Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-03-01

not work out in the way they predicted
| The South was seen Ia he rapidly captur-
! ing the coarse cotton trade and absolutely
| controlling il. Under these conditions it
became necessary to find some new argu-
mentS. and then ii was unanimously de-
| cided by all New England. following ex-
actlN Great Britain in its arguments of
| years ago related to New England,
that the South could possibly make coarse
cottons successfully. but it WAS out of the
question for il to spin fine yarns. New
England. they said. will always retain
its supremacy in fine cottonS.H Even to-
day, such claims are often heard, but
they now sound like the graveyard whiS-
tie intended TO bolster up courage that
Is fast slipping away.
Starting without capital and without
experience. the South has already prac
tlcatlN monopoliZed the carSc cotton trade
ana iS pushing into finer goods with the
dcttrnllatlon to capture that line. The
world s needs are growing. Increasing
wealth of the masses increases the re
quifements per capita of cotton goods.
me extension of civilization into the
dark places of the world opens new fields
TOR cotton goods. civilizations advance
Is measured by the increase in cotton
consumption. This increase must go on
constantly. and the 9.u00.0o1-bale crop must
b" exceeded before many years by crops
Of o, log".o" and then ll.ooooo0 and then
l2.ooo. 600 as the worlds ever-increasing
requirements shall demand.
with this growth. and even more rapid
~ than TINS. Will the cotton-manufactur-
ing interests of the South develop While
the increase in the number of spndles in
southern SO mills from G67,ooo in 1880 to A.
Wo.oh in 1881 was taking place the in
crease in the rest of the country was
from ",9H6,0oo to 13.0od01u the gain in the
south being about 800 per cent. and in the
Whole country outside of the South about
~ per cent. In 1850 the South had one
hft"ehth of the number of spindles in the
country; now it has nearly one-fourth of
the number.
rom l,1,
popular form of investment for local capt.
tai in the Carohnas and Georgia. Moth
ing elSe seems to appeal so directly ami
forcihlN TO all who have spare money to
invest. Inc result is that the astonishing
advance IN mill building in those states
mas been due almost wholly to local capi-
tal' Inc mills are in nearly all cases earn
lnS good profits. thus steadily increasing
the POPULARITY of cotton mills as IA safe
place for money
one OF the most marked features of the
tmu4Strl2l ,i,i development of theentire coun- |
try has been in the very great activity in !
cotton mill building in the South. The |
success OF the mills in operation, even
during the hard times of 1888. demonstrate /
"d as nothing else ever had done the in !
hefent strength of the SOuthS position |
for this business. Even before there was |
a decided tendency toward increased cot !
ton mill building in the South on the part !
of southern people. Mills already in
operation began making extensive 3lddi- .
tions. while many rev mills were pro- +
About TWO years ago several of the
largest mill companies in New England
decided To build mills in rhc South. Th,
MasSachusetts Mills Co. one of the OLDEST
ana strongest corporations Oi Na%siirllu- +
settS; huilt a S"l".N0o mill with ~ het
spndleS and l. e0u lanms. at Rome. Ga.
tn" Dwight 60. an".her one OF New
Sn@laRd's leading mill concerns. huilf e
St@F" mil! at Ca l%tien. Ala. another +
company built a SGpo.W0 mill al CurduN4
Ala. While haII dpZea or more equally
noted c"mpahirs have been nce~tiauue .
with a view to erecting mills Of equal .
cost in various parts of the South
The most striking feature OF the South's
cotton trade at present is the revolution .
that IS going ,,,.1 on in halins and compress
ing cotton. This is not only attracting
the attention Of all cotton men of .
America, hut also commanding the hear /
tY cooperation of the cotton mills of the
Wrpld- In place of the old, clumsy. badly .
covered, mtlammabe bale of the last 100 .
years the new round bale. completely +
covered. fully protected from water and /
mud, as we'll as from all danger of fire is :
tomins to the front. The cost of insur-
ance handling, storing. etc. is greatly /
reduced ny this system. !
The eArkwright club Of Boston. COM /
poSel OF leading cotton manufacturers of !
New England. decided Il lew days ago To |
civ" preference to the improved system !
of handing cotton, recognizing the fact !
that ii is great step in advance ana of |
common benefit Ito all interests: To the !
cotton mills as consumers. as well as to /
the formers as producers of the staple. |
And recently the writer received a let /
tor from Mr.. Pratt. president Of the |
huntsville. Ala. cotton mills. in which he !
said that after testing the matter he was
satisfied that his mills could pay 81 Il bale /
Inor" for roUnd-bale cotton than for the /
old square bale. showing that Southern /
mills, as Well as New England mills will /
be benefited.
$2oooo.o0o difference. Under this change /
the whole cotton handling system seems .