The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-02-21

NRYAuhUlE III StGGGtlEalii W. 4Fis -
t6Itlthe need OF steam engines Or other
factors for supplying power tie eostr
ION min that depends on the Whit
| iisy vat elrpcwer willisimply have Is
electric motors to be driven by tile
@res from the Whitney power sta
ton Each spinning frame and each
loom can have its own motor. a vine
Serving for yall the connections.
Skating and puIleys viii be unnef:
esssrs and ali 81 The complicated
construction required for such a mill
"a Is common now can be dispensed
with, Electricity will simplify all
the operations Of mill work, and ~:
Ealgurate a new era In mill practice
Electricity in mill work is not
new, THE modern mills are equipped
now for such "a convenience. What
Is new is the development Of power
on such a scale to be applied 70 the
manufacture Of cotton goods in one
place. Niagara Falls has made
marked progress in the use Of elec.
trlcal energy from waterpower Az
Niagara the power is diverted to all
conceivable uses. That from the
Whitney power plant VIII so to any
mill that wants II, no matter what
thai the bulk Of It will develop he
cotton trade, because in this section
Of The country cotton manufacture
| IS he leading industry in a manufsc.
turing way,
Taking the experience Of the mills
OF the South that rim by waterpower,
and It is fair to estimate that the
Whitney waterpower development
will be capable of driving the machin.
cry to make product worth close to a
million and half dollars worth Of
cotton goods week Of the kind now
made. Should this field advance to
the manufacture Of finer grades Of
goods, which is quite sure to follow,
the value Of the product can easily
be swelled to one hundred and fifty
million dollars a year To make even
the cheaper goods will be enough to
exert startling influence To use a
hundred thousand horsepower will re.
quie two million splniles and fifty
thousand looms. 1t will mean the EN-.
ployment of over fifty thousand hands
and the consumption Of a ton Of raw
cotton every minute Of every work
ing day of the year, aud the produc-
tion Of a carload of cotton goods every
fifteen or twenty minutes.
An interesting popularity is found
in the Whitney project. Nothing
abou it is destructive In the man.
.ufature of iron an enormous lot OF
fuel is consumed. In the Whitney
scheme water that is passing to the
sea is made to turn the wheels, and
permitted to so on its way. The
raw material that arrives at the mill
is spun and woven into yarns and
cloth. Nothing goes to a furnace
to be wasted or destroyed. What
comes into the mill in raw form goes
out in finished product. Nothing
is destroyed in the manufacture.
The gigantic industries of the North
are based on the prodIgal destruc-
ton Of raw materials that are lIm-
tied in quantity. No more coal and
natural gas will be made to take the
!place of that destroyed by the fac
tories No more iron ore will be
made, No more forests can be pro,
luced like those that are gone.
In cotton 1t is different. The field
ithat,the Whltneys have entered Will
always be ready. The raw material
needed can be made on the farm each
year, and the production entails no
Iloss. The cotton textile trade Is a
permanent one. For that reason the
cotton trade is one Of the few that
are certain to broaden as the world
moves on. In giving the world the
cotton gin Eli Whitney left one Of
1.-THE most valuable legacies to man
kind ever, given by any one man. Geo
i Whitney is taking step toward put
.Iting The cotton milling trade on q
systematic and economic basis that
.Imay be as far reaching in It's uiti
mate effects. To speculate on the
benefits that ar TO follow the Whitney
power plant Is hopeless guess at the
future.
1t Is enough to accept 1t for one
OF the factors in the swift and wide
. expansion Of the cotton industry
land 10 take it as one Of the singrta:
lcoincIaences Of the trade that within
little more than a century two Whit
Iaeys from the North should enter tht