The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-06-01
They Should Be Given Prefer
ence Over All Others.
BUILDING UP AN INDUSTRY.
What Could Be Done TO Greatly In
crease the Working Force Of The
Local Factories.

Among other things that the CONNER
cial club should do to build up Mankato
is the Inauguration of vigorous cam
paign among the people in favor of pat
ronizing the products of the local in
dustrics. Such a movement would sure
ly result in adding to the number of
employees and materially increasing the
weekly payrols. For instance, there
are at present but nine cigar factor
les in this city employing only twenty
men, If all smokers would buy home
made cigars the number of men that
could find employment in their making
would be swelled to one hundred and
more. This would mean an addition to
the city's population of something like
300 persons and the amount of money
that would be distributed among local
ed many hundreds of dollars. Cigarmak-
ers earn good wages. The average
wages paid to that class of workmen in
Mankato is from Sl4 to $50 Per week.
There are several in the trade who earn
more than the latter figure. The local
factories turn out an excellent grade
of goods and there is no reason why
their product should not be well patron
lied and in preference to cigars that
are shipped in from other cities.
Mankato should be cigar making
center. Tobacco can be purchased as
cheaply here as it can in Minneapolis
and St. Paul More cigarmakers are
employed in number of smaller towns
than there are in this city. In Roches-
ter the factories keep forty-six men
busy; New Ulm factories employ six
ty-four; st. Cloud fiftysix.~ In one of
the st. Cloud shops twenty-five men
are employed. Owatonna employs more
cigarmakers than Mankato and there are
other towns of lesser size that work
more cigarmakers than can find employ
ment in this city The reason for this
is apparent-loyalty to home made
goods.
But few years ago Duluth was al
most barren of cigar factories. Today
that city can boast of a large number,
and in one shop thirty-five men are
kept at the bench the year round.
Their wages run from $25 to $40 per
week and one of the high-class work
men is paid as high as 500 per week. He
is engaged in the manufacture of Span
ish hand made goods which sell at a
fancy price. Duluth smokers are loyal
to the local product and they rarely if
ever smoke any other than Duluth
made cigar. Men who travel out of
that city call for the Duluth cigars in
every town they visit. The travelling
men are an important factor in advertis.
ing the goods manufactured in the town
in which they live. Those statesmen who
travel out of Mankato could assist in
building up large trade for Mankato
cigars throughout southern Minnesota,
if they would but follow the example
set by their brethren in Duluth. There
is no reason why every fraternal or.
ganization that holds a 'smoke" social
should not buy cigars from the local
factories instead of contributing to the
support of some institution located else
where.
One of the leading cigar manufacture
ers of the city made the statement to
The Free Press today that he is now
have families numbering fourteen peo-
pie. This is but an illustration of how
Mankato's population could be increased
if 100 cigarmakers were employed here.
1t is one of the rules of the cigarmak
ers' organization to prohibit its MEM
bers from purchasing goods from cat
alogue houses. They buy of the local
merchants and help to build up the
community of which they are part.
They are loyal to their home town.
What has been said of the manufac
ture of cigars applies with equal force
to all the products of Mankato's fac
tories.
1t is a fact that IS per cent of the
cigars sold in the stores of this city
come from abroad. The other % per
cent are made i'm Mankato. The re-
verse should be the case.
The Commercial club should start an
agitation in favor of patronizing home