The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-05-12

payroll amounting to something like
800. Then there are the other
establishments. each OF which re-
quires its quota of operatives, the
whole forming a small army of men,
women and children, earning d liveli-
hood at good wages.
Of the business in detail we will let
another speak. Mr. W. f. Dibrell editor OF
the Southern 1obacconist, Richmond, Va,
after visit to Henderson some time
ago, wrote and published the following
article in his paper:
This plant of the Allen & &Ginter Branch
has been a great help to Henderson as a
market. The buildings have added value
to town property, and the number OF
hands employed adds to activity and
wealth of Henderson. This branch has
kept abreast and ahead ofimprovements
all the time.
We enter factory No. 3, the last built,
five stories high, with floor
capacity of 10000 feet Of hard dressed
pine, an inch and over thick. Factories
~ L Z
feet capacity.
The first floor of No. 1 is used for
stemmers, usually one hundred and fifty
with a necessary fol &c of day laborers.
First floor of No. 2 is used for receiving
and sorting leaf tobacco. Each grade of
tobacco is kept separate as itcomes from
the warehouse. 1t is marked on the
ticket to what class it belongs when
bought. 1t is carefully assorted and
picked over making perfectly uniform lots
of each class before tits stemmed. Special
hands at asserting, kept busy in gangs,
become both deXterous and expert by
practice.
The upper floors OF Nos. l and 2 are
used for racking and hanging strips.
The light comes in from all Sides as we'll
as the air. The current of air is regulated
!! by the angle at which the windows are
adjusted by window catches. The rack
ing extends from top to bottom OF
floors, and is movable in tiers, arranged
| length or crosswise, to facilitate hand
ling the leaf and proper exposure for
drying, draft and ordering and striking
or bulking. Experience and situation
of the building determines these seemingly
unlmpOrtant arrangements of racklng
Everything is arranged for expeditions
work. A good season must be taken
advantage Of, has been as is often the
case, long waited for In few hours
the weather may change and the chance
to strike will be lost. Hence bunging
job racking or hanging must be avoided
so that the large force OF hands may
work with the utmost advantage. The
| floors are divided into sections anC
! known by name to expedite matters.
We follow our leader over every floor
| filled with fine leaf Just walking room Oh
| the sides to open windows. \ hundred
! feet and over in width on two sides an(
, forty-two feet in height of racking, with
three floors hanging full of leaf and W.
think we could have held in our hat
every visible leaf fallen on the floor, sc
! thorough and Systematically was the
hanging done. Scarcely a leaf of G
! bundle struggled from its place. Nc
trash nor tobacco Juice on the floor
| Neatness, order and system are visible
everywhere.
With nineteen improved Ratchet screws
! of which there are or in each factory
from 100 to 12O packages are usually
priced per day of strips, and, Unnecessary
double sets of hands are employed, ont
night and one day set to double this
! prizing.
Factory No. 3 is used exclusively fol
re-ordering and handling leaf tobacco
not stemmed here: so that leaf anC
/ stemmed tobacco and the cost and care
of operating each is kept accurately
| separate, and the cost of each is at once
ascertainable on the books.
Hogsheads and tierces are made OF
the lot in a separate building. The Ole
slaves are used, after tobacco has beer
! often shipped in the tierces from othe1
! markets to the Henderson factory. Sc
; there is no waste, not even in the chips
which are burnt for frewoOd. Sub
agents in other markets also buy fO
this Henderson factory and ship to it,
care. The slaves are as carefully hand
led and bulked as tobacco itself, in fact
we have never seen such care in hand
ling, bulking and prizing in periec
hogsheads. The bulks are as if meas
ured by rule, and so are the bundles il
straightness.
Steam is used only to give it suffic len
moisture to stem clean. Not bench il
| the hundred workers had scrap ant
dirt and stem accumulated about it
The floors are as clean as a well ORDERED
kitchen or nice hall room. Trucks an(
/
lent.
The small quantity of scrap made il
the factory is almost incredible and is
small fraction OF what other factorie
would call great economy with this com
parative waste. Greatest care is tak kel
with scrap of several sorts kept sepa
rately. such as stemmers' scrap, siftings
floor scrap, and stems scrap. All of thi
is accounted for and the waste located
Scrap is picked and sifted before it i
given to the stem man, on the uppe
floor, where it is spread out there i
layers near the roof. and as it dries
thrown upon Il ridged bulk, exposing
more surface than fat bulk, and henc
there is thorough driving.
There are more rented factories an
prize houses for leaf tobacco BELONGING
to the Allen 4 Ginter Branch plant i
Henderson, and these are all fully Occt
pied. Factory No. l is run by steam
Nos and 3 by hand power, with auto
matte matches.
Mr.. J. ID. Cooper, the energetic and eff
cient manager OF this Branch, who con
Quoted us through the factories, Is no
, also buying wrappers, which are treate
with even more care il possible than tt
cutters. That his work is most efticeI
and OF highest order all around there
no doubt, and his Judgment is acknow
edged the best. Mr.. J. c. Cooper, h
brother, is book-keeper and general 81
pervisor, working hand in hand wit
him and fills his position and part.
For order, system, neatness, dlspatt
OF business, harmonious and economic
working of factory, we have not ses
/ anything as perfect as the Allen 4 Gil
o ter Branch of the American TObact
Company at Henderson, y. c. NothiI
is wasted; time, space and material
I all sorts are perfectly utilized to be
g advantage, down to chips and stem
! Allen & Ginter did we'll in selecting Il
= Coopers, and the latter deserve his
| praise as managers, and Henderson Is
n be congratulated on such a model ia
Y tory.
. Use Raleigh Standard Fertilizer if y
. want results that will show in the fe
e and on the warehouse door. Nothing b'