Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1900-07-06
OUR TRIES.
And The Good Business They
Are Doing.
some FACTS ABOUT Them.
What The Wood Workers are dOinq.
The Largest Factory Room in
Virginia, and What is Made
There---Big Out put of Lime. etc.

s"oi D'J Jul put VI LiInC, CtO
While out for an afternoons, stroll
in the eastern suburbs few dayssince
| passed in close review some of the
industries for which Staunt0n is just.
ly proud. The Putnam Organ Fac.
tory. Bell & Higgs Stave and Barrel
Factory, The Bodley Wagon Works
and the FelsW orth Lime Kilns, all of
them stung out along the line of the
G. u o. road and operating with such
a show of business thrift that l could
not Withstand the temptation to look
them through. These industries are
each of them putting thousands of dol
lars into the pockets of Staunton and
Augusta people every year, yet doubt
it one man in ten, even in Staunton
has any idea of the business they do
l confess to surprise myself Who knew
that 200 completed organs were turn
ed out at the Organ Factory each
month, or that SO many as 600 organs
are constantly in course of construc
tion there, yet these are facts as got
them from Mr.. Putnam himself. 10
| build these instruments sixty odd men
ale employed in a half dozen depart
ments, and to this force, new men are
constantly added, in fact the manage
ment is now enlarging the capacity of
the plant and are fitting up room
100 by 10 feet which will be ready for
use in another three weeks. Addition
al machinery and men will then be put
in and a greater mum Der of organs made
each month: for as Mr.. Putnam saws,
the demand is steady and the world is
his market. Orders are received faster
than they can be filled. But in proof
of his statement that she had the world
for a Market" he mentioned their
agencies in London, Christiana, Bel
gium, Mexico, Germany and even
Japan. London is his largest foreign
buyer, but at Christiana his Instruments
have also sold well for the past four
years. In our own country he sells every
State in the union. The Instruments
are madein 30 designs, embracing Or
gans for parlOr. church and chapel
purposes. The labor employed is
skilled-necessarily so-fOr who but
skilled mechanics, could assemble the
thousand and one delicate parts of an
organ or who but such could test and
mOdulate the music sounds. The ma
chinery too is new; every bit of it and
up.tO- O-date,-30 machines-and orders
now out for several more. Mr.. Put
nam claims that his plant is superior
to those of its kind in Baltimore, and
that nowhere is there d better equip
ped factory. On the yard outside the
buildings is stacked small fortune in
lumber-300, 900 feet: in walnut, oak,
poplar and lynn, all of it bought in
Augusta and adjoining counties. Fifty
thousand of this is used each month,
SO the supply i'll that proportion is
coming in all the time. Among the
improvements not already mentioned
is two story frame building for the
glueing department, construction work
on which is to begin in a few days.
Up tue track bit from here is the
Stave and CoOperage Works of Bell
& Higgs. In days journey you will
not hear so great a noise as the twenty
men here employed kick up. Every
one of them armed with hammer and
blazing away on an empty barrel. Out
side the big shop building, there is an
other force, but these are engaged ap
parently in more peaceful perSuits,
such as engineers, teamsters, stave
makers, etc. Altogether the scene is
lively one, and an interesting one too,
thanks to the courteous guidance and
explanations of Mr.. J. A. Bell in whose
charge the works are. His partner
MIR. W. A. Higgs in Charlestown, runs
another factory, the counterpart of
this. Mr.. Bell is proud of his estab-
llSuDuclt, dhu WIlSil Adu ROue ONeT
the place and had seen the figure foot
ings of his last years business, thought
his graduation well merited. In fact
thought his Claims rather modest.
MI. Bell has accomplished a sreat deal
for himself and for our community.
A $76, 900 business is good one and
n p1c Ii 10, h II
If the barrels were put down end to
, end and laid along the railroad track,
they would reach from his works to a
point beyond Brands Station. One
| thousand cords of stave timber are
worked up each year on the yards.
besides hundreds of cords that are
sent here. One big lot of 80, 000 head
ings is furnished by A. b. Lofts at
SpOttswood. Another of 40 900 by g.
s. E. Craun near Cave Station. Stock
ed on the yards are 500,G00 slaves; IN
the finishing shed are 100 ,000more and
$50 cords foot biilets not yet worked
up. These figures are big, but | have
Mr.. Bells word for it, they are correct.
The best of it is; this vast quantity of
timber is cut from Augusta county
woodlands. The entire finished pro-
duct is used by the White Star Mills
for packing their 2,700 barrels flour
per week.
But Bell and Hlggs are not content.
They are branching out; for besides