The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-10-14

| ten years ago and I hive a faint recoi-
| iectlon OF what j saw then. If I mis-
ldhe not, II IS the county seat. The
! court house was then the most promi-
nent feature, n few stores were scat
tered here and there. situated on sardv
streets, and the merchants and clerks
nad plenty of time. The principle thing
10 occupy their time then was sitting
at the front door whiting up the dry
goods boxes II was a good town of
the old sort. Now the first tobacco
warehouse was built there eight wears
g with no tobacco in sight to sup
port that In the months Of August
n September, 1902, they have sold
elght millions of pounds of tobacco.
They ave paid out to the farmers over
one million nard dollars and over. The
principal street of their town now
favorably with any large
city. The stores are two and three
stories high and some have "a feet
front. Their streets and sidewalks are
all paved and their shop windows com
pare f~avorably with any, which proves
thrift n enterprise.
We spoke to the manager of a steam
stemmery which is operated by the
American Tobacco Company. Upon be-
ing asked how much labor he employed
in their place his remark was, All we
can get" We asked him how much Il
would average, and he said from two 10
five hundred all the time. We then asked
lat class OF labor he mostly employed,
His reply was, women and children. 40
work being very light could be done
oy any one above eight years old. We
then asked about the wages paid. He
said he paid S1.00 per 100 pounds for
stemming, and had one woman with
ten children to help her, who drew in
wages from $500 TO $4,000 per week. He
stated that they could easily average
$1.00 per day each.
About Z p. N. Mr.. Worth and I went
to the depot and the large stemmery
close by was lighted up from top TO
bottom with electric lights. It's steam
whistle blew three long whistles and
three short ones and l remarked to Mr..
Worth hat sounded like going to work
at z o'clock in the morning. The rail-
road porter answered that it meant
going to work at Z o'clock at night. A.
that time the day hands knocked off
and the all night hands took their place.
and the work never stops any week un-
I'll Sunday morning.
We then started for home. I have
now told what L saw that day II now.
merchants, real estate owners. farmers
laborers, we say let's go to Work
and help to build up the best and larg-
est city in the ~state-dear old Whining |
tOn-and make a new Wilmington. To
bacco can do for us fully as much as it
has OOIe lOI NOluSDOIO anu NillSlOIl. |
The chamber of m Will ap-
point a committee from among the most
and reliable citizens, l now
think, in the near future, to wait on
you and be kind enough to let you take
some stock in our tobacco warehouse,
prize house and stemmery.
This stock will now sell at par and
if we attain the same results of other
it will be worth three times a
n three years time. We mean bust
ness. Let us all come together, as 'in
Unity there is strength" and assure
farmers that we mean to make Will
nington the best tobacco market in the
both wholesale n retail. Let's
also make this place an export market
to none on the Atlantic coast.
have no time for delay. The farm
ars must know now, as thew have their
1arns to build for next season, their hot
beds to for their seed and their
ands to get in order. 1t is high time
@ let them know what we can offer
hem as to the market they can depend
lpon and one that we propose TO make
equal to any in North Carolina.
Yours for the tobacco warehouse in
GEORGE o. GAYLORD.