The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-12-09
THE SHOE FACTORY,
First Annual Meeting of the Stock
holders of the Rising Sun Shoe
r1auufacturinr Comnauv

Manufacturing Company.
The first annual meeting of the
stockholders of the Rising Sun Shoe
Mfg. Co. was held in DIR. Kinks
hall last Monday afternoon for the
purpose of hearing the report Of
the officers and the election of a
board of directors. The financial
report showed loss of something
over $4,000, which was largely in
Cured by the organizing expenses
and mismanagement of the the first
five months. The trials and trib-
ulations of the directors have been
many and the time and attention
which they have devoted to their
task is worthy of unstinted praise.
AS they were totally inexperienced
i'll the shoe manufacturing business
they realized they had much to
learn and set about learning it as
best they could. With employees
to secure, new ones to teach, a trade
to build up and expenses to keep
down to the minimum they had
their hands full.
The losses decreased perceptibly
from month to month until last
month small net gain was shown.
The output of the factory from the
start until the last of November
was between 1900 and 100 pairs.
Commencing with an output of 200
pairs weekly it has been gradually
increased until it is now 700 pairs
per week.
With trade now established
and the factory thoroughly organ
lied, in charge of a competent man
ager, and the experience gained by
the directors, the outlook is now
much brighter than it has been and
the future Is looked to hopefully.
Thirty employees are engaged at
present, with an increase probable
shortly after Jan. list.
The time of the annual meeting
was changed to the first Monday in
Feb, with the fiscal year ending
December 81.
The old board of directors, with
the exception of J. E. Delaney, was
elected as follows: DR.. G. S. Dare,
H. Ii. Haines, M. Il. Kirk, j. M.
Sterrett, E. III. Worthington, Alfred
Kirk, f. G. Thomas, r. G. Lips
comb and A. Bernard Chancellor.
The following is the presidents
address:
RISING SUN, ND, Dec. 5, 1898
To the Stockholders of The Rising Sun Shoe Man.
ufacturing Company.
Gentiemea:-As President of the Board of
Directors, it becomes my duty 10 report to you at
our first annual meeting the result of QUE steward
snip for the year that is past. 1t would require
volume to enter into The minu.ia of all details,
from the incpent stage of building, along the
line OF putting up the factory, organizing and
getting started to making shoes, the defective
shoes and their rejection by the purchasers, the
shortage in ordeIs, the small output for months,
and the general losses that we incurred, all
through the factory and our inability to find out
through our manager where our monthly shortage
sis, that the Board OF Directors knew no more
about making Shoes and running a shoe factory
than any stakeholder, and we depended entirely
on the judgment of our manager We soon learned
that there was vast difference between the rep.
resentation, that we had been taught to believe,
that we had only to put up a building, buy the
material, trust the rest to the manager and the
shoes would be turned out at profit of from to
10 cents per pair. II then became apparent that
we had an elephant on our hands, and from that
on to the present time we have each and all en-
deavored by all the ability we possessed, to try
and convert this animal into cold cash. We are
daily finding weak places in the management, of
making Shoes in running expenses, and buying
our material. Small in many instances but IN the
aggregate amounts to considerable, and we now
trust that factory has passed the initial stage
and that the large losses sustained during that
period is thing never be encountered in the
future.
There are several details that will now enter
into, that will be of interest to each of you.
At the end of eight months the length of time
hat Mr.. Delaney was in our employ, including
organizing expenses, such as changing engine
from gas to gasoline, taking down and moving
machinery to depot in Baltimore shipping here
in three freight cars (Which should have been
only one). putting machinery in place here, eX-
penses incurred flom the time of starting the
engine on Feb. LIST to March 7th a period of five
weeks, when the first shoe was finished, amounted
to 500 (Which by the way was time of great
anxiety to us ally, and dozens of other OUTLAWS
tlat we knew not of, we found that we were about
300 behind hand, besides s., SEQ woih Of shoes,
pant of which had been returned 10 us by the
ucchaser, and part that we had made into
stock to keep our factory going. This was des
crate showing and something had to be done.
1t was apparent to us that Mr.. Delaney was in
competent to make a success of our enterprise.
AT this stage Mr.. Delaney sent his resignation to
me and suffice it to say, that l called special
meeting that night and We accepted it unaDi-
mously, and as soon as possible afterwards had
Mr.. Delaney gave no reason for resigning, but to
others he said was the cause. This have never
denied, but l really think MIR. Delaney knew
himself that he was incapable of making this
success and he knew that we knew he would soon
bankrupt the concern.
Since then we have had our times of depression
and times of rejoicing but, gentlemen, there axe
barriers yet to break down. and doubt if it ever
will be smooth sailing and will always, like
every business, require skillful watching. We
have to compete with the world in making Shoes
hence the margins are necessarily small, and to
be successful and make profit it requires a large
output We have increased our output from 800
pairs per week six months ago to 700 per week at
the present time, and l hope by the first of the
year to see the factory turn out LOCO pairs per