The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-09-15
A T
No 8.

Ave OsS OSRSS ~ NV"
DEAR BRoTHER:-I wish to have an
other little personal talk with you re-
gardlng our manufacturing enterprises
at Hillsboro, then I am willing to leave
them in your hands. If then they go tx
naught, it shall not be the fault of this
writer.
My former letters have been confined
to the shoe factory. This1time I shall
say something about the tannery, az
the shoe factory is by no means the
only valuable property you have here
Listen!
You have at this place, almost com,
pleted and beautifully located, the
largest and most complete tannery in
the State. It includes a main building
80 by 80 feet, three stories high, with
AZ glass windows, doors and floors all
In, and house nicelycWhiteWashed, a
hide house Is by % feet, boiler and en-
CINE house and mill shed "a by IS feet
ALL about completed-a we'll 9 feet
square by 90 feet deep drilled through
solid rock, a junk 8 feet square by IL
feet deep also drilled through rock and
now lined to mak it water tight, 8
teaches 6 by 2 by 6 feet, pool 9 by 5
by 5 feet, 8 bates " by 4 by 5 feet. 6
LINES u by 4 by 5 feet, 16 watts u by 4
by 5 feet, 30 watts " by 4 by 4 feet (the
last out of DOORS, a 3O-horse return
tubular boiler, an Is horse engine, a
12,horse engine, 80 foot 4 ply 12-inch
driving belt, 2 electors and all neces-
sary steam fittings, 100 feet shafting,
a No. 3 Eureka bark mill, one hundred
dollars worth of tanners tools, fifty
dollars worth of hides, fifty dollars
worth of tan bark, and one of the incest
little saw mills in the country with
patent log beam, set works and double
eccentric friction feed, and a 48 inch
inserted tooth circular saw. ALI this
machinery is new and is properly set
in position; engines on stone and brick,
boiler encased in brick, saw mill track
on a foundation Of stone and brick,
bark mill is ready for grinding bark.
Only so feet of shafting remains to be
put up when additional machinery
shall be purchased There are also
several thousand feet of lumber on the
yard. This outfit has cost, up to date,
So, $50 80, and will not exceed 81, 900
when every bill is in. To complete
this plant as contemplated will require
about $500 Or $500 more in machinery,
freight and labor. The pieces Of ma
chinery needed are a pin wheel, a FItz
Henry securing machine, a Martins
people jack. When completed it will
have q capacity of 35 hides, or 70 sides,
per day.
Taking green hides as a basis, they
will weigh, on an average. 80 lbs. each
/, 1850 lbs. per day, or 328, $50 lbs. per
year.
By our process q am informed by
Mr.. Goodman, tanner whom the Exec
utive Committee had engaged) the
hides will yield so to 80 per cent. in
rough leather-harness and sole leather
do not lose anything in finishing, upper
leather loses about one fifth. Green
hides are worth 3 cents per pound. Sole
leather and flashed leather 25 cents
per pound The cost of producing
rough leather 5 cents per pound. Esti-
mating from the above figures we have
$685. lbs. sole leather .... ....
TO $40 lbs upper Ie6ther ..,,,.,..
las III lbs. worth 26 ts.....".. So, 0427 Is
C0sC OF macs -..-,..'''..''..'.$ sly 854
- :. RRT3duGlng .''''''""'.'.' 65S32S3 % GRO m
unlSLln 1896 HU,oIS.UU
A net gain OF. $I6,663. Is
OF the $40, 854 invested in hides dur
ing the year, not more than 81 900
would be invested at any one time.
This output of leather would make
about $50 pairs of shoes per day. The
plant is so arranged that it's capacity
can be doubled at very little additional
outlay, and it can be increased to any
capacity.
Now, brother, I have given you facts
and results that may be easily deduced
from them. What are you going to do
about it7 There has been no ~profigate
waste of money on this plant. The
wonder is that 80 much has baen done
for the amount expended. If you let
this property lie idle it will lose at least
25 per cent. in value annually.
There has been a time when I would
have spurned the thought that these
enterprises are the life of the Alliance,
but since the Order has been so long
fed on hope, if it is now robbed Of that,