The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-01-29

/ ed. Several of these hive been Charter
ed already this month while IN twenty
eight days OF the ne wyear commissions
for mills with capital 6grcsating $.ao'-
600 nave been issued The building OF
chcse commissioned Mills. or most 81
| them, will DE begun nsde Of ninety days
| In Columbia the capi1l invested was
| $2.0l00O0 Last year Scth Carolina mills
! spun l37 600 bales of Suth Carolina cot
4 ton. This wear they sill proba1iy use
/ $4,000 bales
The argument has hen advanced. and
| reasonably. by some IL other states, tha1
| South Carl mia due her pre-emh ehto
| in cotton manufactuH 10 SPECIAL laws
| granting those ensagd in this industry
| special privil eges. sucl as immunity from
! taxation for a certain number of wears
| While this may have 9me effect Indirect
| ~, it certainly mas OF been the chleI
cause As will be shGn later. the great
majority of the big NILS have been con-
! structed without the ALIGNMENT of those
| special privileges. Vile | do not pre-
tend to here fully eplain the cause of
the remarkable eNrasion of the cotton
manufacturing mdUs.y IN this s,a-e, II
is an argument in faor of granting spe-
cial privileges to say hat perhaps, in the
outset mills were llilt because of i'm.
munity from taNMon that otherwise
would not have Doe located here. ana
that their marked u'cess was an en-
couragement to lO@ capitalists TO rlah-
their money in something besides mex
ChandiSe and cotton plantations. oUccV99
begets success. and wherever there are
found in any community men Wiling U
subscribe half the op.tal of nun there
I has never been an difficulty IN EeV'ihs
outside capitalists 20 CheertGlly make up
the remainder. So the early encoura4 &C.
ment given cottor factories may nave
been, as it We're the little power neces-
sary 20 start the SNOWFALL down the hill.
il has long since been moving and IN
Increasing with its cwn momentum alone
There was an act passed by the general
assembly in 1879 10 aid and encourage
manufacturers" q was commonly known
as the tcn-y IT law, and exempted all
manufacturers established under its pro-
visions from taxttou. In 1852, as if con-
firmng and extending this law for ten
wears more, the legislature passed the
following act.
ANY person VINO. since January l. 1872
has invested or may invest, capital IN
the manufacture of cotton, wooden ana
paper fabrics. iron from iron ores ana
agricultural Implements within tins
state shall for the period OF ten years
from his inv Stment be entitled 10 receive
from the treasury of the state sum
and from the county treasurer the aggre-
gate amount of county taxes. less the
mills for school purposes. aud from the
treasurcrs Of all municipal corporations
a sum equal TO the aggregate amount of
municipal taxes. which SHAH DE levied
and collected upon the property or capt
tai employed or invested directly IN such
manufactures or enterprises. not az
Guiding herein the tax levied upon the
land on which the factories may be
erected. The sum Of money SO l1 De re
paid to he fixed and determine by the
comptroller general in accordance with
the tax returns, the state tax a. oe paid
hy the state treasurer on his warrant ana
tho county tax by the county treasurer
under the order OF the eomptro.er gen
oral All owners Of vessels of 100 tons
measurement or upward. built ana owned
within this state. shall be entitled TO the
benefits of this subdivision upon tile same
conditions and for similar period.
after this law had BEEN on the .atute
hooks for three years. there beus grave
doubt as to its constitutionallty, ana as
IL did not appear to be having ans Aehe-
fciat effect it was repealed. without AZ
facting the rights of those concerned,
chartered under its provision For
several years thereafter al charter We're
granted 10y the legislature and ii was
sometimes provided in the charter mat
state taxes should be returned or not eoI-
lccted for a period generally. OF I'VE
wears. But under the two acts all man
ufacturing concerns were relieved 81 an
taxation-state. county and schools-uur-
ing a period of thirteen years, from 1872
IA 1875 and an examination of the books
in the comptroller generals office shows
that during all that period only twenty
four concerns took advantage of those
acts. and all of those were not cotton
mills Last year forty-one cotton mus
were chartered. commissioned or given
narmission to increase their capacity.
Here is the list of the factories taking
advantage Of the non-taXation acts;
In 1S73-Red Bank factory, Piedmont
Manufacturing Company. Langley Man
ufacturing Company and sullivan Manu-
featuring Company.
In 1S14-Sampson Han & Co.
In 1S75-Taylor iron works, Carolina
manufacturing Company. y. r. Converse
company. Smith & Walk. Reedy River
Manufacturing Company.
In 1876 Camperdown cotton mills, Pied
mont Manufacturing Company.
In 1SSl-Rock Iiill cotton factory. Pelzer
Manufacturing Company.
In 1SS2-Sumter cotton mills. White ~
Finger. Cherokee Fails Manufacturing
Company. Orange Mills. Putnam mills.
In lSSi-Standard Manufacturing Com
pany. .Huguenot mills.
The Morgan Iron Works, the Pilot brig
lsteamer) and the Anderson mills were
also exempted.
Since the acts exemptiHg factories from
taxation ceased to be effective fifteen
wears ago il has often occurred that
Municipalities would, by resolution OF
council or vote, agree to exempt certain
proposed factories for periods of from
five To ten years. Until the adoption of
the new constitution in 1898, this was
. ,,gafft n l.
| tuition made provision for such exemption
by towns if a majority Of freehoiders so
vote. except as to the special three-hil
schooI fax from which they cannot be
relieved. A proposition is now pending
in a town in this state TO remit 10 q
factory to be built its taxes for term
| of wears provided the factory conducts
/ no workshops or company store.
In recent years it is seldom a factory
has asked for exemption from taxes;
/ Quite a number in the neiehborhood OF
/ lie larcnr cities have nut their mil DulId-