The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-08

worked for Arkwright in England TO
seven years, saw large money on thi
side tho water. They camo ant
brought with them full knowledg,
Of all three Of the inventions and how
to use them and how TO build factory
or course they met with u warm re-
,ceptlon, and in 1906 they erected &
mill and planted o town and named il
Siatervlllc. They soon mado a fortune
When John died he left his millions tC
his son and when John, Jr., got ready
to die he bcqueathed million to our
DR.. Haygood in trust for the education
OF the negroes Of the South. 1t was
q gift lit to be made, for the fathers
and mothers of these negroes grew the
cotton that made tho Skaters rich.
The Slators not only spun their yarns,
but wovc them, and the cloth was
called hOmospun, because it WAS woven
at homo and not brought from Eng
and.
But, although cotton was now king
commercially, it was ranked socially
by other fabrics. 1t was not so beau
| tlful rs silk nor so strong as flax
| nor so warm as wool, and hence for
years it was woven only into the COM
mon fabric for the common people.
The calicos that were imported from
Calicnt in Turkey were spun with u
disthN and woven in the Old-fashioned
hand loom. Tho nankcen cloth that
came from NArkin in China was made
by similar process. l remember that
my father, who was q merchant,
bought some OF that nankccn when |
was lad and my mother made me a
Dair of pants and a round jacket out Of
it and ( was proud and yellow 1t
was not until the 4Os when the finer
fabrics, such us muolius and lawns,
were made Of cotton. In 1912 a ma
chine WAS invented of SO del cate Il
nd urc that singl" pound Of cotton
was spun to IL length of 100 miles,
and in 1851 some cloth Of rquisitc fine
ness was woven expressly for n
dress for the queen OF England and
vas exhibited at the Crystal Palace
fair in London in that year. But it ia
atill asserted that no machinery has
"ver surpassed the hand work Of the
Hindus and that Montezuma presented
Curt, with robes OF cotton interviewer
with feather work thut rivaled the del
cacy Of the finest painting.
But notwithstanding tho inventions
of the spinning j.nny and tho power
loom, our country peOpl, continued for
years to spin and to weave their own
cloth, and the female slaves were
iiilc w uo so ny IDclr masters. Inc
spinning wheel was the first to sur
render. and the factory yarn, or "spun
truck as it WAS called, came into
general use along in the 4O's. In a
few years more tic homemade loom
had to go, and since the war the wheel
and the loom have ceased their music
N the homes Of our people.
1t was not until after the close OF the
war of 1872 that even the Northern
nroplc bought anv cloth from England.
Until about 1916 England had none to
sell or export, but from that time until
1874 the expectation increased very
rapidly and almost paralyzad our Now
England mills. But in that year and
in 1928 and 1892 Congress placed a
duty OF % per cent. ad valorcm on all
English cotton goods, and this protec-
tion greatly revived Orr own manufac-
lures. This,taritf WAS reduced in 1916
and the outside given a fairer chance
to compete.
But cotton is still king-king in the
Southern fields and in the factories
and in the carrying trade Of the ocean
and in Liverpool and other great mar
kcts Of the world. Whether We make
large crops or small ones, it is sti tle
greatest factor in tho worlds comfort
and prosperity. Long live the king
BILL ARP.