Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-04-17
Htiseellameol1s geading.
WHAlEY's GREAT TRIUMPH.
CoIumbla's Olympia Mill Stands Alone, Su'
perior to All.
Charleston News and Courier.

bia, Is the largest cotton mill unQer
one roof in the south, and one Of the
largest cotton mills in the world. It
Is the first cotton mill in the United
States built for the employment Of
electricity generated by steam and not
by water. It is the highest type Of
mill in construction, equipment and in
the adoption Of electricity to the solu-
tion of problems Of economy in the
business Of cotton manufacturing.
About four years ago, Mr.. w. B.
Smith Whaley read paper before the
! American Society Of Mechanical En-
gineers, in which he compared the rel
ative cost Of power transmitted by
steam and by electricity and the ad-
vantages that would result from the
use of electricity derived from genera
tors directly connected to steam en-
gines. The general opinion Of mill
engineers was that the use Of elec-
tricity in cotton mills, although pos
sessing features Of advantage over 9TH
ers systems Of transmission, they
were thought to be Of insufficient value
to warrant the increased cost Of the
electric system over the others which
had been employed" Mr.. Whaley had
demonstrated, however, the advan-
tages of the electric system by a prac-
tical test of steam and electricity
working in two Of his mills, side by
side, and determined upon the plans
for the construction of the Olympia
mill, which marks the most important
advance in mill construction that has
ever been made. The results which
he has obtained have so impressed the
manufacturing world that at his in
vitation the General Electric concern
sent a company Of distinguished man.
ufacturers and engineers to Columbia
this week to inspect the Olympia mill.
They spent two days in the thorough
examination Of the mill, and were en-
tertained by Mr.. Whaley at an ele-
CANT banquet in Columbia on Wednes-
day night. In the opinion Of these very
practical men, Mr.. Whaley has accom-
plished one of the greatest triumphs OF
engineering skill Of modern times, and
has built the model cotton mill Of this
progressive generation.
The ordinary layman is impressed
by the Olympia mill because of It's
immense size; the expert engineer Is
impressed by it because Of the appli-
cation Of power and the economies Of
operation. The mil is $50 feet long and
ISL feet wide and contains four floors
and a basement, each story being 1S
feet high. The engine room Is 12O
feet long and so feet wide, and the
boiler room is 14O feet long and 40 feet
Vide. The walls Of the mill are 43, 80,
344&and 25a inches thick at the first,
second, third and fourth floors, respec-
lively. The absence Of heavy trans
verse walls in the constitution Of the
mill reduced the cost of the mill build
ing 10 per cent; the adoption Of the
electrical system saved &c per cent. Of
the cost Of belts and ropes; 1.-The saw
ing due to these three items was suf-
ficient, 1t Is said, to more than pay
for the cost of the electrical equip
ment of the mill" And the same elec-
trical plant with which the mill Is
equipped Is sufficient to light the town
and operate a street railway without
in any way interfering with the oper-
alton Of the mill. Deducting the cost
of the cottages occupied by the opera
tiyes of the mill and the excess Of
power generated by the power plant
of the mill not required for it's opera
ton, but available for uses outside OF
the mill, the cost Of the mill per
spindle is $1354, as compared with
cost of SIS per spindle in one of the
best of the New England mills.
All of these things are Of special in
terest to technical students and mill
experts; the general public is only in
terested in the broad fact that the
Olympia mill is the most completely
appointed cotton manufacturing es-
tablishment in the country, and the
newest and best product of modern
engineering skill. The people of South
Carolina, and practicularly the people
/ of Charleston, have cause for congrat-
ulation in the fact that the genius un-
der whose direction this mill was
constructed Is native Of Charleston.
We are making progress, indeed, when
the mill builders of New England ac-
knowledge, as they so cheerfully did
at the dinner in Columbia on Wednes-
day night, that Mr.. Whaley has set
new mark in modern mill construc-
ton. It would be proper tribute to
his ability and skill If the mill owners
of New England should invite him to
build q modern mill in New England
after the Olympia pattern.
Not only is the Olympia mill the
most modern in all its construction
and appointments; but Mr.. Whaley
has provided for the best possible care
of its operatives. He has built a VIII
lage of 325 cottages, furnished with
electric lights, which will be supplied
by the company at the cost Of produc-
ton. and equipped with all the modern
conveniences his idea being that the
better the treatment of his employees
the better their service.
Twelve years ago Columbia was the
deadest town in the South. It's people
had no faith in themselves. Nearly all
of them were croakers, and they croak-
ed and croaked. About five years
ago Mr.. Whaley went to Columbia and
opened an office. He was a modest
Young fellow with purpose. He saw
that there was an opportunity Of build.
ing up a great manufacturing centre
at Columbia. Some Of "the old souls
were astonished at his rashness, and