The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-11-20
WHAT We NEED
TO MAKE oRANGEBURG PROS
Porous AND HAPPY

/
Is Pointed Out by Colonel w. G.
Smith i'll the Letter Published
Below.
At the Cotton Congress, held III
Memphis, Tenn, on November II.
the committee on resolutions recon-.
mended "a. continuation of the agi-
tation for cotton factories enough
in the South to manufacture our
cotton" which we think an excellent
suggestion and prompts us to write
the following article.
About % years ago I started -
learn the cotton mill business, enter
ing the employment of the Clifton
Mfg, Co., of Spartanburg, S. c., at
| its organization. under the direction
of two of the pioneers of this in
dustry in this, State, Messrs. Con-
overs and Twitchell. There was a:
that time about fourteen cotton
mills in South Carolina, and today
she is second to Massachusetts IN
the manufacture Of cotton.
There was at that time five cot
ton mills in Spartanburg county,
with an aggregate number of 9,7So
spindles and today that county has
a total of 7O5,997 spindles, manu-
featuring by far more cotton than
she produces, her crop being abort
$4,000 bales, an1 her consumption
of cotton about 100000 bales.
Spartanburg. Greenville and An
derson have made greater progress
in this industry than the other coun-
ties of our State 1t is claimed that
the Piedmont section is better adapt
ed for the manufacture of cotton
than the central or lower section,
but we do not7agree with this idea,
for the reason that the central anu
lower parts are not subject to any
severe changes of weather, but have
a more even temperature throIs aoul
the whole year.
The principal reason for the sue
cess of the Piedmont mills in our
opinion is largely due to their abil-
ity to secure a class Of ':help' not
found in the middle or lower sec
tions. The laboring people of the
low country are more able to make
a living on the farms than those
in the up country There is hardly
any time of the year that the lands
of the "low country" are not IN
some way remunerative, and for this
reason there is more inducsment for
the operative to remain on the farln
than there is in the Piedmont seq
ton. Then, too, the low country"
abounds in fish and game of various
kinds which are conducive to an
indolent, lazy life.
In 1880 there was s2,776,10O
invested in cotton mills in South
Carolina and in 1907 it had increas
ed to s1O3,S21,919 and the number
of spindles had increased from S2.-
331 to 3,6SS,761. The bales Of cot
ton consumed In 1880 by the cotton
mills of South Carolina were &c.
624, not as much as Orangeburg
county now grows, but in 1907 the
consumption had increased to TIA
9O5 bales, very nearly as much as
the whole crop Of the State.
Now, let us see about Orangeburg
county. Today she Gncluding thu
"Baby County, produces 5000
bales of cotton at an average weight,
say of 4SO pounds, sold at 5 cents
per pound, is worth $3,240,O00.
Now, suppose she, like Spartanburg,
manufactured her own crop, it would
be worth something like S6,300,000
To do this she would have to have
about 362.50G spindles spinning al
average number of 20s yarn, at
a cost say Of $4,000 per spindle,
would be $7,250,0O0, giving employ
ment to about 1897 hands, and an
additional population of $3.50, since
only about As per cent Of the total
mill population are eligible for work.
This would give us payroll in Or
angeburg of s72,5OO per month, or
$4,000 per year. You will per-
ceive that this money would 'e kent
at home and would not go to Eng
land and New England, where the
bulk Of our cotton is today manu-
featured.
OF course, it will take many years
to accomplish this, but as the COM
mittee in Memphis said, we should
start now with this end in view, and
when we have accomplished it We
will be an independent people, and
Wall street and the New York Cot
ton Exchange will be thing of the
past.
1 wish to say just here, by way of
parenthesis, that Spartanburg county
in order to induce outside capital to
come in and invest their money in
their county, exempted all manufac-
turing industries from not only city
tax, but county tax for a period of
ten years, and the, result of it Is
that she today receives taxes on
$5,41S,S22 from manufacturers
alone, or in other wrods Spartanburg
county receives $S2,319.S5 taxes
from the cotton mills of that county,
and If Orangeburg had enough spin
4 1nc, L. f,o L.