The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-08
The RRO S''R'ER;}l
To SOUTH.
There S Create ct|xlty|insE Every Line
If Business S i Z.
- =. -: e: - :
NEW 'TE>TlLE:=l.!Nl iD , STRIFE s..
Building OF Cotton y. q, Mills Spreading
over the Entire sonthIro Coal. D
Lumber, Phosp hate land Ferti-
lizer Interests Booming.
There IS Great ctigity|ins Eyery.line:
NEW sTEXTILEi=lsN DiU. S:TiRIHE|S..

!.
BALTIMORE, March Especial to the
Baltimore News Of to-day says:
Mr.. Richard II. Edmonds. editor of the
aIanufac turers' Record, who has just re-
turned from a trip Of several weeks
through the South, in an interview with
the News gives some interesting facts
regarding the prosperity which is SO no.
tceable throughout that entire section.
I'm every line of business, both mercan-
tile and manufacturing" said Mr.. Ed
monds, ..tt1e activity is greater than has
ever been known before in the South.
There is a spirit Of hopefulness such as
has not been seen for some years, though
there is an entire absence of the boom
spirit or speculative activity which pre-
vailed some eight or, ten years ago. All
business interests seem to be founded on
the most substan tial basis, and the prog
ress which is being made Is simply Pie
nomenal This activity is not confined to
any one line of business, but covers every
industry and every part of the South.
.'In textile circles it is illustrated by the
fact that at the present time there are
between rs and 100 new mills under con-
struction, which will be equipped with
over $50 goo spindles, representing an IN
vestment, Of about S1S,O0o,e00 to SO, Goo. CO.
Adding to this the enlargement OF Eestab-
lished mills some $4,000 eco to $50. geo
Of new money is now being put into
Southern cotton mills. But even at this
rate of development there seems to be no
possible danger of the business being over
done, so long as it is wisely managed
In round figures, there are about 10O0GO.0eS
spindles in the world. The South furnishes
about three-fourths Of the worlds cotton
supply, or sufficient, expressed IN announcer
way, to run, say, IS, COO of the world
spindes, and yet, including the mills now
under construction, has less than 100000
spindles. Even should the South add to
it's otton-manufac curing business an
average of 100000 to 100000 spindles
year, as seems quite probable, it would,
at the end of ten years, have about 1s'VoS,-
COO to 20 GcO. eco spiadles, representing cap
ital of about $500, 0Oo,ooe, or enough SPIN
dies to consume, say. about Eone-th1ru Oh
its average cotton crop; but in ten years
from now the cotton crop, instead OF aver
aging 10000 oCO to 12,O 10000 bales, will gun
TO at least Is, GOO 600 to is, OG0,coO bales.
COTTON-MILL ACTIVITY.
.sFIeretofore the cotton-mili activity has
been largely centered in the Carolinas
and Georgia, these three States having
over 4, 0C0, 600 out of a total OF about oVoo'-
COO spindles lin the South Bur the move
1nert is now spreading farther Soulh. ana
Alabama and Mississippi are beginning
tn take an active part in the work. Mis-
s:ss,rp:. which has not heretofore been
classed as much Of a cotton manatacaur-
ing State, is building about half q dozen
mills. and a number OF others are under
organization, while in Admission. Ala,
where there are already two or three
mills in operation, three new mills nave
been definitely decided upon for. mmeda-
ND nppOtlRtfCnS
pending for two others. In auntsVlNe
several very large mills are being bulit,
and other towns are going to follow 1he
lead of 1.-THE 5Carolinas and Georgia.
1.-THE Southern cotton-mifls have been
exceedingly fortuna tie this year IN having
laid i'm a large amount of cotton carry IN
the season, when prices were low. Inc
ma iority of Southern mills purchased a
good Dor ton of the quantity required Tor
their years consumption at an average
of SO to SIS a bale less than cotton IS now
bringing. One large mill In Caroi1na, III
which some Baltimore people are inter-
ested, has $4,000 bales on which the rise
in price has made profit OF 80 a BALE
or about s450,OOO, before the cotton IS
turned into the manufactured goods. 1t
us reported THAT the Mount Vernon-W ood-
berry cotton duck combination IS ahead
in the same way to the extent OF proba-
bly $1,000 bales bought at $40 or Slo q
bale less than present prices. Nearly an
Southern mills were fortunate enough to
see ahead Of anyone else that the crop
was short, and their persistent buying OF
everything in sight early In the season
was the first thing that started the up
ward market 1t is probably safe TO
saw that Southern mills will make sS,0oO-
COO or $40, 0cO, eco clear gain on the advance
In their raw cotton this season, in ado1-
ton to the profits which they are max
ing in their regular manufacturing DUST
| ness. The advance in cotton will make
the crop worth to the South possibly as
much as s75,GOo,oC0 more than the Dig
crop of the preceding year vie ded.
IRON AND COAL MINING IN
! TERESTS.
'tIn iron and coal mining interests, the
activity and prosperity are equally as
great. Every coal mine and iron plant
in the South is pushed to its utmost
capacity at profits that make glad the
heart Of the Stockholders. So great is
this activity that the. chief trouble IS
the scarcity of labor and the lack OF
sufficient rolling stock on the railroads
to promptly handle the business Inc
demand for coal, coke and iron far ex-
ceeds the output, and orders for do
nestle consumption, as well as for ex-
port, are bling constantly refused. The
iron and mineral interests of the South
generally have now been put on the
most solid foundation, with the prospect
for the same regular diyidend-earnin
power which the cotton mill interests