The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-04-19
R OF SUBSCRIPTION
WILMINGTON, N. C.
INSTRUCTIVE COTTON MANUFAC-
TURING STATISTICS.

The south did finely IN the past year.
1t built ffty-one knitting mills, four
teen woollen mills. 1t built many cotton
mills but We do not recall the number.
North Carolina alone chartered in that
year seventy-three textile mills COM
panies. How many were completed we
are not advised. The Messenger has be-
fore expressed the opinion that is held
by the uniformed in the north as to the
proportion of men of that section
building the cotton and other mills IN
the south. Tina there will be more of
these there is no doubt. for the textile
mills in the south for years have made
more money in proportion to invest
ments than New England mills ave
earned. 1t is a fact that up to 1900
the per centage of northern invest
ments in North Carolina was but s per
cent. 1t is said to have increased last
year to Is per cent. 1t is not above 20
per cent in any state in the south. In
all there are between 700 and 500 cot
ton factories in southland. There is
progress, and people at homeeare will
ing and anxious to invest in textile
mills, but the present conditions of cot
ton and prices Of the manufactured
fabrics are not SO encouraging as they
were in the last -four years. The pro-
duct from the staple and goods made
from it for 1900 is placed It $753, OOO,-
600, and possibly the figures are not In
excess. Now the south grows Sc per
cent of all the cotton consumed in the
world. 1t is steadily advancing in the
manufacture of the great staple, and
at present the amount of bales used
at home is put at 1.5O0. 900. Our own
state has now enough mills probably
to consume about all the cotton pro-
duced within it's borders. The posi-
bilities lying in the great staple cot
ton, for the south are tremendous. The
augury is fattering. and unless a COM
I1ercial panic comes within a few years
the growth of manufactures and the
cotton production promise great results
for the people in this great section.
The cotton. woollen and other mills.
help greatly. for they give employment
to labor. and while building new
and important industries, they
build up villages and towns.
There are many illustrations TO
be found in North Carolina. While
manufacturing in the north is vast, it
Is not perhaps the best thing for farms
decay, as in New England, that
mills may multiply and manufacturing
become the n powerful enterprise of
an intelligent people. The great pro-
"ductiveness in Massachusetts, is manu-
featuring. 1t has flourished long from
southern patronage. The south a
been tributary to it's vast increase in
wealth. But if the United States were
like Massachusetts,, agriculture would
to a great extent die put and the peo-
pie would have to return to a very
primitive diet. 1t is said that in the
American Union the manufactures are
already absorbing 50 per cent, while
agriculture has dropped to % per cent
With vast of land this is not
a healthful or desirable sign. 1t is too
Initiative of England. Let the south
grow it's cotton and manufacture what
it can of the amount produced-all of
the raw material-but be sure to keep
UP to a great sum the products of the
farm. There is more money in manu-
faeturing cotton than growing it.
There is no doubt of this. 1t will be
recalled how Mr.. D. A. Tompkins, of
Charlotte, figured out the great results
from manufacturing the cotton pro-
,duced at home. We cop again:
81 have figured out some of the pos
Sibities for North Carolina, and on
the basis of our state crop of 500, 900
bales. 500, 900 as raw cotton at 6 cents
yields $4,000. 900: 5000 900 bales as COM
mon. duck. at Ii cents yields $50. 900, 900;
500, 900 bales as sheeeting at Is cents
yields$45, 00O. 600; 100000 bales as tick,
at "a cents, yields $50. 600, 900; 500, 900.
bales as denim at 20 cents yields SIS, 600
OO0;: SOC, 000. bales as madras, at 40
cents yields 500. 900. 900: 500. 900 bales as
mercerized, at 81 Yields $3.50, 000, 900:
$780, 900 bales as poplin. at $3.50 yields
$3.50. coo, 900; 100000 bales as emb. g1ng-
ham, at $3.50 yields 500. 0O0. 900; 500, 900
bales as Persian lawn. at 81 yields
81. OO0. 200. 900; 500. 900 bales as Swiss en-
broidery, at $40 yields So. 900. O0O, O00."