The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-04-21
Mr., BARR ANDS,A L. STRIKE ON MAY lst
Rumors in Regard to Mill
Men in This State.
Not Believed That J. P. Morgan WIN at This
Time Form Cotton Mill Trust. I'm
proysment in Textile Prices.

pfOFetHShl III texIHe FTlceSs
american Wool and Cotton Reporter.)
1t is said in Charlotte IN. c. mill cir
cles that President Gompers of the Fed
GRAFTON of Labor spent several days in
that city last week to organize the mill
operatives for cooperation in the gen.
eral mill strike, which, it is understood,
has been ordered for May l. The manu-
facturers admit that the situation is
grave, and this is said to be one of the
rasons why the convention of the South
ern Cotton Spinners' Association at At
lanta, was postponed.
COTTON MILL COMBINE?
A report, emanating from New Orleans.
has been current recently to the effect
that J. P. Morgan & Co. were about to
start cotton mill combination No con-
firmation of this report has. as yet. been
obtained, however. The Morgan people
decline to talk regarding it. While the
comparatively conservative capitalization
of the great majority of the cotton mills
furnish plenty of room for the injection
of water" many Of them being capt.
talized at a low price per spindle, the
present condition of cotton manufacturing
is hardly of a character calculated to
impart much enthusiasm over an under
taking of this kind in the minds of in
vestors, and it is not generally believed
among those in close touch with cotton
mill matters that J. p. Morgan & Co. are
to undertake it. The time when this
should have been done was a year and
half or two years ago, although it is
possible, of course, that the project of
uniting the leading cotton mills into one
compact organization alluded to many
months ago. is not yet dead and that ].
P. Morgan & Co. may be interested in it.
Leading mill men do not credit the report,
however.
IMPROVEMENT IN PRICES.
Tn market during the past week has
seen something of a clearance Of the at
mosphere. Several stock which menaced
II have evidently been removed, but
whether by special concessions or by
way of the buyers necessities, ii has not
always been possible to determine. Sell
lers who have made concessions are not
willing to admit it, fearing, OF course,
that it would tend to weaken the market
if it was generally known they had done
so. Buyers. however. appear to be more
anxious to pick up lines Of goods and
this is due undoubtedly to two leading
reasons. First they have waited so long
for the market to reach bottom, that
their stocks have become much depleted
and they are forced into the market as
a consequence. Next, on account of the
restricted production in many mills, they
see possibilities of difficulties in the way
og getting goods in the future or at least
of being obliged to take the goods at con
siderable advances. They reason, there
fore, that il is q pretty safe thing to
buy now. and it seems to be merely
question with them as to what the bottom
figure of the market really is.
The curtailment of production has in
creased during the past week to con-
siderable extent, so that even lines which
have not been especially active, do not
seem to gain in stock.
The actual business that has been
transacted shows only moderate gain
over the business of a year ago. yet this
gain is encouraging, particularly as a
portion of it was at prices slightly high
er than those Of a week ago.
TAR HEEL MILL NOTES.
NJ. NJ Courtney and j. D. Moore of Gas
tonia, n. c., have about arranged to
erect a SO, 900 cotton factory at Lenoir,
N. G. The local people have accepted the
proposition and will take S35, 900 worth
of the stock. The charter has been APP
piled for under the title Of the Lenoir
cotton mill the capital stock being 49,
600. NJ NJ Courtney has been elected
president; T. d. Moore, secretary
treasurer. The company will erect a
building 200 feet long and install in it
5000 spindles. after that plant is in OPP
Grafton and running steadily, it is the in
tention to extend the building 100 feet
and put in 5000 more spindles thus in
creasing to a s125 900 plant. The product
will be fine yarns made from long staple
cotton.
A movement is on foot at Winston
Salem, n. c. for the organization Of
S10O. coo cotton mill to be operated on the
co-operative plan; nothing definite has
been determined yet.
The Nantucket mills, Of Spray. n. G.,
B. F. Mebane, president, intend to ex-
pend s1O5 900 for improvements. new ma
cbincry and general betterments. The
funds for this purpose win be acquired by
increasing the capital stock from 100000
to 1925. COO.