The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-05-28
THE PIEDMONT FACTORY.
A Small: Profit on tho Years Work IN
spIte of the Dullness OF Trado.

The following extracts from the report
of Mr.. II. P: Hammett, the President OF
the Piedmont Factory, in Greenville
County, S. O., dated May 6, will be found
both encouraging and interesting:
"It is not information to any one who
is at all familiar with the condition OF
trade for the last two or three years to
say that we are passing through a season
of depression in all business operations
and industries, unprecedented in its se'
verify and duration. It has not been
confined to this continent, or to any
special line of trade or to any particular
industry, but has per AIDED everything
everywhere, in every civilized country in
the world. It is not proposed here to
speculate or advance theories as to the
numerous causes which have combinad
to produce this condition of things. 1t
is enough for our purpose to know that
this depression exists, and that its effects
are arbitrary and must be dealt with as
fact
"Some of the effects of this unnatural
condition of trade have been the suspen-
sion of operations by large proportion
of the manufacturing industries, thereby
throwing thousands of persons out of
employment; the universal reduction Of
wages everywhere the stoppage of the
building of railroads and the construc.
ton of industrial enterprises of every
kind; the low prices and consequent un.
profitable results of growing agricultural
products. To these must be added the
important fact, that the war in China
and Africa so checked the demand for all
American goods for export that sales for
these markets were for limited quantities
and at low prices. All these contributed
to cripple the purchasing power of the
world to such an extent that the usual
quantity of goods could not be sold for
remunerative prices, because they could
not be paid for. The result was an accu.
mutation of stock in the hands of the
producers, the prices of which were so
reduced by the pressure to sell that there
was little profit left. Everything was
cheap but cotton, which, as a conse-
quencc of series of short crops, main
tanned a high price throughout, but with
little profit to the producers.
"And while this is apparent, and
everything has felt its effects and suffered
from their consequences, perhaps no
great staple commodity in the country
has suffered less than heavy brown cotton
goods and yarns, such as we make. Our
location and facilities for producing them
possibly give US some advantages over
other parts of the country.
"Our profits for the year have been
very small, yet re held our own and
made little money; but it was the re:
suit of constant effort and the most rigid
economy. Reference to our statements
below will show that our profits from
manufacturing, after paying all our e1.
penses, except interest on borrowed COM
nercial capital, was S42,126.73. We
made our dividend, 1870, ,000), which we
paid on the 1st July last; paid our in
terest, and had small balance of profit
left to carry to the credit of profit and
loss:
Capital stock paid n........".".$5Oo, 900 90
Cost of the property
over the capital
stock ...........$219, ,404 95
Cash assets over capi-
tai stock, cost of
property and all liza /.