Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-05-22

"seo ior electrlcal generation. 1t il
calculated that between six and
eight tons of coal per day are sufli.
oient to operate 400 horse-powe,
engine during eleven hours of con.
tinuous service. About one and
one-half cords of pine wood are
equal to one ton of coal.
The use of electricity generated
by water or steam power is bccom-
ing more and moro popular with
Southern mill owners. Calculations
have been made showing that the
installation Of motors in various de-
partments, 80 that one section Of the
machinery can be operated indepcnd-
emily of another, is much more eco
nomical than when power is commu.
nicated by shafting and betting,
which requires possibly half or all OF
the mill equipment to be run in or
der to operate certain portion.
The Columbia Manufacturing Com
pany, at Columbia, S. c., recently
constructed an extensive plant for
the manufacture of heavy duck. A
set of turbines located on the Co.
lumbia Power Canal supply the
sources of power from series of
large dynamos, and the current is
conveyed to motors in each depart
ment. In turn, the machinery in the
departments is divided into sections,
each connected with it's individual
motor. Thus section of looms can
be placed in operation, while the
rest of the plant is idle, if desired.
The Pelzer mill, at Pelzer, S. c.,
containing the largest number of
spindles of any plant in the world,
is also operated by electricity, dis
tributed upon the aame plan. 1t has
been argued that even where steam
is depended upon solely, electric
transmission is from 90 to 80 per
cent cheaper in the long run.
Houses for the operatives are
usually constructed Of wood, and in
the larger mill villages have from
six to ten rooms each. If the com
pany installs gas or electric lights
and water works, they are furnished
with these conveniences, also baths.
A six-room house costs, on an aver
age, 5000, or 500 room. The
same is true of the larger houses. A
six-room house will rent at from $40
to $12 month, or 25 per cent of it's
total cost. Estimating interest on
investment, swear and tear" and
taxes at 10 per cent of the rental, a
profit to the company is left of Is
per cent yearly. The scale Of wages
naturally varies according to the
character of the goods produced.
AN estimate taken from the daily
pay roll Of North Carolina mill
gives 1880 for fifty-four hands.
They include one spinner at $3.50,
six boys in various capacities from
70 cents to 40 cents, and twelve
girls at 26 cents each. This group
includes every department of the
mill, from picking the cotton to the
spinning. Yet at this scale of
wages, little difficulty has thus far
been encountered to obtain enough
labor, as the operatives, on the aver
age, live much better and suffer less
hardships than when earning livcli-
hood in the mountains.
The above are some of the reasons
why cotton manufacturing in the
South has 30 rapidly revived on
account of the profits which have
accrued to the manufacturers. The
combination of advantages which
they have enjoyed has enabled not q
few of the companies to earn enough
to declare, if they desired, an aver
age dividend of from 10 to IS per
cent annually, after allowing from s
to 10 per cent for depreciation of
machinery and buildings. Few such
dividends are announced, however, as
it has been the general policy of
late years to add to the surplus,
making it fund for enlargcmcnts
and bctterments. This is why quite
number of the Carolina mills have
doubled their capacity within the
last ten years, paying entirely for
the cnlargemcnts out of the profits
of the original plant. A number
of illustrations might be cited of
this kind. One mill located at Gaff.
ncy, S. O., earned % per cent yearly
for the first three years it was in
operation, and its machinery was
operated % hours out of the q
during the first two years. 1t manu-
tacturcd certain grade of shcetinp.
and during tho period mentioned
actually controlled tho price of the
a