Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-16
THINK IT IS GOOD THING
Council Bluffs Business Men Pleased with
Manufacturing Bill.
MEANS MORE MONEY INVESTED IN CITY
If Governor Drake Approves the
Measure One Firm Alone VIII
Pay out over S25O,OOO
Next Year.

The passage OF the manufacturing bill by
the senate was the most welcome bit Of news
that has come from Des Moines since Gov
ernor Drake convened the legislature in spe-
cial session to complete the code revision.
The subject was a general topic Of CONVERSE
ton among all classes of people yesterday.
Few were found who were willing to con-
dem 1t, and It's friends were not sufficiently
well acquainted with the real situation and
the bill itself after the recent amendments
to become enthusiastic over its passage. Ad-
herents OF the prohibitory law were not will
ing to condemn 1t any further than 1t went
toward strengthening the saloon In the state.
Those who expressed themselves declared
that as long as the law had l~egalized its sale
they could not condemn the demand for the
privilege OF making spurious liquor in the
state. There was a well defined fear on the
part OF the friends of the law that the many
amendments might have weakened ii so as
to have made 1t uncertain whether or not it
afforded sufficient protection to Justify the
erection of a large plant and the investment
of the great amount of capital necessary to
conduct the business of manufacturing. Said
one OF these men yesterday: 81 know that
at least $50, 900 will he invested in brewing
interests In Council Bluffs as quickly as the
necessary plant can be put in IL the bill,
when it becomes a law, is sufficiently eX-
plicit to make its protection to the manufac-
turer clear enough to allay all apprehension.
Millions of dollars have been legislated out
of existence by Iowa legislatures, and men
Will enough capital to go into business are
not going to take any chances or make rash
investments. An interest more powerful and
persistent than any the prohibitionists could
ever exert has been at work against the bill,
and when 1t became evident that the bill
would pass in spite of this opposition, the
attention Of the men directing 1t was turned
toward eliminating from the bill some OF its
most desirable features, provisions under
which the work of manufacturing in the
state could be safely carried on. This inter
est that has been seeking TO protect itself
was that of the great brewers In nearby
states who found a profitable field for their
product in the Iowa cities and towns. An
other thing the Iowa manufacturer must be
assured of before he can embark in the bus
mess is the stability of the law. If it is
only a temporary victory for the liberal ele-
ment in the state liable to be reversed at the
next session or subsequent sessions of the
legislature, it will be folly for capitalists
to invest a dollar in manufacturing within
the state. However, ! am assured that this
action is the result of such extreme pressure
brought upon the members OF the legislature
from all parts of the state that It may be
| ltSalutu as peIHd Hpully SpullllR the prOD-
lem, and succeeding legislatures are more
likely to tighten instead OF tightening the
restrictions"
ut will be worth many thousands of dol
lars to Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie
county, said j. p. Hess, who is deeply in
volved and greatly interested in the culture
Of grapes. ut will add $40 an acre to the
value of every acre OF grape and fruit lands
in this vicinity
Il am highly pleased with the passage of
the law" said eX-Mayor Cleaver. 1T surely
means much for this vicinity, where so
many interests are connected with the brew
ing and manufacturing interests. 1t will
be one of the several things that will bring
us back to prosperous times, and in impor-
lance to us 1t is next to the Transmissis-
| sippi Exposition. This whole section OF the
country is in better condition than it has
been for many years. The heavy rains that
have spread the rivers out over the bottoms
in all of this northwestern territory insures
bountiful crops Of everything, and that
means good times to US"
Conrad Geise L. Son, who have had many
thousand dollars tied up for many years in
their big brewery, heard the news from Des
Moines with abundant satisfaction. When
the prohibitory law went into effect Geise's
brewery was one of the most profitable and
valuable manufacturing plants in western
Iowa. The law compelled it to close. Mr..
Geise took $50, 600 and went down into Ten
nessee and started a brewery. He made
money rapidly for a number of years, but
longing for his old home in Council Bluffs
and liking the north generally better, he ac-
copied a satisfactory offer and sold out. He
returned here and erected a large mailing
plant, and has operated it since in lieu of
the old brewery. If the law proves to be
satisfactory, this plant will become part of
an immense brewery, with new buildings
and machinery calling for the expenditure
of $4,000. Fred Geise. now the manager of
the business, said yesterday: "If the law
Is what we hope it is, and it gets through
the governors hands, we will begin work
on the new brewery this summer and have
it ready to begin operations before the end
OF the year. If we are permitted to do
what we have long contemplated, We will
pay out for material, supplies, labor, etc,
over $3.50 900 next year."
Mr.. Jarvis OF the Jarvis Wine company is
highly elated over the passage of the bill,
and announces that he sees his way clear
TO secure the establishment of a winery
here that will supply a market for every
pound Of grapes that can be raised. Mr..
Jarvis has spent nearly thirty years engaged
in the wine industry in southern California,
and has demonstrated to his own satisfac-
ton and that OF others interested that west
ern Iowa grapes will make wines that Will
command a premium in any market.