The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-10-17
THE CHARLESTON NEWS AND
COURIER DO LIKEWISE.
The Point Is. While One Massachusetts,
City Puts in 100000 Into Two
Cotton Mills, There Is no Doubt
1t Will Continue Profitable
Business in the South.


turers in that section, who have pre-
ferred that there should be no increase
in mills for fear that the competition
may be increased, the following editorial
from the Charleston News and Courier
may prove of interest. The News and
Courier says:
A correspondent has kindly sent us
two clippings from the Boston Jour
nal of recent date which are of timely
interest TO a good many people in South
Carolina and other Southern States,
and which We hope will receive from
Southern newspapers generally the at
tention they so we'll deserve.
The first article states simply that sub
scribers to the stock of a new cotton
mill met in Fall River, Mass, a few days
ago and organized a new corporation
to be known as the Parker Manufac-
turing company, and to manufacture fine
grade cottons." The capital stock, il
is added, will be 100000 and the new
mill, which will operate 10000 spindles.
will be built at once.
The second article relates to larger
new enterprise in the same city and
goes more into particulars. 1t SAYS:
Mr.. G. D. Borden, owner of the Iron
Works Mill and American Printing CON
pauy, announced today that ne would
soon 5egin the erection of an 10000
spindle Print-cloth mill in this city. IT
will be located north of the present plant
and west of the American Printing COM
pany buildings, just adjoining the Fall
River line pier. The mill will be the
largest single one under one roof in
America, and probably in the world. 1t
will manufacture regular printing cloths
and possibly a great many of the three
and four-yard drills the printing COM
pany now buys in the South. 1t will
be built of brick, will be about four
stories high, with fiat roof, and in gem
eral 1t will be reproduction of the
I2,OOO-spindle mill now owned and
operated by the company near the pro-
posed site. The old plant consists of
three mills with a total of 10000
-spindles, valued at nearly $1,SOO.OOO,
and the new mill will cost nearly another
million dollars. Work will be COM
menced as soon as possible, perhaps
within two weeks. Seth A. Borden.
treasurer Of the new Parker mills, will
90 abroad to purchase much of the ma
chinery for the new mills. 1t is thought
the carding and mule-spinning machin-
cry will be Of English manufacture.
The journal prints one of these arti-
Giles under the caption of "a Hint for
the South, and both contain very valua-
BILE hints which the South should not
fail to understand and apply for its own
benefit. The special interest of the en-
terprises for us consists, of course. in
the indubitabl lie evidence they afford that
cotton mill building has not vet been
"overdone in the South" as some timid
people have been heard to declare is the
case, and that there is little danger of
It's being. overdone for many years to
come. AS long as new mills are built
and operated successfully in New Eng
land. they can be built and operated sue
cessfully in the South, and then
when they. are no longer built
IN New England, we can safely keep on
buildings as long as an old mill remains in
operation in that section. If we have
as many important advantages for man
ufacturing cotton as are claimed for our
section, we should be able to manufac-
ture 1t cheaper than any other section.
and the continued existence and opera
tlon, OF even single mill in New Eng
land will prove simply that we have
not made full use of our advantages.
The building of new mills in Fall River
at this. time is abundant evidence that
there is room for more new mills in
South Carolina and other Southern
States. If Fall River can afford. with
the small profits of the business there,
to add 10000 spindles to its cotton
manufacturing plant ''at once" or this
year, the South can afford to add as
many or more spindles to it's plant this
year. The proprietors of the ten or
fifteen new mills which are going up in
South Carolina have made no mistake in
their calculations. There is room and
work for every one of these mills and
Tor as many more as soon as we can build
them. The dividends" are larger here
than they are in the section that is com
petlng. with us for the control of cotton
manufacturing, and the issue will be de-
clded at last by the size of the dividends.
we have everything to gain by crowding
the field for our rivals, and we should
crowd it until it becomes too uncom-
Portable for them to remain in it. While
some OF our towns and counties are hest
tating about building 100000 or $780,
600 mills, one city in Massachusetts has
gone to work to build two that will cost
over 100000. Surely, with such an
example to encourage it, no county in
the State will hesitate longer.
Another valuable hint" in the Jour
mars exhibit is the statement that "the
treasurer of the new Parker mills will
shortly go abroad to England to pur-
chase much of the machinery for the
new mills" 1t might pay the promoters
OF some of our new mills to discover
and consider the reasons for his action in
this respect and follow his example.
The success of a cotton mill in times
of close competition depends largely, if
not mainly, on the character of its ma
chinery. If we are to make fight for
the control of the cotton manufacturing
industry in earnest, we should be very
careful to make it with the latest and
best weapons. Some of our older mills.
it has been stated, are badly handicapped
now because of having filled their work
rooms with second hand New England
machines. The new mills should make |
sure that they are not handicapped in
turn with machinery inferior to that
with which they will have to compete
sooner or later.