The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1910-09-16
ANOTHER Big
CIGAR FACTORY
Will Locate in Palatka-Have
Leased Quarters in Florida
Southern Building.

Balbin Bros. of Tampa, manufacturers
of Havana cigars, and with prospect of
employing some 200 hands, secured a
lease from the A. c. l.. R'y this week
for the north end ofthc Florida Southern
R'y building on Water street, next TO the
w. A. Merryday Co.
This makes the third large cigar man
ufacturing firm to locate in Palatka dur
ing the past month.
And the prospects are good for as
many more.
If more don't come it won't be the
fault of the Palatka board of trade
Balbin Bros. have not moved their
ed arrangements for its removal
Jose EScalante & Co. of Tampa, who
moved into the south half of the same
building last Friday, are already settled
and at work. The firm now has some
rs men employed and is adding to its
force daily.
Corral, Wodiska & Co., the first Tam
pa factory to move here, and which Sc
cured the old Fry opera house building,
has about the same force.
Mr.. WodiSka told the News that his
men were all very we'll pleased with Pa
latka and that the coming of other fac
tories, giving employment TO large
number of additional Cuban cigarmak-
erS, was adding 10 their pleasure. He
said that he favored, and believed the
scheme of securing piece of land on
the outskirts OF Palatka for cigar manu-
facturerS suburb, was entirely prac-
tical, and he believed that with little
effort would result.
Mr.. WodiSka is most severe in his de-
nunciation of the Tampa authorities,
whom he declares are doing nothing 10
prevent the frequent outragcS upon cigar
makers of that city, whose only offcnSe
consists of desire, and an attempt 10
leave that city where they are denied
the right to work by the hoodlums of the
city, or 10 seek employment elsewhere.
For instance, the Tampa Tribune of
Monday in telling of various Sunday as
saultS and shootingS in that city gives
this example:
"Policc headquarters were notified at
2:45 in the afternoon that o.. GraS, a
Cuban, about As years of age, had been
and Nineteenth street. The patrol was
sent TO an Ybor City drug store, where
Gras was taken after the assault. Thence
he was carried to the police station,
where his wounds were dressed and he
was then carried again in the patrol TO
his .reSidence, Tenth avenue between
Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets.
"All his bruises were confined 10 the
back part of his body, these bearing cv-
idcncc that he had been kicked. He
stated also that three men, armed with
pistols, went to his residence TO see him
and that TO escape these, he jumped from
a window and ran down the street, the
same trio later overtaking him, assuring
him they meant no harm to him and
after walking with him a short distance,
knocking him down and beating him.
Gle believes he was assaulted be-
cause he had stated he intended going
TO Palatka to work in a factory at that
place, branch of Corral, Wodiska &
Co. Since the assault, ii is understood
he has changed his mind and desires TO
go south TO either Key West or Havana
to seek employment. None of his
wounds are OF a serious nature"
This is only one of scores of assaults
which have occurred in Tampa during
the past two weeks, and illustrates the
difficulty the new factories in this city
are cncountering in their efforts TO get
their men out of Tampa.
The strike of the Tampa cigarmakerS
is for the recognition of the union on
the part of the Manufacturers ASSOCia-
ton. And the assaults are made by
those interested in holding the men in
line and TO prevent their working in
"open shop" Open shops are those
that make no discrimination between
union and non-union men.
The factories that have come TO Pa
latka are of the open shop variety.