‘ furniture and 3 buyer where there usedtowbe many, and, as: a‘ result; prices wert'dictated whichfthesell‘er was: ' ' ra. manipulation . of ' the market might be at- ’ dred and-fifty shoe factorioswhich. consume the capital is invested, and the annual profits frOm « .' 12 . VI‘HE LEATHER INDUSTRY. MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF RIDES. AND SKINS HANDLED IN THE “SWAMP-77' VARIOUS GRADES W'DICH G0_INTO THE Milt-NU- . FACTURE OF BOOTS. SHOES, BELTING, HOLIDAY GOODS AND Fun— ' - NITURE. Millions of hides are imported annually into the United States through the port of this city. From Russia, Italy, Germany, France, England and the numerous republics of South America the skins of animals are collected in order to meet the demands of this country. One would think that with the thousands of herds of cattle roaming over .the Western plains there would be a sufficient supply-from domestic sources. . ‘Sucha'concluSloii.thldierr,for. thereason that -. the" enormous annual-out ‘ t-‘O‘f leathervnranu- factured goods ‘ could:- not - be appreciated. The ., ‘ single. ite‘m...df meets and shoes would-Econsume. . . v enough leather in<the=coursesofga.-y,ear..to stagger '- the: average readerif even‘an approximate guess .- couldbe made.» Seventy millions of people-1n this comtry,-to: say‘pothing of the rest of-lthe. world,' require. to“ ,have '.‘theiri feet clad;~ and.m . . city of New-York. A similar calculation of the cigarettes manufactured during the.sanie;p‘efiriodz . is fabreaching,‘ and the quality} of theIg‘oodsf \ . minnow: is even ,mcre startling, for if theylcould .havefill’ :been rolled‘into one it would have ..lieen-'-a~imostf,.1a- ,~.Gf2,0005mile‘sj-long, or long enough 2to‘en'circle the; earth nearly. two and one-half 'timesn-These-arei amazing figures, and reveal, at a glance-ginow great the city'bf New-York is-in One direction,- '_ ,. lWithin the limits of _the"city there are about- 5,000 cigar‘factories, which havesm annual out-. put of 700,000,000 i'o 800,000,000 cigars',‘ for which nearly 15,000,000 p‘bunds of tobacco are required. The reputation of local manufacturers; produced wellmerits the praise and commends: , tion of the average smoker. In view of the; Cuban. situation, the edicts of W’eyler and} numerous. other influences affecting the importa~ tion of the cigars and tobaccos formerly used to such a. large extent by all biases of smokers, the manufacturer during the last year or so 'has'_ AN sorrow surr mm given careful study to the domestic raw product, and from it has been able to make a cigar of once:- to meet-the" demand. thousandspiiactories ,1 , . are running. full,‘timex and hundreds ofthou-z sandsmofmen and,womerrfdepend_.for: theirdai'lif f -' ' breadupon-theindustry: , . , Wherever-'machinery" is used belting .13 re: ouired to tranSmit' povw'er,~ and here is‘ found an- other demand for leather. The manufactureiof belting has developed can. industry than. .Which. few are moreain'lportant.~ .;Gloves,- fancy articles,“ ' a host of other manufactured articles“ come next in order, all requiring dif- ferent skins and different processes: . - ; . . There has never been a time' when;New-York was not a leader in the leather business. From the days of. the early Dutch the “Swamp” has been the scene of— operations in hides, leather, skins and tanning. Land became too valuable years ago for tanneries- to be a profitable propo- sition, and they have been removed to smaller towns, where the use of tanbark doesnot in- volve ruinous freight rates, and where taxes and other expenses are light. In the years gone by there have been splendid opportunities to make money in the tanning and leather. business, and many a fortune has been accumulated. Among the prominent names connected withits history is that of Fayerweather, whose estate amounted to millions, and who left many large bequests to the different educational institutions of the - country. , AN UNRIVALLED CENTRE. An examination of commercial statistics shows ata glance the lead New-York has over all other ports in the quantity and value of hides and. leather which are brought into the United States. For the present year the eight months ending in August, but which have been correct- ed up, to the last of September, show that the total imports of hides and skins from all coun-. tries have amounted to 180,640,818 pounds, with a value of- $27,748,084, as against 163,608,614 pounds, with a‘ value of 5%,637286,‘ for the same period- in 1897.: Of the quantity imported diJring theqperiod of the present year the larger part came from South America, with the United King- dom‘next in importance. Germany and France a’lsoisend" us important shipments of the raw product each-(year. Early in the present year there were many unusual conditions present in we ‘market. At one time the visible supply of hides ’at" New-York had decreased until ..there was scarcely any at all, and there was no little anxiety in many quarters as to the causes. Al- though there was a good demand, there ap- peared to be a lack of the raw product in the principal localities of supply. One of the rea— sons advanced for this was that cattle—raising in South America and in this country also had- recetved' a. black eye. Up to a. few years. ago before the‘ big packersin the. West. consolidated there wa‘sKan a‘ctive‘“market for all sorts .of live ' ' stock -‘ and the resultant‘products. . Prices 'were' gOOd and competition for business was keen. When the trust was formedt-here was only one obliged to accept or*not‘sell’hisfproduct; -~rrom~ this time there was a decline in cattle—raising. The influence in this country spread to South American territories and the industry lan- guished. This was about three or four years ago. As it takes just about that length of time for a creature to develop for the market, the extent to which cattle—raising was curtailed three years ago is now fully demonstrated by the lack of supply in the market tc-day. THE TRADE SITUATION. While the principal centre for the domestic product is in the West, still New-York handles immense quantities of it. and each year dis~ tributes a .big portion through its important commission-houses. The principal office of the Leather Trust. is in the “Swamp." This concern is a consolidation of many of the leading. tans neries all through ,the United States, and its- annual outputof-leather is of-enormous pro-d portions. There are _a number of disturbing ele- ments in the trade‘at the close of the present year. Rumors have been in circulation that. many factories were to'be shut down, and that tempted. The trade has also had one or two large failures-,-which' would indicate that busi- ness was notrof aprofit-making character. In NeWsYork City there are about“ one hun- best leather in producing’the high-grade’manua factured goods sent into the: market. -Large the investment amoimt to over $10,000,000. The finer grades of leather go into the prodUc- tion, of fancy articles, such as pocketbooks, travelling bags, and holiday presents in general. There are nearly sixty firms in New-York City administering to this daintier side of the trade. ..___+___.. . MILLIONS OF CIGARS. 01! making cigars there is no end. The great army of smokers is constantly growing in size and the manufacturersh‘ardly find time in a legitimate business year to meet the demands made upon them by the Wholesale and.retai1 houses. It has been estimated that if all the cigars manufactured in this city in oneyear could be placed end to end they would make a roll of tobacco 44,250 miles long, or long enough to encircle-the earth nearly one and three—quarter times. Allowing thirty minutes as unreasonable time for smoking each cigar, it would keep one man smoking constantly day L'ness, but the volume of trade in the latter keeps and night for over 40.000 years to consume this single year’s product of the cigarmakers of the . THE MOLLENHAUER SUGAR REFINING COMPANY’S BUILDING ' v about two million tons. Receiving-gavel: half of the quantity consumed, m3$he;_,United"j_Sta-tes, it ' “ seen. wooden-that'sbeiih‘llustrr. 196531.133: -_is in ' " '_'il_curislii_fig‘ condition.” The; raw’mroduct on}: align.“ terse: the .Tgicbe.;;‘-Tne:»west Indies? China, the ea‘sr— Indies, Asia‘and' Africa all coh--~'_ tribute..a’certaiggshareg-‘w .. . .- . ,. Ora-account of~the-‘léng revolution in-Cuba and the recent wa‘r‘the 'Supply'from thatsource has been almost‘entirely cut off. The futuresripens up untold-"possibilities. " Cuba and the Philippines i will nowhe free? to raise cane. on coextensive: sc‘a’ie‘. and'theuuantity‘of raw-sugar at the dis- posal of; the refineries, will besnch as to make necessary great management to hold the control . of the business 'from one concern.‘ The annex-u ,ation of ‘the Hawaiians-Islands; which now have a producing capacity of 250,000 .tons of raw sugar annuallyhcr'eated an unusual stir in the. trade; As a part of *the United States all Sugars could be brought intothis country free of duty. This appliedto the rawas well as the refined. South Tenth-st. and'the East River, 'Brooklyn. The Mollenhauer Sugar Refining Company’s plant is one of the model manufactoriesin this country. It was started in a humble way, in 1869, when the original factory began the manu- facture of sugar from molasses. To-day it is that makes sugar from ‘molasses or sugar-cane, an independent concern. and one of athe few_ the manufacture of sugar from the cane being begun in 1891. It is the largest independent concern ln‘t‘he country outside of the American Sugar Refining Company. Directly connected with the Mollenhauer Sugar Refining Company are the works of the Neidmann Coonerage Company, which turns out 5,000 barrels .a day, the residue which the Mollenhauer company does not use being sent to other manufacturers. The refinery, in Brooklyn, has a frontage on square city blocks, from Division—ave. to South the river side‘ of 600 feet, and comprises two Tenth-5L, and from'Kent-ave. bathe river. 0n the northern corner of South Eleventh—st. and Kent-ave. are tire refinery and storehouses, while next to them is the filter-house, a. nine—Story structure, and adjoining this is the boiler- house, with 3,000 horse-power. The warehouse, with its two floors, has a capacity of 25,000 bar- rels, and is south of the refinery. Next to the warehouse are the machine, blacksmith and co‘operage shops and'toolhouse. On the block bounded by South'renth and South Eleventh .sts. is theraw sugarhouse, the capacity, of which is 100,000 bags of raw sugar, The; plant is en- tirely equipped, incase of fire, with Grinnell automatic sprinklers, fire hose and standpipé. . while there are electric alarm clocks. and pails plant, with 1,500 lights of what is known as the > An idea of the-growth of. the sugar industry; \thei-r.~new~..plant,‘ .the.Mollenhauer Company-'32-d-aily average-output wax-1.200 barrelg, and'this year it is increased to 3,500 barrels. The original house, which was at the foot of tons a. day, whereas the present output is 600 on every floor. There is also an electric light double system. ' may be gathered from-the fact that in 893, with in 1869, could produce about thirty , The officers of the company are: John Rush-st, tons. Mollenhauer, president; J. Adolph Mollenhauer, vice—president; Fred D. Mollenhauer, secretary and treasurer. The sales oflice of the‘Mollenhauer Sugar Refining Company is at No. 109 Wall-st. unusual excellence. In fact, the public has taken so kindly to the change, and by this time has become so educated in the taste and flavor of the domestic article that in the future it is likely it will not care to change and go back to the more expensive grades when it can get just as much enjoyment for less money. The ,New-York factories are scattered widely‘ throughout . the boroughs of New-York City, and the travelling salesmenrepresenting them form a. small army. In New-York alone the in- dustry gives employment to at least twenty thousand persons. It has been said in some sec- tions that the cigarette‘has hurt the cigar busi- up in a. remarkable degree, and with the coming years when returning prosperity has returned to stay 'there ought to be a boom. ' SUGAR IZEFINING. TWO MILLION TONS OF SUGAR CONSUMED IN THE UNITED STATES, THE MAJOR PORTION . OF WHICH IS HANDLED IN NEW-YORK. The year just drawing to a close marks an epoch in the sugar industry of the United States. The war with Spain and the annexation of the Sandwich Islands are the principal factors in the present situation. Behind these outward signs there is a mysterious state .of affairs, the true import of which will be known to the commer- cial world as time goes on. This refers to the great war between refineries, concerning which so much has been said for the last six months. It is said to have been brewing for SOme time, and the Sugar Trust managers are credited with having cleared their decks for action and hav- ing made every preparation for carrying on a fight to the finish. Firmly intrenched with tremendous financial backing, it would be strange, ‘indeed, if the independent refineries were successful. . The world’s total consumption of sugar may be put down at a rough estimate of seven mil- lion tons. Of this total the UnitedStates takes} Soon after the annexation had be n'v - plished it was rumored that the Hawziiarficg‘gg- mercxal and Sugar Company, which owned one of the largest plantationsin the world, situated on the island of Maui, of the Sandwich group would refine the raw product on the island, shlpprng it all ready for the market. The next startling piece of news was that the control of this company had passed out of the hands of the two younger Spreckelses into that of some unknown person, who was represented‘by'San Francisco brokers. . Only a month or so ago it was announced that the entire annual output of the *Hawaiian Islands had been secured by , the American Sugar “Refining Company. ‘This is the final_page of the history of a'deal con- cernmg which sugar men alone know the full significance. ‘ . An article on sugar would be far from com- plete if it failed to .mentioh the Arbuckle and» Doscher-refineries, which’have been completed. during the year, and which are now running full blast in opposition‘to the Trust. Thesto'ry of the Arbuckle-Sugar Trust fight is now too well known to need'mention. In speaking of the Situation, one of the best-posted men in the trade remarked that in his opinion Doscher had put up his plant in the expectation that the Trust would buy him out. He was disappointed, however, for Havemeyer is credited with having turned him down. As forrthe Arbuckles, he said that their refinery had been built for the purpose of keeping in the businessand making money out of it. The long-expected warrin prices had begun early in the fall, and the con- flict might: rage for a year or so, until the Trust had-been‘able togain supreme control. - .All through the summer months the "buyers 'in- the interior, who had heard of‘the coming price war, held back, their orders in' the hope of get- ting concessions. .When the cutting did begin it was active, and for granulated quotations fell even below five cents a pound. All the refineries took a hand in the struggle, and every cut of a competitor was fully met by all the others- It} isunderstood that while at one time the sugar Trust controlled-90 per cent of the refining in- dustry of the country it controls not more than . about 40 per cent at the present time. For the nine months ending October 1, 1898, the imports of sugar not above No. 16 Dutch standard, free and with duty. amounted to 2.- C _ , ._ Cuba, the f-Philippines,1,' the‘ sandwich? ~Isla_nds,“~:':Europe, "Central and ‘ South; ‘ America,f_ « "fires—P-.. -..... -._.,. .. . - .4...,.,........ 9,“.-. ‘ ... -- 358,102,290 pounds, with a value of $53,974, These figures show a. falling off of millions of dollars from the same period of 1897 and .1896. The. annual per capita consumption throughout the United States is 62.72 pounds. '-'-’The.beet root sugar industry has been grow- ing rapidly. There are more than a dozen fac- toriesjn the country. ' Concerning the refining industry an authority says: “For the first nine. years (before the formationof the Sugar Trust) the average price of centrifugal raw sugar was 6.807 cents per pound, and of granulated 7.905 cents per pound, and the difference 1.098 cents per pound; and for the last nine years (after the formation of the Trust) the average of centrifugals- was 4.291 cents per pound, and granulated cents per pound, and. the dlfierence .98 cent: per pound. The last nine years, up to 1 7, av- erage .117 ‘cents perppound less difference be- tween raws'and refined'than the first nine years. ‘ These figures show that the concentration a! many refineries‘ under-one corporation has not worked to the disadvantage of consumers of .. . sugar in the-United States. -The_..sma,ll differ-”94°? - in‘ prices during the iast-.nine:.years amounts.” ‘ to ‘the.f15,9 73,8, 42 ' -“ tons ‘of sugar consumed during that time-”f- _____.—_——f- DRUGoIsrs' SUNDRIE'EL- is .Innusrnpr' or maes- rnOPonerNs: wm'cn . HAS rrs spurns urn. cnnxrnn-anfxonk. ' ~ A“ great city like Newt-York has 'so many; as- ,tablis'hrnents which; 'caterjto; the .wants. of the . peeple that it is difficult-foi- persons hereato understand the conditions which exist in com- plies upon one store)? . . . _ . ‘ There is hardly a. town or hamlet invthe coun- try‘so small'that it does not boast at leastone': est'ablishment,wherevdrugs' are scld; But the village druggist by no means finds his sales con- fined to simples and ointments.‘ When the rustic " . 'munities‘Lwhich are; dependent" for-their sup- ' ‘swain wishes to make a gift to the 'gir1='of his choice he his: himself to the drug store, where he knows he will find a choice assortment'of cologne bottles, toilet sets, .bonbon boxes, puff boxes and innumerable other articles dear to the feminine heart. For such goods the drug- gist in the smaller towns and cities is almost entirely dependent upon the drugglsts’ sundries establishments of New-York. The trade of the ~ latter, howevor, is by no means confined to the small towns. The large establishments in New-York do an extensive‘business, not. only with the retailers here, but in all the larger cities as well. A num- ber of the firms in this city who manufacture and import chemicals and drugs of all kinds maintain a sundry department also, and their ‘ travelling men carry full lines of samples of these goods.- There are several other concerns here who deal. in sundries exclusively. The stock of a druggists‘ sundries establishment in- cludes such articles as perfume atomizers, sold at from $2 a dozen to$25 each; cut—glass cologne bottles, decanters, claret jugs, decorated porce- lain ware, toilet' sets, bonbonnieres, puffs and puff boxes-Smelling bottles, flasks in cut-glass, ‘with silver-*mountings, plush and‘leather goods, hair brushes, mirrors in ebony, ivory, tortoise shell and variouskinds of wood, smoking sets, letter weights, matchboxes in bronze, call bells, gangs, olive wood novelties, manicure sets, from} .. $15 a dozen to $125 I each, innumerable toilet, preparations, soaps, and a thousand and one, other things too numerous to mention. s g The large concerns 1}! this city engage in the manufacture of these‘goods, and also import many articles. The business is one of extremely large proportions. Each house has numerous salesmen on the road, and the territory covered by one of the salesmen is so extensive that two years is occupied in his trip, which includes points in South America, as well as the United States. . _______._._———. ATHLETIC GOODS. sronrs OF 'ALL 1(1an RECEIVE Air-ENTHUSI- ASTIC SUPPonT IN AND AROUND ‘ ‘GREATER NEW—YORK; ‘ ' In no city in the world is there a more general 3 interest in sports than in New-York, where its ' devotees are numbered by the thousands, and where current events in the sporting world are followed " with an interest akin to that of Na.- tional affairs. The importance of outdoor sport is inculcated into the youth of the metropolis at an early age, and in many homes well-equipped gym- nasiums' provide the means for physical exer- cise at all seasons and under all conditions of wind and weather. The little fellow hardly able to walk toddles beside his older brother to‘ study the scores as they are received on the baseball boards, and to join in the general clamor which. marks the receipt of news of the. home club’s winning run. The intercollegiate football games have annually, brought throngs of visitors to the city to share in the enthusiasm of the local lovers of the sport. and the season’s regattas, 'find the watercourses lined with countless thousands. WealthyNew-‘Yorkers owu and sail private yachts of extreme beauty and speed," and innumerable launches, canoes, rowaats , and'skiffs are brought into use for fishing and hunting purposes. _ _ , ‘Public links afford golf lovers an opportunity . to enjoy thatgame, and for the more exclusive there are many links owned by clubs and indi— - 'viduals. Central Park has public tennis courts, and the city’s splendid streets and beautiful~ driv‘eways provide bicyclists with unlimited scope, which may be extended into the sur- rounding country over excellent pikes and road— ways. In the winter the frozen waterways fur- nish the opportunities for skating, polo, hockey and other cold-weather sports. It is not sur- prising, therefore, that this city should be 'the headquarters for everything in the line of sport- -ing "goods, and that manufacturers should tax themselves to the utmost to supply- the de- mand. , . The ‘vlocal demand in itself is enormous, and is largely augmented by that of other parts ‘of the country,-and, as in many other 1ines,,this- 'city is the distributing point for the vast quan- tities of sporting goods which-are used else- where. Here, under a single roof, may be found every conceivable article which goes to make up the requirements which enter into out- door and indoor sports. The list of bicycle sun- dries alone, carried in stock by a local concern, contains over seventy-five items. The same firm’s catalogue of spring and summer sports includes over one hundred and fifty distinct items, and, in addition. it publishes a compre- hensive catalogue of fall and winter sports. As if this were not enough for one enterprise“ it' is also a manufacturer of bicycles, launches and yachts. and undertakes the fitting out and lbullding of pleasure craft of every description. , 96 saving: to-consumersjrrom the-“first“.nine'wfli . ' of $41,864,323 74, when applied
Norwalk Chronicler