The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-16

mills required only ss,145 bales. or 100000 bales less than they consumed last year. "-'i
 As far back as 1919, a cotton. mill was built on the three forks of the Flint river, near Huntsville.
 A pioneer in manufacturing in Ala bama was Mir. Daniel Pratt who founded the town of PrattviIle, and made it the center of varied and prof itable industries. The Memorial Re- cord of Alabama says of him: "A man of large attachments and high char acter; a practical man who believed in the future of Alabama" He acted on his judgment and he succeeded. He built in 1S46, the Prattville Cotton Mills, which mills, re-euuipped with modern machinery are running today
 Milling In Profitable.
 The manufacture of cotton goods in this State has been profitable to the men who have invested their capital in it. The industry has grown; has grown from an insignificant item, to the proportions of $15,000,00O of in- vested capital. It will grow $15,0O0,- 900 more. When? When we can fur nish the necessary labor,
 South Carolina has built and proper ly operated more cotton mills than any Southern State. Why not Alabama? !? She hasnt the necessary labor. North Carolina grows 734,0O0 bales of cotton, and cor sumes 694.000 bales Why does not Alabama consume as many? She hasn't the labor. Northern capital is knocking for further admittance, to To- cate cotton mills in Southern cotton fields. Why does not Alabama receive them? She cannot furnish the labor necessary. The manufacturer of iron finds 1t wise to locate where iron ore and coal are abundant and near to- gether. So the manufacturer of cotton goods will locate near the cotton fields when necessary labor is produced.
 Immigration Is the solution of Ala bama's difficulty; and the commercial bodies of the State have an unlimited field of operation before them. Ala bamians must rise to meet and to con- tinue the great growth of industry and development of the resources of this most wonderful State.
 If further progress depends upon se- curing more labor, and if inducing the right character of immigrants to come, furnishes us with labor. then why isn't 1t our plain duty to bend every effort | to get him here. We should demand of l our legislators that they provide a remedy for our situation. A bureau of immigration established by the State. l and placed beyond the reach of politics, | operated by men representative of the farming mining, merchandising and manufacturing interest of the State and supplied with an adequate appro- priation of funds, should be perma- nently established.
 That money invested in cotton mills where properly run brings handsome profits to the investor is an undoubted fact. Any one can judge of the pos abilities when it Is shown that the margin between the average price Of middling cotton, with waste added, and the average price of print cloths, from 1860 to and including 1905, is 17.34 cents per pound. Out of this margin is to come the cost of manufacturing the cloth, freight, discounts and com missions when the cloth is sold.
 Price Of Print Cloths.
 Ask a cotton manufacturer whose mills run on print cloths what his cost sheets show per pound, and he will l probably yawn and say, well, our costs are up little now and are run | ing from $50 to cents per pound, we hope to get 1t down soon." Take 1t at nine cents, add 55-100 cents for | freight, six per cent on selling price | of the goods to cover discount and | commission. This would figure 1l.55 | cents to make, deliver and collect for | the goods, and a clear net profit of 5.79 cents per pound. The production | should be about one-fourth of a pound per spindle per day. These averages l include the period of high prices dur 1 ing and after the sixties. The price of print cloths today is 27.12 cents per pound. Take cotton at 10.50 cents, al-