The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-11-14
Cotton Manufacturing.

ALA Manufacturing Company, publishes an
interesting letter in the Montgomery advertiser,
giving results in regard to the working of that
factory, also its capacity This company has
two mills, running $4,000 spindles and 200
looms, besides other machinery. After refer
ring to the working capacity of the mills, Mr..
Micou says: In.
4 But the principal object I have in view in
writing this letter (after showing to our people
by actual experiment, that we can here at the
cotton fields spin cotton as we'll and as*eheap-
I ly as it can be cone anywhere else in the
WORLDLY is TO show che immense production OF
; wealth to the cotton States attainable by the
! introduction of spinning machinery, at the nu-
merous water powers adjacent to- the, cotton
1 fields of the South, and sending onr cotton TO
. foreign markets spun into yarn, instead OF In
the raw state as now.
The facts and figures here presented, show
/ that one cotton mill for spinning cotton with
IL to 20 thousand spindles, employing go TO
500 operatives, drawn from q class who are now
non-producers, can produce of direct wealth to
the State, 5000 bales of cotton per annum. By
spinning up 5000 bales of cotton and doubling
its value by the operation, a production OF
wealth to this extent is entirely practicable on
capital invested of FIVE hundred thousand
dollars.
Now TO produce 5000 bales of cotton from
the soil, requires the cultivation in corn and
cotton of 10000 acres of land by 1000 laborers
and 1900 mules, with large capital invested
in waste lands, farming utensils, gin and GIN
houses, and screws and houses for laborers, &c.
The proposition is so plain that any practical
farmer can calculate that it requires much
more capital to produce 5000 bales of raw cot
ton than it does to spin 5000 bales of raw cot
ton into good yarn, and double its value 66y so
doing. But the people say we understand cot
ton planting, and we are an agricultural peo.
pie and not manufacturing people. do not
advise our people to withdraw their capital
from planting cotton, but only wish to show
them the entire practicability of doubling and
thrilling their wealth by encouraging the spin
ming at home of the cotton produced by them.
The entire cotton crop could be worked up
at home into yarns without drawing one labor
er from the cotton field, making effective pro-
ducers of our women and children, who are
now non-producers, and requiring only an in
yestment of capital equal to one cotton crop
valued at one hundred dollars per bale. This
state of things could be brought about in ten
or fifteen years by each cotton planter appro-
priating to the business of cotton spinning an
investment annually of one-twentieth of the
value of cotton produced by each.
| Ihe idea l. 1ntend 10 convey Oy Inis itSC
statement is that if we could open the eyes OF
our planting community to the great impor-
tance of this spinning business so as to induce
general and liberal investment by them In
cotton spinning, amounting in the aggregate
each year to one-twentieth of the value Of the
crop produced, that it would in ten or fifteen
wears give such an impetus to the business and
bring in so much outside capital not now in
vested in cotton planting as to accomplish the
grand result
Cotton spinning, like cotton planting or any
other branch of business, requires care, econo-
my, attention and good management to make
it profitable. But with these an experience OF
twenty years satisfies me beyond doubt that
il is more useful and beneficial to the public
good, as we'll as more profitable to the capital
ist, than any other business that is open to the
enterprise and industry of the Southern people.
have determined to devote the balance of my
business life to the development of this great
interest in the cotton States.
I will close this letter, which is much longer
than expected when commenced writing,
with the statement, that cotton yarns well
made are as valuable in the markets of the
world as the raw cotton. And further that
there is more profit Per pound to the spinner
than to the cotton planter.