Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-04-21
PATENT MEDICINES.
The Beggs & Dewitt Proprie-
tary Company.
A Thriving Institution.

A Thriving Institution.
During the first part OF the month
of May 1882, Mr.. G. W. Beggs tap
ped the writer on the shoulder and
said "come on / want 10 show you
something" We wendell our way
up Main street to a little 10 x II
building next to Murphey's hard
ware store, where Mr.. Beggs gave a
few mysterious raps upon the door
which was opened by Mr.. Il. G. De-
Witt who had his sleeves rolled up
to the elbows and was deeply en-
crossed in fltering some kind of
truck into a gallon Jug. We were
asked to gaze around us which we
did, and discovered an immense
pile of bottles neatly wrapped up in
labels,-the pile must have been a
foot high and two feet square-in
one corner of the room while there
was scattered promiscuously about
the room three or four gallon jugs.
Mr.. Beggs quietly took us to one side
and whispered in our ear that there
was forty dozen Of the bottles. We
were then and there informed that
we stood in the manufactury, labra.
tory and general offices of the Beggs
& Dewitt, proprietary Medicine
company, and also stood in the pres
ence Of the instigator and manager
of the concern, Mr.. Beggs, and the
chemist and compounder Of these
wonderful medicines, Mr.. Dewitt.
Such was the beginning of the
Beggs & Dewitt Proprietary
Co., which grew so rapidly that in
a few months afterwards they NOV
ed to Sioux City in order to grow
up with that wonderfully thriving
city.
While in Sioux City one day last
week we were invited into the es.
tablishment by Mr.. Beggs and found
quite a different looking affair than
the one four years ago.
The building they occupy now, is
located on Pearl street and is fine
three-story and basement brick, 25
feet wide and $50 feet deep. The
basement is used for general storage.
The first or ground floor is divided
into three apartments, the front for
offices of the manager and book
keepers the midle, packing room and
the back room for storage and ship
ping. On the second floor in the
rear is a most complete printing
Office with two power presses run by
a neat little water motor, where all
the printing of labels, circulars,
placards ETC., of the establishment
is done. They also print IL news
paper for distribulation among their
customers with an average circula-
ton of over 6,000 copies per day.
The front Of this floor is the wrap
ping and folding rooms. On the
third floor is located the laboratory
presided over by Nj. L. c. Dewitt,
one of the pr%oprietors, and a skilled
chemist under whose personal SUI
pervision all the medicines and
preparations are carefully put up.
There are twenty persons now
employed in the different depart
ments of the building besides five
men travelling on the road selling
the medicines.
There is now manufactured in this
establishment $50 different prcpar-
atoms as follows:
so Patent medicines,
$50 Fluid extracts,
100 Tinctures,
100 Elixirs
20 Syrups.
They have but recently commenc-
ed the manufacture Of Fluid Ex-
tracts and are putting up a fine line
of these goods.
Mr.. Beggs informed us that the
business Of the concern was increas-
ing rapidly, and extended from the
possessions north to the In
dian Territory on the south, and
from the Missippi east to Colorado
and Wyoming west. The sales are
now running about $3.50 per day
and Mr.. Beggs thinks they will run
over 100000 the coming year. The
& Dewitt Proprietary Co., is
certainly on it's feet firmly and sol
idly and is a credit to the enterpris-
ing pr%oprietors and a valuable &C
1uisition to the booming town of
Sioux City.