The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-26
IN SPITE OF FLOODS
The High Waters Over the
Ground for Three Weeks.
No DisagreabIs OdOr of Any
Nature ut the Buildings.

Armourdale. Kas-. Sept. 26.-The
big million dollar soap factory. which
the Proctor & Gamble company is
building in West Armourdale. is now
nearly finished For many weeks a
force of ESQ mer has been rushing the
work forward and the whole Kaw val
ley in the neighborhood of the plant
has been ringing with the sounds of
construction
The factory site of twenty-six acres
at Kansas avenue and the Kaw river
was purchased in the spring of 1903,
the last tract having been acquired on
May Is. Three weeks later the land
was submerged by the great flood
When the waters subsidized ii was a
dreary scene which was presented to
representatives of the company who
came from Cincinnati to look over the
ground. But the company did not fall
ter at the prospect and its determine
ton 10 go ahead with its plans for the
factory went far towards rev1vtng the
spirits of ArmOurdale property owners
The initial work of construction be-
gan about the first of the following
September. The contingency of a fu-
ture flood was guarded against in the
building of the foundation walls. The
two main buildings are now pracuc-
ally completed. the storage tanks have
nearly all been erected, the boilers are
being installed. a reservoir is being
u,
the wells which will supply the plant
have been drilled. and the equipment
for water treatment plant" is on the
ground
Upon approaching the plant a few
days ago the first sound heard by a
reporter was the piercing clatter of
the riveting tools on the big storage
tanks The noise could be heard up
and down the valley and reached to
the surrounding hills
I can't say just when the plant
viii be opened" said F. F. Skillman,
the superintendent 1T will be some
weeks Yet, and then we will start one
or two departments at a time. We
are putting up a modern soap factory,
the largest in the west. and after we
have opened il il will take some time
TO get things in good running order"
When in full blast the plant is ex-
peCtsd to give employment to between
700 and 1000 men. Mr. Skillman was
una BILE to say how many men would
be employed at first.
THE company does a soap. glycer-
inc and oil refinery business" said the
superintendent The materials used
Will be gathered in all parts of the
United States and in Europe. They
will be shipped to the plant and stored |
in the big tanks until separated into |
their parts and made into the various
products of the factory. Our chief
brands of soap are the Ivory and the
Lennox. but there are many others. |
This soap Will be sold throughout the |
west
There is one thing about the plant |
which I want you to notice There |
viii not be a disagreeabIe odor about |
the whole factory. We will handle |
only first class materials. Everything |
clean"
The main building. known as No. 1.
the nrst to be erected, is of brick /
with four stories and a large base
ment- 1t is $50 feet long and 100 feet
wide II will contain the engine and |
boiler rooms and the oil refinery. The |
boilers VIII be of 4. 200 horse power
Along the north side of No. ? build /
ing IS row OF six immense steel tanks |
which will be used for storage pur-
poses Each of these tanks is thirty |
feet IN diameter, thirty-five feet in I
height, and has a capacity of 1S5.O62 /
gallons On the west end of the plant !
viii be nine other tanks of smaller size |
The plant will have waterworlzs |
system OF its own. All of the water
used viii be taken from five wells /
which have been drilled north of the
buildings Water in abundance was
struck at depth of from 200 to 25Ol
feet It WILDE pumped from the wells
and stored in a reservoir now being
built, which will be 500 feet long
3 feet wide and about 2 feet deep.
The walls of the reservoir will be lined l
with concrete. forming a clean basin /
for the water which will be carried TO
the plant through two steel mains. One
main will carry water to the boilers |
factory.
Before being used the water will be
softened and cleansed by passing
through a water treatment plant"
now being installed Every drop of
water used in the boilers or in the
Of soap will be first sub
Jected 10 this process.
The strata of the ground under
meath the soap plant seems to indicate
that il once was the bed of the Kaw
river In the boring of the wells a
layer Of sand was found near the sur
face No rock except soft blue lime
stone was found beneath the sand.
1t has been thought all along that
the development of an extensive man
ufacturing district would follow the
building Of the soap factory. North
east of the plant stands the new -four
mill and elevator which has just been
BY the A. J. Butte Milling
company On the southeast is an old I
oil mill which has been idle a long
time. but may be operated again some
time The Union Land company, the