Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1897-03-18

Standard Manufacturing Company
What it is Doing For the Uplifting
of Humanity.
Among the many. desirable in
dustrial enterprises that Goldsboro
has added to her list of late years
there is none of more substantial
benefit to the city than the Stand
ard Manufacturing Co, which is
located at the northern end of the
city and adjoining the plant of the
Goldsboro Rice Mills. Mr.. D.
E. Smith, a man of great energy
and enterprise, is president of the
company, and Mr. F. G. Overman
is superintendent. Under their su-
pervisicn the Investment of capital
has proven a very profitable one.
Mr.. Smith has invented and pro-
duced a new and original design
for a division tray for berry crates
and has secured letters patent from
the Department at Washington for
the invention. The device is in
valuable to truck shippers, and
Mr.. Smith will no doubt reap a
harvest from his invention.
The company has for it's object
the manufacture of plain pine
lumber, ceiling and weatherboard-
ing, berry cups, crates, baskets
and barrels and all kinds of fancy
lathe work. In the manufacture
of these different articles they use
pine, gum, poplar, ashe and oak
woods that are to be found in
abundance throughout this section.
They have two saw mills that are
located in the woods to supply
their plant at this place with
rough timber, which is dressed and
turned into any shape that is de-
sired by the different machines.
They have a steam capacity of
1OO-horse power to drive the uu-
merous machines hat are en-
ployed to do the greaer part of the
work, as very little is done by
hand. ALI their machinery is of
the most improved style and their
veneer machine is n of the larg-
est made, the cutter being sc
inches in length.
The daily output of the plant is
1 200 bushel baskets, 1000 berry
crates and $1,000 berry cups, be-
sides the many thousand feet of
rough and dressed lumber. In
one day recently nine freight cars
were loaded with their output that
went to truck shippers all over the
country.
The Standard Manufacturing
Company is almost in its infancy
Its plant has only been in opera
ton for about two years, but
during that time it has been of in
estimable value to host of women
and children who have to toll for
bread, and who, perhaps, were it
not for the employment that this
industry offers, would have been
thrown upon the cold charity of
the world. After reading the
foregoing description of the plant
and its appointments, the casual
observer would place it in the
front rank of those of its kind
and probably pass it by without
further notice. Well, it properly
belongs in the front rank, but it is
the object of this article to show
who are the real benefciaries of
such a manufacturing industry.
The weekly pay roll of the
company ranges from $500 to
to 1876 and on it appears the
names of about $50 people; a
large majority of whom are women
and children. These find employ
ment in the manufacture of truck
shipping packages, which requires
no skill whatever, as the timber is
cut to fit by machinery and they
are tackled together on iron forms
that are the exact shape and size
of the cup, crate or basket.
The work is very light and
there are those that find employ
ment here who could not fill
with any degree of satisfaction a
position elsewhere. There are
mothers who have been left at
the heads of families that provide
the necessaries of life for them>
sslves and children with the light
employment that they are offer
ed by the company.
In fact the Standard Company
employs a class of laborers that
perhaps could not find employ
ment elsewhere and as a result
there are a number of lowly
homes in the vicinity of the
plant that are meagerly supplied
with the comforts of life to day.
which were destitute and want
and misery stalked among them
before the Standard Company
commenced operations.
Tl.-o :. ~ Cor rr1 IN h lie Saotiop