Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-04
GROVE NOT
WORRIED BY SLUMP
IN ITS POPULATION
The Future Of the Borough and
It's Neighbor, Carney's Point,
Cannot be Forecasted.
GREAT EXODUS HAS BEGUN
stan Correspondence OF Every Evening

STAFF Corrcspondence of Every Evening
Penn's Grove, N j.. Jan. 4.--Dcpendent
on industrial activity, the future OF Penn
Grove and Carney's Point rs uncertain.
penn's Grove is an old borough, but
| Carnev's Point il a creature Ot the war.
! The former Is hopeful the latter secs
( nothing on which 90 base hope Penn 3
! Grove on n peace basis, seven weeks after
! the declaration Of the arnistlce, differs
| slightly from Penn's Grove on a war basis,
| The bcrougii's no ,ulation has decreased
| 900, but this III noticed Oniv Inv close
| observers there maV be another exodus oi
! 900 during the winter. When the arms
| ticc was declared $4,000 men were em-
ployed at Carncy's Point; now the mum
her of employees is 1000. and two weeks
hence il NAV be reduced 10 1000 Con-
tracts arc beng completed at the powder
plants Should these plants not be put TO
other uses, il is thought they will be re-
moved Deep Water Point where the
du Points are manufacturing dyes. has
bright future The dive factories cmpiOv
$500 men now and would give cm-
T.loyment to q 900 II operatcd at full
capacity on the presert basis. The tenn
porary dwellings AZ Carney Point may he
RACED. but tho permanent houses viii be
leased to dye employees.
Psnn's Grove nj the outbreak oi war
had population of $500. when the
armistice was declared the inhabitants
numbered 1000, ana should the exodus
not cxceed expectations the borough would
retain 5000 residents II Is reported that
the Delaware Ordnance Depot. between
Penns Grove and Pedricktown, will be
permanent and give employment TO 3,tn
men. most Of whom penn's Grove hopes
will reside within its corporate limits
The holiday business IN Pcnn's Grove
was large. and tho merchants have optim-
iStic visions OF future trade, they say, but
do not give satisfactory proof Of optimism.
That Penns Grove was benefited
financially by the war IS an undisputed
fact AZ the commencement Of h0stlhtles
the borough had but one bank with de-
posits amounting to 100000, now II has
two banking institutions, IN which the
sum of s., ,3Sl ,65S rs is deposited. Re
sources of the pcnn's Grove National
/ Bank include 1881 ,6q4.3 loans and dis
counts s46i ,S5i Liberty Bonds, s53l,-
1927 securities other than United states
bonds, S35, ,257 80 collateral trust and
other notes. sll 800 clearinghouse and
fixtures, Sl03, ,S33 95 reserve with Fed
eral Reserve Bank. $500 POS so cash in
vault and due from national banks,
bt1stlt e.
sI.67O.47l 90 total resources, and lIabili-
ties including $4,000 pitai stock,
| $50. 900 surplus, sl4, ,4055S undivided
| profits. $4,000 circulating notes and
| 81 ,4o0. .274.72 deposits. The People
Bank Of Penns Grove, Incorporated
three wears ago, has resources including
S94l .S97 20 loans and investments, Sl5,-
| qO2.l6 clearinghouse and fixtures, $50
O45.S3 cash and reserve, S1.7li.31 mis-
cellaneous assets. or 81 .009.5600b total
resources, and liabilities including SJO,-
600 capital stock, si5,l76.Z3 surplus and
profits. 1894 1888 50 deposits and $4,000
bills payable The resources Of the First
National ank Of Peducktown, two miles
north OF Pcnn's Grove, amount 10 >bl9,-
+ S53 30. it has S25.U00 capital stock, S25,
+, O00 surplus S9.559S IS undivided profits,
1 S25, 900 circulating notes, SCAT, 1923 de
posts subject to check ard S216 6.o6i.o 90
time deposits.
The Penn Grove Borough Council
ended the wear 1918 with bank balance
Of SIC 600 Imposition q Il mercantile
tax and seizure Of - estate Of delinquent
taxables lncreas, j borough funds. In
1917 the borough tax rate was $319 on
the 500 assessment of realty. ~ 1918 1t
was reduced TO S27l and this year there
Will he a further reduction.
During the war period Penn's Grove
! improved in many respects. streets were
graded and paved Cement was sub
stituted for brick IN the construction of
sidewalks Electric lights were installed.
Use of contaminated well water WAS dis
continued Many large stores were open
ed and apartment houses and other build
ings erected Modern tire apparatus was
obtained Pcnns Grove was connected
with Salem by traction line. Additional
school facilities were provided. Churches
prosDered, increasing I'D membership and
| Ii udating old debts. BY Incorporating
! a campmeeting association and erecting
tabernacle m the centre ot Penns
Grove the borough was made dry on
! the surface, but continued wet" clan
dcstively. Movie" hourlshcd and
pugIiatic exhibitions Were introduced.
A tine Dostoitice and free delivery oi mail
were notable acquisitions Erection Of a
borough hall costing s., 600 - contemplate
cd. With dirt abundant and buildings
congested it seems almost miraculous that
Penns Grove escaped great loss from dis
ease and ire. Despite continuous urging
the borough refused to install q sewage
system Real estate speculation III many
instances has been remuneTatlye. Penn 5
Grove has suffered from pro9teerlnE IN
various ways, but prices are beginning to
drop
ArchitecturalIy the permanent dwell
lngs ~ Carney Point are superior TO the
houses IN Penn 5 Grove aud otherwise are
more desirable Penn's Grove buildings
have little communication and previous to
the recent adoption of q code were not
subject to any restrictions. With Wida
avenues and pretty lawns the Carney J
Point villages are much admired During
abe war period the various clubhouscs and
the Y. ~ G. A. Building were popular
resorts. Two churches, one Episcopal
and the other Catholic, have been erected
At Carney's Point, and despite the IN
carraIn condIllona Methodlst. mav hnIId