The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1897-04-21
THEY CAN'T, BUT THEY DO.

THEY CAN'T, BUT THEY DO.
Charlotte Observer.
There is an old story about a green cap
tain drilling green company, about the
time OF the breaking out of the late war,
when, at a certain stage of the proceed
ings, a dril1-master, who was overlook
ing the performance exclaimed: "Hold
on there, captain! You can't bring your
men from right shoulder shift to present
arms" maybe I can't" retorted the
captain, but I'll be id if l didn't"
The old story is suggested by letter i'll
THE Fall River Mass Herald, of the Ist,
from Mr.. A. B. Sanford, cotton mill
man of that city, WHO was in Charlotte
recently, and whose letter opens with this
paragraph:
While the Northern manufacturer has
been arguing and specializing as to what
his Southern competitor would be able to
accomplish, and while many people felt
no fear of any danger 'that the South
would be able to compete" much to my
astonsiEment, 1 find from personal i'll
spection during the past ten days among
some of the mills in the South, that they
have fully solved the problem of cotton
manufacturing, and are now making and
have been making for some time fabrics
and yarns equal to our New England
mills, and for less cost, selling them to
our customers, supp1anting our produc-
tons, to all alarming extent, and from
figures obtained of cost of same; find
that they are enabled in their finely
equipped and we11-crganized mills, by
good and cheaper labor, to make pro-
fit, even on present depressed market
prices, while our own New England
mills cannot manufacture without loss
Mr.. Sanford adds that this is hard
| fact to face, but that it is condition and
not theory, and he goes on to say that
| the stories told in the North and East
about the ineficiency of Southern mill
operatives won't do. He found the oper-
atives in the mill districts of the South,
/ ONNA "llANl 1lC IdSC1Cu SAlCIlSlVGly,
| good native American whites,'' who
| very quickly adapt themselves to the
work, are eager to learn, happy and con-
tented" The help he finds is abundant,
reliable, capable and 1873 per cent.
| cheaper than at Fall River and in New
| England. Fuel is cheaper here than
there, the raw material is cheaper, and of
| taxation it is said:
| In North Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia taxes are very low. One mill
which visited, having $3.50, 900 invested
pays tax of only $2io per annum Such
mill in Fall River will pay 5000 tax.
All the large mills are paying almost no
tax to speak of.
Here are two very notable admissions:
The mills recently built and now under
construction by our leading mill archi-
tects, located in the Piedmont belt, are
the equal of anything in New England,
both in design, construction and equip
1nent of machinery, nothing overlooked
to make them complete. The
climatic conditions are found to be in
many sections, as good as our New Eng
land States, North Carolina especially
possessing very fine atmospheric condi-
tons, both cool and moist, and fine spill
ming is being carried on very successfully
in that State. There are within 100 miles
OF Charlotte, N. c., 200 mills, containing
I,625,ooo spindles and 1900 looms. 1t
is estimated that 10000 pieces of goods
that are made by the Southern mills per
week now, find their way to Northern
markets, supplanting an equal amount of
goods formerly made at Fall River, New
Bedford, Lowell and other New England
centres.
Mr.. Sanford concludes:
1t is very clear we cannot stand in Mas
sechusetts any more adverse legislation
against our industries, for the Southern
mills can make dividends, while their
Northern competitors are selling their
goods at cost. And i'll proof of fllis, MANY
of the Southern corporations have been
paying steady and continuous dividends
during the hard times of the past twelve
months.
! We find no joy in the fact that the Mas
sachusetts mills are making no money,
but it is agreeable to read the testimony Of
a Massachusetts mill man to the fact that
the South has manifold advantages over
it for manufacturing cotton and is work
ing them to the limit.