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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1909)
1 D THE OMAHA srNDAY 1JEE: .TAXITAKY !. 1000. New Factory and Jobbing District Looms Big- in Omaha's Foreground $:s 1 1 " , Hi J i V Hi (U .f ; . 41 c 1 r n . jaif. raff ; iaff;t.3l iii rM anil a half hour Is the limit, generally, snd while at work the factory operatives are doing business for themselves, since the piecework system Is in vogue and the cat put makes the wsge. Wash rooms and re tiring rooms of modern arrangement are provided, and rest rooms are handy. If a girl has a headache, or for any sufficient r'asun requires a rest, or simple medical treatment she may retire to a bright room having rusts on the floor, rockers and a couch, relax, recuperate and return to work refreshed. With nearly 600 sewing machines buzzing In a big establishment like that of M. E. Smith company, or the Byrne-Hammer company, stitches are counted only by the hundred thousand per minute. A commer cial statistician has figured It out that, al lowing sixteen stitches to the Inch, and 2,30,( stitches an hour, for the Smith factory. Its operatives will sow up a length of cloth 1.40O miles long every day. That strip of sewed cloth would reach to CTI cago. hack to Omaha, and go 400 miles fur ther aa a wrapper for a great deal of out lying country, Itut nil the machines do not sew seams. There are some that cut and sew buttrm holes and sew on buttons, four-hole but tons. Every bachelor ought to have one we look through the grvat machinery head quarters. Many stubborn trouble may pas ile, momentarily ; but in the outcome the most trass machine are mastered. Many a genius devclopes here In Omaha, as elsewhere, by contract with difficulties, and, like the goods their houses ship broadcast, they are In demand to go here, yon and everywhere, to make sure that Omaha trade suffers not through defect, mistake, or any one of a thousand unforeseen hap-P'-nings. Men, women, machinery, pro duct, profit, loss, prestige all are con cerned and correlated In the marvelous scheme of modern merchandising on a lurge scale. Thus the human equation Is Inseparable from a successful conduct of even the most systematized of business machines. And In considering these pictured buildings as Omaha's commercial overlook the trained watch In office and machine or desk. On broadly typical of greatness, never army that stands factory, at bench, two feet stand the OA-RPENTBR PAPER COMPANY. R EMAP.K Is heard daily from many sources In praise of the metropolitan character of ths group of buildings comprised In the Omaha wholesale dis trict. Modern to the last word In ccmmerclal architecture, they are else models, within the walls, of what up-to-the minute business system calls for. On of the managers of a big concern said re gretfully the other day, "I'm afraid our elevator gates are not the very latest." Yet Ms building was put into active service very recently. His remark aa to elevator gates that are possibly bettered today voices the sentiment prevalent among his class of Omaha merchants. Hence, It Is not surprising that Omaha wholesalers are selling good practically from coast to coast, through Alaska and to the Russian line. They are progressive In spirit, gen erous In the matter of expenditure to have the very best facilities, fair and open in dealings with customers. It is not boasting In the slightest to as sert that nowhere in the country can be found a more solid or satisfactory setting for active commercial life than In the specimen group of modern wholesale build ings pictured In this issue of The Bee. They are In reality commercial farms, for their dimensions are spoken of most in telligently In terms of acres. Their out put is growing with the growth of the state; their actual and taxable value mounts quite in ratio with the tremendous strides upward of Nebraska farming In terests. Take aa an example the twin buildings of the M. K. Smith company. More than seven acres of floor spaos la under the roofs of this establishment between Farnam and Douglas streets. Then there are out lying plants in Council Bluffs and Nebraska City, nut on the "home) plaoe," under most immediate supervision. Is where the spirit of real commercial fanning can be studied. Cutting clothing by eioctrto power applied to knives Is an ordinary thins nowadays, In the Smith jaot they cut clothing with bam raws, to the sixteenth part of an inch, and the operators keep their fingers, too. It a a shivery process to watch, when a man Is careleshljr throwing- around a swiftly moving saw a, pile of oioh as thlok as an elephant's leg. Farts of coats, pant and shirts are sawed out In bundles aa neatly as an expert handles a small soroll saw on a piece of thin board, and the rapid ity of the proooss la astonishing. With a knife sharpener lying hand the clothing band sawyer takes a Wipe or two at the lightning streak that la playing about in a small aperture In the cutting table, each application bringing sparks la plenty. Then he lays hold of a pile of cotton, or denim, or corduroy, any old material, steers one edge sgalnst the saw-knife, flashes It through, reverses, then shoots It back again urul again, trims off an unesthetlo edge hers and there, and lays en a truck anywhere from fifty to 160 legs, arms, backs, fronts, collars and cuffs. Here Is a dissecting table that makes things In parts, while whittling the whole to ribbons. Nothing Is wasted, as the trimmed off edges, corners and ends axe ihlpped away by the carload to the paper busiest bees that ever grew. ' A few passes back and fourth by nimble, strong fingers; then on go the various parts or a garment accuracy and greatresi rf output. T ie n an through aa many machines as there are with the big, right arm and the alfalfa parts chopped out, according to the spedfl- stock hay knife of a few months or days units that give their real life to these colossal piles that fill the eye and spell bank accounts as well as widespread activities. Here are eight representative structures of stone, brick, Iron, wood and glass, oper ated and thrilled Into proud life by big of these educated manipulators of the little 8taffg of men and women. But out beyond every five seconds things that add to his woes. Button holes ,n tno Mattered, hardly Interested world, are worked first, and cut afterwards, as oes wnt Is called Influence, Omaha In fast as winking. And here's a pointer for fluence. This, too, carries Its thrill; and some lnvntor: There Is need for a con- tne response comes home or Is lost as the trlvance to feed the buttons to the proper nom management wavers or rings true, spot for the needle that hits four bull's-eyes In a broad and virile sense the men constituting this management stand forth as the great city's delegates to the countr-,' merchant la the cress roads hamlet, and to the ambitious department store boomer In the larger centers. They, and their repu tations, are often better known at tho county seats in Nebraska and other states han the county officer, and that fact : C Jt -Z- l -tft "d I., I :t W V?i?.?J a , lv ist; ah ::, i: : I - v" tmm;m&m" fc ilTttif,'tT?'Mtft -' - --' 1 . M 4 'CW& w&:h i. Jl " SJ - M. El SMITH COMPANY'S BCIUDINQa WnUGHT WIUIElLAir. with one shot. At present the girls have to lay the buttons In place by hand, which Is considered a waste of time. In the Byrne-Hammer establishment sys tem ha gone the limit, too, for quickness. cations. And resently we meet up with ago, has let his old instrument hang In Us counts for or against Omaha. That It lias the desk grind long enough to take a walk through their establishments with a visitor, they really do take a pride In such triviali ties as "we turn out one complete garment Why? Because be hind tlvat little achievement lays all the worry and planning that has counted for success. A mere detail like the correction of one unit of a card system, seemingly Insignifi cant, Is never overlooked by tho man trained to pull right In bunlne harness. Here' a part of a machine that was a new thing yesterday. Today It Is not the best; someone bettered It overnight, tho discard, then, and give place to more perfect thing. Conat vatiun of human effort and energy la also an hourly study with Industrial di rectors, nnd tho factors that save time, trouble and strength they get at their fingers' ends. So there Is little ir no crossing of wires In a big place that is worthy of leadership In Its line. The planning of a series of odd-sized gar ments may Involve very serious considera tion; yet the casual observer of piles of clothing gives little or no thought to the decided peculiarities that mark the human form divine, but with which the financier and caretakers of big businesses have to become intimately acquainted and direct. It e knows the things he knows all the way through, lie has an Irish name, but a Iilchelleu manner, and there Is about him a hint of major general ship. That's It. Major generalship Is what the top-notchers In the wholesale snd r0 Jobbing district jljp want and demand In their understud ies or main assist ants; not merely a man who can work under direction, but a fellow who when cut loose from his source of Inspira tion can take the initiative, do things and Btand for the . i- - - ..!?,.. t , ..... a :,. .. ' -jfV Xy-' ' ill? & mm tiiiiiiiUtliitJ BTRNBJ ONE OF THE M. B. SMITH COMPANY'S FACTORY ROOMS. the garments, finished, buttoned. dared. If necessary, ready to wear. Comes si war, say. We want clothing for soldiers, and we want it quick. All right. BrlnaT two regiments down here on the Omaha leves this morning. By night wo will equip the whole bunch with things to wear. That involves turning out of ISO dosen garments day of the different kinds; and, of course, to do this, we would throw the big Byrne-Hammer plant and soma others of smaller calibre. In with , tho Smith plant. Omaha can well be army headquarters for other things than bal loons, meats, hay, potatoes, if the need over arises. All that will be necessary to do Will be to send along diagrams of the clothes, aoootnpanied by the cloth; then oome on, boys. And when clothed, there sirs shoo factories handy to equip the next most Important part of an army to Its stomach, the feet. For in the Shoe factor ies they chop things out handler than a man chops wood, and every angle is cor rect. The Klrkendall plant has shoe lore on tap, also shoes of various kinds; and on short notice could change to army styles, undoubtedly. It is not straining prophesy to say that some day in the future, when the great struggle with some saucy enemy comes, here In the middle west will be the safe and sure equipment headquarters for inns mills. The price of cotton goods In ths ' market govern, the price realised for this Viewing- a solid-fronted, massive whole- paptr stock h0UB" m what naa been "P11 c'e From the cloth aurgon, the out stuff ths new wholesale and Jobbing district of passes along to the first operator, who Omaha, the viewer 1. apt to catch only . a i , I nn - AAmmAfnlnl tnntnrv. Kilt ffn sits at a sewing machine whirled by slec- - v. - nUmalUUei are prenwv., wv, mw ww go In . - k. . . . til uruca Willi them inside the doors. Big-hearted, well aa big- brained men, are the governing forces and their business Is to bs likable as well as successful. Sweat shop methods are no part of their establls h m e n t s, here in Omaha. Workers begin at T:M, In cleanest possible surround ings. In rooms with plenty of win dows and carefully regulated ventila tion. At noon they take their lunches to spick and span dining rooms, men and women sepa rately, where hot ooffee and tea la provided. N I n s consequences. Two human unit such a these outlined In skeleton here are only moulds of many In every big wholesale and Jobbing house. Antecedents don't count In the beginning, and at the end only good work well done wins the pat on the back and the fattened pay envelope. Homes of business merely, these large piles of costly work clustered In Isolated streets! Not exclusively so, not by a long shot. Give them a little consideration a home supporter. Every week and every month they scatter money Into every cor ner of this city and South Omaha and away out beyond. Elegant residences are built on their Incomes; more modest homos are happy and quite comfortable through their capacity to employ and to pay, and armies of single men and women draw earning that go at once back into the currents of trade that circle a large city. Children know where their fathers strive and win and they note the example of steady appli cation set them. It counts all on the good side. Opportunity! Here's Its horns and fa- trlclty and these machines hum like WW -K-.mf- -rv-WTs " , ' - T sWsTgs3.J.J4l 'JsSsSSSSJTSSWSssssSSssjssasassslWsas t-Wtr.. ' I S,.' , ' :r.- . .''rtat ' UL if tlL'.--f -l business firemen and engineers and con- mNCo1&AUHE E- BMmi : r-Vf H "HUV f - 'tt U t'S -uctor. are at. proud of Omaha; and th. COMPANY LUANT. , . M J , -1 Jp , ' JuXsLf ' At?' ' city can be most certainly proud of them. ' :? - '1 : . JXsli'i,'", ..' '' v'--1 k They have arrived, 'tis true; but they are V i:V..'W JJr: . -r T.V, fJjfe still emm, and strongly. FACTORY ROOM AT BTRNEV HAMMER'S. , ,."-' '' ""' : " Az jfX - : : . , ,.-v 't .sjs-T- r 'rx -i v::, -l m uV ( , x . " r-M.. mi ii ,..,....... .s 1 '" ' .-jir.r . .-.-irty. . A ' Care of Electric Locomotives v.: -.'V--,, J 'Txy$- -:(,grr t j I ' ! - rFrhri tZZA v. ,;,;,;,;,; ' r ffelf "!;. ! ROOM AT BYRNE-HAMMEJU'S ioli.iirt.ii ' "-" , -f"r -- - tr si ST kwmilt ; mr t-rm 1' m. nrmnnmnn. HAMMER DRY GOODS CO. Organization by department heads are ths keynote of tho Interior management, and department heads are the men who havs been rublied and rounded into shape in ths dally grind of the place. Ixiyalty to em ployer seems to come naturally to the peo ple who pass up the line by merit, and long service I the rule rather than otherwise. The real merchandising spirit must de velop somewhere early in the game, for the unfit fall out perforce. Real business has few misfits. In these Impersonal piles, with brain and brawn of man mixed closely through the swinging power of money, personality Is tho main thing, after all. Omaha owns scores of men of the most competing per sonality. These buildings belong to soms of them and the men are the buildings, in the last analysis. They hava taken ths dead things and livened them. They havs spread In Omaha, and they are spreading Omaha abroad. Trace the growth In value of the ground on which these business mansions stand. It now shoulders a large part of the taxes levied, and each year sees great increass in its proportionate share of the publto expense raised by taxation. Then go be hind that formal levying of mills and dol lars, to the matter of voluntary contribu tions placed through public spirit. Thou sands on thousands have gone from busi ness treasuries for love and loyalty in spired by homo pride, and thousands mors will go the same way. The wholesale district, old and new, bulks as big on the map as any other live ele- of civic life. The men who are Its miliar habitation. College-bied or common herd, all come here as peers in the struggle. It's not a passing grab at slippery oppor tunity's forelock, but a steady fight. The man who can fight Btrongly and with In telligence, he wins. Then, If he will wear what he has won, he must taboo sleep In miles. One of the best arguments In favor of ths electrification of all lallroads Is the fact that it would do away with a great deal of tho work now necessary In the round houses caring for the steam locomotive. Steam locomotives have to be thoroughly Inspected Inside and outside after every day's work. The electric locomotive is looked over in this way pnly after every 1,000 mile run and then it only takes a couple of hours to complete the Job. Ths Inspection of an electric can be commenced at once since there is no fire cleaning, no watering or cooling to be done. It takes 30i00 miles of tiavel to wear down the tires of an electric locomotive 1.32 of an Inch whereas that amount of wear will take, place on steum locomotives in 8,000 ALLEN BROS.' GROCERY HOUSE. table grove, while he has laid hold of an eleotrlo contrivance that eats its way through foot-thick piles of cloth like fire goes through paper. Of these cutters In the big factories the managers whisper In formation not lacking in ths boastful strain. The ordinary visitor regards them with the awe dus to those who do ths seemingly impossible things everywhere; but when one bears in an aside what they can do if put to It, he is inclined to taks off his hat to the cloOh surgeons who use electricity to do commercial necromancy. They are cutting their way through the world with great stilettos of trade, without harm to even the materials they slash Into with apparently piratical abandon. Ws get similar notions of the surpassing clevsrness of men who are specialists when ? i n firs. ." iS , ky-v s tit o r- r,i i jt . tit 1 i-j.-'! tiiwi.; 'msT ii ---- -?r.-.-. ' - - counted for its advantage up to date Is evidenced In the progress which is con cretely evidenced in these vast distributing depots, not a whit less than by heavy bank clearings, substantial bank balances, and a widening trade growth that calls every year for new addition. Omaha-made clothing carries comfort to hundreds of thousand to the lumberman and miner, the laborer and farmer, the clerk and the capitalist, and Omaha-made shoes will help even a pessimist to glory. From here goes forth food for multi tudes, hardware for every purpose, holiday goods, trinkets and toys. Out of these depots of a great city's energized capital go plows to tickle the prolific earth, and vehicles to gather and to haul creps, and engines and windmills to work us men will they shall, even on the ages-old desert made modernly productive ayainst the la mentations of hourd-headed notions. Confidence, comfort, crops, commerce a regular progression tiiroug'i the lines of thrift and of credit. These are, after all, the real things represented by the outlined business palaces, so-culled, that are here reproduced. They are. In reality, homes of work by serious planning; great manifesta tions of unconquerable souls that saw suc cess through vistas of struggle, and never faltered. These are simply Omaha, by sample. The whole measures up to the partial allowing. Man for man, business for business, block for block, there is no greater in real merit anywhere. And personality, courteousness, aplomb, the great human verities that constitute citlsenshlp that counts these be ths moving things that rest at ths bottom of ths remarkable commercial success underlying solid cornerstone and ornate structure. To get back to bard-pan. When the man agers of these great concerns, of which Let a hetergenous crowd of sightseers view a showing of machinery. Polished com pact, running as smoothly ss a watch when in operation, how many in the crowd look back to the brain work tangled up in the Intricate parts? That brain work la the vital thing In those machines. The brain quality, and the method of Its application, cuts all the figure for commercial success for the machine. Now, these planners and builders were all back in the raw material data yester day or the day before, as business time Is reckoned. They have been through real training schools, where the mettle of the man alone counted, and Influence was nil. Ever think of these hard-fronted build ings as training schools? Here the men are being started today, and developed tomorrow, who are to work for Omaha and successors of those others who )iad worked, reached the top, and are now resting or have gone on. Take this hustling lad with hair like Ceaser wore, enough on the red side to hint the touch of fire. Just a few years ago he was mak ing mud pies out on Burt street. One day he got Into the employ of s big machinery concern. Apt, he was willing to work. He liked to fiddle around machines; could do It and keep his temper. Soon he could assemble quickly and accurately almost any machine sold. He could talk Just enough to make a good impression, and learned when to hold his yap. Today he goes everywhere, even Into the Canadian grain fields beyond Winnipeg, to help bis firm and their machines make good. He la a valuable man. His diploma is not on sheepskin, but on the books of his em ployers. Let us make you acquainted with this husky-framed, big-faced chap at the desk close to ths door. What is bis (business? To receive customers courteously, to help tho daytime, and sometimes sidestep her embrace at night. Certain general rules apply, in every concern, but application, based on studious consideration, Is the main essential. Steady and stick, sturdy grit and grain and the man goes up, not infrequently from the messenger chair, and occasionally from between the truck handles. Payrolls are decidedly Important In the vital items of wholesale houses; but no salary Is too big if the man can earn It. Responsibility goes with all the big jobs, and the winner must be fitted to carry It. There are now In the United Btates al most .40,000 miles of electric railways, not Including the former steam railways, which are using thjs power at the terminals. There are plenty of men living who re member when there were not so many miles of steam railway In the country. Ths trolly, which was at first a purely urban Institution, has become t. competitor with steam and it seems certain that a few gen erations hence electricity will be the great motive power on all railways unless some invention of a superior quality is brought out to supplant both. Mi i: k - - n - - r i- I i r" .TAXKBAN JilOKS B COMPANY. JOHN k-EERQ PLOW COMPANY. ws havs hers a few examples, relax from them through any house bother, to advise PAXTON-QALLA-GHER 8 NEW BUILD IN tf. (