New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-04-25
AMERICAN FIBRE INDUSTRY.
HEMP. JUTE. FLAX AND RAMIE AND THEIR
MANUFACTURE.
PROTECTION ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR THE
Development OF ENOKMDO> A"hl-
CULTURAL AND MANUFACTURE
ING ENTERPRISES.

cener with the large and increasing lmportaiiOs OF
foreign Gbres and their products, Is awakening an
interest in and determination TO test the pf''u''
by Of successfully producing these Gbres and mani
f,c.rnc them in America. Thi, is. at the moment,
most important subject to the farming. manniacur-
ing and business world. Sufficient practice mas been
had 10 show that fax, hemp juie ana raio VIII gro"
lust as successfully in America as III any ohcf part Oh
the world while the manufacture OF linens, once eN-
;cnslvclv carried on in America. has recently grown -
enormous proportions in Germany, when mas ee.'"-
Tally the same conditions Of climate as the ,h1ed
STATES showing with the spinning and weaving already
existing here that the industry Is IN every way p'"o
tcablc Jntc manufacture Is already e'laDiishcu "ro
a. well as IN Europe. while the production anu "'''
zaton of I,,me has shown the entire practca6iy OF
supplying the fine arts Of textile hmhiao'"'c WIN
new fibre of almost equal value Win SIM
The f,conent statement by free-lrade papers that
fax cannot he grown in the United states has been
often found false while the assertions that linens
cannot he is also amply cohuaoi''eu oS INC
fact of the existence If five mills weaving linens ana
numbers Of mills spinning the hhe't trea"s uSe"'
Three nec mills TO weave linens have been bnilt dur
ing the last five years. The statement by Inc nc"
York Evening Post OF April . that FAX cannot be
grown for both seed and hofc, is also natN contra
dicted by the fact that it las always been 80 grown
In Rnssia Germany. Belgium, France anu 'sh'"a' an"
the New England and Middle states always 50 gre" It.
The farmers Of Ireland find profit IN growing max Tor
he they are uhdtif ~ INV tiS H''N'
from the fact that If they did they could not ret the
.,r,, untu thc following summer. the
cl,,sto i foo cold and the season to-
smart They therefore prefer TO lose the seed
for the more immediate realization OF INC III
come from the abrc. In Belgium. Franco aud Ger
many The flax j, held over. the seed taken OF CURING
tho winter and the fax stepped in The spring I'm
russia and Canada the fax is pulled, dried thr~h"l
ard spre,d on the ground the same autumn, As u VIII
ref On the ground when II would moi IN cold water
The American farmers already growing tie iaA for eh
have ONLY t. il close or pull 81 aud save h"'h sea
and fibre bv either procc-, Of Tctiing saving '"'
fax straw straight and properly TcjtnS u ""nIA give
the farmers Of America an annual saving ABOVE TIE
,, emf waste of $50 10000 There is partial demand
t~ the miro now while the presence of fcw more
mills for manufacturing would warrant ~" prpd"'-
,i and uropcr classification Of fibre 20 meet all o"
mauds The linen and other product, Of the manl-
fac,urc Of these hbs are now consumed ~ the lu'd
-taie,. but are imported
From Germany. $500 600 From Hor,sngg t'on.V
I,,on' Fiin,..... 100000 From Ii'luH-- ''-'"''
which. together with impori- from other co"nino-
makes a total importation of hbrcs and manuii iur'
of n-arl, s5O0ooOo O-thc production Of which Of
right hclour- to the American people
Hemp OF the very hest character better than that
producoI in any other part Of the world. has a"aYs
been grow. in America. according IT, the demand ""i
the up, and downs Of tariff legislation, at times cn
couraging and at times 81 strCylns the industry IN
snc iarf LEGISLATION the effect IL often indirect q, well
As direct for the low duties on iutc and the suh-t
tutcs for hemp cause a les demand for American
hemp and fax Tho mrorts Of such substitutes. a.
taken from The Tribune ~ April 4, Amounted 10
s5.7-5. coo for the year l--o. Total Of hemp and
fax. s3,s- 900; making total Of s".'d".oop. MI
these nLrcs are natural b. America and their manu-
facturc in every practicable and the time Is rip"
and the farmers and business of the country have
the right 10 demand such tarin regulations o. viii en-
able these industries Ia compete even scale with
foreign countries There can be market for raw
material In America except through the existence Of
manufactures 10 consume such rnw material The
duty II $50 per ton max + equal 10 90 per cent
while the wages paid the operatives here are equal 10
20 per higher than ihc cost I'm Europe. and con
.oqucny the duties upon foreign linens should be q,
least go per cent 10 render manufacturing IN America
equal with Europe.
Eainio and juic arc alrcrdy successfully grown In
the Southern states, and soon a. mann
factories exist and opportunity he given the
Yankee Ingenuity of the country viii
provide tho mechanical appliances or economically
handling these fibre The demand for thee crops
imperative to relieve the farmers from the over com
Petition If wheat aud cotton. and Conxe should
heed the demand. Nor l. II alone that tho farmers II
TIE south and West suffering from low prco, con-
-equont upon over production. The farmers ~ tho
Eastern and Atlantic states once extensively raised
boih hemp and FAX for expectation OF both seed and
FIBRE and their household, produced al the linen tlcy
consumed Ioday Thee farmers are idle for want OF
the profitable crops which hemp and flax would give
Them. To these Eastern States the opportunity for
relief Is "a brilliant one and fr exceed. ans interest
which D. awakened hy the question u Woodworking.
Tho farmers and Eoards OF Trade thfous houi the
country have pciitioucd CDngrc,- 10 take action 30
this direction and every effort Is mains t. adapt the
nlrc- to present wants while hail the agricultural
pertinent stations IN the country engaged ~ fully
demon tratng the pfactcabilty Of producing thc.e
nirous plants in perfection. The time has come for
turning point "a new departure. In regard 10 this in
du.try. Thus far in the thi, industry has been
neglected. simply ncelcct'd-ior while all other
people on The globe are successfully producing and
manufacturing these good. the American people are
ncglcctfnl Of what may be one Of the greatest sources
II industrial prosperity IN the world America pro.
duces every other plant and article Of Manufacture
which the world produces and why not lncnsl In
icad Of placing commensurate duties upon fine linens
At the tine Of the American industrial revival IN lsG
49, as upon other textile there VA, high dnty
placed upon raw fax and hemp and but half that
upon linens given TO slks-whiIc silks had free raw
materials The consequence has been neglect to
make efforts ~ produce linens
There have already been ample demonstrations 10
show tha, the business is entirely practicable were
there but the same protection from foreign competition
and cheap labor l. given 10 SILK cotton aud wool
Capal f. ready TO invest some Of the best equipped
mills IN the world already exist The Marshall thread
mills AZ Newark y. j. were recently remove here
from England; Finlayson Bou,ficd a CO.. of scot
land have recently erected line branch mandatory
at Grafton. Mass; the Barbours have an equally
pros porous branch here az they have in Li,bur Ire
land Dunbar a McMaster Of Guilford Ireland have
also a prosperous mill at Greenwich, y. \. mill
is successfully making crash AT Hastings. Mimi An
other "A very one, is in contemplation at Mime
ai,oli,: crash mill exists at Eau Claire, Wis, one at
Aplcon one at Lconinsicr. Mas. the stevens Mili-
at Webster Mass have a capacity OF doOoooO yards
annually Othcr mills preparing In Philadelphia.
one IS contemplated at another Western point, and
samuel Lawson q sons Leeds, England. have Ju't
furnished estimates for linen mill 10 operate 300
ooms while other mills under earnest discussion.
There are twenty -four plants using hemp and nhN.
dive mills weaving linen, four spinning and eleven
weaving ramic. and over sixty spinning and weaving
ute-showing the existence Of AN ample nucleus and
reason for the consideration of this question. great