The Portland daily press., 1898-08-06
MYSTERIOUS INDUSTRIES.
Facts Show Good Progress in Spite of
Some Failures
To the Editor Of the Press:

10 tItC 4LUtOOf " C1tO L 1900
sSome Facts About Westbrook, an
editorial in a recent issue of the Vest
brook Chronicle, was so manifestly unfair
to the business interest Of the city, and
presented such gloomy view of the bus
mess outlook, that it seems to call for a
statement of the actual industrial condi-
ton in Westbrook at the present time.
What facts there are in this editorial are
confined wholly to the Westbrook Manu-
featuring Company. The predictions in
it are not at all warranted by the situa-
ton. Anyone familiar with the indus.
tries Of the city for the past twenty years
could have readily looked about him and
seen what wonderful progress had been
made in manufacturing even with the
Westbrook Company left entirely out of
the reckoning. For the information of
all those who are inclined to take pes.
siplistic view of the present bust ess stu
alton in Westbrook, we wish to present
few facts. The population Of the town
in 1880 was about 1000. and it is probably
y little rising 5000 nova gain of some
|50 per cent.
Twenty years ago the principal indus
tries were the S. d. Warren & Co. S
paper mills, the Westbrook Manufacture
ing Company's cotton mills, the Dana
Warp mills, and the Haskell Silk mill.
This was some three years previous to the
construction of the bingham mill by the
Westbrook company. AT that time the
8. ID. Warren & Company mills were
turning out comparatively small
amount of paper, and had correspond
ingly small pay roll Today they pro-
duce some 30 tons of paper daily, employ
about 800 people, and have pay roll of
more than $1,000 month.
with all this wonderful increase of
this company at the east end the two
manufactures at the West End now rum
ming have more than proportionately
kept pa,e.
The Dana Warp mills in those days en-
ployei but 36 people, and used some 900
pounds Of cotton each day. The month
ent time the number of employees is 100;
the daily consumption of cotton COCO
pounds, and the amount paid out in
wages is some $1,000 month. The aver
age increase in the individual employees
wages Is abou5 II per cent.
The Haskell SILK Company presents
fully as satisfactory showing in every
way. Twenty years ago this company
which had then been in existence about
four years-was employing % people and
paying them each month S462. 1t now
employs 1913 operatives and has a monthly
pay roll of $4,000.
With the Westbrook Company COM
pletely off the stage of action. and count
ing but these three industries, we lind be-
tween forty and fifty thousand dollars
paid in wages to the people OF Westbrook
each month. Such facts as these do not
show that the city is in any danger of be-
coming commercial desert at present
The money paid out by all these COM
panies including the Westbrook COM
pany-which employed 220 people. with u
monthly pay roll OF about S500O-tWenty
years ago, did not amount to much more
than half the amount of wage money now
distributed. 1t seems then that VITA our
population increased about 30 per cent,
our manufactures pay out in wages some.
thing like 100 per cent more than in 1878.
The Dana mills and the Haskell Silk
mill are even now increasing tbs quaint.
ty of their manufactured goods; the lat
ter TIC such an extent as to require more
room for its machinery, even after occu-
plying one floor of the old duck mill !
And II permanent quarters cannot be
secured in some of the vacant buildings
the company will be under the necessity
of erecting an addition to their present
mill. A few years boom in any town is
not fair criterion by which to judge of
it's growth or business conditions Abe
city of Westbrook is now enjoying as fair
a measure of prosperity as most any of it's
sister manufacturing cities, and its fu-
ture prospects are such as not to cause
any uneasines to anyone interested in it's
welfare.