The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-03-28
MANY INTERESTING PARTICULARS.

At the foot of Clark street, in the Eighth
ward of the city Of Newark, on the banks
of the Passaic, occupying several acres o.
ground, upon which are buildings, the floor
Ing of which measures nearly eight acres
are situated the largest thread works in tho
New World, employing about fifteen hun
drcd hands and paying out every two weeks
from sixteen to twenty thousand dollars ii
wages, to be distributed by the employee:
among different classes and occupations ir
the city, and from fifteen to twenty thou
sand per month to other parties here, who
in various ways, are connected with thu:
vast establishment. Although having the
largest pay roll Of any employers in New
Jersey, and contributing more to The wei
fare and prosperity Of the city than all its
financial institutions combined, we hcal
less in the newspapers Of this world Of
| wealth makers than OF some s~ccond-class
money lending shop on Broad street. 1t
would be useless for any one to attempt tc
trace to their source all the varied indus.
tries which have entered into the production
of Clark's CONT" Spool Cotton, which
is sold by every merchant dealing in dry
goods, fancy goods, hosiery, notions, etc, in
| the United States, and contains two hun
drcd yards of that indispensable article.
strong, smooth and beautiful. 1t is made
up of
NEARLY FoRTY-Two MILLION ~DoUBL1NGs,
and yet is SO fine as to be hardly visible a
few inches from the naked eye. The I'M.
mense capital invested in The Clark Thread
Company's Works and the vast volume OF
business, amounting to several millions per
annum, extending to every part OF the
United States, is one OF the principal sources
of Newark's prosperity. What it is and the
blessings which flow from it, arc not realized
by one in a thousand OF the people who
dwell within the sound of their tower bell.
Notwithstanding the large amount Of money
which the establishment was to pour into
the hands of every merchant and trader in
the city, as events have shown, the first
thing which the City Fathers did when these
works were being erected was to tax the
bricks and material not yet shaped into
buildings. It was on a par with the intelli-
gcnce and appreciation OF the
REAL SOURCES OF WEALTH,
usually exhibited by the average politician.
Had it been some trust company or curb
stone broker that asked exemption, it would
probably have been granted. Some idea of
the value of these works to the community
may be had by an illustration OF a thing
which might really happen at any time. The
Clark Thread Company employ as stated,
about fifteen hundred persons, paying out
to them sixteen to twenty thousand dollars
every two weeks. These hundreds OF hands
pay out that money to the butcher, the
baker, the grocer, the clothier, the dry goods
merchant, and all who have anything to
sell get a part of it in some way, either d.
rcctiv or Indirectly. From their hands it
goes to, pay debts, meet obligations and fill
the channels of trade with the circulating
medium called money, and which is TO bust
ness what blood is to the human system,
giving it life, animation and power. Sup
pose tonight those works were
DESTROYED By FIRE.
They are fully insured. The Clark Thread
Company receive their insurance in cash
from their underwriters. They sayto them
selves Cuisines is dull, sales are unccr-
tain, profits are small, the future i%sunknown,
and our taxes arc heavy. The vast business
requires close attention and persistent energy.
We will not take this money and rebuild
the works, but adopt the plan pursued by
most moncyed men, viz: go to Washington,
buy government bonds, bring them home,
put them in a tin box, pay no taxes, and sit
down to take our ease, eat, drink and be
merry, with no thought OF care, supported
in luxury without risk by the interest on
our bonds, paid by taxation OF the produc-
ing classes" Can any man calculate the
wide spread ruin which would follow such
a calamity and course Of action by The
Clark Thread Company? It would be in
calculable. All those people who earned
money to purchase what they wanted to
buy, would be added to the list Of paupcrs
who today clamor for work or bread.
Misery, want,
STARVATION n CRIME
would be the fruit of such q course. But
this is exactly what has been done through
out the country, and explains why one in
twelve in Newark are to-day supported by
the city. The productive capital of the
country, which employed our now idle mil
lions, has been put into government bonds,
and appalling restitution and want are on
every hand, and increasing at a fearful rate.
Labor is the source Of all wealth and pros
perity, and there is no loss equal to that
which follows enforced idleness of the pro-
ducing classes. There is no music sofull of
Joy and peace and good will to men as the
song of labor and the music Of machinery.
Better far that all other songs be hushed
and every note he stilled, rather than those,
and to them W. now introduce the reader.
ON II DOCK
of The Clark Thread Company, which is
five hundred feet long, is 4 mountain OF two
or three thousand tons OF coal, drawn out
of boats at the wharf by 4 donkey engine,
and the bales OF cotton find their way from
the same wharf to the brick house, for the
storage of thatprecious material, one pound
of which will make one hundred miles OF
thread, containing about forty-two million
doublings. The mind cannot grasp the
numerical fact. But four grades of cotton
are ordinarily used in the manufacture Of
Clark's CONT" Spool Cotton, and known
as "Sea Island Cotton" This comes prin-
cipally from South Carolina and is grown
on the small islands along the coast. Con.
siderable is raised on the peninsulas and
around the bays and %inlets, but it is not
equal to that of the sea islands, which is
the finest in the world. The first bag OF
this sea island cotton OF the crop Of 1876
was purchased by the Clark Thread Com.
pany at fifty cents per pound. The island
cotton is not used in the manufacture OF
thread, being too short in the fiber. On
| these sea islands were the richest planters OF
the South in
THE L SLAVE DAYS,
many OF them having as high as six hun.
drcd slaves, and compared with whom tho
feudal lords of England were children in
luxury, hospitality, and elegance. But to-
day all is changed. Those vast estates are
cut up into small plantations, many OF
them owned by the negroes, who now call nc
man master. They bring in their seasons
product, sometimes on a mule and again in
large quantities. Brokers on the ground OF
at the landings, buy and pay the negroes
for their cotton, often dividing the money
according to the labor performed in raising
the crop. Some lease the land Of the former