T H E V 0 lT K I E K
J
"
I
Candy Making
Wierd and witch-like is the interior
of a candy factory by gas light, some
thins perhaps like the domains unfold
ed to the children in their dreams the
nisht before or after Christmas. It is
f;ir from being so, however, in the eyes
of the toilers who, day after day, labor
in sweets by the scores of pounds.
Dimly lighted by the glare or gas
gleaming through the haze of the room,
the whiteclad forms of the workers
move about or bend to their tasks.
Long, low tables and benches, piled
with all kinds, colors and conditions
of candy, or standing bP.mk in wait for
coining burdens of sweets, extend from
end to 'end of the rooms and big brass
kettles over glowing furnaces are
wreathed with the thin smoke of burn
ing splatterings, while a vigorous boy
ttlth a strong paddle stirs as if his life
depended on his activity. All through
the air is the pungent odor of the
steaming vats. Altogether it is truly
something for the children to dream
about and the dentist to think of and
rub his hands with anticipated glee.
This is the time of year when the
candy makers must rush. Christmas
demands must be supplied for it is a
rare home, indeed, that does not man
age to get some quantity of confec
tionery. The rush has been progress
ing right along, ever since early in Oc
tober and more than one factory is
busy quite a number of hours through
out the night. One factory in Lincoln
for Instance, the largest in town, that
of Gillen & Honey, has been turning
out 3,500 pounds a day ever since Oc
tober 1st, working a night shift until
10 o'clock and still hardly keeping even.
Fifteen per cent of this production goes
direct to the market here and the rest
is shipped out over the state and Kan
sas. That means a daily consumption
here of u2."i pounds of candy from one
factory alone, not to mention the quan
tities dealt out by the other makers
in the city.
That candy which is most known as
the essential Christmas goods is the
miscellaneous collection of colored
chunks that either cost you your teeth
or a whole lot of time if you wait for
them to dissolve In your mouth. There
is a particular charm in watching the
progress of every kind of confection
from the beginning and this so-called
cheap candy furnishes its share. In
the lirst place it may be news to some
that there is not enough coloring in a
hundred pounds of this to hurt the
most sensitive individual. For one
reason, it is ail vegetable coloring and
absolutely pure; it is only the mineral
that does any damage. Whoever has
seen them pull taffy at the fair knows
how this stick candy has its beginning.
It is made In 100 pound lots: then di
vided In three parts. A little is re
served and tinted with coloring for
the stripes. The rest is strung from
hooks and pulled until it is white,
while it is yet so hot as to burn lingers
not callous to it from long usage.
Then these three massive wads are
Hung together, the unpulled. clear third
in between, and the whole is kneaded
into the shape of a big. narrow loaf.
On both the broad sides of the loaf the
colored stiipes are stuck, parallel.
Meanwhile the big wad is getting cold.
A row of little gas jets on the work
table serves to keep it from "freezing"
while one end is drawn out into a long,
slender tongue and twisted and broken
into the desired shapes. That's how
the stripes get there, and the (lowers
and other things inside, that run the
length of the stried candy, over whose
presence- you have racked your brain.
Granulated sugar Is never used,
neither is powdered sugar. Nothing
but mould A. cane sugar, gains admis
sion to the factory. I'nlike granulated
it contains no blueing. It Is the pure
goods. Corn starch is another thing
constantly employed in great quanti
ths. Thirty barrels a year are used,
or rather wasted, for none of it enters
into tlie making of candy. It goes to
waste in this manner: It is blown
away. Cieam bon lions must be
moulded. The only thing that will
serve is starch. Little, broad crates
are tilled to the depth of about two
inches and the moulds are pressed into
it. With a many-snouted pot the candy
man comes round with the viscid fluid
and pours it into the moulds, a whole
row at a time, as fast as one can
count. Tlie crates are set away until
the following day for the candy to
harden. When empty, most of the
starch is saved to be used over again,
but some clings to the crevices and the
candy must be shaken about in a sieve
and blown upon with a bellows until
none is left. This much of the starch
Is inevitably wasted. The creams are
then placed in sugar syrup for an
other day. This process is called crys
tallization, for it invests the candy
with sparkling granules of sugar, a
coating that keeps it from drying In
side. Flavors may or may not be added
the chocolates by the fact that they
are dressed in their brown coats by
the dainty fingers of a bevy of girls.
The fillings come from the moulds al
ready described and nothing remains
but to give them their chocolate baths,
dry and pack them. The material of
the filling and the care that must be
exercised with certain preparations is
what differentiates the cost. People
who have wondered how it Is that some
of these contain soft fillings are not
likely sxn to tlnd out the reason. It
Is one of the candy man's secrets.
Sutllce It to say. however, that they
are neer soft at the start. The longer
this hou bon remains uneaten the soft
er becomes this tilling, due to Its prep
aration. Water Is never used In the
chocolate because It Is ruinous. The
girls sit at a long bench along the cen
ter of which runs the chocolate trough.
Tinier the troughs are equalizing water
ducts which keep the gas Jets from
burning the solution. Heat of 'X, de
grees Is maintained and this is sulll
cient to melt the chocolate from the
oil It contains, though once in a while
cocoa oil Is added to the composition
to facilitate liquidation. When these
reams melt In warm weather, it Is a
sure sign of purity. Some confection
ers use a compound that wilt not melt
in any kind of weather and this is
spurious. The Ingredients are burnt
amber, ollsterlne. St. John's bread and
chocolate and the cost of this Is sel
dom more than six cents a pound.
Fruit Illling Is very expensive, but
where it Is used It comes from Cali
fornia, packed In Jars without sugar,
so that It Is practically fresh.
Then there are caramels and cocoa
nut candles and countless other novel
ties, made in vats and tubs and Hailed
and flattened on stone tables, trays
and what not. The cleanliness of
eveiy Instrument and implement used
Is closely guarded, yet no one mani
fests an overweening desire to par
take. Packages palls anil boxes, high
and low are filled and piled tin every
day and as rapidly removed. And the
young man who thinks of his best girl
as be goes Into the store looking for
eon feet lonerv cannot bestow less
thought on the orluln of the stuff than
the atctial maker does on Its destina
tion. Alas for voting digestive organs on
or about Christmas da v.
MEN WHO HAVE BEEN MAYORS
Second Chief Executive of Lincoln Contrasts Conditions
Now and Then In the Days When Life was Real
Strenuous J J C J
ERASTl'S E. BROWN
Hearty and robust at the age of sixty-three,
Erastus E. Brown, second
mayor of Lincoln, can still be found
outlining briefs and planning cases in
i law office in the Richards block.
There a reporter found him and asked
concerning the halcyon days of l.sTi'.
"With the exception of tlie difference
n the size of the city, tilings were
pretty much the same twenty-nine
Yars aim :i ttioi !iro trwliiv A hoard
1 a town triistuos ;iiliiiniutoreil affairs
a 1S70. Of this body C. H. Here was
chairman. W. F. Chapin was the first
mayor of Lincoln. He was elected in
April. JS71. I was chosen a year later
:ind by tnat time the municipal ma
chinery was in smooth running order.
"In the council we had three repub
licans and three democrats. William
McLaughlin was at that time a meiii
ner or the council and was one of the
most industrious workers for the in
terests of the city. The sessions never
fa"ed to be interesting. Oratory was
at premium and there was always
Sfmething to evoke it."
Mr. Brown was born in Onandaga
county. New York, in lSrS. He came
'" Lincoln in 1870. He received his
M-eliminary education in the district
schools and studied law in a legal firm
at A"urn. N. Y. He also attended a
Iaw hool In Poughkeepsie. He was
Emitted to the bar in 1861.
He first began the practice of law In
Moravia. New York. Soon lie came
Mest and has since been a resident of
Lincoln.
He p-acticed law here until IJ'S.
when failing health compelled him
to deny his services to his clients.
He became interested in the State
National bank and was selected as
its president in 1SS.".
Air. Brown served two terms in
the state senate, representing Lan
caster county. He was chosen in
1S77 and elected to a second term in
ISM.
He labored earnestly to secure
the appropriation for tlie state cap
itol. The measure was passed anil
f aided much in stimulating the
growth of Lincoln. In politics Mr.
Brown has generally affiliated with the
republican party.
During his term as mayor the Lin
coln Gas company was organized with
a capital stock of $60,000. Business in
terests of the city were just recovering
from the blow caused by the legisla
ture of 1871 which impeached Governor
Butler and led the public to believe
that the tapitol had been illegally lo
cated here.
So sudden hail been the growth of
the town that wild animals could not
accustom themselves to the change.
Deer, wolves and other wild animals
were frequently killed within the city
limits during the term of Mayor
Brown.
From 1S73 to 1876 the locusts and
grasshoppers destroyed everything in
the shape of crops and the administra
tion of Mr. Brown proved to be a pe
riod of prosperity bridging epochs of
calamity.
Mr. Brown served a single term of
one year. He was not a candidate for
re-election, but in 1"W he accepted the
fusion nomination for mayor, but was
defeated by F. A. Graham, although
lie ran far ahead of his ticket.
.. . -
Carlos Burr served one term as
mayor of Lincoln. He was elected in
the spring of lS."i and was two years
in office. During his official tenuie
came the first pulsations of the up
heaval in real estate values which
eight years later created dire . onstcr
nation in financial circles
Values were in the primary stages of
inflation when .Mr. Burr began his
duties. Real estate was steadily
lising in value. Crop were good
and increased earnings were re
ported in every branch of indus
try. The city dealt largely In im
provements as a result of the spirit
of the times.
Various sections of the streets
were paved and the waterworks
system was improved. During the
two years the buildings, street
repairs and private structures
amounted to nearly $3,f00.000.
Mr. Burr is a native of Illinois.
where he was born in 1SI6. His
parents obtained their living by farm
ing and young Burr was limited in his
educational advantages to the com
mon schools of Kane County. Illinois.
However, he was determined to study
law and entered the office of the Hon.
James I. Edsall. formerly attorney
general of Illinois. While wrestling
with Biackstone he also sawed cord
wood and undertook jobs of carpenter
ing. He made good progress in his
studies and had mastered the basic
legal principles when the country was
plunged into civil war.
Mr. Burr tried several times to enlist
but he was too small and failed to
elude the vigilance of the recruiting
officers. Finally he was accepted as a
PK) day man and served until October.
IMil. In the following May he re-enlisted
and served until the trouble was
over and the army disbanded.
He was admitted to the bar in 1SK7
and in the following year married Miss
Mary E. Smith and moved to Lincoln.
While endeavoring to get a start in the
legal profession he worked as a car-H-nter.
A position in the land office
helped him out for a year and then
his practice improved.
From the first lie was active in city
politics. In 1S71 he was the first coun
cilman elected from the First ward.
Three years later he was elected to the
state senate from the Eleventh district
and was returned for another term
in I SSL
When an attempt was made to re
move the ctpitol from Lincoln Mr
Burr labcred to prevent the change
StM Jcb' fe
CARLOS C BI'RR
He was the author and champion of
the saline land bill, a measure for the
development of certain salt springs
near the city. He also aided in secur
ing a liberal appropriation for the es
tablishment anil maintenance of slate
buildings and institutions.
In 188.". he was a candidate for mayor.
His competitor was John Fitzgerald,
then at the zenith of his career as a
business man. The contest for the
place was fierce and the canvass
searching. In the end Mr. Burr was
chosen by a majority of thirty votes
over Mr. Fitzgerald. The next night
after the votes were counted the city
council met to consider a notice or a
contest tiled by Mr. Fitzgerald. After
a short discussion, the councilmeu
granted a certificate of election to the
candidate receiving the largest num
ber of votes.
Attorney C. O. Whedon. who repre
sented Mr. Fitzgerald, declared that he
would apply to the supreme court for a
perpetual injunction to keep the
officials of the city from issuing the
certificate, but the matter was finally
dropped.
Mr. Burr is now a resident of New
York city. Together with his brother.
I. C. Burr, he erected the block at
Twelfth and O streets, which ln-ars
bis name. He also built and owned a
number of other business blocks.
Years ago he dropped th law for real
estate, and his time was devoted to
caring for his holdings and in p'acing
loans for eastern parties anxious to
invest in western mortgages. At one
time he owned th finest house in the
city l"4r. I, street
