El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-09-15

separate the fibers. and farther over
half dozen more women. sitting cross
legged, we're. spinning the lint into
yarn by hand
7 went TO the weavers' huts at the
hack and looked in. Black boys and
men sat before rude looms which had
been set in holes in the ground They
sat on the edge OF the holes. The
shuttles were thrown back and forth
by hand The latter moved through
the cloth with a whistlins noise, and
this was about the only sound TO Re
heard. 7 bought some Of the cloth
IL was well woven soft and very
durable. I asked what wages the boy
veavers received and was told they
got 10 cents a day.
Nations Try TO Create supply Of own
The wide extent Of cotton uanufac-
ture throughout the world and the at
tempt Of nearly every great nation to
set up cotton planting and cotton
milling industry OF its own demand
that our cotton factories should b
brought 10 he highest state OF ef-
ficiency and that the cotton be made
at the least possible cost Prior to the
var all Of the great powers had start
ed movements TO create cotton sup
ply Of their own England was push
ing the industry IN East India and was
making experiments in its seni-trop-
ical and tropical colonies in Africa
During my stay in Uganda 7 visited
a cotton mill not far from Lake Vic
toria and about as far inland from the
Indian ocean as the distance between
New York and Chica go. The mill was
equipped with English and American
uachinery and 10 was ginning cotton
which had been raised by the natives 7
found the Germans experime nting with
raising cotton opposite Zanzibar II
German East Africa and one Of ths
kaiser's complaints as 10 his place in
the sun" is that he has no land upon
which cotton can be grown for tbs
spindl es OF Germany The attempt to
Eobble Mesopotamia and a large part
Of the Turkish empire is TO some eI-
tent founded upon the value Of the
valleys Of the Euphrates and Tigris as
a future cotton supply
cotton in Japan
Japan is now raising some cottons
ard there are extensive lands in China
that might be used for that crop. Tbs
wages OF the orient will always be
great handicap against the importa-
tion Of American cotton goods. and
England has certain climatic advan-
tages which enable il 10 make certain
kinds of cotton manufactures better
than we can
The district Of Lancashire. OF which
7 have written is said to have the best
climate and water supply for cotton
ma king known 10 the world. The best
of the territory is only IS miles long
and about ten miles in width II ls
a little basin with hills az the east
which furnish a cOpious water sup
ply Under the basin is a bed OF stiff
clay that holds the water and the
evaporation is just enough 10 keep the
air in a moist condition needed to mt
the cotton fibers for weaving To
make the best cotton goods the atmos-
phere must be neither too warm nor
too dry. II IL is the fibers become
brittle and will not twist well II II
Is 700 moist they collapse and stick
In Lancashire county. the atmosphere
and other conditions seem TO be Just
right. and this is perhaps the reason
that that little section more than 5000
miles from the cotton fields is abls
10 pay the freight and build Up an m
dustry which pays the workers OF
England hundreds OF millions OF dol
lars every year in wages and supplies
a great part OF the cotton goods OF
the world
New EnEIand-s Great Mills
It is for reasons somewhat similar
70 those which have built Up the Ian
cashire county industry that we ind
so many OF our cotton factories in New
ENGLAND. Ons-third Of than are In tbs
state Of Massachusetts and there =
one county there which contains more
than one-fifth OF all the spindIes now
working on American soil It has
three times as many cotton mills as
Georgia. which is the third cotton
manufacturing state in the south. and
about three million more Spindles
than either North or South Carolina,
the two states which lead in the max
ing OF such gopds among the states OF
the cotton belt This is Bristol county.
in which are Fall River. New Bedford
and Taunton Next to that county is
Providence. r l. and after it is Md
dleseL county. Mass which has mora
than a million spindles. equaling Ala
hama. and SURPRISING All other south
ern states with the exception OF
Georgia and North and South Caro-
Ina The reasons are TO a large ex-
tent geographical The cotton centers
are close TO the sea, and they have the
right climatic conditions
Climate Is Big Factor
Il is largely due TO geographical
reasons that the most OF the cotton
mills OF the southern states are To-
Gated in the Piedmont. OF foothills OF
the Appalachian mountains They are
TO be found on the edge OF the high
lands OF North Carolina. South Caro-
lima and Georgia where the climate is
right. the rainfall plentiful. the labor
supply from the small farms and the
mountains abundant. and where cleo
trio power has been generated from
the streams which flow down the
mountains These conditions viii lead
20 a steady Increase in the mills OF
this region
There are now cotton factories all
the way from LynchburE, Va. to At
lanta- Ca. and I might say all ths
way to New Orleans. From the Dor
ders Of Virginia TO those Of Georgia
along the Southern railroad. the coun-
try is one almost continuous mill vii
Ia &C. and many new factories are be-
inE erected. During the past year
there has been an increase in ths
southern spiudles of more than four
hundred and fifty thousand, and the
new capital that has gone into the
business is estimated at more than
S11 600 900. The new mills are scat
tered over eight different states. but
mont region -Four have gone I'D at
5astouia. not far from here. and there
Is a new one at MayWorth n c..
which has $4,000 spindles-
some OF the largest Of the new mills
are those of Marshall Field & Co. OF
Chicago They have eight different
plants in this state, operating more
han $4,000 spindles- The capital in
rested is something like 100000
That company has recently bought
.C00 acres near Martinsvil1e. Va.
which viii be devoted TO cotton manu-
'acturing. and it is about to open a
Mill for making cotton beadspreads. tt
las two mills making ginghsms, one
hat manufactures sheetinEs and 9th
rs for blankets finishings. ginghams
md outings
Making Better Grades
The character Of goods manufac-
ured in the south is rapidly chang
ng- Not many years ago only the
heaper and coarser kinds Of cottons
we're made and "a large mart Of rha in