Mississippi is one of the greatest cotton-producing States in the Union, and the negro produces the major part of said product, and he should feel a deep interest in the manufacture of this raw material, thereby doing something to advance civilization and adding something substantial to the commonwealth and the welfare of its people. [Illustration: HON. JAMES HILL. _President of Cotton Mill Company._] Hon. James Hill is president of the above company. Mr. Hill is a man of high standing and well known in all parts of this country. He has been a political leader for years, and has held some very important positions. He was at one time Postmaster of Vicksburg, Miss., the largest town in the State. Mr. Hill is now, in 1900, in the United States Land Office at Jackson, Miss. He was appointed to this position by President McKinley. Rev. E. W. Lampton, first vice-president of the company, is also a well-known man. He has been a very active man in the A. M. E. Church. His home is at Greenville, Miss., where he owns valuable property. Mr. Lampton has been at the head of the Masonic order for the State of Mississippi, and thousands of dollars have been disbursed by him for the benefit of widows and orphans annually. MR. EUGENE BURKINS. [Illustration: EUGENE BURKINS, Inventor of the Burkins Automatic Machine-Gun.] Eugene Burkins, inventor of the "Burkins Automatic Machine-Gun," was at one time a bootblack in the city of Chicago. He never had any education outside of learning how to read and write. Nor had he ever been a soldier, or had any experience with guns of any description; and for that reason his invention is all the more wonderful. He began first to make a careful study of the picture that appeared in the papers, showing the guns on the "Battleship Maine." Mr. Burkins saw in what way he could improve the machine-gun by increasing its rapid-firing capacity, and along that line he began to work. His first model was mostly made with a pocket-knife. Some of the leading colored people helped him secure his patent. Mr. Madden, a wealthy man in Chicago, furnished over $3,000 to make a perfect model. Admiral Dewey said it was "by far the best machine-gun ever made." It shoots seven times more a minute than the Gatling gun, and will doubtless take the place of other machine-guns. Several foreign countries have offered large sums for the right to manufacture it for their navies; but Mr. Burkins and Mr. Madden, his partner, proposed to control the manufacturing interest in this country. MR. GEO. E. JONES. [Illustration: MR. GEO. E. JONES.]