The weekly clarion., 1880-09-01
Southern Cotton Mills.

S.. Louis Imes-G
Tie advantage Of cheaper production aud
larger profit OF Southern as compared with
Northern cotton mills are p0intcily set forth
by correspondent Of the Times sho has been
taking notes of travel in the East Follow
ing is fIe ei-t of "a letter which he sends from
FAN river. the great center OF the New Eng
land cotton industry
A day was pleasantly and probably spent
in Boston, ana the evening train brought us
down to FAN rvcr-thut city Of factories,
which "a few wears hence when the cotton crop
IL manufactured where II Is raised, viii have
90 resort to other lines of tIadc to maintain its
position.
inst here I want 10 tell what / know about
cotton factories down South. make the as
Scrtiuu tLat cotton factories III the South have
an advantage equal to twenty-tour per cent.
over the Northern factory, ia the saving OF
expense TO begin with, aud J viii proceed to
demonstrate 10 so clearly that he who runs
may read and blind man can see a..
A fall River. Mas. cotton mill, for example
invests a fifty dollar bill in "a bale Of cotton,
buying ~ they all do, through a broker
either in Fall river or Boston. The iucldeu-
fnl expenses on that bale Of cotton are about
as follows Baggiue and ties. say 81 80 Che has
10 pay much per pound for the baggIng and
ties as he does the cotton, and set he can use
It.1 pack ing and weighing fifty cents; ware
house storage FIFTY cents; compressing, htty
cents. insurance -- average loss put at tlNe
pounds, fifty cents; two brokers. commissions
nifty cents per bale each. 81; freight to Fall
River. s. 80 per bale; total. - per bale, or
one seventh the original cost which is equal
10 about fourteen per cent
Now, then. the Southern mill invests Hot III
the cotton in seed, which viii huv l,50Opounds
of seed cotton, which in turn VIII produce
clear 800 pounds Of heccy lint, and about
fifty bushels Of seed, worth ten cents per
bushel, equal to -; that Is one-tenth ct hls
cost, which is a saving Of ten per cent more
making in all total saving Of y per cent
40 begin with. Is it a wonder, then, that capl-
tai is seeking this Investment
A Boston cotton broker was boastiug to me
chat his mill paid twenty per cent, and as
touished ham hv telling him that the Nesson,
Mississippi Mills had paid thirty-three per
cent. the Grst year. At Augusta, Ca there Is
$500. 600 iuvested "a cotton factories. Last
year they declared and paid dividend OF
Twenty-eight per cent, Hud proceeded to build
another sJ01OJ0 mill The Columbus, Ga
Mills Pay over thirty per cent To show how
the Southern people are going INTO thus, know
of one litue city where 7oooo9 mas oeen raised,
and they are tfgjug to get so ,U9o OF outside
capital to make "A slDO0OO mill. ] know OF
another Southern city where s!uo UJ' worth
of machinery and buildings Sf~ awning out
side help of $50 OO0 s1O,OUU to begin opera
tions. 1 know OF small thread mills where the
cotton Is spun into thread and sold 70 factor
les One example Of this is where farmer
has $1,000 invested in q Clement attachment
mill His first years business was q = follows
Daily average expenses, Sil; daily average
receipts, 500 net profit per day. slJ, which Is
equal to Si55 per month, or 400 per year.
can furui sh any parties who desire II tGll IN
formation on this subject, aud l will guaTan-
zee D find oue-half the capital necessary to
start as many of these factories ct any kin
as | can end capitalists to find the other halE.
The Fall River manufacturers SAID that
every time "a hiil mill started in the South IL
stopped one in The east When reflect thar
there are thousands Of prineely rich men in
MassachUs etts-who dwell ~ palaces by the
sea-who have amasscd their fortunes in this
line can we conceive of the colossal fortunes
which the Southern manufacturer Will amass
in the next few years