Newspaper Page Text
Our Industrial Possibilities
/
A Department for the Encouragement of New
Enterprises for Douglas
Edited by J. M. Jardine
week The Progress made men
tion of a new industry that would soon
be in operatin in Douglas, the excel
sior factory that is to be run by Mr.
Baker, aMd it may be in-.eve:-ting to
the rtaders of the paper to know
something about excelsior, how it is
made, used and from what it is made.
So we gi\e below an article that ap
peared in a recent issue of the Furni
ture Industry.
Statistics for th( pioduction of ex
celsior in the United States for the
year 1911 are given in a bulletin soon
to be issued by E. Dana Durand, Di
rector of the Bureau of Census, De
partment of Commerce. It was pre
pared under tlie direction of W. M.
Stewart, chief statistician for Manu
facturers.
Excelsior has been manufactured in
ibis . untry for r, or< than r >) yiars.
If was first placed cn ihe market in
1860, but for the ten succeding years
it was not in great demand. Since
then,, however, it has become a staple
commodity for many important uses,
until now over 85,000,000 feet of for
est material are needtd each year to
meet the demand. At first excelsior
was called wood fibre, but later it re
ceived the name “excelsior,” which,
it is stated, was the name used in the
early advertisemc nts of an upholstery
firm. The idea of excelsior, and the
first machine to manufacture it origi
nated in America. Later the ingen
uity of Europeans improved the pro
duct and method for its manufacture
The first use of excelsior was for
packing wares liable to injury in
transportation, but later it proved val
uable for filling cheap mattresses and
upholstering furniture In France not
only does excelsior answer for thkr
CALL FOR VOTES AND VOTE
FOR YOUR FRIENDS IN ROTH CONTESTS
THE COFFEE COUNTY PROGRESS
MANUFACTURING STATIONERS
217 EAST WARD STREET DOUGLAS, GEORGIA.
purpose, but highly improved machin
ery has made it possible to manufac
ture a product of such fine grade as
to be a fit substitute for the abs wheat
lint used in hospitals, for filtration
purposes and for weaving into floor
coverings. Various grades of excel
sior are frequently dyed without los
ing their elasticity, and they serve as
an ornamental packing material, and
for color schemes in displaying goods
in show cases.
The crude wood product used for
the making of excelsior comes in the
form of split billets and bolts usually
in length the multiples of 18 inches.
The wood is thoroughly seasoned be
fore manufacturing, but if seasoned
too long it becomes brittle, and often
is injured by incipient decay.
Excelsior might be called ribbon ve
neer since it is made by euting wood
[into very thin strands. The size of
! the strand, with the. kind and color of
the wood, gauges the price and grade.
The thinest grades are called wood
wool. The finished product is baled
by a press such as is used for baling
hay, and in this form it goes to mar
ket.
The first government record of the
excelsior industry is contained in the
reports of the Tenth Census (1880),
only the value of the raw material
amounting to $150,800, being shown.
Assuming the value of a cord at the
time to have been $2.50, the amount of
wood consumed would have been
about 60,000 cords, as compared with
142,944 used in 1911.
*
Cotton wood is the favorite excel
sior wood, contributing 42.3 per cent,
of the total amount consumed, if
was was used by manufacturers lo
cated in 18 states. For the Lake
states, New England and New York,
We Do Anything That Can Be Done With Paper
/ 1
And
PRINTERS INK
THE COFFEE COUNTY PROGRESS, DOUGLAS, GEORGIA
data for aspen, or polar, belonging to
the same family as the southern tree,
were included w r ith those of cotton
w'ood. The same practice was follow
ed with regard to the statistics for
black cottonwood, a tree indigenous to
the far western states, principally
Washington and Oregon. This was
the only wood reported for excelsior
from the Pacific Coast states.
Yellow pine, including scrub, short
leaf and loblolly, was reported from
eleven states, Virginia using more
than all the others together. In that
state scrub pine was probably the
species most largely supplied.
The best grades of excelsior are
made from basswoo.d. That not more
of this is used is due probably to its
scarcity and to the high price of the
stum page.
Other woods which were used for
excelsior were spruce, buckeye, cy
press, butternut, soft maple, .crestnut,
birch, hemlock, beech and white ce
dar.
The fact that in excelsior making
only one operation is necessary to pro
duce the finished product might at
first lead to the inference that the or
der of the states in respect to the
amount of wood consumed would be
the same as in respect to the amount
of excelsior produced. As may be
seen from the table, however, this is
not the fact. Virginia led in produc
tion, but, as already was sec
ond in quantity of raw material used.
New York and New Hampshire, which
were third and fourth, respectively,
in consumption of wood, held the same
rank in output of the finished product.
The variation in size of the billets,
probably more than any other factor,
accounts for the difference in rank
■o
ing of the states with regard to con
sumption and production, respective
ly. When they are uniformly large—
close to six inches —the production is
greater per cord of wood consumed,
since the core do not represent so
iarge a percentage of waste. Virginia
New York and New Hampshire were
the only states shown separately in
which the number of tons of excelsior
produced was greater than the num
ber of cords of wood consumed. Fol
lowing is a comparison of the four
leading states in the average amount
of finished product per cord of wood
consumed: Virginia, 2,286 pounds;
Wisconsin, 1,757 pounds; New York,
2,092 pounds; New Hampshire, 2,131
pounds. For the 27 states the aver
age is 1,956 pounds.
In respect to the capacity of the in
dividual mills, New Hampshire takes
first rank with an average capacity
of 2,064 tons per year; Wisconsin sec
cond, with 1,720 tons; Virginia third
with 1,398 tons; and New York fourth
with only 690 tons.
We are going to try to give the read
ers of the Progress something good in
the way of industrial news each week
but as we are just beginning in our
newspaper career we ask that the
readers do not expect the same
amount of news as they might get
from some of the trade journals.
However, Mr. Jones, editor of the pa
per says we are to go as far as we
like in the way of telling the readers
of The Progress what the possibilities
offered here, and we will try to follow
his instructions.—J. MJ.
MRS. DESHA BRECKENRIDGE
Prominent Lexington (Ky.) Suffra
gist on National Campaign Staff.
7
v 7‘ •' X;.;-.-.; 7 •• -: 7 \ . .
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1 ~l
When You Visit Douglas and Want Something Good to Eat, Visit
Mrs. Edenfield, at Royal Cafe
OPPOSITE DOUGLAS HOSPITAL
' Mil ura ~ ffOT,^
J. D. PERKINS & BRO.
Phone No. 83. Douglas, Ga
NAVY MADE “DliV.”
Drastic Prchs Order Issued by Sec*
retary Daniels.
Absolute prohibition will prevail in
the United States navy after July 1
next. Secretary Daniels has made
public a sweeping order, which not
only will abolish the traditional “wine
mess” of the offic-ersr'but will bar all
alcoholic liquors from every ship and
shore station of ihe navy.
This ordc”, constituting one of the
most notable victories ever won by
prohibition forces, was issued on the
recommendation of Surgeon-General
Braisted. It was brief and to the
point:
“The use or introduction for drink
ing purposes of alcoholic liquors on
board jyiv naval vessel, or within any
navy yard or station, is strictly pro
hibited, and commanding officers will
be held directly responsible for the
enforcement of this order.”
Tube Takes Place of Windpipe. '
Kept alive by means of a tube In
his throat, by the aid of which he is
able to breathe, Frank Gloek, of Ak
ron, Ohio, lies near death at the City
hospital. Emergency treatment was
given Mr. Glock in his store.
Policeman with Search Warrant Not
Needed to Find the Oysters in
OUR OYSTER SOUP
We make a specialty of serving oys
ters in any style but always at reason
able prices.
Raw Oysters 15 Stewed Oysters 30
Fried Oysters 30 Escaloped Oysters 30
They are fresh from the sea and
have just the proper flavor.
We serve other good things to eat
too, come and try one of our 35c din
ners.
DIXIE FIFE -o- Dougins, Ga.