Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-04-01
OMAHA GETS BISCUIT PLANT
L. Item & Sons of Clinton, Ia, Will
f. Establish Factory.
INDEPENDENT OF CRACKER TRUST
Has Secured Building and VIII In
corporate for Hundred Thousand
Dollars, BeRinnInE Operations
Soon ms Possible.

l.. Iten & Son, manufacturers OF crack
ers, biscuits and cakes, at Clinton, Ia,
will open a large independent factory In
Omaha at once, having secured building
and made other necessary arrangements.
The factory probably will be conducted
under the name of the Omaha Biscuit
company. which will be incorporated for
100000
This announcement was made Tuesday by
the Commercial club Of Omaha, which has
been interested in securing the location
here Of an independent factory since the
National Biscuit company closed its fac
tory in Omaha February IL
President j. j. Item OF the company will
arrive in Omaha within few days TO begin
the work of getting a building which he
has bought ready for a cracker factory em-
ploying fifty persons to start 1t is also
announced that l. Item & Sons will employ
Omaha help as far as possible, and the
skilled workmen discharged by the Ma
tional Biscuit company probably will be
secured by the new company, though 1t is
usually the custom of the National people
to break up tho machinery and scatter the
working force.
Several in the Race.
tional Biscuit company would close its
plant in Omaha, a number of independent
factories looked toward this city as a
field with exceptional opportunities, and
the Iten people were the first to close a
deal. In talking over the matter with
Omaha wholesale grocers, President ]. j.
Item was given not only announcement,
but definite promises of patronage, and a
kuNy n
in the new concern had it been necessary
to secure the location of the new factory,
but no such aid nor any bonus was neces-
sarY.
L. Item & Sons organized their company
in clinton in 1892, the firm consisting of
the father and three sons. In 1907 the busi-
ness of the factory at Clinton amounted TO
$375,OOO The factory is a model cracker
and biscuit plant and the new one in
Omaha will be similar, equipped for making
all varieties and package goods. 1t will be
conducted ION the wide open plan" and al
ways ready for public inspection. The
equipping of the plant in Omaha will mean
the expenditure of a large amount of
money at once. President ]. ]. Item and
one of his brothers, l.. c., the vice presi-
dent, or F. ]. Iten, the secretary and
treasurer, will come to Omaha to open and
conduct the plant and make their homes
in this city. though the Clinton factory will
continue to be the main factory for the
present.
stiff Rub for the Trust.
with the opening of the independent
factory IN Omaha. the National Biscuit
company, commonly called the Cracker
trust" will have the most formidable
competition in the west, especially in Mis-.
| souri, river cities. One of the largest
cracker factories which is absolutely in.
| dependent, is conducted in Kansas City. In
Sioux City the National Biscuit company
closed its factory and broke up the ma
| chinery, but in the hope of keeping out
! Independent manufacturers, bought bust.
ness lot and announced that the company
would build a factory and employ $50 per,
| sons Sioux Ctyans waited for two years anC
Aan independent company was organized
Another independent factory has built vi
large business at Sioux Falls, S. d.
which completes the string in the west.
The National Biscuit company employed
| lS0 persons in the Omaha factory until q
! closed six weeks ago, when 1t reduced ia
force to five men in the sales department
who conduct an agency in Omaha.