The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-26
COTTON FACTORIES IN OUR
STATE.

Mr.. Logan s. Terrell, chief clerk in
the office of the Bureau of Labor Sta
t~istics, a very clever young gentleman,
who will doubtless be appointed Com
missioner by the Governor when Com
missioner Lacy resigns, which will be
about the first of January next, recent
ly gave some very interesting facts to
! the Raleigh Press Visitor relative TO
manufacturing in u state. We eX-
tract the following:
"Mr Smith we will call him, raises
his own cattle stock and hogs, tans
his leather, smooths his hides, makes
his and his families shoe, makes the
nails he uses in making the shoes, at
his own blacksmith shop, makes his
| lasts from the block of a maple tree,
| also his pegs from the tree by hand.
And now Ill attempt to show you the
cost and time consumed in making n
pint Of sheoe- pegs from the time the
tree is cut. Going to. and from and
telling a maple tree, thirty minutes;
then thirty minutes more n saving
| the blocks for pegs; splitting the wood,
trimming the points and making the
pegs will consume just nine hours,
making in all ten hours, o n day,
producing one pint of pegs, they sell
ing for 10 cents per pint. Mrs. Smith
works at the ''old loom" while Mr..
| Smith is making his shoe pegs. Now,
let's see the time required for Mrs.
Smith to produce thirty yards OF cot
ton cloth, used for women's dresses, 81
inches wide, 2 yards to the pound.
Picking cotton by hand from seed, and
carding same, 100 hours; spinning and
banking welt IS hours; getting bark,
dyeing and sizing thread and spooling
the warp, II hours; quilting welt, 10
hours; Wrapping, beaming, Harvesting
and sleying the thread, 10 hours;
weaving the cloth rs hours; making a
total of $50 hours, o. Sc days, in pro
ducipg the above quantity. Now this
cloth is worth, say, Is cents per yard.
Thirty yards would be 81 so. The
warp, necessarily had to be purchased,
and the seed, cotton, we will say, is
worth 81, leaving a total for the Sc
days work of s.. so, or a fraction less
than 10 cents per day. Now, she has
finished her dresses. She consumes
the following time in producing So
yards of wooden goods for mems wear,
II yards to the pound, 80 inches wide:
Washing and teasing wool, 2O5 hours
spinning and banking weft; 100 hours;
getting bark and dying thread, 6 hours
siziug and spooling warp, IL hours
quilting welt, Wrapping, beaming, har
Messing aud sleying thread, 49, hours;
weaving the cloth, 80 hours; making a
total of 337 hours, or a fraction less
than 81 days. The wool was carded at
the factory and the warp yarn pur
chased. Cloth sells at 40 cents per
yard, SO yards, $14 40; deduct cost of
material used, which will be So 80,
leaves an amount Of wages received to
be S. 60, or a fraction less than IA cents
per day"
Compare the above picture with
what Commissioner Lacy's report for
1895 will say with regard to the cotton
and wooden industry in North Carolina.
He uses the following language:
There are 1876 cotton and wooden
mills in active operation in the State
and IL in course of construction The
above number of mills show that there
are 913 458 spindles. THIS is a very goo
showing, when you consider the fact
that in 1870 there were only 80, 900
spindles in the State.
There are IS, 752 persons employed
in the mills, and the amount of capital
employed is about $18, 600, 900, or about
1852 33 invested to each employ e. Of
these there are 4 889 men, 6,175 women
and 1859 children, of which l, 558 are
under the age of IA
The mills have consumed 1913. 65S, us
pounds of Of cotton, or about 800 147
bales weighing 400 pounds each.
Twenty six counties have produced 49,
Alb 949 pounds of yarn; thirteen coun-
ties have produced 81, 742, 655 yards of
domestica; six counties have produced
81, 737, SAT yards of plaids; two counties,
Forsyth and Cabarrue, have produced
10 200 yards of WOODEN goods, For
sytn leading with Is, 600, 600 yards
alone"
HANe ooliars from each member will
prove a revelation. When the shoe
factory sends to each member, good,
| honest and obcoN ohooz