The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-04-28
COTTON MILLS
IN THE FIELDS
Colonel Miner Prepares Bulletin
that Treats Of Every Phase
of the Industry.
THE WAXAHACHIE MILLS
Our Local Plant Has Nine Thousand
SpindIes and Consumes 1000
Bales Annually.-Protit-
able Enterprise.

Colonel R. T. Miner, commission
er of agriculture, recently travelled
over the state with a view of secur-
ing information on the cotton and
woolen mill industry in Texas, the
purpose of which is the issuance of
a bulletin by the state department
of agriculture on this most interest
ing subject. In this bulletin Colonel
Miner will treat upon every phase
of this industry and the great need
of more mills in Texas, the greatest
cotton producing state in the union.
In this report Colonel Miner has
the following to say of the WaXaha-
chic cotton mills:
Like nearly all the Texas mills,
this one was built in 1900. 1t is loca-
ted at Waxahachie, the county seat
of Ellis county, the banner cotton
county of the world, it having pro-
duced in 1906, 1874 ISL bales.It COM
menced to run in March, 1901. 1t is
capitalized at 100000, owned alto
gether by the citizens of Ellis coun-
ty The buildings cost altogether
about $4,000. 1t contains 204
looms 5000 spindles and consumes
about 1000 bales of cotton annually.
1t manufactures single filling duck
and towelling; duck two yards to the
pound towelling five yards to the
pound. The capacity of the mill was
doubled in 1907. The total cost of
the plant was S260,000.
1t has 175 operatives, about half
and half male and female. There are
about four grown persons to one
child working in the mill. The chill
dren are employed in spinning, as
the work is light. 1t is not unusual
to employ children in weaving, but
occasionally boy is used at the
loom. The minimum price paid tC
grown hands is s1.25 per day; the
largest wages paid any one, not al
overseer. is 50 per day. The learners
get about 40c per day. The least thai
spinner is paid is 40c per day, an6
only one in this mill at the the time
| was there was receiving wages thai
low. The best spinner gets $1.20 pei
day. The lowest wages paid any boy
on the roll at the time | was there
was soc. Boys receive from soc to 81
per day, according to their aptness
Engineers and foremen receive from
1925 to 81 per day There are 81,
foremen in this mill, including tht
engineer
A boy or girl learns to spin or dof
in two or three months 1t is the rul,
for the girls to spin and the boys t
doff. 1t is essential to a better under
standing of the character of worl
performed in a cotton mill that ex
planation be made as to what dof
fer is, and to acquaint the reade
with some of the detail work of tn
various men, women and childrel
employed in the same.
In spinning the thread is wount
on bobbin; after the bobbins hav
been filled the boys doff them into
truck, when they are rapidly haule4
into another department. The rapid
ty with which these boys remove tn
full bobbins or spools and replac
them with empty ones is strikingl
interesting and never fails to attrac
| the attention of the new visitor t.
the cotton mills. These doffers onl
work about half their time After re
moving the spool they pass the in
term in boyish games; but when tn
machinery has wrapped the thread
around the spools, filling them agail
they must be present to take then
away
The first thing that attracted M
attention when | entered the Waxa
hachie mill was ten of these littl
doffers playing marbles in the hal
While the machinery was drawing ou
the threads and winding them aroun
the spools which they would be call
ed upon in few minutes to remove
The spinEers, however, must kee
their places; so also must the weav
ers. The process of bale of cotto
is as follows: The cotton starts a
the picker; the first is the breake
picker, then the fnisher picker; afte
which it goes into the cards; then tn
draw frames, there being two know
as first and second; next is the stub
ber; then the speeder, followed b
the spinning frame. spooler, warpeI
slasher. which prepares it for tn
loom, the loom being last in the pro
cess from the raw cotton to th
CLOTH After the cloth comes from tn
loom 1t goes through a brusher whicl
cleans it. The cloth comes from tn
loom in a roll and is then folded int
yard plaits.
1 1t requires year, so Mr.. He
worth informed me, to become goo
weaver. One can learn how to oper
ate the draw frames in year or two
1t requires three or four months t
learn to operate skillfully the stub
ber, and twelve months to successful
ly run the speeders. He said that on
can learn in a few days to operat