The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-02
A BIG FIELD FOR INDUSTRIES.
THE OPPORTUNITY SAVANNAH Of
FERs ron THEIR ESTABLISH
MENT.

Cities-The Field for wood Work
ing Plants Almost UnIimited-It Is
Being Investigated by Northern
Manufacturers.
The Morning News published some time
ago a very full description of the lumber
industry Of Savannah. 1t showed that
$4,000 is invested in nine plants employ
ing 33S hands. and that $4,000 is paid out
in wages annually by this industry. The
business is financially successful and all
of the wood working companies have earn
ed more than bank rates of interest on
the capital invested.
AS the industry seems to be paying one
and well adapted to Savannah's resources,
it viii be both interesting to know to what
extent it can be enlarged.
The manufacturers Of yeast powder,
soap, candy. crackers, patent medicines
and others require between 100000 to 100000
boxes every year for packing their pro-
duet. The broom factory uses about eight
car loads, each containing 10000 bundles
Of broom handles, or over 10000 handles
every year. The value of packing boxes
ranges from cents to 80 cents each, and
the broom handles from So to y per 1000.
The boxes, with rare exceptions, were
shipped from Charleston, Atlanta, Chat
tanooga and Nashville, Tenn, and Bal
timore. The broom handles come all the
way from Michigan.
Savannah has a superabundance Of ex-
cellent and suitable material within easy,
reach, such as maple, ash, lob
ioly or swamp pine poplar, cotton
wood, blackgum, etc, and the only
reason why these woods are not
used is because Savannah has no saw
mill where the RATED logs, which are OBJ
tainable in any quantity and at low
prices. can be sawed.
There are number of sites well adapt
ed and available for a sawmill in Savan-
nah. The capital required for such a mill
is from $1,000 to $4,000, and many mills are
languishing in the country, which, il
moved TO Savannah. would earn more
money in a single month than they now
earn during a whole year. Every kind of
logs, ash. maple, poplar, cottonwood, oak
or lobloly pine can be had in immense
quantities in RATS delivered at the mills
a. prices ranging from IS to $40 or $12 per
thousand feet.
Every load of sawdust can be sold for
Is cents per load at the mill for stable
litter, every particle of slab-wood is sala-
bic at So or 81 per cord; in fact, all the re-
fuse lumber is of value and would find
some kind Of employment The sale of
these by-products would be almost sufii-
Client to pay for the labor employed in the
mill.
The lack of such a mill is the only
reason why boxes and broom-handles
are not produced here as all the machin-
cry necessary for their manufacture is here
already. and can be started in a short
time, provided the suitable raw material
can be obtained.
A large consumer of boxes showed the
Morning News a box made from pitch
pine in Savannah and also one made in
Baltimore. The weight of the yellow pine
box was just twice that of the one made
in Baltimore from the most ordinary
rosemary Virginia sapphire. This sap
pine is very light, when seasoned ana tno
wood does not split when nails are driven
into 1t. Savannah has an enormous amount
of an excellent material available, the
sappy lobloly or old field pine which can
be delivered in RATS for 81 per 1000 feet or
even for less.
A sawmlll man would look upon such
logs with the utmost contempt and dis
gust, yet they are the very kind of wood
required for box manufacturing as it is
light in weigh when dry, the brand can
be easily embossed on Il, as the wood is
both soft and bright in color, and the
wood does not split when nails are driven
into it, no matter how thin it may be.
D The Savannah river has an abundace
of an excellent quality of maple and ash
suitable for the manufacture of broom
handles.
The Savannah broom factory has
complete plant of broom handle machin-
cry which is idle for want of material to
make the handles, as pitch pine will not
do.
With additional manufacturing the de-
mand for boxes will cores
pondingly increase and tens of thousands
of dollars will continue to go to other
cities that have fewer advantages than
Savannah
The Fay & sperry Manufacturing Com
pany of Lane, Tenn, has been investi-
eating Savannah's advantages for box
manufacturing and it has been reported
that they are going to start plant here.
Savannah receives every year
from 100000 to 100000 barrels
of turpentine. About 100000 new
barrels are merely coopered up and fin-
ished here the actual dressing of the
material being done in Charleston and
elsewhere and the bulk of the
price of new barrels is $3.50 each,
which leaves a handsome profit on their
manufacture. There are several firms in
Savannah which find it profitable TO buy
and ship large amounts of rough oak
slaves. indicating that there is ample raw
material available. II Savannah has the
material and the demand and the others
find 1t profitable to manufacture the
cooperage stock, why does not Savannah
manufacture and supply its own legiti-
mate home trade, amounting to 100000 or
$500 900 year?
Charleston has shipped this sea-
son, already, over thirty car
loads of crates made at its
veneer works. These thirty carloads were
promptly bought by Savannah's truck
farmers, at remunerative prices. Savan-
nah has veneer works. They have so far
been quite successful couple of ear
penters began some ten years agosto man
ufacture cheap collins in Atlanta They
had but little means but plenty of pluck
and perseverance. As a result Atlanta
has to-day a large colin factory.
giving employment to a large number Of
hands. The business done by this con-
cern was so large that the coffin trust
was compelled to take it IN. The most of
the collins used in Savannah are Atlanta
made.
The Morning News recently dem
onstrated by number of ar