The daily gazette., 1881-07-29

The SILK INDusTRY.-The manu-
facture Of silks in the United States
has increased very rapidly in the last
six years and now forms a very i'm
portant branch of American industry.
A correspondent of the New York
Herald has been among some, Of the
silk factories an compiled some sta
tistics on the subject that will be found
interesting. That paper claims great
credit for the gentlemen engaged in
the trade, and says the "result is an
other and not the least triumph of
American courage, skill, energy and
enterprise" and that "thus far we
have come out ahead in nearly all that
we have undertaken, and the wilds
and Businesses on which the soldiers of
the Revolution left century ago the
blood prints of their shoeless feet are
to-day the centre of a manifold indus
try that bids fair to conquer the
world"
The home manufacturers of silk
were compelled to resort to many de-
vices to find q market for their goods
and for many years hardly any goods
were placed on the market which did
not bear foreign label.
At present the merchants are de-
pending more on the home production
than on foreign products. American
goods have proven themselves in many
cases far superior to those of foreign
manufacture, and although it took
quite some time to establish the TACT it
is now conceded that the looms of
Paterson, N. j., and other places in
this country where silk is manufac-
tured, produce work equal TO those of
Macclesfield and Lyons.
Paterson, N. j., the centre Of the
silk industry in this country, is fre-
quently called the Lyons of America,
for from its looms come some of the
most valuable of the silk products.
The growth of the industry has been
immense. At present over thirteen
Thousand hands are employed in the
various mills. There are 102 firms
engaged in the manufacture of silk and
silk machinery, and there are n silk
mills. Over "a, ,000, 900 per year is ex-
pended in wages, the capital invested
is over $40. 900, 900 and the value of
the product in year exceeds $12 ,0O0,-
O0O. or the operatives employed two
fifths are male, three-fifths female and
three-eighths under sixteen years of
age.
One of the principal articles manu-
factured in this country is ribbons.
thousands Of looms are busy from
ye to year on nothing but ribbons,
ana the largest part of the goods Of
that class sold is manufactured in this
country. Another large item of home
is handkerchiefs, and of
these goods only $4,000 worth was
imported last year. Handkerchief
weaving has probably been brought to
as near perfection in this country as in
Europe, and the finest goods in the
market this year came from the Pater-
son mills. 1t may be interesting to
the owners of the 'just imported"
embroideries, mantillas and vestings
TO know that no goods of that class
have been imported for several years
and that the total value of all goods of |
that kind imported in six years hardly |
exceeds $4,000. Sewing silks have |
also been largely manufactured In this
country for some years.
The mill girls as they are generally
called, form prominent feature of the
Of Paterson. They make
more wages than domestic servants,
and consequently dress better and look
upon girls who do housework as be-
meath them. But even among the
mill girls themselves there exists a