Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1892-01-09

THE general cost outside of the wool
was stated by the manufacturer as be-
ing covered by SO cents a pound. In
England the dyeing and finishing is
higher, being done outside. The Amer
lean dyelng cost has to be corrected,
being higher than given ia my report
on these dress goods. | intimated then
that ONE corrections might be ne.es-
sary. What stands for the pound ought
to stand for the yard price, which would
make the dyeing cost in all c%olors, ex-
cept navy and myrtle, to be 4.6 cents
the pound, dress goods. Allowing for
this difference there is still sufficient
margin in the general cost to make
American flannels and carded wool
dress goods Independent of foreign
competition, were there no tariff what
ever. The American weaver gets . 65
cents per yard of these goods, turns out
about 300 yards a week, and earns ac-
cordingly sI95. The English weaver
gets Is Sd per piece of seventy-two
yards, 2.56 cents per yard, turns out
105 yards on an average, and earns
sail.
Both are paid by the piece at nearly
the same rate. The American operator
handles two looms, works harder and
longer hours. The Yorkshire girls
handle one loom and are satisfied with
earning twelve shillings a week. High
er than fifteen shillings their ambition
seldom goes. This is the alpha and
omega, the question and the answer, in
the problem OF to-day. This class of
goods needs nothing so mu h as free
wool to make it exportable. Manu-
facturers know this very well, and have
been very outspokcn at times about it.
How could it be otherwise? The gem
eral cost Of production, aside from
wool, is somewhat below the foreign
cost, but the wool costs more than twice
as much as abroad. Regarding the
wool question in general an American
manufacturer and commission merchant
writes me:
English goods are invariably made
out of u blend, and in this blend there
are all the way from five to twenty
different qualities of wool, each of
which is associated with it, to give some
desirable quality to the goods, either
OF texture, finish or price" 81 am
obliged nearly every week, he further
states, ito refuse profitable contracts
to make goods which would occupy
considerable quantities Of American
machinery simply because the raw
stock andthe experience Of handling the
same do not exist In this country. The
importation Of the former is prohibite |
by the tariff and the tariff /, like wise
responsible for our inexperience in
handling certain raw stocks, which
have been excluded from this market
for upwards of twenty-five years."
Here we have the whole difficulty.
We have neither the experience, in
handling raw stocks, o have we the
stocks Of wool required for the blend
ing, because they have been excluded
from the market for upwards of twen-
ty-fve years. Otherwise we could en-.
ploy III cheap labor and working
methods very proftably on orders now
going constantly to foreign countries
on account OF the absence OF these
necessary requirements.
The entire property of the Nation.
al lead trust has been transferred to
the National Lead Co., a company or
pauized under the laws of New Jersey.
The capital has been scaled down from
about $50, 600. 900 t, $50, 900, 900. High
tariff organs will no doubt soon be
charging that there is no lead trust
simply because onc word In It's Off cial
nime has been changed. II = the same
old skeleton even II II has got its new