The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1917-09-26
PLANT
IS ACTIVE AGAIN
Old Metal Bed Factory Is
to Manufacture Rubber
Goods Now.

McALESTER, Okla, Sept 22-(Spe-
cial) From group OF tenantless,
grave-like buildings to a bee hive OF
rubber manufacturing is the change that
the next three months promises in the
series Of buildings that constitute the
home Of the old metal bed factory north
Of this city A live, hustling concern,
the Grea, Republic Tire and Rubber
Manufacturing company, with head
quarters in Muskogce, has closed the
deal with c, W. Dawley OF Dallas for
the ownership Of the buildings and site
and has arleady started the rejuvena-
ton Of the plant
After the metal bed fiasco, such
change has promised more To hcartcn
the industrial and manufacturing stu
alton here than anything for a long
time. WsR Owens vice president AID
general manager Of the Great Republic
company, is practical business man
has gone over the whole situation
carefully and believes the proposed
plant will be pronounced success. lie
bases his conclusions on simple busi-
ness grounds and not mere sentiment.
Model Factory Field.
"In the first place" declares Mr.
Owens, Oklahoma is one of the most
logical factory fields in the country
today. This is particularly true of the
rubber goods line. With the opening
OF better transportation facilities into
southern ports. we can get the raw
rubber shipped to us more cheaply than
to Akron. Ohio, for instance. Then.
we find in this section the fine red
clay so valuable in the composition of
/ some forms of rubbsJ product But,
chiefly, we are right at the door OF the
great cotton fields, giving us the cot.
ton fiber used in tord-tire manufacture
without anything more than local ship
ping expense. And we can get these
products all in less time than they can
reach a northern factory.
I'm short we are twelve miles nearer
the raw rubber source than the north
ern factory and we have at our door
the other essentials in rubber manu-.
iaciure. Add to this the great future in
the rubber goods business in the South
west, the facilities for distribution Of
icrcd in McAlcster the ideally located
factory plant we have secured and you
have the answer to why we have select
ed an Oklahoma distributing point io-
a factory which we reasonably believe
VIII within comparatively short time
rank with the best in the United States.
We shall employ from $50 to 200 per
sons, bringing twenty skilled rubber
workmcn from sections where rubber
plants are now in operation. We will
sink deep wells for liberal water re-
serve supply and in the near iu,ur.
erect an additional two-story brick,
steel and concrete factory building 40
by 20 feet, to be used in the manufac-
,ure Of rubber footwear rubber heels,
druggists sundries, etc The main
buildings already erected, with more
than 10000 square fee, of floor space,
will be used for the manufacture Of
the DixielAnd cord tire. under special
manufacturing rights held by our com.
pany
SSo,ooo,00o for Auto Tires.
We come TO Oklahoma without ask.
ing any bonus of anybody, and purely
because We see in conditions here the
foundation for successful manuiac.
turing and distributing business"
Mr. Owens estimates that Oklahoma
and the adjacent states spend $4,000,
900 annually for automobile tires alone.
and he expects his company to ge, a
liberal share OF this tire bill and at
The same time keep the money from
leaving Oklahoma He has gone cas-,
to buy machinery for the plant, and ex-
poets to be operating within ninety
E days.