The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-16
THE PASSING THR0NG.

"whils do not think that the price Of
shingles viii 90 very much lower than IL 10
now" said leading lumber and shinGie man OF
this city yesterday, Il think Il will 70 low
enough to shake several weak mills out Of the
businssA In the first place the scarcity Of cars
VIII keep the price we'll mp: It IL now dimeult
TO get cars enough. and tt will b more dimcuit
In the TALL The small mills are not making
any big money even at the present prices, and If
the price should 90 TO al50 for six-to-twos. they
would b losing money. or ct any rate they
would b making nothing. On the other hand,
the large mills can sell shingies for 20 and
still make something. The result Of this sur.
vivai OF the nttsst will b the same a 1t II in
most other manufacturing nnes-a concsntrs
ton OF the business ct the large cltieA The
reasons for this are several A large lumber
and shingls mill can run on lumber when
shingles are Improbable, thus being able to
curtail production without shutting down.
Large mills are usually 90 located and built a.
to eliminate a. far a. possible all handling or
hauling. while many OF the country mills have
TO haul their bolts and then haul
the shinglA to the cars. The large
mills are located convenient to the sidetracks OF
different railroads. making loading easy. and in
Large city they have . better chance to get
cars. - well - . larger ieid to cell in, having
different roads and being TO . certain extent in
dependent Of the tll-will of any one road Skilled
labor IL higher In the country than In the city,
because the supply IL scarcer, and an employer
cannot select or improve hss force from day to
day - in . city like Seattle, which 10 the great
center and headQ uafters of the shingle wesvers.
4 gang Of men cant b kept together In the
country, and when an smploye leaves or gets
sick bis place cannot b Immediately replaced
When an accident occurs ana something breaks
down. and they are constantly happening, there
10 . great loss OF time and expense in coming to
the city to have repairs made, and for this rea.
son unless the men are paid during shutdowns
the better workmen viii not work in the coun.
try unless 1t higher wages than in the city, aud
II the loss OF time IL considerable they won't
work ct all. On the other hand, large mill can
have repairs made almost Immediately by hav.
Ing access to machine shopA large mill can
sell shingles when . smafl mill can't, because .
very large amount OF the product is sold in
mixed car loads Of lumber and shingles, and
these mixed orders the little mills cannot fill
Then they cannot do their own selling, and must
depend upon an agent who must be paid. The
real business 10 done at the financial centers,
and there 10 where the manufacturing will
eventually gravitate. Now when / cay that
shingles cannot b sold at profit for 40. I
figure that the material costs about IS cents and
! have never heard Of . contract for putting
them In the kiln ut less than 50 cents. Then
there 10 interest on the investment, office rent.
insurance, stationery. bad debts, accidents and
other items, which no good business man will
not make allowance for in his calculations"
''The wits arc having lots Of fun Just now
over the lost Upper of the humpbacked WASH
ington whale" said Worlds Fair Press Agent
Z. s. Meany at the Occidental last night "The
story of the whale and its fipper Is a. follows:
Last year our taxidermist sent us word that
hump-backed whale had been washed ashore on
the Quillayute coast, and wanted to know
whether We desired it, skeleton. We told him
II 1t didn't cost too much 60 ahead and get it.
He went over and tackled the monster At first
he hired a lot Of Indians to cut away the blub-
Der and cartilage, but the hot weather soon rem.
dered the work very unpleasant and the
siwashes struck. He then got alot Of Chinese
to work. but the job proved too much for even
the celestials, 20 the taxidermist had to anish
the work alona He soon wearisd of 1t, and AZ
the animals clippers were extremely tough he
thought one was enough to show how the whale
was built he accordingly left the other to rot
ON the ground. When the skeleton arrived at
Chicago the absence OF the other Upper was
noticed and the workmen wired US about It
We wired back that when the whale
left here II had only one ripper. The ludicrous-
ness Of the thing struck the news
paper men there, and they wired the
important Information all over the country.
There are several things on which Washington
will beat the world at the fair. We shall have
the tallest flagstaff 23S feet In length: the
largest yield OF wheat to the acre, 1nl bushels,
which will be stacked up In one bushel sacks;
the largest block Of coal. q TONS and the largest
piece of woodturning. The latter IL the work
of J. L Nygren. OF Tacoma, and consists of
mammoth vase of cedar. 1t stands Z feet high
and 10 feet in diameter We had intended to
have the largest stone monolith at the fair also.
but the expense and danger of its breaking in
transit was too great to warrant the board In
making the attempt 1t would have been 1879
feet long. l am now reading proof on tho
history and resources OF the state. which the
board 10 having published for gratuitous dis
tribution ct the fair, and It viii b issued about
May Is"
E. H. Colman, Of New York. ono OF the wealth
lest dry goods men In the country, has been at
the Occidental hotel for the last two days and
left yesterday for his home. He 10 the president
OF the Gladstone Manufacturing Company,
which has branches in several OF the largest
cities in this country and has q factory In Scot
land employing 5000 banda whileon the Coast
Mr.. Colman discovered Q brother whom he had
not tor thirty-one years, and in this city he
made the acquaintance of L J. Colman and may
trace . relationship with him. He expects to
return here in about six weeks accompanied by
his wife and daughter.