The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1909-06-18
How Wisconsin Now Leads the World
in Granite.


The American Granite company of
Milwaukee is carrying on a business
that was originally established over
thirty years ago and which has reached
immense proportions, SO that today the
company are the largest granite block
producers in the United States. More
than 500 hands are employed in the
quarries, from which fact some idea
of the extent of the output can be had,
The company are, your correspondent
learns, doing just twenty times as much
business as ten years ago, with every
prospect of still more rapid progress in
time to come.
Your correspondent had the pleasure
of interviewing Mr.. Otto Rathmann,
the president of the company, and prob
ably the highest authority in this coun-
try upon everything pertaining to the
granite trade. The vice-president of
the company is his father, Mr.. julius
Rathmann, and the secretary is his
brother, Mr.. Louis Rathmann, who has
charge of the Chicago Office.
Mr.. Otto Rathmann points out to
your correspondent the fact that today
Wisconsin leads in the quality of gran
tie. The United States Geological De-
partment, the highest authority, states
that the hardest and most durable gran
ties are quarried in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin produces granite in all coll
ors, from the lghtest gray to the per-
feet black.
For monumental purposes, the ma
hogany colored GRANTEES are the most
valuable They take dark, deep pol
ish and hammer to light gray pink.
They give to inscriptions and tracings
strong prominence.
A granite which does not furnish a
legible inscription does not serve its
purpose.
Such GRANTEES may be cheap but they
are not adapted for memorial work.
The most progressive dealers are al
ready realizing their mistake. A few
years ago they handled cheap, gray
GRANTEES exclusively. But the demand
was for better quality of granite. The
demand on all sides was for GRANTEES
that would furnish lasting, legible in
scriptions.
While few years ago dealers had
their warerooms filed with cheap gray
granite monuments, they now carry a
good assortment of mahogany granite
monuments.
Some dealers have entirely discon-
tinued selling the inferior gray work.
There was time when monuments
were made of marble. But marble
proved to be unfit for cemetery work,
as it would not withstand the elements.
Marble made room for granite. In
the start, any granite was considered
all right, but the time came when the
dealers and general public realized that
there was as much difference between
good and poor granite as there is be-
tween granite and marble.
The mahogany colored granite of
Wisconsin, quarried in Waushara coun-
to, is the highest quality granite quar-
ried in the United States.
Government tests proved that for
eign GRANTEES cannot compare with
Wisconsin GRANTEES.
wisconsin Mahogany Granite" is
the most beautiful granite on the mar
ket. The polish is dark, deep, dig
nified, mahogany color. The hammer
ed surfaces are of light gray pink.
For polished or rock-faced work they
have no equal.
The quarries are in Waushara county,
Wis, and are the largest and best
equipped granite quarries in the west
ern part of the United States. The
plant at Milwaukee is second to none in
the country. The company's excellent
equipment insures prompt service at
most reasonable prices.
The rough granite for monumental
work is shipped to the company's plant
at Milwaukee. ge
The company ship to all parts of the
country, and probably Chicago is their
principal market. The Grant monu-
ment on Riverside Drive, New York
City, is of Wisconsin granite, and every
body knows what magnificent piece
of work that is. 1t bids fair to last for
thousands of years.
Sample specimens can be seen and
purchased from the Fl. Atkinson Gran
tie Works, Jas. F. Kaunzner, Prop.