not work in the west. Capital ny extent in Omaha, and practically 100 per ctnt of the workers were employed ail winter Cement block and stone manufacturers will begin their season about the middle of April. They have employed more than the normal number during the winter, but the regular simmer force will be 126 per cent of tlA) number last year. The out look for a year's business Is promising, not only because of the large amount of build ing promised, but the popularity of the cement blocks. In the clothing factories normal force are returning. The Item alone constitute almost - $3,000,000 of the $220,000,000 of the factory output of Omaha. During Novem ber and December the factories had no trouble to get help. The applications ex ceeded the places, but since January 1 the business has Improved. Ward M. Burgess (Continued on Page Two.) tho pasteurizing plant and constant streams of water plav on the but;i buckets preparatory to filling with butted and the concrete floors are ss clean a floors anywhere. The floors of the larg freezing rooms, the churning rooms, lr fact all of tho floors are concrete ami noi one particle of dust or dirt Is to be found Th workmen employed at the creamer are good examples for cleanliness to man of the clerks or professional men who d' no work of this character. Every day ai noon the employes change their clnlhinti and come out after lunch with spmlesV white shirts and trousers. The enmpsny provides the employes with a shower both of hot nnd cold water and each with locker In which to keep his clothes. ThesH lockers are In a large dressing room ad-f Joining the shower bath. It Is probable more college graduates are employed right In this building than! In any business in Omaha employing same number of men. And the companv Is hunting for college graduates. Th. dairy department of the Nebraska' Ktati university Is a very Important part of th work of this educational Institution, am the Fairmont Creamery company keeps ltf eyes on the graduating class. During the last few years the labor atory of this creamery has been among It most Important departments and every gallon of cream Is tested In this laboratory! before It leaves the building and is piace. on the market. High priced chemists ar, employed In this department and they arf the busiest men In the whole establishment! No product which docs not come up to tin requirements of the pure food laws asl shown by the laboratory tests is allowed! to leave the building. The business of the Fairmont Creamery company Is of great Importance not only to Omaha but to the state. It Is a large part of an Industry which totals an unusual business of $10,000,000 and is just now liJ Its infancy. In Its large establishment In Omaha the company has 150 men on tin pay roil -Hnd in the dullest season last year It paid good salaries to seventy-flvrl employes. It reaches out not only lnti Nebraska, but goes Into Missouri, KanTas Iowa and South Dakota for milk ami) cream. It uses of Its own make from ten to fifteen tons of Ice a day; It manufac tures its own electric light using a powe machine of forty tons and from May unti September It was never shut down. Jay ort night. The establishment has Its own waterl supply, an artesian well, and from thi- well 500 gallons of water flow every minute and tho water Is not waited it Is used and is in large part responsible for! the reputation for cleanliness earned by the Fairmont Creamery company. ( The building occupied by the creamery company Is arranged In every detail for the manufacture of tho products of milk. The rooms have high ceilings anr. aro largr and light and clean. The shipping room opens out onto a platform, which In turn connects with the doors of the cars which distributes tho butter over the United States. Large and expensive alteration" are. now being made and at least tlO.OOo will be spent in making the building atlllf more convenient. Territory in Omaha banks found safe employment. As "money" had not been- at a premium In the west, it was not a drug on the mar ket. The bankers of Omaha sild they were making loans the same aa usual and. the statement made during February was evi dence of the truth of their statements. The statements of loans compared . as follows In February: Feb. 14, "08. First National ....$ 6.260.475 Omaha National .. 11.106,415 U. 8. National 5,854,399 Merchants National. 3,747,982 Dec. 3, "07 $5,910,109 6.530.075 6.220.056 S. 747.150 Nebraska National.. 849,697 Union St. Yds. Nat, 1.955.416 So. Omaha National. 1,828,73 Packers' National . . 1,632,630 Live Stock National 130,399 1,004.461 2,123,742 2.035,742 1,720,29a - Totals $28.3,016 $2.2V1.74 While the banks were accused of pulling In the cash and with holding large amounts from depositors during'the panic, the statement of their cash and due from banks, shows that they have about $100, 000 more In their vaults at the present time than they had in December, and they have been paying every check presented for ninety days. The statement of the I cash on hand Is considered remarkable when romparcd to the December state ment when thousands of cashier's' checks were In circulation. The total deposits In the nine clearing house banks of Omaha and South Omaha are $46,075,411, as compared to $45,856,903 shown In the December statement of 1907. The Live Stock National bank of South Omaha, which started business December 9. 1907, has secured deposits of $201,091 and reports loans of $130,000. The com parative statements of deposits of th nine banks follow: Feb. 14, '08. Hrst National ...$11,186,445 Omaha National .. 10.397 653 U. 8. National 9,052,761 Merchants National 6.660.263 Nebraska Nat. bank 1,632.6! Union Stock Yards 3.026.198 So. Omaha Nati.. 2,913,209 Packers' National 2,005.283 Live Stock Nati.. 201,091 Dec. 3, '07. $10,74 2,359 1 10,278.250 8.364,494 6.760,443 1.975.352 2.840.277 3.630.454 1,774,275 Total $46,075,411 $15,355,903 This was followed by record breaking bank clearings throughout the month' of March. Bank over the stale made re ports equally as good as those made by the Omaha bank and the timidity of public confidence has not been notlclble r almost ninety days. Bankers of Omaha are even more con fident of the future than they were be fore the gale. The rude aiock of last fall and the failures In the east, cleared the atmosphere according to Omaha flnan. ciers. If Nebraska had had a muss to clean up the panic would have disposed of some unworthy banking institutions, but none failed and Omaha bankers did not expect tht any would be even crowd ed, when they announced the suspension of cash payment and el tension of the check system, October 27, 199