The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-25
THE MAKING OF BRoOMs.
one of savannah's New and Success
full Industries.

1uA lmuuNAEAeas
The manufacture Of brooms is a COM
paratively new industry in Savannah
Messrs. Kulman Bros. commenced manu-
featuring brooms about three years ago
in small way. There output was then
ten dozen brooms per day. while the US
ual days work now never falls short OF
100 dozen. the business having increased
tenfold In the bulk OF its manufacture
since the factory was started.
Mr.. o. s. Kulman says: I'VE employ
now steadily about .forty-fve hands
Twenty-seven are skilled operatives. Our
payroll is about 81 5o0 per month and ag-
gregates $500 a year. The business has
paid steadily more than bank rates Of
interest on the capital invested. We man
ufacture every variety Of brooms from the
cheapest up 10 the finest and most ex-
pensive kind. We also manufacture
novelty, the palmetto ''Trilby"
scrubbing broom, which has had a big run
SOUTH as well as north and east. This
broom Is made from the leaves Of the
cabbage or tree palmetto, and supplies a
long-felt want as II can be produced
cheaply and Is very efficient and durable.
only, and while our southern trade Is a
large and very valuable one large pro-
portion Of our output is shipped and sold
in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and
Baltimore. This" said MIR. Kulman,
shows that in this instance at least the
tide has turned and that the south is actu-
ally shipping a staple household necessity
10 northern markets and what mas been
done in this instance ! think can be done
IN a great many others. Savannah is all
right as a manufacturing point. Labor is
abundant and intelligent, and can be had
for fair compensation. 1t is easily taught
and is far more superior and intelligent
than the foreign element of pauper labor
found in the majority of northern and
eastern factories.
1--WE recognized early in our career that
probably the only weak point Savannah
has in manufacturers, is the securing of
the services of a competent and capable
manager or foreman, who has the neces-
sary technical knowledge, and who
is capable of teaching the
labor exactly what it is expected TO DO,
and large share of our success is due
TO the fact that we have had the services
Of just such men. We have two foremen.
one a general one. and we have lately
engaged Mr.. j. X. Roachard, who has feen
successfully engaged in the manufacture
of mill brooms for twenty years in Penn
sylvania and are now making the manu-
facture of mill brOms a speciality. We
have cultivated broom corn successfully
in Chatham county. There are many
thousand acres OF land well adapted for
the craving of broom corn in this and
adjoining counties. The yield varies from
400 to 700 pounds per acre. The straw is
worth from 3i9 cents to cents per pound,
according to quality. the care in curing
and the richness of the soil on which IL
grows. Besides the broom straw the plant
yields from ten to thirty bushels of seed
per acre, which is as nourishing and as
useful for general farm use as Indian
corn. The cultivation of broom corn is
about as profitable. if not more so, than
any branch of agriculture. The growing
of broom corn is not more exhaustive to
the land than cotton or Indian corn, and
every farmer would find it profitable to
plant a few acres, at least. every year.
We will cheerfully furnish the seed gra-
tuitously upon request, and also direc-
tons for it's cultivation, gathering, clean
ing. curing, baling, etc, and guarantee
to purchase all that may be produced at
market prices.i