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

eighth the SIZE OF IeXaS. Du5 OoutA
Carolina has 45 people to every square
mile, while Texas has just fraction
over it.
Texas raises over four times the
amount Of cotton that's produced in
the little State of palmettos and dis
pensaries. But South Carolina has
mills that spin more cotton than the
State raises, while Texas does not con-
sumo 2 per cent. of her enormous an
nual crop.
These are two of the most striking
contrasts that present themselves to
the visitor from Texas. One wonders
why SO many people persist in crowd
ing together in such small State,
cultiyating land that needs to be pet
! ted and coaxed with all kinds Of fer
tilizers in order to grow even 5-cent
cotton while. the broad prairies OF
Texas offer sach rich soil-soil that is
made fertile by natures hand and
that never wears out-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 reverts
to Texas with her half a dozen cotton
factories spinning a few hundred bales
from three million crop.
IF South Carolina and her people
could be dropped into one of the big
unoccupied 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
I 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
1 as are her cotton mills. If Texas far
6 mers are to continue raising nearly one
thirdof the south's 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. Il is certainly aninjustice to
make 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'S probably not County in
South. Carolina that is without cot
ton.mill, while many Of them have
over . dozen. Spartanburg boasts rs
factories for manufacturing cotton
goods in some form or other, and these
factories have made chat one of the
most prosperous and thickly 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 a
paying investment, and the stockhold-
ers have netted good dividends during
the very years that were proving SO
disastrous to NewsEngland manufac-
turers.
Each.mill employs from 400 to !, 200
operatives, ard with over 100 factories
in the State it is safe to estimate that
this industry gives employment to
nearly 100000 persons.
+ watched; the workers leaving the
factory at Columbia one afternoon,
and it seemed to me chat 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 smingled with the throng.
They all crossed over to the factory
village. forming Columbia's suburbs,
where there were hundreds Of neat
little cottages for them. These
cottages are nearly always built by the
mill owners and are sold OF 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
told that a single room rented for
from so cents to 81 per month, while
a three-room cottage brought $3.50 to
$500. 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
xIso1-1,v x,o~ylokod