Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, December 31, 1893, Page 13

- YEAR WITH OMAHA JOBBERS | — | Volume of Businoss Travmacted During the | Year of Finanois] Deprossion. | FIGURES THAT SHOW THE YEAR'S RECORD | Ptrong insuitutions that Heid Their Own avd Foded the Yoar with a Record | te Be Proud Of The Ag- gregate Saies | fond of de of & rigrag | turning sharply Board of Trade men are very picting the markets by means line drawn ncross & pla‘n up here, dipping down there, ncoording s the market udvanced or receded. Such & | representution igives & more comprebensive ides of the course of the market st a glance thao it is possible to couvey with columms of figures | If the history of Omaha's joubing trade were 1o be thus condeused & singie line tending vpward st perhaps, an sugle of forty-five decrees would tell the story. Two slight joge might the first rey the ret brasks 0, und the 1498. Thus rapi Omahia’s jobbing business tics have bud their ups und downs sud colln vt the Omuha strenghening ritory. en ng the s made st downwa resenting Joss of in ther [ has been Other ¢ their bo jobbers heir pos larging stocks ume of 81 8 rate Lha PILY COSICUOUS B8 ODE Of ties in the we The slight downwurd the crop fuilure of 1800 sharacier und the recovery was rapid During the past six months business i Omuba has suffered in cousequence of o widespread depression emanating (rom the fnancisl centers of the easi. During the first six mouths of the yeur business showed | # heavy incroase, ns compared with the pre vious year: in other words the line tended steadily upward. 1o July wave of finan cial distrust hnd airendy paralyzed busmess enst, crossed the Missour: river. The miniug ir west were crushed and ihe pressure b 80 strong that some of Lhe Most Prosperous cities were almost completely wrecke In others ness suffercd a decrease of 0 per ceut or more. as shown by the bunk clearings. Bul | Nebraska, w corn and live stock, re. fused ut once or admit that there was auy real cause for u pame. Busi ness held up here long u was stagnant 8t other points, the long continy f the depression over the who! country, and the c pressure from the outs caused graduul shrinkage in busin The: no crash, but every one all at once b convinced of the necessity of folio somservative course. No one was willing 10 creute new ot it under com- pulsion. I the gooas that we now have on kund before buying more," said the retail merchants, and the jobbing trade of Omaha fell off rapidly. During the past fall there was o revival of business in some | lines and certain houses show as lurge & business for the pust month as for December | B year ago | ‘While the decrease in the volume of busi- | Dess was large during the last half of the | year there was o heavy gain during une irst | six months, 80 thut the loss for the whole | ar is not us large as would otherwise have | Doer the ca The fact is the volume o trade for 1803 compares very favorably with sy other yenr except 1392 The following tuble containing the num- | ber of jobbing houses, the different lines represented und the capital employed was | sompiled by Bradstreet's and will be of gen- | eral interest ns showing the extent of the jobbing business of this city Jobbing Houses. following whic the Salsdy oIusa parsasny v <5000 § 1 60000 Doul, 1ime. Rubber goods. Guns and &) Foods Seeds. Safon, wcules, o1 St waior and Talirond puppl Sash. doors Minds 210,000 Wall puper. | Druge Drockery Produce and fri Butier and egis Shelf hardware Harness und sud- diery Hutw and cuph Agricul 1 Plements & citt- Tiuges tron. mwool wud| heary hnrdware b Jewelry and musi oal lostrume Lumber Liguors {llinery otions Patnts an Ovaters and fn Photo supplics. Puper. Artinte i Books und Ktation ory Boots wnd whoos | Tewn, coffes and Wpioon | g;:m.x ‘m Ty enrn & LODACCO DY o0 4 tons. Piour Furuitir b groco 0 T Gloting 200,000 Curpets 50,000 Brbers supplio 15000 Bloctric supplios D00 Priuters suppiion 50,000 Leut obaces 0,000 Sureical listr 20,000 | 00,000 | 50000 80,000 2,000,000 70,000 1,600,000 82 000 #00,000 400,000 ).000 7,500,900 40,000 170,006 50,000 50,000 200,000 500,000 250,000 300,000 70,000 00,000 000 0000 14,000 | 60,000 o 700,000 1000 400,000 | 90,600 490,000 | 0,000 400,000 T200000 2,600,000 100000 1,000.000 790,000 | 000,000 | 500,000 1000 00 | 00 | 100,000 | 00000 100 50,000 #0,000 5000 200,000 1’ shoe 20,000 45,000 1 120,000 5,000 ugen 50,000 Butchess supp! 12000 Tuminating 870 Dthor small 1 140,000 0.0 | K000 000 310,000 Total T ¥ The bank clearings of Omaha for the year Just closod show wn increase over 1892 of $985,751, while st the end of the banking year, September 10, the record for 1893 was $48,477,150 uhend of the record of the pre sediug year. The montbly clenrsnoes for the yeur were us follows sanuury Februnry Marcu April May June July August Roprom e Ot Novo Decewbor Totul Totau' for 1502 Total clvuriugs for year e ng Septew ber 80, 1883 Total cionrings for yoar end Ing Septomber 80, 1862 272,088,682 01 The capital of the nine nations) bunks of the city is $4.150,000 und the deposits in these nine institutions amount o §15,000,000, while the cupital of the seven savings and two stute buuks is §1,280,000 und their de- Posits §4,105 400, ANMUNG THE S5 457 00 | 19,726 00 | 316,416,872 94 | ILEOADS. Statistics Showing Incowing and Outgolng Tonvage—Extont of Luprovements As the focus of over 10,000 miles of rail roads, Omuba well muintained commer olal posivion during 1898 T % of the | great trunk lives heve their offices here, while eight of them maintaiv ut this point their hendquariers and genersl departments Every duy in the year 120 passenger trains arvive at aud depart from the depots, whils | the sobedules show Lhat eighiy-two freight tradns, exclusive of extras, pass iv and out ®ach twenty-four hours of the week | A carcful estimate shows thut during 1898 | the various roacs received 300,00 wous of freight ane forwarded 1490000 tons, as | Agalust £.678,000 tous received and 1,881,000 | miles | and one closed truiler. | men and the montM} | and o hinlf long, and | tion | sume | coliector December 1 tons forwarded during 1592 This vas smount f tonnage would nave filled 185,000 ordinary freight cars, making & solid, con- tinuous train over 1200 miles iong The freight business during the eariier part of the vesr was in excess of the same period of 1962, but the all-pervading dullness of the latter part cof the vesr more than offset the gain of the first six months. The most important shops of the Union Pacific system are jocated here, giving em. ployment t L1000 to 1 400 wen, and Day ing out aunually in suiaries and wages from 500000 to §1.800,000. During the past months the foree been much red both in ibe sumber of men and the ho labor. lmprovemenis smounting were made in the property. which covers BiXLy acres, sud now represents an outiay of 22,500,000, s Nireet Radiways. It sonceded by those who are Position to know best ihat the s why business s one of the best financial barometers in sountry and that the duily nickels larvestad by the em- ployes of these corpsrations is & sure index of tae prevailing prosverity or poveriy The regulsr business travel is » basis whic remains about the seme, whether times are good or’ bad, but what is known s the Dionsure ®nd shopping travel s something that fluctustes according 1t the ensiness or strmgency th imes. Repested juguiry has shown that on the days when the merchant n big business, the receip way comy nve una e s 4D un the preva in contende inl iness th an & enough on the rompuny b £100,000 new ro way seem severo) ut this over vemenis the necess: Line is ubov when the r requiring an Labor this 5,000 of ver € was proven other extension yeur just closed, but a part itury avenue was double-track of the Ames avenue sdmit of v has than a the pay ro m the t ines line o 18 Wik tension vice of empioyes ex- w 526 men, who sury of the puny 825,000 This does not include rom thirty tw forty-ive street laborers who are empioyed from time Lo time in vari pvements und who Gre not onm Lhe puy roll. The compuny expended &,720 in new equipments ana rolling stock luring the year. The any is capital r 85,000,000, and the greater vart of the stock 18 owned Omaha men. The compsuy has eighty-nine snd one-talf miles f which sixty-five is electric, six and & half cable and eighteen horse. The Benson & Halcyon Heights Strect Ruilway company operates two miles of roud. extending from the end of the Walout Hil line of the Omuhs Street Railway compuny st Haleyon Heights 1o the suburb of Beuson No extensions have boen made during th vear just closed, and the only improvements made have been iu the way of improving the rond bed and track. The company em- vioys from five 1o eight men, giving aouble the service in the summer mouths, and the monthly pay roll averages §325. Power to | operate the line s furnished by the Omuha Street Railway company. The East Omaha Street Railway company has expended over $30,000 during the pas vesr in extensions and improvements. A line was built early in the season to take care of the travel to the new summer resort a Courtland beact, and the old Jine was | double-tracked from the connection with the city line st Shermuan svenue and Locust street to the switch, where the new line leuves it, & distauce of & mile, making two of new track that was laid during the The equipment was increased by the ition of four new motors &nd four open A new car barn was The pompany employs twenty y pay roll falls but litile Place R. year. ud 8lso erected. short of §1,00. The Dundee and operated by electric road, owned W. Patrick, is & mile runs from the end of the Furnam street line, at Fortieth stroet 10 the center of Dundoe Place. The power is furnished by the city company and close connections are made by the cars of the 1wo companies. The Dundee rond furnishes em- ployment for five men and disburses £300 in wages each mouty. The cars of the main line of the Omahs & Council Bluffs Bridge and Street Railway ympany enter the city over the Louglas street tridge and pass over the down town loop of the Omaha Street Railway company. United States Custom House. In reporting the trausactions of the cus- tom house for the pust year Collector Alex; ander was sble 10 make a creditable show- ing notwivhstanding the financial and com- mercial depression thut has so materially checked ull lines of business. Prior to the beginning of the fiscal year 18 the totsl of duties collected ut the Omuhs custom house, covering o period of sixteen yvears, was $98,481. Under the onera of 1mmediate transporiation priv ileges, conferred in 1885, receipis from cus- toms huve greatly ivcreased, as will be seen from the following comparative table Tota: 180-1 1t will be observed thut while the value of goods imporved is less than for the previous yeur, the amount of duties collecied wus considerably grester. This is partly ut- tributable 10 navanced rates of tariff, and purily tothe fact that the heavier importa- Lious have been of £oods the value of which i6 10t 80 grest und on ure collected. 1t may be interesting to noie in this connection the percentuges of in- cresse n1 the four principal iuterior ports in the transmissouri region Kunsus Olty—Gain in four yeurs, 82 per cont. St Joseph—Gaiu in four years, 52 per cont. Denver—Loss in four yeirs, 22 per ce Omubu—Guin in four years, 182 per cent Concerning the operation of the new tariff sobedule, 1f carried into effect s now an- | nounced, upon the revenves of this office, it | muy be noted thut the change will be deeply fel Duties on tin plate alone fiscal yeur umounted 1o over $100,000. The Wilson bill cuts this down to &5,000. Re. ductions on otber articles largely iwmporied into Omaha, provided g tities were the would probably take off uuother $10 000, 8o that on the basis of present trans tions there woula be a shrinkage of sbout %0 per cent in the income of the oftice. Mr. Alexander commenced his work as 1889, His second ap poinument expires January 4, 1864, a1 which time he expocts Lo step down and out for the last Postomice, Tbe increase iu ulmost every one of the va- rious branches of the postoffice business for 1805 is indicative of the fact that the oity bus beld its own during the severe crisis through which it hus just passed, snd tonat tha population Las not muterislly varied sinoce last year. While the postoffice re- veipts of almost every city in the country nave decreased Omaba shows s material i crease over 1802 The following is the ros. ter of the ofice: T.S. Clarkson, postmas. ter; James 1. Woodurd, assistant postmas ter; Mrs. Eln Mutheson, cusbier; J. E. Cramer, superintendent of ma C. E Burmester, superintendent money order i vision : R. Phoenix, superintendent registry divigion ; J. L. Disbrow, superintendeut free delives alvision ; W. W. Connoran, chief clerk mailing aivision; L. 5. Mole, chief | clerk disiributing; Miss Viols Coftin, secre- tary civil servioe board There ure thirtoen employes in the mailing division, eleven iu the distrmbuting division six in the registry division, three in the money order division, three in ihe general delivery, two in the stamp division, oue for- ing clerk, ove directory clerk. Number of curriers si #1040 per yea vumber of carriers sl $8K0 per year ber of carriers ut $60 per yeur, 1: total sum- ber of curriers. 07 special messengers, 2 Deliveries—Four carriers make one rip vum- | | Number | lay that resulted in so little which specific dulies | | The “do THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: UNDAY -DECEMBER 31, 1893--SIXTEE R [ thirty seven carriers muke two trips daily, six onrriors make three trips dais sixveen carriers make four trips daily Collections—tour carriers make ove trip daily, thirty-seven carriers make two trips | daily, four carriers make three trips daily five curriors make four trips duily, two cur riers make five trips dai Receipts and Dis bursem ents. 1892 189! Sale of stamps euvelopes Box rent 2,01 und #258,728 59 9202741 b4 2.0 Total Incrense over 1892 Expenses 1402 Suinries, including lorks and carriers £101,182 95 $109,898 Nruber of spoctal delivery stamps sold 7,519 of delivery letters de livered 18,426 Money Order Department. 1892 1498 ney orders und notes paid ' Money orders and notes issued Remittunces ceived 210,804 82 217,014 80 Tot Iner handied.. $2,020 sver 1892 Regintry e Department. Number and Number of letters nnd uges in Lransit Postmaster Cl until next October. und tniernal Eevenoe. und the two Dakotas are the United States revenue dis is 0 this city. 2 und supervises the employes of 1 Nebraska ded in- in which tot amounted 4 ware 410.77 for cigars, 82 774 4 e. Duri Sugar company ran sugar. o collections for the vear just 10 82,996,404 76, of which renialt d fines, §i1 0, $142 oleomurgs the Oxnard Beet Island produced ich they re- f 836, he Norfolk wpany of Norfolk produced 2,910,000 pounds of sugar hich they re- ceived & bounty umounting t 1) 'he Omaha office two sugar factories, thr lieries, twe eries, 368 cigar factorics, fifty fuctories, one oleomargarine 4,000 special tuxpayers. The district 6 now created in 1856, ana the coll me have spgreguted 24, The collections duriug were muc lighter than for the pr r, owing the ciosing of the disti ring the lut r part of the year, the revenue from that ng off since July over §200,000 per month. Operations were Tesum distuleries abou' six weeks ugo. are now running full blast for the purpose of cking up in anticipation of the incressed whisky tax W35, 500 154 constit New Federnl Bubding. The undecision 8s to the material to be used in the supersiructure of the Dew Dost- office buildiug was the direct cause of the de- bemg done on that builoing during 1993, ut the foundation was completed und the mmount expended there during the year was a listle over £20,000. Now that the matter hus been set- tled und the contract swarded the work of getting out the materinl is going ou us fast a8 possible, and within the next forty days the delivery of granite on the ground will begn. The Fire Kecord. The fire depurtment was called out 216 times aquring 1805, us against 245 times in 1892. The total fire losses 1n 1892 aggreg ated 315,000, of which but 8200,000 had been sus. tained up to the burning of the Continenta ! biock, December 25, The toial losses the past year reached the sggregate fizure of $488,700, of which $208,500 15 10 be accounved for in the three big fires of the yesr—the Wake- field lumber vard, Shiverick's and the Far- num sireet theater. Omaha now his thirteen engine houses, of which all but twoare owned by the city The sppuratus consists of 1wo engines, four hose carriuges, Six hose wagons, one com- bination hose and chemical, two chemical engines and one water tower Firty-one horses are used in the department, and an §15,000 fire nlarm system is called into play ot every fire. Another engine is now nesrly compléted st the fac- tory. The ndditions of the yeur incluce 1wo engines, o hose wagon, water tower ard sev- eral horses. The entire department repre- sents an outlay of £210,000. Parks The Board of Park Commissioners nas ex- pended during the past year the sum of $2- OPLH0 in maintaining the park system of the city and in making improvements. About 75 per cent of this amount has been for improvements, snd none of it includes the smourt set apart for purchase of new grounds for park purposes. The grost work of extension of the park system will be done this year, and the development of the recently purchased traots will be gotten well unaer way, as well as the start ing of the system of houlevards that is to connect the various parks snd make a con- tinuous pleasure drive around the city. —————— INDUSTEIAL NOTES. St. Louis leads in tobacco manufacture. The Manchester ship canal cost §75,000,000. The engines of a first class steel man-ot- war cost nearly $700,000 The worid puts on its victunls every yeur $5,000,000 worth of black pepper By the invention of & woman thrends are nOW cul On the waich screws that sre finer than a human hair. In 1887 there was $414.000 invested in cot- ton mills in South Carolina. ;Today the in- vestment is over $12,000,000 Paris is trying & wood pavement made of mahogany. Mahogany is much cheaper thun it uscd to be, but still dearer than woods generally used for this purpose ‘I'he devaiopment of gas sud gasoline en- gines in this couniry hus been 80 great that muny believe it is only s question of time when they will supersede steam engiues for generation of the electric current New York hus the greatest number of savings bank depositors, 1,516,844, und also the greutesi umount of aeposits, §555,425,421 Mussachusetts comes next, with 1,181 208 depositors, huving op deposit $969,526, 350, Less thun three morths ago the Colorado senators were pointing 10 Leadvilleus a hor- rible example of the disasiers resuliing from President Cleveland's silver palicy. Now it is aunoun: ut the last idle mau in vhat place will be bul to work st living wages hiis we has secured the biggest puncher in the d. This giguutic mass of iron, weighing 48,000 pounds, hus been set 1 its place ut the Muskegon Boiler works. It is a rebie of the World's fair and s capabie of punching two-inch holes through two-inch plates of sieel Did you ever stop to think how much oau be gotien out ol bar of steel scosting 617 Put it through o needle factory and it will produce §450 worth of needles. The pro- priewor of sicutlery menufaciory will take it and produce 83,280 worth of kuife blades. A watohmaker will take it and produce $250 worih of balsuoe springs: thus & bar of iron costing §1 and put iuto walches will give 840,606 The 1rost that gathers ou the show win- dows of Lbe SLOres is & BOrIOUS OLSLIUCTIOD 10 ibe ndvertising uses of the window, und Inrge lighied lamps ure used 1o dissolve the frost, ouly partiully accomplishing the wor n-easi” Muine Yankee does this thing better. He has discovered that the liwle electric fans, driven by force tuken from his lighting wire, set in the store front, will drive off the frost in & few moments John Wenustrom, an ingewious German, hus invented and pulented & machine which, ut first thoughbL, one is apt 1o Lhink would be as uscless as the fifth wheel on 3 wagou. It is & hole-boring coutrivance, snd may be driven cither by band or sieam power. The boles drilled by this dainily instrument are but one one-thoussndth of an inch in disme- ter and ure the smaliest that man hus yer boen able to pierce. The machine hasa capacity of 20,000 revolutions per minute, and is lutended solely for arilling holes through diamouds, sapphires, rubies aud other prec- | ious stoues. i foot | demon: HELPED BY HONE INDUSTRY —— Favorable Showing df Omaba's Mevufactur- ng Enterprises for the Past Year. VALUE OF THE ABGREGATE PRODUCTS Barring the Shortage st the smelter, Due to Stiver Depression, Factories of the Clty Have Done as Good EBosiness ae Fver Before. For the past eight months ‘“‘hard times hns been the ory from oneend of the country to the other, und the newsnapers have boen filled with references to the generally pre- vailing financial depression. To say that it had not beeo felt in Omaha would be mani stly untrue, but to say that Omahs hus wenthered the storm more successfully than almost any other city in the country would be but iterating a fact that can be resdily proven.snd the figures are at hand 1o show it It has been argued by some that an ex- position of the business of tbe city for pust year would be ill-advised, as but show s falling off from 1802, and some slarmists seemed 10 feur thut the decrease would be so large that to ndvert do great damage 10 city, but atter a year that ketbooks and benk soc in the union, Omaha ke her showing for the {we the truth will not hurt her g 1898, in spite of the hard a expended over £100,000 more ¢ lic improvements than during the pi I the bank clearings exced ver £1,000,000; more thun &1,150,000 were expended iu new buildings and remod eling 0ld ones; while the manufnc ing interests he up i & man | be n wonderful revelation 10 ities that th 1 ve through the hably ove of n would naty but the figu it would of the men's every ng has tried uuts in \or wi many gone Pro press: turers, 1 foel the ar's business edingly we Omaha make as good a of any eust, west of plants capucity in- since tue )ved manu- n much ¥ were at €y are un- mauner by the whil been eularg msed, but the g e began hus been 1o r pas, und thut is how it rers of the city are better shupe financisll the beginning of lust y hesitatingly rated commercial agencies There 18 no doubt but the he movement hus been of grent muterin benefit 10 the Omaha munufsciurers during the past year, and that the organized ¢ bring their goods to the bar home con sumers had much to do with keepmg up the demund that kept these factories above the record of 159 Below is a of factories capital in for 1508 that patronage tement showe the num in_operstion 1n ihis cit ted and the sunual the output H 5 260,000 § 300,000 10.000 1 000 00,000 70,000 0.000 000 000 1 PO 100,000 290,000 nd mu-| Bhops at 250,000 450,000 Mutireanen 1000 Overal] tactorie A 000 Shot ani 00,000 40,000 0000 600,000 60,000 500,000 G000 Pran 00-000 0,000 0008 400 #4000 St ting works Vihosur und pie Busket manufserur - 2 10.000 i b 000 90000 00 260000 200000 000 0,000 50.000 100.000 1,400,000 HO0-000 linds werion White lead Flags, uwuings and ome Box tactories Clgar muputacti Cooparuge 3 Fenve Worke Boot and sLoe tory Teust Tinware Soupk Pluning mills Suddiery W 20,000 40,000 175,000 = 40,000 110:000 BL000 fue- §0.000 15,000 000 000 200.000 000 190,000 000 200,000 40,000 20,000 5000 28000 11,000 50,000 7,000 4,000 000 000 100,000 0000 Buttons Bottling works Curringe 1ops Horwe and 1a0d Laundries. Mult houses Wire works Manufucring chem intx cattie 40.000 206,000 “0,000 276,000 0,000 10,000 0000 000 0,000 40,000 1K.000 0,000 0,000 iron works Union Pacitic sh 700,000 bt hese figures do not include the output of the liuseed vil works or asphait compuuies. The new factories sturting durine the were & bottling works, plating works. riage top factory and distillery. repres ing & tota! capital invested of $32,500. he falling off 1 the ontput s compure with 1892 is nearly ull socounted for by the smelter, the output of which is 2,000.00 less than for 1892, this being drectly dueito the flurry thut struck the silver market Aside from that the output of the varous Omaha factories remained sbout the as for 1892, which, in view of all the circum- stances, is sufficient cause for congratulu- tion Noue of the factories of sny size went out of business during the year, the only ones thus suspending being little concerns with & pital of but §L000 or 500, while the starting of four new oues und the enlarge- ment of others swelled the capital invesied 0 §12,871,500, a6 against $11595.600 in 186 an iucrease of cupital invesied in fuctories of $472,800 iu favor of 1508 The decrease in the numner of factories was eighteen, while the output. uside from the aecrense in the smelter product sud including linsesa oil und nsphalt,would show &n increuse over 1892, 80 that mere cophial is invested and more munufactured goods were turned out by these 187 faciories an 1803 than was the case with these same factories und elghtoen adaitions! ones in 152 e #12 #11.807.000 cur Gus wnd Eleotric Light The New Omata Thomson-Hous Elec tric Lighting compuny and Owmabs Gus Manufacturing compsu® control the lighting privileges in ihis cityl Both sre officered by Omaba men sud’have their henaquar ters in this city. , The electric lighing plant is ong of the most compiete in Lhe country, there being' but four larger iv the United States. Thesompuny has extendoa its incwndesoent wires 50 ULAL it now tukes in Farnam street us far west us Fortieth, Dodge ns fur west 88 Thirtieih, Chicego west 10 Twenty-fifih, Sherman avenue north to Corby, Cuming west to Fortieth, Twen tleth worth 1 Laks, and Twenty-fourth north to the Belit Line vracks well 84 wouthwest ou Lesvenworth snd Park avenue %0 as 1o include Lhe territory around Hsuscom park. The piant is sufficient to take cure of 18,000 incaudescent und 600 arc lights, and curreut is nightly generated for 7,000 incandescent angd 481 are lights. The ity pays for 197 uros for lightiug the streets The compsny has fifty men on the pay roll and their wiges amount 1o $4.000 per mouth The H00-horse power boller batiery sud the 1800 engines require the daily consumption of 70,000 pounds of While the oity lighting bes not materially changed during ube yeur, the compuny reports thal ils bus: Dess Wilh privete consumers as compured wilh 180 shows a decrease of nboul 40 per cent. Tue Omahs Gas Man ng compsuy has made DO Walerial extensions of iLs WuILS during the yeur jusi closed, withough new service pipes huve been luid 1o accommodate several bundred new consumers. The out put Lis been sbout the sume as for last yeur bowever, s many of the old consumers Lave same | ! ber | 150,000 | 12000 | ear | exteusions sud improvements 1o this city PAGES. substituted Incandescent electric light for gns. Many of the office buildings and large meronntile establishments have been among those who thus changed, and it has more that offset the gains from pew consumers. The company has about 100 miles of mains, snd its output for the year was feet. It furnishes employment to 130 peopi and the monthly pay roll is #6,800. The com Ppany has about 8,700 sctual consumers. The city is 8 gas consumer to the extent of 071 stroet lights and whatever is neocessary for thirteen engine houses and the police sta- tion. The compauy is capitalired for #500.- 000. 1t cousumes monthly twenty carioads colke. The Smeiting Works. Thelargest smelting and refining works in the world are those of the Omaha & Grant company at the foor of ouglas street, cover. ing twenty-five acres, and costing complete, as they siand today, over $4,000,000. During the past yesr the oapacity of the plant has not been increased: in fact, the plunt was not opersted to is full capacity, the total output being sbout per cent less than in 1992. Aside from the product of its own sme ers here and &t Denver, this company refines ot the works here the outpat of a large number of smelters in Montans, Idaho, Wy- oming, Colorado and New Mexico. In 189 the base bullion received amounted i 63,000,000 pounds; ore received, 107,000,000 pounds . silver shipped, 15.500,000 oun gold shipped, 142,000 lead si 76,845,000 pounds ; sulp! copper, 6,700+ 000 pouads. Although u fal in all olher respacts larger than for 1802 to 17,000 ounces. The decrease was e pusic that struck the silver ma je consequent s ng of of s quantity of bearing ore plsut turns one-third the gold und silver . t States. It » 550 men. and when the services of pearl) The wages L during the past year smounted to and the cther operating expenses In ¢ 85 pusses the proposea 1egi tion reference to smelting in bon unnecessary 10 pay i the increase an K00 empi largely ires, nnd Lhere ouse 1 Lne Waterworks One of the most waterworks plant that ¢ extensive the tn maius, through ies the clarified and aerated Misaou 9,000 consumer Six and o hulf miles of the new Inid during 1504, but no mate made 6t the prid on or &t aby o e r iations, 8§ 1 pumping capacity with the present mn ry wi sufficient for some vears 1o The pumping cupacity of the gines at Florence and stations a1 the foot of tieth and Peppleton uvenue and Hamiltou sureets, 1s 53,000,000 aanily, while the two grest engines p. the mains from Florence hav joiut canacity of 82,000 gullons per day present the daily comsumption is 15.000,000 gulions. The company has seventy-two men on the regular pay roli, but emp I force of laborers during making an uverage of 1 around, and 8u sunual pay Seventy-one tous of conl per duy of 26,000 tons annually, are crnsum furnish the 15,500-horse power ne operats the plunt come. al ur pumping e- those ut g hs year TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH. Splendid Becord of Improvements and lo- crensed Busmess in Omuha's Companies. The Nevrasks Telephone compuny fairly outdid itself in the way of extensions and improvements during 158, and when the year closed it showed an expenditure on th account of over $240.000. fully two-thirds which had been invested in this city This com isa officered by Omaha geueral offices in this tend all through eastern and cen Nebrasks and western Jowa. During pest year it has operated thirty hunges, seventy-six toll offices, and has 4,205 telephones in use. 1t has W2 miles of toll lines ana 1951 ; miles of toll line wires. 1t_has 200 employes regularly on the pay roll, with 255in the summer months. and the monthly pay roll smounts 1o $5,800. The officers of the company are: C. E. Yost, president; J. J. Dickey, vice president ; L. H Korty, secretary and treasurer; B. F. Grif- fith, nesistunt tressurer; V. P. Musaelman, suditor; Vance Lane, local muuager. The most importavi improvement of the year was the completion of the new fire- proof exchange building at Eighteenth and Douglas streets, and the ground of the entire w tral portion of the begun subway ground 1.500 mil uny but its lines ex- the 1e ex- € system iu the cen- This work was 5 the building of the was completed in 1892, The unde system necessituted the laying of of copper wire in 40,000 foet of 100- pair cables, the cables uloue costing $40.000 The switchbourd in the new building, from which the wires are hundled, has o cupaci of 4,800 subscrivers, and ihat piece mechanism was bullt and sei up 4t the pense of unother $40.000. The builaing and the equipments necessary the operation of the plant foil but & trifie short of $100.000. making the total outlay nere §150,000. All the newes inventious und uppliances are there io use. and it is the model concern of it kind un 10 dute, repre senting un outlay of §250,000 But the company did mot ex confine its s 0,000 wus expended iu the exteusion of new lines end the chon mplete metallic ts. The changes thus mude were s follows: New metallic circuit line from Fremont to Norfolk, eighty two miles, $16,400; Lincolu to Beatr chenged from grounded to metallic circuit forty miles, $5.000: Lincoln to Hastings, re vuill to Sutton and new from there to Hast ings, 100 miles, #20.000; Councy Bluffs i Walbut, chunged from grounded tn metallic rowt, fifty-eight miles, $11,600; Platts mouth 10 Lincoln, changed from grounded 1o metallic circuit, eighity miles, §i6,000. The compavy now has 8§51 miles of com- plete metallic circuit lines iu operation in the state outside of Omah. Omaha is the bendquarters of the Third district of the western aivision of the West ern Union_Telegraph compe; part fourteen stat e mannge superintendent: superiutendent; W H. E_Jeunison. gener: of coustruc tion. Ip this aistrict during the past year the company has strung 4,500 wiles of new wire wsnd built 700 wiles of new pole lines, the ex pense nggregating ahbout €200,000. Early last summer two new copper trunk lines were brought in from_Chicago, and one cop- per wire struug from Omaha to Deuver; also su sdditiona! wire for commercial business over the line of the Fremont, Elkborn & Massouri Valley ruilroad. The entire Line of twelve wires between Owatn ana Chicsgo, over the Hock lsiund road, was rebuilt dur ing the summer, new wires sud poles being used, giving Omabiz sn exceptionally sub stuntisl and relisvle outlet to the enst. The extension of new lines snd the general ro puir on old lines in the Omaha district fur nisbe employment to nea B0 linemen The are fifteen branch offices in the y which, togetber with ihe muin oftice hundled vearly 6,000,000 messages d yeur. The office fure ) 300 persons, whose sularies sggregaie 12,000 per mouth Omaba 15 slso & division hesdqusrters the Posial Telograpb-Cabie which sprang into existence eleven I'ne business is looked after by mock ho is mansger of the div ing 180 this company strung four through wires by twoen Omans and Chicago, two from Oma 10 Lincoln, two from Omahs 1o Kauses ( iw m Omaha so Sioux ( und seve each o Co Bluffs ana South Tue expanditure on new li Owshs smounted 10§45, 00 expeusive extensions nre b m i yoar . lately culered large busiuess, aud with such su cir huve ug the hes employ O PanY '8 g0, W.S I 1on. Duj res e 150,000,000 | | matic fire ala tional | vlonment and fines and At | | 884,082 46, | The b placing under- | ing of grounded lines to | | through the | 1 themselve | which loased grain wire running into the city i owned by the Postal This company has twenty-six branch offices in this city and South Omahis, sn incrense of sixteen during the year. Seventy persons are employsd b the company in this city and_South Omaha. And the pay roll amounts to &4,500 per month. > g the past yesr the company handled 2,000,000 messages at the Omaha office, which v near’y double the business done in 18 In the transa ger bus Th tion of ite general meswon an Distriot Tele ishes forty-five parsons he monthly pay m reaches §1,400. During the past year 111 calls were received, an increase of 20§ 1892, The company expended 1,580 in improv- iug ite systom,which necessivates 142 miles of wire, 750 call boxes, 1412 night watoh and fire alarm boxes. hesides a number of suio- m sud burglar alarm buxes. meut, an THE CITY SCHOOLS. lwprovements Made in Bulldings During Year-Fduostional Statistios. The growth of the public school eystem 1808 far outstripped the pre ceding yoar, as over §100.000 wus expended in new buildings, all of which were the most substantial character, the materia used in each instance being brick. The architecture was of & pleasing character and the pew st ure silont monu ments to the pride of clty in its educa institutions ideas have been led into play in pr v for the intellec ul development of the rising generation and all thut was modern has systematically beon wiven the preference wherever p During the pust vear ndsor schoo! Totn Of this n torn, West are alread) Frank! ple Hicko spring The enrol ber the maha, Loth completed an ter and sixty days be reads and Windso! pied: the I be co ment for the er 1892, wh year shows an in- ie the average ut- an even increasod percent hus been u noticesbie im punctuality, diligence snd ing of fiv the crowded o conducted in lom schools. the muintenance of ure received from the state appor licences, while the ion of new buildings und the purchase of new sites ure provided for by bonds voted by the school district. The baisnce on hand Janusry The receipts of the year were $325,006.72, while the disbursemenis were £410,820.16, lesving & balauce in the treasury with which 10 §Uart the new yesr of 15, 840,56, With course ue one are bric ick builaings frame buildings sev class rooms, The purochial schools snd colieges of the city, supported soluly by the Catholic church, have kent pace with the public schools, the total enrollment being 1621 pupils and 71 teachers. They are us follow: Schools Creighton Coliege Acudemy of 8t. Un Acndemy Sncred St Philomenn Aloysius Ju) innce shows snd there provement in discipline. 1he guriens has relieved he two Lhiut wi » Mason and Ke age, apos 1842 in schoo 1, 18908, was mpletion of the buildings now the city will have structur of which ty-eight frame 4 and the and in ot thirty 80000) bers. Pupils. St. Stanisluus St. Wonceslaus Public Library. In the early spring the pubhic library will be moved into its permanent home iu the fireproof building now in course of crection st Nineteenth and Harney, and which will cost when completed, $112,000. During the year just closed, the circulation was us fol- lows: Books for Lome use, 205,000; books for the reading room, B3000; reference books, 75,008; mapazines, 26.000: to_patrons and visitors 'of the reading room, 111,200, & tozal of 450,208 and an incresse over 1442 of 6,055. New books to the number of 4,021 were udded and 4,167 borrowers’ cards we issued. Fines amounting to $911.40 were col- lected, while #45 was reslized from sub- priors and the sule of catulogue smount expended for the ye ide from the expendi new building, was $14,624.70, and peyments on the mew building 842,95 ending ure on the including was $48. - ) ELECTRICAL NOTE Au electric Jocomotive which generates own electricity from & sieam boileris the latest French novelty in eleciric uraction The test of this locomotive ou its first trisl is sa1d to have boen sutisfuctory, but no in- | formation is given us 10 the cost of operating The Iron Age thinks that the extremely ¢t and low cost of muterisl very cousiaerable extensious of electric railways in various purts of the utry during the coming yeur. Some of these undertukings huve proved very profii- will indua | sbie to their projectors I 15 0 well known fact that the electric light hus been of immense value in reducing the number of burgluries in large cities. A well lighted stroel aud & siore \ght with are or incandescent ure distinctly unfavorable 1o tbe operations of the yand skeleton key iudustry The Chicago Trib sarns that & pumber of elnctric light companies huve combined 1 cut prices on lam und thus squeeze the small concerns out 0f ex1SLOnCe, 80 45 Lo Pro- frow infringements, for which purpose they find legal redress slow. The ples of self nse is 45 anCIONL us the fuble of the wolf and the lun Ihe offer of the Metropol company of Brooklyn of ELO ve f u pracuical metbod of s propulsion implies preference for ur £ystem which stuall avoid the use beud wires but be us economicsl i us the trolley system. Biecticiy elec nduit is probably the method most nearly complies with the re quiremenis. There are no doubl s numbor f wventors who wili lay ol ot once ou the strengih of the conduit systems which have been und experimented with, aud the amoug eloctricsl enginoers 18 pretty gencral that there is no inherent difficulty i the wuy of & conduit troliey sysiem except the hugh first cost of building such s line A legul deoision Indelphia which illustrates nature of the progress ical scienoe electric Light disputeo b on the ground meusure correctly throwing the aver wildest excitement the fact vhut v, but this truisim BoCOUDt when the court. The con Lanaing ub yeurs in eie had gment it afiduvit indicste in woat re iculsr the meter was thul it guve no standurd by rociness correctness The couri sustained bis Judgment wocordingly de tan Traction the L car elecur of over operate suys the Lus been rendered in the transi w being ror bi. did n surer way of age elecirician into the thap by meutic y electricity is in it ju was turned to profitable cuse wus brought i plainan onded 1 BPPArCEL Progress tricity, Lhe scienoe ual the compuuy which. iu their ju nt wak Jefeuse ena enlered 'PUBLIC WORKS OF THE YEAR Fearly a Millicn Dollare 8pent in Improve ments by the Oity. ! ADDING TO THE CITY'S PERMANENT WORK | Money Expended ou the Paving, Curping and Sewer Systoms—What the Olty Has in These Lines—Divisio of the Expenditure. | Although nothing was done in the way of public improvements during the earlier part of 1841, the close of the yeur witnossed the completion of numerous extensions of the strect paving curbing, as well as additions 10 the seworage systerm and several milos of new idewnlks. The smount exponded in this manvor during the year was 84021961, : ané the report of the city engineer shows | that the following work Las boen done in return for 1t Pavieg. two- $i and Aspha and ing §140 which by special nssessment public funas Colorsdo Sand 05,7 recin hs miles, cost was payable M1 from the T Tw 3 0.216 one—Two miles, costing £79,04 was puyable by nssessment and §10.876 from the e Four 1 08, COSY w Fuyuble nane sm the pub- The t and o pavemeont 1§, 807 was luid Fives Omuha 3 I ® 5-100 brick ; 2 . § 61-100 odar biock ; b #-100 cypress block ; o total of miles, represe outluy of 518,889.66 for puving ul Curbing miles of cu yeur ks at 1 cost nid during the year three-tenths miles sing a cost short of the total of 678~ wis Grading. | nssessments fund was dr he §107.849 w ving Hd. S5 gave au addition streets, making u totul of which huve cost § Sewers. ex wn 1ok $50,641, and 208, 10 was expenaed s of ear es of graded 104 84100 miles in and three-tentus miles of main sewers the general treusury 1o the extent les of district sewers nis umounting 1o tal of 186,142 for the 121-10 of new sewer oconstructed during the This gives 8 wia. 124 52-100 mi system, costing §L,081 #8100 miles ! new side- cost of #2 Of this 10 6100 males were wooden walk, 20100 miles were permano N6 291 85 walks Inid, &t 8 amount costingse , costing & A ‘total of 8 lineul foet connections was laid, 61 4 cost of #4442 und 5,420% lineul foet of sew: 1 6 cost of §2,407.08 For sewer repairs | sum of 25,100 was expen | sireet commissioner's depurtment | while the ciesning of m stree s cost $21.497, and the r asphalt paved streets wmouu more. The amount of money expended in puolic improvements during 1898 exceoded the ex- penditure for 1842 by 194,158 50. of water 8, - conneciions, snd mointenance the und for the 45,50, les of puved rs made on d 1o $20,000 Distriet Improvemrnts. City Tugiveer Rosewater's figures show | a decided ncreuse in the wmount of public | improvements mude ut privaie expense dur. g the past year s compured with 189 pvements are paid for by dis tricts, special assessments, payable in from one 1o ten years in installments, being made, The figures preseniea are exclusive of gen- erul tax improvements, and exclude inter- section. pRVIng, muin sewer construction, etc. The official figures ure us follows 1498, 1892, $116,907 14 §108, 87 210,611 43 178,289 08 G g Ourbing and paving Puving districts curbed 1592 Pt tepaving.. Sewer construction Wooden walks. Permanent wilks Miscelluneous Total . L 604 52 19171 61 27.816 U8 5,780 88 15,762 40 62,457 52 14425 80 $402,880 93 BUILDING RECORD, More Than Two Solid Miles of Structures, Costing Over $1,000,000. Although the amount of money invested in new buildings in Omaha the pust year was nothing like what it was during 182, the number of buillding permits 1ssusd was greuter by forty than during tne preceding twelvemonth. The toial permits issued | during 1508 numbered 1,412, calling for an es- timsted expenditure of &)85,250. Of these % were for new buildings, und 1,022 for sdditiors aud repairs. The smount expended for sdditious snd repuirs was $105,975, nnd for new buildings 8519975, making the uverage cost of the now build- | ings $2,105. Of the now buildings erectod | during ihe yeur. eighiy-seven were fram | one-story dwellings, seventy two-story frame dwellings, nne one-story frume stores, four two-story frame siores, eighi one-story brick awellings, five two-story brick dwellings, five one-s1ory brick stores, eleven two-story brick stores, five three-story brick stores, 147 frame burns, nine storage buildings, hree churches, eight manufacturing estab- Lisments, 1wo 8 hools, one_club house, ous botel, one public library snd art gullery, und fourteen structures c od us miscellaneous. The totul frontage of the new buildings 1s 14,991 feet. and if uil were pluced closely in u | row would make u soLd, continuous block for | adistance of two und three-fourths miles. The figures given relating to cost of the new structures ure those given by the build- ars when taking out the permit, and sre es- timuted, but s the fee is bused on the cost of 1he building the cost is therefore alwuys estimuted oo Jow. o experionce of the ldiug inspector is Lhut the figures given at bis office do not excead 75 per vent of the netual cost, and furthermore us the cosi of stouw fitting and plumbing is vot included, the notual cos resents ut lonst 40 per cent in ndvauce of ihe firures ubove given, which wou the totsl mmouni ex pended iu buildings auring the yeur §l 50, which, in consideration of the financial depression, 1s even iwmore remuarksble than wis Lhe g record of 18, fouture of the building work the lurge percontuge of the totsl amount that was expended in repairs | and wdditions, which is far in udvance of rin the bistory the city. It may noted that there were uo immense plaats established or palutisl office buildings erected 1o grestly swell the total cost, und st the same time w influte the average cost of butldings, but aevelopment_uveraged the city. The show- mes fromw Lhe oty st large rise of certain in- rution, Another thiug cousideration is thut the d und wosk has 0ot ew postoMoe building, 8o \ul Lhere Was BU BOBence Of Beversl nousand doliors thal sssisted in making he phon enil sho of 1892, 1n view of he oircumst the showing thal Omabis mak iu this particular for the pust yesr wi read by ber citizens wilh sur- | prise as well us satisfaction of the year is ing tberefore ¢ und not from. dividual, fir W be taken 1Lt ciy hall is cow gressed on LLe The New Fort. work done st Fort Crook during 1898 nvolved expend of $480.000, the greater part of shich was for the extensive ud elaborate s ! arives, sewer aud Lhe specificatious of the for. The new post one of the finest, ibe country, and Ihe ne sure e w Blerworks, whicl War depuriment culled will be, when completed us well'ns the lurgest will furnish gqueriers foras full regiment euch of cavalry and iufsutry. The work 1o | Le doue Lhere Liis your wild excood 500,000 e