The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-05-26

But the stricken mill was Milliken
mill. The banks which held its obliga-
tions were quietly told to send their
notes to him as they matured and
they would be paid. Some idea of the
lconfdence men had in him is to be
gained from the statement that not
one of these notes was presented to
him for payment. The mill and it's
owners were saved and Seth M. Mil
Iliken was the bulwark that saved
them from a financial flood as por-
tentous as the flood which destroyed
the physical plant.
Mr.. Milliken was what we of the
South would call a stern Maine YAM
kee. His Scotch ancestry, the place
of his birth, and the many and varied
duties which he performed, had COM
bined to give to him perhaps his
stern exterior self. Those who knew
him casually judged him to be aus
tere, somewhat cold and calculating
business man, without emotion and
not affected in business by humane
considerations for others. But while
he was thinking always Of the fnan-
cial affairs of his mills and of success
in their development, those who
knew him best tell US that he thought
also of the men who manned his en-:
terprises; that he thought of those
who arose early, ate the frugal meal
by the lighted candle and went down
to the turning wheels while it was
yet dark. Better living conditions,
better lives, better homes, recreation
after working hours, good schools
and fine play grounds-these could
not come in his day because his mills
were still struggling for their exist
epce. The mortgages had not been
paid off, which will tell US of the
! South the real conditions. But those
who have been left to provide these ad
vantages for this mill village today
would have you know that they are
doing so not alone of their own mo-
ton and desire, but because S. M.
Milliken so willed it and because he
would have done so had he lived to
this good day.
And because of his great interest
in the Abbeville Cotton Mill, because
he carried the burden of its financial
troubles until it could walk alone,
because of his faithful labor in build
ing this community and gathering
/ together in this beautiful village the
people who make it because of his
unfailing friendship for the people
who thought and worked here and
whose thoughts and efforts combined
in some measure to help him in his
ndeavors-because of all these
things it has pleased the officers of
the corporation to open to the peo-
pie of the village this building today
and to set it aside for the benevolent
purposes for which it is intended, and
it pleases them equally well and they
have thought it proper at the same
time to make some public acknowl-
edgement of the services of the real
benefactor of this community. So in
his honor and as our testimony to
his work and worth it has been de-
cided that henceforth it shall be the
rs. M. MILHKEN COMMUNITY
BUILDING"
Above the main entrance to the
building is a marble slab bearing this
name. We unveil it today in his
memory.
And as the years pass and the Of
fcer and employee of this corpora
ton, the husband and wife of this
village, the gallant swain and the
pretty sweetheart, and the little chill
dren pass in and out of these doors
and under this slab, is it too much
to hope that we all may learn some!
thing from the history of his life;
may we not hope to catch at least
the spirit of thrift, of self reliance,
of constant and unfailing effort in
all our enterprises, which he exhib-
tied in his life and in his work? May
we not all try to make our lives out
| ~ 1, q, ,,,oe fo, foi,, Hon1inO q