Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-04-09
COTTON
The announcement was made

in a press dispatch a few days
ago that the Lawrence Manufac>
turing Company. of Lowell,
Mass, had given up the manu-
facture of cotton cloth because
it was unable to compete with
mills in the South.
OF course, by cotton cloth is
not meant the finer fabrics, but
such cloth as is made in the
South and at lower cost than it
can be produced in New Eng
land.
This is a significant step, be-
cause it shows how Southern
competition is being felt in the
North.
The Louisville Courier-Journal
in discussing the matter points
out the result OF this condition
and reaches the very sensible
conclusion that the cotton spins
ming industry Of the world will be
absorbed by the United States,
the two sections Of the country
continuing hand in hand, 1t
says:
1T has been recognized for
years that the South is 81 ads
vantageously situated that soon
or late, it will have the field
wholly to itself. except for the
production of such goods as re-
quire special skill and peculiar
atmospheric conditions &C yield
the best results in spinning. The
climatic difficulty is a mere buga-
boo, for as fine cloth can be raised
in the CaroliLas and Georgia as
in Massachusetts. The Lowell
mills, however, r SO we'll in>
trenched with established trade,
scientific plants and experienced
operators that it is reasonable to
suppose they will retain their
supremacy for many years. At
any rate. there is no alarm in
New England, although they
have resolved TO meet cOmpeti-
ton by the establishment of tex
tile schools and in every other
way that experience can suggest.
The manufacture of coarse goods
is quite another matter. Not
only can the labor be found in
great abundance sufficient for its
production, but the important
item of transportation expense
is nearly eliminated, since the
cotton field is practically at the
Southern mill doors. This con-
sideration is of more value in
determining the problem than
the cheaper labor and longer
hours,
MANY of the big Northern
mills have built branches in the
South already, in which they
propose to continue the produc>
ton eff cheap cloths. It is due in
part to them that there has been
such extraordinary manufacture
ing development in the South.
That it will be many a day be-
fore the Fall River looms will
have to close down is shown by
the fact that mill building is still
going on i'll Massachusetts and is
likely to continue.
1.-The interests of the North
and South r not antagonistic.
The New England spinner pos
sesses great advantages over the
European manufacturer, and the
two sections will continue hand
in hand, gradually to absorb the
cotton spinning trade of the
world. The United States had
but Is, 100. 900 spindles on Sep
TENDER Both last, while Great
Britain had As, 400, 900 and the
Continent 20, $50, 900, The an
nual consumption Of the Conti-
nent was 5000, 900 bales of 400
pounds each, exclusive of 300, 900
bales of Asiatic cotton spun in
Russia, and the British consump-
ton was 1850, 900 bales. The
United States consumed only s.
148. 900 bales. We have but made
a fair beginning. The time will
come when we shall cease the
enormous waste of exporting the
raw material for other countries
to work up and sell. We have a
pract1cal monopoly for cotton
growing and we can just as well
have a monopoly of cotton spin
ming. All that we need is capi~
tai, and the certain and large
profits of the business are such
that investments in mills must
steadily grow"