Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-01-14
MAINE LABOR.
Continued from page So

Inc canning or packing industry o,
Maine includes the packing of sweet
corn, sardines, clans, blueberries
beans. squash, pumpkin, apples and to-
matoes The first four articles. namely
corn, sardlneS, CLAIMS and blueberries
however, comprise the great bulk of the
canning business of the State and tbe
packing of these articles has attained
such proportions that Maine has he.
come enc of the leading states in the
Union in the packing industry. stand
ing third on the list in the canning OF
sweet corn, and first in the canning o,
s2rdihes The canning industry O:
Maine mas become more valuable than
the STATE granite and ice industries OF
the State combined, the value of the
entire output being about S., 900 600 an
nually.
J The whole canning industry has
practically originated and been brought
TO us present importance since the
civil War. Some sweet corn had been
packed previous to the outbreak Of the
great rebellion. but the methods of
packing We're very crude and unsa It's
factory. In the year 1899, which wear
we take as n basis for this report. the
total pack of corn in the United States
and Canada was 5,440.29 cases of q
cans each. OF this amount, New York
packed 1.21S.942 cases. Illinois 97129i
cases and Maine some over 900 600 cas-
cs. Iowa stands fourth on the list, her
pack being sac. 300 cases.
After q brief history of the corn can
ming industry in Maine the report says
The BURBERRY canning business is
wholly confined to Washington county.
for the reason that we find there re-
markable belt Of burberry lands lying
partly in the towns of Cherryfield. Co
lumbia, Columbia Falls and townships
IS, 10. "A. % and %. The BURBERRY
plains in thesee towns produce thou
sands of bushels of blueberres of the
finest quality. and in the BURBERRY sea-
son. before canning the fruit was
thought Of. people from 20 or even 10
miles away were in the habit Of driv-
ing to the plains for two or three days
or even weeks outing. taking their
whole families along with them. and
picking blueberries for their own use,
also 10 sell to merchants and others.
In those days the plains We're consid
cred as common property. and people
picked as many blueberries as they
chose without question.
The cannig of sardines in the United
States was begun at PASSPORT, Me. in
1875. During that year one cannery
was operated. In each of the four sue
ceedng years one factory was added
to the number. so that in 1879 there
We're five in operation. From that
time the industry grew rapidly until
in 1856, there We're A. factories in the
State, Of which number 32 bordered OH
Passamaquoddy bay and it's tributary
waters. and IL factories were located
along the coast from Cutler westward
In the year 1898. the plan Of combn-
ing the sardine factories into syndi-
cate was proposed and in 1899 the pl2T
was so far successful that instead o,
one syndicate two We're formed, namely
the Standard Sardine Company. and
the Sea Coast Packing Company. Later
on these two syndicateS united, taking
the name of the Sea Coast Packing
Company This great syndicate has
absorbed about tWo-thirds of all the
sardine factories in the State. although
some of the largest packers have not
yet sold their factories to the great
company.
In 1899 there We're II clam canning
factories in the State. and the tota
pack for that year was 59IGg cases. the
value of which was $179,413 The num-
Der of employees was 1867. ana the value
of factories was $4,000.
In summing up the various canning
industries of Maine. we find that there
are about 175 canning factories of al
kind in the State, that the value OF
these factories is $12l4, 900, that the
number of operatives actually employ
ed in the factories is 1901, and prob
ably as many more are employed il
supplying the factories: that the
amount paid in wages in 1899 was
about 81 .400. 900. that there Were paid &c
farmers for corn 1881 900 and that the
value of the entire pack of all the fac
tories in Maine in 1899 was S5306 029
over 11.000 acres of land were planted
to sweet corn in the State in 1899. and
Maine was third in the United States
in canning of sweet corn, New Yolk
being first and Illinois second. In the
canning of sardines Maine stands
alone. no other state in the Union be-
ing engaged in this industry. The can
ming Of clans, blueberries, apples
beans. squash, pumpkin and small
fruits seems to be on the increase, and
there seems to be no good reason why
the industry should not increase large
~ in the packing of these last named
articles. 1t seems to be conceded that
the corn. apples and berries of Maine
are superior in quality to the same pro
ducts in other states. owing doubtless
to climatic conditions. There is GER
tainly no industry in the State that has
more ramifcations than the canning
industry. In every kind of canning
men, women and children are employed
at remunerative wages. The canning
factories give many poor people the
only opportunity for earning money
that they have, and many family il
our State has reason to feel gratitude
towards those who introduced and have
advanced the canning industry of the
State to its present prosperous condi-
ton.
We find the number of pure wood
working plants in the State, engaged
in manufacturing all kinds of house
finish, exclusive of the woodworking
plants connected with the shipbuildins
industry, to be 81. These plants have
q total invested capital of $, 10. 300 The!
employ IA hands and they paid las
fol Of h.