Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-02-23
COTTON MILLS
a Period of Building Entered Upon
by the South,
Bids Fair TO Continue UnIntorrupt.
edIy for nInny Ycnrs-A Conserve
sive Estimate New Enterprises
Reported for tho week.
Especial to virglnian- Pllot.)

Baltimore. Feb. 22.-'rhe South has
entered upon a period Of cotton-mll
building which bids fair to continue un-
1nterruptedly for many years to come.
While the organization of new mills
may possibly, at least, not be so active
as at present yet the industry is now
on such solid foundation, and Is COM
handing such wide attention on the
part Of outside as well as local capital.
that the future prc-cminent position of
the Southern States as the cotton man
ufacturing centre. not only of this
country, but doubtless of the world,
may be accepted as an assured fact. In
view of the progress already made. and
of the success which has attended the
development of the textile interests of
the South ii seems reasonably safe to
calculate that the building of new mills
and the enlargement of established
plants will add an average of 1880, 900
to 100000 spindles {. year to the South
FOR the next few years, and after that
o. still greater increase. a very con-
servative authority has been estimated
that the aggregate addition of spindles
y
least 20,000,000 which. added to the s.
f7i,361 spindles now in the South, will
give n total of 25,T7i,36l spindles ten
years hence.
So long as the South, which is tho
acknowledged natural situs for cotton
manufacturing, is compelled to find q
market outside of it's own borders for
large proportion of its cotton crop,
80 long will there be profitable open
ingS In the South for the establishment
OF cotton mills In round figures, there
are about 10000o,000 spindes in the
world. The South furnishes about
three fourths OF the worlds cotton sun
ply, or sufficient, say, expressed in an
other way, TO run 600 OF the
worlds spindlcs, and yet has, including
the mills now building, less than 6.O0O :
goo spindles. Even at the rate OF adj
ding 100000 spndles II year, which
would mean, 100 mills with an average
or 10000 spindles, it would take more
than thirty years for the South to reach
the point where it could consume it's
present cotton crop, and by that time
the world will be demanding OF the
South not simply l0,00J,00O or - 600. 600
bales of cotton, but probably ut least
20,0 600 to 30,000.000 bales. The field,
therefore. for eNpan of the cotton
mill industry Is practically unlimited
so far as the South is concerned. With
due care in the organization OF mills
that abundance of capital and the best
management shall be secured and good
locations selected, the cotton-mill
business ought TO offer one of the most
inviting fields for investment which the
world can present.
The Manufacturers Record by direct
correspondence has secured from the
cotton mills of the South the number of
@pindles and looms in each. from the
mills already in operation and those nc
tna11N llntar al yinf ba =,
of this business since 1890 Is indicated
by the following table:
,,,,,, 1%s Dec, i, + Dec !; Feb 81
ooms ' sss ss,Sio 41Sss S ilaass
The list includes all the cotton-spln-
ming and weaving mills, but not the
knitting mills. 1t may be well. how
ever, to add that in the latter depart
lnent of textile manufacture there has
been decided forward movement in
1899. According TO the list as care
fully compiled by the Manufacturers
Record, there are now seventy three
new mills actually under construction.
These will be equipped with Il total of
746,S40 spindles and 1880 looms.
NEW ENTERPRISES.
The more important industrial enter
prscs reported by the Manufacturers
Record for the week were:
100000 iron mining company in Ala
Dama
$4,000 mining company. $4,000 cotton
mill company, 80 barrel -four mill, So, 600
coal mining plant in Arkansas.
25-ton ice factory in Florida
100000 cotton mill 100000 cotton and
knitting mill 100000 cotton factory in
Georgia.