The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-10-27
STORIES OF PROSPERITY
MTxINIEyIsM EVIDENT ON EVERY
SIDE AT WEST MARION.
Plants stiHed by the Wilson Bill Vow
acknowledgements Pay Rolls
and Content.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

| the last Democratic national administra-
ton, and bids fair to soon be a great center
of manufacturing industry. A few facts
in regard to the individual plants. which
were considered only in general terms be-
fore, will not be without interest. The West
erman-Stewart Iron Company is the sue
cessor to the Westerman Natural Gas Iron
Company which failed in 1895. or probably
1t would be a little more accurate to say
1t was asphyxiated by the Wison-Gorman
bill, for to say company failed implies to
a certain extent incapacity or fault on the
part of the management and there was
neither In this case. 1t simply closed land
died as the result of the general collapse in
business. Now 1t is running day and night
with full force of $50 men, 1t opened
just short time after Mckinley was
elected and has been running ever since
without even closing for repairs except
once, when its machinery broke down and
a weeks stop was necessary to put in new
parts. The plant has been idle a few days
now and will be until Monday This time
1t is idle because it cannot get material to
keep it running. All stock was worked up
and 1t was learned by telegraph that there
was no hope of getting more Tor week, so
advantage was taken of that time to make
much needed repairs. The company has or
/
ming indefinitely
The Marion Hub Company is another fac
tory that has risen from the dead. In 1895
| 1t was closed eight months simply because
1t could not get any orders for it's products.
| In SO it was In operation four or five
| months and about the same in 81. Then
| came questions affecting the patents under
'which they operate which compelled them
to be closed most of this year. with a large
demand for their product. These questions
have been settled and larger force of
men is now at work preparing the machine
cry to start I'D with full force of forty
five men next Monday and with orders suffl-
cient to enable the plant to run indefinitely.
1t will be necessary to work two to four
hours day overtime. Mr.. Scheid. the man
ager.~ says, TO get out the rush orders now
on hand, and he anticipates overtime work
| all winter.
Mr.. Scheid is himself good object lesson
| 10 those who VIII not observe. He came
| here several years ago a Democrat and
| voted, so 1t is understood here for Cleve-
| land In 1892 but that was his last stamp
publican and cannot find words emphatic
| enough to express his approval of the party
| that brings with II good times.
| The Marion Steel and Iron Company is
| owned by three men WHO act mill super
| intendents general manager and business
| manager, respectively. thus making II I'M
| necessary to employ high salaried men for
| these places. 1t would seem that they ought
| to be able to sell at prices that would give
| them the trade if anybody wanted to buy,
| but even with this great advantage this mill
! was closed nearly half of 1895 for lack of
| ORDERS The company employs seventy-fVe
men and this year will turn out over 10000
| tons of bar iron while about 900 tons was
the product in 1885.
| Thomas Reed one of the owners. an En-
said:
| I'VE began business here five years ago
| this month That takes lis back to those
| good old Cleveland times when we all ex-
pected so much and got so little, We were
| In operation spasmodically, selling iron
without profit part of the time so as to
keep the mill running and give our men
employment. This continued until last year
| after Mckinley came in. Then we began
running most of the time and now we cam
| rot hardly find time to make repairs. Oh!
| There's no comparison now with the past
| It's simply wonderful what the change is
and it IS not as great with us as with
| others, for we have run more in the last
! four years than any other mill in the gas
| belt simply because the three partners
work and save expensive salaries. We will
1 pay our men this year nearly twice as much
| money as we paid them in 1895. 1t ought
not be necessary for the Journal 70 send
| is all over the country and man who Is
| awake can feel it in the air. but then
suppose some people sleep most of the
| time"
MKINLEY PAY ROLLS.
The Marion Flint-glass Company paid
$4,000 in wages to its employees in the last
| year that Cleveland was President and in
| the next year under Mckinley. it paid out
| $4,000 for the same purpose. The wage scale
| was the same, in the Cleveland year
| orders were so scarce that it was difficult
to keep the factory running seven and one
| half months, while in the Mckinley year
1t was in operation ten months, which is
full time for all blowing establisll-
ments, for none of them work during the
hot months of July and August. This season
the fires were lighted in September ard
the company does not expect to lose a
| single day except legal holidays Mr. Shide-
| Ter, secretary of the company saws thew
| now have orders that will keep the works
nusy until March and that the time from
to make enough stock goods for the regular
summer trade In speaking of conditions in
| general Mr.. Shideler said
1T is a significant fact that we are hav-
ing the largest trade In our record on per-
fumery bottles. Every one knows that this
means that people have money to spend for
| luxuries, for colognes and toilet waters and
| toilet preparations in general are usually
among the first things to be dispensed with
| when necessity causes economy Hampton.
| Crane q Ramey, Lousville's largest whole
sale drug house. wire us constantly TO hurry
shipment. There is not a day passes that
| we do not receive a telegram Hurry per-
| fume shipment And besides our orders are
much larger. People are not afraid to place
a full years order with us al the beginning
| OF the season. Collections are good, with
/ very little loss. we are now carrying only
| a very small amount of our customers
| paper and many Of these people are sur
prlsing US by taking up the paper long be-
| fore we expect It,"
George Milford is a mold maker at the
| Marion hint-glass works and is a member
| of the blowers union. I'm 1895" he said
| I'VE started our shops Oct s and worked
| q little more than eight months: in 1896 we
started one shop Nov. and worked about
seven and a half months, while this wear
! we started both shops the first week in
| september and think we will work every
day until the scale expires, June 90 The
men are making more ware every day and
making more money, too, than they did a
few years ago."
How do you account for that when the
wage scale Is the same?"
THE men are we'll satisfied and are not
always fearful that the shops will close
next week for an indefinite period There
Is no friction and all work together har-
moniouSly and anxious to put In full
time and turn out all the goods possible
Another thing that indicates the general
prosperity Of the country is that we are now
making twice as many lettered bottles as
We did three years ago. although ii cost
from y to Is per cent. more. This shows
that druggists are making money and can
only when the working classes are prosper
GUS"
o. II. Keller. manufacturer of chairs saws
that four years ago he had from fifty to
sixty hands working eight hours day Ave
days in the week. or from 1000 to q 400
hours work each week for bis employees.
Now he uses from eighty to one hundred
men six days in the week and works from
thirteen to fifteen hours day. which shows