USA > Wisconsin > Racine County > Racine > Racine, belle city of the lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. I > Part 21
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
ative basis. But after a time another era of speculation came and was followed by the panie of 1857.
In 1862, while the Civil War was in progress, Congress passed a national banking law and at the same time decreed that issues of notes by state banks should cease. Since that time the only paper enrreney in this country has been issued by the national banks, or by the Government itself, in the form of gold or silver certificates or treasury notes.
BANKS IN RACINE COUNTY
The Racine Argus of March 10, 1838, says: "Our Legisla- ture at its last session passed a law incorporating a bank here with a capital of $200,000." That is the first mention to be found of a bank in Racine County, but it was never established. It is said the project failed because the great panie of the year before had rendered the people cautions about making investments and the stock could not be sold.
In Mark Miller's City Directory of 1850 appears the adver- tisement of an "Exchange, Banking and Collection Office" by the firm of McCrea, Bell & Ullman, located at 152 Main Street. The firm was composed of Augustus L. McCrea, William J. Bell and Henry J. Ullman, none of whose names appear in the direc- tory. Isaac J. Ullman is given as a merchant and James Ullman as a clerk, both in business at 154 Main Street. In the adver- tisement the firm gives as references banking firms in Boston, New York and Philadelphia and announces "Sight drafts on New York, Boston and Philadelphia at one per cent premium."
On February 1, 1853, the Bank of Racine was incorporated by act of the Legislature and succeeded to the business estab- lished by MeCrea, Bell & Ulhan. The authorized capital stock was $50,000 and the following were the first officers: Henry J. Ullman, president; Daniel Ullman, cashier. These two officers, with George HI. Carpenter, William W. Vanghan, Ernest Ineff- ner, Marshall M. Strong and S. C. Tuckerman, constituted the first board of directors.
In 1859 the private banking house of Byron B. Northrop & Co. was opened. On March 16, 1871, it was consolidated with the Bank of Racine to form the Manufacturers National Bank, which on that date was granted a charter by the comptroller of the currency. Four days later the new bank opened in the old
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
Baker House (now the Merchants Hotel), on the east side of Main Street between Fourth and Fifth. On November 20, 1872, the bank leased the building at the northwest corner of Main and Fifth Streets of Vaughan & Williams, and in 1876 purchased the property. The first officers of the Manufacturers National, when it was organized in 1871, were: J. I. Case, president; E. J. IIneffner, vice president; Byron B. Northrop, cashier. On the board of directors were William C. Allen, Robert H. Baker, Lucius S. Blake, Henry T. Fuller, Edward McEnery, Thomas D. Pitts, James R. Slauson, John Vaughan, Henry J. Ullman and the officers above named. Mr. Case continued as president until 1891, when he was succeeded by M. B. Erskine.
The original capital stock of the Manufacturers National Bank was $100,000, which has since been increased to $300,000. A statement issued by the bank at the close of business on March 7, 1916, shows a capital stock of $300,000, surplus and undivided profits of $258,194, and deposits of $2.928,778.03. The officers of the bank at that time were as follows: Otis W. Johnson, presi- dent; David H. Flett and William Van Arsdale, vice presidents; E. W. Rapps, cashier; M. E. Erskine, assistant cashier.
The Racine County Bank was incorporated in January, 1854, with a capital stock of $200,000; Reuben M. Norton, president; Curtis Mann, vice president: George C. Northrop, cashier. Be- sides these officers, the board of directors was composed of John W. Cary, Nicholas D. Fratt, Horatio B. Munroe, John Thomp- son and L. W. Munroe. It began business on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets.
On May 16, 1864, the stockholders of the Racine County Bank voted to liquidate and reorganize under the national banking laws. It was therefore reorganized as the First National Bank, with the charter number 457, and is therefore the oldest national bank in the county. The first board of directors was composed of John Thompson, John G. Conroe, Nelson Pendleton, W. H. Lathrop, Darwin Andrews, Nicholas D. Fratt, William W. Vanghan, W. H. Baker and Horatio B. Munroe. During the fifty- two years of its existence as a national bank the First National has had but two presidents and four cashiers. Nicholas D. Fratt was elected president in 1864 and served until 1909, when he resigned and went to California, where his death occurred on November 17, 1910. He was succeeded by Frank L. Mitchell,
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
who still holds the position. Darwin Andrews was cashier from 1864 until his death in 1877. Horatio B. Munroe was then cashier until his death in June, 1892, when George N. Fratt was elected. In 1915 he was elected one of the vice presidents and A. F. Erick- son was made cashier.
The original capital stock of the First National Bank was $100,000. On November 5, 1892, it was increased to $150,000 and in 1909 to $200,000 by a stock dividend of 33 1/3 per cent. From 1864 to 1880 the bank was located in the quarters formerly occu- pied by the Racine County Bank at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. In 1880 it removed to a new building just south of the court house, facing east on Monument Square, and in 1913 this building was torn down to make way for the present hand- some and commodious structure, into which the bank moved on August 1, 1914.
A statement issued by the First National on May 1, 1916, gives the capital stock as $200,000; surplus and undivided profits, $198,066; deposits, $3,847,053.02. The officers of the bank then were: Frank L. Mitchell, president; George N. Fratt and David G. Janes, vice presidents; A. F. Erickson, cashier; E. D. Koster- man and B. R. Jones, assistant cashiers.
The City Bank of Racine was incorporated in January, 1854, with a capital stock of $50,000. Alexander MeClurg was presi- dent and James J. Ullman cashier. These two officers, with William McConihe, constituted the board of directors. For a time the bank was located at No. 151 Main Street, but later moved into a new building on the corner of Main and Third Streets. After several years of fairly successful business the bank wound up its affairs and closed its doors.
In December, 1856, the Commercial Bank of Racine was in- corporated with Henry S. Durand, president; J. W. Moore, cash- ier: William C. Allen, George Wilkinson and Gordon Chapman, with the president and cashier, composed the first board of direc- tors. The authorized capital stock of this bank was $100,000. It was located at No. 180 Main Street, but has long been out of existence, having liquidated its business and closed. William C. Allen was afterward one of the directors of the Manufacturers National Bank.
The Union National Bank of Racine was incorporated under the national banking laws in 1881, with a capital stock of $100,000.
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
which was subsequently increased to $150,000. Among the local capitalists interested in this bank were O. W. Johnson, now presi- dent of the Manufacturers National; Frank K. Bull, of the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company ; H. E. Redman, of the Mitchell- Lewis Wagon Company, and A. P. Starr, who was at one time cashier. In 1900 the entire interests, good will and fixtures of this bank were sold to the First National Bank.
In 1892 the Commercial and Savings Bank of Racine was organized under the state laws, with a capital stock of $100,000, and the following officers: L. S. Blake, president; Charles R. Carpenter, cashier. Eight years later the bank reported resources of nearly $1,000,000 and deposits of $803,298. A handsome three- story building was erected on the northeast corner of Fifth and Main Streets and the bank continued to wear an air of prosperity until September 17, 1914, when adverse circumstances compelled it to close its doors. The state banking department sent a man to wind up its affairs and he was still in charge on July 1, 1916.
The Racine City Bank, located at Racine Junction, was or- ganized in 1907. It has a capital stock of $50,000, surplus and undivided profits of $16,000, and deposits of $430,000, according to the Bankers' Directory of March, 1916. W. G. Gittings is presi- dent; F. W. Gunther, vice president; and H. H. Bacon, cashier.
The Farmers and Merchants Bank was organized in 1915. Its capital stock is $50,000, and in March, 1916, it reported a sur- plus of $5,000 and deposits of $50,000. John Wiechers is presi- dent; L. J. Breylinger, vice president; and H. A. Diestler, cashier.
At this writing (July 1, 1916,) two new banks are in process of organization in the City of Racine. They are the American National and the American Trades and Savings banks. Arrange- ments have been made for the latter to occupy the building for- merly occupied by the Commercial and Savings Bank and to guarantee to the depositors of that institution the full amount of their deposits.
RURAL BANKS
Outside of the City of Racine there were six banks in the county on April 1, 1916, to-wit: Two in Burlington, two in Water- ford, one in Union Grove and one in Corliss.
The first rural bank in the county was the People's State Savings Bank at Burlington, which was organized abont 1870 with an authorized capital stock of $50,000, of which only $15,000
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
was paid in. After a somewhat doubtful career for about six vears John Reynolds was appointed a receiver to wind up its affairs.
The Bank of Burlington began business in 1871 and is now one of the substantial financial concerns of the county. It occu- pies a handsome three-story stone building on the northeast cor- ner of Pine and Chestnut Streets, which was erected in 1909. In March, 1916, it reported a capital stock of $75,000; surplus and undivided profits, $25,000; deposits, $1.100,000. At that time C. R. MeCanna was president; L. H. Rohr, vice president; G. A. Uebele, cashier.
Diagonally across Pine and Chestnut Streets from the Bank of Burlington is the Meinhardt Bank, which was opened in 1891. It has a capital stock of $25,000, a surplus fund of $50,000, and deposits of $680.000. Albert Meinhardt is president: Elisa Mein- hardt, vice president: Eda Meinhardt, cashier.
The State Bank of Union Grove was organized in 1870, about the time the People's Bank of Burlington opened for business, but its history is quite different from that of its contemporary. For more than forty-five years it has been conducted along con- servative lines and it now is one of the best country banks in the county. The officers in March, 1916, were: JJ. E. Hamilton, presi- dent: C. E. Mueller, vice president; H. C. Wilke, cashier. The capital stock is $35,000; the surplus and undivided profits, $8,000; and the deposits, $200,000.
In 1903 the State Bank of Waterford commenced business with a capital stock of $10,000. In March, 1916, it reported a surplus fund of $6,500 and deposits amounting to $185,000. At that time John T. Rice was president; Edward Malone, vice presi- dent: William Sanders, cashier.
Noll's Bank, at Waterford, began business in 1907. It has a capital stock of $25,000, a surphis of $3,000, and deposits of $305,000. L. Noll is president; Charles H. Noll, vice president, and Louis L. Noll, cashier.
The Corliss State Bank, the youngest bank in the county, was organized in 1914 with a capital stock of $12,000; Henry Harmon, president; C. O. Frisbie, vice president; Louis Krad- well, cashier. The officers were the same on April 1, 1916, when the deposits amounted to $25,000.
If bank deposits are an index to a community's prosperity,
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
Racine county has cause for congratulation. The total deposits of the banks amount to nearly $11,000,000, or almost $200 for each man, woman and child, if the money could be so distributed. Not many counties can show a better average.
AGRICULTURE
The manufacturing industries and commercial interests are treated in another chapter of this work. But the business which represents the greatest investment of capital, produces the larg- est proportion of the wealth, and has contributed the most to the county's prosperity and financial standing, is that of agriculture. From the small clearing in the timber or the sod cornfield of the latter '30s, the agricultural interests have been developed until practically every acre of farm land has been brought under cul- tivation or is utilized for pasture. Resorting once more to sta- tisties to show the progress in this respect, the following tables have been compiled from the United States census reports for 1910:
FIELD CROPS
Acres
Bushels
Corn
28,489
1,114,944
Oats
22,613
881,379
Wheat.
631
13,789
Barley.
5,157
167,945
Rye.
878
16,788
Potatoes
3,347
354,416
Total
61,115
2,549,261
The above table includes only the principal crops. There was a small erop of buckwheat raised, and upon the numerous "trnek" farms were produced large quantities of small fruits, vegetables, etc., that found a ready market in the cities of Racine, Milwaukee and Chicago. Of the wheat crop, 122 aeres were sown to winter wheat and the remainder was of the spring wheat variety.
HAY AND FORAGE
Acres
Timothy hay
17,867
Tons 24,316
Timothy and clover
9,769
13,888
Clover.
1,255
2,011
Alfalfa
1,467
4,418
Wild grasses
9,794
11,640
All other forage.
5,509
14,523
Total
45,661
80,796
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
Of the seventy-one counties in the state, Racine stood fif- teenth in the production of corn, thirty-sixth in oats, forty-third in barley, thirtieth in potatoes and thirty-third in hay, though its wheat crop was below the average. Upon the whole, area con- sidered, Racine has no cause for complaint over her showing.
LIVE STOCK
Number
Value
Hogs.
21,449
$
189,722
Cattle.
27,992
941,730
Horses.
8,670
982,347
Mules
26
2,830
Sheep.
9,856
39,031
Poultry
.154,310
89,884
Total value
$2,145,544
Estimating the value of the field crops, the products of the truck farms and orchards, at the average prices that prevailed for the year, and including the value of live stock, dairy products, etc., the farmers of Racine county produced in 1910 in the neigh- borhood of $8,000,000, while the farm lands, improvements and personal property represent a permanent investment of more than $30,000,000. According to the census report, the number of farms in the county in 1910 was 2.203. These were divided into classes as follows:
Under 10 acres
122
10 to 19 acres.
178
20 to 49 acres. 416
50 to 99 acres ..
671
100 to 174 acres
573
175 to 259 acres.
186
260 to 499 acres.
53
500 acres or over
4
Total 2,203
Of these farms 1,695 were operated by the owners, 489 by tenants and 19 by managers. The total number of aeres of farm land was 199.412, of which 147,369 acres were under cultivation and 52,043 acres were in woodland and pasture. With his large investment in land, improvements, implements and machinery, and his industrial activity, the farmer is a factor that must be considered in any account of the financial progress of Racine County. A large portion of the bank deposits is held by the farm- ers. And the farmer of today is a different type of man from the
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
farmer of 1835, when the first settlers came to Racine County. He no longer tills his land blindly as he did before the establish- ment of agricultural colleges and farmers' institutes, which have brought scientific information concerning agriculture to his very door. Highways have been improved, which gives him better access to the markets. The introduction of the telephone and the establishment of the rural mail route have brought him in «loser touch with the outside world. He has his daily paper de- livered to him at his home. If he needs supplies he telephones his order and the parcels post does the rest. All these agencies working together have metamorphosed the farmer from the "rube" of former years into an educated man. The County of Racine has established an agricultural school and experimental farm for the farmers of the future, and district agricultural fairs are held in the rural schools throughout the county. Manufac- turing and banking concerns flourish largely because of the farmer's prosperity. He is a potentate because he feeds the world, and it is certain that for some years to come "corn is king" in Racine County.
Photo furnished by Billings
J. I. CASE Pioneer of Racine.
CHAPTER XIII
COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURING
FIRST MANUFACTURING-J. I. CASE THRESHING MACHINE CO. - J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS - HORLICK'S MALTED MILK CO. - MITCHELL-LEWIS MOTOR CO. - RACINE WOOLEN MILLS CO. - S. FREEMAN & SONS- J. MILLER CO. - T. DRIVER & SONS - RACINE IRON & WIRE WORKS - S. C. JOHNSON & SON - HIGGINS SPRING & AXLE CO. - RACINE TRUNK CO .- CHICAGO RUBBER CLOTHING CO. - GOLD MEDAL CAMP FURNI- TURE MANUFACTURING CO .- F. J. GREEN ENGINEERING WORKS - RACINE PAPER GOODS CO. - AMERICAN SEATING CO. - AMERICAN SKEIN & FOUNDRY CO. - RACINE SHOE MANUFACTURING CO. - ARNOLD ELECTRIC CO. - RACINE MANUFACTURING CO. - RACINE RUBBER CO. - WALLIS TRACTOR CO. - RACINE MALLEABLE & WROUGHT IRON CO. - LAKESIDE MALLEABLE CASTINGS CO. - HART- MAN TRUNK CO. - INDUSTRIES OF 1879 - MANUFACTURERS OF 1910 - OTHER RACINE COUNTY INDUSTRIES- INCUBATOR COMPANIES- BELLE CITY MALLEABLE IRON CO. - BELLE CITY BASKET CO. - HAMILTON-BEACH CO. - HILKER-WIECHERS CO. - EISENDRATH TAN- NING CO. - BELLE CITY MANUFACTURING CO. - M. M. SECOR TRUNK CO. - GEORGE GORTON MACHINE CO. - F. W. GUNTHER CO. - ALUMI- NUM SHOES.
FIRST MANUFACTURING
Probably the first concern in Racine which could properly be called a manufacturing establishment was the saw mill at the Rapids, constructed by See & Mckenzie in the year 1835. In the same year, also, Capt. Gilbert Knapp, the founder of Racine, and Barker & Hubbard built another saw mill. In 1844 J. B. Wilson and C. C. Burgess established the pioneer foundry and in the fol- lowing year Russell Skinner constructed a plant for iron work- ing. These manufactories would seem pitifully small were they to be viewed in comparison with the many concerns of mammoth proportions now operating in the city of Racine. They were suf- ficiently large, however, for the care of the business of the day and were, no doubt, considered notable improvements eighty Years ago.
The increase in transportation facilities marked the inangu- ration of great growth in manufacturing. When the settlers first came to the country now embraced in Racine County their com- modities and their materials for manufacturing had to be carried to the settlement either by stage, wagon or by boat. The former method was very expensive and consequently a luxury which was uncommon. Schooners frequently stopped off the port of
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
Racine, where passengers and diverse cargoes were unloaded upon yawls or "lighters" and drawn to the shore; the absence of a harbor in the early years prevented the ships from coming close to land. Lumber was more often dumped into the water and floated to the shore. The coming of the railroad obviated many of these difficulties and prospective manufacturers, hitherto skeptical of the locality, were encouraged to come to Racine. Jerome I. Case, after building his first machine in a kitchen at Rochester, Wisconsin, came to Racine and erected his first shop in 1849. The Mitchell & Lewis Company, by the late Henry Mitchell, established a wagon factory in 1855; Fish Brothers' wagon factory was located here in 1862; Racine Woolen Mill in 1865; S. Freeman & Sons Manufacturing Company in 1867; J. I. Case Plow Works in 1876; Racine Hardware Manufacturing Company in 1874, and the Racine Wagon & Carriage Company in 1877; and so on, until at the present time there has been added factory after factory until the City of Racine ranks as one of the largest and most important manufacturing centers of the Middle West.
The figures compiled by the Industrial Commission of Wis- consin, in co-ordination with the United States Census of 1910 give some interesting statistics upon the manufacturing in Racine. By this account there were 142 establishments in the city; capi- tal invested, $36,326,000.00; cost of materials used, $11,512,000.00; salaries and wages, $7,169,000.00; miscellaneous expenses, $3,728,- 000.00; value of product, $24,673,000.00; value added by man- facture (produet less cost of materials), $13,161,000.00; number of salaried officials and clerks, 1,892; average number of wage earners employed during the year, 8,381. These figures represent an increase of 29% from the year 1904 until 1910, and can be taken as a proper ratio of the increase from 1910 until 1916.
The railroads which enter and leave the City of Racine oper- ate under their own management nearly 15,000 miles of tracks. and by traffic arrangements with other roads reach more than 12,000 stations. Freight rates are on a par with other large cities of the Middle West. Switch tracks are laid in every part of the city and daily complete trains of manufactured goods, including threshing machines, steam engines, wagons, plows. boilers, fanning mills, trunks, boats, launches and automobiles are sent in every direction. Not only do the railroads care for
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THE J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS
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J. I.CASE PLOW WORKS.
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
these large shipments, but several steamship lines, operating on the Great Lakes, carry large cargoes to other markets and dis- tributing centers.
In a list of manufactured articles compiled by the Racine Club are the following products which are made here in the city: Plows, shoes, boots, tents, tools, leather, art glass, automobiles, show cases, dental supplies, sash, doors, blinds, veneers, baskets, pulleys, pumps, tanks, hangars, blank books, agricultural imple- ments, automobile tops, tires, bodies, wheels, chasses, accessories, cushions, cement building blocks, artificial stone, threshing ma- chines, rubber clothing, traveling bags, buggy tops, gravel roof- ing, cotton goods, paper boxes, steam launches, saddlery hard- ware, plated goods, camp furniture, electrical goods, wood stain, wire works, metal stamped goods, rubber stamps, store and office fixtures, letter presses, alarms, vibrators, pop, beer, soap, cakes. rugs, flour, briek, shirts, skirts, trunks, carpets, boilers, engines, wagons, buggies, desks, seats, lumber, harness, tinware, patent medicine, malted milk, shirt waists, incubators, carriages, springs, axles, piano stools, duet benches, overalls, japanned ware, skeins, hardwood floors, brass goods, gray iron castings, wrought iron, malleable iron, bar iron, wind mills, separators, cigars, monu- ments, ice cream, brooms, bits, snaps, anvils, jack serews, steel warehouse trueks, trucks, steel wagon hardware, brooders, bank and church fixtures, harrows, cultivators, fanning mills, corn harvesters, haying tools, whiffletrees, neck yoke irons, hand corn planters, feed cutters, seed sowers, hay loaders, parquetry floors, floor stain, hat pins, curry combs, steel shoes, third seats, pencil sharpeners, floor cleaners, health coffee, potato planters, potato diggers, road rollers, hay balers, hay knives, coat hangers, gas engine castings, motorevele cylinders, automobile engine cylin- ders, crank cases, and puttyless windows. It is probable that many other commodities could be added to this already imposing list, but the above is sufficient to give the reader an idea of the varied and important articles manufactured in Racine.
J. Sewell Mather, in the booklet called "Greater Racine," comments: "Cities are like men. They are either strong, weak or indifferent. They will either manifest constructive ability with varying degrees of success or else lead a shiftless or inactive existence. They will either round out their own possibilities, or else drift with the stream of time. Just as men may be endowed
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HISTORY OF RACINE COUNTY
with physical strength and intellectual gifts, so cities may be surrounded with natural advantages. Just as men may bring their gifts of mind to the highest plane of useful activity, so cities may realize their advantages in the largest possible man- ner. The character and importance of a city can, in a large meas- ure, be judged by the good streets, handsome business blocks, large factories, fine churches, well equipped school houses, and comfortable homes which it possesses. In these exterior mani- festations, the discerning stranger will read the progress of the people - their enterprise, energy and industry. Racine de- serves to be designated as a metropolis of the progressive type. Its people have availed themselves of the natural advantages with which the city is so richly endowed and have built a large, thrifty and metropolitan city."
J. 1. CASE THRESHING MACHINE COMPANY
Jerome I. Case, the founder of this company, was one of the pioneer settlers of Racine County. He was born December 11, 1818, in Williamstown, Oswego County, New York, of English parentage. In the spring of 1842 he purchased six small thresh- ing machines on credit and brought them to the West. He dis- posed of five of his machines and kept one for his own purposes and convenience. In the spring of 1843 he found that his machine was becoming worn out and he set to work to reconstruct it, embodying in the work some of his own ideas as to its improve- ment. His finished product proved to be better than he could purchase in the East. Thus he laid the foundations for the larg- est manufacturing concern of its kind in the world. It is told that he made his first model in a kitchen at Rochester, Wiscon- sin. Shortly afterward Mr. Case occupied a small shop in the Village of Racine and undertook the manufacture of a limited number of his machines. His business constantly grew and in 1849 he erected his first shop, near the site of the present factory. It was a brick building, in dimensions 30 by 80 feet and three stories in height. He continued to build up the trade and to make more machines until 1863, when the increased size of his estab- lishment warranted the organization of the J. I. Case & Company, forming a partnership with Messrs. Stephen Bull, R. H. Baker and M. B. Erskine. From that time forward the trade steadily expanded. "The year 1897 proved to be the beginning of a new
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