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‘ xiii}: CLEAN—MILLIONS '1 IN dimers.
Although the art of soap-making had_‘its“'_be-
28111111118 in ancient times, “is: within 5a century
that the. principal features of» the manufacture
- Isit exists toedayxhave been developed. ' In
_ 1791-‘Leblanc, a ._French, chemist, discovered
. and patented a process of manufacturing'soda
' - from common salt, and this invention had an
important bearing upon, the‘soap industry/Pre-
'rvious to. that time the alkalies employed by
, 303p makerswere derived chiefly from Tashes.
. .. Another discovery, made in4v1841 by Chevreul,
also a Frenchman, was potent in its effect upon
this industry. Chevreul discovered the-true
. composition offats, and was the first, to explain
correctly the nature of the chemicalaction by
which soap is formed from fats and alkalies.
The manufacture of soap in this country has
undergone vast changes within the' last fifty
years, and' the soap of to—day is a very different
product from that of former. times. _ The intro—
‘ duction of cottonseed oil and cocoanut seed oil
has been a‘factor'in the development of the
- business. Fifty years ago New-England was
the centre of the soap industry of America.
To—day New-York holds an important place,
both as to manufacture andvdistribution. The
first pressed cakes of laundry soap are said to
have been made by a local firm that at present
has an enormous plant in the heart of the city.
The introduction of white floating soap .‘about,
twenty-five years ago has added greatly to the
general volume of the business. . The' firm.
which began its Amanufacture has ‘otfibes'here,'
though its plant is located elsewhere.
The prosperity of its business is attested by
the fact that it recently declaredan extra divi—'
dend of 6 per cent on'common' stock. The stock.
has paid 12 per cent since the company was or-
. ganized,..and is,quoted at 280, though 'none is for
sale. Its outputis thirty carloads a day, equiv;
alent to about 175,000 boxes, Or 17,500,000 cakes.
During recent years. a great .number of im-
provements have been made in the equipment
of factories, and many patents have been se-
cured on machinery and processes relative to
making soap in the largest quantities with the
greatest economy of time and labor.
DYESTUFFS.
\.
GREAT CHANGES IN THE PRODUCTION AND SALE
'OF THIS PRODUCT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
The last few years have seen tremendous
changes in the production and sale of artificial
dyestuffs, and, in fact, a revolution in this
trade seems to be the rule about every five
years. This is due largely to the important im—
provements constantly being made in the meth-
‘Ods of .manufacturing and production. Many
dyestuffs which were popular a few years ago
'are not marketable at present.
In cotton goods the large bulk of dye used at
present is known as Diamine, which was for-
erly not known at all. In wool colors there
have been similar changes and improvements, so
that the competition-between logwood and arti‘
fiCial dyestuffs has become extremely keen and
active. The bulk of black dyeing was formerly
donewith dye made from logwood. This is,.at
present being considerably supplanted by arti-
ficial dyes, made-by various chemical processes.
An artificial dyeis a stuff made from coal tar
and is‘ a product of chemistry rather than of
nature.‘ Germany is the largest producer' of
artificial dyesf There are at present three con-
cerns in this State and one in New-Jersey who
.manufacture artificial dyes extensively. '
The competition in artificial dyestuffs was il—
lustrated during the‘last tariff debate by the
strenuous efforts mad3_by one firm to obtain
protection for an individual dyestuff of which
-it is .a large handler. In vegetable dyes this
country has aVlarge industry, and between
$5,000,000 and $6,000,000 is represented in the
plants for their production. A large share of
the business is dOnein logwood dyes.’
The woods used for the purpose come from
Hayti, Jamaica, Mexico and South American
countries. It is imported in sticks which are
cut up into smallg-chips as used. The process
of extracting the. dye is comparatively simple,
but expensive, owing to the fact that the work
has to be done in immense copper boilers and
extractors, costing a great deal of money.
The efforts in the last few years have led to
the production of dyes with exceedingly high
tinctorial powers. Vegetable dyes were formerly
sold in liquid form, ‘but they are now made in
a powder, providing an article more convenient
to, handle and of greater strength. Although
the price of dyestuffs has greatly decreased
their quality has been much improved. The
firms engaged in the business in this city have
branch houses in all the important cities of the
country. -
As an illustration of the enormous business
done it may be added that one firm alone occu—
pies an eight-floor building on Front-st. for its
offices, laboratory and storerooms, the latter
having a capacity of eighteen thousand square
feet. _
The manufacturing is done in a separate plant
ctr-the Long Island water—front.
, __...__
_USES OF SALERATUS.
The'fnllowing are some of the advantages of
the use of saleratus or soda, as set forth by a
firm in this city engaged in that trade, and
whose business is an extensive one throughout
the United States:
“Housekeepers Well know how important it is
thoroughly to understand the art of‘making
‘. good bread and other similar articles of cookery.
In order to do this it is essential aboveevery-
'thing else to procure good materials, especially
flour and good baking soda or saleratus' The
value of soda or saleratus depends entirely
upon the amount of carbonic acid gas it cori—
tains, as that constitutes its sole ’raising. prop-
erty. It is therefore apparent that the par-
ticular brand of soda or saleratus which pro-
,.,duces, when used for making bread, the largest
quantity of carbonic acid gas is the most valu-
..to adulterate.
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ous place.
each of the three streets mentioned.
seated with white marble.
is equal’to any office structure on the
bankers, brokers, lawyers, firms and
requirements _of tenants. .One of the
the Johnston Building.
comfort and accommodation of its t
high class of its tenants.
able to the consumer. The best baking powder
is composed of a mixture of cream of. tartar and
soda, with the addition of starch enough to
repel moisture. Soda or saleratus is an article
which, by the improved modern methods of
manufacture, can be made so pure and cheaply
that it does not. pay to adulterate it. With
cream tartar it is different. This acid, when
pure, commands so great a price that it becomes
a strong temptation to the unscrupulous dealer
The price of one pound of good
baking powder will furnish a large family with
soda enough for some months. The farmer’s
wife has always an acid free to her hands in
the shape of sour milk or buttermilk, which can
be used both as an acid to neutralize the soda
or saleratus and as a meansof wetting the
dough. Why, then, should she go to the ex—
pense of buying baking powder or cream tartar
when she only needs soda? Any good cook by
a few experiments or trials with sour milk and
soda can form recipes Of her own which will
be more delicious and ,tasteful than when made
by the use of baking powder, and haVe the ad-
ditional .satisfactior. of knowing what materials
there are in the cookery, and consequently ,a
knowledge. of its absolute healthfulness. Most
modern cook books now being published in in-
numerable quantities give principal attention
to the cooking of meats and other food as‘.dis-
tinguished from bread and cookery where soda
can'be used to best advantage. When referring
to the preparation of these latter edibles they
recommend baking powder, which practice we
'do not advise because it encourages extrava—
gance in the household, and the residuum re-
suiting in the food by the chemical action of
baking powder is injurious as compared with the
natural action »of sour milk or pure sodaior
saleratus.” _' _‘ ‘
' This one concern occupies extensive offices in
New-York, and has a factory at Syractxse cov—
ering seven acres. _ - ' , I
._.__——_———._——_—-—
, TOBACCO TRADE.
The growing popularity of cigars, cigarettes
and cbewingwtobaccohas given the leaf tobacco
merchants of New-York a ,business of ever-in—
creasing proportions. The tobacco district on the
East Side, bounded by Pearl, Pine and Front
Broad-st. has been the scene in the past of extensive building operations.
of the thoroughfare from VVall-st., extending south, and among them the Johnston Building,
It stands on the corner of Broad-st. and Exchange place, extending back to New-st. in the rear,
The entire exterior is built of granite,
foundations rest on solid rockf The partitions throughout are of fireproof material, w
. . The court on the south side of the building is unusually; large, measuring 34x37.feet.
both rear and front, and the windows are of ample size. In design, construction, convenience, equipment and servi
continent. The greater part has been rented largely on long leases to an exceptionally fine list of
corporations of high standing; The space unrented will be partitionedoff by theféwnsrs tomeet the
essentials of a satisfactory -office building is a perfect system of heating, lighting,ahdgyentilation,and
in this particular the Johnston Building has been equipped in a manner
.;structure. In connection with the building is an extensive electric plant and steam-he
cost of the building. The rental of the offices covers all charges.
The architect, James B. Baker, and the builder, Charles T. Wi
agentrfor the building is H. W. Douty, whose oflice is in the building.
With entrances on three streets through which flow daily untold wealth and riches, it is say
building is worthy of the’locality. It is more ,than worthy in all its ways—in its magnificent size and beauty, in "all
enants, and in the care with which its affairs are looked after and administered, and, most of all, .in the
,0: 3:. 39,533.
THE JOHNSTON BUILDING.
Broad-st. and Exchange Place.
sts. and Burling Slip, is not in any way at-
tractive for its architecture or palatial office
structures. The streets are comparatively quiet;
and the‘ rush'and hurry so characteristic of
many other portions of the city are lacking. A
careful study of the locality will soon convince
one, however. that there a business of great pro-
portions is carried on in a smooth, uninterrupted
manner. _
The year about to close has witnessed a com-
paratively satisfactory trade. The domestic raw
product has been receiving more attention since
the Cuban troubles began. and as a result the
sales in this department have been greatly in-
creased. From New-England, Wisconsin, Ken-
tucky, Florida and other States the crops have
been carefully estimated, and the buyers for the
New-York houses have spent much time and
labor in securing the best in the market. It is
said that cigar'manufacturers have found that
the great public, having become somewhat ac-
customed to the domestic. cigars, havemfound
them satisfactory, and that in the future there
will continue to be more of a business in this
directiontlian ever before.
The present New-York has about fifty tobacco
brokerage houses and about three hundred mer-
chants. -For the nine months of the present‘year
ending October ] the report of the Bureau of
Statistics fat W'ashington shows that leaf to-
bacco suitable for cigar wrappers was imported
to the quantity of 4,113,572 pounds. rich 3 value
of $4,087,238; .Ot-her tobaccos and manufactures;
of tobarrco.footed up- to 3,000,050, with a value
' As compared with 1807 this shows
scarcely any change. As compared with 1800 it
shows a big fallingoff- in the. importation of
grades other than thosesuitable for cigar wrap—
persf In 1890 of this kind there were over 13,-
000,000 pounds- imported; asagainst 3,600,050 for
the present year.- This represents the decrease
from Cuba, which has been supplanted by the
domestic product.
'nu'm m ,r u, .u l' “ul-
-, ‘ ‘ 115C»
As a result, many handsome oflice'structures grace both side!
which is shown above, occupies a most conspicur
and having an entran‘éé‘frdm
simple and massive in form, relieved by Romanesque detail; The
hile all the halls are .wide and light, paved and wain-
Plate glass has been used
ce the-johnston Building
thoroughly in keeping with the modern characteristics of the Whole
ating system, which represents a’ goodportionof the
There are no extras. “The offices themselves “are caredffb‘tifi by;,.employes of
115, accomplished a notable success in this work. The
The Johnston Building is in the very heart of the Wall Street-district..
ing a good-deal when' it'is said that sucha
1 its contrivances- for-the
‘BISCUI'I' MANUFACTURE.
New-York biscuit .manufacturers send ‘the
prdduct of their ovens not only to the uttermost
corners of theUaited States. but also to South
America, Mexico, Central America and even
Africa. As a result of the war, New-York bis.
cults found themselves transported in the form
of hardlack‘ to Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip-
pine Islands. There have been marked develop—
ments in this industry, even within the last two
or three years. It requires annually about 300,-
000 barrels of the, best flour in the market. The
number and kinds and grades of biscuits are
almost too multifold to mentiOn. There are hun-
dreds of different varieties, from the dainty, deli-
cious wafer, which crumbles to atoms if one even -
looks at it, to the hard disks, which will stand
long sea voyages and come out at the end even
harder than when they started. The array is
truly bewildering. .
Of course, it would be strange if in an industry
of such importance there was not some sort of
a combination. The Biscuit Trust is a strong iii--
st’itution and takes '-n practically all of the
factories in the metropolis and the w’hol‘e‘coun-
try. Of these there are about forty which make
nothing but crackels and pilot- bread. Large
amounts of capital are invested and hundreds
of men and women are given employment. The
trust has a capital of $55,000,000. and a baking
capacity of thousands of barrels of flour a day.
In the different p‘zmts of tlie‘trust there are em--
ploycd 10,001) hands. Another big baking com-
pany, which turns its attention to the~ export
trade in a large measure, requires (30,000 barrels ,
of flour annually. The biscuit-maker and the
breadmakcr are two different men. The latfer
is in a class by himself. He has his hands .full in
supplying the daily requirements of the 3,500,000
"inhabitanis of the city; .
The product of the biscuit-maker is designed
to keep for a long time. Its distribution is ovel
a vast territory and its uses are many and
varied. ~ :
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Norwalk Chronicler