Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-06
NE w INDUSTRY TO Be
STARTED THIS YEAR
s4oo, 600 PLANT WILL BE ERECTED
IN LOS ANGELES
Cotton Mills Company Plans to Build
Factory in This City, Opera
lions to Begin in JAM
uary, 1909


their $500, 900 plant and begin to manu-
facture California goods for California
people. This will be within year, &C
cording to Denis Howarth, head of the
company.
by January l, $500, we will be operat-
ing with q full crew and will be able to
furnish nearly ell of Southern California
with staple cotton goods, such as towel
ing, crash, table damasks and bed tick
ing" said Mr.. Howarth. 1--WE are going
to sell our goods at New York prices,
and this will mean a saving Of almost 20
per cent to California buyers, who now
have to pay the New York prices with
an additional freight charge. Our goods
will be exactly Sirnilar to those made in
the east and there will be no long delays
in shipments % worry the consumers.
I'VE are going to run right along with
our experiments. l have spent more than
twenty years in the manufacture of cot
ton staples in Chester, Pa, and other
eastern cities and will take full charge
of the plant and operations"
No Factory on Coast
At the present time there is no cotton
mandatory on the Pacific coast and the
establishment of this one will probably
form the nucleus of a series of industries
relating to the manufacture of California
goods for home consumption. More than
$4,000 worth of weaves will be made
every month by the mills, and 1t is ex-
pected that Los Angeles and vicinity Will
consume most of this output.
Albert II. Beach, a prominent mining
and real estate man, and several othe.'
well known business men are associated
with Mr.. Howarth in the enterprise.
No definite place has been selected for
the erection of the buildings, but it is
probable they will be placed near the
river on account of the railroad facilitie J
there. The main building will be 100 feet
wide by 500 feet long and will be con-
structed of brick. This will house tho
carding, weaving and spinning rooms and
several of the lesser departments of the
concern. The whole plant will occupy
ground space of nearly three acres.
Every piece of the mills machinery will
have to be made especially for MIR. How
arth according to the latest patterns, and
when 1t is installed the mill will be the
most complete and up-to-date in the
United States.
Additions to Plant
In addition to the plant itself, an elab-
crate laundry and dye works will be
maintained for the finishing of the woven
product. This laundry and dye works
The manufacture of cloth is one of the
most interesting as well as one of the
least understood industries Even though
1t is a common business in the United
States, very few persons except those
actively employed in the mills know any
thing of the process the raw cotton is
carried through before 1t goes to the
shelves of n dry goods store for sale
AS soon as a bale of raw cotton is I'M
M ho ~ he
it is taken to the spreaders and pickers
room, where 1t is sorted out into piles ac.
cording to the merits of the fiber of the
different pods. After this sorting 1t IL
taken to the carding and drawing room
where the process of making yarn is be-
gun. This material is sent to the Stub
bers, speeders and Intermediates, where
the yarn is made into complete form.
After another sorting there the yarn Is
sent to the weaving room, where it is put
into threads OF different weights and
thicknesses and is again sorted out and
sent to the slashers, who cut 1t into
lengths
Methods of Manufacture
From the slashers the thread is sent to
the bleaching department, where 1t is pre-
pared for weaving into colored patterns.
The threads go straight to the loom room
from the dye works and the final stage of
the process is begun. A dozen patterns
can be seen in the making in a minute in
this department.. The loom room itself Is
a maze of rapidly revolving machines.
When the weave comes from the looms
it is sent to the laundry for the finishing
process. The whole cloth is first washed
in big mangle. Then 1t is dried and
ironed by a simple laundry process. after
which 1t is placed into bolts. These bolts
contain the finuished article.
m l.
employed by the mill company for the
operation and maintenance of the plant
alone. The mills will produce toweling,
cotton damask table cloths. bed spreads,
ticking, piece goods and cotton Irvine for
tying purposes and other pieces of every
day goods which are sold over the coun-
tiers of dry goods stores every day in the
year. The business will be confined
strictly to Los Angeles and Southern
California, and the heads of the concern
say they will not attempt to supply others
with their goods until the plant is en-
larged.
May Grow Cotton Here
All the raw cotton used by the mill
here will be imported from Texas, which
is the nearest point of shipment to Los
Angeles Experts say the Texas cotton
is of finer grade than that grown in the
south. Planters in Imperial valley have
been experimenting in the growth OF cot
ton plants and have been markedly sue
cessful in results. 1t is probable the fu-
ture supply of raw material will be Sc
cured from there.
Mr.. Howarth, who has been cotton
manufacturer for more than twenty years,
came to California three months ago. Be
cause he was impressed with the coun-
try he decided to remain here and enter
business. Mr.. Howarth has been, head of
the Chester Manufacturing company for
a decade, and is also prominently con-
nected with the Woodstock Cotton mills
at Admission, Ala. His associate, Mr..
Beach, is a we'll known member of the
Los Angeles-Nevada Mining Stock ex-
change, and is well known among Los
Angeles business men. He was for sew
eral years the buyer and promoter for
Strong & Dickinson.
The chamber of commerce has heartily
indorsed the project and It's members say
the new cotton mills will be marked