The San Francisco call., 1895-07-28
BROOM men COMPLAIN,
Home for the Blind Accused
of Demoralizing- the
Market.
MOVE FOR SELF. PROTECTION.
of the Manufacturers
Association to Be Called
to the Matter.

Loud and grievous is the complaint
of the broom manufacturers of this City
against the Home for the Adult Blind in
Oakland That eleemosynary institution,
under Superintendent Joseph Sanders
management, has become factor in the
business which the local employers of
ing with CONSERVATION.
Zan Bros. & Co. have been endeavorlng
to bring about some sort of combination
of the factories here to Offset the effect Of
the Home for the Blind on the market,
Armes & Dallam have joined them in the
movement. The largest of the three white
factories, however, the California Broom
Company. which employs from forty to
fifty men, has not yet seen its way clear to
cooperate, owing to its recollection OF
Frank Zan's cutting OF prices about two
years ago.
The matter will be brought by Zan Bros.
to the attention of the Manufacturers and
Producers Association soon. in the hope
that the association will use its influence
upon the powers that be to put stop to
the demoralizing of prices. From Frank
Zan and also from Manager John P. Henry
of the California Broom Company, 1t IS
learned that the Home for the Blind IS
half cost Mr.. Zan's figures are as follows:
The cost of ton of broomcorn is 500; Of
handles for this amount, $2e of labor $35; OF
twine, wire, locks and incidentals, 500; max
ing total cost of $183 for every 100 dozen OF
broomS.
Mr.. Henry's figures are:
1t takes % pounds of corn to make dozen
brooms. This corn costs 5 cents per pound.
The cheapest handles will cost from Is to 20
cents per dozen Add to this 10 cents for wire,
twine, locks, tacks and all ether incidentals,
and the cost per dozen is 81 DO, counting labor
at nothing.
Notwithstanding this Mr.. Henry said
last night that the institution was selling
brooms to George f. Mackenzie at 80 cents
per dozen. He added the following state
ment:
don't see how Mr.. Mackenzie manages to OBJ
tain such advantageous figures, for he is in
debted to the institution on an old account to
the amount of $500. One thing is certain, the
broom business cannot stand any such COM
Mr. Mackenzie has sent to Melbourne. Aus
tralia, within about q year over 1900 dozen
brooms and during the past few weeks he has
sold thirty to forty dozen to some OF my GUS
toners.
We have simply been compelled to quit max
ing cheap goods, for we can't afford to pay
wages and try to compete with Mr.. Mackenzie.
] do not wish to say that Mr.. Mackenzie is
doing anything out OF the way, tor | suppose
he is simply doing what any other man might
do, namely, taking advantage OF business op-
portunity.
What bothers me, though, is how the Home
for the Blind can possibly sell brooms at such
figures Mathematical calculations would not
bear it out, and the only conclusion can reach
is either that some of the States appropriation
is used in this way, or that the inmates OF the
institution are very much overwoTked.
know this, that there have been number
of complaints against superintendent Sanders;
and have heard that an effort was being made
to have him removed John P. Irish, who was
his main support, has gone back on him re-
Gently.
eral years ago on complaint of q committee of
the blind which Hugh Johnson accompanied
to Sacramento.
Several of the inmates have left the home
and have come to US with stories of the sort of
treatment they received while there. One OF
them, whose name was O'Connor, and who was
formerly an engineer, told me that ne had
been actually driven out of the place. have
been informed that the inmates have hard
time OF it, and if they open their mouths they
are told to get out OF the institution.
With good market about 100 men
would get employment in this City
through the broom industry. The three
white labor factories represent an in
vested capital of $500, 900. About the best
wages that can be paid to employees under
existing circumstances is $12 week. On
the wage question Mr.. Zan said:
The men are paid by the piece, and wages
are governed by the state OF trade. 1t takes
from two to three years for man to become q
proficient workman. Six years ago not ten
men were employed in this City in this line of
business. On an average, from 200 TO 800
tons of broomcorn are now raised in this State.
Another element against which local
white labor has to contend is Chinese
labor. The three Chinese factories employ
about forty men. The Chinese, however,
told Fan Bros. & Co. and Armes & Dallam
that, in consequence of Mr.. Mackenzie's
ability to purchase goods at half what it is
supposed to cost to make them, they
would willingly join any combination of
manufacturers to put stop to the disas-
trous cutting of prices.
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