The Minneapolis journal., 1901-04-06
AMERICAN BRIDGE co.
1t Decides to Enter a Field Hitherto
Neglected by 1t.
THE GILLETTE-HERZoG
1t VIII Be Expanded as Fast as New
Business Comes TO This Grow
ing Center.

the manufacturing interests OF the city
| Minneapolis is the great elevator city Of
the world. 1t contains vast number OF
huge storehouses which have been built
from year to year as the demands upon the
| storage capacity of the city have grown
These are nearly all constructed of wood
and equipped with machinery adapted to
| the material of which they are constructed
There is one great objection to wooden
J elevators, and that is the fire risk and
the consequent cost of insurance
1 From the general realization of these
facts springs the prospect of the develop
ment of a new industry in Minneapolis
and extensive building operations in the
| immediate future and to the Gillete-Herzoe
| company belongs great credit for having
seized an opportunity which will not only
| add greatly to its own business but to
the prosperity OF the city as well.
A Good Forecast.
The Gillette -Herzog company, before ii
| became a part of the American Bridge
company, had already foreseen that the
hreproof elevator was bound to come
The Messrs. Gillette had looked over the
field and had seen that concrete and tile
| WlLl
the advantages in favor of steel They
were, therefore, upon the point of deyot
| ing large share of their attention to
! elevator construction, without, however
| neglectlng their other interests Then
| came the merging of their business into
that Of the American Bridge company. and
the subsequent absorption Of that com
pany by the United States Steel COM
pany. In these changes the elevator
hTTS in -rxxyn~
though the Messrs. Gillette had not aban-
doned the idea.
The financial arrangements connected
with the consultations having been per-
tected, however, it was felt that it was
time TO broach the subject of elevator
| construction to- the officials of the Bridge
company. The desirability of the venture
| was at once appreciated-tEe field was
large the plant was of the best and it
was right here in the midst of the ter
ritory from which the greatest demand
| would come.
Naturally, therefore, the officials of the
company decided to make Minneapolis the
| center for steel elevator construction. II
| is DOUBTLESS due, in part at least to this
that the Gillette Herzog company has
been instructed to carry a much larger
stock OF material than ever in its history
Elevators Under Confederation.
George Gillette yesterday said to
d 0 u r that, in addition to the
big elevator for the Electric Elevator
| company which was announced some time
ago as about to be built his company had
under consideration six or eight others
Tne plant of the company is fully equip
PED Tor such work, SO that as rapidly as
the proJects take shape 1t will be ready
to push the work.
There is every reason, therefore. to be-
lleve that the business of constructing
| elevators Will develop with swift strides
| with regard to the prospects of this, Mr.
Gillette yesterday said in substance:
Several influences have been directing the
| minds of elevator men in the direction of the
| freproof elevator. The first of these is tho
| matter OF insurance. Rates on wooden ele
vators are high, high enough TO make a re.
| spectacle dividend on the cost Of steel ele-
vator steel elevator costs about 25 pei
| cent more than wooden elevator The diff
terence in insurance on elevator and grain IN
the course Of two or three years would more
than wipe out such difference The idea
that grain is liable to injury in a steel ele-
vator has been exploded Furthermore. legfs-
| lation has been such as to favor the fire.
| proof house. Just a few days ago the
governor Of this state signed a bill which
permits banks to accept warehouse receipts
| of freproof elevators as collateral without
| the insurance policy which must now be at
| tached in case the elevator in which the
| grain is stored is not freproof. These are
| the conditions which will force elevator COM
| panies to the construction OF hreproof eIe-
| vators. 1t means economy and facility In
handling business. The economy in ius,lr-
| ance alone would often enable an elevator
to be run at profit where otherwise il
might run at a loss
The steel elevator has the advantage over
the matter of cost and of durability. Con-
crete is not adapted to use in structures
| where there will be great tension, as in ele-
| vators. A little uneven settling will cause
| crack and a collapse such as that which
occurred in the big concrete elevator at Du-
luth. Tile bins banded have some advan-
| tage over the concrete, but even tile ia MOI
| to be compared with steel for the construc-
| tion of elevators. The item of expense alone
is against both concrete and tile, being 81
per cent gretaer than the cost of wood. as
against % per cent extra in the cost Of steel
The Prospects.
Having the advantage of economy over
| wooden elevators and rival hreproof sys-
| TENS, what is the prospect for the near fu-
| ture? Just this: Many-nearly all-of the
| elevators Of the northwest are of wood and
| they are equipped with machinery adapted
to wooden structures. These elevators must
gradually give place to new ones, equipped
with the more modern machinery Of the
steel elevator, and when the new ones are
| built, the steel elevator will be in demand.
| 1t has all Of the advantages, especially under
| the regime of the United States Steel COM
| pany
The United States Steel company, equipped
| as it is and controlling the resources at is
command, handles every part of the process
| of construction, from the iron ore in the
| hills to the complete elevator ready to re-
ceive the grain from the car. Able to do
| this, it is ready to reduce the cost of con
| struction to a minimum and at the same
| time to push its business to the maximum.
| This, with the increasing cost of lumber,
| means that the steel elevator will be better
and better able to compete with the wooden
| elevator.
What This Means Now.
There will be no immediate change in our
| plant. Expansion depends largely upon the
extent to which the business grows Last
| year we were compelled to send 80 per cent
| Of our orders to other factories to be filled.
| If that kind Of thing keeps up, Of course.
broadening out will be inevitable, and |
| see no reason why it should not keen up.
| We are ready to compete in the markets of
| the world and that means growth all along
| the line.
The application of the Chippewas on the