Evening star., 1909-04-15
BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS. j.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record. Hernll. !

.
Nashville is now the first publishing GEN.
ter south Of the Ohio and Potomac rivers
and the fifth in America.
| Nashville is also the center of religious
movements, the headquarters Of the
Southern Methodist Church, the Southern
Baptists. the Cumberland Presbyterians.
the Presbyterian Church South, the
Christian Church and the African Meth
Odist and COlored Baptist churches. Near
| ly all of the religious denominations
| named. have offices for their committees.
| secretaries and clerks, and the following
| religious publishing firms are located
here:
Methodist Book Concern.
Southern Publishing House of the Bap-
tist Church.
National Baptist Publishing Board (col-
| ored).
Board Of Publications, Cumberland Pres
byterian Church.
Board of Publications, Christian Church.
Southern Publishing Association.
Gospel Advocate.
Pentacostal Mission Publishing House.
Seventh Day Advent Publishing House.
| A. NJ. E. Sunday School Union.
And there may be other religious print
Ing establishments that l have overlooked.
! was told that there are thirty-six alto
gether, religious and secular, we'll equip
ped establishments twelve of them with
engraving plants and seven with litho-
graphing facilities.
From these establishments all kinds of
| religious books. pamphlets, tracts and
newspapers, Sunday school lessons and
denominational literature go out to the
| people Of the United States. the mis-
sionary fields and to various countries in
which the English language is spoken.
With the exception Of the railways, the
pay rolls of the publishers in Nashville
| are the largest In the city.
south's Largest Milling Center. 4.
Nashville is the largest milling center
In the south. and every day ships thirty
five cars, containing about five thousand
| barrels of flour, without including the
byproducts. Mr.. Shannon, secretary of
| the board of trade, tells me that the an
| nual money value OF this flour product is
about 81, 500, 600, varying according to the
market price. Louisville stands next to
Nashville as flour producer in the south,
| making 3. 400 barrels a day; Chattanooga,
:. 300 barrels: Memphis, 200; Knoxville.
2.O0O; Atlanta, 1900, and New Orleans,
600 barrels.
The mil,s Of Nashville can furnish bread
for population Of 100000 and If every
could provide the people of Tennessee all
they need. There are 7J0 employees in
the mills.
Nashville has thirteen sawmiils and
lumber plants, which make this the larg-
est market for hardwood lumber in the
United States. Most Of the logs come
from the immediate neighborhood. and
are hauled into the city on wagons and
f1oated down the Cumberland river. The
output Of hardwood lumber exceeds SO,-
600. 600 feet per annum.
Much of this hardwood is made up into
furniture here, and that industry is rap
idly increasing. Several Of the old mills
have enlarged their capacity in the very
midst of the recent financial depression,
and none of the plants has been shut
down. l am told here that no line Of
manufacturing In the United States has
stood the panic so well as the furniture
industry.
The stove manufacturers. who represent
very important interest here, have not
been SO fortunate. Their business was
practically suspended during the winter
of 19O7-8. but orders have been coming in
more rapidly every month since the elec-
ton. and several of the foundries have
had to work overtime. Present conditions
and the future outlook are said to be very
satisfactory.
Four Big Shoe Factories.
There are four big shoe factories in
Nashville, and for several months they
have been working on full time, with an
encouraging outlook The market for
Nashville shoes is found exclusively in the
south, and depends entirely upon the
financial conditions in that section. While
the south has not suffered SO much as
many parts of the north from the effects
of tine panic, improvements and extern
sions on the railway lines and in other
large enterprises have been suspended for
eighteen months or more. and many thou
sands of working people have been thrown
out Of employment. so that they have had
no money to buy new shoes. Business Is
picking up everywhere, however, in
gradual and healthy manner, and before
midsummer work will be generally re-
sumed upon the enterprises that were sus-
pended in November. 1907.
Nashville has been particularly fortu-
nate during the panic, and although the
output of all her manufacturing estab-
lishments except the publishing houses
has been reduced during the last eighteen
months. every plant in the city has sur
vived the depression, and there have been
no serious failures. either manufacturing
or mercantile. At the same time there
has been a good deal of building par.
ticularly costly residences and several
imposing structures for offices. A new
bank building and q new hotel, each to
cost a million dollars. have recently been
undertaken. and several other important
improvements are under consideration.
Not Noted for Cleanliness.
Nashville is almost as dirty as Chicago
and Pittsburg. The atmosphere Is full OF
SCOT. and you cannot touch anything
without leaving grimy mark upon your
hand Evidently no, attempt has been
made to introduce smoke consumers, but I
suppose they will come. sooner or later.
The people of the city are more anxious
to extend and increase the manufacture
ing plants than to bother the proprietors
about the condition Of the atmosphere.
They tell me- however, that the telegraph
and telephone wires are to go UNDER
ground: that an ordinance has been passed
and q contract signed to clear the streets
of offensive and dangerous distractions
about the worst that can be found in any
city. In the business section the wires
are SO thick overhead that they produce
the sensation of looking through q screen
when you raise your eyes toward the sky.
but people are confident that they will
all be cleared away within another year.
Naah,xille In hililf n q hills