The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-23
REMOVAL OF THE MILLS.
NT. Clark Tells Why His Company
Wants 10 Come South.

| Southern Mills Able TO Make the Same
Glass Of Goods as the Bolts Mills at a
Much Lower Price The Preservation
Of the Oompany's Trade Marks the
Principal Object in Going Before the
Legislature to Obtain Permission 70
Manufacture In the South.
! Boston, Jan. e2-Thc legislative commit
tee on mercantile affairs gave hearing
this forenoon at the state house on the
/ petition Of the Bott and Merrimac mills
/ of Lowell, for permission TO manufacture
goods outside of the commonwealth. the
/ latter corporation also asking for author
/ ity to increase its capital stock from So
/ $4,000 TO $4,000 r. G.. Clark. treasurer
| of the Bott mills FIRST addressed the com
| mlttee and exhibited samples OF the kind
| of goods manufactured by the mills These
| consisted Of coarse cotton goods. drimngs.
sheets and shirtings. and a class OF finer
goods.
| Mr.. Clark said that the Bott mills were
! Incorporated by special charter in 1885
for the manufacture Of cotton goods in
/ Lowell. For nifty years these goods have
| been made for export and home consump-
! tion, the only competition for the greater
/ part OF the time coming from the north
! ern states and from abroad. Within the
las. few years, however, competition has
arisen in the southern states, whore
fuel and labor are much cheaper. Tho
increase in tho number Of mills in the
south has been phenomenal. the per cent.
| being in the past few years 90 per cent.
| to 70 per cent at tho north All the south
! ern mills are making the same class
! of goods as are being made i'm The Bott
| mills, and they are making them much
/ cheaper and II the Bot Company IS to
/ continue to make the goods. they must
| make them where they have the same ad-
vantaRes as the southern companies.
AT present the southern companies are
| making a good profit az what would DE
| starvation prices for the Bott Company.
| He further stated that the principal de
| sire of the company In It's present move
| is to preserve IT'S trademarks, which are
| very valuable, especially i'm the foreign
| markets. notably China.
The company ~ allowed to 90 south,
will devote its Lowell plant entirely to
making finer goods, on which living
]
| to keep the southern labor on cheaper
goods. although, Mr. Clark admitted to a
| member Of tho committee, in time IT is
| probable that the labor in the south
will become as skilled as that at the
north. The capital Of the company Is now
permitted to be $l,50O,OOO but only $l200,-
900 has been issued so that enough re-
mains authorized to allow the comany to
build what 1t needs without asking for
| an increase.
Augustus Lowell president Of the com
| pany, said the company had not yet de-
1 cided into what southern state 10 so and
the idea Of moving has not yet been sub
| mitted to the stockholders. No decided
step has yet been taken; it is only seen
I that some move of this kind must be
made in the near future II the plant
is established in the south It will likely
/ be to go where the white element predomt-
mates. rather than whore the negroes are.
| Mr. Lowell said that the Bott and Merri.
| mac companies are the only Lowell con
Germs that are likely to move, but that
IL Is possible that some Of the Biddle-
! ford, Me, companies viii soon have to
/ do so.
Howard Stockton. the treasurer of the
| Merrimac Company, said that the roa-
son for his companys asking 30 go out
of the state to make goods are the same as
| in the case OF tho Bott company. The
| Merrimac company, however, desires an
increase Of capital because its capacity
for printing is so great that 1t win be
necessary to erect large plant to supply
coarse goods enough TO meet the de-
| mands of the print works. At present
the company makes each year 58,000. 90
| yards Of coarse cotton goods and prints
IS 0O0, 900, making 1t necessary to buy 30.
100000 yards. 1T is a sad matter for Low
ell, too" said Mr.. Stockton, that Of the
goods / buy, about all are bought in the
south although they are made by a
Lowell concern next door to me l can
not buy in Lowell because they cost
too much. At present 1t costs US $25, 900
/ more a year for our coal than it costs
a mill at the seaboard, like New Bed
ford, and $500 year more than If our
/ mills We're in Northwestern Georgia"
No one appeared to oppose the petitions,
[ and the hearings were closed,