Omaha daily bee., 1921-06-19

north had to be occupied to give suf
ficient room, and not long afterward
the six-story building at the north.
west corner of Eleventh and Doug
las streets was leased for factory
purposes.
In August, 1897, M. F. SnitI
passed away and the firm of M. +
Smith & Co. was incorporated witt
Arthur c. Smith as president. f. M
Smith, secretary, and Ward M. Bur
CESS, vice president. Twin build
ings were built in 1906. l52 fee,
square, eight stories high on Ninth
and Farnaln streets to accommodate
the business.
1t was predicted at the time that
these buildings would be large
enough to house the firm for a quar-
ter of century, but SO rapidly was
the growth of the business that in
1920 it was found necessary to have
more room and the third building
was erected at the southeast corner
Of Tenth and Douglas streets, the
company having bought all of the
land between Farnam and Douglas
facing on Tenth, thus giving then,
control over the entire block
bounded by Ninth, Tenth, Douglas
and Farnam. The firms business
has grown steadily and rapidly ever
since its location in Omaha, and to-
day its activities cover the entire
country, especially on its manu-
factured lines, the Nina Taylor
house dress and Beau Brurnmel
shirts being sold practically in every
state in the union. The company
owns and operates large factories
not only in Omaha, but in Lincoln,
Nebraska City, Plattsmouth and In
dianapolis, and small army of sales,
men travel in every state in the
union.
Specific Illustration.
The brief sketch of the history OF
M. E. Smith & Co. serves merely
as specific illustration of the
progress the drygoods jobbing husi-
ness has made. Such substantial and
progressive firms as the Byrne-
Hammer Dry Goods company have
an equally interesting history, but it
is not the purpose here to give de.
tailed history of each individual firm.
but rather to pick out and hold up
the progress of few individual job
bing houses as representative of the
mighty march of jobbing progress
recorded here in the past half CELL
tury.
The various drygoods houses in
Omaha distributed in 1920 nearly
S2?.OOO,0OO worth of drygoods out
of Omaha. This alone represents an
increase OF nearly 200 per cent in
the last 10 years, to say nothing of
the increase over the business of the
early years of the city's history.
Lumber distribution also grew in
to importance in Omaha. Never a
timber state, Nebraska always had
to depend upon lumber shipped in
from the yellow pine fields of the
south and from the fir forests of the
Pacific coast, but it was necessary
that these shipments have some
central point of destination in Ne
braska from which distribution over
the state and territory could readily
be made afterward. The early lum-
Der yards were called upon to sup
ply lumber for the Immediately sur
rounding neighborhood and soon
called upon to supply lumber for
smaller towns out in the territory.
Thus those earliest in the lumber
business here quite naturall, ue-
veloped into wholesalers, or were al
most made wholesalers before they
realized it.
Railroads Developed.
Coal and coke also found distri-
button from Omaha, as the railroads
developed and ranified in all direc-
tions from the city. In 1920 the
coal and coke distribution out Of
Omaha amounted to $1o,00O,OOO.
Even cigars and tobacco grew to
be powerful item in On1aha's job
bing. This development, might be
said to have come within only the
past 10 or IS years. Even in 1910
Omaha was distributing only $780,
600 in tobacco and cigars, while in
1920 this phase of the jobbing busi-
ness had grown to the volume Of
$15,loo,115.
With the advancement of inven-
ton in electrical appliances, Omaha
grew to be jobbing center for
electrical supplies, so that while in
1910 it distributed 81 100000 in cleo
trical supplies, 1920 recorded a dis
tribution Of $7,sO0.0OO in this line.
In the distribution of fruits and
vegetables also Omaha has doubled
its volume in the past 10 years,
reaching a total of $1l,000,000.
Vast Amount of Business.
Grocery jobbing has reached the
huge total of $6O,800,000 per year.
Hardware jobbing out of Omaha has
reached the total of 100000. Oils
and burning devices have touched
the figures of 28,5oo,O 900 as against
s., 100000 10 years ago, showing the
great strides that have been made in
the jobbing of these products from
this center in the last 10 years.
Paint and glass soon became an
important item for jobbing out OF
Omaha, and this business has
reached total Of $4,000 annually.
Even paper and stationery to the
volume Of $7,67o,000 is distributed
over the territory in a year, and this
item also has shown an increase of
10 per cent in the last 10 years.
With the advance of building
throughout the territory, came nat
urally along with lumber demand,
,fs1 /, H. Jo,,,,d for Le,t;,r ,rd