The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-08-16
WILL EMPLOY At
LEAST lis men
AT ITS OPENING
Is Largest Concern Of lis Kind in
World for Manufacture
Of Pearl Button.
MADE FROM MUSSLE SHELLS
Commercial Club Will Meet To-
night to Complete Arrangements
for Securing Industry

he largest pearl button manufac.
turing company in the world will To-
cate a branch factory in Cairo. The
concern is the Harvey Chalmers G.
Son, whose principal factory is To-
Gated at Amsterdam, New York.
Il. NJ. Denniston, representing this
firm, is in the city and has been me-
gotiating with the Cairo Commercial
club since last Sunday for the es-
tabllshment Of a plant here.
Mr. Denniston first approached
the club through its secretary, w.
r. Vanderburgh, at the Halliday ho-
tel Sunday and in company with
several Of the directors he was taken
over the city aud shown the avail
able sites. He left the city ana re-
turned yesterday to attend the meet
ing of the board Of directors of the
club, which was held yesterday az
ternoon from to o'clock and the
negotiations were practrally con-
cluded and the board agreed to the
terms presented for the securing OF
the factory for Cairo.
Il have had several good offers
from other cities in this vicinity
said Mr.. nenniston. "but am very
fayorably impressed with Cairo's To-
cation, being at the junction of the
two big rivers and with SO many
railroads with adequate rates. AS a 7
representative of the company for
several years | have been in your city
and passed through here many times,
but up to recently there had been no
suggestion from the management to
place a factory In this vicinity.
"The Cairo factory will be the
sixteenth owned by the company.
The fifteen are located at Amster-
dam. N. Y. Prairie du Chem, Wis,
c"ttenburg. Iowa. Sabula, Iowa,
Rockport, Ind, Beardstown, H.,
Clarendon, Ark, Manchester. Ohio,
Black Rock, Ark, Devall's Bluff,
Ark, Newport, Ark, St. Marys.
West va, Knoxville. Tenn, and
Sheffield. Ala.
"Wc run our factories all the
year round usually having enough
material on hand to keep one year
ahead of the demand. Our buttons
are made only of river mussel shells.
We manufacture no button from sea
shells. We make seven sizes only.
These are plain or embellished.
, All the factories near the source OF
upply make only blanks; these
blanks are all shipped to our finish
ing plant at Amsterdam, n Y,
where most Of the work is Gone by
yirls and boys. At all our other
plants men only are employed. One
man to each machine. The earning
capacity of these men are measured
by their expertness and application
to their work many Of them earn
lS20 per week The work Is all
done by piece work.
"The first factory established by
this firm was at Keethburg, ILL.,, in
1897. All the work was done at
this factory for several years,
'The firm requires one acre OF
ground and building large enough
to aecomodate 100 machines"
Mr.. Denniston says the number OF
men employed is only limited by the
supply of musssl shells. II It can
be worked up to point that the
shell diggers can supply more than
the number of machines they will
install, more buildings will be added
and more machinery will be placed.
He says it IN only q matter OF edu-
eating the people to engage in the
digging business. Nearly all the riv-
ers have an abundance OF mussels
which live in the bottom OF the
rivers.
Between Cairo and Paducah and
especially in the vicinity OF 0lm-
stead and Grand Chain there are
many mussel diggers. Entire FAM
lilies are engaged in the work, This
Concluded on Fourth page.)