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

cation of the children of the operatives. The
average attendance at this school is 11S pupils
In 1867 after several years of disastrous
business operations, the factory passed into
the hands of the company which now control
it. The officers of the company are: II: H
Hickman, of Augusta, Ga, president; W. 4
Walton, cashier; James H. Giles, secretary
and S. w. Howland, superintendent. This
company owns and controls what is known as
the Graniteville Factory and also what is
known as the Vaucluse Factory, which is the
offspring of the former factory. The capital
stock is 100000. The consumption of raw
cotton per month, at both factories, is 900
bales and the number of operatives employed
is IT'S; two thirds of whom are females, and
who range from / years up. At the Gran
iteville Factory 24,264 spindles and 584
looms are in operation, and at Vaucluse H.
900 spindles and 800 looms.
The motive power is supplied by a little
stream bearing the somewhat uneuphonious
name of Horse Creek. The stream furnishes
6OO.horse power at Graniteville and 300 horse
power at Vaucluse Two ponds, created by
the damming Of the stream, covering 375
acres, are located half mile above the Gran
iteville Factory, and the water from these
ponds is conveyed by means of CANAL and
trunks to Borden" turbine wheel.
At Vaucluse the water is collected by dams
into pond 343 feet long, and is conveyed to
a turbine wheel by all immense iron pipe six
and a half feet in diameter.
The classes of goods manufactured are
sheetings, shirtings and drills. The brands
are G shirting R R shirting, "A E E
sheeting, 4 A A sheeting, a. L l. sheeting,
improved drills and S S drills.
The machinery used at the Granitevlle
Factory is nearly all English, while at the
Vaucluse American machinery is used entire
ly. 1t would be useless to describe the nu-
merous processes through which the cotton
passes in its journeying from the seed 10 the
loom. 1t is already thoroughly understood
by those who have seen it, while those who
have not seen it will be no wiser after such
description than before it. In brief, then, it
will only be necessary to state that after GIN
ming, the cotton first goes through the openers,
then to the pickers, then to the cards, then TO
the drawing machine, then to the slubber, then
to the fly frame, then to the mule and thros'
tle 1t then comes out filling and warp, mum
bering from 12 to 20 yarn. This then passes
to the spoilers, then to the warper, then to
the slasher, and finally to the loom from which
it emerges cloth.
To give an idea of the capacity Of these
two mills, secured during an interview with
the president and superintendent the follow
ing figures which were taken from the books
of the company The daily production at the
Granitevilie mill is 35 900 yards, and at Vau-
cluse 16,5O0 yards. At the Graniteville mill,
during the two weeks ending January 10,
1880, l65,6l6 pounds of cotton was consumed
which turned out 140,773 pounds, or 4S9, 900
yards Of cloth.
At the Vaucuse Mill, during the same time,
70,738 pounds of cotton was consumed, which
produced 56,587 pounds, or 1877 900 yards of
cloth. The cotton which was used during this
time was purchased at l1.72 cents per pound.
The cost, therefore, for the cotton used at
both these mills, during those two weeks, was
$27, 7,699.51.' The cloth produced from this cot
ton at both mills was 686, 1000 yards, the price
for which, in the market at this time, is over
8 cents per yard. Calling it 8 cents yard,
the value of the cloth produced is S54, $3.50, or
within small fraction of double the value Of
the cotton. In other words, the process Of
manufacture increased the value Of the raw
cotton 100 per cent
Having arrived at the relative values Of
the raw cotton and the manufactured goods,
we must next try and arrive at the cost Of pro-
duction, and thereby estimate, as nearly as
possible, the net profit in the business.
1 found the president and superintendent,
while scrupulously courteous and obliging,
little unwilling to divulge what they termed
the secrets of the company. I could not,
therefore, get the exact figures Of the cost OF
production, but an estimate very nearly exact
may be arrived at in another way. The pay
roll at Graniteville for the two weeks ending
January 10, 1880, was S4,93S92, and at Vau-
cluse for the same time it was $2,l8S.74
This makes the total pay roll at both factories
s7,12766. The cost Of supplies, such as oil,
harness, spools, &C., is 500 day at both
factories. The supply account, therefore, for
two weeks, of six days each, would be 81, 200.
The cost of producing $3.50 yards of cloth,
therefore, was S8,32766 Add to this S27,-
699.51, the cost of the cotton, and we have
IL
tured article to the company. This amount
of goods, as shown above, is worth in the mar.
ket S54, $3.50, or net profit Of Sl8,952.73 in
two weeks. There may be incidental expen
ses which have not been calculated, and which
may slightly but not materially change this
result. Then, of course, must also be deduct
ed commissions on sales and freight and insu-
rance.
The real success Of the company cannot
perhaps be better demonstrated than by quot
ing the language of the president himself,
who despite bis cautiousness, could not help
expressing his pride and satisfaction in the
work he had accomplished. 1--WE have" said
Mr. Hickman, "been running since 1873 be-
tween two fires, but we seem to have emerged
from that trouble now, and we are at present
making handsome profits. If this condition
of affairs continues for five years, and think
it will, we will make heap of money. Ev.
erythng has conspired during the last twelve
months to help this country, and of course
cotton manufacturers have come in for their
share of the profits. The success Of this con.
Germ has been really wonderful, although |
have seen some hard times. | was elected
president of this company in the fall of 1867.
The factory was then in dilapidated condi-
tion. 1t had been run to death during the
war, and the company had no credit, and we
were in debt $50 000 We were paying l2
per cent interest on all the money we were
using.
Il went to New York and secured the mon-
ey we wanted and commenced operations.
The Granitevile Mill was then producing
100000 yards of cloth per fortnight. The
production now is 100000 yards per fortnight.