The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-04-09
Local News.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 1902.
Orr Cotton Mills at Work Once More.

The Orr Cotton Mills started up"
again Monday last. The electric pow
cr, upon which these mills depended
entirely, was cut Off the latter part Of
December last whe en- the dam of the
Water, Light and Power Company ut
Portman Shoals was swept away by
the high water. Immediately upon the
happening of this disaster. which threw
so many families out Of work and rem
dcrcd nOn-pr0ductivc SO many tholls-
ands of dollars of invested capital.
President Orr determined to put III IN
engine of sufficient horse power ca
pacity to run all of thcnlachintry used.
This has now been done, every depart
mcnt is being run, the operatives are
happy and cOntcntcd once more and
the Stockholders are satisfied and OK
pcctant.
A start of most of the machinery WAS
made last Friday and three fourth, of
Il days work done, but this WAS pre-
limim;uy to test the new engine and
boilers. The working Of these was
found satisfactory, and the stop
made Friday afternoon was in order to
inRs and make slight changes prcpara-
tory to regular running. This work
required one day.
The engine put in to run the vast
amount Of machinery of these mills is
OF 200 horsepower, and six enormous
boilers, with two furnaces each, are re-
Guircd to furnish necessary steam.
These furnaces are encased in brick
side by side, and with their twelve
furnaces beneath look as though they
could furnish steam enough for all the
mills in the County.
In appearance the big engine differs
materially in point OF construction
from any engine ever seen in this SEC
ton OF the country. 1t is called Il
steeple engine, from the fact, doubt
less. that it is upright and shaped like
n steeple. The base of the iron strnc-
ture is about ten feet square and rises
to n height OF seventeen or eighteen
feet, tapering to about six feet ut the
top. About ten feet above the base is
constructed square deck or platform,
projecting probably four feet from tho
1nain structure and rallied in. The
structure between this deck and the
base Isl. in reality, hollow, in which is
"ased the crank, eccentric, &c.
nich move in mixture Of oil and
water, serving to both ilDricate
and cool the journals and bear
ings. One barrel OF oil to three OF wa
ter is used in this casing mt one time,
and is kept chUrned up constantly by
the moving of the machinery Above
this deck arc placed two cylinders, ono
above the other, tho lower being what
is termed the high pressure cylinder
and theupper the low pressure cylinder.
Only one piston-rod is used which
passes through the lower and into the
upper cylinder. The circumference OF
the cylinders is, expressed technically,
in inches, 81. by 37A by 22; the stroke
being %. Through tho casing, about
midway between the base and the
fourteen inches in diameter. On the
cast side on this shnfting is the balance
wheel, probably fifteen feet in diane
ter, and on the west side the governor
wheel, about eight feet in diameter.
This shafting is coupled to the shafting
formerly turned by electricity. by
double disks. one on each shafting,
easily made when the electrical power
is used or worked in connection with
that power if desired.
This arrangement of installing steam
power provides effectually against the
recurrence of q disaster like the one re-
Gently, tho effects of which hns been Sc
disastrous 70 30 many families; and it
places tho mills in position, when the
electric power is permanently restored,
to enlarge the mills and engage in the
manufacture of other kinds of textiles
"a movement which will doubtless
very soon be inaugurated.
The reader will recall the sad acci-
dent which resulted in the death of u.
H: Scott, engineer from New York,
who lost his life shortly after starting
up this big engine two weeks ago last
10 mi fN
ed short delay, butO. F. .Rhodehaven,
OF Plttsburg, Pa, was sent to take
charge of the final construction of the
engine and It is now running smoothly
and satisfactorily.
The Orr Cotton Mills employ four
hundred and fifty operatives, and when
the power was cut off by the disaster
than three months ago these operatives
were thrown out of work. 1t was
natural to suppose they would seek
work elsewhere and move away; but
to the contrary all, practically speak
ing, remained. Only eight families
moved away, and when the mill started
only one house. was vacant; This
superintendent Loflin. 1t shows q
high degree of confidence and consid-
Grafton on both sides. Some of the |
operatives had pretty tough time
dUriIg the three months of idleness,
and nearly all are to some extent in !
debt, but advances were made in keep
Ing with necessities and not family |
suffered. Now that the mill has start.
eI again, all will soon be in good shape.
Loflin says he has the |
hest set of people in the State, and the |
above facts bear him ont.
The school in the village hns been
we'll equipped with teachers, and durin z
the shut down many took advantage Of |
the time and entered school, swelling
the average attendance from 1870 to 18O |
In addition to the regular teachers,
Miss Annie Dean and Miss Minrie
Kirksey, Rev. Is. Nj. Robinson. the |
Methodist minister, was employed and
paid by the mills as assistant. This |
school ia kept running nine months by