The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1913-02-27
NEWEST
INDUS1RyENOW
BEING OPERATED
Elk Pearl Button Factory Running
Since First Of Year With Near
ly 50 Employees.
COMMERCIAL CLUB TROPHY
Landed During Last Summers Cam
paign for Factories Wild Prove
Big Asset to the City.

Cairo's newest industry, the Eis
Pearl Button company is now oper.
ating its facory on Forteieth stree;
with a force of some 30 men. The
machinery WAS installed in Deem
Der and actual operations were
started during the first week in
January.
The local factory. like all of the
other of the branches in this section
of the country, Is simply plant
where the ordinary mussel shell arc
cut into buttons in their raw or un.
finished state. The finishing is all
done at the main D ant of the com
pany in New York.
The shells are shipped into Cair;
from points on the Ohio. Mississippi
Wabash and Tennessee rivers ant
then unloaded on the premises of the
company. The first process OF their
transformation into buttons, is their
thorough soaking for several weeks
IN tanks OF water especially con-
structed for the purpose and hold
ing about 7 tons each of the mus
sells.
When the softening process is
completed they are taken into the
sorting room OF the factory wher,
they are singled out according to
their size and put into gaIvaaized
pals, ho ding IS pounds EACH
The next step is to cut them into
button shapes. Machines. with q
small saw or cutter, propelled by
electric motive power in much the
same manner as turning lathe and
operated by a workman, cuts th9
shells into desired shapes and sizes,
A small pipe connected with the ma
chine throws continual small
stream of water on the she'll while
IL lS DJIA6 Cutf oooiNAthss III y 1kkINtht =
the shell OF dust and dirt.
Out of each ordinary sized shell
10 buttons can be cut, but the gen
eral average is about buttons "a
the shell.
After the buttons are cut from
the shell, they go through a clean
ing process during which time they
are allowed to stand in water for a
time and then dried in saw dust
They are then ready to be shipped
to the eastern plant to be finished
from the embryo state into the mar
ketable value button. Local ship
ments are made from every pianl
each week.
About IS per cent Of al shells
constitute waste product and this
is crushde into fine PARTICLES and
sold as feed for chickens. Lime il
included in the shell matter. to q
degree OF 92.5 per cent, ACCORDING
to chemical analysis. This makes
the waste product preferable as Q
layer for road building and has beer
sold for such purposes.
At present about 80 men are be
ing employed, operating as many
machines. The company Is in
stalling enough machines to total {
hundred, and expect to have the en-
tire equipment in shape for opera
tion by the time summer begins
When this is realized about IL,
men will be on the pay roll of tn,
company here. If business iustifies
more machines will be added. AM
under such conditions the list o
workmen will be increased to IL
or 200. The company has room OF
their site to add TO the present build
| ing in event there is such an I'm
| provement with more facilities i
! needed
| The men are paid according :
the work they do, and their re
muneration at the end of each wee
| is figured by the anon t, in pounds
of the buttons that they turn ou
on their machines. Several of tn
men who have been in the emplo
OF the factory since It began opera
ltion are making all the way fror
lsss2.7 5a day to $3.50. The begin
ners usually make about 81 da
1.-THE first or second week. but as the
gradually learn 10 manipulate th
machines their efficiency advance