The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-20

$1,000 900 envelopes q day. But there you
must stop. The rest Of things made IL
Worcester are made In what might be
called independent shops, small affairs
comparatively. and yet some OF the
factories are enormous n lead the world
In individual Ownership. v
The town has the largest loom works
I'M the country. the largest carpet works
owned by an individual. the largest valen-
tine works. the largest emery whAel works
we'll. there are lots OF things In which
the town leads every other place. all
independent Of trusts and combinations
These industries include ~corsets, leather
goods. paper box machinery, clothing.
organ keys and reeds, paper making
machinery, lunch Wagons aud textile
machinery among hundreds OF others.
go you see the town Is not tied up with
one or two large industries, like other
places. especially in Massachusetts,. Go
to Brockton and Lynn and you find the
boot and shoe industry swamps every
thing else. In Lowell and Fall River
tho textile industry Ia practically all
there is. Waltham has It's watches. and
80 on.
Worcester began in "a small way In
every conceivable kind NJ industry
Each kind was built up from a small be-
ginning n zach has been fostered along
the lines Of individualism, and Worcester's
creed has been the more the merrier.
One result has been that no panic has
hurt the town much. In the last furry
Worcester kept right on working when
half the industrial plants in other places
shut down. There always seems to ne
| plenty to do in the way Of work,
The town has grown up with the 90 "a
you please idea. The early settlers were
canny folk. They had something like
Scotch traits. and the spirit Of the place
has been the same ever since, every man
pulling his own oar and saying nothing
out loud as to what he was doing. In
dividualism is the secret.
INpIvIpUALIsM HAS DONE 1T.
The reason WHY il succeeds. Worcester
people say. ia because individualism and
personal ownership and personal atten-
ton have made for quality. Worcester
made things. they assert, are just a
shade better than trust made or big
corporation made articles and hence can
beat the output OF the big fellows and kesp
on doing business Just as II a trust had
never been heard OF in this or any other
country. The town is a living problem in
economies, but the residents say they
don't care for that as long as they are
making money.
Although the city has a larger proper
ton OF churches than most cities Of its size
it is emphatically a mammon worshipping
city. Make money Ia its cry. All its ener-
gies are devoted to that purpose. but
there lie another side to IL.
Worcester doesn't 20 in for money max
ing for the mere sake Of money. They
make money for the sake Of acquiring
greater comforts in living han they have
had before and they then take It out in
education and home life.
There are few places in the world where
home comforts. houses. fresh air. pure
water. good food. fine sanitary conditions.
creature comforts Of all kinds, exist more
than in Worcester, and yet there are only
three or four millionaires and these have
LARGELY inherited their money.
This desire to beat others in quality Of
goods made and then to get the greatest
amount Of comfort out Of what comes in il
the secret Of the happiness and prosperity
I Of this busting New England community.
AZ a result il excels in some reinements Of
life, notably higher education and music.
The high school population in proportion
to the number Of inhabitantsis larger than
that Of any other city in the country.
This spirit OF individual control 10 shown
| hp n ,,,rio,,a In % That -ne nm oaod Uhop tho
place was first settled. The early settlers
found a fne deposit OF granite out on a
hill, and it was enacted that thenceforth
any resident OF the town could have all
OF that granite that he wished for his
own building purposes.
The quarry was opened up and from
that day to this any resident Of the city
may go out there and get all the stone
he wishes. He may not sell it and he must
use it for his own building purposes. but
there il is, and 1t ia used to-day.
The late Andrew H. Green, a native of
! Worcester and the father OF Greater
New York, gave the city a beautiful
park. That o quarry Ia in the middle
Of it. Twice has there been an effort to
shut OF the granite quarry privileges.
in order to prevent the stone hauling
through the park. but Worcester won't
have it, and any resident, rich or poor.
can just 60 out there and get all the stone
he needs for his own buildings.
1t Ia said that nearly all the individual
industries were developed in that spirit.
Although the town is set on money maxi
ing. the manufacturers saw there a
something more t. be achieved, and that
was a good reputation. Little by little
they added to their plants and they re-
sisted temptations to cheaper their out
put just for the sake of making money,
II got to be the town shibboleth to
make things better than n one else.
to keep control Of properties by indi-
viduals and thus in the long nun to keep
| right on doing business at a profit. II Is
Yankee genius and nothing else that has
made these men and their children
and their chifdren's children pursue this
policy. All suggestions OF giving up
individual control and yielding to the
advantages OF corporate management
were spurned. and the result was that
Worcester became the home Of more
diversified industries than any other place
in the country and prospered on the go
it alone policy.
sEcoND CENTRE IN POPULATION.
IL NAV surprise most folks. hut IL In