The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-11-19
ANOTHER COTTON MILL.

The war is not yet ended, but
peace is in sight. 1t will take time
for business affairs to be readjusted
and things to return to normal, but
these things will come.
When the war Isl over the time will
have arrived when we must look out
for Abbeville. We must allow the
town to stay where it is and to be-
come a back number while other
towns grow, OF we must take the
necessary steps to make Abbeville
grow as other towns are growing.
o; course we shall always have
that natura al growth which comes
from the development of the farms,
but we want something more than
:. this. The worlds supply of cotton
is grown largely in the South, and
the South is the place where this
cotton should be manufactured into
cloth. That has been decided for
these several years. Other towns
have mills enough to manufacture
all the cotton produced in the coun-
ties where they are located, but Abb
beville has not. If it is profitable to
have mills sufficient for this pur-
pose in other places it should be in
Abbeville.
Some people will be disposed to
object to cotton mill stocks as an in
vestment, and it is true that in many
places they have not proved profit
able. But we think that most of
the mills built in this state in the
last twenty years have been fairly
successful. No mill in the state has
Z had harder road to travel than the
Z Abbeville Cotton Mill. An expen-
sive mill was constructed at the
5 start, and being heavily in debt, a
great many people grew tired of
I waiting on the expected dividends
and sold their stock. At one time
not so many years ago stock was
being sold for seventy cents on the
dollar, and some sold even lower
than this. The stock is now quoted
at one hundred and twenty-five dol
lars per share, and is believed to be-
worth considerably more than this.
The mill has paid in all thirty
two dividends, in the twenty years
it has been in operation. That means
that ten dividends have been passed,
but by the payment of special divi-,
dends these expected dividends are
being made up, and in the next three
or four years with average luck, the
mill will have made good to stock
holders dividends for every year of
the the mills existence, the mill will
be out of debt, and the plant will be
worth considerably more than the
amount of stock outstanding. There
fore, so far as this community isl
concerned, the cotton mill, of itself,
has proved a good investment, and
there is no reason why another mill,
built at the right time, should not
do the same thing.
The chief benefit to the commun-
ity however, from the building of a
mill does not lie in the dividends,
though these are important. Another
mill would give new life to the town,
property would be in demand, there
would be more building going on,
the business of the merchants would
continue to grow, other people would
be attracted to the city, the people
from the country would find better
markets for their produce, and
there would be an air of progress
and prosperity amongst US.
We have learned during the war
how to raise money. The money
raised for the Fourth Liberty Loan
in this community would have built
small mill. The amount raised
for all these loans and for the War
Savings Stamps would build a large
mil. No other enterprise we be-
lieve offers as much to the city in
the way of progress and indirect re-
turns, while offering at the same
I.. . ,.ooJ ;n,yactroont Wo111d If