'• ’ EDITION
Wise ASSET! MILLS MONUMENT
TO THE CANNON ENTERPRISE
:::: _ : \ ,
J. F. Cannon Beloved By All
For His Generous' Spirit. Os
Thoughtfulness and Kindness
Is One of Those Who Does Good by Stealth and the Ex
tent of His Liberality Is Not Well ,
Known Here , ' /
(By JAMES ORUIKSHANK)
To record the life and work of J. F.
Fan non is to summarize the progress of
Concord nnd Cabarrus, so closely lias
the growth of the city and county been
identified with the Cannon family. To
state definitely just what J. F. Cannon
has done in a constructive, helpful way,
is however, not so easy, because he is
one of those men who do good by stealth.
While a few of his benefactions are
known, more because they could not be
concealed than through any wish on his
part to receive credit, the public spirit
ed acts of Mr. Cannon are not so well
known as they deserve to be. But ns it
is impossible to keep a good man down,
as the old saying has it, so it is impossi
ble for any man to consistently support
' every movement for community progress,
no matter how quietly he goes about it,
without the‘people becoming aware more
or less of what is going on. Thus in
Concord, Cabarrus and Slauly, it is rec
ognized that no man has given more lib
erally of his substance and talents than
J. F. Cannon, who has ever taken the
lead in subscribing towards anything
needing helft
Behind the Fair.
The Cabarrus County Fair Association
is a striking example of \this, nnd owes
its rapid and successful organization
very largely to the liberality with which
Mr. Cannon supported it. and to the in
fluence he put behind the movement by
giving his prestige and enthusiasm as’
liberally as'he subscribed his'money. ,
Mr. Cannon is one of those who be
lieves in sharing his prosperity, and Is
' noted for his breadth of view ami liber
ality. He believes implicitly that Ca-.
imyrus and Stanly counties are among
the most favored agricultural sections of
the entire south, and capable of develop
ment, which in time will place them in
the first rank as producers of wealth from
the lnnd. .
While cotton has up until recently
been a staple crop, the advance of the
boll weevil has prompted Mr. Cannon to
consider ways and means* of inducing
the farmers to diversify their crops. Mr.
Cannon believes thnt as a livestock coun
try, Cabarrus and Sjtanly counties are
excellently adapted for the raising of
{ livestock and their • by-products i|i the
form of butter and milk. With the build
ing of good roads in all directions
throughout this territory, the marketing
of milk has become a much simpler prob
lem, in his opinion, than wag the tease
some years ago. With the development
of Charlotte, Concord and other import
ant cities of the Piedmont section, the
demand for livestock products his in
creased, thus giving a steady market for
a form of agricultural production, which
is free from the risk attendant upon
growing crops from weather conditions.
In order to giv3 effect, to his conviction
that the future prosperity of the farm
ers of this section depend upon livestock,
fruit and vegetable production rather
than cotton and graiii. Mr. Caunon threw
himself heart ami soul into the move
ment to promote a worthwhile fair, at
which the farmers could, through obser
vation and comparison, be convinced of
the possibilities for the successful diver
sification of crops. * -
A Friend in Need.
Hi* interest in the county fair indi
cates in a general way the'policy which I
,h«e made Mr. Cannon one of the most
successful business men in the state. He
recognizes that to make money one Ims
to spend money, and the Wissassett
Mills are a striking demonstration of the
lengths to which he goes in carrying out
this policy. There is not the vestige of
a sign throughout the whole great prop
erty of. neglect or decay. Ejery brick,
every plank, and every piece of machin
ery, has the appearance of being practi
cally new, where as a matter of fact,
mush of the machinery has been in con
stant for many years. But today it
is working at as nearly 100 per cent, ef
ficiency as it is possible for human skilt'
backed by abundant resources and the
ambition to hive things just right, can
accomplish. There ia no quibbling over
expenses of upkeep at Wiscassett Mills.
Everything lias to be in perfect condi
tion amt everything is in perfect eondi
tion, for Mr. Cannon does not believe in
trying to swell profits at the expense of
the condition of the plant ;r*
In Albemarle Mr. Cannon is' nscognis
-1 ed as showing tha same public spirit
there as he does in Concord. An example
is afforded in the new Presbyterian
Church there, to which Mr. Cannon oflfa
tributed $3,000. An equally kindly act
which he could not conceal was perform
ed recently when he was bavtng all the
mill cottages repainted. A small frame
ars.tsKisSii-ss sis
' struggle, and could not afford at the
time to spend much fo,ney on paint,
' * Tv '
The Concord Daily Tribune
t ■ *
to work, and nlmost before the congre
gntion Knew what| was on foot, the
church presented a bright new spick and
span, appearance. He also' furnished a
complete outfit of equipment for the
Jackson Training School boys, as anoth
er practical form of his interest, in the
welfare of the county's institutions. But
these are only a few of many similar
acts of tlioughtfufoess and kindness, the
most of which are scarcely known even
among his friends. Naturally he is a
popular favorite with all his employes,
most of whom he knows by their first
names. Every year he gives a big picnic
for pii employes, when watermelons and
barbecue are enjoyed aud a day spent in
frolic and athletics. He was one of the
promoters the famous Wiscassett
Band, which is a big feature of the so
cial life of Albemarle and whose services
ary in demand far and wide. His inter
est in his employes is reflected in the high
standard maintained in the mill village,
whose houses, although vented at a nomi
nal sum; compare favorably with the
burfgalows and homes df any high class
city residential district.
Mr. Cannon's Career. •
Mr. Cannon was thorn in Concord and
educated at the grammar school and high
school here before' going to the Virginia
Military Institute. On leaving college
he received his first mill experience in
the Bala Mill, nffir Concord, a Annll
mill, where he learned the textile busi
ness from the ground up. becoming man
ager. From that position he worked his
way into the. Cannon organization in
Concord and became secretary and treas
urer of the Wiscnssett Mill, the enter
prise which he was later destined to lead
to 'Such great achievements. At that
time the Wiscassett Mill had *IB,OOO
spindles, compared with 1)4,000 today, and
was quite a small enterprise by contrast
with the present state of development.
Today the products of the Wiscassett
Mill are sold nil over the United States
uud exerted t® Brazil and the Argen
tine, being used, in the principal weaving
mills of the United States for making
lace, underwear, and other woven fab
rics.
■ Some of \he l% .latest improvements at
the Wiscassett Mills, are the superin
tendent’s office, a handsome two-story
brick building, with splendidly, equipped
offices on the ground floor, laid out on
the plan of a banking office, and with
large store rooms upstairs. Adjoining
the officeN is a new cotton storage ware
-house costing $60,000. which has just
been completed. It is five stories in
height, and can hold 8,000 bales without
piling. In addition ten miles of new
concrete sidewalks are being built
throughout the mill village.
EXECUTIVEHEADS
WITH WISCASSETT
FOR MANY YEARS
Mill Is Fortunate in Having
Well Tried and Loyal
> Leaders.,
Striking evidence of the contented lot
of employes of the Wiscassett Mills is
afforded in the fact thpt most of the ex
ecutive heads have been associated with
J. F. Cannon for many years. Thus W.
A. Smith, assistant to Mr. Cannon, has
been with the mill for twenty years. He
was bom and brought np near Norwood. 1
and after completing his education enter-!
ed (he mill as a shipping clerk and wock- 1
ed his way up through the organization l
to be personal representative of the:
vice president and general manager, Mr.'
J. F. Cannon. Mr. Smith knows every
man, woman and child in the village, and
most of them by their first names.
M. A. Boger, the secretary, has beeu
with the organisation for 22 years. He
was born and reared in Cabarrus coun
ty, and after completing bis education
taught school for six years. In 11)01 Ije
went with the mill as a bookkeeper, and
gradually worked-his way up to be sec.
retnry of the company. ,
T. M. Denning, the general superin
tendent. has been with the mill for 24
years,' joining the organization soon al
ter it was formed. He has been a teg*
tile mill worker all bis life.
C. W. Gaddy, the superintendent and
manager of the,hosiery department, has
algo been with the Wiscassett Organiza
tion for many yean*. The hosiery mill
is a separate establishment, although un
der and management
> -
THE CONCORD DAILf TRIBUNE—FAIR AND INDUSTRIAL EDITION
MR. J. F. CANNON. •
" —N.
ISA
hgm ■
Jk
Vice President and General Ma uager of the Wiscassett Mills
Wiscassett Mills Goes To
Great Lengths To Provide
Good Living Conditions
Mill Village Homes 'of Models in Appearance, Architectural
Design and Comfort.—Other Benefits
of Vijlage Life.
It is in its relations to the employes
thnt the spirit which permeates the Wis
cassett Mills’ policy is reflected at its
best. A walk through the mill village is
a liberal education in modern methods of
creating happy industrial relations be
tween employer and employes. That
these relations are of the best is proved
by the fact that the labor turnover in
the mill is less than one per cent, a
year, and that many employes have been
with the mill since it wns first founded
in 1868, and are today living in the
same mill houses they occupied when they
first allied themselves with this great
link in the Cannon textile chain.
With over 500 cottages, the manage
ment of the mill village is a large work
in itself. For example, painting of the
cottages has just been completed. Three
carloads of paint were required, and .a
small army of workmen kept employed
for many weeks.
Comfortable, Attractive Homes.
The cottages are well built, carefully
designed to contrast with one another,
With the result that there is as much in
dividuality, and perhaps more, in the
appearance of Wiscassett mill homes, as
there is in the average good residential
street -in any up-to-date city. An inspec
tion was made by the writer of one of
twenty new cottages just completed nnd
not yet occupied. A wide front porch
gave pleasant access to the front door,
from which a wide spaejous hall stretch
ed to the rear of the house. On the
left of the front hall was a large dining
j room with wainscoated and plastered
i walls, electric light fixtures and a fire
i place with an attractive oak mantel.
[Across the hall was an equally pleasant
! living rtyim. At its rear a large
I bedroom, plastered and well finished.
Two other bedrooms, and an extremely
large kitchen with shelved pantry and
toilet adjioning, equipped with a Vogel
frostproof water "system completed the
• house. Throughout a good grade of rib
pine flooring attested to the thoroughness
with which the house was constructed.
Storm sheathing between the walls, and
double floors insure warmth and com-,
fort. Twenty such homes have been
built, und while they are all together not
one looks alike, so well has the architect
succeeded in giving each home its own in
dividuality. The village surrounds the
mill on three sides, and Is beautifully sit
uated on high ground overlooking the
mills. Fine shade trees and a back
ground of forest give the appearance to
the village of an attractive residential
district, which precisely it is. These
homes a relented to mill employes for the
nominal charge of 25 cents a room per
month. If built in the ordinary way,
the home which the writer inspected
a I
would sell in the city for nbout .$5,000, |
not including the lot, and would rent J
from anywhere between $35 and $75 a l
month,‘depending on the city and district J
in which it was located.
Much street grading is being done in
the mill village at present, the city of Al
bemarle undertaking the street work and
the VViscassett Mills building the ce
ment sidewalks at a cost of about $30,-
000. Nearly ten miles of sidewalks are
being built, and a large part of the
work has been completed.
• Close Personal Interest.
Illustrative of the personal interest
which the management takes in the wel
fare of the employes, is an extract from
the Windermere Watchman, a magazine
by and for the employes of the Knitting
Department of the WSscassett Mills
Company. C. W. Gaddy, /the superin
tendent of the Hosiery Department, is
the editor. In a recent edition he tvrote
as follows: ' j
‘•That the last decade has seen an
alarming development of a lack of re
spect fpr law, order, and parental au
thority on the part of the child, is a
fact that cannot be truthfully denied.
And parents and not the children are re
sponsible for this condition.
“A few years ago we wrote an editor
ial calling attention to the fact of hav
ing seen three boys, under 14 years,
from the village, down the street, almost
a mile away from home, after 10 o’clock
at night, standing behind a billboard
smoking cigarettes. We made it a point
♦o See each one of these boys’ fathers
personally. And each one of them made
it a point to point out to us that the
other boy and his parents were respon
sible for the way his own boy was db
ing, and that his own/ boy was a good
boy. Since that time we have helped to
get those same boys out of jail and to
keep them off the chain gang. Today,
these boys, all under age, ure away from
home on account of conditions and cir
cumstances highly uncomplimentary to
them. \
"Our -father was far from a perfect
[man. We can recall many things he
did that he should not have done. But
'the longer we live the more we realize
that in one respect at least he was a
great man. And that was iu the fact
that he ruled his boys with an iron
hand. Not a brute by any means, but his
"noes” and “yeses” meant exactly wliat
they- implied, and we were handled on a
basis of our own conduct and not that of
tlie other fellow.”
Practigal Service.
But the policy of the Wiscassett Mills
towards its employees does dot stop with
(pon tinned on page four)
Name Means The Home of A Good
Man, And This Is Reflected In
Liberal Policy Os Management
Important as" is Wiscassett Mills They Are But One Great Link in a Gigantic In
dustrial Empire Founded by 'Late J. W. Cannon and Expanded by
' Descendants.
(By JAMES CRUIKSHANK)
Wiscassett, which in the Indian ver
nacular means “the Home of a Good
Man,’’ and in textile circles stands for
the “mark of excellence,” is fittingly nam
ed. Thousands who depend upon the
Wiscassett Mills for their living, beat
testimony to* the fact that the mill is lit
erally the business home of a good man,
who Iras passed away leaving behind a
monument to bis industry and good man
agement, nnd an industrial trust which
his oldest son, J. J-\ Cannon, is devoting
his life to extend.
It was in 1898 that .1. W. Cannon es
tablished the Wiscassett Mills, buying
property which at that time was merely
a swamp. What a contrast is seen to
day when a magnificent sweep of semi
fireproof brick and steel textile buildings,
filled with millions of dollars worth of ,
the latest spinning machinery, greets
the eye? While the late J. W. Cannon, i
Os beloved memory, founded the mill, it j
was left to his widow and his son, J. F,
Cannon, to carry on the great work
‘which he began in Albemarle. Nothing
is allowed to retard the development of
the wonderful industrial property. Hard
times make no difference in maintaining
to the highest degree of perfection the
plant, equipment, buildings nnd grounds |
of Wiscassett. There is a,place for ev
erything and everything in its place, at [
all times, so scrupulous is the care of
the management in keeping Wiscassett
up to the high standard of excellence,
which is a cardinal principle of the pol
icy of the mill.
A Valuable Property.
Mill oxvn’ers are reticent in regard to [
valuation of their property, but it is |
not far short of the mark to say that [
tiie Wiscassett property could not be re
placed today without superhuman effort I
to such a tremendous extent has the,
great mill has been developed by the j
present active head, J. F. Cannon, the
Facts About the Great Wiscassett
Mills
It is one of the important units in perhaps the greatest
chain of mills in the South, comprising scores of mills in
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
The Wiscassett Mills comprise eight modern textile
mills.
Employes of the Wiscassett Mills number about 1,500.
The Wiscassett Mills annually use 22,000 bales of cot
ton.
- With 94,000 producing spindles, the spinning mills
have an annual production of about 8,500,000 pounds of
yarn.
There are six spinning mills and two hosiery mills in
the Wiscassett grpup.
The group has its own storage for 24,000 hales of cot
ton without piling, sufficient for about a year’s operation.
A large machine shop, enables the mill to do all its
own repairs to plant.
The Wiscassett Mills.group is one of the six largest in
‘producing spindles in the whole of the South, and there are
only a few in the North which are regarded as larger.
The mill owns its own fourteen-room school; largely
supports a church; owns five hundred cottages of from
three to ten rooms, with electric lights and water and sew
erage ; is building concrete silewalks throughout the mill
village at a cost of $30,000; maintains an open air gymnas
ium for the use of the general public and mill employes.
Mill property comprises about 600 acres, of which the
mill buildings occupy about 15 acres alone.
Free nursing service and free day nursery maintained
by the mill.
Labor turnover less than one per cknt. *
vies president and general manager. Im
portant as is the Wiscassett Mills, it is
still but a link, although one of the most
important links, in a family chain of
textile mills, whose magnitude almost
staggers the imagination. Like the Wis
cassett Mills, the chain was first forged
by the late .T. W. Cannon, whose genius
like his memory, lives after him, reflected
in the whirling machinery and the belch
ing smokestacks of upwards of twenty
great mills throughout North and South
Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Many
thousands of employes today are working
in these mills at Concord. China Grove.
Salisbury, Mt. Pleasant, Kannapolis, Al
bemarle, Eatouton, York, Siluria, Thom
asville. Statesville, Rockwell and other
textile centres. Literally millions of dol
lars each year are required to buy the
thousands of bales of cotton which are
[ converted from the raw state into yarn,
■ fabrics and hosiery marketed throughout
! the world. Many more millions are spent
’ each year on wages, and still more on
machinery, homes for employes, and in
improving working conditions.
To Concord and Cabarrus county be
longs the honor of having the parent
mill in a textile enterprise which lias
spread throughout the South, and has
I caused the name of Cannon to be known
throughout the world, as a textile msin-
I ufacturer. The Cannon Manufacturing
plant ut Concord was the starting point
in a march of progress of which no man
can foretell the end, for while J. W.
Cannon, who founded the present great
empire, is dead, he left behind him sons,
. and other near relatives and business
[ associates who have beeu carrying on
| from where lie left off.
The Future.
Who shall say that the end has been
I reached ? The South has been termed
[by economists as the last “great west,”
I overlooked for years in the rush of immi-
I gration lured to the plains, but now com
* FAIR AND
INDUSTRIAL
> EDITION
| ing into its own as the brightest jewel
in the diadem of Nature. With great
resources, plants equipped with most mod
ern facilities; men trained from child
hood in the management and intricate
J details of textile the Cannon en
, terprises today are but on the. eve of
1 growth and aecomplishment, which may
j well make the achievements of the last.
25 years pale to insignificance.
I In the Wiscassett Mill it is obvious
there is no intention to rest upon the
, traditions of the past. There is a vir
ile organization looking forward, eon-
I stantjy alert to adopt the latest inven
tions in textile spinning, and to put to
| productive practical uses, the researches
of scientists. Mrs. .T. W. Cannon, widow
of the founder, is the president, although
she exercises the responsibilities of her
office entirely through her oldest, son, ,T.
F. Cannon, the vice president and gen
eral manager. He is assisted, in the act
ive management by W. A. Smith, his per
sonal deputy at the mill office; by M. A.
Boger, the secretary of the company; by
,T. M. Delining, the general superintend-
I cut of the spinning mills nnd by C. W.
. Gaddy, superintendent and manager of
the hosiery mills, and in addition by
some loyal 1500 employes whose long
and happy association with the Cannon
family Ims banded together an organi
zation founded on faith, trust' and good
will.
A Gigantic Enterprise.
! A gigantic enterprise is revealed in a
! summary of the activities Os the Wiscas
sett Mills. With 94.00 producing spin
dies, it ranks as one of the six largest j
spinning mills in the South, and is only '
I exceeded in production by a few of the
i largest mills of the New England States,
j Each year about 22,000 bales of cotton
enter the Wiscassett in the raw stage,
| and during th<S"-year emerge in many
| forms of yarn and hosiery worth at re-
I tail price a sum which can hardly be
i calculated, so many forms of the weav
j ing art are applied' to producing fabrics
i from the yarns Wiscassett supplies. In
I the hosiery mills an estimate is more
' readily made, for here the production is
, (500,000 dozen pairs of women’s and chil
dren's hose annually, which would retail
for about $3,500,000 in the stores.
Owning its own school; largely sup
porting a church; building concrete side
walks in its own mill village, which more
nearly resembles a small city than a vil
lage ; providing nursing service and a
day nursery for employes, and a fine re
creation park for the public and employ
es, the Wiscassett Mills is a benefactor
to Albemarle and to Stanly county.
| But after all,, the acid test of any
industrial enterprise's relations with the
employes is found in the records of the
labor turnover, and in the case of the
Wiscassett Mills, no more convincing tes
timony could be found than in the sim
ple but eloquent statement that the turn
over is less than 1 per cent, annually.
Many of the families who started with
the mill in. 1898 are living today in the
same mill houses ns they occupied when
first the mill started operations. That
j demonstrates better than words the atti
|tude of the employes towards their em
ployers.
A conspicuous feature of the Wiscas
sett Mills is the scrupulous cleanliness
that prevails. Throughout the whole
plant, with its thousands of square feet
of floor space on which machinery hums
the year round, there is an entire ab
sence of dust, or rubbish. Humidifiers
at strategic points o'h every floot> auto
matically scatter a thin spray of water
to maintoiu Ae humidity at just the right
degree, while the temperature is care
fully regulated by means ofthe most mod
ern system of ventilation. Working con
ditions might, well be described as ideal,
the mill being brightly lighted on all
sides with large windows. Banning wa
ter and toilets on all Aprs, contribute to
the comfort of the employe*. An exam
ple of the extensive scale of operations
is afforded in the fact that twenty color
ed scrub women are employed the year
round, constantly scrubbing the building,
the floors of which are all hardwood, be
-1 ing of maple.