GIFT OF 6 Written for Sprague, Warner & Co. by Mason Warner SPRAGUE WARNER8 COMPANY INCORPORATED 3^ M**3 ORIGINAL STORE, 14 STATE STREET 242488 fc-«~— ._ - m OFFICES AND WAREHOUSE, ER AND ROBERTS STREETS Historical WHEN one early Roman was required to write an introduction to another's works, he said, "I will willingly obey your commands, not ignorant that there is more of honor than labor in the task." The writer approaches this work with the same feeling, knowing that the only difficulty will be to reject from an over-abundance of material much that deserves presentation and select only the comparatively small quantity that can be used in the space at his disposal. Volumes could be written relating to the house of Sprague, Warner & Company since its beginning fifty years ago, but these volumes could not tell all the story nor pay the tribute justly due to the founders of this institution. One hesitates in the writing of pages such as these, halting between a desire to give the credit and honor due and the fear that when the simple truth is set down it will be misconstrued as an encomium inspired by the enthusiasm and per- sonal esteem of the writer. However careful one may be, those who knew personally the founders of this institution will say that the writer has fallen far short of paying tribute justly due; and yet readers unacquainted with these men may feel that too much praise is given. A business that endures for half a century and grows greater with every passing year must do more than deal fairly. No concern had a monopoly of honest goods at fair prices fifty years ago; no concern has such a monopoly to-day. Honest goods at fair prices are not uncommon and usually can be found by the purchaser with money or credit. A firm that grows from a small beginning to an institution of colossal magnitude must have individuality, originality, aggressive- ness, character and strength. It is not difficult for any merchant, or any firm of merchants, to make sales at the beginning of a business career. It should not be difficult to have the second year's business surpass the first, and the third year's business show larger than the second. Growth in volume, in yearly totals of sales, means a great deal, but this growth from year to year must be on a solid foundation. ALBERT A. SPRAGUE EZRA J. WARNER Good merchandise, fair prices and fair dealing are essential to the permanent growth of a commercial institution. But more than these is required. There must be a broad knowledge of market conditions, with the courage to invest capital before the average man sees the opportunity or necessity. There must be the constant, ever- present desire to do things better than anybody else — a never-ending struggle to improve methods of selecting and carrying stock, making prompt shipments, and in caring for the interests of customers. There must be the consideration of service, the creation of a friendly feeling, the desire for co-operation between buyer and seller, the recognition of mutual interest, the realization that a business trans- action which is not advantageous to both parties thereto is unsatis- factory dealing and contains the elements of danger to continued success. There must be the strength of character and capital to stand the stress of business storms, to weather the financial panics, to meet the unexpected squalls of unemployed labor, short crops, floods, and local disturbances that tend to destroy and dismember wholesale and retail trading. There must be the ability to judge men, to select wisely the associates who will cheerfully accept respon- sibility and do efficiently and well the many important things that of necessity must be trusted to others than the heads of a firm. The founders of Sprague, Warner & Company had all of the attributes required to establish and conduct the business of a mer- cantile institution that has kept it in the lead in a city whose com- mercial growth has caused the world to marvel, for among the generation of notable leaders in commerce and industry that made Chicago grow from an ordinarily large town to one of the world's greatest cities, none stood higher than A. A. Sprague, E. J. Warner, and O. S. A. Sprague. In the spring of 1862 A. A. Sprague came to Chicago with the intention of engaging in business, and after investigating the field he embarked his limited capital in the wholesale grocery trade, taking as a partner Z. B. Stetson, and forming the firm of Sprague & Stetson. At the expiration of a year Mr. Stetson retired and a new partnership was formed with E. J. Warner, under the name of Sprague & Warner. 11 OTHO S. A. SPRAGUE In 1864 O. S. A. Sprague, a younger brother of the senior partner, was admitted to the firm, which was reorganized under the style of Sprague, Warner & Company. Under this name it has since con- tinued. The first building the firm occupied was at 14 State Street; from this they moved in 1866 to Nos. 9-11-13 Wabash Avenue. In 1870 they moved to 62 Michigan Avenue. They were burned out in the great fire of 1871 and took temporary quarters at 20 Canal Street. In 1873 they located at 53-55 Michigan Avenue, and in 1875 they went to the corner of Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue, where they remained for thirty-four years, although many additions to the original quarters were made. In April, 1909, they moved to their present home in the new building at Erie and Roberts Streets. Otho S. A. Sprague was born at East Randolph, Vt., May 13, 1839, and died at Pasadena, Cal., February 20, 1909. On his death the Chicago Tribune said: "He was a man of keen perceptions, quick action, and strong will, never hesitating to express his convictions when called upon to do so. His boldness was so tempered by his respect for the opinion of others that he made friends rather than enemies of his opponents." He was the daring merchant — a man of magnetic energy who won the admiration of keen merchants and business men, and aroused those who labored with him to a degree of admiration and loyalty that is rarely witnessed. The Chicago Evening Post said : " By the death of Otho S. A. Sprague that remark- able circle of Chicagoans who led the city during the '80s and '90s is further diminished. In himself Mr. Sprague concentrated almost all the qualities for which that small knot of men were noted. He had their intellectual vigor, their practical abilities, their enthusi- asms, their strain of idealism, their faith in themselves and in their community. He had, as well, 'personal traits of heart and mind that made him remembered here, even after an absence of years in the West, as one of the most charming of companions. It comes back to us with new force that however well the present generation may fill its place it cannot, in some ways, fill that held by the generation which Otho Sprague typified." 13 Ezra J. Warner was born in Middlebury, Vt., March 8, 1841, and died at Lake Forest, September 9, 1910. He was a careful student of financial and public affairs — a man of judicial mind with a banker's temperament and caution and a successful merchant's courage and vision. Upon his death it was written of him: "We feel deeply the loss, yet we cannot realize that he is no longer to be with us to counsel and advise. For nearly fifty years he has directed largely the business policy of his firm and company, and to him was referred every intricate question that others were unable to solve. How courteous — how considerate — how careful; always and under all circumstances determined to be just and fair. No question was so unimportant that it could be slighted, no problem too difficult to remain unsolved. His foresight- penetrated far into the future and his judgment was unerring as far as it is possible for man to foresee or determine. His wishes will continue to be the policy of our busi- ness and his memory will be an inspiration to all to strive to the utmost to make the business a continued success." Albert A. Sprague was born at Randolph, Vt., May 19, 1835. He has been President of Sprague, Warner & Company since its incor- poration in 1896. He continues in that position, but has retired from active participation in the management of the business. He was the third of the trio which made such a perfect combination. He was the mediator and counselor who proved a perfect balance between the merchant and the financier. As one of the guiding spirits of the company he bore his full share of responsibility and did his full share of the labor. In every department of the business — in buying, in selling, in general management — the guiding hand of A. A. Sprague was felt from the first day of business and it continues strong and steady to-day. His chief life-work has been that of a remarkably successful merchant, but the range of his activities and interests has reached far beyond his special field. He has given his personal sup- port and has been an important factor in every movement that has had a tendency to advance the community in which he lives. He is associated with a number of corporations which have helped to build Chicago — -such as the Commonwealth Edison Company, Chicago 14 Telephone Company, and the Northern Trust Company. The latter is one of the strongest financial institutions in the West, and Mr. Sprague was one of its original organizers. These are the men who established the business of Sprague, Warner & Company — who laid the foundations for its success and guided its affairs through the period of development which resulted in reaching the position it holds to-day. 15 MARVIN A . DEAN EZRA J. WARNER, JR. ALBERT A. SPRAGUE, II Present Active Management npHE high ideals of the founders of Sprague, Warner & Company •*■ govern the business to-day. Their work is carried on by men with the same lofty aspirations, the same desire to serve and benefit society, the same high regard for commercial honor and business integrity. There is no deviation from the original policy. When a problem arises the first thought of those upon whom its solution rests is, "What would the old firm have done in this matter?" Marvin A. Dean, Vice-President, Treasurer and Managing Director of the Company, is well known in the mercantile world. He came to the firm in 1881 as bookkeeper, and the position he now holds was won by ability and efficiency. Upon him rests the respon- sibility of the management of the entire business, including the direction of the Sales Department, with salesmen covering every section of the United States. His advice and counsel are sought by all departments, and his influence extends to every part of the business. A. A. Sprague II., Vice-President and member of the Board of Directors, is a son of O. S. A. Sprague, and a nephew of A. A. Sprague, President of the Company. He is a graduate of Harvard University. During the construction of the great building now occupied by the firm he had charge of the work. He proved himself a capable super- intendent and now has charge of the operating of this build- ing in addition to the active part he takes in the general manage- ment. E. J. Warner, Jr., Vice-President, member of the Board of Directors and Secretary of the corporation, is the son of E. J. Warner, former Vice-President of the Company. Mr. Warner, Jr., is a graduate of Yale University, and in his daily work shows an efficiency and thoroughness that make him the right man to have charge of the departments under his supervision. Upon these three men now rests the direction of the affairs of the corporation. They have surrounded themselves with a corps of able associates and the business is conducted with the same old aggressive spirit of enterprise and leadership that caused it to grow, and grow, and grow — every succeeding year showing higher achieve- ment than the one gone before. 17 RECEPTION ROOM CUSTOMERS' WRITING AND REST ROOM TTISITORS are always welcome to the home of the Richelieu, Ferndell, and Batavia brands. This modern manufacturing, warehousing and merchandising plant occupies the largest building in the world devoted exclusively to the production and sale of food supplies. It is located on the north branch of the Chicago River, with a water frontage of 390 feet. It varies in width from 100 to 300 feet. The building is seven stories high, with a basement under all, and has a floor area of more than 500,000 square feet, or nearly ten acres. Visitors enter the building at the Erie Street entrance and are conveyed by elevators to the seventh floor, where are located all of the executive and departmental offices, except the Cigar and Tobacco Departments, which are on the fifth floor. CASHIER'S DEPARTMENT / T A HE seventh story has an aggregate floor area of 45,668 square feet. This space is divided into sections, and as one enters from the elevators he looks through a long vista of four main divisions. In No. 1 are the Accounting Department, private executive ofrices, customers' rest-room and an emergency hospital. No. 2 has the Order and Filing Departments and rooms for stenographers and salesmen. No. 3 is occupied by the ofrices of the Preserving and Manufacturing, Dried Fruit and Sugar, Canned Goods, Foreign Fancy Groceries, Domestic Fancy Groceries, Soap, Rice, Paper Goods, and Advertising Departments, and a commodious sample-room. No. 4 is given over to the Tea, Coffee and Spice, Flour, Cereal, Cheese, Fish, Candy and Sundries Departments. 20 AUDITING DEPARTMENT 21 ROOM NUMBER TWO ^TO building is better protected against fire. An automatic sprinkling system sends its protecting pipes throughout every room from basement to roof. The system has a reserve of 80,000 gallons of water in four tanks on the roof. These tanks are fed by an 85-horse-power electric pump in an isolated fire-proof room in the basement, having direct connections with the river and supplied with a separate power service. The building is divided into four sections by masonry fire walls. All stairways and elevator shafts are enclosed in fire-proof wells that can be shut off at every floor, thus preventing the spread of fire from one floor to another. There are nine high-speed two-ton freight elevators, opening directly upon the shipping platforms on the first floor. 22 ROOM NUMBER THREE A N interesting feature of the building is the pneumatic tube system for messenger service. There are thirty-seven stations, located in as many different parts of the building, from the basement to the top floor. A carrier placed in a tube in the basement can reach the central station on the top floor and be sent back again within twelve seconds. One operator controls the central station. As the carriers emerge from the tubes they drop on a traveling belt and the operator transfers them to the tube which will carry them to their proper destination. Two hundred and fifty separate carriers are in active service and in reality represent two hundred and fifty special messenger boys, one of whom would require twenty minutes for the trip made by carrier in twelve seconds. 23 ROOM NUMBER FOUR 24 SAMPLE DISPLAY ROOM TTAVE you ever noticed a Sprague, Warner & Company salesman when it is suggested that another line of food products is as good as the Richelieu? Nine times out of ten his reply will be, "Let's compare the goods." A salesman's argument might help to convince that the quality of the Richelieu line is the finest to be had. So, too, might a lengthy description in this book help to make , a favorable impression upon .the reader, but the strongest proof of superiority is in the goods themselves. Take any other brand you wish. Place it side by side with the Richelieu, then open the con- tainers, compare the foods, taste them, subject them to every test you can. You will decide in favor of the Richelieu brand, repre- senting the finest quality of food products procurable anywhere. 25 ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT T^HERE are few towns in the United States, from Maine to Cali- fornia, and from Canada to Mexico, where you cannot find an enterprising merchant handling the Richelieu, Ferndell or Batavia brand of food products. This ocean to ocean territory has been covered with the assistance of the Advertising Department. The merit of the goods will hold the consumer's patronage after the brands are introduced, and it is the work of this advertising depart- ment to induce consumers to buy the goods for the first time. This department does not consider the transaction closed when a Sprague, Warner & Company brand is placed on a grocer's shelf, and it stands ready to co-operate with and help that merchant move those goods from his shelves to the homes of the consumers. 26 STENOGRAPHERS' ROOM 11 COFFEE AND SPICE DEPARTMENT -^ CIGAR AND TOBACCO DEPARTMENTS npHE finest vault in the world for the keeping of cigars is to be found in Sprague, Warner & Company's building. It is 55 feet long and 15 feet wide, divided in two sections — one for imported cigars, the other for high-grade domestic cigars. (See page 54 for illustration.) The insulation and atmospheric conditions, which are under perfect control, produce most excellent results. The vault is kept at uniform temperature and humidity in winter and summer, and the cigars are certain to stay sweet and clean, while scientific ventilation keeps them free from tobacco beetles or worms. Doing business in every state in the Union, it naturally follows that cigars, tobacco and pipes suitable to every section must be carried in stock — and they are here. 29 SOUTH WATER STREET SALESROOM /^HICAGO and its suburbs have a population of 3,000,000 people ^" > ^ — a population twice as large as that of the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont combined. There are important jobbing houses scattered throughout the United States, whose entire territory does not contain more than one-tenth of the population of the Chicago district, and yet the "city business" is but a small fraction of the total annual turnover of Sprague, Warner & Company. Scores of city salesmen make the South Water Street Salesroom their headquarters, and from that point they call on the thousands of retailers in the Chicago district. Merchants, too, call here to do much of their buying, as it is conveniently located in the heart of the fresh fruit and vegetable market. 30 LABORATORY /^ARELESS, unscientific methods have no place in the plants of ^^* Sprague, Warner & Company. To illustrate: the jelly value of every batch of fruit juice is determined and from this the amount of sugar to be added is calculated. The product always jells and is uniform; it is scientifically right. The chemists in the laboratory continually analyze the raw materials used and also the finished food products. Thus in all lines the operations have precision and the quality is there because each employe knows his work is checked by the chemists. Just as careful analyses are made of all foods sold by Sprague, Warner & Company, and after the microscopic, chemical and bacteriological examinations have been completed, the whole history of sources and manufacture is known. 32 COOKING KETTLES 33 1 5 « Pal P" '.^tt* III 15' «dI^BHl ►-III ff [ 1 > ! ■ "»— 1 | #1 ij f PRESERVE MAKING PRESERVE PACKING "O ICHELIEU, Ferndell and Batavia preserves, jams and jellies are made from only fresh fruits and sugar. There is not one item in the entire lines that contains an atom of added chemical preservative. Many years before the present agitation for pure food products, it was declared by the head of this department that "Ben- zoate of soda or any other chemical preservative has no place in food." Even if permitted by law, chemical preservatives will never be used here. Sprague, Warner & Company have developed processes and methods which do away with the need of any added preservatives. By these processes the fruits retain the natural color and flavor that Nature put there, making the finished product healthful and whole- some, as well as pleasing and attractive. 35 OLIVE PACKING "CjMDR nearly fifty years, even before the Fancy Grocery Depart- ments were established as special departments, this was a fundamental idea in the merchandising of this class of food products: "The consumer is satisfied with what he is using only so long as he knows of nothing better to be had." That axiom is continually before these departments to-day, and they are constantly alert to secure better and still better goods. The lines are complete and include pickles, sauces, salad dressing, catsup, vinegars, olives, olive oil, ripe olives, sardines, canned meats, sausages, meat pastes and sardellen butter, biscuits, figs, dates, fancy vegetables in tin, includ- ing mushrooms — the lists seem endless, and they are drawn from every quarter of the globe. 36 GREEN COFFEE WAREHOUSE y^r *«3s 38 COFFEE ROASTERS V^OU can depend upon any Sprague, Warner & Company brand of coffee being the same grade and cup quality from January to December every year, never varying. It requires long experience, sure skill and special methods of blending to insure this absolute uniformity of grade and cup quality. For many years Sprague, Warner & Company have been known as a high-grade coffee house. This reputation has been secured by considering cup quality more essential than style, and th'e greatest care is exercised in buying. The consumers' appreciation of always uniform grades, fullness of flavor and strength is the foundation upon which this business is built, and the cause of the more than satisfactory increase in sales from year to year. 39 COFFEE COOLERS ' I A HE machinery and equipment used for cleaning, sorting, grad- ing, roasting, cooling and packing coffees have been especially designed for Sprague, Warner & Company, who own and control the patents for these devices. No human hands touch the coffee from the time it leaves the bag containing the green berry until it is opened by the consumer. These methods insure a perfectly clean product, packed in sanitary containers that keep out dust, dirt and moisture. The entire department, every nook and corner, is managed in a manner that makes for cleanliness and purity. The markets of the world are searched for the finest coffees, and never for a single instant during the roasting and packing is the extreme carefulness abated. All coffees are packed full net weight. 40 COFFEE PACKING 41 BULK COFFEE PACKING \ - - ■ 42 BAKING POWDER PACKING ^T^HE number of brands of baking powder on the market is so large as to defy counting. But how many brands are absolutely dependable? And how many housewives have ruined a baking because the baking powder was not what it was supposed to be in strength and quality? The never varying strength and fineness of Richelieu, Ferndell and Batavia baking powders are the result of strict adherence to the scientific formulas created by expert chemists in Sprague, Warner & Company's own laboratory. You know the care exercised in the selection of raw materials; you know the skill and experience of the employes — with these advantages is it any wonder that these brands always can be relied upon to give perfect satisfaction? And satisfied customers build trade for the retailer. 43 SPICE GRINDING OPICES are bought with the sole idea of getting the most aromatic ^ and most pungent possible to obtain. The department never has made any effort to get the "cheap spice" business; it never has been satisfied with providing only ordinarily good spices. Perfection has been the aim, and Richelieu, Ferndell and Batavia spices are as nearly perfect as it is possible to produce. The methods of manu- facture are admitted to be superior to those prevailing elsewhere. Sprague, Warner & Company have operated their own spice mills since 1875. This long experience, aided by constant experiments conducted in the Spice and Laboratory Departments, has resulted in producing lines of ground spices possessing even texture, cleanli- ness, purity, strength and pungency. 44 SPICE PACKING 45 CEREAL PACKING nPHE Cereal Department was started twenty-five years ago, with one girl packing rolled oats. To-day, with an equipment of the latest improved machinery and scores of employes, the output runs into carloads every day. Only raw materials of the finest quality are used, and a premium to secure such is paid when necessary. Human hands do not touch the cereals from the time they come from the mill until they are opened in the home of the consumer. They are weighed, sealed and packed in the most sanitary and clean manner possible to devise. And the retailer is encouraged to order in small lots for frequent shipment, rather than to send in orders for large shipments that might take time to sell at retail and reach the consumer in a condition not fresh and wholesome. 46 FISH PACKING 47 BULK FLOUR WAREHOUSE 48 FLOUR PACKING A LL hard wheat flour is not the same; all soft wheat flour is not alike — and a certain milling will make some flour better for one purpose than another. In the Flour Department extreme care is given to the selection of flours for particular purposes. Hard wheat flour is recommended for bread, while soft and whiter flours are put up for pastry, biscuits and fancy baking. But the feature of the department is the preparation and packing of specialties in strict accordance with scientific formulas. Graham flour is pure wheat graham flour — never unbalanced, never mixed — never a mixture of cheap flour and bran to produce a commercial graham. Richelieu gluten flour contains more gluten than required by law. Every package is true to the name on the label. 49 BULK TEA WAREHOUSE / T N HERE are more than two thousand different flavors of tea. One section of the country demands one variety; another terri- tory wants a totally different tea. Sprague, Warner & Company sell teas in every state in the Union; they know every variety and its cup quality. The Tea Department is in a better position than is a specialty tea-house serving a limited territory. No one or two varieties find favor the country over. This Tea Department is organized for national trade, and meets satisfactorily the require- ments of any and all sections. The teas are selected for cup quality and flavor, and the finest products of the best gardens in Ceylon, India, China and Japan are secured. Expert blending assures the uniform flavor that holds patronage to the popular brands. 50 TEA PACKING 51 CANNED GOODS WAREHOUSE X\7HEN a visitor views the vast interior of the Canned Goods Warehouse and begins to calculate its capacity, it is difficult for him to realize that this space is required only for the legitimate requirements of a jobbing business. Sprague, Warner & Company are not speculators. They never tried to corner any food product. They never buy for the mere purpose of holding for an advance in prices. And they never handle "cheap stuff." "No goods below standard, no matter what the price inducement," is a rule of all departments. When any variety of fruits, vegetables or fish is short or below grade, no inferior grade is substituted under a Sprague, Warner & Company label. The Richelieu, Ferndell and Batavia brands for years have stood at the very summit of superiority. 52 DRIED FRUIT WAREHOUSE SUGAR AND SALT WAREHOUSE 54 COLD STORAGE WAREHOUSE P\RIED fruits and sugar are handled in the same department. In November, 1880, Sprague, Warner & Company brought the first carload of dried fruits from California to Chicago. They are to-day probably the largest merchandisers of dried fruits in the world, handling 250,000 to 300,000 boxes a year — nearly six carloads every week the year round. Customers are always honestly informed on market conditions, and a*re advised not to buy when it is to their advantage to hold up their orders. Here, as in all other departments, fair and square dealing is the rule in buying and selling. There will be no acceptance or delivery of lower grades than specified. Sprague, Warner & Company are important factors in the sugar market, and enjoy an enviable reputation for prompt shipments. 55 CIGAR VAULTS PACKING ROOM A LMOST every order received by Sprague, Warner & Company calls for merchandise from more than one department. In the room pictured above are assembled the various articles for shipment. Here come the tea, spices, preserves, fancy groceries, cereals, pickles, flour, fish, cheese and the thousand and one other items carried in the mammoth building of which the pages of this book give an inadequate presentation. Just how complete is this line is conveyed in the statement often heard in the retail trade from New York to California: "If you can't get it from Sprague, Warner & Company, it isn't to be had." That tells the story better than the longest catalog that could be compiled, and no precaution or equipment for the proper care of the immense stock is lacking. 57 LOADING CARS IN TUNNEL-SHIPPING "pIFTY years ago one teamster, with one horse, did all the hauling, both in and out, for what is now the house of Sprague, Warner & Company. He hauled incoming freight to the warehouse, made deliveries to city customers and hauled all shipments to the freight houses. To-day a hundred carloads of merchandise can be trans- ported from Sprague, Warner & Company's shipping room to the railroad freight houses by means of an underground tunnel. Eighty per cent of local shipments go through this tunnel. Each merchant's order is assembled, placed on a tunnel car in the shipping room, lowered to the tunnel 60 feet below the basement, and goes direct to the freight house. This tunnel is an innovation that makes for speed, promptness, accuracy and economy. 58 LOADED TUNNEL CARS 59 GENERAL SHIPPING FLOOR '^J'O Richelieu, Ferndell, or Batavia goods are sold in bulk, or in large packages, where an added preservative would be neces- sary to keep the contents from spoiling when exposed to the air after the container is opened. Even if made right, food products cannot continue in perfect condition when exposed to contamination. Sprague, Warner & Company pay particular attention to the selection of raw materials, to purity and cleanliness. When prepared from wholesome materials, under sanitary conditions, packed in properly sterilized containers, and then hermetically sealed, the consumer is always assured of getting perfect food, because there is no way in which it can become contaminated when he depends upon these brands for his supplies. 60 SHIPPING SHED nPHIS shipping shed is roofed with a glass skylight, affording protection when loading merchandise in stormy weather. From here go deliveries to the city trade and to freight depots not reached by the tunnel described on a previous page. Only a small percentage of the merchandise handled passes through this shipping shed. On the opposite side of the byilding are three parallel railroad switch tracks, two enclosed within the building. Twenty-four box cars can be so placed that loading and unloading are done simultaneously. There are adequate dock facilities, and river lighters and lake vessels are loaded direct from the shipping floor. Not a single detail that contributes to speed, safety and accuracy in handling freight is overlooked. 61 PRINTING DEPARTMENT — JOB PRESS ROOM 62 PRINTING DEPARTMENT— CYLINDER PRESS ROOM TN this printing plant are produced many beautiful and attractive labels and cartons that help to make the Sprague, Warner & Company brands so noticeable when displayed at pure-food shows, fairs, expositions, and last and most important of all — on the grocers' shelves and display counters. Consumers have been educated to demand attractiveness and beauty, as well as wholesomeness and purity in food products. The handsomest grocery stores in the world display merchandise bearing labels printed on the presses shown above. A gold medal at an exposition is something to strive for, but there is a higher award than can be given by any official committee. That is the appreciation of the American people, and Sprague, War- ner & Company are proud and grateful to have achieved this. 63 BOILERS 'TWO 250-horse-power boilers operate a high-pressure steam plant that heats the entire building, and supply steam for cooking in the Preserving Department. They also furnish power for a 50- horse-power Corliss engine that takes care of the refrigerating and blower systems. There are two pumps in the power plant in the basement to lift brine to the cold storage plant on the third floor and reduce the temperature there, if necessary, as low as 10 degrees above zero, although from 28 to 30 degrees is the temperature ordinarily required to insure perfect storage. Coal for these immense boilers is unloaded from railroad cars on a private switch track into bins in immediate contact with the furnaces. Mammoth mechanical stokers automatically regulate the supply of fuel. 64 ENGINE ROOM Afterword A CORDIAL invitation is extended to every reader of this book to make a tour of inspection of the largest pure-food establish- ment in the world. Guides are always ready to show visitors about, and you can be sure of a hearty welcome. Only by a personal visit, when you see with your own eyes, can you realize the real spirit of this organization. Illustrations and descriptive words can convey some idea of the buildings and equip- ment — can picture warerooms and merchandise — but, after all, the true force back of this business, the cause of its tremendous growth, is not in mammoth buildings nor modern machinery, but is in the men who are conducting the enterprise. No matter what the endowments of the founders of this organi- zation, without the loyal support, the faithful labor, the sincere co-operation, the earnest and intelligent service, the ambition to deserve success, the conscientious effort to make every buyer a sat- isfied customer and friend, the careful guarding of the interests of the house, the deep and abiding desire to make the trade-marks of Sprague, Warner & Company stand pre-eminent for the finest and highest achievement in food products — without all these, the house of Sprague, Warner & Company would have lagged by the wayside and never made the long journey from the modest beginning of fifty years ago to its present proud position, first in its line in the whole world. Come and chat with these men — many grown grey in the service of the house; grown grey — yes, there are scores of men at the heads of departments to-day who started twenty, thirty or forty years ago in lowly positions at modest salaries and who have grown and pros- pered with Sprague, Warner & Company. These old-timers and the many hundreds of a younger generation form an army of faithful employes of whom any institution can well be proud. They love the house of Sprague, Warner & Company — and "the house" loves them. 66 Rogers & Company Chicago — NewYbrlc YE 02964 ■3 ,ssw 242488