32 ESSENTIALS OF SUITABLE LOCATIONS 



advisable to erect a factory in too close proximity to large con- 

 suming or railway centers, it is equally undesirable to choose 

 a condensery site where transportation facilities are poor. 



Where access to one railroad only can be had, the factory 

 is at the mercy of that road. Experience has shown that monop- 

 oly of transportation usually means a low standard of efficiency 

 of service and high freight rates. 1 On the other hand, competi- 

 tion involves a struggle for the survival of the fittest, and it 

 offers the public all the inducements that business ingenuity and 

 enterprise can produce. Where two or more transportation com- 

 panies are after the business of the same manufacturing concern, 

 they will generally leave nothing undone in the w r ay of accom- 

 modations and low rates to please the manufacturer. The result 

 is that the manufacturer enjoys the advantages of efficient serv- 

 ice, good accommodations and reasonable freight rates. 1 



This is a factor which the condensery cannot afford to over- 

 look, as the freight charges are a very conspicuous item in the 

 expense account of the milk condensing business. A part of the 

 fresh milk may have to be shipped to the factory by rail, all the 

 finished product must leave the factory by rail and the condens- 

 ery is dependent on the railway for its raw materials and sup- 

 plies, such as sugar, tinplate, solder, box shooks, barrels, labels, 

 oil, rosin, gasoline, coal, etc. Prompt and efficient transportation 

 is essential. Undue delays may cause the condensery serious 

 inconvenience and loss, and may result in the cancelling of im- 

 portant orders. 



Other Conditions. The removal of the sewage of the fac- 

 tory is important. It may be possible fo.r the factory to connect 

 with the town or city sewer, in which case the problem is easily 

 solved. Where this is not possible, a site along a creek, river, 

 pond or lake may offer effective means to take care of the con- 

 densery sewage. Where no such natural depository is available, 

 the elevation of the site should be sufficient to carry off the sew- 

 age far enough from the factory to insure the plant against foul 

 odors and unsanitary conditions. In the absence of all of these 

 avenues for the disposal of the sewage, a properly laid-out sys- 



1 The matter of freight rates is now largely regulated by the Federal De- 

 partment of Transportation. 



