New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-26
no MILLIONAIKF.S.
FROM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.


NO MILLIoNAIREs
Yyov . srKc1AI, CORRESPONDENT OF THE TEBrNE
Danbury, Aug. 24.-In very few manufacturing 'o"nS
er cities OF this country Is the population entreN de
pendent upon one industry for a livelihood III run
man, Homestead, bethlehem, and perhaps soutn hehu'
this is the case but I'm each Of these Instances
town has grown up around one mammoth establish
ment which may have separate departments o"'
I'm which the capital invested Is conroicn oS one
individual firm or stock company In the CITY Vi
Danbury, there IS no such concentration of cApi'Si
II is the great hat centre Of the United states lis
population of over 20 600 Is entirely dependent upon
the making of hats. AT least opethrd OF all the hats
manufactured In this country turned ont In Dan
bury In fact, there is nothing manufactured here
that docs not have some bearing upon THIS one eau
ing industry. But there Is no community oi III
tercsts between the factories distribution OF profits
among owners Of separate establishments. Inc
proprietors OF the twentyx hat factories situated IN
this city are with but few exceptions, men OF exceed
ingly moderate fortunes. They have the earnings OF
lifetime invested In their business. Most OF them
have risen from the lowest round OF the ladder The
process OF hatmaking, from forming to setting, Is
as well known to them by practical experience ana
years of work at the bench as II Is to the huure0s VI
men whom they employ
The fur hstmakng industry has been protected one
since 1863, under the Morrill, tarn and yet III the
city Of Danbury there are no mlDonaires, not
even one who Is worth hall million. Ihcre
are Tew retired hat manufacturers. Those who lave
engaged In the hat industry seldom Willingly re
tire old age alone compels them TO give up. There Is
no better exposition Of the allacy OF that old time cry
Of the rObber barons' who grow fat upon the help
less than is found In this busting. handsome little
city Ii is the rule rather than the exception that
owners of factories originally were workmen. They
begin In small way to manufacture. and gradually
improve their plants 10 meet the demand
Lefo fha tariff DrOtpctpd hat making. Dan
bury was the leading town OF the country III that
industry. 1t began far back as 1884 TO make hats
and the Rev. Dr. Robbins, IN century sermon de-
lvered In 1901. pointed with natural pride to the
fame OF his town then being the only place
in the United States where 10000 fur hats were
made annually. In the present season 2,GOO dozen
are turned out every day. In the adjoining town OF
Bethel, which ouce part OF Danbury-and may
be again, for they growing rapidly together-thc
daily output is 700 dozen. The times OF our fathers
have changed in the hundred years or more that
have elapsed since hatmaking started In Dan
bury but the right OF leadership In that Industry Is
still maintained Hats In those early days although
made OF fur as they now are, lasted much longer.
The fur Of the beaver the otter and other fine
haired animals furnished the material The process OF
making much tedious then, but the hats
were made to wear anywhere from five to ten years.
They made entirely by hand then, and even now
there is nttlo machinery used in some shops. The
life OF hat principally depends upon It's style.
The fr used Is cut from the skins OF Scotch coneys
or rabbits and German harcs. Some of the finer
grades made from the fur taken from the under
part Of the muskrat
Under the tariff Of 1883 oil undressed skins
admitted free Of duty The cutting OF the fur starred
industry in this country which had been more OF
less successful before the Mckinley bill passed
but which has since been greatly developed Under
the act Of 1s93 fur dressed the skim but not made
into articles, and fus not the skln prepared for
Aaffo aAr %&aJ
The Mckinley act has not changed the rating on the
undressed and dressed skins and cut fur. one change
made which has saved the hat industry Of Danbnry
from complete Generalization, not entire ruin. and
that the increase in the tarn from 80 10 IS per
cent ad valorem all hats for men, women and
children composed OF the fur OF the rabbit, beaver or
other animals or Of which such fur Is the component
material Of chief value, wholly partially manu-
factured including fur hat bodies Tue difference In
duty between either dressed skins cut fur and fur
made up partially into hats slight that an
industry by itself built up IN England, Germany
and Belgium OF making hats in the rough they
technically called. This work in England, Germany
and Belgium Is all done BY women. In England the
women make from so TO 90 cents day. In Germany
and Belgium from 90 TO 80 cents a day In Dan
bury this work is done by men. who earn from S3
to 81 a day No inventive genius Oh earth could
devise way BY which American manufacturers could
compete with the foreign producers. There only
alternative under the tariff OF 1883, and that
was to place the men on the same starvation wages
paid to the women Of England. Germany and Belgium.
Nothing radical or lDhuman WAS seriously con.
sidercd and the trade Ian gushed from 1857 10 the
passage OF the Mckinley bill. During that period this
country flooded annually by hundreds o; thousands
OF dozens Of cheap hats made in the rough. The i'm
porters forcstalng the passage Of the BILL brought in
large quantities OF these hats. The finer work upon
them, such trimming, finishing and getting ready
fer the market done in this country, occasion
required by skilled labor. There is nothing staple
about the style of hat. It's SHAPE and color change
with the seasons. There are two seasons In year,
each four months long, and factory never makes
surplus Of finished hats Its output is regulated en-
tirely by the orders received except when hats are
made In the rough. This kind Of work. however, can
be carried steadily the year through.
In Danbury the effect Of this competition with
foreign labor startling. The manufacturers saw
their trade falling on, the worlunen their wages
duced The growth Of the city. which had almost
doubled in six years. practically stopped. The great
business o; the place almost came 70 a st&ndstill.
Tie manufacturers sent delegation 10 Washington
TO appear before the Committee Oh Ways aud Means.
The workingmen sent like representation, and the
united action Of these two delegations brought about
the increase In the tariff from 80 per cent 10 SIS per
cent on all hats made in the rough. The beneficial
effects of this provision are most evident There is
not hat In the rough Of the cheaper grade sent
into this country. There Of course, many OF the
higher cade imported which sell for IS OF SO each,
but they bought BY those people who cannot b
satisfied with anything domestic
The arrest Of the Importation Of the cheaper grade
of hats has revived the hating industry all over the
country In Danbury four factories have started and
the old have enlarged their facilities since the
passage OF the Mckinley bill. In South Norwalk two
have started In Yonkers, Fall River, Newark, Brook
lyn aud Philadelphia there either new factories
started or the old established ones have made ad-
dtlons to accommodate increasing trade. In 1880
there were 12o.127 shipped from Danbury; in
s91 the number lad Increased TO 1884 COG cases, con
tanning each about three dozen hats For the week
ending August 20 g. 80 were shipped The com
petition now Is with underpsld degraded foreign
labor. 1t Is with American labor principally made