New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-10-24
A PROTECTION CITADEL.
PATERSON. TIE CITY OF SILKS
PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT TOLERATE FREE TRADE

| they have q the superiority OF their lot, and
Of the value OF the blessings conferred upon them by
Protection. Probably no class Of wOrkIncn can bear
| irucr testimony to this fact that the cosmopolitan
| silk workers Of Paterson, y. .. the SILK city OF
| America. many Of whom were reared In Free Trade
England. To quote one OF the Guys largest manu-
| iacturers, who only few years ago was WORKING al
the loom: Kept ~ We were in a state Of semis
| va.ion. bound hand and foot by the accruings OF
Illegal fines imposed b. harsh masters l. II any won
der that have sought the protection of American
| Thirty odd years of high protecting duties, 80 to
so per cent nd vaorem. have largely contributed to
build mp the silk industry Of Paterson appropriately
| called the Lyons OF America II Is todny numbered
among the largest silk producing cities Of the globe,
and furnishes employment tor 10000 people In one
| branch another OF the trade.
Taterson's peculiar advantages for manufacturing
were recognized In the Latter part OF the eighteenth
century whcn Alexander Hamilton, WsshinEons first
Secretary az the Treasury. aud number OF associates
conceived the project Il erecting large INDUSTRIAL
| establishments in America. The War OF The keVou
| ion having established the independence of this
Nation politically, the aim Of Hamilton and his asSo
ciltrs WIS TO establish It, independence from COM
mcrcial and manufacturing point OF view. Paterson
was selected as the best place for the purpose ana
She rank that the silk city OF America has assumed
! I'm TIE mercantile and manufacturing world has
verified the JUDGMENT Of Hamilton AMI his associates
To obtain control Of the needed territory applca
! ton was made 20 the Legislature Of NewJcrSey Tor
| charter which granted In 1871 creating the
Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures William
| Paterson was Governor Of New-Jcrscy at that tlme
and the scene Of the operations Of the society was
named afcr him. The PassaIc River aud Great
| Passaic Falls offered natural WATERPROOF for manu-
| featuring purposes and soon racewayS were con-
| strucicd from the falls and the society built cotton
mill as It's first enterprise But King Cotton was
de, ined In later years TO be dethrOncd for Queen
| SILK
To-day Paterson Is prominently the silk city
| Within It's boundary Is s situated the cradle OF
| American silk industry. which fory years ago was
patiently rocked by John Rylc. whose hair grew
| ,ilvcry while he hatcd for the fostering OF the In
dnsiry in This country Forty years ago IA" only SIX
! manufactured in the place spun saddlers twist
and sewing silk which done upon an old-faSilon"d
| snnnlngwhccl. AZ hat time John Rylc was the
proprietor Of that primitive industry, and all the SIR
used in he Western Hemisphere woven on foreign
looms Protection had not yet shed It's blessings
on the queen Of fabric The clink Of the sllk loom
or the wilr OF he spindle was unknown In TINS
country. Mr.. Rylc had mastered the art Of manlpn
arInr the golden thread In all lis inrcaccs In his
native city 81 Macclc,'d. England. He ohgd I"
Introduce silk weaving here but foreign slips were IN
loading their cargocS Of 'eNtle taOrlc' IN our por'>
under the Gae Of Free Trade.
In the spring Of lao Mr. Ryle constructed
wooden hnnd loom twisted the first warp and threw
~. frs, SHUTTLE IT. surface. For mon hs The
knick,y .knack ~ the primitive loom broke the rtlll-
ne,. ~ thc upper ofi Of his factorythe old gun shop
whore the fr-t Colt revolver was made. and which Is
.illl standing Nv fall u" loom had urn"d out S'orS
~ pln,u navy blue handk'rchef-, which We're to
sneak volumes frr Protection In the near future Mr.
pyl. -hlpp,d fhcs, handkerchiets 20 Washington. D.
T. and shortly sf,,rward followed them 'hther.
Roth thr Senate and the House were IN session. ana
the champion Of six mnnufacrur. had h''l" dlfcn'y
/ IN making himself heard upon The floors OF both
Ilou,es lie spoke by The hour upon The possibilities
Of silk industry In this country. II only protcc'r by
hIg, 'nrin. and concluded his plea by presenting
M. hom. made hnndkerchlefs 70 Senators and Con
rr.., men IIe readily converted Charl'~ sumner ana
| ,,,.-s and succeeded I'm arousng such enthu'ins
h,' soon arervard silk placed OH h" list OF pro
tested articles.
Silk mills spranr mp In all directions like magic
and SON tide Of prosperity swept over The city.
Cotton which lad bean the only fabric handled,
wa. driven to Eastern towns on account Of the In
,r.-,s,, pnv the Tx loom offered the cotton oper-
atiy,s Raw six from the monas'cri,S OF Italy
and from the canOns OF Japan and China came ~
,hiploacs 10 the Western World 10 be manipulated
ly American labor and sfill. Throughout The Fast
cru state silk mills We're erected 10 prosper ana
CIV, employment 10 tens Of thousand. The skill
~ the American artisan became remarkable All
the ,of shades aud tnt' 10 wiich the 'iihcn fibre
{, susceptible were soon mastered by the American
Divers: AL the perfection I'm de lgns wrought bv ia"
.kill1! Europ"nn Artists wcrr cquall'd 10y Ameri
can designer, and viewers. Tie beautiful soft sheen
" American sIk pushes WED with those 81 foreign
make and gradually crowded them from the c"un-
ter. % home merchants. so much for "a high pro
tcctyc tarir.
In approNma'nc Pucrson's product, conservative
estimate, place the sum invested I'm silk mills plant
and stock NJ figures ranging from s-.5oOoW {"
s1l25N.OOO and s25,OoO.00 as representing the
annual turnover.
The city has never known greater prosperity All
Of rs hmndrcdodd mills in fun operation, ana
many OF the manufacturers. who are unable to keep
up with the demand for their goods. are building
large additions to their already large plants. 80
| far This year something like sixteen new silk firms
have started MANY o. whicl. are bu ding plants OF
their own. Tic relative value OF the product Is
| ,h,wn in that 81 Of invested capital rcproiuccs
~ - In value Of silI, good a ycAr This readily
enable, tho manufacturer 70 pay the highest wages
Grl, wOIling rs windcrs receive from - 10 -
week. white wcavcrs employed on broad silk looms
earn IN average 81 $40 week. Men working on
ne same goods can probably do n little better. but
! The foregoing figures give SWEET mean" The
highest wages are earned by ribbon weavcrs. many
NJ whom draw from $40 10 $50 every two weeks.
but their average pay Will approximate $40 a week
Tho difference paid I'm wages 10 silk operatives in
| Paterson compared with the same class In Eh-
rope Is 100 per cent in favor Of the former.
,r in other words. Paterson pays Its silkwortes nj
| for work which In Europe would cost only 30 cents.
az course. IN some branches Of tie Industry the
comparative figures would show Il greater hirg-
cncc. That wages have Increased with the growth
f ~" industry Is apparent when II is considered u'
IN 1859. when twelve hour, constituted a DAYS
work girls received from u 10 :. 30 ek. VIE
they now receive from - to - for the sane G ass
II work for ten hours a day.
II f. the tariff imposed upon imported SIX goods
that has enabled the manufacturer hc"c to pay larger
wages and build mp II prosperous industry Ol great
magnitude. Bni the fact must not De lost sight OF
Tint while In former years only the paineSt goods
were maGe to-day the production is far superior in
design. texture. coorings and workmanship Manu-
facturers ard operatives alike became imbued with
spirit OF emulation and a result dress goods became
more tasteful In design and brocddes Richer Beyond
Ills swivel eiiccis and grenadines now success