The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1901-07-12
For The Good Of the Town.
Editor Herald I:

Editor Herald
The Nation birthday is and should !
be. day of rest. AS such it affords
abundant opportunity for reflection
over glorious past, bright future
and business.
Speaking of glorious past, bright
future and business, reminds u.s. We
have two letters before us. One is
from a party who wants to establish a
glass factory, for the manufacture of
fruit jars and other pressed glassware.
| Capital required $40 600 and ten acres
of land would employ $50 to $50 men.
Some of the capital stock would have
to be taken by our folks, and we would
be expected to give the site.
The other letter is from a party who
wishes to establish an iron foundry.
A brick building would be required
which would cost from SO. 900, to So
900. The industry would employ 100
men. Capital required $l5, 900, one
half of which would be furnished by
our correspondent. Three or four acres
of land would be required.
Many such letters come to us from
manufacturers in all parts of the coun
try. Some of their plans are practical
and worth looking into, while Others
woulu be waste of time to investigate.
But what we started out to say is
this We have plenty of enterprise,
sometimes misdirected we have an
abundance of energy, and this is some
times misapplied we have brains and
nerve and grit, but we keep hammer
ing at, and working over the same out
put without considering the possibilities
which would result should we try some
thing new We have plenty of money
to equip complete manufacturing
establishment, and we have the ability
to cope with any competitors no matter
where they come from.
We have a cotton factory. why not
have wooden factory? We have
flour and corn mills, why not have
We have saw mills why not have a
coffin and casket factory? We have a
small furniture factory, money
maker, why not enlarge it and quad
ripple its output? We have pump
factory, why not have buggy facto-
ry? We have an ice factory with cold
storage attachment, why not enlarge
it? We have an abundance of fruit
and vegetables, why not have a pre-
serve factory where we can preserve
our own fruits, make our own jellies
and pickles and can our own vegeta-
bles?
| We use a great quantity of Cas- t hard
ware, why not have an iron foundry2
Are all of these feasible? We think
they are. Can we get a market?
The whole manufacturing South is
open to us. Can we get the money to
do this2 Yes. How?
Our idea is to give the working man
: chance take him into partnership
A few days ago subscription paper
, was carried through the business part
of the city seeking stock subscription
to an oil company Subscribers were
numerous, and many people subscribed
+ for five shares with the remark that
, they would give $50 to satisfy them
selves as to the existence of oil in this
i section. Will these same men cub
2 scribe $50 a year towards factory
: fund? Suppose we could pay into one
q of the banks of our city, to be held in
:. trust, as much as So, 600 year. In
I two years we would have enough
1 to begin the erection and equipment
1 of factory, and by the third year it
could be strtaed with capital ON hand
!, and everything paid for. Our idea is
to employ stockholding operatives in
t preference to all others, thus giving
him his daily wage and also letting him
participate in the profits to the earn
ing power of his stock. There are
few working men who could not place
s. as much as S10a year in factory fund,
:, and there are several hundred who
L would do so, to help launch enterprises
g that would assure them regular and
d remunerative employment, and at the
:. same time participation in the profits
arising from their labor When one
factory is started let the people con
e tinue to deposit their annual 9ubscrip
IS tion in trust for other factories, and
7 when the fund grows to $40, 900 OF
more let another factory begin opera
ton. BY this method in ten or fit
teen years we will have five or six ad
ditional factories, giving employment
to as many hundreds of men, women
J boys and girls. We can in that time
double the population of our city, anG
in all probability, quadruple the value
of real estate.
If we were TO MAKE an effort tC
q raise $50, 600 to-day for some public
g enterprise, we would probably fail t.
h secure it but by an annual subscrip
II tion to fund for the purpose of estab
e fishing factories, the amount would
K soon be secured on the principle that
!. Large oaks from little acorns grow.
Yours for the good IF the town,
o. P. RUTLEDGE.