Newspapers / The Charlotte Herald (Charlotte, … / Dec. 7, 1923, edition 1 / Page 6
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' „. • u a... 500 North Tryon Street • Phone 5437 Is New England's Leadership in Cotton to Go to the South? — RY CARL H. GETZ ' ' -" = 1, —-— Is the-South going to become the cotton textile center of America? Is ft going to succeed in its effoi’ts to wrest supremacy from the New Eng land States, which now have the larg est number of cotton mills and plants? Ask those questions in the South of most any business nien and you will be looked at with amazement. Your sanity will be questioned if you even intimate that there is any possibility that New England will be able to retain its leadership. Seek the same information in New England and you will be greeted with a confident smile and a shake of the head which means: “Don’t worry about New Englanc|. Masaschusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island will come through. They always have in the past. They will this time. Don’t take this pro posal to move mills from New Eng land to the South too seriously.’’ A Leader in the Industry. The man best qualified to answer these questions is Frederick K. Rup precht, who is to the cotton textile Industry what Gary and Schwab are to steel and what Wood is to wool. Mr. Rupprecht is President of Con verse & Co., one of the largest dis tributers of cotton fabric in America. He is chairman of the executive com mittee of the B. B. & R. Knight, Inc., which is composed of owners and op erators of Rhode Island mills. He is also chairman of the executive com mittee of the Consolidated Textile corporation, a holding company which owns B. B. & R. Knight, Inc., and which owns in its own name nine Southern mills. Converse & Co. is owned by B. B. & R. Knight, Inc. Mt. Rupprecht is the man who effect ed an arrangement with the Ameri can Woolen company which placed certain executives of that company on the Board of Directors of the Con NOTICE SERVED BY PUBLI CATION. H. L. Banks, Plaintiff, vs. Estella M. Banks, Defendant. The defendant above named will take notice that an action entitled as above has been commenced in the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County for an absolute divorce. And the defendant will further take no tice that he is required to appear be fore the Clerk of the Superior Court of said County on the 24th day of December 1923, at the Court House of said county in Charlotte, North Carolina, and answer or demur to the complaint in said action, or thp plain tiff will apply to the court for the relief demanded in said complaint. This the 14th day of November, 1923. [a j. A, RUSSELL, & V ■ Asst. Clerk Superior Court. G. A. Smith, Attorney for Plaintiff. N16-23-30-D7 For Sale HOT DOG STAND — Best Location in Good Section — Also Handles Cigars, Cigarettes, Fruits and Candies Good money in this proposition^ Best of reasons for selling. For full details, address Opportunity, Care Charlotte Herald, Box 163, Charlotte, N, C. NOTE:—This is not same place advertised two weeks ago. That one has been sold. USED FORDS AND CHEVROLETS All models; all prices; easy terms. Open evenings until 9 o’clock. HIPP CHEVROLET CO. North Tryon St., Corner Eighth Queen City Chinese Hand Laundry We do all First Class Work at the right prices. Prompt service, too, is a boast of ours and a pleasure to our pat rons. 14 South Popular Street solidated Textile corporation. This means no exchange of stock or any transfer of money. It is no inter locking directorate. But it does make available to Mr. Rupprecht the administrative genius of the mill managers of the American Woolen Company, who, Mr. Rupprecht be lieves, are unexcelled in either the cotton or woolen industries. Effect ing such arrangement means that the Consolidate*!1 Textile company and the other companies with which Mr. Rupprecht is associated have a com petitive advantage which gives them a position of leadership in the-indus tTy which is unchallenged. Original Mills in the South. I repeated my question to Mr. Hupprecht. He smiled and shook his head. “At first glance one might think that the obstacles which the New England mills have to overcome in meeting the competition of the Southern mills are insurmountable. Look at the facts: Originally the mills were established in the South simply to be near the source of supply of raw materiaL Then it was discover ed that atmospheric conditions in the South were not suitable for the weav ing of cotton products. So the mills moved into the New England States, where the humidic conditions were satisfactory and at a time when wages and hours of labor were at tractive to the mill operators. “But in recent years a method has been perfected whereby moisture can be artificially injected into the atmosphere of a cotton mill and con ditions created identical to what is found naturally in New England. In other wordk, the condition which in duced the mills to leave the South originally have been overcome. So there you have the first reason why the mills should return to the South ern States and why new plants should be constructed there. Conditions Which Favor There. “There is less restrictive legisla tion in the South. The New England States have been somewhat severe in passing laws affecting the cotton textile industry. In the South quite a different situation exists. That is your second reason “Third, wages are lower in the South, and of course the factory pay roll plays a large part in determin ing a plant’s earning capacity. “Fourth, the hours of labor in the South are longer than in the North. “Fifth, the South has not been i subjected to,the activities of the labor' leader and his followers like the New | England States have. “Sixth, the Southern mills can ef fect real economies because of their On Time A million workers make the trip to and from work a pleasure and re creation by Riding a Bicycle. Do you? They live in' the clean, quiet suburbs where liv ing costs are less, and let their wheels save their car fare. They ar rive On Time. Do you? They earn more money because t he healthful exercise of riding ena bles them to do better work and more of it. Do you? j RIDE A BICYCLE QUEEN CITY CYCLE COMPANY 42 NORTH COLLEGE STREET proximity to the source of raw cot ton. These are days of high freight rates, and it can readily be seen what an advantage the Southern mills ob tain in being able to reduce freight ■costs, wild* constitute an important item in cotton textile manufacture. “Seventh, there is plenty of cheap power in the South. Ana nnauy, tne oouxnern ciwes are -offering every inducement and incentive to the Northern mill owner to move his plant. Free sites are being offered him. He is assured of low taxes for a long period of time. He is promised cheap help and plenty of it. He is told th$t he need not fear interference from an unfriendly Legislature. And this is not all. “Various communities are prom ising to raise whatever capital is necessary to finance new mills. Sev eral cities have offered to match dol lar for dollar raised by Northern owners. And yet, despite all these inducements, the actual moving of plants is negligible. Why? Let us sum up: • “In addition to the community in centives, such as help in raising cap ital, free sites, low taxation, cheap power and adequate shipping facili ties, there are also less restrictive laws to contend with, lower wages and longer hours. What has New England to offer. ‘‘‘At first glance it looks hopeless. But it is far from that. “The fact is that the one obstacle that the South cannot evercome is climate. “The South will never be able to produce the finer qualities of cotton fabric simply because of conditions over which it has no control. “The entire tendency in the indus try today is toward imj^ovement of product. “New England is rich in tradition. It is the home of a class of skilled artisans who have built for them selves a real reputation for expert work. Such a class of workmen can not be developed in a day. They rep resent the knowledge and training of a century. “Grant for the moment that it would be possible to.transport all of these highly) trained workmen to the' South. The moment they arrived there the quality of their work would suffer. This isn’t conjecture. Every Northern mill owner who also owns mills in the South knows this to be true. The highly trained Northern worker when subjected to the cli matic conditions of states like South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama loses that skill which makes him a master in his trade. Lack of Skilled Labor. “The South today not- only does not possess the skilled labor neces sary to the production of the finer fabrics but there is also little chance of its being able to train such help. The expert from the Northern mill is a failure as an instructor in the Southern mill. jfijs a SpWlilC UAttlHpiC Ui. luv UUCI inability of th- South to wrest the supremacy of the cotton textile in dustry from New England, just re member that there are but 300 cloth printers in the United StateS. They are in New England; and they are going to stay there, because that,is where they were born and that is where their fathers were shorn and that is where their children will be born. And this union of 300 men is one of the most powerful in Amer Demands of the Consuming Public,, ica. “The consuming public is demand ing better grades from the cotton textile industry. And the public must look to the New England States to get those fiber fabrics. Today the cotton mills of New England are turning out cotton cloths which com pare most favorably with the finest fabrics which the T’*,<rlish and French mills are capable of producing. All this progress has been made because of the demands of the cotton cloth buying public. “The South is going to learn that conditions equalize themselves. Just as rapidly as the mills spring up in the South the dabor agitator will fol low, and -with him will come the de mand for higher wages, shorter hours and changed conditions of labor. And the Southern mills will find themsel ves harassed by the same demands that are made on the New England mills. , “The economic advantages which the Southern mills enjoy today are more or less temporary. Time wiU prove this.” “Is it the industry’s only hope that the advantages gained by the South ern mills are temporary and that the Southern mills will be unable to pro duce the higher errades of cotton fab rics?” I asked Mr. Rupprecht. “No,” he said. “In addition we have a gradually changing point of view in the New England States. There is slowly being created in New England a public appreciation of the economic importance of the cotton ■ textile industry. In the years past there was never any question as to whether the industry would always be there. That was taken for grants ed. But the moving of a few mills and the building of new plants in i the South have resulted in the prob lems of the industry getting into the consciousness of the New England public. Room for Roth in Textiles. “And New England, like every other section of the country, is fair. If the demands of the workmen are unreasonable they immediately lose public support. And public support is necessary to the achievement of their wants. “Northern mill owners are confi dent that public opinion will support them in their effbrts to retain 'lead ership in the cotton textile industry. This of course is not to be done by cut+y1" wages unreasonably and by making conditions of fabor impos sible but rather is to be done by a compromise of demands by both the employee and the operator. Both must make certain concessions. And New England communities today rea lize that the textile industry is some thing to be fostered, not penalized. “But rest assured that the cotton textile industry is secure in New Eng land. Climatic conditions, lack of skilled workers, lack of mechanical eguipmht—these are the reasons why the South must be content for many years to manufacture grades that it can make more cheaply, leav ing to New England her present su premacy in fine goods. I do not want to belittle the Souths’ position. It is of growing importance, but I do want to point; out that there is room for both North and South in their respective fields; > The real leader ship in the industry will continue to be held by Njew England—at least /during our lives.”—New York World, Sunday, November 11, 1923. HELPFUL SPIRIT. The Father—r“~Young man,, you couldn’t buy my 'daughter’s clothes.” The Suitor—“I could help.”—The Passing Show <LondoB). SENATOR SHIPSTEAD HALTS GOUGE OF THE RAILROADS A high-handed effort on the part of a. number of railroads to place coal consumers of Minnesota at the mercy of eastern coal operators through an extraordinary increase of freight rates on lignite has been temporarily halted by the Interstate Commerce' Commission after a protest was made by Senator Henrik Shipstead, of Min nesota. ’ \ i The new rates were declared by Senator Shipstead to be confiscatory and would prevent the consumers of fuel from obtaining lignite coal, a cheap and efficient substitute for high cost eastern coal. He further charged that the pro posed rates were a part of a campaign to destroy the mining industry that has been built up in North Dakota and would if permitted to stand, throw thousands of workers out of employment, with no means of sub sistence during the severe winter months. The rates proposed by the rail roads, according to Senator Ship stead, are higher than the cost of lignite on board cars at the mines. High freight rates have made the cost of coal to consumers in Minne sota almost prohibitive. RAILROADS SET RECORD. NEW YORK, Nov. 28.—The na tion’s railroads carried a greater ton inileage during, the first nine months this year than in any corresponding period in their history, according to figures complied by the bureau of railway economics. While this record was being made the railroad execu tives were making another record by .their poverty pleas that “government interference” makes the operation of railroads impossible. A deep sense of economy is almost as effective as the “still small voice.” Take time to think., Memory systems would be all right if you could only remember to use them. i . * NOTICE OF SPECIAL CALL- ' ED MEETING CARPENTERS UNION NO. 2146 Members of Carpenter*’ Local Uaios, No. 2146 wilt take no tice that s special meeting has been called for Monday even, mg, December 10, at the hall in East Charlotte, Belmont. This call is issued upon author ity of the Carpenters’ District Council, and matters' of impor tance are to be acted upon. Alt aaembers requested to be pres ent. HL A. S TIL WELL, Secretary. j ,1 / Only upe rich have time to walk these daj|s—the rest of us have to hustle around ift our automobiles to make enough money to buy tires and gasoline. I , ' r ■ ,;.... —L.—...-j>. CARPENTERS f AND FARMERS i eet regularly at our store— because (the Tools they want are here] Far meteHardware € a 48 NortV College Street j) v FILL THIS OUT, MAIL IT IN, AND B£ INFORMED EACH WEEK ABOUT THE WORKERS V The Charlotte Herald, P. O. Box 163, Charlotte, N. C. Dear Sirs V | Please find enclosed one dollar. Send The Herald V six months to ^ _____i_St. P. 0.1- J-Y ,-T - - r-7'r.T - T Tsi -- 3 “Y&B” Ice and Goal Co. PHONES: 210-211 Introducing West Va. Special at $8.00 Per Ton West Virginia special is a lugn grade grate and stove coal—has been tested out by us and is very satisfactory. “Y & B” QUALITY BLUE GEM......,.:..... ..$10.00 Per Tpn “Y&B” QUALITY POCA. EGG AND LUMP . . . ...... .$12.00 Per To* PHONES: 210-211 WEST VIRGINIA SPECIAL.. . $8.00 Per Ton “Y& ET Ice and Coal Go. PHONES 210*211 i(~
The Charlotte Herald (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 7, 1923, edition 1
6
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