The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-02-02
THERE'S MILLIONS IN 1T.
The Wonderful Success of tho Piedmont
Cotton Mills.

GREENv1LLE, January 2S.-Since The
meeting of the directors of the Piedmont
Manufacturing Company at Piedmont
the 18th instans all sorts of rumors have
been circulated as to what was done on
that occasion. AS printed in this cor
respondence at the time the action of
the meeting was kept secret, though it
was generally understood to have been
called to consider the building of a new
mill at Piedmont.
In order to secure an authoritative
statement of the matter the Neaes and
Courier correspondent to-day visited and
interviewed Col. H. P. Hammett, pres.
ident of the Piedmont Company, with
highly satisfactory results. The direc.
tors at their recent meeting did decide to
build new mill at Piedmont. Col.
Hammett said the new factory, while
being under the same ownership and
management as the present mill, will not
be an addition to the present building,
but will be built on the opposite side of
the river in Anderson County. The
mill building will be of brick. seventy
two by three hundred feet and four stories
high. 1t will be fitted with between
twelve and fourteen thousand spindles,
and four hundred looms. The motive
power will be water, supplemented by
steam when necessary and when the
new mill is completed the combined
mills will have nearly forty thousand
apindles, eight thousand of which are
worked on warn not woven, and nearly
one thousand looms, making it one of
the very largest, if not the largest, cotton
manufacturing establishment in the
State. The total annual consumption of
the two mills will be between eighteen
and twenty thousand bales of cotton.
About three hundred operatives will be
required for the new mill, which will
make the total number on the company's
pay roll about one thousand. The ad-
dition of this number to the working
force means about q thousand more
population for the village, which will
make it town of twenty five hundred
inhabitants.
The directors decided to recommend to
the stockholders to increase the capital
stock from five hundred to six hundred
thousand dollars. This sum will not, of
course, by any means, cover the cost of
the new plant, which is to be built out
of healthy surplus accumulated by the
years of Col. Hammett's wise manage.
ment of the mill. In Col. Hammett's
own words, "the company will save
surplus sufficient to pay for the new mill
in full when it is completed without
incurring a debt, and this additional
stock is to be used as commercial capital
to make the company financially comfor-
table.
The additional stock will be offered at
par to the present stockholders, although
there were two parties at the directors
meeting who offered to take the entire
block at good premium. Preparations
are already being made for work on the
new mill and it will be completed in
time for next seasons crop.
There have been many brilliant sue
cesses placed to the credit of Col. Ham
NETT as mill manager, but the building
of the new mill is Justly regarded as
crowning achievement. 1t is practical
illustration of the wisdom Of the policy
pursued by the Piedmont and Pelzer
lnills of paying reasonable dividends,
and laying up the earnings in improves
ments in the plant. In this way the
capacity of both these mills has been
nearly doubled during the past few years,
while the capital stock is almost the
same as at first.
When Col. Hammett's new mill is
completed the Piedmont Company will
own plant worth fully million dollars,
while their capital stock is only six hun.
dred thousand.