The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-02

! town had just little over 900 inha bit nts
at the end Of the first half decade following
the war. By 1880 the blood had begun TO cir
culate and the town was in that uneasy stage
| which come wit h semi-wakefulness. There
were 3.2S3 inhabitants, according to the
census OF 1880. In 1890. only twelve years
ago. the population was 55+4 The awaken
ing had not yet fully come, but it was near
at hand.
II came in earnest only In the last half Of
the decade Of ls8O-I9OO. In that short
interval Spartanburg leaped forward to a
front place among all the cities of South
Carolina. II ranks third in point of popu-
lation now. Only Charleston itself and
Columbia are ahead. Where II will be when
another census is taken there il no telling,
but let Columbia look to her laurels IL is
not safe TO predict in the atmosphere that
exists here. The enthusiasm OF il is con-
tagious and might lead to extravagant
estimates.
But in the last ten years the population
OF the city has increased by more than 100
per cent. At the same rate Of increase,
by the time the present census decade is
half completed-by three years from now
that is-it is safe to ray that what ten wears
ago was the little village will have grown
into a city Of 1000 or 1900 souls. and
there are those here, and they not of the
over-sase equine type. who fully believe that
Spartanburg 1900 or 1900 OF the year
1900 will have grown to a figure that will
closely crowd 10000 by the close OF the
year 1905. That it is destined to be one Of
the future big cities Of South Carolina all
are agreed.
WEALTH INCREASED IN PROPORTION
But the marvel OF the city's growth In
mere size really is not by half 40 great as
il that OF its growth In other directions
In wealth, In educational matters and In all
those things which go TO make up what is
heathies and best in q community The
story told by the figures Of the banks Is a
story OF ever-inueasing material prosperity
which can be matched by few places In the
South, or in the country at large, for that
matter.
Fourteen years ago there was but one
bank in the town-the First National, with
a capital Of SiOo, 900 and deposits amounting
to $3.50 200. To-day there are three national
banks. two State banks and two saving.
banks-s>'ven in all, with q combined capital
OF $3.50 ,OOO and deposits ageregatng 81 900,
900. all the growth Of twelve TO fourteen
years An of these banks on the average
pay an annual dividend of per cent. 4 Der
cent. semi-annualy.
PROFITABLE COTTON INDUSTRIES
OF course the secret of all this rand
growth and great prosperity lies in the de-
velopment of the cotton manufacturing
industry. With the exception of some
small collateral lines of manufacture Incl
u ....l.
there is no great producing industry in
the city
Not that there IL no room for other lines
of manufacture. There is ssich room,
plenty Of it. and the manufactures will
come in time. All about here there is a
great abundance and a great variety Of
the best qualities Of timber for manu-
featuring woodwork and furniture Of all
kinds. There is no reason Why there
should not be as much furniture made In
the vicinity Of Spartanburg, - q, as there
is in the vicinity Of Greensboro That is
to gay, there is no reason in nature and
the conditions here why that should not
be the case There is a reason however,
that heretofore has come in the way Of
there being a more varied line of manu-
features than exist in Spartanhurg. 1t
is the simple reason that cotton manu-
facture has paid 80 much better than any
thing else that everybody with money to
invest put It into cotton mills.
There are in Spartanburg county over
twenty cotton mills and they pay an average
OF from 3 10 IL per cent annually in divi-
dends Indeed, the Pacoet mill In 1901
paid 20 per cent. but that was exceptional,
and will hardly be repeated by any Of the
mills in this current year
MILLIONS IN THE MILLS
Bearing in mind that only twelve or
fourteen years ago there was practically
nothing of the present prosperity here,
the following statement Of the capital in
vested in the following sixteen mills, to-
gether with the number OF hands employed
in each. tells its own story: