The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-10-20
AN OBJECT LESSON.
What the Tariff is Doing for Fall
River Industries.

The American Protective Tariff Leagu,
has within the last Few days sent letters
TO persons controlling new industries
which have been established since the
Mckinley bill went into operation, ak
ing for statement as To the actual
progress made and also asking if the
establishment of these various industries
was due to the new tariff As an illus.
tration OF what may be expected we give
complete the following letter from Mr. X.
{. Kerr, vice president and treasurer OF
the Kerr Thread Company, Fall River,
Mass, This letter seems TO cover the
entire field and is n fair example of all,
some Of which will be produced next
week:
DEAR SIRs:-We have your IA vor OF Oct @,
and shall as soon as possible send you photo
graphs of our mills We built the first part of
the same IN 1890, and we would inform YOU
that our building was entirely due to the pro-
tcctiNc policy of the American government.
At that time. from personal standpoint. IL
would have suited Us much better To have en-
larged our factories in Paisley, scotland, and
done our selling m America through n house
IN New York or Boston. We came over here,
however, SO TINT we might bcCurnc Americans
ana share IN the general prosperity of this
great country
Under the protective tariff we have been
able 10 make n success of our business and
within two years are adding largely 10 the
size OF our plant We can assert that the Me-
kinley bill has had everything to do with our
extending, and we have looked upon the long
continued protective policy of the United
States as a guarantee 10 us that if we invested
our money over here In manufacturing. we
ourselves would he protected. We employ i'm
this country now over 800 hands, and when
our new mills are in full operation we shall
employ from 800 10 1000 hands.
IL may be interesting for you TO know how
the wages we pay here compare with the
wages We pay In our factories in Paisley.
Scotland.
To begin with, our spinners here receive
weekly from Sl5 TO SIS. We do not do any
spinning in Paisley, but there are very few
men employed in our works over there who
make more than 80 shillings (S73W week
which is considerably less than half the wages
earned by men here.
The girls employed in our Paisley mills are
making an extra large wage when they earn
IL shlllings per week, which is Sj.6j American
money. In our mills here they receive from
$3.50 to $3.50. and some OF them as much as IS
per week.
In one department. that of twisting
the Paisley operatives get 10 shillings, (S2.43l
per week standing wages. Here in Fall River
we pay girls Tor attending To IA less number of
splidles S'.D per week, and In some instances
we employ young men, VINO attend To a great
er number of spndles than the women do and
they receive SlU per week.
II II the tarif, and the tariff only, that en-
ables us TO pay the wages we do i'm Fall River,
and should the same be taken off thread and
cotton yarnsi we would have To do one of two
things-we would either nave 10 arrange with
)ur operatives here TO pay them at the same
rate or wages as we paw in Paisley, or we
would be compelled To close our mills in Fall
River till such time rs the American opera
ives conld see their way 10 accept the truly
lamcd pauper Mases of Europe.
Had the NiilIs bill ever become American
aw, and had the same been indorsed by the
,reat American people at the polls the Kerr !
Thread Company would have remained al
at that time was-an American corpo- |
at Paisley, Scotland, instead of |
he same being at Fail River. Mass, l.. :. a. |
II. &. KERR, Treasurer
Fall River, Mass, Oct. TO- 1897