The Lafayette gazette., 1899-02-04
Cotton Factories.

/ dS IOlOWS 10 the Ne" orleans
| Picayune:
''Ten years since a young fellow
behind dry goods counter in a
/ Charlotte store was smitten with the
fever of cotton factory building and
the promise of happy returns invited
| him to essay an effort at an organ
| ization. His friends backed him
and he started his $3.50, 900 mill out
in the woods and without any ex-
perience in the mill work, began the
foundations of a gigantic enterprise
with radiant hopes, which have
proven a fulfilled realization
! The mill is on the railroad of
which l am now writing. Its loca-
| ton was virgin forest when he
started this new thing of life, but to-
day it is estimated that it is a town
of 5000 people and equipped with a
/ first-ciass modern city life. Later
another SIoo, 900, the surplus earn
ings of the mill over 10 per cent
annual dividends, was added to the
capital stock and a second mill was
| built, or rather grew out of the side
of the first mill, and these together,
in short time, aided by skill and
management, added more surplus
and a third mill, larger than the
other two combined, stood where
| few years before the mOnarChs of the
| forest were wont to stand. Though
the official list of the cotton faCto-
ries shows only one mill at Henri
eta there are really three under one
management and control and owner
ship and the stock is rated in the
blue book at 5000, 900. This modest
start in the woods has gone on and
on until there are now 5o,o 900 spin
dies, I746 looms and 1914 canders,
giving work to 1900 operators and
consuming 20. 900 bales of cotton
al ara wing the stockholders magni
icent dividends. Water power has
been utilized at these mills and the
operating expense has been lessened
thereby, but there are not a large
number of mills run by water power
in North Carolina. 1t costs a large
sum to develop water power and
then it is irregular and sometimes it
| suffers by too much or too little
water and thus heavy loss is incurred,
but all water power mills also have
steam power.
The Henrietta mills make sheet
ing and No. s yarns. The officers
of this mill are ]. S. Spencer, presi-
dent; $. B. Tanner, secretary and
treasurer, and J. w. Manley and r.
p. SCruggs, superintendents. The
president, J. S. Spencer, is presi-
dent of the Commercial National
Bank of Charlotte, and is interested
in other cotton factories and is
also president of an $50, 900 plant
at Ramseur. Thus bank presidents
and mill presidents seem to be
embodied in one man.
All the eighteen cotton factori es
along this line of railroad are forg
ers and many times over augment
ing the population, wealth, comforts
and fame of their localities.
The distinct features of differ ence
in the M ills of North and South Car
olina is that the former has many
moderate sized mills, ranging from
S25, 900 to S25o, 900, and only a
few above the latter sum, while the
latter is tending toward the larger
class of mills. | like many mills
distributed throughout the country
enriching and advancing many com
munities, rather than few large
, mills with all of the industries focal
lied on one point. The operator
, can be kept in better condition and
less subject to demoralizing influence
and other consuming expense items.
The mills will enjoy a natural in
crease from profits. \ SIoo, ooc
stock company should put up a
story brick building 100 by 4oc
, feet, or two-story half that size
and install 5000 spindles, and grad
f ually train the help a few weeks
| with good superintendent and three
, trained overseers, and then begin