Pueblo County CO Archives History - Books .....Chapter 8 Industrial Pueblo 1917 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/co/cofiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 December 26, 2008, 11:49 pm Book Title: Pathbreakers And Pioneers Of The Pueblo Region CHAPTER VIII. INDUSTRIAL PUEBLO. One of the most remarkable occurrences of the nineteenth century was the unprecedented growth of American cities. At the beginning of that century the United States had but six cities of 8,000 inhabitants or more; in 1880, there were 286 and in 1900 the number had grown to 545. In 1800, less than four per cent of our population lived in cities; at the present time this percentage has increased to nearly fifty. The fundamental causes of this rapid increase in our urban population—the substitution of mechanical for muscular power, the application of machinery to agriculture, and the development of railroads—are such as promise its continuance for an unlimited time in the future. The most vivid imagination can scarcely conjecture what the present century will bring forth in the way of the growth of American cities. During the decade from 1900 to 1910, sixty-three cities in the United States of over 10,000 population, increased more than 100 per cent in population, while out of more than six hundred cities of this class but twenty-three showed any decrease during the same period. In view of these facts it behooves every city in the land, our own included, to lay broad foundations for the future. Pueblo presents an interesting case for the study of the development of cities. In the brief space of one generation her population has increased from less than 1,000 to more than 50,000. In the fifteen years from 1870, at which time the town was considered as well established, its increase in population was 1,700 per cent; the next fifteen years saw an increase of 243 per cent. From 1900 to 1910 the increase was in excess of fifty per cent—to be exact, 57.7 per cent, and it is extremely probable that the present decade will experience an increase even greater than that of the previous one. This is a remarkable record when our attention is called to the fact that this growth has been attended by but very little of "boom" or "wild-cat" speculation, such as has characterized the history of so many of our western cities. In the face of three serious national panics, Pueblo has forged steadily forward, never having received a serious set-back during the entire period. The reason for this unusual record of growth has its foundation in Pueblo's geographical situation, which has brought to the city the most substantial industries and the most complete and efficient transportation facilities of any city in the entire Rocky Mountain region. The story of the industrial development of Pueblo is, indeed, a "tale of two cities"—Pueblo proper and South Pueblo. In fact, modern Pueblo is composed, not of the union of two cities alone, but of four distinct municipalities. The present strength of the city is due in a great measure to this combination of forces. As has already been shown, Pueblo proper had its beginning in the spring of 1860, and on the north side of the Arkansas. South Pueblo was laid out some twelve years later, its first business houses being located in the bottoms near the bluffs, while the first residences were erected on the mesa in the vicinity of what is now known as Mesa Junction. This town on the south side of the Arkansas was incorporated October 27, 1873. There was a large tract of land lying between these two towns which, in a sense, was a sort of "no man's land." Because of the periodic overflowing of the river, this tract was first upon one side and then upon the other of the river. It was largely occupied by "squatters" in early days, but, as the course of the river gradually came to be controlled, this land assumed considerable importance and finally a town, Central Pueblo, was established and on June 21, 1882, was incorporated. On March 20, 1886, by a popular vote of the three municipalities the union of forces took place. The town of Bessemer, which was laid out in 1880, was the child of the present Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. The town was incorporated in July, 1886, and in March, 1894, Bessemer was annexed to Pueblo. Pueblo, being situated at the head of one of the richest agricultural valleys in the state, supplies the agricultural wants to a vast population in this valley and also ministers to the wants of one of the most extensive mining districts of the Rocky Mountain region. In its wider aspects, Pueblo is the trade center, not only of the entire southern part of the state, but also of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Western Nebraska and Kansas and the northern parts of Oklahoma and Texas, comprising a region whose natural resources have scarcely been touched and the possibilities of whose industrial development is just beginning to be realized. The location of Pueblo, in the midst of the greatest coal producing section of the West, assures forever her prestige as a manufacturing center. Of the 1,800 square miles of coal lands in Colorado, the greater part is adjacent to Pueblo. When we remember that the city is so situated with reference to these coal lands, as well as to the sources of all raw materials produced in the West, that they may all be hauled to Pueblo on a down grade, we easily see what a profound influence its location will exert upon its future growth. If any other proof is needed of the certainty of the brilliant future in store for Pueblo, it is found in the fact that it is situated at the gateway of the only natural passage in the state, from the Mississippi valley to the Pacific coast. The Honorable William D. Kelly of Pennsylvania, an expert on the production of pig iron, delivered an address in Pueblo in 1882, which not only illustrated his keen insight into the possibilities of Pueblo's location, but also expressed in clear language the basis of Colorado's greatness. He said in part, "There are three. causes which create great and enduring states. First, the possession of immense masses of precious metals. This it was that called together the people of California, Australia and of Colorado when it was announced that there was gold at the foot of Pike's Peak. Another, that some part of the state and some of the cities shall lie on a great line of inter-state travel, and furnish points for the exchange of commodities or in plain language, have facilities for the establishment of commercial centers. My third proposition is that the possession of the materials for the production of iron and steel, and adequate fuel and fluxes for working them, will give prominence and prosperity to a state." A few days later in Leadville, Mr. Kelly stated: "The production of iron and steel, and establishment of every branch of industry dependent upon the production of these metals, may be established more advantageously at Pueblo than at any other place I know of on the face of the globe." A further advantage enjoyed by Pueblo, because of her geographical situation, is her most equable climate. The city is in a latitude low enough to escape many of the extremes of winter temperature and yet not too far south to experience the extremes of southern heat. As these lines are being penned, although it is in the midst of winter, the city has enjoyed an almost unbroken winter of sunshine and warmth, while during this same period, the entire northern part of the state has been in the grip of snow and ice. Comparative statistics from the Federal weather bureau indicate that there are few cities whose variation from the normal in temperature, wind and rain-fall is as slight as that of Pueblo. Pueblo's climate has been one of the important factors in the development of its industries; health and comfort go hand in hand with efficiency. As has been pointed out in a previous chapter, Pueblo's growth dates from the coming of the Rio Grande railroad in 1872. Other roads soon saw the strategic value of gaining a foothold in this region and, within slightly more than a decade, three other roads had pierced this territory, making at the present time four trunk lines, the Denver and Rio Grande, the Santa Fe,*the Colorado and Southern and the Missouri Pacific centering in Pueblo. In addition to these there are other local lines radiating from the city. This complete railroad system makes possible, not only the bringing in of raw materials to our factories, but it also provides a perfect system for their distribution throughout all local territory as well as to all eastern points. Pueblo has grown to be the largest railroad center in this western region and receives a greater tonnage of freight than is received by any city between the Missouri river and the Pacific coast. An army of nearly five thousand men, living in Pueblo, receive employment from the various railroads entering the city. Jay Gould once said of Pueblo: "It holds the key to the railroad situation in the West." The smelting industry of Pueblo dates from the year 1880, when Mathers and Geist erected the first buildings of the plant then known as the Pueblo Smelting and Refining Company, but now known as the American Smelting and Refining Company. Somewhat later than this the United States Zinc Company erected its plant three miles east of the city and established the suburb of Blende. This plant has the distinction of being the largest of its kind in the United States. The two concerns provide employment for more than a thousand men. Since the steel industry constitutes the backbone of Pueblo's prosperity, it is fitting that more attention be paid to it than to other industries of the city. The development of the stuponduous industry of steel production has been so sudden and so spectacular as to fairly daze the intellect of him who attempts to grasp its significence. Fifty years ago the steel industry, as it is known at present, was not even dreamed of. "If this unparalleled development had been the result of centuries, it would still be wonderful enough; but it is practically the result of one generation's sowing. There is not a chapter of ancient history in the Story of Steel. Any one who visits the little Pennsylvania town of Bethlehem may still see John Fritz, who might almost be called the father of the steel mill. In Louisville still lives the little white-haired old lady, the wife of William Kelly, the original inventor of what is called Bessemer Steel."* * "The Romance of Steel," by Herbert N. Casson. The story of William Kelly, the Irish inventor of our present Bessemer process of steel manufacture, is the same old story of intermittent success and failure, disappointment, bankruptcy, humiliation and final victory, that has attended the development of many of our most important industries. Interesting though the story of steel may be, we must omit that part of it which does not have a direct bearing upon the development of that industry in the city of Pueblo. The history of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company reads like a romance. The battle between John W. Gates and J. C. Osgood, father of the institution, and the victory of the latter, the titanic struggle between Osgood and E. W. Harriman, a second victory for Osgood, but at a terrible cost, are stories that have never yet become a part of written history. Osgood, being in desperate straits during the attack of Harriman, received two deliverers with open arms, but, like the Briton of old, these two men, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and George J. Gould, whose assistance he had asked, proved to be his Hengest and Horsa, for, although he succeeded with their assistance in defeating his antagonist, he no sooner threw himself free from his grip than he found himself overshadowed by his allies, to whose influence he was obliged to succumb. The present Colorado Fuel and Iron Company had its beginning on January 23, 1880, and was organized by the same forces that brought the Denver and Rio Grande railroad to Pueblo. Foremost among this group of men were General William J. Palmer, Robert M. Lamborn and William A. Bell. Three small concerns, The Central Colorado Improvement Company, The Southern Colorado Coal and Town Company and The Colorado Coal and Steel Works Company, were united on the date above mentioned to form the Colorado Coal and Iron Company, with more coal than iron. A. H. Danforth supervised the making of the first iron at this place. Work on the plant was commenced in February, 1880, although no iron or steel were manufactured until the next year, the first furnace being blown on September 9, 1881. "The foundry and the machine, carpenter and pattern shops were the only other structures then standing on the site of the now Minnequa Works, which was at that time far out on a desolate cactus-strewn waste, over two miles from any well settled part of Pueblo. April 7, 1882, the first steel was made in the converter. About this time, the Colorado Coal and Iron Company started to build the puddling mill and nail mills."** ** "Camp and Plant," of April 30, 1904, published by the C. F. & I. Co. In the year 1892, a further consolidation of companies was effected, the result of which was the organization of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, with J. C. Osgood at its head. Osgood was an unusual man, and the early success of the new company was due in a great measure to his rare ability. His keenness in judging men made it possible for him to surround himself by a coterie of business and political advisors of unusual merit. The success of this new company soon drew the attention of eastern capitalists and precipitated the fight to which reference has already been made, and which resulted in the resignation of Osgood. No blame seems to attach to any one for Osgood's retirement ; he simply became overshadowed by his partners and preferred oblivion to a position of dependence. In resigning he declared that he refused to be a "hired man, no matter who his employer might he." Grave doubt existed in the minds of eastern steel men as to the possibility of making steel rails in Colorado ; Osgood's answer to his doubters was the sale of an order of rails to the Santa Fe Railroad on condition that they be laid in Joliet, in front of the plant of the Illinois Steel Company. Osgood had selected, as his business associates, three personal friends, Julian A. Kebler, Alfred C. Cass and John L. Jerome. These men, known as the "big four," controlled the destiny of the company for a decade, but upon Osgood's retirement, his three friends and business associates all died within a brief space of five months. While Osgood's management of the company had been along broad and constructive lines, a serious handicap had been experienced on account of a lack of funds, but with the change of ownership came the unlimited backing of the Gould and Rockefeller millions, Under this new management, therefore, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company began a period of expansion which has made of Pueblo the real "work-shop of the west," and the end is not yet, for with the unlimited resources of this western region and the ever increasing demand for iron and steel products, thig industry will continue to exert a most important influence upon the future development of the city. This company now employs more than six thousand men at the Pueblo plant, and maintains a pay-roll of more than a half million dollars a month, to say nothing of the vast army of men employed in its coal and iron mines throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Pueblo possesses fifty or more smaller manufacturing concerns which provide regular employment for more than a thousand men throughout the year. Two of these establishments deserve more than passing notice. The saddle industry in Pueblo has been brought to such a high state of perfection as to attract attention in foreign countries. Pueblo saddles are being shipped throughout various parts of the world. The other industry to which reference should be made is that of the manufacture of tents. Pueblo tents not only reach every part of the United States, but a regular trade has been established with the United States Government, Mexico and Canada. The Northwest Mounted Police of Canada are supplied with Pueblo made tents. The total pay-roll of Pueblo amounts to more than a million dollars a month. Pueblo is the third largest city in a vast region comprising nearly 900,000 square miles, being surpassed in population only by Denver and Salt Lake City. It is already the greatest railroad center as well as the manufacturing center of this region, and is destined to become the metropolis in point of population as well as in its industrial strength. The reasons for this view are, briefly, as follows: The present metropolis of the Rocky Mountain region gained its prestige through the creation of a temporary and wholly artificial situation in the northern part of the state. It is shut from the Pacific coast by a solid wall of granite more than two hundred miles in extent, and for this reason is most awkwardly situated, geographically, to be able to maintain its leadership indefinitely. When the 900,000 square miles of territory, comprising the Rocky Mountain region, reach a more complete state of development, all artificial barriers will be swept away and natural trade laws will assert themselves. When this time arrives it will be seen that, of the three leading cities of the Rocky Mountain region, Pueblo alone has the proper location and other facilities to give her the industrial leadership of this vast area. It is scarcely probable that the present generation will live to see the fulfilment of this prophecy, although on our western coast events far more improbable have transpired within the span of one generation. It is also true that New York City was obliged to wait for more than a century to be recognized as the metropolis of the United States, and after it had been in existence 175 years its population was but 33,000. Yet there is no one now, who cannot easily point out the forces which made New York City the metropolis of the nation. In like manner it may require a wait of many generations to bring about the readjustment of industrial conditions in the West along natural lines. Artificial conditions may cause a temporary suspension of the laws of nature, but it should be remembered that in the end the laws of evolution are inflexible in trade development as well as in other kinds of growth. Pueblo is just entering a period of greater growth than it has enjoyed at any time during the present century. It is probable that the next fifteen years will see its population reach the one hundred thousand mark, and what the century may bring forth, in the way of increased population, no one can guess. It has been pointed out by Casson,*** as well as by McCrary,+ that Pueblo's location is unique for beauty. Casson writes as follows: "Of all the iron cities of the world, Pueblo has the most picturesque location. It stands three-quarters of a mile above the level of the sea, at the foot of the red crags of the Rockies. Its smoke is blown against the hoary head of Pike's Peak, fifty miles northward. To the east stretch a thousand miles of level field and mesa, across which come five busy railroads." From McCrary's report we read that, "Pueblo's site is a picturesque one at the junction of the Arkansas and Fountain rivers. Unlike most cities of the plain, the face of the earth here has a good many bumps, which prevent monotony through the city, and which are at once the city's great assets for beauty." ***"Romance of Steel," by Herbert N. Casson, p. 318. + "The Pueblo Improvement Plan," by Irvin J. McCrary. A definite opportunity presents itself to Pueblo, on the eve of its greater development, for laying the foundations of a great city along modern lines. It has been a cause for keen disappointment to those now occupying our large cities that the past generation failed to plan definitely for the greater growth of these cities, as well as to regulate and direct their development along lines that would result in a higher degree of civic beauty as well as greater comfort to those now occupying them. Pueblo must not make this mistake. The present generation faces the opportunity now, of inaugurating a system of civic improvements in this city which will not only attract people from all over the country, but will also cause future generations to "rise up and call them blessed." Additional Comments: Extracted from: Pathbreakers and Pioneers of the Pueblo Region Comprising A History of Pueblo from the Earliest Times By MILO LEE WHITTAKER THE FRANKLIN PRESS COMPANY 1917 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/pueblo/history/books/pathbrea/chapter834nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cofiles/ File size: 21.2 Kb