The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-12-04
COTTON MILLS,

The speech Of Gov. Straw, OF New Hamp-
shire, before the Cotton Spinners' Association
of New England, the other day, has revived
| sectional fight between the North and South
on the auestion-which Is the better field for
cotton spinning2 Gov. Straws speech was
bold and aggressive. Hedenied that the South
had a single advantage as cotton manufac-
turing country; Its labor was poor and unedu-
Gated its climate bad; it's habits and customs
would prevent manufacturing of any kind.
In winding UP he congratulated the New
England spinners on the fact that they had
now supreme control over this business, and
he prophecied for them complete monopoly
Of it for all time to come.
Gov. Straw's speech raised perfect storm
of denias and refutations, and he has been
completely overwhelmed and buried under
the proofs of the Souths superior promise
as field for cotton spinning. Nor have all
these denials came from Southern sources
only. Quite number of New England
mill-men tell the same story, and confess
that Southern competition Is gradually
crowding them to the wall. The whole ques-
ton has been revived by this speech
and most eloquently discussed during the
past few weeks-no where more earnestly
than in the Augusta Chronicle and Gonstitn-
fiopnItst which has devoted itself to the de-
Tense of tho South in this matter. It's argu-
ments are irrefutable. The cotton Is at the
very doors of the Southern mill, and there
fore cheaper: 1t has not had heavy duty to
pay as freightage, commission, ETC.; 1t has
not yet suffered shrinkage and stealage.
Then, as to the mills and the dwellings
of the spinners, all building materials are
cheaper in the South. mill, and houses
for the employees, can be built here for
one-half what they cost in the North. In
the South also, the mill is especially
exempted from all taxation Labor Is cheap
er, for the reason that living is cheaper; and,
moreover. we are not yet afflicted with
those labor unions which dictate their own
terms to the New England manufacturers.
In addition to these arguments still more
practical and conclusive ones were produced
in the fact that the Southern cotton mills are
selling goods cheaper than their Northern
rivals and, at the same time, declaring larger
dividends. The Southern mills have only
lately invaded the New England market but
have already won several victories The
Langley, South Carolina mills for instance
have sold 5000 bales in New York in the last
three years, and have been awarded by the
United States the contract for supplying the
Indians for number of years. This contract
was let out in New York city and the goods
have to be delivered there, so that New Eng
land had q fair opportunity for competition,
but was beaten by South Carolina.
Our climate ALSO is far superior. Only two
days work have been lost by the Georgia
mills since 1879 on account of bad weather
In Georgia and South Carolina, where the
mills are worked by water power, this power
is not only superior to that Of the New Eng
land mills, but the streams never freeze over,
as they frequently do in the North, stopping
work sometimes for months. 1t is useless to
reproduce all the many other arguments
brought out in favor of the South It is suf-
ticient to state that cotton is cheaper here
mills cheaper, manufacturing cheaper, and
labor cheaper.
The result Of this debate is an overwhelm-
ing victory for the South. The Granite State
Free Press Nashua Telegraph and score OF
other New England papers admit this. The
Free Press confesses that "the South is rapid
ly uIlN1uS bIt NoLbh out VI tIiO uanl hCo Ill
brown goods, standard sheetings and shirt
ings." The Telegraph goes even further, and
thinks that "cotton manufacturing in New
Hampshire has seen its best days. 1t fore
sees the day when the South will advance
from the mandatory of the coarser goods it
now makes to finer fabrics, and warns the
capitalists and mill-men of New Hampshire
to be prepared for that emergency, and
to develop now other manufactures in
which they can then engage without fear OF
this competition. This debate has probably
done more for the development of cotton
spinning in the South than any event for
years 1t has shown what can be done in this
country All that we now need is capital
with which to build these mills.
The Washington correspondent who started