The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-27
THE SOUTHS NEW METHODS.
4 REMEDY FoR FTTE-CEyT COTTON
TRIED AT EDGEFIELD. s. g

Seed Cotton Taken to = Combination VIII
and Transformed Into Ultimate Prod
meta ON the spot-AwnkeninG in Towns
Caused By Small NiIls-System's Value.
EpoETrE1p. 8. G.. Nov. pa Southern eoun-
" town or VILLAGE was In the years that fol-
lowed the civl war the sleepiest and least
hopeful Of the small towns OF the country. As
q rule. such towns are old. compsratiyelT
speaking. They spranR from the needs and
patronage Of the old plantation and the
old system Of labor. A few Of them were edu-
~cational centres. and the remainder we're. in
q small way. political centres, All possessed.
or. rather. controlled. considerable wealth.
The war took all that wealth away. It went
Ike the mist OF the morning. and then the small
town. the county seat. in the South fell into
Q hopeless condition. Fences we're burned up.
repairs neglected. and paint went unrenewed.
There are parts Of the South to-day where
these conditions prevail. but in the Carolinas
and in Georgia, and 10 o limited extent In Ala
bamA. q change has occurred In the county
town that Ia simply Astonishing. Cotton mills
and oil mills are the cause Of IL. The manlpu-
lAtion OF the staple after &c leaves the Ginnsry
Is transforming the sleepy towns.
Take the old town Of Barnwell. in South
Carolina, once surrounded by great plAnta-
rions. caring little about the outside world. eT-
cept when the crop was to be marketed. and
AoNSA IRAAi SNNA - vi AA7S~FA "a
q clock In q tower or steeple. It had In the In
eyitable public square a sun dial. which noted
the sunny hours. letting the rest TO unnotlcad.
That town has awakened. It has q great oil
mill. one OF the best and largest In the s outh.
and q round-bale Rinnery. and 1t IL to have
next year q cotton mill. Tn old aristooratio
county town Will soon be q busting little man
ufacturinR city. MoColl's Is another type Of the
industrial change. 1t Is In South Carolina,
not far from the domains OF the Governor Of
North Carolina who once met the Governor Of
South Carolina McCoh's was at the end Of
the war . plantation 1t was not q town at all
On the old plantation are now two dividend
paying cotton mills. and q third 10 to be built
next year. It Il . miniature Fall River. and
It u big enough 70 drive the county seat TO de-
spair, or. rather. to mill building. which IL
now considered the cure for all Ills In the two
Carollnas. where fully 300 mtlls are In actual
operation.
spartanburE town and spartanburH county
afford one Of the best examples OF what the
South Ia doing In cotton milling. The county
tou 9hes some OF the foothills Of the Blue Ridge
thas traverse the upper part Of South Carolina.
There are twenty-five cotton mills in this
county. These mills contain 100000 spindlea,
anording employment to 5000 operatives.
Spartanburg town. once forlorn and hopeless.
has become . city of 5000 people. possessing
nearly every conveniencc.nf Life. and many Of
its Injuries. The cotton production OF the
county IL $4,000 bales, but the mills OF the
county spin and weave 10000 bales a year.
Tho cotton problem Of that county In solved.
It thrives whether cotton brings 5 cents or 10
cents. It does not krow what . cotton ship
per or exporter IL. 1t has not seen one In sew
eral years. To It they are like the war. g mere
memory. And so It is In many another county
q. Az 49, - la GNoA1. q -
South They are awakening to the possibtli-
ties Of MANUFACTURING. One mill brings an
other. and soma OF them are not cotton mills.
There Is to be q manufacturing as wen as an
agricultural South-that much is settled.
Some think that, instead Of big mills and
big mill towns In the South. there should be
attached to every public Rinnery at least
possibly to every gin that Is driven By water
powerV small spinning mill. so that mono of
the staple shall be carried from the neighbor-
hood Of growth in other than yarn form.
Water power is abunden. throughout the
South. and small SPINNING miiis are neither
expensive nor difficult to manage. Where
ever 900 bales are handled there should be. so
some close observers say. a spinning mill. thus
obvtatinR all the expenses and losses OF baliug
and doubling to the community that grew the
staple It's value. The advocates OF small mills
say that hve-cent cotton loses its terrors II.
In addition to more economical methods Of
fertilization and cultivation. cotton can be
marketed as yarns The subject Of small
plantation or Einnery spinning mills has not
been fully developed. but Il may be that in the
wonderful century that Is coming the farmer
Of considerable acres will not only grow cot
ton and cottonseed. but will also turn them into
marketable goods.
But whether this be feasible or not, It IL cor
tain that there will soon be remarkable de-
v~elopments. or. rather. combinations. amid the
cotton fields In the manipulation OF the fibre
Itself. People are no longer content 20 fur
tai een Il EnF SoPth dafsi ina R and those e sstq ia q gSush
that the caroiinas now AFFORD they viii. selsctt
4 combination vel edakted to nei&hborhood.
Of the South are thinEine over this su issHpis
and fye-cent 1otton Is promoting their intel
lss otgh sctiyity. The The tow Of EdgefeId; n
methods Of handling the cotton production.
Company established In . modest way q pub
lie Ginnsry. q fertilizer fscr9ry.:and an oil
lied the. seed. which constitutes IN Weight
two-thlrds OF the crop: REGENTS, II has put
f SS s9ot aHd IN nu sels Sea si2 bnfidine fss has sT pIsasd
fields. IN one establishments there are the four
tllizer plant. and a cotton mill. The oil ia not
turned into olive oil on the spot, or into but
| ter. nor do the spindles turn out fine yarns,
but the Edgefeld plant will do as q beginning
OF an Industrial revolution.
The unique feature Of the EdGefeld plant
consists In tho fact that seed cotton, Instead
OF lint cotton, Is considered In IL raw material.
Lint cotton is really a manufactured article.
The raw material has been through q mill
a Rtnnery. Il Is pressed and hailed. EDGE
field deals with the product OF the fertile fields
all about i. taking the raw material directly
from abe farmers built,up wagon. t pres
ent this is all that q min can do. In the next
S%entury; psrhaps: the stalk, leaf. and root may
but In the present stage OF the Industry no one
can 10 back OF seed cotton. D. o. TOmpkins
OF Charlotte. n. C., had long advocated the
economy Involved In dealing with seed cot
the Edgsfeld plant, he found the men and the
| opportunity he had long desired. There are
two buildings at EdReield. In one are an up-to-
date six-gln %gtnnery. a for'y-tpn oil mil. and a
thirty-ton fertilizer factory: in the adjoining
building is q cotton factory.
The seed cotton To- purchased directly from
the farmers as they bring IL In. 1t comes d.
rectly from the, fields, Il may have been In
the bolls . few h.urs before. 1t IL auto natl
cslly unloaded. going directly 70 the gins. The
large seed storage house or u the oil mill n