The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-12-23

| Wltn0ut the assistance Of any regular
mechanic, and were completed in the
cheapest manner consistent with the bus
iness. The frst years business amounted
10 some ten or twelve hundred dollars,
but by thorough workmanship and unaag.
ging industry, their trade was extended
90 that In 1859 they had increased their
capacity to seventy.eight vats. The dis
astrous flood OF 1853 came and with It
complete destruction Of their entire invest
ment, building and stock with about 20
cords Of tanbalk. Nothing was left on the
l5land but calf hide, which Mr.. Hoffman
found . few days afterward high up in
the branches Of sycamore tree. The
firm was broken entirely in means but not
Ii spirit It ' 77fIffff
Their abort career had made them
many friends, and the small assistance
they asked to begin again was readily
loaned them, and they began almost from
the foundation. s,7 .'g ~
About this time all over the country
sheep were being slaughtered BY tens Of,
thousands merely for the hides and tallow.
Berger & Hoffman bought immense
numbers OF these hides Of very low figures.
Mr.. Hoffman was the only man in
this section OF the country who knew
how to remove the wool from the pelb
without injury and 90 as to constitute
what ia called in the market pulled wool.
His knowledge availed the firm most
profitably, making them twenty thousand
dollars on wool alone in two years, and
their whole business ran up 10 about
SEVENTY thousand dollars. They dressed
thirty.eight thousand sheep skins, and
sold them at remuneratiye prices. In
1857 they erected their present buildings,
on the corner Of Water and sSd streets.
These buildings are $50 feet long by 122
feet wide, the tsnnery proper being 1ss
feet by 90 feet and contains 1893 vats,
each Of q capacity for 100 hides. These
improvements cost the firm nearly
100000. -'s
All the arrangements were upon plans
dictated by long experience and thorough
knowledge Of al that was necessary to
constitute compactness and convenience.
Up to the year 1867, the leather manu-
factured by this firm was consigned TO
commission houses east and west, and
stood very high in the estimation OF deal.
era. In April Of that year the partnership
which had lasted for eighteen years was
broken by the death Of the senior part
uur, Mr.. Derger, but was renawad In sh9
person OF his son, no change being made
| in the title OF the firm. From the date Of
the new partnership the firm discontinued
the sale OF their goods through the medi,
um Of ofcommissIon houses, and went upon
the.market direct. This plan was found to
largely enhance not only their sales but
their profits. Their products are now
scattered broadcast over the land, and
have reputation second TO no other In
the United States. The immense pro-
ductive capacity Of the concern Is fully
taxed to supply the demand for their
goods. Their specialties are harness and
sole leather, and the sales for the year
amount to two hundred and thirty thous.
and dollars. The firm draws its supply Of
hides from all the principal markets Of the
country, both East and West. They now
turn out $1,000 sides per annum. They
consume $500 cords of tan bark, and this
supply is principally drawn from the tim,
Der lands Of our own State. The working
management of the business Is now vested
in ]. @. Hoffman, Jr., and F. P. Hoffman.