Arizona republican., 1908-12-03
ALI. THAT VAS NEEDED Ostrich Growing Industry
 We'll Provided For FEATHER MANUFACTURING It Will Be Inaugurated Here Next Month By the Phoenix Feather Mfg. Go. Incorporated Here Yesterday by C. H. Keep, of London


 only the greatest ostrich feather pro- ducing section In the western hemis- phere but an important point for the manufacture of feathers. The term manufacture in this industry means the treating of the natural feather. preparing 1t for market and not as some might suppose. the creation of artificial feathers. The ostrich is too highly esteemed in these parts to have its, original job of growing feathers taken away from it, though the in cubator has very nearly robbed it of family circle.
 For the past year or so, and more recently only a couple of weeks ago. The Republican has intimated from time to time that a feather manufac furing project was one of the early probabilities in Phoenix, and The Re publican now takes pleasure in an nouncing that the Phoenix Ostrich Feather Manufacturing company was incorporated in this city yesterday, with a capital stock of s5O,OOO, divided into 500 shares of the par value of S100 each. The promoter of the com pany is C. H. Keep who arrived here last Saturday from London. England. on the invitation of Messrs. Pickrell & Clark of the Arizona ostrich company and who will henceforth make this city his home. It is his purpose to have his factory ready for business early in January and he is assured of an ample supply of feathers from the local farms to keep it busy
 If Mir. Keep meets with the success he anticipates he will enlarge his busi- ness as time passes, to keep pace with the growth of the feather producing industry here and he hopes to be able to handle the entire output of the val ley from and after the first of the new year. He does not merely treat the raw feathers for a consideration and turn them back to the growers to dis pose of, but buys the feathers outright, manufactures them and markets them himself. A local market for all feather growers is therefore provided just as the sugar factory insures a market for every farmer who desires to raise beets. Heretofore some who have planned the raising of ostriches here in a small way, have been deterred from doing so through the fear that inasmuch as they could not run a business large enough to go to New York with their small feather product and command attention. they might find difficulty in disposing of them at a right price Though that may have been a groundless fear, it is now en- tirely removed by the fact that they can sell their feathers right here in Phoenix and no doubt secure just as good a price for them as they could in New York.
 MT. Keep has spent the most of his time since coming here inspecting the feathers grown in this valley and is entirely satisfied with their quality Of course they are not all best, but as whole they compare very favorably with the product of the farms in South Africa and Egypt. The demand of the market he says is good feathers. There is always scarcity of the good feath- CTS and an overDlus of the cheaper ones. Hardly the latter either for all ostrich feathers are valuable, but the price covers Q wide range and the more one can raise of the better feath- CTS, the more profit in the business. The individual birds themselves vary in this respect, growing a larger quantity of the better feathers one year than another.
 MT. Keep is still young man though he has spent seventeen years in the employ of one of the largest feather manufacturing establishments in London, severed his connection of his own accord and bears letters of the highest recommendation from his former associates. He has made it his life business, likes it. and has master ed it in all it's details being a prac- tical feather man himself and risking his money on his own judgment. The new local enterprise will have a few minor stockholders for the purpose of 1 and to give the business some coloring at the start, but Mir 1 Keep is the chief factor in it and will | remain so. He has come here to make ! some money himself, and believes he | can do it. at the same time greatly ! one of the most notable of | local industries.
 The business is not one requiring |
 
 can all be procured here hence the | equipment of a factory will not require | great deal of time. The processes in ! elude dying, cleaning. bleaching and | sewing, etc., all the details of perfect | ing plumes, and making boas. stoles, | cts. Its chief demand is skilled labor. | For certain work only experts can be | employed and a sufficient number of | these will be here by the first of the | year to begin business. while an ample | quantity of feathers is already avail | able for beginning the business and the i factory is patronized by the local | growers. All the labor employed must | be skilled to a certain extent. but a | great deal of it requires only that | measure of skill that can be acquired | in a short time by apt and ambitious workers even though they know noth- ing about it in the beginning. The factory at the outset will employ per