USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 31
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The Michigan State Telephone Company is a state-wide corporation, connecting every vil- lage and city in the state with its network of local and long-distance lines. Outside of the state it connects over the lines of the Bell sys- tem with almost every city and town of any importance between the Rocky mountains and the Atlantic ocean. Although it is physically a part of the "Bell Company," it is entirely in- dependent of Bell ownership and control; it is strictly a locally incorporated and individually owned Michigan enterprise, and one that the state may justly claim with pride. In round numbers the Michigan State Telephone Com- pany, July 1, 1908, connected with one hun- dred and forty-five thousand subscribers in Michigan and over three million in the United States. In the last four years it has actually doubled its number of subscribers and its wire mileage, and in 1907, with the single excep- tion of San Francisco, which was in process of rehabilitation, the percentage of increase in subscribers in the city of Detroit was the great- est of the twenty-five largest cities in the United States. Since January 1, 1908, to the
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time this work goes to press, September I, this company has made in Detroit a net gain of four thousand six hundred and forty-three,- a new subscriber every hour, night and day, excepting Sunday. This is the highest record of growth in Detroit for any equal period in the history of the company and the net gain of eight hundred and forty for the month of August, 1908, is the largest net gain for any one month. Financial depression evi- dently has not affected in any way the steady progress of the enterprise, for there was a thirteen per cent. increase in gross earnings for October, November and December, 1907, over the corresponding period of the preceding year.
Although a fifteen million dollar corpora- tion, serving thousands of patrons and com- bining nearly three hundred connecting com- panies in one great unified system, this com- pany has undertaken a man-to-man policy of dealing with its thousands of customers and constituents. Its policy is on record, in printed form, framed and posted as a "declaration," in every office and exchange in the state,-to the effect that it will "furnish the best grade of telephone service, adopt every improvement, reduce rates whenever business safety will per- mit, adjust fairly each complaint, treat as man to man all subscribers, remove the idea of soul- less corporation, and bring about a personal, friendly feeling between the company and the subscribers." To-day the operations of the company have a practically impregnable forti- fication and the corporation is solid and de- servedly prosperous. The company has in op- eration fully two hundred and ninety-five thousand miles of wire, involving the use of one hundred and forty-five thousand telephone instruments and the employment of over six thousand miles of long-distance toll lines in Michigan, thus affording connections through- out the entire state. In the service of the com- pany is retained an army of nearly four thou- sand employes, duly assigned to the various departments of work.
The officers of the Michigan State Telephone Company are as here noted: N. C. Kings- bury, president; Dudley E. Waters, vice-presi-
dent; B. W. Trafford, vice-president and gen- eral manager; Walter I. Mizner, secretary; W. L. Burrows, treasurer; H. J. Booth, audi- tor; C. L. Boyce, engineer; and E. G. Ste- venson and W. E. Thompson, attorneys.
THE NORTHWESTERN TRANSPORTA- TION COMPANY.
The corporation here designated is one of the oldest and most important companies en- gaged in lake transportation business with headquarters in Detroit, and the enterprise is one of broad scope, having marked influence in upholding the great marine tonnage for which the fair "City of the Straits" has long been noted.
The Northwestern Transportation Company dates its inception back nearly forty years, its organization having been effected on the 21st of January, 1869, when it was incorporated under the laws of the state, with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars, of which amount seventy-five thousand dollars were paid in. The organizers of the concern were Messrs. Robert J. and Henry Hackett, William McGregor, David Cotter, Duncan McLaugh- lin, James A. M. Morton and Andrew Hackett. The personnel of the first executive corps was as follows: President, Henry Hackett; vice-president, William McGregor; secretary and treasurer, Robert J. Hackett. Besides these officers the directorate of the company included Messrs. Mclaughlin and Cotter. The original charter, issued for a period of thirty years, was secured on the date noted above, and the company forthwith en- gaged in the general marine freight business, operating a number of tugs and freight boats and devoting special attention to the handling of iron ore and coal.
In 1872 Elihu M. Peck was elected to the presidency, having acquired a large interest in the company in the preceding year, and he continued to be the executive head of the con- cern until his death, which occurred in 1896. He was an able and progressive officer and did much to upbuild the large business of the com- pany. The original organizers dropped out from time to time, the Hackett brothers having
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withdrawn about 1876, when Harvey H. Brown, of Cleveland, Ohio, now president of the company, was elected secretary pro tem- pore. Later George Hendrie became secretary, and upon the death of Captain Elihu M. Peck Mr. Brown was chosen to succeed him in the presidency, of which position he has since re- mained incumbent, his election having taken place in 1896. In 1882 Alexander McVittie was chosen secretary of the company, serving until 1889, when he was succeeded by James Find- later. In 1892 Lewis C. Waldo succeeded to the office of secretary and in 1896 he was made general manager of the business. In 1891 the capital stock of the company was increased to six hundred thousand dollars, with four hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars paid in. In 1879 they reorganized, with a charter for thirty years, under the same title.
The company at the present time operates four boats, namely : The "Harvey H. Brown," with four thousand five hundred tonnage; the "S. R. Kirby," thirty-five hundred tons; the "Fayette Brown," thirty-five hundred tons; and the barge "George E. Hartnell," fifty-five hundred tons. The concern is now one of the oldest of the sort on the lake system and its reputation has ever been unassailable, while at every stage its management has been reliable and effective. The present officers of the com- pany are: Harvey H. Brown, of Cleveland, Ohio, president, and Lewis C. Waldo, of De- troit, secretary, treasurer and general manager.
THOMAS BARLUM & SONS.
An enterprise that has been built up from one of small scope to its present large propor- tions is that conducted by Thomas Barlum & Sons, packers of pork products and wholesale and retail dealers in meats, with headquarters in the Barlum building, Fifth street and Grand River avenue. The business was founded by Thomas Barlum, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. His first place of business was a stall in the old Central market, in Cadillac Square, and when the building was finally removed and the market so long maintained in the same was abolished,
he secured quarters in the same vicinity, at the corner of Bates street and Cadillac Square. In 1889 Mr. Barlum admitted to partnership his eldest son, John J. Barlum, who is likewise the subject of an individual sketch in this work. At the time this association was formed the firm title of Thomas Barlum & Son was adopted, and in 1905, when the younger sons, Thomas J. and Louis P., were admitted to the firm, the present title was adopted. A branch retail store is maintained in the building owned by the senior member of the firm and known as the Barlum flats, the same having been erected by Thomas Barlum and being located at the corner of Fifth street and Grand River avenue, as already stated.
In 1896 the firm began the packing of pork products in a small way, utilizing for this pur- pose the rear of the building just mentioned. At the outset only three men were employed in this department and the output did not ex- ceed twenty hogs a week. That the venture has proved a most successful one is best shown by the fact that at the present time (1907) fifty-four men are given employment in the packing department and that an average of fifteen hundred hogs are utilized each week. The firm have four traveling representatives and manufacture the finest grades of hams, bacon, lard, sausage of all kinds and English pork cuts. Their trade extends through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and they are also building up a large and substantial export trade in English cuts and bacon, handled principally in the markets of Man- chester and Liverpool, England, and Glasgow, Scotland. The basement and first floor of the Barlum building are used for the market and manufacturing departments, the building hav- ing a frontage of one hundred and fifty feet on Grand River avenue, and one hundred feet on Fifth street. All of the slaughter work of the firm is done under contract, at Port Huron, Michigan, and the most scrupulous care is given to the selection of all stock used, so that the standard of the products is constantly maintained at the highest point. It is to the policy thus observed from the start that this splendid business enterprise has been built up,
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and the firm has an unrivaled reputation for specially high standard which now obtains, as the superiority of its products, controlling an appreciative trade in both the wholesale and retail departments. The firm pays out in wages an annual average of forty thousand dollars, not including the salaries of the traveling sales- men and the office corps. The general man- agement of the business is in the hands of John J. Barlum, the founder of the enterprise having practically retired, though he still maintains a general administrative function in the directing of the affairs of the firm.
C. H. HABERKORN & COMPANY.
Among the successful industrial enterprises which contribute to the commercial supremacy of Detroit is that conducted under the title here designated. The enterprise is deserving of especial attention in this publication, not only by reason of its present extent and im- portance but also as standing typical of the results attained by the indomitable pluck and energy of the founder, who placed in subor- dination all other interests and evolved a most prosperous and remunerative business from a nucleus which was represented only in sub- jective personal vigor and executive and tech- nical ability.
The concern is given over exclusively to the manufacturing of high-grade parlor and li- brary tables, and the products are unexcelled by those of any factory in the Union. This enterprise dates its inception back to the year 1878, and thus it has been in existence more than a quarter of a century, within which period it has been advanced from a small and obscure undertaking to one of substantial and important order in its specific line, and one which is a valuable acquisition to the various industries of the Michigan metropolis.
In the year mentioned, C. H. Haberkorn opened a factory in a building at the corner of Fourth and Porter streets, where he utilized a portion of the fourth floor and where he be- gan operations with a force of only eight em- ployes. The original output of the little fac- tory was parlor and library tables, but the grades were not at the time maintained at the
it was found expedient, in an introductory way, to turn out such products as would meet the requirements of the limited market and render sufficient financial returns to expand the scope of operations. Mr. Haberkorn had a definite ambition, and had formulated his plans with marked discrimination, but he showed his fertility in expedients by availing himself of only such means of advancement as the busi- ness justified at any certain stage of progress. Thus the business has had a gradual but very substantial growth, and the founder has finally realized his ambition, in that the products of his factory are now of the highest grade and meet the demands of the most exacting and discriminating trade.
Finally the business increased to such pro- portions as to necessitate the securing of larger quarters, and in 1887 was initiated the erec- tion of the present fine plant, which is located on Orchard street, between Brooklyn avenue and Eighth street. With the continued ex- pansion of the enterprise, additional buildings were demanded, and, in all, five have been added to the plant since the erection of the first, in the year mentioned. The plant uti- lizes four hundred feet frontage on Orchard street and extends back to a depth of one hun- dred and fifteen feet, with an alley at the rear. The main building is fifty by one hundred and fifteen feet in dimensions and five stories in height, and is a substantial brick structure. The finishing department occupies a building forty by one hundred and fifteen feet in di- mensions, and is four stories in height. The two stock rooms, or warehouses, are each forty-two by one hundred and fifteen feet in dimensions, and four stories in height. The office building, of three stories, is twenty-five by two hundred feet in dimensions, and the other two buildings, of similar design and con- struction and admirably equipped for the uses to which they are applied, are the dry kilns, forty by two hundred feet in dimension, and the power plant.
All of the buildings are of brick, and the equipment of the factory is modern in every department, making the plant a model of its
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kind and one creditable to the city in which it is located. Employment is given to an aver- age force of one hundred and eighty opera- tives, and the larger number are skilled work- men. The average annual disbursement in wages is eighty-five thousand dollars. The products of the establishment are now shipped into the most diverse sections of the Union, and the foreign trade is also one of no incon- siderable magnitude, the products being essen- tially standard and being unexcelled by those of any other factory in the line. The firm maintains an export agency in New York city, where the business is thus controlled by Chip- man & Company, and other agencies are es- tablished in other of the leading markets of the Union. All goods are sold through agents and placed on the market on a purely com- mission basis, no traveling representatives being employed by the factory.
Mr. Haberkorn is virtually the sole propri- etor of the business which he has thus devel- oped, and from the start it has been conducted under the title of C. H. Haberkorn & Company.
THE MORTON BAKING & MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY.
In reviewing those enterprises which have been material factors in the advancement of Detroit to a position of importance among the leading industrial, financial and commercial centers of the United States, a publication of this nature exercises its most important func- tion when it takes cognizance of those institu- tions which in a direct way effect the bodily welfare of her citizens. In the manufacture of one of the most important foodstuffs used by the public, of which the company whose name initiates this article is the most extensive producer in the state, the consumer is vitally interested, and in this connection the publishers of this volume take pleasure in publishing the brief review which follows.
The present business of the Morton Baking & Manufacturing Company is the outgrowth of a modest bakery established by Robert Mor- ton in 1877, and first located at number 737 Fort street west. As is usually the case in the
majority of instances, the beginning was made with a modest force, which consisted of Mr. Morton and one other, who is still in the em- ploy of the company. A thorough knowledge of the business and careful attention to his patrons, together with continued insistence that quality and purity of the materials made should ever be foremost, resulted in an almost immediate expansion and necessitated a re- moval to larger quarters. The second loca- tion of the business was at number 75 Grand River avenue and here the business was con- tinued until 1882, when these quarters proved inadequate. In April of this year the business was incorporated as the Morton Baking & Manufacturing Company and was capitalized at forty thousand dollars. Suitable buildings were erected for the business and the latest improved equipment installed. Additions have been built from time to time as the expansion of the business required, and every effort pos- sible has been made and no expense spared to keep in the lead in the matter of equipment, sanitation and methods of manufacture. The present plant of the company is located at numbers 72-84 Plum street, having a frontage of one hundred and forty feet, and extends to Cherry street, a distance of two hundred and forty-eight feet, covering the numbers 67-73 on the latter. This entire ground surface of about one-half acre is covered by substantial brick buildings, equipped with the best ma- chinery known to the baking trade, and the sanitation is as perfect as modern science can devise. The products manufactured are to be relied upon and are made from the purest of materials by the most expert workmen ob- tainable. The process of manufacture pre- cludes the possibility of any deleterious sub- stance entering into the product, while the ex- perience of years in the blending of winter and spring wheat flours makes possible the produc- tion of an article of food superior to the usual home baking. Distilled water only is used in the mixing and machinery takes the place of hands in the manipulation incident to the out- put of the finished product. That the greatest care is taken in respect to cleanliness is best illustrated by the fact all the horses employed
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in the delivery service of the company are cleaned by electricity, while compressed air is used in the cleaning of the work rooms. The company are manufacturers of bread and pies and do an exclusive wholesale business, cover- ing Detroit and southern Michigan and some of the smaller cities in the interior of the state. Aside from that of the regular dealers they enjoy a more extensive hotel, restaurant and steamboat trade than any other firm in their line in the state.
Some idea of the relative importance of the enterprise to the city from a labor standpoint can be gained from the following statement : The company employ in the manufacturing de- partment forty-five persons, all skilled work- men, while thirty-six men are employed in the sales and delivery department. The office force numbers six and the barn force, which has charge of the forty horses used in the de- livery service, numbers five. The company are the only one in their line of manufacture who have installed an automobile-delivery service, and operate three machines. They dis- tribute annually in wages over sixty thousand dollars and their per capita wage will compare favorably with any enterprise in the city. In 1903 the capital of the company was increased to seventy-five thousand dollars, which repre- sents only a portion of the value of the equip- ment, an earned surplus of fully a like amount having been put into the business.
In 1907 the stockholders of the company organized the Morton Baking Company, Lim- ited, of Windsor, Ontario, and entered the Canadian field. In Windsor a model plant was erected at a cost of twenty thousand dollars and about twenty-five workmen are employed there. A successful business has been devel- oped and extends from Toronto westward in the province. Since the inception of the busi- ness the controlling spirit in the enterprise has been Robert Morton and to his knowledge of the art of baking, combined with executive and constructive ability, and the sturdy and inde- fatigable energy so characteristic of his na- tionality, the present business of the company is in a very great measure due. The officers of the company are as follows: Robert M.
Morton, president; James C. McBriar, vice- president; and Edward W. Kreg, secretary and treasurer. Of the Morton Baking Com- pany, Limited, of Windsor, Robert Morton is president; Gordon McGregor, vice-president ; and Robert M. Morton, treasurer and general manager. Personal mention of the founder, Robert Morton, and of Robert M. Morton is printed on other pages of this volume, and to these articles the reader is referred for sup- plemental information.
THE WHITE STAR LINE.
Through her natural advantages Detroit holds precedence as one of the most important points touched by the navigation system of the Great Lakes, and here are centered a large number of the most important concerns oper- ating in the lake-marine service. A leading and popular corporation of this order is that whose title initiates this article.
The White Star Line was organized in 1896, in which year it was incorporated under the laws of the state of Michigan, receiving charter in February of that year and basing its operations on a capital stock of eighty-five thousand dollars. In 1899 the capital was in- creased to two hundred thousand dollars, and the progressive policy and attendant success of the company was further shown in 1907, when the capital stock was further increased to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The representative citizens who effected the organization of the company and who still re- main its principal stockholders are: Aaron A. Parker, Byron W. Parker, John Pridgeon, Jr., L. C. Waldo and Charles F. Bielman. The executive officers are to be designated as fol- lows: A. A. Parker, president; L. C. Waldo, vice-president; John Pridgeon, Jr., treasurer; C. F. Bielman, secretary and traffic manager; and B. W. Parker, general manager. (Since the preparing of this article has occurred the death of Aaron A. Parker, who passed away on November 13, 1908. )
The White Star Line has a fine fleet of ves- sels engaged in the passenger and freight serv- ice, and the business shows a decisive expan-
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sion each succeeding season. The first steamer measure to the popularity and continued put into commission by the company was the demand of Detroit-made goods. "City of Toledo," and in 1899 the "Grey- hound," No. I, was added to the line. In the following year the company built the steamer "Tashmoo," at a cost of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and in 1903 was built the "Greyhound," No. 2, at a cost of three hundred thousand dollars. In 1904 was built and placed in commission the "Owana," which represents an expenditure of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The "Tashmoo" and the "City of Toledo" are in service between Detroit and Port Huron, and give special fa- ciljties in the way of trips to and from the St. Clair Flats and Tashmoo park, which latter is owned and controlled by the company and which is one of the most attractive resorts tributary to Detroit. On the Detroit-Toledo route are operated the steamers "Greyhound" and "Owana," with special service to Sugar Island park, which likewise is owned by the White Star Line and which is a most popular down-river resort.
The docks and general offices of the White Star Line in Detroit are located at the foot of Griswold street, where a river frontage of two hundred feet is controlled and where the wait- ing rooms and other facilities are of excellent order. The company owns its own docks at Detroit and Port Huron. An idea of the ex- tent of the business of this well known and popular line may be gained when it is stated that in the season of 1907 five hundred and eight thousand passengers were carried on its boats.
DETROIT GRAPHITE COMPANY.
In this compilation will be found a number of brief articles concerning commercial and industrial enterprises that have been of mate- rial assistance in the advancement of Detroit as a manufacturing and distributing center. In the growth and development of her com- merce the Detroit Graphite Company has been a factor of no inconsiderable value, the high standard of the products manufactured and the results obtained by their use adding in no small
The Detroit Graphite Company are manu- facturers of ready-mixed paints for exterior and interior use in the protection of metal sur- faces from corrosion, and the company enjoy the distinction of having placed upon the mar- ket the first article that has withstood the se- vere exactions of a government test with credit. The company was organized in 1892 and was incorporated with a capital of ten thousand dollars and the following officers : President, Hon. A. G. Boynton; vice-presi- dent, Ralzemond A. Parker; treasurer and general manager, Alexander A. Boutell; sec- . retary, William F. Monroe. The chief factor in its promotion and organization was Alex- ander A. Boutell, secretary of the Detroit Chamber of Commerce and treasurer of the Baraga Graphite Company, owners of valuable graphite deposits in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The company located its plant on Twelfth street near Fort street, and had a pre- carious existence for the first four years. In 1896 its management succeeded in getting its products before the ordnance departments of the United States army and navy. Here their paints were subjected to most thorough and exhaustive tests, which resulted in their prov- ing all that was claimed for them,-the pre- vention of corrosion of metal by water, damp- ness or weather. The success attending these tests, in competition with the products of other manufacturers, resulted in their adoption by the United States government for the use of the army and navy. During and since the Cuban war all vessels belonging to the gov- ernment have been painted with their prepara- tions, which have conclusively proven their superiority over those of other manufacturers, by that best of all evidence, constantly increas- ing orders from the department. In 1907 the company was reorganized; its capital increased to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the following officers elected: Alexander A. Boutell, president and general manager; Frank W. Davis, vice-president; and William F. Monroe, secretary and treasurer. Their pres- ent plant is an enlargement of their original
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