The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1923-05-18
AVALON MILLS
TO Open SOON
This is Oae Thing Elizabeth
City Is Getting Out Of The
Long Skirt.

Long Sklft.
The Avalon Hosiery Mills OH
Lawrence Street this city are
TO reopen in the next two
weeks, with room for 100 en-
ploycs and a capacity of 500
dozen pairs of hose a day.
The mills have been idle for
nearly three years. They are
owned by the Elizabeth City
Hosiery company and were
formerly operated by negro
labor.
The Avalon Mills will be improved
with considerable machinery taken
from the mills of the Elizabeth City
Hosiery company. Several of the
very latest improved machines were
added to the latter mill recently, and
the company wants some work for the
old machines to do. AS there is
good demand for cotton hose, the old
mill will be re-opcned.
The sudden revival of the textile
trades thruout the country may be
one result of longer skirts. Women
now can wear silk hose with cotton
tops, and some of them feel safe with
pair of all cotton hose on. Anyway
there is the biggest demand at the
present time for cotton hose since
the war, and the demand is felt
wherever hosiery is made.
The Elizabeth City Hosiery mills
now employ 300 people and have
capacity of 1,500. dozen. pairs Of hose
day. The capacity could be in
creased, but the semi-skilled labor
needed is hard to get according to G.
+. Seyffert, Secretary of the COM
pany. Mr.. Seyffert says there isn't
enough labor in Elizabeth City, and
the same conditions prevail in other
textile towns.
But Mr.. Seyffert doesn't hold out
any alluring picture for the textile
Industries. "Over production is go
ing to wreck the unusual demand" )"
he said, "and labor is bound to ask
for more money; both CT the cOndi-
tiOns will bring another slump in the
business. The Elizabeth City Hosiery
company is not making any great in
vestmcnt. 1t is just opening this mill
on equipment already in hand, and
will run it while the runnings good.
If business holds up. a warehouse
nearby will be turned into Il mill also"
Another Mill Going Strong
The Standard Manufacturing Co.,
one of the smaller hosiery mills of
this city, is another mill to feel the
wave of prosperity that has struck
the textile industries and is plan
ming to put in new machinery TO
practically double its capacity. The
company which was chartered in
1918 for $4,000. has increased its
charter to 100000, and will sell more
stock to make cnlargements and I'M
provcmcnts, planning to purchase the
building it now occupies on POin-
dexter Street.
Dennis NanIOrn is president of the
company; ii. G. Godfrey vice-presi-
dent, and III. w. Morrisette, secre-
tary-treasurer. These three men are
tile principal stockholders and
Messrs. VanHorn and Morrisette
manage the business.
With the new machinery to be in
stalled the company will increase its
capacity by 10000 dozen pairs of hose
IL month, and by working two shifts
Il day will have total capacity of
around 175,0O0 pairs of hose a
month.
The textile mills of the south are
just coming into their own says
Messrs. VanHorn and Morrisette,
due to the increase in labor costs in
the nol\h which is making many
mills shut down. In the south, labor
is not so well organized and piece
workers work for little more than
half of what the same work costs
in Northern states.
The high cost of labor forces mills
TO shut down because the profit in
hosiery doesn't justify the cost OF
manufacture in northern states. The
hosiery mill must do business on q
small margin of profit and has to
make up it's losses in increased pro-
duction. Mills all over the country
are now offsetting labor costs by In
stalling labor saving machinery to In
crease production.
The costs of distribution eat heav'
ily into the manufacture of hosiery
For instance stocking that sells fol
S1.I5 a dozen at the mills, cost the