The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-10-28
INCREASE of MILLS,

Since then, the industry has pro.
gressed rapidly, as follows:
1866, mills in the country, OF
them in New Orleans.
1870, 26 mills, 3 in New Orleans.
1880, As mills, in New CLEANS.
In 1850, Louisiana turned out $3.50, ,00O
of products, New York SIG, 500, Rhode
Island $11S,00 and Tennessee $500, ,00U
In 1870, New CLEANS stood third in
the list, Providence, Rhode Island,
yielding $500, 900 of cotton seed oil pro.
ducts, Memphis $360,O00 and New
Orleans $685., 500. The total number
of establishme hts then in existence
in this country was rs, employing 664
hands, paying out 1922, ,032 in wages,
using 81 1888 ,631 of materials and pro-
deducing $2,2O5,010 of oil, cake, etc.
In 1880 the number of mills and their
products had increased to As, with a
capital of $3,S62, 300, 3,3l9 hands, $3.50,
836 paid in wages, $5,091, ,25l Of ma
terial used and a production of 81, $50,
92I. The cotton seed oil industry had
more than trebled in ten years.
BY this time, 1880, the industry was
on a sure and profitable basis; indeed,
1t has never been quite as profitable
since. The business was not overdone
then. There were not too many mills
and a consequent contest over seed.
The mills divided the South eguitae
bly, among themselves and got all the
seed they wanted at fair prices. They
had no difficulty in dispOsing of their
product which was rapidly coming
into favor as an adulterant for olive oil
and millions of gallons of it were ship
ped to France and Italy to be rechris-
tened, and come back here as olive
oil, worth twice the price it left our
shores. During these earlier days the
oil mills coined money, and dividends
of 25 and 40 per cent. were not nn-
common. The Industry was largely
concentrated at certain points, New
Orleans, Memphis, st. Louis, Cincinna-
ii, Providence aud New York. 1t
will be noted that large percentage Of
the Southern cotton seed crop was
crushed and manufactured into oil
cake, etc., in the North.
From 1880 to the present day, the
industry has been in very exciting
with frequent changes and
although always advanc-
lug and improving. The mills con-
tinued to multiply until they became
too numerous. seed war followed and
as high as $40 q ton was paid for seed,
q price at which there was no posi-
bility of profit, as it made the cost of
the seed into oil $25 more
than all the products would sell for.
THE COTTON SEED OIL TR UsT.
The American Cotton Seed Oil Trust
in the field and it looked at
first as though that great corporation
would swallow the industry just as the
Standard Oil Trust began buying mills
right and left, paying for them in its
own certificate until it had secured full
Iy two-thirds of the largest mills in
the country, and practically controlled
production. The trust, for g. time,
seemed to monopolize the business, but
gradually several large rivals came in.
to existence and began opposing and
fighting it.
The attempt to dictate prices, more
over, raised some antagOnism among
The farmers, and there was dlsposl-
tion on the part of many of them to
refuse to sell their seed at the current
prices, and to hold on to it even if they
lost by doing so.
Of late, the American Oil Company,
late American Cotton Seed Oil Trust
the field to the same extent
as it did during the earlier days of the
decade. The present farmers move
ment in the South has encouraged the
erection of numerous small and inde-
pendent mills, crushing 20 or 30 tons
l day. These have sprung up i'll great
numbers during the past eighteen
The tendency seems to be
:owards the smaller mills, indeed, the
ak is now of mills so small that
very cotton ginnery can have one at
ached, and the planter find no diffi-
,ulty in converting his own seed into
,il. In this way the meal can be at
,nce returned to the soil, and as it con-
aims all the elements of fertility, the
and will grow richer instead of becom-
ng impoverished. Ifthe cotton seed
8 taken from the soil and not returned
,r if the land Is not properly fertillzed
n some way, it will soon destroy its
agricultural value. The seed takes ten
lines as much nutriment from the soil
IS the lint or staple, and therefore inn
,overishes it ten times as rapidly. This
lutriment however is wholly in cake
md bulls, not in the oil. If, there
ore the latter is extracted, and what
emains is returned to the land it will
lot only not impoverish it, butactually
trenthen and enrich it. :
The farmers, at first did not fully ap-
'reciate this. They found if they sold