The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1882-07-19
THE TRApEIN SPOOL COTTON.
The Profits Of the business Retained by The
Manufacturers.


Although there is millions of profit in the
thread business, those millions are not for
the jobbers or retail dealers, but for the
manufacturers. The jobber taking advan-
tage of the two per cent. discount allowed
on purchases for cash from the thread COM
bination, and of the rebate he is entitled to
if his sales have been throughout the year at
the price stipulated by the combination,
cannot secure his thread for less than fifty
cents dozen net. He sells for fifty
cents dozen to the retailer, who, in turn,
sells the standard makes of thread at cents
spool. Some thread sells at 4 cents spool,
but this is for makes whose manufacturers
are outside the combination. In the country
among small dealers, the threads of the
combination sell for and cents spool, and
the weaker grades, so to speak, that is,
threads of non-combination makers, for 5
cents. 1t will therefore be readily seen that
it is not TO the wholesale or retail dealers
that the spoils of the trade belong. That
the manufacturers will be satisfied with so
small a margin of profit will not be believed.
well-informed authority says that the ag
gregate yearly sales of spool cotton in this
country is about $4,000, 900 dozens of spools
year, and small margins ON even that sale
would not permit of dividends far in excess
of those which fall to the lot of other man.
ufacturers. 1t is very fair to presume,
therefore, that there is a large margin of
profit that does not appear ON the surface.
AS the manufacturers very carefully guard
the amount of production of their mills and
their yearly sales, the investigator into the
mysteries of the spool cotton bonanza finds
little to assist him in derermining the
amount of profit, but that 1t Is very great
he has every reason to know and believe.
Before tie war spool cotton sold uniformly
for many years at 4 cents SPOOL and at
wholesale could be had at from IS TO ~
cents per dozen spools, with the usual dis
counts. While the facilities for manufac-
ture are very much better ut the present
time than before the war, machinery very
much improved, and the cost of labor not
more, if as great, as it then was, the selling
price now is considerably in advance of the
old time figures. The manufacturers give,
as reasons for this increase in price the fact
that the introduction of the sewing machine
has necessitated the manufacture of six-cord
thread in all numbers, from the coarsest
(No. 3 to the finest, (No. 1907 while before
the universal use of the sewing machine
six-cord thread to finer grade than No. 80
was not demanded, or rather was not a
necessity. Then, too, they claim that they
are compelled to use Sea Island cotton ex
clusively nowadays in the manufacture of
thread. The additional expense incurred in
the use of delicate and improved machinery
for the various processes of manufacture,
spooling, labelling, etc., is put forward as an
additional excuse, but CHS can hardly be en-
tertained, for unless it was labor-saving and
reduced the expense of manufacture the old
methods would be continued. The apparent
reasons for the increase in price are, there
fore, the existence Of the Government pro-
tective tariff, the protection so peculiarly
given by consumers in their predictions
for certain brands, and the existence of the
combination which permits the leading
makers to arbitrarily control the market.