The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-30

ton. There are schoolhouses and churches
a fine fire department. q company store
where operatives may or may not trade
as they see At. but where they get better
article for less money than they get else
where. The streets are laid with excellent
sidewalks ard lighted with electricity
The company furnishes free medical at
tendance to all the thousands who live
In the little community. paying regular
salaries to physicians, who devote their
emit ire time 20 the wants Of the sick.
Ard this village is a type, perhaps a type
with broader features and better equipped
than some. yet type Of the factory com
munities which are growing up all over
' this part Of the New South. and which are
giving !ens Of thousands Of poor white
PEOPLE better homes, better food. better
clothing and, above all better opportunities
for education ana Intellectual advance
ment than they or their fathers before
them ever had until the dawn Of this new
era Of Southern prosperity and progress
| GROWTH or ruH COTTON INDUSTRY
| Blu, to 90 back 20 the development Of
the water power from which all Of this
latter-day growth and rapidly increasing
1
ing TO review the expansion Of the cotton
mill industry which followed 80 swiftly
upon the heels of that event There was
| just one mil in Columbia ten years ago,
a little concern representing a slON eco in
vestment. employing l25 Operatives and
using about no bales OF cotton annually
| The mill is remembered now only as the
| pioneer in the lire of enterprise which
1 1.. a. i IL.
| capital city The mill building il used
| merely as n warehouse for the vastly greater
| concerns which have supp!anted il
Following the completion of the Columbia
water power canal and It's acquisition by
| the Columbia Water Power COMPANY.
cam the organization of the columbia
Ni.ls Company IN 1893 with capital of
Sco0o which capitalization, owing TO
the constant additions that have been
made To the plant, is now about 81 500 900.
The Columbia company was the frr
in this country, or in the world. for that
matter, to Use electric power transmitte ed
from distance, and its experiment: In this
field attracted much attention and brought
Columbia very prominently to the front
among cottonmill men and manufacturers
generally The Columbia turns about
~ 900 bales of cotton annually into duck
ana it's product goes all over the world
II Is used by the japanese Government
for tent covers and in the Klondike for
sIeeping-bags. while great quantities Of
its sail cloths 60 to the Philippines and
South Africa.
ELECTRIC POWER
The water power is converted into cleo
trt,, k,,. -, H..
wheels and dynamos and is used not only
in operating the mills, bur in lighting the
city Of Columbia at night, and. in propeliing
the cars Of the Columbia Electric Street
Railway. Light and Power Company or
this company +. B. Clark one of Column
bias most active young business men.
Is the general manager and treasurer.
The power il also transmitted 10 the CRANKY
NJ III of the big Olympia company. although
the Olympia. by one of the finest steam
plants extant for the generate ion of cleo
tricity supplies its own power. having the
water power plant TO fall back upon as
a reserve force The Electric Street Rail
way, Light and Power Company /. also
connected with the Olympa's steam cleo
tricity. generating plant, and thus has two
ST rings to it's bow in case OF accidents
Whether generated by steam or BY water
power. elect richly il the force used in driv-
ing nearly all the now enormous cotton
mill plants here, in which respect Columbia
led the country and the world and furn-
ished the models which representatives
from the greatest cotton manufactures
Of New England and old England have
come here TO study.
THE VITALITY MILLS
Following the Columbia there came in
rapid succession the splendid group known
as the -Whaley Mills" of which the Rich
land was the pioneer and the peerless Olyun-
pia the eliminating triumph. The Rich
land, originally capitalized at $50 900
and af,erward increased to $500 900. oper-
atcs 10000 spindles and 200 looms, CON
sumes annually $500 bales Of cotton and
employs $50 hands.
The CRANKY was the second mill under
taken by Mr.. Whaley and his associates,
The CRANKY is driven by electric power
furnished by the Canal company and ii is
a mile away from tho water power plant
that generates the electricity. This wa.
the first mill in the world to experiment
with electric motive power conveyed SO
long a distance The CRANKY has been
in operation six years now. II began with
a capital Of S25O.0OO which has since been
increased to SsOO,OOO: IT operates o.. 900
ring spindles and 1900 i0-inch looms; it
consumes 5000 bales OF cotton annually
and employs 500 hands
The company which built tho great
Olympia mill was organized in 1909. the
| original capital being 81, 500, 600, which was
soon after increased TO sl,75O,UO. The
present officers Of the company are: W b.
smith Whaley, president; W A Clark
vice-presdent j. $ Moore secretary and
treasurer, and F : Barnes. superintendent.
Both Mr.. Whalcy and Mr.. Clark are South
Carolina men MIR. Whaley l. a Charles
tonian and Mr.. Clark was born on James
| Island, near Charleston, whore his family
| for generations was engaged in growing
| the famous Sea Island cotton which has
| nothing To match it in point of fneness in
| all the world. Mr.. Clark was student in
| South Carolina College, here In Columbia
when the war broke out Some wears ago
| he came here to live, and from the start
has been commanding figure in the group
| of men whose strong characters and clear
business foresight have been the irpulsc
| behind the city's marvellous development
| He Is now president of the Carolina National
| Bank. and, in addition to all his other di-
| ypr-fiat irfnrpsts ba- I,