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 whcn the dam of the
Water, Light and Power Company at
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
dernd non productive so many thous-
ands of dollars Of invested capital.
President Orr determined to put in an
engine Of sufficient horsepower ca
pacity to run all of thcmacIlincry used.
This has now been done, every depart
mcnt is being run, the operatives, nre
happy and contentcd once more and
the stockholders are satisfied and cx-
pcctant.
A start of most Of the machinery WAS
made last Friday Ill tilrcc-fourhs Of
days work done, but this was prc-
liniinary to test iii. pew engine and
boilers. The working Of these was
found satisfactory, and the stop
made Friday afternoon was in order to
0klN tHc llcS, tISlltI DOlIS :tiltt D':tr-
lngs and make slight changes prcpara-
tory to regular running. This work
required one day.
Ihc engine put in to run the vast
amount of machinery of these mills Is
OF 200 horse power, and six enormous
boilers. with two furnaces each, are re-
CURED 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
tion OF the country. 1t is called Il
stccple engine. from the fact, don bt-
less. that it is upright and shaped like
a steeplc. The base of the iron struc-
turc is about ten feet square and rises
to n height OF seventeen or eighteen
feet, tapering to about six feet ut he
top. About ten feet above the base il
constructed square deck or platform,
projecting probably four feet from the
1nain structure and rallied in The
etructure between this deck and the
hnSe is, in reality. hollow, in which is
"ased tho crank. eccentric, &c.
nich move in n mixture Of oil and
water, serving to both lubricate
and cool the journals and bear
ings. One barre! OF oil to three Of wa
ter IS used Ill this casing at one time,
and is kept churned up constantly by
the moving Of tho machinery. Above
this deck arc placed two cylinders, ono
above the other, the lower being what
is termed the high pressure cylinder
and the upper the low pressure cylinder.
Only ono piston-rOd is used which
passes through the lower and into the
upper cylinder. The circumference of
the cylinders is, expressed technically,
being 90. Through tho casing, about
midway between tho bnsc and the
deck, runs II steel shafting twelve or
fourteen inches in diameter. On the
east side on this shnfting is the balance
wheel, probably fifteen feet in diane
tor, and on the west side tho governor
wheel, about eight feet in diameter.
This shafting is coupled to the shafting
formerly turned by electricity, bYY
double disks. one on each shafting,
bolted together. DisconnectiOn can be-
easily made when tho electrical power
ls used or worked in connection with
that power if desired.
This arrangement of installing steam
power provides etfectually against the
recurrence of q disaster like the one re-
Gently, the effects of which has been 40
disastrous to 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
vc1y soon be inaugurated.
IN 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 |
Monday. This terrible misfortune caus-
ed short delay, butO. F. Rhodehaven,
OF Plttsburg, Pa, was sent to take |
charge of the final construction of the |
engine and 1t is now running smoothly |
and satisfactorily.
The Orr Cotton Mills employ four |
hundred and fifty operatives, and when
the power was cut Oft by the disaster
which occurred at POrtman more |
than three months ago these operatives |
wsco thrown out of work. 1t was
natural to suppose they would seek |
MoFh Tx oeeraeT and move away but
ing, remained. Only eight families |
moved away, and when the mill started |
only one house WAS vacant. This |
speaks volumes for President Orr and |
SuperintendeMt Loflin. It shows a |
high degree of confidence and consid- |
Grafton on both sides. Some of the |
during the three months Of idieness, |
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
ed again, all will soon be in good shape. |
Lotlin says he has the |
best set of people in the State, and the |
above facts bear him out.
The school in the village hns been
we'll equipped with teachers, and durin <
the shut down maDY took advantage of |
the time and entered school, swelling |
the average attendance from 1870 to 1SO
IN addition to the regular teachers,
Miss Annie Dean and Miss Minnie |
Kirksey, Rev. B. NJ Robinson. the
Methodist minister, was employed and |