TI1F. FRANKLIN PRESS
FRIDAY, JUNE 2S, 1325
PAGE TWO
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Soends Large Sum Here .Yearly
Few reader;- nf the Franklin Press
realize that a little building here in
Fraklin shown in picture No. 3 plays
a most important part in the telephone
systems of the world.
That building is a part of the largest
telephone manufacturing company in
the world, the Western Electric Com
pany which operates huge plants cov
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ering hundreds of acres in Chicago,
111. and Kearny, N. J.
The importance of the building is
no; to be measured by its size but
by the product it works upon.
"Mica" vis the answer and mica is
?, most important and essential part
of the telephone instruments and the
Western Electric Coin:.ny is the'
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maker of the U'lepVnc instruments
u.-ed in 15,906,5Sf 'eh phone stations
in the Bell System. 'The Western
F.Iectric Company, furnishes a large
pcnesiinge of the telephones (used
overseas and manufactured in its own
or allied plants in England, Belgium,
France, Italy, Japan and China.
Franklin started to be important in
the telephone making world in 1915
when the Western Electric started to
investigate the possibilities , of us
ing the mica industry in the south.
Until Franklin was selected as ' the
ba;.fc for th; telephone mica needs,
practically the entire requirements of
the industry were satisfied by India.
Attempts which had been made' to
use domestic micajiad failed princi
pally bccatif'1 telephone standards'are
compaiablf to artillery and watch
making,' and domestic mica dealers
preferred not-to grade mica to meet
the extreme telephone ' requirements,
Early in 1915, The Western Electric
company t'ecided to make, a thorough
investigation regarding the mica in
dustry in the south. Mr. P. M. Mar
shall was delegated to make this in
vestigation. His instructions were
"Go to the domestic mica fields and
stay there until you have an answer."
As a result Mr. Marshall made a trip
throughout the mica production sec
tions of the South, visiting all major,
operations throughout the South. A
large part of the trip was made on
foot.
As a result of -N this investigation
it was decided that the Western Elec
tric Company should start mica oper
ations in the South, these operations
to consist of tTie purchase of mica
direct from the minor, and putting it
in shape for use at their pla'nt at
Hawthorne. It was also decided that
Franklin offered the best location for
such operations and that the opera
tions Khould be in charge of a man
thoroughly familiar not ; only with
mica but with mica mining industry
in North Carolina.
To this end Mr. J. W. Roper
became an employee of the Western
Electric Company.. While Mr. Roper
was thoroughly familiar with mica
he was mot familiar with the
specific uses to which mica was put
by the Western Electric Company.
The first step, therefore, was to take
Air. Roper , to the plant at Chicago,
Illinois, where he - spent some time
studying , the special requirements,
methods of handling and the use to
which the material was put. He re
turned to I-ranklin in April 1916.
The Company deposited in the Frank
lin banks fifteen hundred dollars and
shouted "Lets tr." '. v
The' 'first operation was ' startci'in J
a cabin shown in picture No. 1. The
total number of employees was three.
iiy the end of the year fhis cabin
had been outgrown,. Larger quart
ers were obtained as shown in pic
ture No. 2, These quarters were oc
cupied for approximately seven years.
They 'were finally outgrown and the
third move was made to the present
quarters' which occupy-the 'enltife
second floor of the building shown
in picture No. 3.
From April 13, 1916 to the end of
1919 the Company spent through the
Franklin office' something over $90,000
and is now spending for labor and
operating expenses alone, not count
ing the cost of mica, approximate
ly $30,000 per yean The Franklin
shop will turn out during 1925 finished
products, of a value of more than
$100,000. Unfortunately it does not
represent purchases of mica in -Car-'
lina as it has been found impossible
to obtain sufficient domestic mica to
meet the requirements.' Therefore,
quantities' of Indian, African and
South American mica are being shipp
ed to Franklin so that production may
go on uninterrupted..
in icw of all thic it is apparent
.hat the citizens of Franklin have
raesons to be proud. Their home
town, plays an important part in the
great billion dollars telephone busi
ness which provides oral commu
nication here and overseas.
RUBBER!
Cei out the. old bottle of neat's fciot
oil. The dictionary tells us that it is
used as a leather dressing. It is also
good for -.."cricks" in the neck. - And
this disease is going to be quite prevr
aient in Macon in a few days. If you
haven't a supply of this "crick" eradi
cator, better lay in a gallon or two
and carry it with you. It's sure-to
come in handy. Why? Perhaps
you've guessed it. Yes, that's it.
Look, away into the southern sky. See
that speck? Well that's him. That's
E. R. Brown and his plane coming to
take part in -the celebration of the
Fourth. " 1 " i '",'
Hey, there, Mr. Moody! Tie up old
Bess and put Dobbin in his stall.
Brown-is going to land on your farm
and , will probably want a drink of
milk. , ,
Yes, folks, Mr,. Brown writes that he
will proably be he here on Saturday,
June 27. He will 'stay through the
Fourth and give everybody in the
county a chance to shake hands with
the stars. In h'is plane lie willlay
center field for the ,'oppdsing; ' team,
when Alex is at the bat. ' " ' .
Get up your' nerve and see the
paradise of the world ..while soaring
on man-made pinions through the
"etherial blue." ; v ; , '
.Press' Want Ads 'Bring Results
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Aheville-Frank!in-Atlanta Highway
Franklin and
Asheville-Franklin-Atlanta Highway, North 'Carolina-Georgia Lin6, Con
crete' in North Carolina '" ,
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MNIIMIIIWMtov)MWIIItoil JMmjAJmJf, iriiH
Lucy Mower and GerWude Kelley Lambright Who Will. Dance at Frank
v . . lin July Fourth '
FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
Fifty years ago there was not a
solvent bank in North Carolina."
r Fifty years ago a furniture factory j
was an unknown quantify'. What'
there was in a lumber industry at that
time was represented in small -saw
mill operation, an few small planing
mills here and there and a few small
wood working plants.
In those days JLhe furniture that
Carolina people had in their, hofnes
(and this didn't amount a great deal)
was. made in the north west. ' ,
. Fifty years .ago a few yarn mills
and the wool .from the native sheep
was sent to the mill and exchanged
for yarn, and mothers of. those days
knit wool socks for the youngsters.
' Fifty years ago a pall of poverty
hung over, the Carolinas, Water
power was undisturbed , by develop
ing agencies. Forest wealth, remain
ed intact. Minerals laid buried as
they had been for fcenturies. The
clay we. walked upon meant nothing
more than "mud," and no one- dream
ed of great plants making wonderful
builders brick.. The quarries o gran
ite slept where" nature" had. placed
them at the creation.
In those days North Carolina rank
ed with New Mexico as 'the most il
literate state in the union. The la
borer had little more of earthly goods
than the peasant. You could have
hired a washerwoman for 25 cents
per day. You could hire a day labor
er for 50 cents and his dinner and a
day meant 12 tours'.
Roads were impassible because of
deep mud through a greater part
of the year. '
The" civil war had left the state -well
nigh bankrupt, but upon the ashes"
of desolation brave men, with vision,
began with crude tools to utilize the
raw resources abput.them, : Streams
were dammed' up and mills and fact
ories were started. Cotton mills be
gan to spring into cxistance. Tan
neries, lumber mills, and then urni
lure factories,, until in this go?'d-day
fmcke .stacks rai.y their heads t(to the'
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Scene Near Otto, N. C, Between
Georgia Linev
heavens form almost every hill from
Hatters to Tennessee lino 1
Six thousand industries add their
payrolls to the sum total required to
feed a great army of honest Ameri
can workers. These workers no long
eke .out .a weary day of 12 hours
at small pay, but they make good
wagc-s, live in imrA linmn. v,.. j.u..
best food on their tables, send their
children to handsome brick schools,
-.lost c them go to their wod over
paved highways in flivvers or bur
cars. r, h
A half century, of achievement
, Mountains of wealth piled up where
developments of water power, forest
resources and minerals involve the
spending of .millions upon million -
And so it comes to pass that Caro
lina, once pointd. to with the finger
of fhame as the most illiterate and"
"a,R WdrU or . states. - has come into
her own, and v.es with any state of
the Union ,n any of those pursuits
which goes to the form progress and
ana to make prosperity.
Not only have we snatched from
New England her supremency in cot
ton maunfacture, but only last year
our furniture factories turned- dut
more furniture than was made in
any other jectiort of the entire co
tinent. Somebody should write a book on
this story of acievement ' against
Sdds ad this book should be
1 ,T m ,our public schols to every
c"'ld in the land-Observer;
Rainbow Springs
RambowcS'prings, an estate belong
ng to T. S. Munday of Franklin, is
Mntaha la river, known formerly as
by M.ss Ahe Caler and furnih the
b3 lUt ook and rain'
sr?r 'c r " ?,nd other mountain
rtf his valley is. situated about
J00 fect above, sea level, is cool and
nvigoratnig and fires are' lieresssrr
vfr y ArCryr- ,n'sht tlKhut - the
jcar. Miss Caler wiirkeeo the plae
open for tourists till late in the fall