USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey : embracing practically two and a half centuries, 1666-1913, Volume II > Part 29
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It is conceivable that the finest production of modern art expressed in gold and silver articles or ornaments are not only designed, but are being turned out by the jewelry establishments in Newark, and that the work- shops in the city are now producing more in value annually of pure gold articles than any other city in the United States, while a kindred branch, attracted to Newark through the trade influence of its jewelry workers, are producing more watch cases than any other city in the world.
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Wherever leather has been used in commercial pursuits for shoes, book- binding, upholstery, harness or other articles, the name of Newark has been well known since the days of Moses Combs, whose successors in each genera- tion extending over a period of one hundred and fifty years have successfully engaged in its manufacture, extending the reputation of the "Newark-made" product for excellence of quality. In the evolution of processes for tanning and finishing, the manufacturers of Newark have kept abreast of the times, often receiving valuable advice and assistance in the mixing of formulas from acquaintances among the men engaged in the chemical industry.
Among the men who conduct this business to-day there are those worthy to succeed the Chadwicks, Crocketts, Dawsons, Howells, Nugents and Hal- seys of other days; and mention should be made of one to whom especial credit belongs, R. G. Salomon, who was the first to successfully engage in the tanning of the hides of the elephant, walrus, alligator, and the skins of reptiles.
In the world of applied electricity, the worth of such men as Edward Weston, one of the first to construct a dynamo, and to devote his entire energy to the study of electric force, will ever be remembered. From a one-room beginning he has contributed a plant of modern design covering some acres to the industrial progress of Newark. With Thomas A. Edison, who for a few years pursued his experiments in Newark and who now, in its suburb at Orange, is a factor in this modern field, he has helped to develop the field of application of this unknown force.
Many other benefactors, through their contributions of improved methods, labor-saving appliances and machinery, whose life work among the people of Newark added to its progress, could be named, like George Yule, whose name was known wherever fur hats were made, and wherever a sombrero was worn; so also that of Thomas B. Peddie, who made the first iron-bound trunk; or Rochus Heinisch, or Jacob Wiss, whose names stand for the best wherever high-grade cutlery, scissors or razors are dealt in, having attained a reputation exceeding for superiority the reputations of the famous Sheffield manufacturers, equaling the makers of the Toledo or Damascus steel.
Who can tell how many among the toilers in the trades, in the indus- tries, and in the various pursuits incident to the life of such a city as Newark, have, year in and year out, dreamed dreams of doing such deeds as those done by Boyden or others, and who collectively in their combined toil brought to their employers millions of wealth, which tribute was attracted by thousands and tens of thousands of articles fashioned and fin- ished by their skilful hands. Of the employers to whom this great wealth has come some have, in a way, tried to be of service to their city through the contribution of money for the establishment of useful institutions, in the endowment of honies for the weak, the infirm, the orphan, and the aged, but the city must still continue to await for a real benefactor to confer a benefaction which can be shared alike by all, and be an incentive and inspiration for others to emulate.
PERMANENCY AND CONTINUED GROWTH OF INDUSTRY ASSURED. ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION.
Why, it might be asked, have so many diverse lines of industry selected Newark as a location? In reply it might, with good reason, be stated that the close proximity of the city to the great metropolis had something to do
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with it, and yet, if the searcher will investigate, it will be discovered that industry apparently began with the beginning and it grew as the growth in population called for the work of skilled workers.
The foundation was laid with the opening of a tan yard and the con- verting of the skins of animals into leather, to supply the wants of those engaged in the making of shoes, so also with the forge for the fashioning of Implements for the farm, in later days, making the tools for those engaged In the various trades.
The makers of harness had wants to be supplied; the looms of the weavers required parts for mending; the woodman's ax, the hammer and the plane of the carpenter or joiner; the wants of the miller, each calling for the skill of a worker-these wants being supplied long years before the majestic city on the Hudson had come to pass.
With the increased consumption of materials by the increasing popula- tion of the great city a nearby location was undoubtedly an advantage, and Newark, with its inviting uplands, was, of course, preferable to the swamp- lands of Hudson County, or lowlands of Union, to which, no doubt, its early success in attracting industry may be ascribed.
As years went by, with the work of development being carried on, other advantages sufficient to offset those of adjacent communities, no doubt, were to be found a better type of inhabitants living among more attractive sur- roundings, progressive in the care and keep of roadways to adjacent mar- kets, some one Industry employing skilled workmen attracting another, both exerting influence or establishing the prospect of a market for the setting up of a kindred Ine of business, until many had come and found permanency.
As the city on the Hudson grew in importance as a great distributing centre of commence, it is but natural to believe that those engaged in manu- factures in Newark kept in close touch with their neighbors through daily conversation, thereby taking advantage of trade openings which would otherwise have been lost. Certainly another advantage and, no doubt, of greater importance then than to-day with the telegraph and telephone at our elbows to annihilate time and space, while the facilities for making daily deliverles by wagon to any wharf or warehouse, was another advantage to be reckoned with by others located at a distance.
These essentials to the success of Industry are just as vital to-day as lu the past, and are the first to be considered by men directing industrial establishments. What are the routes of transportation? What are the rates? How are they controlled ? What are your tax rates? Are your working people contented ? Do they own their own homes? Are you troubled very much with strikes? What kind of a city government have you? What about your school system? Do you go in for parks and playgrounds? These and many other questions are asked by practical men looking into the matter of location before they think of asking as to banking facilities, cost of land, rentals or other vital factors.
It has always been possible to assure the individual that quick, safe and cheap transportation facilities existed-that the splendid navigable condition of the Passaic river acted as a regulator in the making of rates by rail; that the facilities afforded by rallroads made the transfer of freight to and from every known point where steel rails reach or vessel can carry the limit of distribution.
It has always been possible to point out that an additional advantage was to be had through the diversity of industry, often enabling the operators
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to secure machinery, parts, or supplies, at an hour's notice from some neighboring plants, whereas if located elsewhere, the want might be the cause of temporarily suspending operations, while in another way the diversity of industry brought into the life of the city an army of skilled workers whose services at times were all important.
With the changes brought about in the changing conditions through the use and application of steam power, changes are to be noticed in the indus- trial conditions prior to the year 1870 and more particularly so in the decade following.
Within this period an industry in which hundreds of female operatives were employed in the making of silk twist suspended operation, the business going to other localities, and with the advent of oil for illumination purposes in the homes, later to give place to gas, the making of tallow candles, which up to this time was of importance, practically ceased.
One of the oldest among the industries in the city-the manufacture of trunks-was experiencing the effect of competition from western manu- facturers who had revolutionized the business by adopting processes of manufacture, turning out a product made to sell if not for service, the cheaper grade gradually forcing the superior article out of the market. It is a satisfaction to note that this industry has continued, and, while It has become of secondary importance, nevertheless a Newark-built trunk is known to be serviceable and safe, and worth the difference in cost.
FURTHER INCREASE OF INDUSTRY.
Notwithstanding the loss of one or more industries, the story of progress is continued in the census report of the decade ending 1870, and this progress when compared with the tabulated returns obtained in 1880 but adds a further chapter to the history of the development which was con- tinuously being made.
In the enumeration for the year 1870 the whole number of individuals and concerns operating industrial plants was 918, a gain of 153 since 1860, while by 1880 the number had increased to 1,319. The capital invested in 1870 was $21,771,145, as against $13,819,605 in 1860, which by 1880 had increased to $25,679,885. In this decade the number employed in indus- trial pursuits increased from 22,126 in 1870 to 30,046 in 1880, the aggre- gate producing value annually expanding from $48,133,000 to $69,253,000.
Some mistakes and irregularities in the returns of 1870 are apparent, due, no doubt, to the want of a properly organized plan with a definite object in view, which permitted the agents of government to not only accept statements from dealers as well as manufacturers, but to include such in the final returns.
It is noticeably in the returns of the leather industry, which report a total of sixty-six establishments employing a capital of $2,226,187, furnish- ing work to 1,100 men, the value of the annual product being given as $8,604,181, which ten years later, in 1880, when an accurate census was taken by the Census Department under the supervision of Patrick T. Quinn, then secretary of the Board of Trade, it was found the total number of manufacturers engaged in the production of leather was thirty nine, a num- ber not exceeded at any previous period in the history of the city.
These thirty-nine establishments had invested as capital a total of $3,540,583 and employed 2,661 workers, whose combined pay roll averaged $1,413,232; the annual production aggregating a value of $10,442,092, the
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highest sum total attained in any one year. With one and a quarter million of capital less than in 1880 and with less than half the number of employees, half the sum paid in wages, the value of the product, it would appear, was within one million eight hundred thousand of the later decade, a fact dis- puted by the best men engaged in the industry, and accounted for upon learning that the returns of those engaged in the jobbing trade had been included with the returns made by the actual manufacturers.
If the classification of industry as compiled in 1870 were accepted as correct, it would be found that the trades or industries at that time was divided in 116 groups, which, if compared with the enumeration as made by the compiler of the city directory, would be found to be far short of the actual number, as many kindred branches, distinct in character, existed, but perhaps for brevity were included as a part of the principal trade.
INDUSTRIAL CHANGES AND RAW MATERIALS.
It was thought possible that a comparison to some purpose could be made of the reports of decades subsequent to 1860, but after a study it was seen that an intricate and difficult problem to comprehend was presented, which, if followed, would lead to an attempt to ascertain occupations, or to account for the total suspension of some industry, thought at one period to be of consequence, or to find explanation which would account for the rapid expansion or importance of one or more new industries.
Or, again, in making an analysis to ascertain or account for the varying amount represented per capita in the volume of wages paid at stated periods the solution of a problem involving a research into history in order' to determine the cost of living, or, the purchasing value of the dollar would be necessary, a task which would involve speculation and explanation.
To learn of the sources from which the raw materials of manufacture are obtained that enter into the product and which keep the workshops and factories of Newark busy, might properly be made a part of this work. as it may well be believed that many wonders of nature could be revealed, unknown to the workers, or to the dwellers within the city, but it was found that such a study would bring the searcher to every clime, among every race of men on earth, to the tops of the highest mountains, to the frozen shores of Labrador, to the coral sands of the South Seas, into the bowels of the earth and to the depths of the ocean, and into every known form of danger.
It was found such an investigation would reveal the fact that the Indian of the Andes, with his fellow of the Himalayas, and the natives of the frozen north, earned their bread gathering the skins of animals for our tanneries; that the men of the South Seas, and of the islands of the Pacific, braved the perils of the shark to gather up the pearl shells from the ocean bed for our button factories; that the natives of India, the men of the bush in Australia, the coolies of China and Thibet commenced work with the rising of the sun gathering the gums or barks of commerce for our chemists and varnish makers, while the miners of the Messaba, the Cobalt, the Blue Ridge and Mexico, were tearing from Mother Earth the ores for our smelters and molders, while others in Africa, India, along the Amazon and elsewhere, were searching out the gold and precious stones supplied to our jewelers and lapidaries, showing that in the world of industry all men were kin, and that each partaking of the work with the other, was sharing in the processes of production, as well as in the final consumption of the finished product.
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It was thought some useful use of the facts demonstrated in the accom- panying tables might suggest itself, offering, as they do, a field for research and conveying information both to employers and to the employees.
In the first table is shown the per capita of capital employed, to the whole number of employees, and the per capita of value of the annual product as it bears relation to the number of employees, the changes trans- piring with each decade, being worth noting, indicating that under methods of manufacture obtaining up to 1860 the value of the output represented $1,280 per capita to the employee, while with the adoption of improved methods the per capita of capital invested increased with the increase of output. The changing conditions in manufacture from old processes where hand labor was largely used to modern methods and the use of machinery, is shown in the per capita increase in the annual value of the output.
YEAR
Total No. of Employees
Per Capita of Capital Invested to No. of Employees
Per Capita of Output to No. of Employees
1910
63,981
$2,410.00
$3,008.00
1900
49,550
2,083.00
2,562.00
1890
46,848
1,551.00
1,995.00
1880
30,046
854.00
2,341.00
1870
22,126
983.00
2,130.00
1860
21,613
639.00
1,280.00
THE PAY ROLL AS A BAROMETER.
In the average annual pay roll as summarized in the accompanying table will be seen the advance made in recent years in all that goes to make up modern society. It tells of the better conditions in the homes, in our cities, in the life of the community and in all other essentials.
It may be inferred without reference to obtain facts on which to base an argument that the cost of living in 1860 must have been relatively less than in 1870, or rather that the dollar purchased more, or, paid for more, than in the later decade, when the compensation paid the worker repre- sented an increase in wage of over 75 per cent. and that the inflation of that period was paid for subsequently, so that with the figures for 1880 a normal value was again established and those for the decades following may be accepted to indicate the substantial condition which has since existed.
With every increase in the pay roll of the factories a corresponding increase is always sure to follow in retail trade, in property valuations, in banking deposits and in all lines or professions, as each increase represents a larger purchasing power, as well also as an increase in the number of people to provide for; so that the barometer of real substantial progress is to be found in the pay roll of the factory, therefore, the table appended may be accepted as an exhibit indicating the progress of the industries of Newark.
The following table shows the total number of salaried officials and employees, the total aggregate annual pay roll, and the average per capita per annum from 1860 to 1910, inclusive.
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YEAR
Total No. of Workers
Total Aggregate Pay Roll
Average Pay Roll per Capita
1910
69,986
$44,853,000
$640.00
1900
49,550
29,534,000
596.00
1890
46,848
26,857,000
573.00
1880
30,046
13,171,000
438.00
1870
22,126
11,537,000
521.00
1800
21,613
6,588,000
305.00
In the decade between 1870 and 1880 industry again became stagnated through the financial panic of 1872, when many failed to recover from losses inflicted, the majority operating under short sail up to 1878, in which year the effect of the real estate inflation fever with its costly experience to all classes began to subside and conditions approaching normal set in.
When the census returns of 1880 were compiled it was shown that 188 new establishments were operating and that the amount of capital had been increased by over four million dollars, that 8,000 additional workers were employed, and that the aggregate annual value of production had been increased by the sum of $21,119,000.
Another index to the growth of industry is to be ascertained in a table giving the number of establishments operating, supplemented with statistics showing the value of the annual product.
In the value of the finished product is to be found the element from which the life of the city receives its stimulus. It not only represents the cost of materials and the compensation of the workmen, but an added surplus to represent an addition to the wealth of the proprietor, while col- lectively it represents the beautiful homes and institutions of the city.
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The following table shows the number of establishments by decades, with total value of the combined annual output, with average value accord- ing to the number of establishments from 1860 to 1910, inclusive:
YEAR
Number of Establishments
Aggregate Value of Output
Average Value of Output to No. of Establishments
1910
1,858
$202,511,000
$109,000
1900
3,339
126,954,000
38,000
1890
2,490
93,477,000
37,500
1880
1,319
69,253,000
52,500
1870
1,131
48,133,000
42,500
1860
765
27,854,000
36,410
* Hand trades excluded.
Between 1890 and 1900 the growth of industry was continuous, not only in the added number of new concerns locating in Newark, but in the healthy expansion taking place in those established. The Increase of capital reported during this decade, $33,000,000, represents large additions made to plants rather than to the advent of new concerns.
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A more remarkable increase of capital will be observed for the decade between 1900 and 1910 in the addition of $75,000,000 reported, represent- ing further large additions to established industries, also representing hun- dreds of new concerns which have made, and are making, Newark a world's centre of industry.
This increase is the more remarkable because of the fact that in the taking of the census in 1909 only plants or industries using steam power, employing ten or more persons, were included, all hand trades, such as millinery, dressmaking, carpentery, building, wheelright work, cigars, black- smithing, etc., having been omitted, thereby reducing the whole number reporting in 1900 from 3,339 to 1,858 in 1910; a seeming discrepancy or loss which is explained by this statement, and notwithstanding the omission of those employed in the hand trades, all of which have increased propor- tionately, the figures in the first table will show an increase in the number of employees of from 49,550 in 1900 to 63,981 in 1910.
THE RANK AND PRESTIGE OF NEWARK.
In 1860 the city ranked seventh in importance as a manufacturing centre, dropping to ninth in 1870, St. Louis and Chicago, having made rapid advances with the development of the west and southwest territories, further changes in rank taking place after 1880, when Pittsburg, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo claimed precedence over Newark in accordance with the standard represented by the aggregate value of manufactures produced annually.
There is nothing in this seeming loss of prestige, however, for the reason that several of the cities now preceding Newark in rank have been able to so do by the extension of area through the annexation of suburban sections.
Within an area equal to that of the city of Newark, twenty-two square miles, it is doubtful if any city can show a greater diversity of industry or a larger total annual production. If priority lends added importance to the city, it should not depend wholly on the aggregate annual value of the product, but should be pro-rated on a basis of population to output. If this were accepted as a basis, it would be found that Newark is well up to the front, and is, and should be, reckoned one of the most important industrial centres of the country, as the total value of manufactures represent a per capita value to the population, in 1910 of $600 annually, as against the so- called "Sixth City," in which the average is less than $500, or the "City of Smoke," where the average is $450 per capita.
In the diversity of industry Newark holds a prominent position among cities of less than a half a million of population, and it is only necessary to include its suburbs within a radius of territory equal to that covered by Detroit or Cleveland as a part of the city for to precede both, and be entitled to rank fifth, in point of population or manufactures, and perhaps in other essential conditions.
The introduction of new branches of industry, the expansion taking place and the effect resulting from the widening of markets and the use of improvements in methods of production, with the advent of electricity as a motive power, are noted in the census returns for the decade closing with the year 1890.
The number of industries had increased proportionately with the increase of population which had grown from 136,508 in 1880 to 181,830 in 1890, the number of establishments increasing in the same period from
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1,319 to 2,490, the capital from $25,679,885 to $72,675,782, the output from $69,253,000 to $93,477,000, while again in the decade from 1890 to 1900 a great and steady increase occurred by reason of the many new lines opened up to supply the thousand and one articles required in the use of electrical equipment.
From a total of 2,490 plants in 1890, the number increased to 3,339 in 1900, the capital from $72,675,782 to $103,191,403, the value of the product from $93,477,000 to $126,954,000, this increase continuing in greater volume during the decade closing with 1910.
It would be an endless labor to undertake a historical sketch which would include a recital of the origin of the more than two hundred and fifty distinct lines of industry now in operation in the present city, or to attempt in this work to review the progress made between 1900 and 1910, as the reader would become weary of the sameness of detail.
The statement concluding this chapter gives in figures the story of the rise and progress made in all industry from 1860 to 1910.
Statement showing the progress made in manufactures in Newark, according to the statistics compiled by the census returns from 1860 to 1910, inclusive:
YEAR
No. of Establish- ments
Capital
No. of Hands
Wages Paid
Value of Product
1910
1,858
$154,233,000
69,986
$33,076,000
$202,512,000
1900
3,339
103,191,403
49,550
29,534,311
126,954,049
1890
2,490
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