St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-11-02

| that mill can DO eloCLeu III fhll IiScl'
! Mass, for making print cloths for SIS per
spindle, and | believe this can be done IN
! South Carolina or Georgia for the same
money, for while the freights would be
more on machinery, still the saving in the
cost of building would more thsn
make up the difference; for d mill here
| that would cost g., cents per square
! foot of floor space, would not cost over 80
cents per square foot in either of the
| Southern States last mentioned. But let
! US assume, then that the mill built for
+ making print cloths or similar goods made
| from same numbers of yarns or therea-
bouts, would cost $l5 per spindle then
A, 900 spindle mill would cost $500 WO
complete. This mill would produce TO-,
O0J pounds of goods per day, and judging
| from the cost of making such goods in the
| South to day, land the figures are not
! assumed, but taken directly from the cost
sheets of mills making print cloths num-
bers), these goods would cost, adding cot
ton, lat II cents per pound) labor, fuel,
supplies. officers and insurance - cents
per pound, while they would bring, after
deducUing commission, storage, etc, 20
cents per pound leaving profit of Z cents
per pound on each pound OF goods manu-
featured and sold. Now, if the mill pro
duced 10 900 pounds of goods per day, or
5000, 600 pounds per year, 1t will be a
profit of 5000, 600 x ceuts-S21O,O 600 or
30 per cent on the entire cost of the plant.
1t is true that it is well for the Southern
mills to move in tt is matter moderately,
but there is no reason why the help IN
Southern mills cannot be easily taught to
manu- facture the finer counts, and l pre-
dict that within ten years such mills IS the
ia5p Clifton SnH p2iyar of SODth
Carolina. and others | could mention
throughout the South, that are equipped
for changing to the finer goods should they
so decide, will find IT greatly to their ad-
vantage, pecuniarlly to do so.
There is also profitable field for the
Southern mill in the manufacture OF the
finer grade of glnghams, but they have
not improved their opportunity in this
direction, and chiefly because Of the a.
cepted notion that it is not profitable, If
possible for them to manufacture them.
There is good deal of talk on the part of
the Southern manufacturer that it is prop
erly STYLED oy his New England brother
Boosting, and still there are very few who
at present realize fully the advantages
they do possess.
In 1880 the census reported S2OI, ISL
S6S invested in cotton manufacture in the
United States, and the consumption of cot
ton by American mills 1870, 342 bales, or
less than fourth of an average crop.
On this basis it would require an invest
ment of over $500, 600, 900 IN mills to con-
sumo our entire crop; so we can form some
idea of what the magnitude of the cotton
manufacturing interests is. Out of an
estimated total of H. 900 spindles in
the world, the United States has only about
y prIta how
half, or A., 600, 600 The total consunp-
ton of cotton in the world is from 10000,
O1O to II 600, 900 bales per year, of which
the South furnishes 7,O00,n 900 bales.
The Manufacturers Record has COM
piled, through special reports from cotton
mills in the South, list of all this section,
with the number of spindles and looms in
each and. comparing these figures with
the reports of the census of 1880, we have
the following interesting table, showing
most remarkable increase
Number of cotton. mills. spipdles, and
looms in The South July 81, 1899, COM
pared with the number on May 81, 1880,
As given in the United States Census Re-
ports:
904 spindl-s; 24l4 looms. Arkansas, 5
mills 13 800 spndles 224 looms. Flor
ida mill '14O0 spindIes Georgia, 70
mills; 455 99S spindles; 1926 looms
Kentucky, mills; As 200 spindles; 617
looms. Louisiana, 5 mills; 60 $50 spin
dies 1884 looms. Mary land 20 mills
l75 GAP spindIes 1886 looms Missis-
sppi, II mills; So 1896 spindles ; 1854
looms. North Carolina. Ill mills; 1885,
S37 spiudes 1851 looms. South Caro-
lima, Al IN lis; Az spindles; 16 6S7
dies; 247S looms. Texas, s mills So,
mills SO, $50 spindles 1854 looms Total
355 mills; 2,035,26S spindles 45,0J1
looms,
May, 1SS0.-Alabama, Is mills; 49,432
spndles 663 looms. Arkansas, 2 mills
2015 spindles; % looms. Florida 1 mill
916 spindles Georgia, 40 mills 1913, 656
spndies -t95 looms. Kentucky, mills
922 spindles; 70 looms. Louisiana, 2
mills 6096 spindles 100 looms. Mary
land, 80 mills; 1875, zoo spipdles: 1895
looms. Mississippi, 8 mills; Is 56S spin
dies; GA looms North Carolina, 40
mills. 92,335 spindles 1890 looms
South Carolina, IA mills; 50, 1874 spindles
1916 looms. Tennessee, 16 mills 80, 1876
spindles SIS looms Texas, 2 mills 264S
spindles; II looms. Virginia, s mills
a $40 spindles; 1922 looms. Total, 16l
mills; 667 S54 spindles; IA 1923 looms.
These figures show that the nun Der Of
mills now in the South as compared with
1880 has doubled, while the number of
spindies and looms has more than trebled
the tendency being to build mills of
greater capacity than formerly. From 16l
mills having 667, S54 spindles and 1893
looms in 1880, this industry has increased
until the'e are now 355 mills, with $685.
26S spindles, and 45 O01 looms in the
South. AS remarkable as this increase
these figures really do not fully represent
the development of this business, for they
do not include the spindles and looms of
many new mills now under construction,
and others upon which work will shortly
begin. Many of these mills are mentioned
in this list, and in some cases the number
of proposed spindles is also given, but
neither the mills or spindles are included
in the totals except in few cases, and
these are mostly where the mill are nearly
ready to go into operation, or soon will be.
A very low estimate for the increase in the |
number of spindles to go into mills now
building and those projected. and into old
mills for tie next twelve or fifteen months |
would be 800 600, Daring the last twelve |
months, much greater number than this |
was put in, but there were special condi-
tions, such as doubling the capacity of |
about dozen Of the largest mills in the
South, and unusual activity in building
mills due to fine profits in the business |
At present not so many large mills are pre-
pairing to increase their capacity, though |
quite number are doing SO, and there is
temporary depression, due to the over pro-
duct OF coarse goods, that will for & |
Mhila lessen the activity in mill huildinor