San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-04-19
SOUTHERN SPNDLES.
MN, In the Cities Of the Cotton Belt
s'''" Growth sfs New Industry.
New York Herald.

hetween the cotton and mill
ponS ors of the New England section
o owl the mill owners Of the South was
an santlv revived by the action of the
sv~vsntion of leading cotton manu-
e = .turers held at Atlanta, Ga, the
l DsSsr day. Among the large cotton
o. oSs commission houses in this city
S n sorts of opinions were expressed
a. ',uon the matter. Some of the agents
u ppOOb.noohed the power of the South
p ps~ mills to effect the market at all,
chi sah;le others, apparently as well post
WIZ regarded the Southern cotton
winning u industry as one which was
sl,re to work an important revolution
~ The Eastern trade. Mr.. Borden,
- the house of Wright, Bliss & Fa-
byan, said;
THE NEW ENGLAND VIEW.
81 did not know that there was any
meeting of the Southern manufactur-
ers. In fact, we do not pay much at
tsntion to them, and in the markets
1.-THE West and Northwest we do not
feel the competition of the Southern
mills. The supply is infnitisimal
from those sources compared with the
entire production put on the market.
It will be impossible to say what the
fnture may be, but thus far there is
nothing to be alarmed about. They
univ make the lower grades of goods,
snch as brown sheetlngs, and have
mt attempted to do anything with
the finer grades of cotton goods.
Thew have an advantage in getting
CHEAPER labor, but as that labor be-
comes in a measure more expert it
will demand higher wages. The
great advantage the Southern mill
men rely on is the fact that the cot
ton is at their doors, but every cotton
grower knows that the crop is valu-
able one, and there is often as much
as q half cent a pound difference in
price in different sections of the
South. Now, if mill happens to be
in q section where the rate is running
low it will be able to get a supply of
cheap cotton, and so have an advant-
age over competing mills, but it is
lust as liable to be in a place where
cotton is higher, and that particular
mill will be beaten in the market and
compelled to run at a reduced profit,
if it has any profit at all.
"The impression that the shipment
of cotton to the mills in New Eng
land is a serious item is mistaken
one. Through rates are so low that it
is cheaper to ship bales Of cotton right
through from the fields to the mills
in Massachusetts, than it is to carry
them over the Southern railroads for
a distance of a couple of hundred
miles. Then too the cotton buyer OF
the North has the choice of the whole
market. He can get what sort OF
cotton he may wish from any quarter
and take advantage of any reduction
OF price, and buy where and in what
country he may wish. These advant.
ages the mill-owner, depend
ing on a team supply Of his sta
pie, is cut off from. In fact, the
South is now going through the same
experience precisely, which the mill
men of New England had when they
tried to cut off the necessity Of sending
all the cotton to England and getting
the goods. Then the start was made
on the coarse grades Of goods-heavi,
er yarns, requiring grade of labor OIL
low skill, and cheap. Whether the
South will ever get out of that stage
is question which would require
better prophet than I to answer
When weavers and cotton workers come
to this country from abroad, ten seeE
the New Eng land mills while one
will go South. The attempts to use
negro labor, l understand, have
proved flat failures; and the cotton
spinning of the South is done entirely
by white labor"
THE SOUTHERN VIEW.
Talking of the situation, a member
Of well known firm said: THE mil
men of the South are getting stronger
every day, and the advantages which
they have are telling in the markets
of the West. ALI mills now up ar,
running to their utmost capacity, ant
the mill owners and manufacture
are united on all trade questions. TO
instance, in selling a lot ofgoods for tn
Eastern mills to a Western jobblnI
house the freight is added; but if tn
Southern mills are wanted, we sent
the order to the mill and 1t is file
direct and the greatly reduced frelgh
Il ~