The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-05-05
Campbell & LoOmis's Tannery.
Es- During the past week we paid


Eg During the past week we paid a
visit to the above establishment, which
may properly, we believe, be termed the
pioneer mandatory of our village. and
report of whose operations will doubt
less interest our county readers, because
the success of every such establishment
in our midst is an additional guarantee of
the ultimate prosperity of the whole COM
munity. Manufactures are the great
want of our state, and never, until we
secure them in sufficient abundance to
supply our more common and general
wants, can we expect to acquire even an
ordinary degree of prosperity. If we
are constantly to depend upon other
states for our supplies of machinery, ag-
ricultural implements, leather. boots and
shoes, furniture, soap and candles, and
hundreds of others things of universal
demand, we must just as surely always
remain slowly progressive and poverty
stricken people. No country, however
productive agriculturally, could stand
such drain long. Few, probably, who
have not thought closely of this matter,
realizes the amount of money sent out of
each county in this state unnecessarily.
Look at the article of boots and shoes,
for instance. We have in this county 1000
inhabitants, in round numbers. We GER
tainly are not overstating the matter, when
we put down the average cost Of boots
and shoes for each person, at SO year !;
and yet this makes an aggregate of s2l,-
600 for this single item, almost every
dollar Of which goes out of the country
unnecessarily. Hides have been bought
up here, sent east, paying large freights
to and fro, passing through the hands of
at least half-a-dozen dealers and manu-
facturers, paying profit to each, and
then come back TO us in the shape of lea
ther and boots and shoes. Why could
they not be tanned and manufactured
here, retaining this $2l 900 among us
We believe they might if the proper in
ducement was offered by our citizens
the guarantee of encouragement. So
we might speak in reference to the man.
ufacture of starch, and of soap and can
dies, as we'll as of agricultural imple-
ments. The necessary materials for such
productions we have in abundance, and
certainly, in the case Of starch, at one
half the price they cost eastern manufac-
turers. Why, then, should we not man
ufacture these articles and retain in the
county thousands of dollars which are
sent abroad for their purchase For no
good reason, but simply because we have
a chronic disposition to undervalue and
avoid home productions. Their qualities
have got to be demonstrated again and
again, before We are willing to look with
favor upon them, and even when they
stand on an equality with the foreign ar
ticle, we are too apt to forget our true
interest and choose the latter, thus pre-
GLIDING, through lack of encouragement,
the wished-for improvement, in qualify
and price, of the home product.
But we meant to speak of the tannery
of Messrs. CAMPBELL & LOOMS. 1t is
in the southeastern part Of our town,
very conveniently situated on Melone's
Creek, small but never failing stream
of water, which has, at this point, suffi-
cient fall to turn small water wheel, by
which power all the water needed is
pumped from the creek, and carried, by
a trough, to the watts. The building was
erected in October last, and as the enter
prise was then simply an experiment, was
put up in cheap and rough style. 1t
is 90 by 50 feet, divided into two apart
ments, one room containing the watts and
the other used for currying operations.
There are eight watts, capable Of tanning
out about 500 hides per annum. AS
the proprietors had no means of warm
ing the watts, and keeping the liquors
from freezing, but little progress was
made during last winter. Still, they
have tanned out and sold, since No
vember last, between three and four hum
dred pieces, and have now in process
some seven or eight hundred more. The
process is much more rapid than the old
bark method, although the materials used
are purely vegetable. The proprietors
also use HATcH's patent, which is very
simple process, and consists solely in
preparing the hide for the tan. There is
nothing whatever in the process that can
possibly injure the hide. and for grain,
softness, pliability. strength, and the
power of turning water, the proprietors