Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1888-11-03
ENGLISH COOPERATION.
The System Has Worked MarveIs for
tho Worlstngmen There-Cotton and
Vyoolens

Woolens.
In relation to the interview with me by
your correspondent on Monday evening.
while in the main his report was accurate
considering the limited time he had. vet
he failed to get my meaning in regard to
my views of the tariff In answer to his
question as TO whether a moderate re-
duction in tariff rates would hurt the
cotton manufacturing industry | an
swered, no, but made an exception in
favor Of the finer grades Of goods and
yarns, the duty on which should not be
lower than at present, as they were much
reduced by the revision of 1883. said
further that my general idea
of tariff revision should be
in the direction Of the free listing Of the
raw materials of industry, l have long
believed that the competition amongst
ourselves would reduce the cost OF the
finished article, when not interfered with
by the formation of TRUSTS none Of
which / am glad to say we have in the
cotton manufacturing business. | wish
to say further that while our cotton
manufacturers are gradually but surely
approaching the English, even in the
finer grades of goods yet, when woo'en
goods are reached the case is entirely
changed. | found cotton goods such as
are worn by nineteen ont Of twenty of
our people nearly as low in price here as
in Manchester.
In woolens however I found that 81
in England would buy rather more than
So would buy here. | can account for
this great disparity in price of wooden
goods between here and there only by the
fact that while the Englishman has the
choice of the woods Of the world untaxed
our wooden manufacturers are forced to
pay tax of 10 cents or more pound
on MI the foreign wool they need to mix
with the domestic. / have been be-
lever in free raw materials for years and
my visit to Europe has only tended to
confirm those views. NV partner, A. G.
Thatcher, agrees with my views on this
subject as do quite a number Of our Del
aware textile manufacturers.
| will now state my general impression
of matters in England, relating to
manufacturing. First, as regards the
cost of the plant A cotton mill here in
Wilmington costing $50. coo could be
built in Manchester for $50 600. Of
course any one can see that the greater
cost of the plant wonld handicap the
Wilmington manufactures to the extent
of the difference. Next as to quality of
labor. While the English are very
energetic people, yet they are not so
ready to adapt themselves to new con
ditions as the Americans. They are
slow in taking up new ideas. Again
as TO cost of labor | should say that
at Fall River, Mass, the operatives are
paid fully ten per cent. higher then in
Man hester but the latter operative has
great advantages over the former when
his money is exchanged for the neeessi-
ties of life, which are fully ten per cent
cheaper there than here The greatest
surprise to me on revsiting England
after an absence of thirty years, was in
the splendid development of the cooper
alive idea. | can not do better than to
quote you from the address of George !
Jacobs Hollyoake at Carlisle before the !
cooperative Congress in 1877. OF the |
co-operatives he says:
They now own land they own streets |
Of dwellings and almost townships; they |
own vast and stately warehouses in Man !
chester in Loudon, in New Castle-on- !
Tyne and in Glasgow. They own bank |
whose transactions amount to IS, 900 600 |
year They possess more than 400 |
stores, which do business of over $780, |
900, 600 year; they own share capital Of |
$40, GOO, 600 in amount, and are making |
now for their 800 600 members more |
than $50, 900, 600 of profit annually. The |
mighty power of cooperation has enabled |
the working class in the last twenty-five |
years to do business of 81, 800, 600, 0OO !
giving them profit Of nearly $40. 600. /
OOO Their splendid wholesale society has
buying stations in the chief mar
kets of Europe and Amer
lea. Their ships are on the sea.
The life boats they have given ride on
our coasts. They aided in establishing a /
Mississippi Trading Company; they have
Invested $500, 900 in the Manchester |
canal they issue newspapers they erect |
public fountains; they subscribe to hos
pitfalls and charities they own libraries
reading rooms, and establish science
classes, and subscribe scholarships in the
University. Formerly the religion and
politics of the working people were dicta-
ted TO them by their employers. squires
and magistrates. Now co-operatives
have built halls for themselves where
they can hear the thing they will on any
day they will. No landlord nor public
authority can lock the door upon them
because they own the place
Cooperative manufactures are in
creasing rapidly-equipped with all the
modern appliances for the manufacture
of textile goods, fair proportion of the
stock being held by working men and
women. In Haywood, my native place,
there has been started lately co opera
tive cotton yarn mill in which every man
and some Of the women are owners Of
stock. This in addition to what has been
said in regard to cooperative stores
shows great advance in the intelligence
It also shows their keen ap-
probation Of the advantages
which cooperation gives in increasing
the purchasing power of their earnings
and good investment for their savings
My general impression is that what Gin
vention, discovery and competition" have
done for America in the past thirty years
they have done also for England. They
have also done much to elevate the
masses ON the continent of Europe. but
they would do vastly more, but for the
terrible curse of a blood tax" in the
shape Of immense standing armies taking
millions Of men from the peaceful pur-
suits Of industry JACOB BARLOW.
Henry Clay, Del, Nov. /, 1888.