Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-08-18

prevail. Cotton printing cloth for max
in calicoes is lower now than year ago,
and this fact has been promptly seized
upon by the high tariff organs as a proof
of the excellent effects of protection.
But there are some facts which the Or
gans do not mention, and which suffi-
Gent ly account for the fall in price. The
tariff had nothing whatever to do with
it-least of all the Mckinley tariff,
which left the duty on this particular
grade of cloth at precisely the figure it
bore in the old tariff.
The decline in the price of printing
cloth is due to two causes, both of which
are perfectly natural. The cotton mills
have been buying cotton for the past
three or four months at prices about four
cents pound lower than last August,
and about two cents lower than last fall.
This difference is of itself sufficient TO ac-
count for the fall in price. The price of
printing cloths-''sixtyfour squares" as
they are known in the trade, j. e., sixty
four threads to the inch each way-was
maintained by a combination at 5-16
cents per yard from August TO December
last year. and the price is now 1916
cents. =
A still more important cause of the
fall in price is 10 be found in the change
of fashion. Ginghams have come into
fashion for women's dresses, and owing
to this change Of tickle fashion the de-
mand for calicoes has been much less
than it was last year. The DEGREES of
fashion are absolute. At the nod of her
head mills hum in merry haste to crafty
her vhims. But when she sulks and
refuses what once delighted her mill
wheels are silent, and all the arts of the
manufacturer avail not TO win the tickle
dame from her mood.
The effect Of this change in fashion
has been accurately reflected in the cur
rent market reports. Calicoes have been
reported for several months as dull, buy
ers uanifesting little disposition to lay
in large stocks Of class of goods against
which the tide Of fashion has set. On
the other hand, the market for ginghams
has during the same time been brisk
and prices steady. "GinghaIns and
woven wash fabrics in fall styles con-
tinue TO be freely ordered and leading
agents report unusually good progress so
far. Some patterns have met with such
favor as TO have already been taken off
the arket."
Such IS the report of the New York
market at a recent date, and for several
months similar reports have been print
ed daily.
The downward tendency of prices il
printing cloths began last December,
when the combine" Of the Fall River
manufacturers broke up. Under this
''com pine" it was agreed by the manu-
facturers not to sell below 5-16 cents
per yard, and this price was strictly ad-
hered TO till, by the terms Of the agree
ment, the arrangement to maintain
prices expired at the end of November
Under the combine" the manufac-
turers had accumulated immense stocks
Of cloth, and as soon as each manufac-
turer became free again TO sell at his own
! figures prices took tumble. Before the
end q December prices had gone down
about 10 per cent.
In heir distress the manufacturers
L1CN AEEei44 ~ LuA II CtllSul4Oll ~ lllt
foreign market, but they found that
prices there were much lower still than
IN the home market. The protectionists
! pretend that the prices of cheap cotton
| goods are as low with Us as IN any Euro
| pean country; Yet our print cloth men
/ found that they could not do any export
! business at a higher price than 2g cents
| yard. This meant reduction OF near
! ly 30 Ter cent. from the price which the
| manufacturers had been realizing in the
home market through their combine -
They decided 70 stick to the home mar
ket, ''rhe best market in the world.
But these men are again in distress.
! There is the same old cry of overproduc-
ton, enormous stocks of cloth and no
body 10 buy them. The problem is what
to do. At this point the high tariff Com
mercifl Bulletin Of Boston proffers the
following advice: The print cloth mills
| of Fa River have reached the point to
which they have long been tending,
where they must either cut down wages
or cease production. OF the two policies
the latter is the one that should be adopt
Ell. The difficulty to be overcome is an
excess of goods, not high cost of pro,
ductiOn, and this difficulty can only be
met by closing the mills. 1t is not CHEAP
goods that are wanted, but less of them.
Very likely this advice is useless
Last year there was the same complaint
Of overproduction, and in August three,
fourths of the mills shut down for a
week or more to prevent a break il
prices. Yet when the mills counted NJ
their earnings several months later il
was found that the more prosperous one.
had made clear profits of from IL to q
per cent. during the year. Two year,
ago one of them earned 81 per cent.
The only thing for these manufacturer
to do is to reduce prices to a point where
they can do an export business. Wher
they do that we shall hear less of shut
ting down because of overproduction.
1t Will not do for them to plead thai
wages here are too high for them t
|