Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Dec. 31, 1922, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
SUNDAY, DEC. 31,19- PAGiS SIX A THE CHARLOTTE (N. C.) NEWS Textile Industry Heads To Southern Territory History of Cotton Manufacturing in South Shows Slow Development for Awhile, to Be Succeeded by Mighty Impetus Within Recent Years. II I That the cotton manufacturers of th$ Xew England pection of the country that have for generations dominated this industry are bemii forced into the South because of "radical legislation and excessive taxation" and are reaching- toward this territory where there is less "leerislative interference, lower taxes and a better class of labor" is the challenge which David Clarke, edi tor of The Southern Textile Bul letin throws right into the heart cf the New Engriand manufacturing district, published in an article in the annual Christmas edition of The Boston Transcript. Mr. Clark's article deals with the development of the industry in the South, slowly at the start and un der the leadership only of the cap italistic interests of this section and which now, he susrgests, is to re ceive the impetus of this section and tal from New England and the aid ed animation of building which man ufacturers from that section will un dertake throughout the South, par ticularly in the Carolinas. Mr Clark's article in The Trans cript is as follows: Cotton manufacturing began in the South in 1813 with the estab lishing i: a small mill at Ijncoln ton, X O. Most of the machinery was made on the spot and the total ccst of the seventy spindle mill wits 51,300. During the next twenty years oth er small" ..-Ills were built but fann ing wiv.h slaves was found to much more profitable than cotton manutac- uririg and it is estimated that ih'J presence of negro slaves retard ?d t.".e textile industry of the South fully fifty years. The men of that period found that negroes could not be trainee? as cottcn mill operatives and t-1-though many attempts have since then" been made to utilize negro label- in eott !- mills, all have betr f-. '.lures. M. . have been built ex clusively for negro laboi' but the re sult has been the same in every caee and ail of them have been dis mantled or been changed to white labor. P.y 1S60 the. spindles in the South had gradually increased to 203,000 liut it was no. until after the Civil "War that the section below Wash ington began to realize the value cf the industry and then, due to the lack of funds the progress was very slow. In IS GO there were 560,000 spinrl'.es which increased to 1.819,000 in IfcQO and 6.267.000 in 1000. Progress became more rapid aft er 1900 so that 11..5S3.000 were in operation by 1910 and New England began to realize that the South could manufacture cotton, and was becoming a real competitor. Nov the South has in operation 16.400,000 spindles and will un doubtedly reach the 17,000,000 figure during 1023. The following table shows the comparative spir.dle growth of the and South during the past North few years: 1010 1020 lit 21 to 22 1023 , North 13.600,000 South 4.811,000 lO.'.iOO.OOO 15,239.000 20.000.000 15,002.000 20.000.000 16.lo0.000 20,000.000 16,400 000 Massachusetts has long held the cotton manufacturing supremacy but North Carolina with 5,500,000 spindles installed and many more under construction threatens to take the load. Massachusetts allows its logisla tur to meet evry year and a man ufacture car: ;-eurcely adjust him self to "nc. law before other pro posed laws nr. upuii him. A Massachusetts O j--err.or takes his seat in the Governor's chair ard has to immediately consider his campaisn to nieceed himself. The North Carolinajegislature on ly meets every two years and thtn can only stay in session for sixiy days. The Governor of North Carolina is elected fr four years and not allowed to succeed himself can de vote liis time to constructive work. Manufacturers prefer the North Carolina system of State. Govern ment and too much politics weigh heavily unon the cotton mill men of Massachusetts. The idea prevails that Southern cotton mills operate very long hours and employ very young children, but such is not the case. , All the Southern states prohibit the employment in factories of girls under fourteen years of age. Ail the Southern states prohibit the employment of boys under four' teen years of age except that in Georgia the son of a widowed moth er, solely depended upon him, may work after becoming 12 years of age and in North Carolina a boy between 12 and 14 years of age may work outside of the school term. In both cases a rpecial permit must be secured from a child welfare com mission. South Carolina limits working hours to 53 and while the other states permit 60 hours, many mills only operate 55 hours. The range of mountains that pass es through western North Carolina and South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee also touches northern Georgia and Northern Alabama. The mountains are filled with a pure blooded, English speaking peo ple and that is the great asset of the Southern textile industry. The mountain people have little means of livelihood and as many of them li're in abject poverty they wel come ihe opportunity of moving into the comfortable homes at the mills and once established in a mill vil lage they rarely go back to the mountains or leave the mills to en gage in other lines of work. With few exceptions the Southern cotton mills own their mill villages, that is, they build outages close around the mill and rent them to their employees at: 25 cents per room per week. Often that price includes electric lights and water and fuel is furnished at wholesale prices. Comparatively few of the New England mills have their own vil lages and the operatives therefore have to rent homes from outsider often paying $5 to $7 per week in addition to the cost of water and lights. Many of the New England operatives also pay car fare to and from the mills. in the mill villages of the South every cottage has a garden and the produce therefrom supplies the ta ble s in the summer whereas the New England operatives pay high prices for vegetables. On account of the Colder climate New England operatives must buy more and heavier clothing and it is estimated that their average fuel cost is fS6 as against $13 for South ern operatives. The New England operatives de mand smiicient wages to cover their higher costs of living which are es timated at $7.80 per operative per week more than that of the South ern operative. A Ner England operative must therefore get 522.50 per week in order to live on the same scale as a Southern operative who receives $15.00. As goods of equal quality are sold for the same price whether produc ed in the North or South, the cot ton manufacturers wish to avoid having to add to his costs the extra $7.80 per operative per week and it is logical to build mills where goods can be manufacturered at the lower costs. In addition to the lower wage scale the manufacturer finds in the South a splendid class of labor end is easily trained and does not leave the mills for the lines of work as do the foreign born employees of the New England mills. Thirty years ago it was said that the South could only make tho very coarsest yams and goods and it was said so often that New England believed it. Twenty years ago it was admitted that they might make the medium counts but could never produce fine goods. Today Southern mills are making fine cotton and silk shirting and dress goods equal in quality to those made r.iy where in the world New England lost sight of the fact that the mills of the South were being filled with peopla who were puro Mooc descendents of the best stock oi "! England and Scot land and that th?.y had the ability to acquire skill. The men who are at the head cf the cotton mills of New England are as a. rule able, experienced and well trained but the constant pressure of radical legislation and excessive taxation tas been wearing them down. They see in the South less legis lative interference lower taxes and a better class of labor with a lower living costs. Is it any wonder that . their faces are turning Southward? ;"i"f"i"i"ii:l THE WEATHER Weather Bureau Onice. Charlotte, December 31, 1922 Sunrise. . 7:31 Sunset 5:21 Moonrise 3:40 p. m. Moonset 4:56 a. m. Moon phase full Jan. 2. 8 a. m. , 10 a. m. Noon . . . 2 p. m... 4 p. m. . . 8 p. m. . . TEMPERATURE. Dry Bulb 8 a. m. Noon S p. m. . . Wet Bulb SO 24 40 44 45 40 j t S4 33 3 Highest 44 Lowest ............... M 30 Mean ... ... 3g Normal 41 Mean same date last year.. 36 Excess for month .... . .. 107 Excess for year 517 Highest of record for December, 75 in 1889- Lowest of. record for December, 5 in 1S80, PRECIPITATION Total for 24 hours ending 8 p. m. 0 Total for month to 8 p. m. .. 43G Normal for December 3.86 Excess for jear 2.43 Greatest of record for December 6.99 in 1907. Least of record for December, 0.48 in 1S89. HUMIDITY 8 a. m. Noon 8 p. m , 8 a. m. . . 8 p. m. BAR03EETER 70 67 43 ,. ., 30.33 . .. 30.39 G. S. LTNDGREN, Meteorologist. I 100 Pairs France Lace Of Tan Calfskin, with welt oak soles. The name "La France" is stamped on every Sizes 3 to 6 only. Special $0.50 LP Pair Sizeable savings are only one feature of our Semi-Annual Suit and Overcoat Sale. Fine Clothes naturally is the first consideration here, for they are correctly styled, made of superior woolens and tailored with custom And with all this you get variety, sufficient to satisfy the preferences of the best dressers. care. Every Overcoat In Our Stock Now on Sale at a Reduction of 3313 NO APPROVALS NO EXCHANGES ALL SALES ARE FINAL $25.00, Less 1-3 27.50, Less 1-3 S28.50, Less 1-3 S30.00, Less 1-3 S32.50, Less 1-3 35.00, Less 1-3 $37.50, Less 1-3 40.00, Less 1-3 $45.00, Less 1-3 47.50, Less 1-3 $50.00, Less 1-3 852.50. Less 1-3 $55.00, Less 1-3 S57.50, Less 1-3 60.00, Less 1-3 65.00, Less 1-3 867.50.. Less 1-3 70.00, Less 1-3 $75.00, Less 1-3 880,00, Less 1-3 816.67 Every Winter Suit (Except Full Dress) For Men and Young Men on Sale At a Reduction of iU- . .... . 18.33 19.00 820.00 S21.67 23.34 S25.00 26.67 830.00 31.67 $33.34 835.00 37.67 $38.34 40.00 43.34 45.17 46.67 $50.00 853.34 25.00, Less 1-4 18.75 27.50, Less 1-4 20.63 28.50, Less 1-4 21.38 30.00, Less 1-4 22.50 32.50, Less 1-4 . . . 2438 835.00, Lss 1-4 26.25 37.50, Less 1-4 28.13 40.00, Less 1-4 T, 30.00 45.00, Less 1-4 33.75 $47.50, Less 1-4 w . 35.65 50.00, Less 1-4 $37.50 52.50, Less 1-4 $39.38 55.00, Less 1-4 . . .,. 41.25 57.50, Less 1-4 $43.13 60.00, Less 1-4 $45.00 Clearance oys The Boys9 Shop Second Floor and. verco 8.50, 10.00, St 1.00, $12.00, 12.50, 813.50, 14.00, 15.00, 16.50, 17.50, 18.50, 19.50, 20.00, 21.00, S22.50, 25.00, All Boys' Overcoats 1 1-2 to 18 Years at a Reduction of 5 Less 25 per cent 6.38 Less 25 per cent w 7.50 Less 25 per cent 8.25 Less 25 per cent ... ... $ 9.00 Less 25 per cent . . . 9.38 Less 25 per cent . . $10.13 Less 25 per cent 10.50 Less 25 per cent 11.25 Less 25 per cent 12.38 Less 25 per cent $13.13 Less 25 per cent 13.88 Less 25 per cent 14.63 Less 25 per cent $15.00 Less 25 per cent 15.75 Less 25 per cent 16.87 Less 25 per cent 18.75 All Boys' Winter Suits Sizes 3 to 18 Years at a Reduction of 8.50, 10.00, 1L00, 12.00, $12.50, 13.50, 14.00, 15.00, 16.50, 17.50, 18.50, 19,50, 20.00, 821.00, 22.50. 825.00, 0 Less 25 per cent 6.38 Less 25 per cent S 7.50 Less 25 per cent S 8.25 Less 25 per cent $ 9.00 Less 25 per cent $ 9.38 Less 25 per cent 10.13 Less 25 per cent 10.50 Less 25 per cent 11.25 Less 25 per cent $12.38 Less 25 per cent $13.13 Less 25 per cent 13.88 Less 25 per cent 14.63 Less 25 per cent 1 5.00 Less 25 per cent 15.75 Less 25 per cent 16.87 Less 25 per cent $18.75 8 in i i u I B 1 I 1 a 1 I i k D 38 E. Trade 4
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 31, 1922, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75