The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1895-04-24
The North Can't Compete.
The South's Superior Advan
tages for Manufacture of
Cotton Goods.

Superintendent Walter R. B. Whit
tier of the Whittier Cotton Mills at
Lowell, Mass, recently returned
from a months tour among; Southern
cotton mills, with the opinion that if
Massachusetts capital is to be invest
ed in a coarse goods mill, that mill
should not be located in the North.
In summing up the results of his in
vestigation, Mr.. Whittier says:
.sIn the first place, it must be re-
membered that there must be a dis
~tinction between price and cost OF
labor. The payrolls show that the
average price of labor per day of
eleven hours is about IS cents in the
South, while in the North it is from
S1.1O to $l.15 per day of ten hours
In a corse mill it takes about a hun
dred hands South to do what eighty
eight hands do i'll the North. but
allowing this the saving III cost OF
labor is tremendous. Coal varies
from IS cents to So 40. according to
distance from the mines. Coal in
Lowell is 81 so. While the rate of
taxation is fair, the corporations are
assessed very low. In one case a
corporation valued at s500,oo0 was
taxed on $50, 900. Freight on cotton
to Lowell is about 10 cents. while
freight on yarn is from 50 to 60
cents, and when shipping yarn or
cloth we pay IS per cent as com
pared with 100 per cent paid on cot.
ton.
"While cotton was selling for 6
cents here mills were paying but >
cents in the South. There was n
mill where the average price paid was
4 81 cents for 1894 For t!is price
they also got a better handled and
better colored cotton. In using the
above figures it must be remembered
that the mills run in the South IA
per cent. longer than in Massachu-
sets. Their machinery runs at the
same speed, and their production is
therefore IA per cent larger.
"Tlhe temper of these American
people in the South will brook no
interference from labor agitators from
New England, and while the price of
labor NAV advance until the net in
come of the operative, above the
cost of living is as much there as in
New England, it viii be because
they have become skilled, and when
that time comes New England will
have to fear competition not only on
coarse goods, but on fine counts
The Southern laborer will become
lust as skilled in the use of his
fingers as the Northern after he has
had the same practice. The low cost
Of living will also tend to keep
wages down. Our laborer here is an
extremist, but there is no such per-
son in the South, and they are a con
tented, happy lot Of citizens.
at is stated that the South cannot
compete on account of old ma
chipery, but there is more old ma
cbinery North than South and how
will it be when the Dwight, Massa-
chusetts, Boot and Merrimack have
their mills running South under the
management Of Northern men, and
built and equipped with the best
talent New England affords in manu-
featuring circles? Poor management
should not be considered in this con-
nection. either North or South.
The phenomenal success Of the
wel-managed mills Of the South for
the past ten years has demonstrated
the fact beyond a doubt that the
North cannot compete IN coarse
counts. 1t is a notable fact that Ia
the period Of depression, while the
cotton mills Of New England were
shutting down, those of the South
were running full time, and instead
Of passing dividends or cutting the
same to , or per cent, they ON
tjnued not only to declare their
usual 6 to 10 per cent. dividend, but
also to erect additions to their plants,
and in some cases paid for this IN
-Looo,; n wort with rheir snrnIuS.