Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-09-12
STEEL TRUSTS CITY.
GARY, IND, WILL BE THE PARA.
Disc OF CAPITALISTS.
Wonderful Town which Has Sprung
Up On the Shore of Lake Michigan
VIII Be Corporation Owned and
Ruled.

Ihe town of Gary, Ind, which is be
ing built at the behest of the magnates
OF the steel trust, is practically CON-
pleted. The gigantic steel plant which
is TO dwarf every Industrial plant that
has ever existed is raising its tall
chlmneys against the sky, and the great
furnaces in whose flow thousands of
tollers will find living are standing
with greedy mouths waiting for their
food Down on the sand dunes of In
diana, on a little neck of land stretch
ing into the southern end of Lake Mich
igan, the new town is rising. Only
the other day there was nothing there
but the dreary mounds of sand with
sparse and hungry vegetation accentu-
ating the dreariness. Even the drowsy
Calumet, which river flows through the
new city, had a forlorn and lifeless as
pect.
All that is now changed. The sand
dunes have been leveled The reedy
marshes of the river have been filled
in, and in place of the few scattered
trees modern buildings have arisen,
and thousands of laborers have turned
the desolate place into a great camp
of industry where pick and shovel, ma
sons trowel and architects measure
are busy all day long. Broadway, the
principal street, is 315 miles long and
100 feet wide, with 20-foot sidewalks.
On every side stores, banks, hotels and
Office buildings are rising to compile
ton. Two hotels, at a cost Of over
$4,000, are under way, while a bank
building is completed and a newspaper
office is even now busy publishing a
weekly paper, which will soon be
daily.
Unique Living Conditions.
Twelve thousand men will gain a
living in the mills. They will form a
great homogeneous majority of the new
city's population, and with the end al
ready in sight the question arises as to
how this great army of workers with
their wives and families will live. The
place where these men will work will
be owned by the United States Steel
Corporation. the houses that they will
live in will be owned by the same body,
they will pay their taxes and receive
their light and water at the will of
their employers. Such is the plan, at
least, at present, and those who are
interested in the great experiment are
now inquiring curiously as to what
these unique conditions OF living will
mean.
There are persistent rumors that the
packing houses in Chicago will move to
Gary and interests allied to the Steel
Trust are already beginning to flock to
the new city. Foundries, ship yards,
manufactures of bridges, sheet steel,
structural iron, tinplate, wire and wire
products, and other concerns into whose
business steel enters largely, have al
ready acquired or are seeking sites on
which to erect factories. The initial
population of Gary will certainly not
be below 10000 and may be more.
Guarding Against Strikes.
Gary is intended to fulfill the dream
of many corporations and the particu-
lar dream of the Steel Trust-a town
where labor agitation will be unknown
and where capital will have full swing.
The United States Steel Corporation is
leaving no stone unturned to have in
it's hands sufficient power to queH in
stantly any attempt at a strike. The
steel plant is located on one side Of the
Calumet river, which divides the town
into two parts. Fronted by the river
and backed by the lake, it will be al
most impregnable to rioting strikers.
Swinging bridges across the Calumet
will turn it into a medieval fortress
about which the drawbridges may be
swung upward and the enemy cut off
while the castle can obtain fresh sup
plies of defenders and ammunition
from the lake steamers. Then, again,
when the striker faces raised rates for
his light, fuel and transportation, he
will probably think twice before strik-
ing, or at least such is the hope of his
employers.
Workers Nearly All Poles.
An interesting feature of the whole
project is that almost the entire popu-
lation will be Polish. In the new town
English will be at discount and the
Pole, with his habitual dislike for de-
parting from his native tongue and Gus
toms, will have a unique opportunity
to find in the English-speakingI country
to which he is focking in thousands a
city where he will meet only his own
countrymen, where the natives Of the
country will be to all intents and pur-
poses foreigners, and where he will be
enabled to live his life under the ira
ditions and customs of his native land.
Notes of Current Events
Several persons were injured when two
i I