The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1906-01-10
Operatives
Per NJ. Epls.

To take the foregoing averages WIFI
out explanation would be strongly mis-
leading. We know on genera prln-
ciples, for illustration, that the Ger
man workman is superior In emclency
to the laborer in the Indian mills. YET
the average for the former country
Is greater than for the, latter. rms is
accounted for by the fact that 1nolan
mills are mostly spinning plants only
most Of them having no looms at an,
much Of the yarns they spin being SOLO
at retail to be used on the ooInestlc
hand loom, while the bulk OF the re-
mainder Is shipped to emma 10 ne uSeo
in the same way. t,
On the other hand, Germany imports
millions Of pounds Of yarn annually
which forms the raw material for ner
numerous knitting, lace and emorolo-
erv factories The workers In these
mills being counted in the total num-
ber Of operatives employed in the cot
ton Industry and figured against her
spindles.
The United States furnishes the best
illustration Of a self-conta1ned lndus-
trv. Most Of our mills weave their own
warns and such as spin for the marke'
sell their output to home. manufac-
turers to be woven or knit into hnlsheo
fabrics and garments.
ENGLAND, on the contrary, spins
much more yarn than she uses up IN
her weaving and knitting estapllsn-
ments. It is the exception rather than
the rule for Lancashire spinner &c
weave his own yarns. Inls is clearly
shown by an examination or the export
statistics Of the two nations. American
foreign sales Of yarn are CONSIDERABLY
under s5O0,00O a year In value, Wnle naa
Britain exports approximately SoV'ooo''
600 worth of cotton yarn annually.
Operatives in the South.
| many absurd statements appear
| sporadicalIy as to the NUMBER OF WORK.
ers in the Southern textile mills. nc
clear the sometimes purposely mud
died statistical waters, exact hgures
are needed.
The 1900 United States census. which
is after all the most reliable source Oh
information, gives 297,929 operatives
enployed in cotton manufacturing es-
tablishment Of every kind in the Uni
ted States. OF this number, 97,494 were
working in Southern mills-equivalen1
to % operatives per thousand splnoies
| 24.438, or 25 per cent. or them, pelle
under 16 years Of age.
Bringing the census figures up Ie
| date dlSClOS6S the ldCI llldI 6,Ao1,oe
spindles have been added to the mum,
ber since 1900. On the same basis 0!
% employees per thousand spindles anec
| 25 per cent young persons, we ge
46, eO8 additional workers, Of which the
same percentage Of children gives H.
727 children, making the total num-
ber Of hands in Southern cotton mills
at the end of 1905 come to 144,4o5 Of
all ages, and 36,165 to be classed a.
under 16.
Exports of Leading Countries.
! Exports Of cotton goods for the veal
inst ended are not yet available, hui
during the previous II months endlns
December 31st, 1904, the record SHOWS
! that Great Britain exported 5,591 ,972'OOl
wards and the United States 4434, 9,ool
Yards. Figures for Germany ane
france are given in kilograms and the
former country sent abroad 4s,7o4'So'
kilos and the latter 36,391, 800 k1los dur
| ing the year.
These figures demonstrate in a mos
forcible way the great opportunity
which lies before this country IN tne
direction Of increasing our spinning
and weaving capacity. Selling our en-
larged product in the markets OF tht
worlds non-manufacturing countries