The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-08-28

find the site it wanted on which to
locate its plant. AS a consequence 1t
was looking elsewhere and, had 1t
not been for the activity Of the mem
bers of the Industrial Association.
this plant would have been located
elsewhere.
The Milis-Eiisworth Plant.
The fills Ellsworth company locat-
ed on land, which is now under the
water OF Lake Cooper. was planning
to 60 elsewhere because It could not
find the site 1t desired on which to
re-establish its plant. The efforts OF
the executive committee of the Indus
trial Association located this plant on
Commercial Alley in its present splen-
did building.
The American Cement Machine
company. formerly Of Madison, Wis
consin, was moved to Keokuk and es-
tablished through the efforts Of the
Industrial Association. This Is one
Of the very successful factories oper.
ating in Keokuk at the present time.
Dewitt Washing Machine Co.
The John Dewitt Washing Ma
chine company has been founded
through efforts of members OF the
Industrial Association. Mr.. Dewitt,
the former manager OF the Industrial
Association. became interested IN
manufacturing while he was working
to secure factories for the city. On
severing his relations with the asso-
citation he launched in the manufac-
turing business himself, thereby
showing his faith in the future OF
Keokuk as a manufacturing center.
During the last four years the In
dustrial Association has investigated
hundreds of factory propositions. 1t
is peculiar that in this day and age
the factory which is hard up for
funds Immediately makes arrange
ments to move elsewhere and puts
out f~eelers, testing out the different
Industrial Associations and Chambers
Of Commerce throughout the country.
In an effort to ind additional capital
to safeguard the industry itself and
for protection against failure.
Come With Inventions.
Every man who has a patent feels
that chambers of commerce and In
dustrial organizations are the ones to
whom he should go, in order to inter
est capital In his project and in or
der to establish himself in an indus
trial way. His supposition is correct
In this regard, the only unfavorable
element being that the majority Of
inventions are of such a nature and
are so dependent upon other manu-
featuring concerns that it is practic-
ally suicidal for anyone to invest in
these patents, without first carefully
going into the details and ascertain
ing the reliability and value Of the
patent, the proper protection 1t has
and the possible demand for the ar
ticle. Some patents are gold mines,
but the majority Of them are not.
AS a consequence. the great major
ity Of inventions presented to the
Industrial Association for considera-
ton have not called for organized in
dustrial effort because On investiga-
ton they are apt to be found impracti-
| Cdl dAu IL "Oulu NC uAo0AS ~ oISCAAPS
the organization of a company to
manufacture them. And yet, this
field affords a wonderful opportunity
for idle capital to make itself useful
and valuable, and incidentally is a
splendid way in which h industrial
department Of Keokuk's growth could
be increased.
MANY Propositions vaiueIess.
Out of hundreds of factory projects
investigated, ninety-five per e are
propositions 1t would be foolish for
Keokuk to attempt to handle. In the
remaining five per cent there is occa-
~sionally q good proposition. How
ever, the demands made by nearly all
of them are such hat they n
POSSIBLY be considered.
Because Of the great effort made
by the average sized cities, the coun-
try over, to increase their industrial
growth, factory propositions have
found pretty easy picking. Some
cities have secured surprisingly large
sums and have given the money away
in he form of bonuses to attract in
dustrial projects. This has resulted
in the development of numerous
tramp factories, which will agree to
locate in a city for a certain length OF
time for a certain bonus. When the
contract has been fulfilled. they plan
to move elsewhere in order t o re-
ceive more bonuses. Still other
| factories make unreasonable de-
mands, not caring where they locate
so long as they get the bonus or the
| stock subscription.
A Great Hoard Of Promoters.
AS a consequence the country is
infested with a hoard of promoters