The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1894-06-08
s UNION H. SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY JUNE 8. 1891

in their power to extend this impor-
tant industry, Let us get into the
harness as they have duha and secure
this enactment Of suoh laws; both mu-
nicipal, county and State, as will con-
vince the world that are We anxious to
secure new blood, new money aud new
factories, AID that when we get them
we Will foster them. Manufacturers
of the South need more money and
less adverse legislation, and before
they can hope to reach the psrfection
in manufacturing attained in Euslaud
and the East they must adopt the only
sensible plan Of equipping their mills
with only the best and latest improved
machinery, rs no mill with machinery
fifteen or twenty years old can hope to
compete with modern equipped mills.
There has beer general opiUion
prevalent in the South and East that
the Southern manufacturers tould
never hope to he able to make fir,
goods, owing to climatic conditions,
but think that idea is exploded, for
we are now producing goods which
ten years ago our New England com
pctitors said we never could make, and
We certainly have reason to believ,
shat wo will eventually drive the New
England mills off of the fihe food,
they are now making and into 9TH,
lines by meeting them in competition,
as we have already done in coars
yarns, ~ il is recognized today they
are unable to cope with in coarse goods,
and believe the day is not far distan,
when we will meet England in success
ful competition for the worlds trade.
After making careful Investigation
find that the wages paid In English
factories compare favorably with Ours,
and We have every advantage ovel
them except in the cost of our machin
cry (Which will be eventually made in
the South. the open markets of til.
world and the cost of borrowed money.
Many people say that cotton mills
Ito not help us much, owing to the low
wages paid, and in answer to that we
can say that the average amount earn
ed by agricnlturIsts is but thirty cents
per day in Alabama, while the average
wages to mill operatives in the State is
seventy cents per day.
Unusual opportunities are offered in
:his State for the establishment of
uniting factories for supplying the
home demand for hosiery, underwear,
etc, out of the product Of our yarn
mills, and also for the building OF
bleachery plants to bleach our sheet
ing and shirting, and do away with the
present necessity of shipping our goods
to New England to be bleached and
then returned to market, thus eating
up much of our profit in freight.
With the building. of new mills il.
our State VIII come the additional de-
mand for food products and manu-
factured goods, and an additional in.
centive given our farmers for the pro
ductiop of foodstuffs at home, and thur
we would become Independent of the
North, to whom we now give our cot.
ton crop in exchange for wearing up.
parel, corn, bacon and hay. Our cot.
ton will always be our foundation crop,
and the mills will surely come to it
and add more wealth to our State than
any other industry.
lL't ub t'tN lse tue WOTlu Ol " nat we
have and what we are and success will
surely come. Huntsville feels proud
of her distinction as the largest cotton
manufacturing city in the State, anG
especially so as she has attained that
distinction in the past two years
through the efforts of her citizens We
now have over 81 ,000,O0 invested in
three mills and use u, 500 bales of
cotton per annum and produce 2. 500, :
600 pounds Of domestic and 1850, 900
pounds of yarns, employ 1000 hands
and giving our farming community
the best local cotton market ill the
State. There is no reason why Ala
bamc should not be filled with good,
prosperous cities like Massachusetts
and Rhode Island, and if we would use
the same push and energy to secure
legitimate manufacturing industries
as they have used, we, like those States.
would have wealthy population.