The western sentinel., 1900-07-26
.ORINOCO WAREHOUSE.
A Model Tobacco Ware
house,
AND PRESIDED OVER BY AN ENTER
PRISING FIRM.

the first time, its tobacco ware
houses become objects of decided
interest. Especially is this the case
if big break" " is in progress.
Then can be seen gathered together
forty or fifty or more keen-eyed,
thoroughly trained buyers-men
enable them to tell to the fraction
of cent what this, that or the other
grade of leaf is worth to the manu-
facturer or shipper; there is the
stentorian voiced auctioneer there
are farmers intently watching the
sale of their crop; there are a mum
Der of lockers on, and this crowd
surges back and forth, up and down
the great floor, pausing but mo-
ment at each "pile of leaf, and so,
day after day and week after week
the sales continue. A break
over at one warehouse another be-
gins at another warehouse, and the
sights and sounds witnessed at one
are duplicated at the others.
For the benefit of those who are
unfamiliar with the warehouse sys-
tenn, we{ have fnliated some facts
relating 10 the Ger1noco Warehouse
and we Nope and believe the items
we here give will be read with no
less pleasure here at home than
abroad.
To begin with, we may say that
the Orinoco is the property of
joint stock company-a company
that represents very large capital.
The building itself is of brick; it is
admirably lighted, ventilated and
arranged, and it presents floor
2o3xoo feet. The adjacent yard is
paved with rock so as to be free
from mud there are a large num-
Der of dry stalls for the stabling of
farmers teams, and this yard is
abundantly supplied with water
from both the city water works and
wells upon the premises. Within
the warehouse are number of
camp rooms supplied with stoves,
fire places ard mattresses, and one
room is kept specially for ladies.
The basement affords large storage
capacity, and gallery running
along the north-side of the building
opens into commodious prize rooms.
There are also suitable offices, and
| the entire premises suggest the idea
| of large transactions.
Ii is a fact, too, that large trans
actions characterize the Orinoco.
When it was first opened for the
sale of leaf, on the 10Th of Novem-
Der, 1854, there were six hundred
! piles of tobacco upon the floor, and
| he IL
tory; good prices were realized, the
bidding was pirited, and the ware
house began its career under as fav-
orable auspices as any one could
wish. One tobacco year has passed
since then and that year has been
one of unqualified success for the
| Orinoco. 1t has been demonstrated
that there was abundant room here
for a great enterprise of its kind.
and the lessees of fhe warehouse
| have shown themselves to be we'll
g aYRal.fied R,s6 l. wat 10 sustain the t,e prestige
Ma~aaseas Ma,sn Mas gained an an Sl ''' q
! The firm operating the Orinoco
is Gilmer, Wilson & Co. OF Capt.
/ Gilmer we have elsewhere written
in connection with the only exclu-
sive wholesale house of town; he
is also leaf dealer, firm of 0. G.
Smith & Co, to whom we refer in
connection with that branch of
industry here. His partner, Mr.. E.
II. Wilson, is a young man and a
native of this county, and the man
agement of the business of the
warehouse in large part tails to him,
nor is the position he fills sine
cure 1t is characterized by hard
work, constant work. class of
work that calls for administrative
and executive ability. The firm
have also secured the services of a
very efficient corps of assistants,
and we cannot do better than quote.
in this connection, what Gllmer,
Wilson & Co. themselves say of
these employees in hand bill which
they have distributed by thousands.
They say
Mr. G. S. Matlock is with US as
Auctioneer, who will labor hard to
obtain the very best prices tor your
tobacco. We have secured the SER
vices of Mr.. w. H. Shelton, of Pat
rick county, Va, who comes to us
highly recommended as man of
sterling character and of first class
business qualifications. That good
old friend of the farmer, Sam. Wall,
of Stokes county, will continue with
us. This gentleman is well known
to the tobacco trade of this section,
and is ever ready and willing to at
tend to your wants. These two
gentlemen will have charge of our
floor and will do everything in their
power that will add to your interest
and comfort. Mr.. Chas. w. Shields,
of Davidson county, is our Book
keeper, who is ably assisted by
VIM. L. Keen, Of Davidson county.
These :wo gentlemen will conduct
their part of the business with
promptnessSa and aeearaey.t w. G.
Wharton, of 5Guilford county, is our
Collector and Ticket Maker We
feel confident in saying that our
corps of assistants is complete"
The compliments thus paid to
these gentlemen are merited, as their
every day business action determ-
ines.
Though but one year has passed
since the Orinoco Warehouse was
opened, one would he led to infer
from the large breaks daily taking
place that it had been candidate
for popular favor for 4 much longer
\ t;,,,a J,b.. fact IL that tl,e fIr,, have