Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-27
CHESTER TAKES
HIGH PLACE in
INDUSTRIAL sun
Town a Beehive Of Indus
trv. Business and Cen
eral Activity
WAR IS MAIN FACTOR

m
,,cIes reUfotCinO the commercial
or t,dnsfyial situations IN the larger
o,nvnifies of eastern Pennsylvania,
e,hrro NctD JerseU aud DelGjOdro
~, articles set forth clearly the re-
.r,eed activities Of UdTtouS Industries,
ntoug Nth and IN some Instances be-
sc of the uctC business created by
,cog IN Europe. The nert article,
~ Ne p,ibRshod nert Monday tells Of
.J,,jops iu aud about AllontotUn. Pa.
MIA, has the European war done for
,,,os,erq some of the most prominent
.,,,vens saw it has given the city new
,aoso Of life and drawn attention to her
.-,rrnassed facilities for transportation
~, ran over three trunk lines, by water
oyor the Delaware River and for the in
.or,rorable sites for industrial plants
r,eht along the river, with its S5-foot
ohannel The widely advertised erection
:, tho gigantic plant of the Remington
ANS Company at Eddystone, adjoining
,ho Baldwin Locomotive plant, they say,
certainly has done much to give Chester
"a place in the SUM-
Eight murths ago real estate men in
chester were on the verge of despair.
puiIdint operations were at a standstill.
found in every real estate ofiioe. Com
nlaints Of inability to collect rents were
Today It is difficult to find house for
rent in Chester. The demand is out of
ali proportion to the supply. Some build
ers are trying to meet the situation by
huilding a number of houses to rent at
about $40 per month, but others are hold
ing back, not so sure of the permanence
of the present wave of prosperity. They
built n number of houses on speculation
when the Baldwin plant first moved down
10 Eddystone a few years ago, and then
when the Baldwin plant shut down and
STAYED shut they had to bear the loss
when their tenants moved out or could
not pay rent.
The present real estate condition is
typical Of general business in this oldest
town nthe State.
LABOR IN DEMAND.
Labor is in demand Manufacturers not
directly affected by war orders are in
directly affected in many instances. Re-
tail business has materially increased in
the past few months. Savings accounts
ere growing by leaps and bounds, espec-
tally during the past month, and there are
no labor strikes to mar the prosperous
conditions to be found on every hand.
ANY review of Industrial business and
labor conditions in Chester must be of ne
cessity include the two thriving boroughs
OF Eddystone and Marcus Hook, both OF
which adioin and are inseparable from
the commercial and industrial interests OF
Chester.
The expected influx of a force estimated
at 5000 men 10 the mammoth plant of the
Remington Arms Company at Eddystone
row nearing completion, is a civic prob
lem which Chester, with its present pop
ulation of 10000, will be called to deal
with at an early date.
The manufacturing interests of Chester
are so closely bound to Philadelphia that
they cannot be considered apart. For all
practical purposes, Chester is in reality
part of Philadelphia. For that reason
the opinions of some of Chester's we'll.
known manufacturers on present busi.
ness and labor conditions, as affected by
the war, and the future outlook when
the war will be over, may be taken as re-
fecting the opinions of the heads oi
similar Industries in Philadelphia.
Mr.. Richard Wetherill, of the old estab'
lshed and well-known Arm of Robert
Wetherill & Co., himself student OF
economics and a practical business man
is very optimistic. His concern employ:
about 400 hands. mostly skilled me
chanics. The plant is at present at ful
capacity. The firm Is not engaged in thu
manufacture of munitions, but has profit
ed indirectly through orders which cam'
TO it through the inablllty OF CERTAIN
plants which are making munitions t.
undertake them. Asked If he anticipates
losing any hands when the Remington
Arms plant would begin to run full, h
said he did not Most Of his employe
have been trained with him and haV
grown up with him, associated with hlr
for years. Neither does he anticipate an
adverse conditions as far as business
concerned If the war should terminal
suddenly, but, he added, no one cal
safely predict what may or may no
happen.
OF the future of Chester, and in fact o
the whole Delaware River front froI
Trenton to New Castle. Mr.. Wetherin !
most enthusiastic.
Perhaps nothing in Chester reflects tn
changed conditions of recent months
faithfully as the banks.
There has been an increase In deposit
this year over a year ago of almost 800
W. Most of this is quite recent On
trust company reports an increase
membership of its Christmas Savings Clu
OF 400, as compared with 100 last yeal