March 28, 1863, Memphis Daily Appeal (Jackson, Mississippi)
A gentleman who for many years was engaged in manufacturing cotton yarn and cloth in this State, has furnished us with the following estimate of the cost:
When cotton was selling at eight cents per pound, the cost of manufacturing a five pound bunch of cotton thread, including the raw material, was about seventy cents, and including labor, wearing of machinery, etc. Then, the usual selling price was ninety cents a bunch paying a profit of about thirty per cent. nett to the manufacturer. Suppose the raw cotton is at this time worth sixteen cents a pound, (most of the manufacturers had already laid in more than six months supply at half that price) and the cost of manufacturing to be double former expenses, (which is not true); but at double rates for material, labor, etc. the nett cost of producing five pounds of yarn will not exceed $1.40 at the outside. Add seventy five per cent to this which is allowed by the conscription law ($1.05, a very large profit on one bunch of yarn) and the selling price will be $2.45 per bunch.
The same rule will apply to cotton cloths, and restrain the manufacturer’s price to a trifle less than twenty-five cents per yard.–Iredell Express.