The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-03-20

ronntiea, into Pittsylvania ana other
Virginia counties. to say nothing OF
tho vast North Carolina territory be,
;Sond DHnvi1le. So summed UP, Lynch
burg may he called a railway centre
that enjoys competing rates not only
10 all parts OF the two ylrginias and
the two Carolinas, but all over the
great South ana ali over the United
States Tho Hill City can we'll lay
claim. as It docs do. to the distinction
Of being the Virginia railway centre
and the gateway to tho South.
Mighty Distributing point.
Those advantages have naturally
made Lynehhurg great distributing
point for All kinds OF goods, and It
IS no wonder that Wholesale and Job
b,nE houses or all kinds flourish here,
and 1t Is no wonder that between coo
and 500 travelling snlesnen who are
scattered all over tho land. register
ut the hotels OF the country and In
every part OF the country as from
LynchburE. wholesale drug houses,
hardware houses, dry goods and notion
houses. hat houses. grocery and cor
fectionery houses, seed and provision
houses. and, in fact allskinds of job
blng houses. flourish here.
Last year tho capital represented
by the tobbinE houses OF the city was
close on to sio,25o,0oo. The value Of
the wholeaaling establishments was
4 s4.2soo0o, and the volume Of jobbing
business in all lines was very near to
y S3o.oo0,000
manufacturing Figures.
The jobbers and the manufacturers
s are SO closely identified 1t was at first
/ hard TO separate their figures. but
succeeded in doing 1t. and I find that
the manufacturers of the city have
nearly 100000 invested. They en-.
ploy about 5000 people. and pay out
on payroll account something close to
ss.01o,0oo year. OF course. the high
water mark was hit last year. and q
still bigger li;gh-watcr market will be
hit this year. for be II understood
there is no such word In Lynchburs
as back track and no enterprise
here intends 20 take the back track. It
IS more than likely that the figures
this year will show an advance In the
manufactured output OF at least 10
per cent. The value OF the manu-
featured output last year was about
sis,ooo,ooe. This year It may run
ss.oeo.oeo over that figure. The various
cloths. cotton goods. overalls iron
working sewer-p.p!ng, flour-nakins,|
wagon and bugEy-making candy
making, etc, are crowded with work.
are away behind in their orders. and
nine out of ten OF them are planning
to enlarge their plants and do yet
bigger business.
True sShoc-NIakinE Town.
While Lynchburg flourishes on
varied manufacturing. the fact remains
that shoe manufacturing is the one
thing that has given Lynchburg
twentieth century greatness in excess
cities. and really in excess OF any
Southern town. In the matter OF shoe
making, It Is the Boston and the
Brockton. combined OF the South, and
there are some farseeing prophets
who think 1t will some day in the not
far distant future outstrip even Bos-
ton and Brockton in the shoemaking
Geographically, cliuatically. socially,
relgiously and otherwise. Lynchbursi
can give all OF Massachusetts, spades
and cards. and beat 1t. and some day
It's going to do it. SO far as shoe
making Is concerned.
When Southern folks begin to learn
that the South can make anything and
everything Just as good and a little
better than the same things can be
made up North OF IN Europe. and make
up their minds to give Southern-made
goods, especially shoes. the preference
y; then Lynchburg will be the shoe-mak.
y y Sfng town Of tho world, and instead o
five immense factories 1t Will hav,
fifty or more OF like immensely. South
i sssern folks are learning. too. and learn
i Ing fast.
Shoe-making has undoubtedly mad
i .Lvnchburg great, and as for that mat
I sTter helped materially to make Vir
xginia great, and so I have no excuse
TO offer for devoting the most of this
space to the account of the Hill City's
greatness as a shoe-making, town. for
while the history OF the growth and
development OF the 1obbing and manu-
featuring Of shoes here Is OF course,
more or less familiar to the thousands
5lof merchants In all the territory south
!. 4of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and
4 east OF the Mississippi River. even
i east OF the Rocky Mountains. It is per-
! 5haps likely that the general reader OF
The Tin1es-Dispatch even in Virginia
4 does not know OF and does not realize
what an important and tremendous
G industry has grown up right under
i his nose. 10 SPEAK. Certainly I
I Testing than That of this great indus
! trial development right here in Lynch
burg.
The Whole story.
s To-day asked a we'll posted young
man to tell me all about It, and I am
going to tell the story in his own
Language. because he is young man
sof discernment and knows figures
when he sees them. I marveled some
what at his statements, but am as
-sured they are all right He spoke.
or rather wrote out, IS follows:
The first venture into the field OF
wholesale distribution Of shoes was
aated. Ten years later. in 1855. the
firm Of Witt & Watkins. whose sue
cess from the start commanded the
attention of the rather localized ter
ritory in which this firm then oper-
ated. Then years later in 1888. tho
second house. that OF Craddock-Terry
s & Co.. was established. A few years
later a third firm came into the field.
and then another and still Others until
to-day there are six large wholesale
shoe firms in this little city doing
buslnessin forty-three States. OF the
{ Union. These firms or corporations.
& las at present organized. are the George
y d. Witt Shoe Company. Craddock-
r Terry Company. and Smith Brlscoe
q Shoe Company, manufacturers. and
s. around and about these have grown up
X several jobbing houses. five or six In
i +, y number. and as matter OF fact some