Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-03-03

commenced III the fall OF 1918. lhe erec'
ton of the property in round numbers cost
$350,O00, which includes the erection of 70
operatives houses, the building of da,us
bridges, conduit pipes, &c.
"The building is constructed of granite
and brick, the first story being of stone. 1t
is located three miles from Graniteville, on
the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Rail
road. At Granitevile we have 230 opera.
tives residences, and at both factories these
houses are rented at about half their rental
value. Each house has garden attached,
which is cultivated. The operatives raise
their own chickens and hogs, and are allowed
the privilege of cutting all the wood they
want from the place without charge. Houses
of from eight to nine rooms rent for six dol
lars, and houses of from three to four rooms
for three dollars per month. Our operatives
consist almost entirely of families from the
surrounding country in the neighborhood.
They have been educated to the business by
skilled hands, and their moral, as we'll as
their mental and physical, condition has been
greatly improved. As a rule they are we'll
behaved and thrifty set, and they can live so
cheaply that they save money, some of which
they deposit with the company. We do all
we can to encourage this among them.
"At Graniteville and Vaucluse there are,
besides the operatives l $50 persons dependent
upon the factories for support. Land here
is very cheap. 1t is not worth more than
one.ftth of what the same kind of land would
bring at the North. There is another great
advantage which we possess over the North.
ern manufacturers, and that is the absence of
strikes among our operatives. In nine cases
out of ten the strikes at the North are caused
and led by foreign help All our operatives
are raised right here and are not subject to
these influences. / might say, as further
proof of our success, that the stock of the
company sold for s63 share in 1867, and
now is quoted at $l23. Even this figure is
not fair estimate of what it is worth, because
nobody wants to sell. I could go in the mar.
ket to morrow and run it up to Sl3O, or even
$3.50, just by Offering that for it. This is not
what we want, however"
asked the superintendent why it was
that they did not employ colored operatives.
He replied that it was difficult to work the
white and colored operatives together, but his
opinion was that factory could be started
and run with colored operatives entirely, super.
intended by skilled white operatives. Such a
factory could be run 40 pei cent, cheaper than
one where white labor was used entirely. The
experiment, however, had never been practi-
cally tried.
Mr.. Howland, the superintendent Of the
company, who is Northern man and thor
oughly acquainted with his business, in an
answer to question as to what in his opin.
ion was the prospect for manufactures in this
State, said:
81 think that the prospect for manufacto.
ries in this State for the next five years at
least is decidedly good There are locations
in this State which for the purpose excel any
locality in the world. Manufactures in the
South are no longer an experiment; all that
is needed is good management
"The advantages we enjoy over the New
England manufacturer are too numerous to
mention. Roughly estimated the cost of man.
ufacture here is 1t cents per pound cheaper.
We can run all the year round, are not liza
BILE to strikes and have abundant labor at
very much lower rates. In my opinion if
tile first cost of applying water power is tax.
en- into consideration, and the interest on
such investment is calculated, the steam
power in certain localities is really cheaper
than the water power. This depends very
much upon the situation Of the factory, for
instance, steam factory in Charleston where
coal can be obtained in bulk at reduced
rates, could be run as cheaply, if not cheaper,
than water power. A steam mill away from
the railroad would, of course, cost more.
The question of health, alone is the only ad-
vantage that the country would have over
Charleston.
"The health here at Graniteville and at
Vaucluse is excellent. / don't think we
need any legislation from Congress to encour
age manufactures in the South. The only
encouragement manufacturers need is the
exemption from taxation which now exists
on all new machinery"
What do you think about the Clement
Attachment? asked.
81 don't think the Clement Attachment
will hurt anybody" Mr.. Rowland replied,
Except those who invest in it. | think it
will break out of every 10 planters that 60
into it. My main reasons for thinking so,
are that it will be next to impossible to store
small mill will not pay.
"Yarn cannot be made without the en-
ployment Of skilled labor, and it will not pay
to engage such labor for small mill which
only turns out few lunches Of yarn day.
At any rate it will not affect the large facto.
ries in the slightest, because if they manu-
factured all the cotton in the State into yarn
we would manufacture more cloth, and final.
ly the South would manufacture all the coars.
er goods, leaving New England to make the
finer goods which she can now manufacture
cheaper than we Car"
The property of the Graniteville Manufac-
turing Company is valued at 81 100000. The
Graniteville Factory is built of solid granite
blocks, and is provided with every modern
appliance in the way of machinery. The sys-
tenn of fire protection is perfect, and the
grounds in front Of the factory are beautifully
laid off. The Vaucluse Factory is strong
red brick building, three stories high Every
thing around the place is new and clean, and
the owners claim that it is recognized to be
the best mill of its size for the manufacture
of brown goods in the United States. 1t is
Furthermore, they claim, the only mill in the
South that paid any thing during the first
year of its operation.
The Langley Manufacturing Company.
The Langley Factory is within easy dis
tance of the Charlotte Columbia and Angus.
ia Railroad, and is directly on the line of the
South Carolina Railroad William c. Sibley,
of Augusta, Ga, is the president of the COM
pany, and M. F. Foster is superintendent.
The town of Langley, which, like Granite.
Vile, is not incorporated, is neat little village