Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-06


| Edito. Gazette
| Seeing in yesterdays paper few per-
| tinent remarks by 'fH. l. T. - in re-
gard to soap factories in Texas, l beg
cave to answer through your columns
! his question: 'Why don't We make
soap in Texas l have made this SUBJ
| ject ltudy for the past three years, and
! 10 answer il as fully as the subject de-
serves would require more space than is
usually allotted to a newspaper article /;
so l will rs briefly as possible answer the
question, "Why don t we make soap in
Texas, and then try to give some good
reasons why we should make soap in
Texas, and how we can make soap in
Texas.
The manufacture of soap comes under
the head of minor manufacturing indus
tries, and we usually find in every COM
munity one or more establishments of
more or less insignificance that exc out
q bare existence from a local or country
trade, exchanging soap for grease and
bacon rines on the "friendly barter''
plan, and selling little for cash now
and then by way of profits, an establish
| ment that is an eye sore and a nuisance
in any ueighborhood, aud is usually
burnt out TO be gotten rid of, greatly to
the satisfaction of the olfactorY nerves
of the neighDors, but generally working
absolute ruin to the manufacturer.
Thus we see that this important manu-
faoiure is usually delegated to the lowest
caste in the industrial society. The conse-
quenCes is that capital seeking for profita-
BILE investments usually overlooks this,
which is one of the most profit
able manufactures simply on
account of its social position.
Then again, when some small capitalist
takes hold of the business ana tries to
raise it TO higher level he finds it al
most impossible to hold his own with Il
limited capital. First the butchers and
local tallow men from whom he expects
TO get his supply of grease raise the price
even beyond that of Northern markets to
which he usually ships it. II he can
outlive this the larger Northern manu-
facturers send down their representatives
and offer such inducements to the
grOcers wholesale and retail, that they
lay in six months supply of soap, as they
'have no confidence in that new enter
prise soap factory just started in town. -
Now our manufacturer has little chance
of disposing of his product (however
worthy it may be) for at least six
months; and this, together with the
universal inappreciativeness of home in
dustries, completely breaks the enter
prise financially and often the spirit of it
before six months have rolled around.
Now as briefly as possible, why we
should make soap in Texas:
We have in Texas about 5, 900, 600 in
habitants that will average say five cents
IF mar
900 per month, or nearly 81, 900 900 per
annum for soap. Now the entire yearly
product of home factories will not much
more than supply one months demand.
Now is that not a shame in a state that
manufactures more cotton seed oil and
raises more cattle than any state in the
Union? Especially SO when nearly rs
per cent. of the cost of soap is the grease
We ship our grease North, we pay
Northern labor, to manufacture il and
then ship it back, paying freight both
ways, the cost of manufacture, and
profit to Northern capital.
Now how can we keep that at home? or
rather, how can we make soap in Texas?
In the first place raise a company with
$50 200 or 500, 900 capital, not stock,
but available funds. The soap factory
in Denver that you speak of has 500, 900
paid up stock. You say, why so much to
start on?
l. To secure a good plant on the
most approved plan.
2. To withstand or take any ad-
vantage of any tiuctuatlon in the mar
ket.
3. To De able to buy with the same ad-
vantage as Northern manufacturers.
4. To create and maintain trade, in
dependently of the home market, until
they learn TO appreciate you.
No place in Texas can offer greater in
ducements to the soap maker than Fort
Worth which is already the greatest rail-
road center IN the state and has the pros
pect of becoming in the early future the
largest cattle aud packing center in the
South.
Who will take the lnitiative? P.