Newspapers / Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, … / Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, … / Jan. 11, 1921, edition 1 / Page 4
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TUESDAY, JANUARY U, 1921. F4GK TWO the Gaston i a daily gazette The Gastonia Gazette. ESTABLISHED 1880 Issued Ev ry Afternoon jn the Week Except Sunday, at 236 West Main Ave. GAZETTE PUBLISHING CO. Publishers Office: 236 West Main Ave. Phone 50 JM. W. Atkins Managing Editor E. D. Atlrins '....Business Manager Hash A. Query Editor Hrt.' Zo K. Brockman,. Society Editor AAjnitted into tlio mails .at the I'ost O&cjllt Gastonia. N. '., at the pound nte of postage, April 2s, H02. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE By Carrier or Mail is tie City "Om Year r' n0 Stx Month l-'-M Tkrie Months hta Month 50 By Mail Outsidf of Gastonia -Oa Year 4 00 I -Months '--00 Te Montha 11.00 XUi Month 50 Payable Invariably in Advance ' Member of The Associated Press He Associated Press is exclusively at&led to the use for republication of sftiewi dispatches credited to it or not otherwise- credited in this paper and also til local news published therein. All -wifltita of republication of special dis jtstihe are also reserved. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1921. iCMteaia, The South' City of Spindles THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY. "How is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party I" That old typewriter exercise, designed -because it takes in practically every let vr sf the alphabet, has no political sig nificance but it is fraught with good common sense just the same. Furthermore, it has peculiar and par ticular flavor as the new year is dawning apon us a new year we would all have happy one. And prosperous! To what "party" shall We give our That's easy: The whole party of the IT. S. A. And how? By helping to raise the ountry out of the Slough of Business fiepression a Depression as unnecessary a it is abnormal. It's the old slough in Pilgrim's Prog ress we read about when children, brought upon us by too much imagina tion. Let's begin the new year with less ieaaginative prophesies and more real consideration of fundamental truths. The truth is that we are "all wool and a yard wide" and nothing can stop us if mm only realize it The Insurance Field. HARDING'S SENSE. The decision reached by President elect Harding to diapenso with an elab ssrirta inaugural ceremony is about the -snout sensible thine he has done. This aaore will meet with universal upprovnl K country over, from both Democrats' Jtnd Republicans. By this ono act, Mr. Harding- is establishing himself in the SJOOil graces of thousands. If the in avognration ceremonies as planned by Washington civilians and tradesmen had 4mnn carried out, the cost to the tax payers would have, amounted to millions nt dollars. With the nation in debt, and thrift and economy being preached uni ersally, it would indeed have been bad form to have perpetrated such a lavish outlay of money. Mr. Harding, by this act, as well as Slier instances that hav me to light is his selection of a cabinet, is giving .vlflenco that he is right much of a man after all. THE END IN SIGHT The interview with Mr. A. (i. Myers, banker and cotton mill ma'i. as puhl lSllC'l B Monday's Gazette is but another in iication that times are hogmning to im prove. The wave of depression that has been spreading in gradually widen mjt. though less severe circles, is iM giu ifing to spend itself. We may look for gradual restoration of confidence from now on. One cotton mill man remarked to the Gazette this morning: "We are starting our mills up this weok on a five-day basis. We are not waning at a great big profit, you may He sure, but we want to keep our whole force employed. The payroll that we .shall give out in Gastonia from now on 411 stimulate trade conditions in town Cere 100 per cent . ' ' It is even so. The contagion spreads. When the payrolls in the mills begin to jnove through the proper channels of cir culation into stores, markets and bauks, Hbe effect will be reflected instantan eously on the general business atmos- ..phere. Merchants will begin to nell out -audi buy again to replenish. Jobbers will feel it, anil in turn the manufacturers. -iloiton will soon begin to take an up ward rise, and the farmer can recoup -same of his losses of the past four atonths. Tbe worst is over and the country re jsiees . I 1 A SUGGESTION. ! The pruiKisition has been advanced, i ami the (Inzctte passes it on as public in- I formation, that tlie juris, lid ion of the j recorder's court of (Jastonia lie extended j to cocr Custouia tovwishipf and that the j city policemen be a lit hnri.ed to act as I special deputies in the township. As a J ma't. r nt fa. if, thei'ity police torce oven now does almost n much work in the township ii t i" le tl.e i I'v limits as it does inside. The point has been made that a (.Teat deal of the- la w l s-ne-s oc curring in Caston county take place within Gastunia township, ami that the city police force endowed with the au thority of deputies could exert a fa? more extended influence than they do now . Then, too, the recorder" court would be in a position to dispense instant judg merit to evildoers. Much time and ex pense would thus be saved to the county- THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. The annual report of the secretary of the (iastonia Chamber of Commerce now in the mails is well calculated to give food for thought to even the most cas ual reader. A more detailed summary and analysis of the report will be made in these columns Inter This is by way of notice to those who receive a copy not to lay It 'aside until it has been carefully read . The opening paragraphs give an idea of the contents: "Nationwide publicity for Gastonia woVid-wido tn trade circles csiA-cially featured the activities of the Gastonia Chamber of Commerce for the year 1920. In addition civic matters of especial im- IKiPtunce, traffic questions affecting hot passenger and f reight Horvice, state) con ventions, continued work in building up best co operative effort between the peo pie of Gastonia and of the surrounding county and trade territory in general marked the efforts of I he organization. And more 1n.ni eer before, the Chamber of -Commerce found it possible to render personal service to members where such personal siri ice was requested. "Nineteen Twenty hu he. n a year of real at hi c lueiit for Castonia. We are willing to elm llenge a n y city of America of like hi.e to produce a like showing for itself and its county in industrial growth. Tin Chamber of Commerce in incut ion iug these things need not be charged with claiming credit for every thing. It as the clearing house for Cas toi.a 's activities and progress merely chronicles the facts that hiMory may be iicsMirntely recorded and then lays claim to doing its part wherever possible to aid in bringing these desirable things to pass . ' ' CAROLINA ATHLETICS. If Carolina athletics do not make a better showing from this time on, the coaches can 't be blamed. Leastways, judging from their experience of the past 12 or 1.1 years, they have been fair ly successful. Carolina men, particularly the old gra.ls, have in the past been too prone to condemn the coaching system. If a man fails to turn out a winning team tlio first year, there is a great hue and cry from over the State and an in sistent demand for a new coach. That lias been partly responsible for a great deal of the failure at Carolina in recent years. No one man lias been given a chance to perfect a system. Then, again, it 'night not have been the coach's fault at all. The best coach In the world can't make football players out of those who can't play or who win places on tho team by i;tue of membership in a Greek let ter fraternity. l.'t the l-'elzer brothers alone, and give, them the absolute sa.vso and if there's any tootb.ail at Carolina it. will come out, and it wili n,,t ,t. two or three years in showing itself. Major Itnlvv inkle's offer of three free trips t.. Wash.iigton next Ie. ember to boys of the Ninth district is commend able. Already a good corn growing dis trict, this offer ought to result in keen competition and resulting good among the farmer boys of the district. FIRE IN COMMERCE BUILDING DESTROYS MANY VALUABLE CENSUS RECORDS WASHINGTON, Jan. 11. Govern ment officials still were at sea today in attempting to estimate the loss resulting from a fire in the department of com merce building last night, which de stroyed many of the original records of every' census taken since the first in 1790-except that of 1920. In ad.lition to the damage by fire the records today were submerged in water thrown into tho basement of the building by more than twenty lines of fire hose which finally brought the conflagration under control There aro no duplicates of the de stroyed records and the loss was declared probably the worst of its kind in the government's history. Those navy balluonists showed how far it. is possible to travel on hot air. Pittsburgh Sun. SOUTHERN MILL HEN MERGE FROM TRYING YEAR WITH LOPES OF PROSPERITY IN 1921 Manufacturers Faced Every Condition From High Tide of Good Business to Low Water Mark of Depression Begin ning of Year Saw Big Expansion Under Way. The following review of the Southern was well ahead of that in other States, textile situation recently appeared in the Projected plans for enlargement and new New ork Daily News It. M under a mills, had reached their peak by March Chart. :tte date I. ne: J and by the end of April there was a per- A review of the I. xtiio industry Ml t lie j ceptiblo slowing down in the number of South for I!'-" shows that the nulls have I such announcements. just completed what was by all means the; most remarkable year in their existence, during which they faced every condition from the high tide uf prosperity to the low water mark of depression. The year opened with the mills operating day ami night, their books filled with orders at unheard of price and with apparently no end in sight to the sea of remarkable prosperity. The first six months of 1920 were by all means the most profitable the mills ever experienced and their earn ings for that period were, greater than they have ever known in any previous twelvemonth. Yet within the past six months condi tions have changed so rapidly that 6,8 tho year closed the Southern textile in dustry was more nearly at a standstill than has ever before been the case since the industry' reached anything like its present proportions. Tbe demand for goods had (eased, many mills are entire ly idle and others on short time, and in addition they face an inventory shrinkage of tremendous proportions. Trfr. textile boom which developed in the last half of 1919 carried well into 1920, and while market conditions began to sag shortly after t lie Federal Reserve Hoard inaugurated its policy of deflation, the mills were at that time so well sup plied with orders that it was some months befare the real effects of tbe reversal be gan to make them"lves felt. Big Expansions in 1919-1920. Southern mills embarked upon a tre mendous period or expansion .luring ine latter half of 1919 and the enlargement process continued unabated for some months into 1920. Kcores of existing plants were enlarged and improved, new buildings erected and old machinery and equipment, replaced. New mills were organized witii record breaking rapidity, with apparently no limit to the end of low investment capital that was ready and ongrr to go into mill development. Mill stocks soared skyward on the strength of the continued strong demand lor them and many people became n.h almost over niylit on their mill hoMuigs. Gaston county, N. '., led all o'lier sections of the South, and incidentally of the whole country, in the promotion of new mill companies. la that county alone, 1." new mills were la II liehe.l during the first six .months of l!'2i, the ram hined capital of these companies being . 1 1, lino, lino. Other mill centers likewise showed n tremendous expansion. Plans Involved $40,000,000. The expenditures required for build ings, machinery, equipment, operatives' houses, community houses and all other necessary features for new ami enlarg- j ing mills announced during the first quar- J ter of 1920 have been estimated .nt f 40,- 1 OOO.oiii). Plans announced during that period involved the installation of 490, 000 spindles ami 17,000 looms. In the j previous year the period of greatest spin. llenge activity was in the third quarter, but this was greatly exceeded in the first quarter of 1920. This activity was well distributed throughout the cot j ton manufacturing States, although the enlargement program in North Carolina if'.. Ik : Jji HOWER DAKEIO NOTED ATHLETE NOW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS: Homer Baker, holder of the world's record for running 600 yards, and winner of international and national cham pionship honors, has laid aside his spiked shoes and will race no more. He has ac cepted a U. S. Government position in the Panama Canal Zone. His title will be di rector of athletics. Faith of Mill Men in Future Shown. The great enlargement activity com mented upon above furnished an interest ing insight into the confidence which the mill men of the South displayed in the future of the business. Kxpressions from many of the leaders during that leriod called attention to the fact that mill owners realized that the era of large profits and capacity production could not continue indefinitely, but their determi nation to enlarge their holdings was based on their faith in the potential de mand for cotton teitiles of all descrip tions. At a time when the trade was filled with predictions that a let-down was bound to come, these men went) ahead with plans that were based entirely on tho future possibilities of the mill business. It is also interesting to note that quite a large number of plants were gold dur ing tho period of greatest mill activity. At least 20 mills changed hands .luring the early part of 1920. It appeared a good time to buy from the buyers' view point and likewise a good time to sell from the sellers' standpoint. Sellers took advantage of the high prices pre vailing, while buyers easily figured that their profits would soon pay for their purchases. Mill Stock Trading Practically Ceased. The high peak of prices for mill stocks was reached in April, when quo tations based on actual sales showed that many stocks were quoted at prices four times as great as was asked soon after the armistice was signed. The fever to buy mill shares continued una bated until deflation set in, with its at tending credit restrictions. Since then, as banking accommodations became more and more limited and the slump in textile markets more pronounced, trading in mill stocks has practically ccaesd, and quota tions generals' are almost as low as tiny were befare the boom started. Dividends f,,r the first quarter of 192U were uiisi,.illy large, but as the mid vear period approached, even though earnings were very large, ine amy .nvi.leihls were in many caes curtailed because of t he otie r la ill! oi I ne ouiiook. licsnies I asli divider. K a very large number of stock' dividends during the year furnished a rather uiiMi.al feature of the situation. Big Stock Dividends. Many stoclt div idemls were paid, these being on a scale hitherto unheard of. The largest of these was paid by the Chadwick Hoskins Co., of Charlotte, which paid a stock dividend of 400 per cent. 1 he l'.aslev Mills, of Kaslev. 8. '.. paid a similar dividend of ,'i00 per cent and numerous other companies paid from 10 Oto 200 per cent. A decided tendency to increase capi tal stock was also noted in Southern mil companies during the year. Figures for the whole South are not available at this time, but in the State of South Carolina, the cotton mills increased their capital by $19,468,00 during the first half of the year. The capital, befare the in creases were made, was $23,807,500, the) increase being about fi7 per cent. Twen ty five mills in Gaston county, X. C. ! 41 ROBERT QiELLEIi'S PSaAPiiS Column of Pungent, Pithy Peptograms From the Philosopher of Fountain Inn, 5. C. By EOBEBT QDI1XEN. f Copyright 192), Associate Editors.) X people can survive any folly or dbf1 aster except loafing. It isn't superiority that men hate a pose of superiority. but And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their idealism into title to real estate. Sans alcoholic enthusiasm, the high land fling would probably calm down to a mere shimmy. When we nave repealed tho excess profits tax, let us hasten to prohibit shooting the dodo. Lloyd George knows how a life insur ance agent feels when he is unable to deliver the policy. An open countenance is a fine thing wii. w wm. DON't OST 1 1 T srf. SOO M.riMy OKS tXZ. TO unless it is open to let out a sneeze. Activity along her border suggests that Poland expects Sovietism to collapse again next spring. Very likely ohn Bull has moments of depression when he suspects that Ireland means it this time. And so New York has suppressed crime! Fine. We knew Wall Street would get it in tho neck sooner or later. When legalized, it is a moratorium; during the same period made an increase in their capital stock which totaled $9. - oiD.000. The first half of 1920, which, as has been shown above, was one of tremend ous activity for the Southern mills and .s'ands out as an even brighter period when lotitrast. d with the conditions that ! , , rt. va i 1 .luring the latter part of t , ,. v,.ar -j- (lt. .,,,, j :1 ',, lls ,,, summer and early mills receiving no new orders and an ever increasing num ber of them found it neiessnry to begin curtailment of production as they com pleted orders on hand. Conditions rap idly became worse and by the middlo of December production in the South was es timated to be as low as 50 per cent of normal. Many plants have been idle for weeks and it is the exception rather than the rule to find any of them operating on full time. Cloth mills have exprei endec much better times than the yarn mills, especially mills making fine combed yarns. For that reason the industry in North Carolina, which is the home of the small yarn mill, has suffered more than has been the case in other sections where the mills are largely cloth manufacturers. There were many predictions, when the depression first set in, that wages in Southern mills would suffer little if any decline. These predictions, however, have not been fulfilled, as the mill men have found it absolutely necessary to re duce the wages of their workers. The general wage scalo in effect now is ap proximately 20 per cent lower than that of a few months ago. In the mills which have closed down entirely for long pe riods, the manufacturers have done every thing possible to help their employes j inrouga too idle times. House rent is given free, wood and coal supplied at cost and oilier aid given wherever possi ble. The policy of welfare work which de veloped so rapidly in the South during the recent years, has made steady pro gress during 1920. The mills have spent thousands of dollars to improve living conditions in the mill vilages. Another phase of activity in the mills during 1920 was the large amount of work done to improve "jnill suroundings. Landscape architects and engineers in this section state that never before have they secured as much work of this kind from the cotton mills. As t'e I'.ew year opens, the Southern ti. :d men, in spite of the very unfavora ble conditions that exist now, are able to v iew tho outlook with considerable op timism. Their attitude as a whole may e expressed by saving that they are low spirited saf ar as tho present is con cerned, but- optimistic river the future. They are able to point out a number of factors that should make for an earlv recovery in cotton mill products. In the first place, the consumption of cotton textiles is so widespread that in anything like a normal period there is bound to be a normal and steafly demand for goods. The potential demand for all kinds of fabrics and yarns is enormous and the mill men state that buying of these commodities cannot be held up much longer. Deflation has been in force for a con siderable lpngth of time, they point out, and; liquidatoin of stocks, especially those in retail hands, has made good pro press, the holiday trade being of consid frablp help in this respect. The con sumer is showing increasing interest and it can be fairly expected that the public will soon resume buying. The purchas ing power, although considerably less than it has been, whrn active again in a nnrmr way is sufficient to create a strong demand for goods. With retail stock cleaned out, the retailers can buy again and thus start the cycle of manufacture and -le that will nvnn resumption of tex,:lo manufacturing activity. Better financial conditions are expect- but every man can have his private and unofficial tell- 'em-to waitum. Ponzi may be a wizard with figures,, but just at present he would doubtless prefer being a wizard with a file. Boiled down, Americanism consists in getting yours anl then giving tho other fellow a decent chance to get his. "Tha world ven now is sitting on SV volcano," says an alarmist. Well, coal f is scarce,, and a body must keep warr4 in some way. Crooked officials having got their" names in the paper, this should be sv severe warning to -others who contem plate graft. Let us hope that Rsezchewski will taker advantage of his opportunities and make a name for himself while in America. The concert of nations doesn't include) rag-time numbers. Dignity prevents use of the rag except for purposes of chew ing. The goography still insists that t he capital o France is at Paris, but alas! The capital she needs most is in Russia. We hope this little chess marvet Rzeschewski, will taKe a day off during his visit and show us how to work the Income tax blank. ed by the mill men and an easing in tho- J credit situation will bo of great nssist- j ance in helping toward a return of ac- I tivity. Settlement of international ' T.rohlenoa psnccbillv tlmua nf r, fifi.kttei.il nature and the completion of some form of credit arrangeim nt whereby impover ished Kuropenns nations can resume buy ing in America is expected to bring im provemrnt that will soon bo reflected in the textile lines. There aro varying predictions as to when business will revive. Many of tho "ill neti state that, the first of March should seo a d.-idc! el,-, ge for tho bet ter. As a whole, the manufacturers real ly believe improvements will come in tin spring months. A consensus of opinion from this s ti 'i re. Vets a very general feeling that after a few months 1921 is going to bo a prosperous and active year for the cot ton mills and that by tho middle of ther yoar the industry will be well reestab lished on a good, sound, basis, but on. a price level that will remain considerably below that of the high peak, but abova pre-war levels. THE SIX PER CENT TIE-DOWN. Charlotte Observer. Tho editor of The Laurinburg Ex change quotes tho opinion of many busi ness men to the effect that North Caro lina is suffering at this time "becauso of the statutory limitation of six per cent on loans" and it anticipates discussion in tho legislaturo of a bill "making it legal to charge as much as eight per cent by special agreement or contract." That japer believes it unlikely that the pres ent rate of .six per cent will be changed 'I abolished, "but the exigencies of tli present situation demand that there bo .,u. -h legislation as will make it practical ..ml possible for the man in North Caro ina who needs money and to whom a loan is worth as much as eight per cent, to borrow it either at home or away from home," paying eight per cent and at tho same time staying within the law. Th experience of everybody who has ha.i financial transactions in this State dur ing the past year is that this Common wealth might as well quit playing tha hypocrite and make the eight per cent nle lawful. Capital is afraid of the law and this State is being crippled in consequence of its operation. The Ob server some weeks ago made contention for the remodeling of the State's laws ou interest, and it is glad to see tho weekly papers taking the sound and sensible) view on the situation. An electricaly operated vacuum cleaner for the teeth has been patented. PROHIBITION ENFORCEMENT A FARCE, SAYS WOOD WASHINGTON', Jan. 10. Prohibi tion enforcement is a "farce in every locality in tho country," Representative Wood, republican, Indiana, declared to day in the house in proposing that en forcement be transferred from the bu reau of internal revenue to the depart ment of justice. His proposal met 'with instant objection from Chairman Vol stead, of the judiciary committee, and heated debate ensued. Cnder tho present system, Representa tive Wood said, there is conflict of au thority between representatives of the bureau and tho justice department and they are "quarrelling and quibbling with each other and in many sections repre sentatives of the department of justice have interfered with the enforcement of the Volstead act." Representative Volstead said it was rue that enforcement was "a failure in some localities," but he was of the opinion that prohibition could be en forced if "ten states which have failed to enact state enforcement laws would' only do so."
Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Jan. 11, 1921, edition 1
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