In the silk industry of North Hudson the Schwarzenbach-Huber Company plays a prominent part. It conducts one of the largest plants for the manufacture of broad and novelty silks in the entire country. Its magnificent factory is bounded by Highpoint avenue, Spring street, West street and Oak street, in West Hoboken. During the busy season it is a busy hive of industry, and during the entire year employs a large force of men and women in the manufacture and distribution of its products.
Silk manufacturing in North Hudson is conducted along more humane lines than it is in some other parts of the country. Manufacturers here believe the workers have rights which the employers are bound to respect. This is particularly true in the Schwarzenbach-Huber plant, which, although it played a prominent part in the last great strike in the silk industry, was forced to do so, not. because the employees were dissatisfied. but because they had been led to believe that the success of the strike in Paterson depended upon the paralysis of the industry here.
The Schwarzenbach-Huber plant is a model one. There is plenty of light, air and ventilation. Every precaution is taken to preserve the health of the employees as far as the details of the industry will permit. The men and women are not herded in the shop like sheep, and wherever it has been possible for one machine to do work with fewer attendants that has been done. This has not been found to be a short-sighted policy for the reason that where the work can be done with fewer employees the air is better, the employees are more wide awake, there are fewer accidents and less misery than where the workers are crowded together in small space with little breathing and working room.
Everything about the big mill is designed oil the safety first idea. Especially is this true in the precautions that have been taken against fire. While every floor is equipped with automatic sprinklers, there is also a trained fire department, fully equipped with hose, hook and ladder, etc., for quick work in the case of conflagration. little man of the fire department knows his post in case of fire, and there is little likelihood of any conflagration gaining much headway at any time when the men are at work. It is a policy of the company to keep the mills going the entire year, except such time as is necessary for stock taking, if possible. There are seasons of the year when ordinary work is slack, when to keep the mills running means the investment of large capital without adequate returns for the time being, when the mills are run at a positive loss because money which is handed out in wages and salaries would be drawing interest if allowed to accumulate in bank, but the managers recognize the fact that to keep good employees they must keep them engaged, and that the workers have to live throughout the year, the only means of subsistence being the wages they receive.
There is an organization at the Schwarzenbach-Huber Company plant such as would be hard to duplicate in any place run along lines of less efficiency. It is the effort of the managers to keep this organization intact. To do this they must keep fairly steady employment. So they have men designing novelties in the silk goods line. These novelties are manufactured and pushed upon the market. It is true of the company that the most of these novelties are accepted by the public and find a ready sale. this shows a remarkable grasp of public opinion.
Visitors interested in the process of silk making are made welcome at the plant and are shown around bv courteous men employed for that purpose. Many visitors have said thai a visit to the plant was interesting, not alone from the class of goods manufactured, but from the fact there is kept a high class of workers who are as courteous to the visitor as it is possible for them to be and keep their work in hand.

biography printed from:
"Hudson County Today, Its History, People, Trades, Commerce, Institutions and Industries",
Published by the Hudson Dispatch, undated