The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-08-25
OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY
suggestions for the south Draws from
the Manchester section, In q Letter TO
the U~anufacturerss Record

the Manchester section, In q Letter TO
n Uanufaeturersf Record
A special staff correspondent OF The
Manufacturers Record, who Is in Eng
land investigating the textile and iron
interests. writes to that paper about h
cotton manufacturing business Of Man
chester as follows:
Within an area OF fifty miles around
this city are located 1,7e0 cotton manu-
facturers, controlling 1851. 600 spindles
and 63s. 900 looms. Manchester has in
deed the right to be called the great
textile manufacturing center Of the
world.
In It and near T. are numerous other
industries, but the manufacture OF cot
ton fabrics is so extensive that all OF
the other work is insignificant in com
parison. The famous ship canal which
connects it with the ocean owes its in
ception principally 10 the efforts Of the
spinners 10 cheaper the cost OF trans
porting the raw material and finished
products, although Liverpool, which Is
still the principal seaport for receiving
the cotton, is but thirty miles distant,
and connected with il by several lines
of railway. But Liverpool's cotton COM
merce Will steadily decline. This is the
prediction OF those best in a position 10
know, as they show by statistics how
the American, Egyptian and Indian cot
ton is being received more and more at
the Manchester wharves, where it is
distributed to the mills, some OF which
are built directly on its banks.
OF all these plants, not one is operat-
ed by water power. Such streams as
are to be found in the Carolinas and
Georgia, for example, are unknown in
this part OF Great Britain, where most
Of the cotton goods are finished. Meth
er has this district any special advan-
tages in the way Of fuel, for the coal,
although mined in the west Of England,
costs from $3.50 to $3.50 per ton, and
is much poorer for steam producing
than the Georges Creek, Pocahontas or
Alabama coal, as it contain a large
percentage Of slate and other impuri
ties. 1t comes by rail and canal, and
is used almost entirely to the exclusion
of other grades. Lancashire, however,
has an abundance of pure water, and
the population Of his part Of the
Queens domain seems especially adapt
ed to handling the loom and spindle,
inheriting the trade from ancestors
ranging as far back as $50 years. Yet
they are extremely ignorant and much
lower than the mill hands of the Caro-
linas, for example, in natural intelli-
gence.
These factors have played an impor-
tant part in the development Of the cot
ton industry hereabouts, for the water
supply and quality allow the goods &c
be bleached where manufactured, and
not sent to another part of the king
dom to be whitened at an extra ex-
pense. The hands work for a very low
scale of wages, and though many of the
plants are in small towns, where the
employees have some of the advantages
Of rural life, even in the hamlets a n
is so high in this crowded country that
they are huddled together in blocks OF
tenements and have 40 conception OF
n in which southern mill hands
are favored when compared with them
The ship canal, although recently com.
pfeted, has had a most beneficial effect
on the Manchester factories. Although
six plants, representing 0 1000 spindles
and 1000 looms, discontinued business
in 1898, thirty-one new enterprises were
established, so that an actual gain fol
the present year is recorded Of 395. 00t
spindles n 5000 looms, in spite OF ths
number ceasing operations. Severa.
plants now being erected will further
increase these figures by January Isl
next. And the prospects of the spin.
ners, according to the most conserva.
tive statements, are very bright. Never
in their history have the companies haG
more demand for their product, and
many Of the largest plants are doing
double time"
When asked as to the reason Of thi:
demand and the possibility Of it's Ions
duration, one Of the most extensive
manufacturers said to the writer: 1--WE
have orders for our product for tht
next five months, and as far as / cal
see, will be compelled to operate oul
al 80 cell 5000 49,
year, if not longer. The demand come.
largely from British and Continenta
consumers, but we are also shippinf
much to East India. There is no de
mand from any particular quarter. Or
ders are being received in the sam
proportion from all parts Of our ter
ritory." 1t is unnecessary to say tina
this should be gratifying news to thu
American cotton growers, since tn,
southern states contribute in such Z
easur to the supply Of raw materia
in this district.
The disastrous management of som.
of the larger cotton mills of the Man
chester district is familiar to readers O
The Manufacturers Record. So great,
was the confidence of investors shaker
by these reverses that cotton mil
stocks until recently have been regard
ed with much disfavor for speculative
or investment purposes. Today these
securities, paying 10 per cent annually
in dividends, can be bought readily a
from 1o0 to It's, according to the f'uctu'
atoms of he market. Experience
though a bitter teacher. has been thor.
ongh, and the loose and reckless meth.
DDS of financiering have given place Il
prudence n conservatism. The writ
er arm on excellent authority that
fully IS per cent. Of the active mills II
this district are earning enough TO pay
the dividend mentioned and 5 per cent
additional to pay for new equipment.