Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-12-09

Two papers up in Lewiston, Maine.
the Gazette and the Journal, have Just
been carrying on very animated and
interesting debate on the question wheth-
erection manufacturing was more profit
able in the South or in New England.
the Gazette UNFOLDING the Southern cause
and carrying off the victory.
Taking the question of dividends. the
Gazette shows they are strongly in favor
of the Southern mills. The Graniteville
factory of South Carolina paid a divi-
dend of 20 per cent last year. The Angus
ia, Ca, mills IS per cent. the Langley
mill 10 per cent, the Woodlawn md
Lawrence Manufacturing Companies, of
North Carolina, Is per cent, and so on
throughout the South. These are not
isolated cases, as is shown by the fact
that the July dividends of the for'y.five
mills in Georgia averaged over ~ per
cent. On the other hand. the mills at
Lewiston, Me-, did not pay cent divi-
dend, and two of them found it neces-
sary to scale down their capital to rs
and 80 per cent. respectively.
Water power was to be obtained in
the South, the Gazette showed, much
cheaper than in New England AT
Lowell, North Carolina, it could be OBJ
tanned for new mills for nothing; and
even at Augusta the cost was ten times
cheaper than the same power anywhere
in Massachusetts.
Labor, similarly, was cheaper. Thus
the Eagle and Phoenix mills at Columbus,
Ga, employ 1900 operatives, and
pay out annually 100000 in wages, an
average of 81 25 per week, while the
wages in the New England mills average
fully $40 "a week.
The climate is advantageous to the
South as a manufacturer of cotton goods.
In the Northern mills work is frequently
stopped on account of ice and drought,
and it is necessary to use an instrument
to create an artificial moisture of the at
mosphere, which is necessary TO create
smooth running yarn. This is not ne
cessary at the South, nor is it necessary
to keep the mills artifcislly heated five
months during the year so as to make
them habitable by the employees. nor to
have men constantly employed at the
sluice ways to keep ice from Obstructing
the machinery. On this point Mr.. AT
kinson. who has generally been quoted
as authority for the statement that the
climate of the South was not adapted tC
the manufacture of cotton goods, de
clared emphaticallY at Atlanta the Other
day that he mad never taken any suct
stand.
On the question of skilled operatives
it is shown that while many of the hands
in the Southern mills are green ones, the
same can be said of the operatives in the
New England mills. A majority oil
these are Canadians, absolutely uuac-
quainted with any mechanical worh
when they took their places in these
mills, and yet they have driven out the
native New England labor.
With cotton, water power, wages, etc.
lower, it is evident that the Southern
mills can manufacture cotton goods
cheaper. The Gazette goes further, anC
tries to see just how much cheaper it Cal
be done. This advantage it finds to bt
exactly 13t per cent. in favor of tht
Southern mills. so that the latter can sci
their goods much cheaper at all points
where the freights are the fame-that is
es far North as BaltimorT. South Of
that city, where the freig:,5 are favor
able to the Southern mills, they can fur
nish cotton goods even cheaper. 1t fol
lows from this that the Southern mills
ought to supply all the goods needed by
the Southern markets, and so they will
in time.