The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-11-12
The PAST, PRESENT AND HUTURs.
COTTON mIrI.s N YnE soyrn.
The Home OF the Plant Should He
The Home of the Factory.

HU.Nt. --- tH.NH ttlN
The Home or the Plant should lie
"a Home of the Factory.
Perhaps the most important paper
read before the New England manu-
factnrers' association at its recent
meeting in Atlanta was prepared by
Mr.. Richard II. Edmonds, Of Baltl-
more, Md, editor OF the Manufacture
er's Record. Mr.. Edm0nds reviewed
the growth OF the cotton industry la
the South and proved by facts and
figures that the war between the
States had thrown the South behind
New England by more than a hundred
years. In spite OF this misfortune the
South would yet become The great
manufacturing center OF the future.
He argued that the proper place for
the cotton mill was In the home of tho
cotton plant.
MIR. Edmunds was frequently In
t%errupted with applause as he pro-
ceeded. The following Is q brief
synopsis OF this able paper:
AS the South built Its Il st. cotton
mill about the same year in which
Samuel Slater laid the foundation oil
New England's textile industry, It may
be OF interest to briefly look into the
reasons why the former section until
recently failed to develop its cotton
manufactures except to . limited ex-
tent, while the latter was making such
great progress. This is essential to a
right understanding OF the conditions
pre- yailing at present In the two
sections and will provide IN answer to
the oftrepeated question II the
South has the great advantages for
cotton manufacturing claimed for it,
why has 1t not fully developed this
industry before this? The spinning
and weaving Of cotton for domestic
use, or rs 1t wac called in olden times,
the making OF 'homespun' goods, was
almost universal throughout the
South"
In this connection Mr.. Edmonds ex-
planned that in addition to cotton the
South was interested in all lines Of
industrial development. Her progress
was equally as rapid as that Of New
England. W~ashington's father was u
miner and was interested in the mat
ter OF iron furnaces. Jefferson was
also engaged in the same industry.
.BEFORE II WAR.
Referring to the cultivation of cot
ton and the market for that staple
before the war, Mr.. Edmonds said
"lD 1901 the average New York
price for cotton for the year was II
cents, and for forty years, from 1900 to
1889, the New York prices ranged from
that figure to l3 cents, and for the
whole period averaged over IL cents q
pound. With SUCH profits us these
prices yielded, it would have been
contrary to all economic history il the
South had failed to concentrate all its
energy upon the extension of cotton
production. 1t could not be expected
that men should fail to grasp such
money-making opportunities as cotton
growing presented for at least two
generations, OF from 1900 to 1850, with
the single exception OF the decade
from 1910 to 1850, during which period
overproduction and other causes forced
: prices to the lowest ten-year average
on record. 1t is Interesting to follow
the market turn which this decline in
. profits on cotton gave to industrial
{ pursuits, awakening into new life the
l long dormant industrial capabilities OF
} the people of the South. In 1856
the South had 2,335 miles of railroad
S and the New England and Middle
States 4,79S miles; by 1860 the South
had increased it's mileage To $780,
miles, Quadrupling that of 1850, while
. the New England and Middle States
. had increased to 800, or IL gain q
t only about 100 per cent. In 1850 the
mileage Of the two Northern sections
exceeded that Of the South by 2,46:
b miles. BY 1860 the conditions were
u reversed, and the South led by 38.
: miles. In that decade the South spen'
1920, 0OO.OOO upon the extension of it,
railroad system, nearly ali of it havins
!. been local capital. During this periot
the South doubled its capital and out
put OF Hour. sawed and planned lumber
8 iron founding, steam engine building
n etc., and in 1860 had $l2, 900, 900 in
vested in cotton mills. Nearly all O
It's factories Of all kinds we're moderat,
. In size, but In number they aggregat,
u 24,59O, and their capital was $I75, 100,
y OOO. But this is u DEPRESSION.
n The wonderful prosperity whicl
cotton production brought about find
an apt illustration in the simple state
z ment that though the South had onl,
one-third OF the cOuntry's population
d and o%ne-fonrth Of its white popula
ton, the assessed value Of its pro
perry, according to the census OF 1860
Q was s., 200, O0O, 600 out OF u total OF $I2,
100000, 600 for the entire country or. t
II per cent"
i HOW THE SOUTH VAS RETARDED.
It This graphic picture of the cottoI
3 industry In the South before the wa
o was then contrasted with the situation
n which followed immediately after tn,
close of that struggle. Said he:
but when the war ended the tw,
Y sections had been widely separated
One swept by destruction had bee,
thrown back in it's career half a cen
t tury, while the other had been mar
~velously stimulated and pushed for
ward half century as compared will
8 the positions OF the two sections il
4 1850, thus creating n great gulf of lOl
s years between them. The New Eng
land man who seeks to understand thu
Ell South must look ut it in this light
II He mpst see that it is not simply /,
4 case where One section stood still 70,
1 q quarter of a century as a result o.
the most disastrous war in the world.
: history, judged financially, and by it.
immediate effect, and the other section
y advanced by leaps and bounds. The
y property, the ambitions, the hopes
the labor system OF u whole section
I were swept away and in the destruc
ton went hundreds of thousands OF its
( ablest and most energetic men. 1t Is
only that this section may be studied
in the light OF these facts that the,
are mentioned. What this section
: has accomplished has been worked out
] under these disadvantages, and under.
standing this 1t is possible to better
l understand and appreciate the future
+ OF the cotton manufacturing interests
OF q region whose mills are already
consuming 1000, 600 bales u year
against 1000, 600 bales for the remain
der of the country. Our New England
friends can in this light more clearly