The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-14

dotted the country before Industrial con-
centraticn began to crush out such petty
individual enterprises. This lad worked
hard at his mental employment. and In
course OF time became an expert cigar
maker. then, a boss" Soon he had a
subordinate part in the management of
the business. and later went on the road
as salesman of the wares that the shop.
which had grown to the dignity of fac
tory, turned out
By dint Of hard work and shrewd man
agement; young Wetmore secured the
confidence of his employers, and was
given an interest In the concern. Years
rolled by, and the tiny shop had grown
into Ia great factory, with hundreds OF
employees. Its products were sold every
where, and were noted for excellence
and honesty in manufacture. AT last, a
few years ago, the quarters In the con-
gested part Of the city became too small.
1t was necessary to expand or limit the
business. So in an outlying part Of St
Louis vast new factory rose. covering
many acres, with elevators to lift rail-
road trains and every facility which IN
genuity could devise-a city in itself.
WORK OF A LIFETIME.
! This was: the factory Of the Eiggett &
Myers Tobacco company. and It's presi-
dent, the: man who controlled and direct
ed those great industrial energies. was
the tobacco stripper of long ago--Moses
C. Wetmore.
From two rooms in a levee. tenement.
with half a dozen workers, including the
firm the business had advanced step
by step until the-eye could not at single
glance encompass the wilderness of many
stored buildings and countless lofty
chimneys. interviewer with a network
of railroad tracks. and with employees
numbering as many thousands as they
had in the beginning numbered units
This vast system had been built by wis
dom and foresight, Coupled with honest
dealing. Nfany-1neh contributed their best
efforts. but every rivet of the vast struc-
ture had felt the powerful blow Of Presl-
dent Wetmore.
/ One may easily understand the. love
Wetmore boresfor- the thing he had Gre
ated. 1t was inS a certain sense. the
monument of his 4fe work. His thoughts
had entered. into every extension, had
attended the laying of each Brick in the
lofty stacks The Factory had place in
his dreams and a corner among the chill
dren at his ffreside. Its honor was his
honor. and he strove to keep both stain
less.
This feeling extended to ali the en-
ployes of the great concern. The men
were treated well, and knew it. When
the ttold man as President Wetmore
Jnd ron n
of inspection everything was sure to be
all right No use trying to fool the 'old
man" He: had been there himself
"stripper."s suffer" fulf-nedged max
er." foreman. salesman. and all along
the gamut up to president. The old
man, never allowed himself to forget
the time when, barefoot lad, he
sI,eeehiess awe under the scrutinizfng eye
of the boss, He understood his men,
and they knew he understood. which
| meant more When the new factory was
built it contained smoking and reading
| rooms for the men. and others for the
girls Hours were reasonable and holi-
| DAYS frequent Wetmore, laboring man
| himself once, had strong ideas concern
ing the rights and dignity Of labor.
BECAME A MILLIONAIRE.
The wears that Witnessed the. building
of the great factory brought other Things
to t.Mose'' Wetnore. They brought him
wealth. His share OF profits swelled into
millions, which he judiciously invested In
real estate. He became recognized as
one of the most public spirited citizens
of ST. Louis and slais purse was always
open to advance the interests of the city,
| He was one of the principals in raising
| the money to build the new Planters
| hotel, where he now makes his home. In
other semi-public enterprises he has aid
ed materially. I1eo now ranks as one OF
th> wealthiest4 men in St. Louis. For
tune has smiled supon his endeavors.
When the influence of trusts first be-
gan to be felt In the West the Lfggett &
| Myers Tobacco company was at the
| height of its prosperity. The net earn
| ings were over $1000,0e0 year. and the
| business was continually extending. Then
the tobacco trust was formed by the big
Eastern manufactures. The trust soon
realized that Without the Liggett & My
/ ers and Dru1nmond Tobacco companies.
both of st, Louis, 1t could not control
either the output or the market. So Its
agents were set ito work to capture the
two big Western outsiders.
| These efforts, however, met with OBJ
stinate and unexpected opposition, Wet
more, from the the first, declared he had
no sympathy with the object or methods
/ of the trust and declared his indepen-
dence. Harrison T. Drummond. press
dent Of the Drummond company. also