USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
Keokuk during the last four years has become a city of world- wide importance. It has a chance to grow which few cities in the world have possessed. Its ability to attract moneyed interests has been but recently discovered. It is because of this opportunity and this ability that the Keokuk Industrial Association was called into being. The work it has done can only be truly appreciated, as a con- sequence, by a careful comparison of the conditions that exist today with those which existed previous to 1910.
Few people realize the extent of the publicity which has resulted from the effort the association has put forth. Beginning with only a provincial reputation Keokuk is now a city of world-wide repu- tation.
This has all been brought about by two means. Both of these are positive efforts of the Keokuk Industrial Association. To begin with the publicity campaign, which was conducted by the Industrial Association, beginning in the spring of 1910, placed Keokuk and Keokuk opportunities before the world. This was an expensive campaign and cost the association a large initial outlay. The great magazines of the world published the advantages of the city, the things being done here, and expounded the future possibilities. As a consequence people began to notice Keokuk. Publications began to ask questions about the possibilities here.
Then the second effort was made. The publicity received through the news columns of the various papers and magazines was directly called forth by the space advertising for which the associa- tion paid.
During the summer of 1913 the Industrial Association employed Will P. Green of Warsaw to take charge of the publicity department of the association work. Through his efforts an enormous amount of news space was given over to the publication of information con- cerning Keokuk, the men who are responsible for the power project being located here and to the man in charge of construction. Eight thousand newspapers, printed in every civilized country in the world, gave space to the news about Keokuk and the Keokuk project. The project has vied with the Panama Canal for the head lines in the big newspapers of the country.
In addition to the newspapers' space, magazines have sent men here for the special purpose of ascertaining the details of the immense project and the opportunities here. Window cards, moving picture films, stereopticon lectures and every conceivable kind of publicity
379
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
has been asked for by the public and given by the association. It can be seen from this that the attention of the world has been focused on Keokuk and what the people here have been attempting to do.
This is the start. The foundation for the growth of every city is said, by those interested in city development, to be publicity. Peo- ple must know that a city is in existence, that it has something the world is demanding, that it is awake and that all of its opportunities are of a permanent nature.
The second thing necessary to the development of the city was some means whereby interested capital and industry might receive proper attention and the proper care when conditions developed which would attract them permanently to the city. This effort resulted in the purchase of land to be used for factory sites and in the movement to erect a new hotel for the accommodation of the guests and prospective residents of the city.
How this second effort resulted in tangible results is well known to all who live here and to the majority of those who have read the newspapers and who have had occasion to visit here or write to us.
A tract of land located on a branch of the Burlington system was purchased by the association and platted for factory sites. The Mississippi River Power Company purchased a large tract of land on the Des Moines river bottoms for the accommodation of factories. One of the finest hotels in this section of the west has been constructed and is now taking care of all visitors in the city. These efforts were necessary, although expensive. Resulting from the manner in which the local people through the association met the emergency, Keokuk has prepared itself to take advantage of the publicity received through the Industrial Association.
The third necessary step in the development of the city has been the adoption of a plan on which the city could grow and grow in the least expensive, as well as the most scientifically efficient manner.
The majority of the cities of the world have developed along accidental lines. The contour of the country and primeval conditions governed very largely the lines along which streets have been extended and buildings constructed. They also governed very largely the manner in which traffic was handled and business dis- tricts layed out. Their results, however, have in nearly every case been ill advised and as a consequence their transformation has caused terrific expense when the city has developed to such an extent that the old fashioned by-ways and accidental lay outs of districts have become inadequate.
380
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
Seattle, Washington, authorities have spent millions of dollars to replan the city, in order to make its development symmetrical and adequate to the demands. Cleveland, Ohio, has done the same thing. Indianapolis, Indiana, and Erie, Pennsylvania, are attempting the same thing. New York city has always been an accidental growth and the replanning of the city has cost millions and millions of dol- lars simply by the methodless change in the development of its busi- ness and manufacturing districts.
Keokuk, Iowa, is the only city in the state which is planning its development beforehand. It has taken counsel from the mistakes of other cities and is planning its development so that in future time, regardless of the size of the city, there will be no unnecessary changes and no unnecessary expense.
Washington, D. C., considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is a city which has developed from a plan carefully layed out from the beginning. The only mistakes made in the development of the city of Washington, as our capitol city, were made by those officials who disregarded the original plans drafted by Le Enfant, the French landscape architect.
It is peculiar that one of the officials to make a mistake in the growth of Washington was one of the presidents of the United States. When Andrew Jackson located the treasury building of the United States government, he did not have the plan before him at all. It is reported that he went out with a committee from congress and the United States senate, and, walking over the capitol grounds looking for a site for the treasury building, picked out a place which he thought was large enough, and sticking his walking stick into the ground said, "we will locate the treasury building here." As a con- sequence the treasury building has been out of place, it is not in keeping with the general plan for the city of Washington, it obstructs the view and is a jar upon the artistic sense of every person visiting the city, and, in addition lessens facilities for handling the affairs of the city of Washington.
The Industrial Association in its efforts to secure the proper plans for the development of Keokuk was exceptionally successful. The right man was secured to do the work and the completed plans were accepted by the people of Keokuk at a mass meeting and were adopted by the city officials in due course of time.
This has been a serious attempt on the part of the association and, unless physical conditions change and the business of the city develops along lines which it is impossible for any individual to foresee, the plan for the city of Keokuk as drafted by John Nolen
38
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
under the auspices of the Keokuk Industrial Association will be carried out in detail.
With these preliminary steps taken the next work of the Indus- trial Association was to look after those particular facilities which are required by industries locating here for handling their output to the greatest advantage.
Freight rates were enjoyed by neighboring cities which prac- tically made fair competition by local industries an impossibility. It is said, by many familiar with the case, that the shipping and rate conditions in the city of Keokuk constituted one of the most flagrant cases of discrimination that had been put up to the Inter- state Commerce Commission. As a result of the effort on the part of the Industrial Association to remedy this condition, joined by the upper Mississippi river crossings in Iowa, a freight rate situation prevails which makes it possible for industries in Keokuk to compete favorably with every other city in this vicinity. Incidentally, it has been made possible for us to ship our freight in the future with some degree of justice to the local people. It is estimated, by conservative authorities, that this one victory will net the shippers of Keokuk a saving of approximately thirty thousand dollars the first year.
As a result of this one more advantage, one more substantial asset has been added to Keokuk as a business and manufacturing city and it has one more claim to metropolitan growth and development.
So much for the preliminary efforts made by the Industrial Asso- . ciation in order to take care of the future growth of the city, as well as to make future growth possible. These have been necessary steps and if they had not been accomplished it would be impossible to con- tinue the work of the association for the development of the city with any assurance of success.
Speaking specifically the association has accomplished the fol- lowing along industrial lines :
It permanently located the Standard Oil distributing station at this place. The Standard Oil Company could not find the site it wanted on which to locate its plant. As a consequence it was looking elsewhere and, had it not been for the activity of the members of the Industrial Association, this plant would have been located else- where.
The Mills-Ellsworth Company, located on land which is now under the water of Lake Cooper, was planning to go elsewhere because it could not find the site it desired on which to re-establish its plant. The efforts of the executive committee of the Industrial
382
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
Association located this plant on Commercial Alley in its present splendid building.
The American Cement Machine Company, formerly of Madison, Wisconsin, was moved to Keokuk and established through the efforts of the Industrial Association. This is one of the very successful factories operating in Keokuk at the present time and is rapidly increasing. A large addition to this plant is to be built soon.
The John De Witt Washing Machine Company has been founded through efforts of members of the Industrial Association. Mr. De- Witt, the former manager of the Industrial Association, became interested in manufacturing while he was working to secure factories for the city. On severing his relations with the association he launched in the manufacturing business himself, thereby showing his faith in the future of Keokuk as a manufacturing center.
During the last four years the Industrial Association has investi- gated hundreds of factory propositions. It is peculiar that in this day and age of the factory which is hard up for funds immediately makes arrangements to move elsewhere and puts out feelers, testing out the different Industrial Associations and Chambers of Commerce throughout the country in an effort to find additional capital to safe- guard the industry itself and for protection against failure.
Every man who has a patent feels that Chambers of Commerce and industrial organizations are the ones to whom he should go, in order to interest capital in his project and in order to establish him- self in an industrial way. His supposition is correct in this regard, the only unfavorable element being that the majority of inventions are of such a nature and are so dependent upon other manufacturing concerns that it is practically suicidal for anyone to invest in these patents without first carefully going into the details and ascertaining the reliability and value of the patent, the proper protection it has and the possible demand for the article. Some patents are gold mines but the majority of them are not.
As a consequence the great majority of inventions presented to the Industrial Association for consideration have not called for organized industrial effort because on investigation they are apt to be found impractical and it would be unsafe to attempt the organiza- tion of a company to manufacture them. And yet this field affords a wonderful opportunity for idle capital to make itself useful and valuable, and incidentally is a splendid way in which the industrial department of Keokuk's growth could be increased.
Out of hundreds of factory projects investigated ninety-five per cent are propositions it would be foolish for Keokuk to attempt to
383
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
handle. In the remaining five per cent there is occasionally a good proposition. However, the demands made by nearly all of them are such that they cannot possibly be considered.
Because of the great effort made by the average sized cities the country over to increase their industrial growth, factory propositions have found pretty easy picking. Some cities have secured .surpris- ingly large sums and have given the money away in the form of bonuses to attract industrial projects. This has resulted in the development of numerous tramp factories, which will agree to locate in a city for a certain length of time for a certain bonus. When the contracts have been fulfilled they plan to move elsewhere in order to receive more bonuses. Still other factories make unreasonable demands, not caring where they locate so long as they get the bonus or the stock subscription.
As a consequence the country is infested with a hoard of pro- moters with every conceivable kind of a factory proposition. Some of these propositions are good, but the very large majority of them are not. Naturally then every proposition has to be investigated carefully in order that the good ones may not be overlooked.
Thousands of letters have been written by the Industrial Associa- tion during the four years. Hundreds of personal investigations have been made and everything has been done to bring the legitimate factory project into touch with Keokuk.
Many local people have believed all that was necessary, after the" power project was completed, was to sit on front porches, mark up prices on property and receive unthinkable prices for real estate, factory buildings and residences. There has been much disappoint- ment and some hardship as a result of this unnatural belief. Some have become so badly discouraged that they are ready to throw up their hands, cease to try to do anything and let the city take care of itself.
This never develops anything and is very apt to result in hard- ship, as well as hindrance to the real growth of the city. It will take years to develop the city, a fact which is commonly known. In order to realize the full benefits the people of Keokuk have discovered that they must put their shoulders to the wheel and assist in the work being done. It is the only way, so experts have discovered, to make a city metropolitan. But it will take a constant effort.
A great deal of effort has been expended by the association in the entertainment of conventions. Since the organization of the Industrial Association approximately twenty conventions a year have been entertained in this city. The effort on the part of the associa-
1
384
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
tion to secure conventions has been so successful that at the present time the association is having all it can do to meet the demands inci- dent to their entertainment. Conventions and excursions are now coming to the city weekly.
An important event of 1913 was the celebration commemorating the opening of the great Mississippi hydro-electric project, held on the 26th, 27th and 28th of August. This celebration had the backing of the Industrial Association and was handled through its officers, being one of the largest of its kind known in the central west. On that occasion there were present the governors of Missouri, Illinois and Iowa, besides engineers and scientific men of high reputation from all parts of the world, together with several thousand visitors, making the occasion a notably successful one.
Because of the increase in traffic between Keokuk and the east agitation was started soon after the construction of the dam, looking toward the establishment of a railway bridge on the top of the dam, around the north end of the power house across the forebay and extending to the Union station. The discussion of the subject led to the organization of a company of citizens of Keokuk and Hamilton for the purpose of securing from congress the right to build this bridge. The Industrial Association has stood behind the effort to secure the final consent of the national government and is at present continuing its interest along this line. During January, 1914, a sub- committee of the congressional committee on interstate and foreign commerce visited Keokuk as the guests of the Industrial Association for the purpose of going over the dam and power plant in person with an eye to determine the suitability of the present installation for that purpose. An entire day was spent with this committee, together with representatives of the war department, river engineers and government officials, in making this investigation and inspection. The result was satisfactory, but the committee felt that the old bridge company should rebuild its bridge and make it capable of handling the increased traffic. This the old bridge company has agreed to do.
During the spring of 1911 the first clean-up campaign of the city was instituted under the auspices of the committee on parks, playgrounds and general improvements of the association, resulting so successfully that it has become a part of the regular calendar of the association for each year. During the summer of 1913 the streets and alleys committee began a campaign for oiling the streets in the residence portions of the city in an effort to better the conditions, permanently lay the dust and thereby render driving much more pleasant during the dry season. About sixteen blocks in the residence
385
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
part of the city were oiled during that summer and Keokuk's people gratefully acknowledged the worth of the improvement.
The association is at present agitating the improvement of the river front and has assisted the city council in raising funds for this purpose. At present a fund of considerable size is in the treasury of the city for the construction of a harbor wall at the levee running south from Main street and the river. This wall will be put in during the dry months of this present summer; the complete equipment for passenger and freight traffic will be installed as soon thereafter as possible.
Ever since the association was established considerable interest has been taken by its members in the improvement of the Mississippi river and navigation. On October 15th last the annual convention of the Upper Mississippi River Improvement Association was held at Hannibal, Missouri, to consider the latest developments and improve- ments and to make recommendations for the future work to be done. Fifteen citizens from Keckuk attended this convention and took an active part. Since then members of the board of directors attended similar conventions at St. Paul and at St. Louis for further considera- tion of the same general plans. It is the hope of the association to have some definite work done along this line this summer.
What the future of Keokuk may be we can only conjecture because we cannot see into the future. However, it is wise for us to judge largely by the assets of the city, both natural and artificial, in the light of the strenuous effort being made. Very little effort is being wasted. The field for development is so vast and there are so many weeds to be put out of the way that it is a difficult proposition to find all of the real fruit in a shape to be handled at once. This need not discourage anyone because it is the same with every city that has ever been developed. It is the same with every private business. Conse- quently it is only a matter of time and a continuation of the present strenuous effort being put forth before we will see the hopes of the citizens of Keokuk realized to the fullest extent.
WILLIAM PAUL SHERLOCK, PH. G., PH. C., M. D.
Dr. William Paul Sherlock was born in Palo Alto county, Iowa, April 30, 1884. He received his early education in the district schools of his native county and remained there until fifteen years of age. He first located in Clare, Iowa, where he worked on a
386
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
farm and later was employed in a drug store at that place. He moved to Fort Dodge about 1902, where he secured employment in a grocery store and later in a baker shop, attending school as best he could during this time. Subsequently he was connected with Severin Drug Company at Fort Dodge, but later in the year entered the employ of the Fort Dodge Daily Chronicle, being city reporter for that paper. In the spring of 1903 he entered Highland Park College of Des Moines, taking up preparatory and didactic work, later courses in pharmacy and chemistry. After graduating he was for some time associated with the Namur-Vincent Drug Company, and from there he moved to Lenox, Iowa, where he assumed man- agement of a drug store. He desired to see something of the coun- try, so accepted a position as detail man, representing the Water- berry Chemical Company throughout the south. In 1905 he began the study of medicine, entering Keokuk Medical College, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and, receiving a year's credit for ad- vanced work done in chemistry and pharmacy, was graduated in 1908. He is now engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Keokuk. He is a member of County, State and District Medical Societies and of the American Medical Association, keeping in touch with modern developments of medicine and surgery. He is a mem- ber of the staff of St. Joseph's Hospital and a member of the medical staff in the Iowa National Guards; examining surgeon for the local company of 'the organized militia and United States Civil Service examiner.
Dr. Sherlock has taken an active part in hygiene and sanitation and in the affairs of the city health problems. In 1911 was ap- pointed as local state milk inspector, later appointed city inspector. He has also taken an active interest in military affairs and in the autumn of 1910 he founded a military organization now known as L Company, Fifty-fourth Infantry Iowa National Guards, and was elected first lieutenant of same, serving three years.
WILLIAM N. SAGE.
William N. Sage has been a resident of Lee county throughout the greater part of his lifetime, but his birth occurred in Clark county, Missouri, April 10, 1872. His parents were Orrin C. and Mary Jane ( Black) Sage, the latter a daughter of Hamilton Black, who came to Lee county in 1838.
387
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
William N. Sage was reared in his native county and there received his education, attending the public schools. When fifteen years of age he left the home farm and for a number of years was engaged 'in various occupations. In 1904 he came to Keokuk as grain buyer for J. C. Hubinger & Bros. Company, and a year later made this city his permanent residence. He has given his best to the business with which he is connected and his energy and capacity for work have brought him steady advancement until he is now general manager for J. C. Hubinger & Bros. Company. He has given public-spirited service to Keokuk in connection with the mam- moth dam across the Mississippi, which is one of the wonders of modern engineering. When the project of building the dam was first given serious consideration Mr. Sage was employed to ascertain the value of the land which would probably be submerged. He investigated conditions so thoroughly that when the enterprise was finally financed he was empowered to obtain title to those lands and is yet engaged in that capacity. He is also a director of the State Central Savings Bank and of the Iowa State Insurance Company, using his influence in both corporations to secure a steady normal growth.
In 1894 Mr. Sage was married to Miss Florence M. Stafford, of Kahoka, Missouri. They are both well known in social circles of the city and are often hosts to their many friends. He is a promi- nent member of the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.
ELLSWORTH B. CRANE.
Ellsworth B. Crane, residing upon the Crane homestead of one hundred and sixty acres located on section 24, Montrose township, is one of the highly respected farmers of his locality. His father, Jabez Tunis Crane, was one of the pioneers of the county and built a two story brick residence, which was the first or second brick house in the county. It was destroyed by fire some years later. His birth occurred in Harrison, Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1819, but when a child he removed to Jackson county, Indiana. In 1844 he located in St. Charles, Missouri, whence he came to Lee county in 1857. Upon his arrival in this county he settled permanently in Montrose. His marriage occurred in 1847, Miss Mary A. Franklin, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Anderson Franklin, becoming his wife. Vol. II-23
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.