Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-08
It LEADS THE WORLD
Grand Rapids, Mich, Great
Furniture Center.
SPECIALITY MONOP0LIZED
. Industry Supplied With Lumber From
Every Forest.
ANNUAL FURNITURE FAIRS
Sales Method Adopted by the Facto-
ries-An Interview With Repre-
sentative William Alden Smith.
ANNUAL FURNITURE FAIRS
Copyright, 1906 by Frank G. Carpenter)

Copyright 1906 by Frank G. Carpenter)
GRAND RAPIDS. Mich.
Grand Rapids Is the furniture center of
the world. 1t picks it's lumber from every
forest and sends it out all over the United
States and to Europe. South America. At
RIGA and Australia in the shape of beds,
tables chairs and Office furniture. There
are, at this writing. lumber camps in Mex
leo and Central America chopping out ma
hogany for these factories; agents are sta
toned at Liverpool to buy up the best tim
Der brought in from South America and
Africa for Grand Rapids, and there Is
scarcely hardwood section noted for its
fine lumber which is not tributary to this
point. During my stay at Panama last
year l found that Grand Rapids men had
taken out concessions for the best ma
hogany on the isthmus. l saw other Grand
Rapids buyers in Cuba swapping up the
best timbers as they were brought out to
the railroads and the sea. and during re-
cent foreign tour l discovered agency
for Grand Rapids office furniture in every
European capital.
A Great Furniture Fair.
Indeed this is one of the queer CONNER
cial centers of the globe and Is different
from any other in that 1t seems to have
monopolized its speciality. 1t is more like
one of the great fair cities of medieval
times. to which the merchants and buyers
from all over Europe went to make their
annual purchases. The most of such CEN
tiers have long since disappeared, although
in two of them fairs are still held.
1eipsig has a fur market to which fur
buyers from all parts of the world an
nually come, and also book fair, which is
largely attended. In the middle ages near
ly all the trading of England was done at
fairs. and the same was true of France,
Germany and Italy. The largest CONNER
cial fair of the world today is at Mini
Novgorod. in Russia. 1t lasts for about a
month six weeks and brings together
buyers from western Asia and Europe.
The daily attendance at that fair num-
bers 2U.OSO. and it Is estimated that $780,
00.UO change hands at each of Its an
nual sessions. Everything is at wholesale
and the single purchases are large.
The furniture fairs at Grand Rapids are
held twice a year, and the sales then run
up into the millions. Exposition buildings
have been constructed for them, and one
OF these Is so large that it's floors cover
fifteen acres. Practically all the goods sold
are from orders given at the fairs. and the
factories spend large sums in preparing
their exhibits A single firm may spend
$4,000 upon its samples. and all goods will
be sold from the sample thus shown.
Buyers From Everywhere.
The furniture sold here is not confined to
Grand Rapids. The factories in other parts
of the country rent space and send in sam
pies so that the buyer has the furniture Of
the United States to choose from.
The buyers come from everywhere, and
they number hundreds. Many are repre-
sentatives of wholesale houses. many pur-
chase for department stores and some rep
resent big retail dealers
Not few bring their families with Them
making this the vacation tour of the year
and at such times the Grand Rapids hotels
are full even to the cots in their Railways
The city then puts on its gayest cloth
ing. There dinners and receptions
night after night The furniture makers
subscribe to entertainment fund, and
they give their customers automobile rides
parties at the country clubs and everything
TO keep them in good humor. The time
for these fairs is midwinter and midsum-
mer. the summer sales being devoted to
furniture for the market for the following
winter and the winter sales to the summer
demand.
Why Grand Rapids Is.
have often wondered why Grand Rapids
should monopollze. as 1t were. the furniture
business of our country. Here, in the heart
OF the United States. with a long railroad
haul to each coast. and far away from the
south Is a city that does business with all
the world. The materials 1t uses In manu-
facture are heavy and the greater part Of
them are carried many thousand miles. The
city has some water power, but there is no
coal nearby to give Il cheap steam. 1t was
close to a hardwood region, but the
greater part of the hardwood has been long
since cut away, and nevertheless the city
grows and increases In its speciality year
by year. In 1890 Grand Rapids had just
about GO.0O0 inhabitants. 1t has today more
than 10000 and its houses and factories
are scattered over seventeen square miles.
1t has sixteen steam railroads. and its
tramways. operated by electricity. have
fifty miles of track. The public works Of
Grand Rapids are worth almost S2OOO,0OO.
and its clearing house business is more
than Sl0oO0o0o0 per annum.
Grand Rapids has 5S2 factories. employ
of over $4,000. The most of the factories
are devoted to furniture. and some of them
are enormous.
In Big Furniture Factory.
During my stay I have gone through one
OF the largest. which makes the finest of
beds. china closets. dining tables and side
boards. The factory turns out chamber
: suites which cost as much as 81. 500 and 1t
has made dining tables worth close to
$1,000. The most of the furniture Is OF
course. very much cheaper, but all Is OF the
highest grade, and such you will find in
our better class homes throughout the
country
A large part OF the work of this estab-
lishment Is done in mahogany. The wood
Is brought here in logs and sawed into
boards The boards are put away in kilns
has gone out of them. They are then left
under cover for a time in order to absorb
enough moisture to be easily worked. and
are then run through machine after ma
chine to be trimmed and polished for furni.
ture making A great deal OF the manufac.
ture Ii by hand and many of the laborers
receive high wages.
Without attempting to give the process