The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1892-01-02
AMERICAN SILK INDUSTRY.

or all the manufacturing industries o
which this great nation is SO justly proud
not one stands more conspicuous for III
success than silk, though il came into
the field with great hardness and eau
ton. The truth is, native capital rather
trembled at the thought OF putting itsel
in competition with the old world houses
whose looms had u skill derived from The
experience OF perhaps 5000 years. w
have Mt hand tho semi-ccntenary OF do
nestle silk manufacture; that is to say
wo have boon only fifty years making silk
goods, and yet we stand Mt this hour the
second nation OF the earth in this branch
OF industry. We have beaten the east
we have beaten Switzerland, Germany,
England, every European nation except
France, and we arc approaching herwith
rapid strides. Last year the value OF
our manufactures OF silk was $50, 00O,-
600; the value OF French manufactures
was triae over $10O,000,O00. 1t is
the opinion OF the most observant OF our
silk dealers, importers MS well as domes-
tic dealers, that tho next twelve years
will make the United States the equal Of
France in the production OF silk fabrics.
In England and other European factor
les the speed OF spindles ranges from q
500 to 1000 revolutions per minutes 90
into n Patterson mill, and there you can
have IL demonstrated that the spindIes
,..,s.-s1s receivco ~ - noo
.,o.iorm i Fun "a ,Uod to fb,s.s a,case
tons per minute. And this is tho v..R,
also in the other silk weaving establish
ments Of the Union. There is no longer
n monopoly OF this thigh speed spindle,
there is the Duffy & Whorrcll, the At
wood and the Machinists Association
spindle, all positive marvels OF re pu-
tionary power. These spindles save
labor on vast scale by various delft and
unique automatic contrivnnces and at
tacbments, the most notable OF which is
the "tako up" Take then, that other
American invention, the great belt spin
ner invented and built by Atheron and
others OF Patterson, obviating, us it
does, the Use OF bands, the one belt
touching all the ilanges OF the spindles,
and turning them uniformly. So differ
emit, indeed, Is the American machinery
from the foreign, that when weaver or
spinncrirom over the sens enters an Amer
lean mill he is dumfounded and does not
know what this and That piece OF splen-
did machinery, with it's lightning.Iike
h. To enter ncnrly any silk
mill in this country, even the inexpcri-
enced eye is Mt once struck by the econo.
my OF space, by the complete utilization
81 time, the perfect division Of labor, and
the consequent harmony OF movement
among machines and operatives. In 1874
we made about $20,0o0,000 worth OF
silks, and imported nearly $23, 900. 600 |
worth. Last ycnr we made 500, 600, 600 |
md imported, less the duty, about SAL
100000. With yelycts and pushes soon
% bc added to the home list, thati SAL
100000 will shrink pretty small. In
1874 we had about $4,000 operatives
ngagcd In silk manufacture, now we
nave over 10000. 1t Is only in hate
ears. likewise, that Americans have en-
aged in tho finishing, dycing and print
ng OF silks. Now IN every town where
ilk mills arc in operation, there are dye
ne, finishing and printing works.