Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-28
MANY FLOUR MILLS
IN CENTRAL PENNA.
Harrisburg at One Time Ranked High and
Still Has Important Position

Harrisburg was at one time the con-
ter of great milling industry.
Wagonload after wagonload of -four
from locally grown wheat used to be
hauled into Harrisburg for shipment.
but of recent years the industry has
waned anN the old water wheels of
many. many of the ancient grist-mills
are quiet, the ruined buildings moss
grown and the dams leaky hiding
places for schools of sunfish.
Harrisburg still has one big milling
concern the product of which is known
all over the country for it's excellence
and is also headquarters for q -four
and feed campany that handles much
the wheat grown throughout the
entire Lebanon valley. This is a big
wheat consuming city, the big bakeries
at this point consuming hundreds of
barrels daily, the product being dis
tributed over territory 100 miles in
radius
1t is due to no lack Of enterprise
that Central Pennsylvania is not keep
ing abreast of some younger States in
the milling of flour and feed. The in
dustry tends to contraction rather
than expansion, Notwithstanding there
are more mouths to feed and the per
apita consumption of -four is increas-
ing. In the character Of her mills,
no ever. Pennsylvania ranks with the
largest producing States. but the mill
of greatest capacity in this State is
capable of only two-fifteenths of the
output of he most productive in the
United States.
In contrast with Minnesota and
Washington. Pennsylvania can hardly
be classed as wheat-producing State.
The big mills follow the big wheat
fields. Hence, the milling industry
Is not expanding here proportionally
with the iron and steel, woolen and
worsted, lace, silk and hosiery knit
ting and other important manufactur-
ers. Then, too, for bread baking there
Is an increasing demand for Spring
wheat-that which is grown in the
West. Winter wheat. that of the
East, goes into pastry and crackers,
etc. Notwithstanding Pennsylvania s
shorteoming in not growing more
wheat, the States mills a: e turning
out annually flour and feed of prod
uct value of approximately $4,000
900.
In 1867 Philadelphia was produce
ing some flour. IT. that wear the citys
mills turned out 100000 barrels of a
product value of $S,000,000, a barrel
of flour selling then at $3.50. There
was no material expansion of the in
dustry In the State until after the
Civil War. In 1860 there were in
Philadelphia 90 mills of "a com hin ed
weekly capacity of 10000 barrels of
-four. ALL of course, employed the
upper and neither stone, the roller
process being then something unheard
of. An "S-run- -of-stone" mill pro-
duced 2,400 barrels a week.
The milling industry grew slowly,
IL at all, in the State. In 1890 the
product value Was $40, 900, only
about IS times that of Philadelphia
invested in milling in the State In 1860
was reported at sa1,079,642. 1t ex-
ceeded this sum by only $197,35S in
1903. In the meantime the value of
a years output increased to $44,7S3,-
600. 1t is noteworthy that in 10 years,
during which there was 12h Der
cent. increase in the value of the an
nual productionfi there was q decrease
of almost 80 per cent. in the number
IF wage earners. the force dropping
from 3,37S in 1890 to 2,4s2 in 1908.
While some of the smaller mills In
rural sections depend wholly upon
water for power, the number is few.
Every modern mill operated by water
has an auxiliary power plane-steam
or gasoline engines, or, perhaps, cleo
trio motor. OF the 1,400 or more
mills in the State, only three show on
annual product value exceeding ST.