The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-09-09
A new INDUSTRY
CONCERN WITH LARGE CAPITAL
PROSPECTING HERE
The Palmetto Company, of Phi1ade1-
phia, investigating In Our City for
the Purchase of n Plant-They
Nauufactur Fibre From the Pal
~metfo-The Compnny's Represen-
fatfve Here.

Mr.. William Mill Butler, OF Philadel-
phia, Pa, a member OF the board Of
directors Of the Palmetto Company, OF
that city, arrived here Thursday for the
purpose OF making an investigation with
a view of establishing = plant here for
the manufacture of fiD:. from the pal
metto. His special object was 10 ex-
anime the plant Of the Imperial Pine
Product Company on Smiths Creek, the
proprietors Of which offer to dispose of
it to the Palmetto Company.
Mr.. Butler visited the plant Of the
Imperial Pine Product Company and
found il all that it was represented TO
be as to the value and extent OF the
machinery, buildings and location. He
will return TO Philadelphia this evening
and make a favorable report TO his
company, and in all probability they
Will establish a fbre plant here in n
RAction with the manufacture of pro-
ducts from the long leaf pine, for which
the factory was built.
Yesterday Mr.. Butler a Il confer
ence with a committee from .ne cham
Der of commerce., composed OF Messrs.
NJ. w. jacob, w. E. Worth, j. H. Boat
wright, c. c. Chadbourn n w. II.
Brown. He laid before them the plans
of the company, and offered local CAPT
talists $1,000 or more Of the stock of
his company, to get d local Identity.
Mr.. Butler states, however, tnat all the
company wants is the endorsement and
good will Of our people rather than their
capital and that If none of our people
subscribe, it will not influence the
company in its purpose of considering
the ~advisability of establishing a plant
in Wilmington.
Mr.. Butler was seen by a Messenger
representative last evening and he
states that the Palmetto Company is a
corporation with an authorized capital
of 81, 100000, of which about $3.50, 900
has been subscribed. There are $4,000
shares of the PAL value of $25 4 share
n $50 stockholders. They hold valu-
able patents for making fibre from the
DOT of the Palmetto and their inten-
ton was to establish their plant in
Florida, but they decided to loo into
the advantages of Wilmington for the
plant upon an offer of the owner of the
Imperial Pin Product works to dispose
of that plant.
MIR. Butler states that by their process
the products which are obtained from
palmetto are the valuable fibre, tanic
acid, glue dyes and other ~bi-products.
This business. of course, would be COM
bined with the manufacture of pine pro-
ducts if the plant here Is purchased. He
shows manufactured samples of the
palmetto fibre and says that it is more
nearly like horse hair than any other
fibre product and in many * spects is
superior to hair for manufacturing pur-
poses. It's principle use would be in
the manufacture of mattresses and for
upholStering.
M. Butler will leave at ! o'clock his
evening for Philadelphia to report the
resUl of his examination of the plant
here and make recommendations con-
corning the advisability OF locating the
plant here. He is vice consul at Phil
adelphia for Paraguay &nd is director
general of the Paraguay Development
Company, which is largely engaged in
the South American trace.