Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-01-18
KALAMAZOO.
Notes of a Thriving Michigan
CITY.

some what trite of late years, the writer
ventures to give the readers of The Phm-
nix a brief account of what he saw on a re-
cent trip to the West, as different writers see
from different points of view. A pleasant
ride of about % hours over the New York
Central railroad took us from Brattleboro
to Kalamazoo, beautiful city, the pride of
Michigan. Notwithstanding the general
business depression of the past two years,
all the manufacturing industries of X ila-
mazoo seem to be in thriving condition,
and there are some new industries worthy
of note. The Featherbone Corset factory,
the only one of the kind in the world, is
located here. 1t is doing an extensive
business, turning out 800 dozen corsets
week. About 200 hands, mostly young
women, are employed in the factory. The
machinery is run by an electric motor,
some of the machines having six needles,
thereby doing the work of six single ma
chimes. The bones of feathers are used in
place of whalebone, and prove equally as
good and much cheaper. The present an
nual product is 100000, with hardly a
limit to the demand.
Another new industry is the distillation
of essential oils. A. NJ. Todd, practical
chemist, has erected very fine building
for this purpose. Although he distls oils
from various plants, the oil of peppermint is
the largest product, amounting annually to
$3.50 600, about one-third of which is ex-
ported. 1t is put up in 20.pound cans,
which sold a few years since at 500 per
can, but is now selling at $50. The growth
and dstillation of peppermint was estab-
lished in st, Joseph county, Michigan, in
1885, since which time it has gradually in
creased until now more than one-half of
all the peppermint produced in the world
is grown within - miles of Kalamazoo.
Mr. Todd devotes over 1000 acres to the
cultivation of peppermint. While he leads
the world in the distillation of essential
oils, he finds abundant time for intellec-
tual pursuits, owning fine library of
modern and ancient literature, including
works of rare and ancient date, which he
delights to show to visitors. Mr. Todd
was the candidate of the Prohibition party
at the late election.
H. f. Severens, formerly of Rocking
ham, now United States district Judge, and
living in Kalamazoo, was the first to intro
duce the cultivation of peppermint intot
Allegan county. The past season he had
600 acres under cultivation, avera gne II
pounds to the acre. Mr.. Severens has
5000 acres of marsh land, 300 of which
have been drained and put under cultva-
ton. He raises from 5000 to 5000 bushels
of onions annually, and 5000 to 1000 bush
els of potatoes, besides the hay and grain
to keep his horses, 26 in number, which
are required to do the work on the farm.
As the farmers of Vermont can no longer
compete with the West in the raising of
grain, beef, pork and wool, and are com
PEELED to a more diversified system of farm
ing, it may be well to consider whether
we can add anything new to our crops.
The cultivation of celery continues to be
the most important industry of Kalamazoo,
there being more than 1000 acres devoted
to this product. Twenty-Five years ago
this land was mostly marsh and of little
value. 1t now gives employment to a large
number of men, women and children. The
estimated amount of money brought into
Kalamazoo annually from the celery crop
is about S500,000. Kalamazoo has been
particularly fortunate in having public
spirited citizens who have pride and in
terest lin its growth and who are doing
much in establishing new industries, and
in building railroads, until it is no longer
necessary to urge manufacturers to locate
there, for they are wise enough to know
the advantages to be derived by establish
ing their business in an enterprising city |
and railroad centre. Many of the wealthy
citizens instead of boarding their money TO
leave to quarresOme heirs have wisely |
been their own administrators, and given |
large sums of money to promote the beauty |
and character of the city in the erection of |
public buildings.
From Kalamazoo the writer took a side |
trip of few days to the comparatively |
new and picturesque city of Duluth, MINI, |
which is literally founded on a rock at the |
western end of Lake Superior. This city |
was made memorable by Proctor Knott of .
Kentucky when, member of Congress in .
1871, in satirical speech he made some
prophecies of what Duluth's future might /
be, which kept the House convulsed with |
laughter. Duluth at that time was but two
years old, it having been a forest in 1869.
Its appeal to Congress at this early age for
aid in the improvement of its harbor was
the occasion of Knott's speech. Strange
to say most of his eXtravagant prophecies
have been fulfilled, and the Zenith city of
the unsated seas" has now population
of $1,000, and notwithstanding the hard
times has shipped larger amount of iron
ore the past year than in any previous
year.
Duluth has been doomed, it is true, but
unlike Fort Payne has now steady growth
and from its location at the extreme west
ern point OF lake navigation, and as a great
railroad centre, draining one of the finest
wheat countries in the world it must event
ually be large city. The mining interests
are also very heavy, it being the chief ship
ping point for the iron ore of the Mesaba
range-and it is already rival of Mime
apolis in its grain and -four trade.
Politics here, as in the West generally, are
very much mixed, particularly on the cur
rency question. There are three daily pa
pers published here-two Republican and
one Democratic. One of the Republican
papers is opposed to the free coinage of
silver, while the other advocates it, as does
the Democratic paper. The Democratic,
Prohibition and POpulist parties all favor
free coinage, as do many Republicans, and
unless the present Congress should make
some change in the banking laws it would
not be strange to see a reorganization of
parties in the West, dividing on the silver
question instead of the tariff, before the
next presidential election. There is, to a
large extent, feeling among western peo-
pie { At all who oppose the free coinage of
silve ARE men of wealth, or at least money
lend rs, and that their opposition arises
froL purely selfish motives. This feeling
is engendered largely by the free-coinage
papers which, for want of a better argu-
ment, devote large part of their space to
calling their opponents ''gold bugs" When
it is seen who the advocates of free silver
are then il NAV possibly be seen where the