The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-29

ment Of $1,000" he said. I'VE employ
twelve hands, who are all men OF family,
averaglng four people TO the family. We
nave ten wood working machines and our
plant Is well-equipped 70 MI all orders,
We dress from 30 90 to 10000 feet q
lumber a year and in prosperous years
mucn more. Our pay roll averages. year
IN and year out, about 500 per week We
employ only one skilled mechanic"
W; v, Aimar = Go. say The
lumber business Is at low ebb just now.
We do not think hat the Investment Of
$4,000 in our planning mill has yielded
bank rates Of interest for the past twelve
months. II, however, the average business
transacted during the last fve years Is
taken, the investment would then yield a
great deal more than per cent per an
num- We handle about 100000 feet OF
lumber a year, fully 0ne-third being for
nrms exporting The lumber dressed. We
employ from fifteen 10 forty hands, prob
AMY twenty on an average. eTheir aver
age pay II from Sl.25 to $3.50 per day. The
families Of laborers average about four
persons. We employ two skilled me-
cnanics. We have ten wood working ma
chimes and are well equipped TO handle
large quantities of lumber to be planed.
The business is a good one, although the
ruling prices are low and the competition
Is very Keen, leaving only a small margin
OF pront after paying expenses"
r. b.. Reppard Of Reppard, Snede-
ker AZ Co. says that the product of other
fniiis Is handled here. but 1t is all manu-;
theetu lure IN the country. We have"
-.
For the last five years our investment
mas yielded more than 5 per cent, although
Just now business Is dull"
IN addition to these manufactures Sa-
vannah has two extensive wood working
plants, owned and operated by the Plant
system and by the Central railroad. Both
are wen equipped car manufacturing
plants. They are manufacturing estab-
hshniehts pure and simple, not OF mer-
camille type, Il is true, as the producer Is
also the consumer 1t U.s. however, evident
faf Il IN he r-a4 .u1 tn cum
their car factories. or otherwise they
would not be operated The work en-
praces great variety, as everything,
from a common fiat car to a palace car
can be repaired, rebuilt or built new
r. Geffcken, foreman of the car
department of the Plant system, says:
W nave a complete car building plant
Tor heavy or common work, as far as the
woodworking part is concerned, We are
now getting the stun out for twenty-five
new cars, showing that cars can be profit
ably built in Savannah. We repair and
rebuild all classes Of cars even to
Pullman palace buffet. We dress about
lSO0O0 feet of lumber a month or about
100000 feet a year We have fourteen
wood working machines and employ stead
lily nine hand. Ave of which are skilled
mechanics. This does not include num-
Der OF carpenters who work steadily on
car building or repairing. / should esti-
mate the wood working plant of the sys-
TEN to have value OF about $4,000.
Would car building as manufacturing
enterprise pay? Well. do not see why it
should not The lumber can certainly
be had cheaper here than in the north or
west Cast iron is just as cheap and there
Is plenty OF labor, well skilled and trained,
to do such work"
w. J. Robider. foreman OF the Central
railroad car building department, says:
We have twenty-one wood working ma
chimes in our plant We employ nine
hands, seven of which are skilled me-
chanics. The average wages are $l.75 per
day. / should estimate the value of the
plant at $4,000 or $30. 90. We both repair
and build new cars We are now build
Ing 100 new freight cars. Our repairs
and rebuilding include every thing from
a platform car to the finest finished palace
car. When We build new cars we dress
about 10000 feet of lumber a month. When
we do repairing only we use about 100
building as a commercial enterprise should
not pay here. There is an abundance of
well-tIained labor available and we have
turned out right here in Savannah as
good and as fine work as any where in
the United States Raw material, iron
cheap IL can be had ! am unable to say,
but as far as labor and other building ex-
penses are concerned they are low
enough"
While the facilities to produce lumber
for building purposes are ample for
in the wood working Industry that are
entirely missing and which thrive else
where, such as veneer works for crates
and baskets, kindltng wood manufacturing
for western and northern markets, furni-
ture factories. agricultural implements,
car building, spoke factories. are all in
dustries that would find within easy reach
an abundance of raw material as well
skilled mechanics or labor that Is capable
of being taught easily.