Emmetsburg Democrat Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa 30 July 1912 GARY HAS HAD QUICK GROWTH Thomas McNally Tells Our Reporter About Steel Trust City Thomas McNally of Gary, Indiana, is visiting his brother, Myles McNally and other family relatives in this vicinity. He will remain for a few weeks. He was in Emmetsburg 32 years ago when the country was new. He was also here 16 years ago. He notices a wonderful improvement in the surrounding country since that time. Gary, he informs us, is a place of 35,000 to 40,000. It has had the most remarkable growth during its brief history of any city in the United States. It was platted six years ago. The biggest steel plant in the world, the property of the American Steel trust, is located at that place. Formerly the leading industry of the company was at Pittsburg. The change of location to Gary was made in order to save the expense of shipping iron ore from the Messaba range, north of Duluth, to Pittsburg. Besides, Gary being only 26 miles from the business section of Chicago, is more favorably situated than Pittsburg for making shipments to the various parts of the United States. The trust has a lake frontage of eight miles at Gary. It has its own harbor. Two hundred steel vessels are regularly employed in carrying iron ore and unfinished products from Duluth. The vessels are 700 feet long. Each has 32 hatches. The immense freighters can be turned in the Gary harbor without tugs. The steel plant employs 8,000 men. The American Bridge Company which requires 3,000 hands in operating, is also one of the leading manufacturing institutions of the place. The American Tin Plate company has a force of 3,000 men and the American Nut and Bolt company 1,200. Mr. McNally says that perhaps 20,000 of the city's 40,000 inhabitants are Poles, Italians and other foreigners. They are frugal and industrious but of course cling tenaciously to their native manners and customs. Some of them have of late started up in business for themselves. The city inspectors and others whose business it is to enforce the pure food laws have considerable difficulty in making this class of business men observe the state laws and city ordinances. Gary has eight steam railroads and five interurban electric lines. Hence it has favorable connections to important points in all directions. A person can go to Indianapolis or to Louisville, Kentucky, on interurban lines. Electricity is used in operating most of the great industries in the city. The principal business street of Gary is six miles long. It has very wide sidewalks. It is 100 feet in width from curb to curb. It is lit up with lamps 50 feet apart. The sight is one that elicits the admiration of all visitors to that place. Mr. McNally is 75 years of age but stands his years well. He is robust and quite active. He has lived at Gary for five years. His son owns a large restaurant at that place and serves from 300 to 500 people daily. 000525 Cathy Joynt Labath