A statement of the advantages possessed by a mill already in operation as contrasted with those which would contribute to the success of a proposed mill was a favorite method of argument. Thus the Kershaw Gazette said: "Let us realize that what is good for Charleston in this respect is better for us. (Reference was had to the Charleston Manufacturing Company.) She has to use steam as a motive power, which, in the form of coal, has to be brought long distances and at great cost. We have but to harness the magnificent water-powers which are slipping idly by us, and the thing is done. In Charleston, it is the investment of capital on hand, seeking profitable employment. With us, it will be the creation of capital itself; for we venture the assertion that one hundred thousand dollars invested in a cotton factory at Camden would develop interests to more than double that amount." The saving of three-fourths of a cent per pound in the freight between Camden and Charleston would in itself bring a fair dividend upon the capital invested, it was said. "And yet Charleston expects to, and will, make money by what she is about to do. Let the people of Camden and of Kershaw County be up and doing in this matter."[196] These, then, were the grounds upon which domestic and more strictly local capital were solicited. It is proper now to notice with what success the appeals were made. In the most respectable trade summary published by any newspaper in the South, it was stated in September of 1881: "The industrial feature of the year is the rapid extension of cotton manufacturing in South Carolina in common with other Southern States (naming the plants and the capital invested in or subscribed to each.) A most gratifying feature connected with the establishment of cotton mills in the South is that the great bulk of the capital employed in their operation has been furnished by Southern people. Southern capitalists are putting their shoulders to the wheel.... More than three-fourths of the capital invested in the cotton mills since the war has been subscribed by our own people...."[197] The conclusion of Mr. Thompson after a review of the rise of cotton mills in North Carolina is interesting: He says that capital for almost 200 mills that grew up in twenty years "has come chiefly from a multitude of small investors within the State"; again, "The development of the cotton industry in North Carolina is a striking instance of the manner by (in) which a people in poor or moderate circumstances can establish manufactures." He gives credence to estimates by those he considers best informed that 90 per cent. of the capital for mills in North Carolina has come from residents of the State. "The industry is distinctly a home enterprise, founded and fostered by natives of the State."[198] The Rock Hill Cotton Factory was spoken of as the "pet" of the town. Its $100,000 of capital stock was owned in Rock Hill, with the exception of $15,000 held in Charleston.[199]