The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-10-05

(arollna has 10 people tu every square
mile, while Texas has Just fraction
over it,
Tcxa> raise ovcr four times the
amount Of cotton that is produced in
the ittlr Staic Of palmcttos and dis
rcnSaric>. But South Carolina has
mills that spin more cotton than the
state raises, while Texas does not con
sumo = per cent. Of her enormous an
nual crop.
These are two Of the most striking
contrasts that present thcm>r.r~ to
the visitor from Texas One wonders
why so many people persist in crowd
ing together in such a small State,
cultivating land that needs to be pet
ted and coaxcd with all kinds Of fer
tilzcrs in order to grow even 3-ccnt
cotton while the broad prairics Of
Texas offer such rich soil soil that is
made fertile by natures hand and
that never wears 0ut-with plenty Of
room for the most expansive farming.
Then, on the other hand, when one
sees monster cotton mills rearing
their smokestacks from every city and
village in this old province Of South
Carolina, his mind sorrowfully rcvcrts
to Texas with her half dozen cotton
factories spinning few hundred bales
from three million crop.
If South Carolina and her people
could be dropped into one Of the big
unoccupicd counties Of Texas and her
cotton mills and her people scattered
over this great domain, both States
would be benefited. South Carolina
needs several thousand acres of Texas
land for her farmers. If the agricul-
tural classes there are to be compelled
to make the soil over and over again
year after year, fertilizer factories will
soon b" as numerous and as necessary
as are her cotton mills If Texas far
mcrs are to continue raising nearly one
third of the south cotton crop with
no mills in the State to buy the sta
pie, they will not receive full return
for their labor, nor will they be able to
purchase cotton goods at their proper
values. 1t IS certainly an injustice to
make a farmer pay for the cost of
transporting cotton from Texas to
New England and then force him to
pay the freight on the manufactured
goods returned to this State. But
such will be the case until We have
some home spinners to buy the cotton
and to sell the goods manufactured
therefrom.
There is probably not County in
South. Carolina that is without cot
ton'mill, while many Of them have
over dozen. Spartanburg boasts 2G
factories for manufacturing cotton
goods in some form or other, and these
factories have made that one Of the
most prosperous and thicLly settled
Counties to be found in any Southern
State. Strange to say every cotton
mill in South Carolina, with only
three or four exceptions, has proved
paying investment, and the stockhold-
ers have nctted good dividends during
the very years that were proving so
disastrous to Ncw2Englaud manufac-
turers.
Each. mill employs from 400 to 200
operatives, and with over 100 factories
In the State it is safe to estimate that
this industry gives employment to
nearly 10000 persons.
I watched. the workers leaving the
factory at Columbia one afternoon,
and it seemed to me that the stream
of humanity pouring from that big
brick building would never end. The
operatives consisted mainly of women
and children, though large number
of men cminglcd with the throng.
They all crossed over to the factory
village forming Colnmbias 8 suburbs,
where there were hundreds Of neat
little cottages for them. These
cottages are nearly always built by the
mill owners and are sold or rented to
the employees. The rent is very low
and merely represents the actual
worth, no profit whatever being ex-
torted from the operatives. l was
Gold that single room rented for
from 50 cents to 81 per month, while
three-room cottage brought 81. SO to
$4.00. In nearly every place where
there is cotton mill the operatives
live in cottages thus erected and where
there are several mills in one city the
factory part Of the town is often the
most thickly populated.
n