New-York tribune., 1873-12-24
ALABAMA COTTON. COAL. AND IRON.

Chattanooga, Tenn, Dec. 10. 1910
ALABAMA COTTON COAL, AND IRON.
| THIRTEEN COTTON FACTORIES WITHIN TIE STATE
WOMEN AND CHILDREN MOSTLY EMPLOYED IN
THE MfILs-MANUFACTURE OF CorToN-sEED OIL
AND CARE-EXTENsIyE DEPOSITS OF COAL AND
IRoN-THEIR CLOSE PRoXiMITY-FURNACEs AT
WORK.
lrRomAs OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT oFTuE rRIBuNE'l
NoNrcoNrpy Ala. Oct. 2S-The develop
ment OF Southern manufactures now III suon .ap,'
progress il most important. and promises 10 reVou'on
ze the condition OF the South and destroy at onoo III
her old traditions. The first sign OF THESE cha"se' - "
be noted In the rapid growth and increase vi ooe'o
factories Within the limits OF Alabama there are ho"
10 cotton Factories chiefly situated in the northern ana
middle portion of the State. The largest Oh 'no'e - az
TaIlassee which runs 1900 spindes, and two others
at Prattville, averaging about 1000 spihdes each' "
other factories averaging about fooO Sp'nuies oo"
| are at Tuscaloosa, Florence, HuntsVhie' hu'au'
| gayle, and Pickens County. The Iailassee
factory above Montgomery. Is the largest OF theSe
Its reputaton stands very high both South and North
and its profits are prOpOrtionate there being constant
demand its goods in all markets IL is not my pur-
pose TO go into the statistical details OF these factories
and manufacturing industries. Such statistics easily
accessible at the North very difficult to obtain at
the South, and many instances the proprietors or
managers of the Southern mills prefer not to crafty the
curiosity of outsiders reference to their business. or
give the information in such shape as to be uniVa
able. In this may result from consciousness
that they have reached the dividends paid by other
mills in Others from fear Of exciting mare competi
ton For the latest and most trustworthy returns VI
the profits of cotton mills at the South show IL 10 Dc
very paving business indeed averaging from ~ as sn
nm o so ner cent or the capital invested and my own
noures from truthful persons have satisfied me tha az
least from per cent can be and Is made Oh 'hese
investments where the mill is under proper manage
ment. - .,,o,,re
The labor used in these factories is white the great
bulk of the employees being native women and children
A few grown white employed III such portions
of the work az require strength The machnists, and
packers and pressers, Of course are men, Thus II VIII
be seen that without Withdrawing OF the male white
labor or the black from the cultivation OF the helds
this labor is carried by class which did not use to
work in former times aid in supplying the wants OF
the household. The OF the spndles and looms Is
better adapted to women and children than to men, and
IN the factories visited these operatives seemed both
healthy and cheerful. the mills being well ventilated
| and the labor not over severe Nominally they work
! about eleven hours day-frOm a. NJ to p m, bat
really are not busy all the tme and the work is very
| light An hours time at midday is allowed
| for dinner. The pay varies according TO the
character Of the work done, and the quantity
An average hand can clear from $50 10 SIC per month
The country people like this labor. and the
supply of such aborers than equals the demand,
as am to- ID good authority Efforts have been made
10 employ the coored aborer in these factories but they
have not succeeded One gravely alleged Is that
the hum Of spndles puts them to sleep and another
Is that their inbOrn careessncss cannot be sufficiently
overcome to make them perform such delicate work,
involving perpetual attention. Whatever the reason
may be- it the fact that this kind Of labor monop
ozed thus by the class Of the white popua
tion who add greatly to their means and comforts by
| Al
slender exehequers.
The disadvantage OF interference with chdrens school
hours sought be counteraced by night and Sunday
school, for them This is want ever felt and still
pressing on the South with its sparse population,
although the number OF what were contemptuously de
Nominated "poor whites never 0ne-tenth part as
great as preudiced and sensational observers would
make them ont to he. Georgia takes the lead OF her
Southern sisters in cotton factories. she having thirty
four within Limits, the largest the Eagle and PhGnix,
of IS 900 looms capacity, beng just across the Chatta
hoochee River, which forms the boundary line between
Alabama aud Georgia. Markets for the products of
Georgia as well as her supply of cotton chiefly
found in sister state The sole busy spot to be found
in South Carolina is in her cotton factories also which
number twelve and are very successful.
probably not generally known that the South has
also turned its attention TO wooen mills rather
tensive scale Within their limits there $40 !
woolen factories with 52i sets OF cards embracing
capital of about g. 10000 with a value of product fully
reaching the according to the ap
proximate estimates This calculation does not include
the mills manufacturing carpets hosiery or worsted |
goods When il is considered that in Texas ana
other OF the Southern States sheep raising is and
must hereafter be carried on in constantly increasing
ratio, the RAPID increase OF these esapllehhehs may De
safely predicted
The Southern cotton mills are rapidly competing with
the coarse c0ttons although the ner grades and prints
are still Northern and British monopoly and there
seems no good reason why wooden goods should not also
be largely made TO supply the wants of that section.
CorToN-sEED MILLS
These mills have been erected the war I
believe the industry first instituted England,
whittier largo quantities of the cotonseed. previously
regarded refuse originally and still continue to
be shipped for the purpose Of being converted into Oil
and oil seed cake which discovered to be the
faeniDg food for cattle There is successful factory
of this description at New-Oreans and there two
more in Alabama one at Mobile, the other ;st Selma
The chief difficulty now in working these mills is the
attaining suf1ccncy OF the seed partly
from the great foreign demand. and partly
through the apathy OF the planters in sup
plying It, Many seem more disposed to follow
the old plan of converting it into manure wasting
IL as refuse taking the trouble OF collecting SELL
ing IT, which they enabled TO do readily the price
of sle per ton When II considered how heavy
seed is the proportion OF seed W cotton pro-
duced is s four 10 one and that the last crop above
600 900 bales or 1900 0Oo00 pounds 1t does not require
ready reckoner to show how large OF profit is
derivable from this hitherto despised and neglected
residue the net proceeds Of which. If properly cared
for would more furnish all the fertilizers needed to
make Southern planting pay infinitely more than it
does uuder the sioveny system OF culture still prevail
ing Why these few pioneers in this profitable business
have still the monopoly OF it, or why the English mills
can afford 10 out bid the ground where II pro-
duced with ali the OF reights superadded is hard
IN understand. I do not doubt, however, shat the
awakened energies OF the Southern people viii solve
th. problem as successfully as they have other
01 ,rore difcut ones In the last FIVE years