University of South Carolina Libraries
The Watchman and Ik? JU _\_ /ru fru 7=" SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1901. ^p?iies? G0M Factor? ^^??^^^;^j?llio&; Dollars Invested : "fe - ?v ,Gxeat Enterprise-One ^^^^|^j^.Qj^i?tii^:2ff<we than : BP%^_ :. 10P,000 Spindler - The jSJ-'"- ' >-l?nsk?led and Un jpcrvv- . trained Help. ^?^K^:'v,^ >and .?ojnfoit Pfi?-Jered Mill Help-A Happy . |Sp&? and Contented Family. ^M^&^chm^:"of ..cotton* m?t development ?^Bg?I^?^&^ ??rthe -c?nrtay jost 'closed BB^^feachedin the<Hympia'-Cottoh Mili. It ^BMg||^?;:^^ -highest country, ^Kt^^s.VT?nov^ce? hy competen; m?l peo ^^g^.t?>:"?)e the most complete, up-to-date and ^^p^^isizig:, cotton manufacturing- plant in Mg^-coutrtry. It represents the type of Ijpkaley mills, all of- which are successful. ^H|3t^s" without doubt' the largest cotton ?toua^rader a single roof -in the entire Sou th Kern-States, and competent judges axmouace K|fcat it is, the. most complete m?l plant ia ?Jais; country; -^nd no rxatioa is ahead <? ^B^?s,-coun?sy^In the cotton mill, business. le heari and isnot?^ . that the Olympia ^Se^iar^est?m -the South, "but . they 5^ot lenow; nor cte liney thinly of what ^^|K^^ons^g? *fo-m-akg this magnificent whaj it is.' . .- " ;?if- a-isins?e?-cotton^ consuming ?es: of; cotton. ^temploy;-whenj^ is in gs^j?tcr^pirafibn, more than 1,200 operatives.. ?V AN AVENUE OF OPE ^Str' has the most, modern, and improved j tchinery and, with the new and up-to-j pfl?^ rnachinery, operatives can readily P?fe more than ihey woxild in old plants ^5^~anticiuatea equipment. the 'best class and most up-to-date or'rcs operatives. - . H is, on the- direct line- of the Columbia Electric Street Railway, and within a few ? ride of the heart of the city, is near enough to the- city to give all "advantages and pleasures of the city Celwnbia, .will -build a $20,000 school building for chi?dren of its operatives and support >" school roi its own accord and out of its fonds. Silt oilers the nest school and church op rportanities to its help. f' It is a mill operated, owned and man iiaged roy South Carolinians, who have the ?same sentiments, purposes and feelings as gib?se who do the work. C it has lavished money in installing the ost ; thorough sanitary arrangements in ithe mill and its village. It employs a mill physician, whose ser? vices are at the call of employees without coat. -:3?he~wages are full and the piece work as -other classes permit better incomes Fthan Esual, because of the improved fa ell? and new machinery The plant ls operated throughout with . electricity." The expectation is to soon offer electric lights to all of the operatives for \fh?&:&pmes. The pictures indicate the neat^.and at-, tractive homes that are provided, for the help. . ABOUT THE MTT/Ti BUHjSlNG. -, ? ? .. J ? . ? ^ - -, , Something of the giant min itself: The, min building of the Olympia Mill is ; S3 feet 2 inches long and 151 feet 2 inches wide, and contains four floors and a oase^ ment, each: story being 18 feet high. There are" two'towers about 24 by 22 feet and -139 feet ? Inches high, containing,the stairways and the tanks for the .sprinkler system. Adjouung the rear wall of the mill at the middle is a machine shop and-in the rear' of this is the engine and'boiler, rooms. The engine room being 320 by 50 feet, and the .boiler house 140 by 40 feet in?plan..In the rear of the latter is the building for the mechanical draft plant. The nrsr floor of the building is devoted to opening, bales and weaving; the second floor to weaving, j slashing, spooling and warpingr th? third ; to carding, drawing and lapping, and the j ?RATWES* HOMES, fourth floor to spinning. Communication between the floors is also afforded by two Otis electric elevators driven by alternat? ing-current motors. The mill will operate 104,000 spindles and the latest Draper looms have been put into the mill. The total number of looms to be operated will be 2,400 40-inch loom^f The electric equipment at the mill com-' poses everything;that has been construct ?d by electrical or mill engineers. It is by . odds the mos: thorough that has yet been undertaken. By using electricity the cost of the mill buildings was reduced by 10 per cent on account of the. absence of heavy transverse walls through the mill, necessary for the head shafts at the beltway, with the belt and shafting system. Sixty-one per cent of the shafting cost was saved by the use of electricly. Three-inch shafting is the largest in the building. Sixty-six per cent of the cost of the belts and ropes - was saved with the electrical system. The sav? ing due- to these three items was sufficient, it is said, to more than pay for the cost of the electrical equipment of the mill. Part of the electrical generating plant is used to light the town and also to run a street railway. The maximum power re? quired by the mill is about 3,600-horse power: TH] The generating plant consists of three1 McIntosh & Seymour engines, each of a normal rating-of 1600-horse power, capable "of developing a r?flT?Tnum of 2,000-horse power, idirectly connected to alternating current generators. The engines are of the vertical cross compound condensing type, with cylinders 20 and 48 inches\in diameter, and a stroke of 42. inches. The cylinders are steam 'jacketed; and a reheating receiver is placed between them. PLENTY OF PURE WATER. The water supply for the mill comes from a spring-fed reservoir of some 800,000 ? gallons* capacity, which also supplies the mill village with its drinking water. The mill is heated by two 14-foot electri? cally driven Sturtevant fans, blowing^ ah; through horizontal ducts along the front and-rear walls of the mill, as shown in the half plan and section of- the mill -build? ing; . The, mill architecture is imposing and the structure is beautiful. Considerable moneys was expended in beautifying the building, and every possible convenience is provided in and around the mil. The . closets and wash rooms are finished in marble and mosaics, and elevators are at hand for the operatives. A 5,000-pound Schane bell is in one of - the towers and with beautiful tone strikes" the hours, and in the second tower there is a standard time clock. The officers of the mill company are: President W. B. -Smith Whaley. Vice president. W. A. Clark. ... General manager, J. S. Moore. Secretary and treasurer, W. H. Rose. -Superintendent, F. S. Barnes. A SUBJECT" OF PRIDE. The mill was constructed on the plans of W. -J3. Smith Whaley & Co, the most successful mill engineers in the South. This firm has left its deep imprint on the industrial development of the South, and especially in South Carolina. In a recent article it was stated that: "The record of the firm is that of 539,676 spindles, 14,560 looms and $8,500^000 capital in a working period of seven years, unapproached by any mill engineering firm in the South, and should be a subject of pride to South Carolina and to Columbia, as well as to the members of the firm." When we consider that in 18S0 the entire -.State- of South Carolina contained only 2S cotton mills, with 181,743 spindles, 13.41S looms' and $4,084,000 capital, against this aggregate for one young South Carolina firm".of 539,676 spindles, 14,560 looms and S OLYMPIA COTTON MILL, COLUMBIA, $8,500,000 ? capital, the ?. extent of its con? structive ? achievements' may . oe- better realized. \. THE GENIUS OF W. B. SMITH T7HALEY. lit Columbia alone-it has planted 197,000 spindles.and 4,840 looms, or more than the whole* State' had twenty years ago, and the capital employed in these mills-$3,100, OOCKis, -only 'less, thah 'that required- for - the smaller number of looms and spindles in 1SS0,, because, of the greater economy possible -no w in building the best mills. It is proper to add rthat Mr .Whaley is the president of all but the smallest of j these four '. Columbia phills which he Tias j planned, and which,, with 191,000 spindles, ! 4,620' looms and $3,000,000 capital, represents j, the largest cotton .manufacturing invest I ment in the South , and one of the largest I in the United States. An example of his far-sightedness and quick business perception may be noted in connection with the electrical installa ' tion- of the- Olympia Mills. As soon as the I electrical transmission of power had been I definitely determined upon for that, mill j and its. location, determined, he at once ; purchased the "existing- electric car lines .'of the city; also the..electrical lighting business, and .will-fufnish the power and current-from the Olympia; also provide electricity; for the other mills. The re ! suitant; economies will not only be factors in the. net earnings of the railway and lighting systems, - but ;will .also add an appreciable ; net income to credit of the milL OLYMPIA'S " GREATNESS ACK?OWL . EDGED. Last April, when the great Olympia Mill was. started . up, it . was examined by a ' number ct the' leading1 cotton mill officers in the country, men who lead in the cotton industrial movement. / One of these was Capt Manning, of the Amoskeag Company, . who said: "The Olympia was the finest structure of the sort he had ever seen. He was glad the Olympia was not a com? petitor of the/Amoskeag Company." j Mr -Richardson, of Massachusetts, said I that the Olympia Mill was, In his opinion, j the. finest cotton, mill in the world-the . finest in architecture and equipment-and he-said this-with a. full "realization of what he was saying, as he was connected with New. England mills. Not long ago Mr H. E. C. Bryant made a trip through the mill territory and made disinterested and impartial in ! quiries and wrote a series of articles on the result of his inquiries in the various I mills in this State and North Carolina, ONE OF THE OLYMPL* HOMES* s. c. and here is an interesting summary in one of his letters: "In.passing through a mill settlement some weeks ago I stoj>ped at the home of a middle-aged man who had^flv? children working in the mill. He l^yes in a six room, two-story house. I "met him some distance from his house; I said: 'I want to see how you people; live. I would like to go In some home where several children live.' He started in a jiffy-and said as he walked: , 'Come and go in my house." I have five children, but ; they are in . the mill/ Entering the house from the rear we went through the dining room into a . bed room, and then into the parlor. The old gentleman was proud of the parlor. He threw back the window curtains and pointed to the large pictures on the wall.1 They were paintings from, photographs of his children* The floor of the room was carpeted and In one corner was an organ. From kitchen to garret the house was clean. When mine host had seen me. to ( the door he saide *I farmed on. ranted land J before I came here, -but I could not feed . my family there, now. I like ' the , Iii? ! here. I like my employers.' They treat ? us well if we behave ia-'like manner to j ward them. If we misbehave they turn us out and get others in our stead.'' When I moved here the\ superintendent warned me against drinking. . He. said that he would . have none but ^sober ? help. He meant what he said, for i have hot- seen a drunken man on the'hill since I came here two years ago. My children are in good health and seem, satisfied. We are all contented. All of us belong to the Church and attend regularly,*" . "I went from house to house and\h'eard the same story. Indeed, there is no prob-; lem at the best mills between capital and labor, for the mill owners and operatives dwell in harmony. The various religious jdenbminations in the mill sections are doing ? great deal for J the factory element in the South. Preachers Icall on the operatives and their families at their homes. Churches are built "-and . preaching and Sunday-school conducted at j nearly every mill. Within, the last five years in the South much has been done for the betterment of the condition of the cotton mill help. The work is till going ou. ? ' "No one who knows the- facts, as any one can learn by going to the mills, can doubt that the people who work in the coton mills of the South are far better off in every way than ever before. "Such are the conditions in all the Caro? lina mills." Mr E. G. Dunnell, an experienced news ' paper man on the editorial staff of the New York Times, visited the South and_ j made a careful study of the mill situation, and in one of his letters- recently to his paper this New York writer had this.tb j say, among other things: "While the owners and stockholders are .'making money they are conferring per-,j manent blessings upon the people. Ais in , other towns where hew mills have de*' rnanded increasing numbers of operatives. shops have started to supply the needs of operatives or those who were employed in new industries, called forth because bf the I -coming of a laboring population. Stores^ haye been obliged to carry large and. more varied stocks. There is- more travelling by rail. It is a matter o"f daily occurrence' that among, the passengers who overcrowd |;the trains of the Southern Railway there are inquirers arriving at various pohits to look over the land with the view of set? tling, either as persons already concerned in cotton manufacturing or hoping to be, or tradesmen seeking a'new'market.' . "The country is beautiful. It is chaxztt I ing to the eye: it is naturally healthful',, j and in the towns will be more healthful.. with a little criticism and sanitation: The j summers are long and the. winters brief and unusually mild. : HOME OFFERED ( "But it Is not alone in the coming of the trolley, the expansion of the shops, the paving of streets in towns, the sanitation of all places of large population, the sen? sation of earning money with a regularity and certainty never before enjoyed in the ecrion, that occasion for rejoicing is -?ound in South Carolina. Attention was directed by a thoughtful and observant citizen to a sociological phase of the In? dustrial development that Is most satis? factory, and that it seems a pity could not be extended in some way to the State of Kentucky. "When Columbia began to build mills, and the operation of the mills had made a perceptible drain upon the most conven? ient and willing class of the population that was fitted to work in the mills, that drain was felt a little at points more or less remote from Columbia. Men and wo? men who had yearned Toi opportunity to; get money without digging or hoeing for, it- moved from the foothills into town,-' first into places vacated by the people who j moved earliest, and afterward, as the j mills began to risc nearer to the hills, into ? the manufactories elsewhere. EFFECT OF PROSPERITY. "Most of these people were of the real hardy mountaineer sort, with the same soft, deliberate courteous address that Is characteristic of all the mountaineers in the Virginias, the Carolinas. Tennessee or Kentucky. They brought with them stal? wart frames, simple appetites and igno? rance of letters. But they were no: al-] together at fault for that. They had not been treated as wards of the State. There was a moving down from the mountain districts Into a region where there were schools and stores and churches of a proud but earnest and ambitious multi-, trade that .had gotten along without these things, simply, because all their neighbors :had; don?fii?ewise for years. But the pride that-had been satisfied in , the moun? tains and: back country made them ambi? tious -tc ?e>p'up with, the order pt; things' inv the regi?n to which they had- migrated. '.The -children must be clothed .like other ;CMldren;; the wife must not. be compelled t?- lrver ih^ sun bonnet. .^SC^OOLS FOR ALL. --^The^pubhc, schools were at once patron? ized .^y-^ehirdren who might" have devei fpped^??te:their parents If it had not ' beea :ifbr^the^b^Sng ot new7 cotton mills. New , heeds de^nanded money to gratify them. 5The-s?n of?civi'li2a;tion was rising. ' :<Th: many~Yespects this is the very best ' resultv?f'.^?k'e industrial awakening vin. ^uth-'<^rolfna.- The mill towns areN bound to become5 cintres of intelligence, taste, 3e "ye?oping^?ijp?tite for necessary and luxu? rious surrbundingsv and, with the passing ot; year^^a^d : theaccumulation of means, groups?ofj?j&e- ownedPhonies :of thousand* . who carnet the; towns penniless and igho- : rant, ah'd^y?;'bee? by industry and thrift converte&Tfato law-abiding, temperate, iii depend^^??nd";self^e^?cting Americans.'' Airthat.?tfr Dimnel?.hai to sa but:mOTerS^ere)'as the mill owners real? ize ii^rth<c^bcs"t:help is that which is best paid- aii^^^en;.th.e .greatest of. home com forts^iaha ^a> is the purpose of the Olym? pia^ management. '. WOR^^LL; THE YEAR. ROUND. - ; ?p?ra?v^ ?n the South can and do. work a?l.t??'^a^'^ they wish io^,a^;it:;:^r>> is; hot^he^J?-r?t^is up in the New England . ;Siates^;.^ha?: the cold weather tot?r?eres wi?h.w?rk^r*.several months in each year. TB3frBEST OF OFFICERS. . Th^;?^Siit;-C?tton*3?ilIv lia^coHect?d all/.th'e;,^^^?ngs> that are to be had. ^?t has'_th^fi^^ 'chinery^^^latesfc--looms, sprndles- and other =mach1|s^^ ha? b??n^^?;??s - "to"/.'-put the most expe^ rien^c^?me3^-atithe;bead of the various de parteent^President W. B.. Smith "Whaley. lat?^ the ground floor upi;"He worked'his'w^ty from th^bot li^^lSb^o'^mo^-tva^ of" the ladder, rad'so.G^ \ , *heeh bf^^ ; knows fe on down-the line,' :and??t?ta*.^ why. its management is anxious vt?'?secure; unskilled help and trato " the -workers- with* the skilled and compe >t?ni':j^p^^>i?sed.--; -It is a matter pt but , :&shot?iiiiu?'. .^iv?gry-'short .f?me^bef<??'ljie new ih^pj:icah : a?d does earn as much a? any in the?nHis. .At Olympia, there wili be robm.'t?r^'-a^?.. ' 'THB^BEST FEOFLE . AT WORK. ?.-..->.-?.-? - ? .. - .?.''..*..;'-?' There^ar^ * pet-p?e-toLSbuth: Carolina: ;who are working ; r hr the hal^and who;:" are;-delighted that they , ch? had been : mer?rtofiersi?ai eked^outan existence; axe tc^iay-Hving; cornibrtab^ ties; :theh^chUdren have;the. best bf school facafties?t3ey*have the^h?st ;of church op-. p?rtunfri?s;>| and : . when.', pay-day ' come? ar?und^th^ re ofVe- -thefepay and can. and do -putv aside mpney4 . Families who worked'nuder the lien^ systen^^and were' constantly to.dsbft, and';:that:r^^ month, ^?nd^ye^-by^ye^ ing an??;?iii^ wehr into tho mills with\-^ en^oyedicomfortable^arid. regular incomes. . It Ss.the^iastant amvbf such" corpora tic^:. a^:/fhe; Olympia to have, competent and /happy^eljfc;arid to have a;fcealthy and r satisfied^ccjnmuiity,^and, to that: 'end ev erything-^ and is 'being, done -?^fi^fceaita and pleasure, of ; the ; '.operative^^--^;--'^ ' ' ' h - .-Ther^-iaS-iio healthier.- community- than thai ai?t?M^ has' ah-e??^Rtional sewerage and dralnago ? syetem;r:a^parbage .fe carted away by. the garb^??^ m?L -The pomp&?ifih^ known, phy^cia??'.. whose business, and )LYMP?AF S HELP. pleasure it 43 40 attend to>very medical , want of tfie.-cperatives at the expense of the mffi'comp?toy The ma?a^emeht is des?rious of having the very- besii??ss or operatives to live-in -their \iUage?ai;d to work in the mill. As the mill' is . just, starting up this enormous plant, the:'company ' w?l require several hundred f gullies "to give it the full nuin* b?r of operatives. The mill, therefore,-ia offering to receive "green" help and to teach them^o'-wprk in the factory. Anyone ?d&ir?fg to mvesagate with a view of accepting th?? ofter, can get all' the informatioar'such as regards to wages of' the different kinds of work, etc, by writ? ing to the'rsuperintendent of the Olympia MiHs, or ahjs?f the mill officials, at Colum s.:'"c:^ ^SBLWmB Columbia offers a great many advantages .io people moving into the city. Its fine churches and:; fine schools give to those . persons living in CoIumbia\ advantages, not possessed, by-a-good many other localities; The mills are all located on the street car line, making them very accessible to any part of Vne^c?ty. ?BDHM?HEt^H| A good many families in the past have moved in frbm their farms to work in the factories here. They seem to be perfectly satisfied and in many instances have-bet? tered their condition considerably^ The milL.officials will ^e glad to commu? nicate with any parties desiring to come to the mais for the purpose of working in them, and afr? satisfied that the opportuni? ties are such as to satisfy them. The story of the 0;ympia Cotton Mill is one of intense intsrest to every Carolinian, and when one thinks. it will be realized how very intimately the cotton mills of the State ?area?%>ciated with the industrial developmental -Jae State.