[Trade Journal]
Publication: Thirty-Third Annual Report of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
Cincinnati, OH, United States
p. I,XXVII,6,25-28,35,51-55,115,229-238, col. 1
THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
CINCINNATI
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
AND
MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE,
FOR THE
COMMERCIAL YEAR ENDING AUGUST 31, 1881.
CINCINNATI:
GAZETTE CO., PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, COR. SIXTH AND VINE.
MDCCCLXXXI.
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NAMES OF FIRMS, COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS
HAVING MEMBERSHIPS IN THE
CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
AT THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT,
MARCH 14, 1882.
[FOR LIST OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS IN 1880-81, SEE PAGE 263.]
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CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF OFFICERS.
CINCINNATI, O., Sept. 1, 1881.
To the Members of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange:
The year just closed, in some particulars, has been one of unusual interest to the membership.
The report of the Treasurer shows the Chamber to be in excellent financial condition. The receipts have been $35,413 00, and the expenditures $29,284 78, showing a surplus of receipts over expenditures of $6,128 22 , and a balance in the treasury of $4,301 22, with a reserve fund, in the hands of the United States Treasurer, of $40,000.
The contract with the Government of the United States for the conveyance of the Post-office property, on the corner of Fourth and Vine streets, has been concluded, and, by the authority of the Chamber, the President has signed the same, and has caused to be deposited with the Government, bonds to the amount of $40,000. Thus, the way has been prepared for the final acquisition of this valuable property for the Chamber's use when the Government may be able to give possession, which, it is hoped, may be in two-years. The approach of the time renders it desirable that preparatory steps should betaken concerning the use of the property, and the Board of Officers, during the year, has had under consideration various plans for the improvement of the same. The action of the Chamber, during the year, in declining to adopt the amendment to the Constitution, recommended by the special committee appointed, imposing the payment of monthly dues on the membership for the raising of the money necessary to the payment of the sum required, when possession may be given, leaves the Chamber without provision to meet this emergency, when it may arrive. The desirableness of making some preparation for this approaching liability, and for devising means to erect a new building , or so change the existing one as to fit it for occupancy when we shall acquire possession, is very apparent, and should not, in the estimation of this Board, be long delayed.
The expiration of the lease which the Chamber is now occupying drawing near, by the authority of the Chamber a lease from the trustees of the Pike estate has been concluded, by which the Chamber will occupy Pike's Opera House, at an annual rental of $7,500, until such time as it may be practicable to enter upon the use of its own property. Although the first of the approaching January was designated for the time of the change, it is now believed the Chamber will be enabled to make the removal at an earlier period, without increasing its pecuniary liability.
The death, on the 20th of December last, of William Barrington, the statistical book-keeper of the Chamber of Commerce during a period of 31 years, removed a most faithful employe. He was a man of singular fidelity and capacity, and the Board of Officers formally expressed, on the permanent records of the Chamber, its sense of the loss which the institution has sustained.
Early in January, the Chamber adopted resolutions asking the Ohio Legislature to enact such laws as would enable the trustees of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to advertise for proposals to lease or sell the property, and empowering the trustees, with the advice and consent of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, to lease or sell, on such terms as would best protect the interests of the city, and secure the objects for which the road was constructed; and a committee of five, consisting of Joseph Kinsey, S. Lester Taylor, Robert Mitchell, William Glenn, and C. W. Rowland, was appointed to secure the object of the resolution. This committee, in conjunction with committees from other bodies, visited Columbus, and, by their joint influence, secured the legislation by which the road has been recently advantageously leased, to the great prospective relief to the treasury of the city, and it is hoped to the permanent benefit of our commercial interests.
In pursuance of a suggestion made by ex-President Brown, of the Chamber, a Committee on Terminal Facilities was appointed at the opening of the year, consisting of H. Wilson Brown, William A. Procter, John V. Lewis, Briggs S. Cunningham, M. Halstead, Richard Smith, Florence Marmet, William Shaffer, G. Y. Roots, Adolph Wood, Theodore Cook, William N. Hobart, Seth Evans, James S. Wise, and Henry Muhlhauser. This committee has had under consideration, during the year, this question, which has aspects of great importance to the city. A sub-committee was appointed, consisting of Richard Smith, Theodore Cook, M. E. Ingalls, and A. Hickenlooper, that proceeded to Chicago and made a personal examination of the methods in that city. The results of their observations were incorporated in a valuable report to the general committee, and by the latter were transmitted to the Chamber, coupled with an urgent appeal in behalf of definite action. This report was adopted by the Chamber, and a permanent committee, with a view to encouraging and recommending, from time to time ,such plans as promised relief in this respect, was authorized. The committee was subsequently appointed by the Board of Officers, consisting of H. Wilson Brown, W. N. Hobart, Adolph Wood, G. Y. Roots, Charles W. Woolley, A. Gunnison, and Wm. A. Procter.
The steps of the previous Board taken to procure a portrait of the late James A. Frazer, resulted, during the year, in the acquisition of a picture, which now adorns the walls of the Exchange, and permanently testifies to the liberality and public spirit of the deceased.
Recognizing the importance of the International Cotton Exposition, to be held at Atlanta, Georgia , during the last three months of the calendar year, and the intimate relations which we now sustain to that enterprising city, and the district of which it is the commercial center, the President, during the year, appointed a committee consisting of John V. Lewis, Charles H. Kellogg, Jr., Grove J. Penney, John Morrison, and Abner L. Frazer, to represent the Chamber at the approaching exhibition. This committee, in conjunction with the committees of the Board of Trade and Transportation and the Cotton Exchange, and that appointed by his Honor, the Mayor, together with the members of the Advisory Board, previously appointed by the Executive Committee of the Exposition, has during the year rendered valuable service, in awakening suitable interest among our own citizens, and preparing the way for the success of an enterprise, the importance of which is as wide as the commerce of the world.
During the year, a large number of the members of the grain trade, having expressed a desire for the inauguration of a Grain Call Board under the existing rules of the Chamber, such steps were taken by the Board as would enable the members interested to enter upon the enjoyment of these privileges, and a Caller, Mr. Frank M. Guthrie, was employed. This experiment, though confined to the dullest part of the grain season, has worked to the general satisfaction of those most interested, and, it is believed, has permanently enlarged the sphere of the grain business in this city.
In pursuance of the recommendations of the Cincinnati Coal Exchange, the Board of Officers appointed gaugers of coal, who are directly responsible to the Chamber for the faithful performance of their duties. This work, which has hitherto been conducted by parties outside of the Chamber, will hereafter be in charge of those designated by this body, and it is believed will prove of general benefit to the coal trade.
The Board has appointed, this year, the following Commissioners to the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition: Adolph Wood, James R. Murdoch, J. P. Griffith, A. C. Edwards, and Shed. L. Frazer. The usual subscription has also been made to the guarantee fund of the Exposition, and the promise of an exhibit, which will maintain the high standard which these great industrial enterprises here have enjoyed, warrants the Board in extending its congratulations to all engaged in the laborious preparations for this important event.
The Superintendent of the Exchange has been again authorized to act as an expert of the Treasury Department, in matters pertaining to the commercial and transportation interests of this city and the districts tributary to it, and has, during the year, performed an unusually large service for that department, which will be of permanent value to the business welfare of the city.
The action of the Board of Officers of the preceding year, in authorizing the binding of the annual report of the Chamber in more durable and desirable form, met with the very general approval of the membership. It has greatly increased the value of this important statistical document, and the retiring Board has taken pleasure in following the precedent in the preparation of the forthcoming report.
There having been a want of conformity between the demands of the constitution, which remained unchanged, and the action of the Chamber in the previous year — in its effort to withdraw from the National Board of Trade — the matter came before the Chamber early in the past year, in the shape of a proposition to amend the constitution so as to provide for the incongruity. The result was an almost unanimous vote of the Chamber against the proposed change, and the Secretary was thereupon unanimously instructed to make application to the National Board of Trade for reinstatement, which was immediately done. The National Board, at its meeting, at once readmitted the Chamber to membership, and, although this body was not represented at the meeting which then occurred, provision has been made by which, in the future, we shall have a representation.
The steadily increasing attendance at the sessions of the Chamber, which has been witnessed in other years, has been manifest in the past year, indicating not only a growing necessity on the part of merchants to avail themselves of the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce, but a larger general interest in its procedings [sic] proceedings.
In pursuance of the authority granted by the constitution, the Board of Officers, at its last meeting, elected Joseph Longworth, Esq., to honorary membership.
As Colonel Sidney D. Maxwell is about completing the tenth year of his Superintendency, it is fitting that the Board bear testimony to the urbanity, industry, and efficiency which have marked the performance of his duties during the closing decade. It is but just to state that his reports are models of painstaking and intelligent labor, presenting accurately the vast mass of statistics, properly embraced in an annual review — giving proper classification, and clear and discriminating analysis of each department, and rendering the most valuable service to the business interests of the city.
The obituary list for the year shows an unusually large mortality, and embraces the names of some of the oldest and most valuable members of this institution — men who have been intimately identified alike with the management and prosperity of the Chamber, and the growth and general welfare of this city. The following is a list of persons who have died: Alfred Buchanan, C. W. Friend, William Aubery, Oliver Perin, Robert C. Trivett, Jr. , James D. Gilmour, Nick M. Johnston, John Miller, Anton Buening, James F. Cunningham , John Henry, Gardner Phipps, George F. Davis, Henry E. Collins, John E. Paxton, George Graham.
By order of the Board.
JAMES H. FOOTE,
Secretary.
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GENERAL REVIEW.
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THE MANUFACTURES OF THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
Table showing the cash capital invested, the value of real estate occupied, and the number of hands employed, and the various classes of manufactures of the city of Cincinnati and immediate vicinity, together with the aggregate value of the production, and the number of establishments engaged in each, for two years:
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CROCKERY AND GLASSWARE.
The year has been an encouraging one to the crockery and glassware interests of the city, a larger volume of business having been transacted and generally satisfactory conditions having existed. Prices have been very low the year through. The desire for the better class of goods, to which allusion was made in the previous report, has been more manifest in the past year than ever before. It is noticeable that the best goods are those which find the most ready sale, and it is safe to assert that a very considerable part of the sales, both of crockery and glassware, are such as could not have been made prior to the Centennial period, which marked a new era in the household art of this country. The growing demand for decorated ware is, too, one of the signs of the times. While a few years ago the quantity of colored ware was so small as to be insignificant, it now constitutes fully 33 per cent. of the crockery and china of commerce. The successful manner in which the artistic is combined with the useful in a large part of the ware of our time, is an encouraging feature, and shows what progress the public taste has made in the past decade. Neither have our own potters been idle, for they have produced larger quantities than ever before, and have made decided progress in the improvement of their wares. The year has brought increased efforts in the decorative field, so that what was unknown here a year or two ago is now a distinctive branch of our productive industry. The establishment of what is known as the Rookwood Pottery here, by Mrs. Marie Longworth Nichols, for the production of Faience, was noted in the preceding report. This pottery has finished its first year's work, with results that bear the highest testimony to the genius and courage of a woman who is laudably seeking to impress upon a great industry, whose creations enter more largely into domestic life than any other, the principles of a pure art. To more readily accomplish her purpose, she has established, in connection with Rookwood pottery, a school for the education of all comers in this branch of art, and has brought to her aid distinguished talent from other lands. In this effort she is helping to secure a foundation for the independence of the women of the country, and deserves the approbation of every true American.
The increased business in glassware, while not having been as marked as in crockery and china, has yet been noticeable. The production here has been larger than in the preceding year, though, because of lower prices, it has probably not reached it in aggregate value. The capacity for production has been largely increased during the year, which will materially affect the results of the coming year. Domestic goods in this line sustained a material decline in some classes late in the year. Lamp goods declined about 15 per cent. Fruit jars and green glassware remained without material change in price in the hands of manufacturers, though jobbers who carried large stocks did not fare so well. In lamp chimneys, there was great demoralization in mid-summer, goods selling far below the cost of production.
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