The Press., 1893-11-02
ELETcHER,s VIEWS.


 MT. Charles Fletcher, the founder of the great mills at Olneyville, R. l., which bears his name, an authority among the woolen goods manufacturers of this coun- try, whose name is known in England, now makes some statements, showing that the producers not only do not con- template starting up in the immediate fu- ture, but that the outlook for the great woolen industries of the country is far from fiattering. Mir. Fletcher says:
 II find, by going about among the job bers of New York in search for informa- tion, that the very people who have been in the habit of carrying from $2,000,00 to $3, ,OOO, ,OOO worth of goods each have been cutting down their stocks as rapidly as possible, and that some of the older and larger wholesale clothing houses have turned their stores into retail houses, and are disposing of their stocks with as much expedition as possible. "Under these circumstances, how are we, as manufacturers, to expect to get our orders and keep our mills running and our help employed? I wish to call your attention particularly to the old Herald office in New York. There will be found the spectacle of wholesaler in clothing, who carries a stock worth about $3, ,OOO, ,OOO, who has taken that office and is -... ...# RUSHING OFF HIS STOCK AT RETAIL.
 II witnessed the pushing of sales, and ask ed one large house what it meant. l was looking for information for the bene- fit of my friends in New England as well as for my own edification. And this is what the head of the house said to me: MT. Fletcher, if we are to keep our $2, ,OOO, ,OOO or 3,O00,O GOO worth of goods of that time are to lose from 40 to 50 per cent. of their values through the changes in the tariff which this administration contemplates, then we think it would be the better policy to get rid of our stock now and at the prices that we can before the break comes, and that done, to go out of the business
 Free wool means the taking of ii cents pound off the cost of wool in the grease, Easing the shrinkage of these wools, which we mostly import for this class of goods, at 50 per cent, that would make 9 cents on the secured wool per pound. By consequence of the wool be- ing reduced in value, and the saving in waste of 3 cents per pound from the loss usual on oils, there would be
 CLEAR GAIN ON FREE WOOL
 of 9 cents pound. On the other hand, we would lose by the change of the tariff 50 cents, and this under the Springer bill- There, is then, a straight loss of S4 cents a pound from our present priees.nnder the Mckinley bill.
 ''I now have all important question to ask the free wool and the free trade peo- pie, and it is, where that 34 cents of loss is to come from? It can come from no other source than from the wages. The loss must be made up somewhere if we are to compete with the foreign manufac- turer.
 "Some people who might have this problem submitted to them might say that we should take the 34 cents out of our profits. Any jobber who has knowl- edge of the woolen business will tell you that it would not be possible to take out more than 10 cents of that loss from the profits, providing that took all the profits. 1 When the manufacturer has done even that, then there is margain against him of 24 cents, and again l ask where the manufacturer who has done his best with his plant and got his cost down to the point where is but that 24 cents margin going to get the difference unless he takes it out of the other cost of the production the wages? would like to have some smart man pick up this matter and
 ANSWER THE QUESTION IF HE CAN.
 "But some people are urging that, be- cause the manufacturers have this sum- mer produced but 20 per cent. of the goods they could have run off, that will surely make demand for goods later on, and hence the mills will have to start up very soon. Such appears to be the fact on the surface; but who is to. get that de- mand to fill up the gap? You may put that down for the foreigners. The manu- lecturers of Bradford and Huddersfeld Eng. expect to get that demand, and 1 they feel iubilant, and are willing to spec ulate to get it, and are doing so now, and think they have good thing before them
 s'I make the prediction that all the woolen mills in the United States will not produce 9 per cent. of their capacity from July 1 to the 1st~day of January, and, as for the months that are to follow immedi !. ately after Jan. 1, 1894, think that the outlook is even gloom1er.
 T ssThe- iobbers will not be willing to look ,] at heavy weight goods until the latter part of February. Already the commits sion houses in New York are advising " their manufacturers to go slowly with re gard to their. production of samples.
 s'There is no necessity for experienced help talking about starving. After z 'fyear's experience a weaver ought to know enough about his work to command gooG I wages. I have men to whom pay from 4 $15 to $19a week. I have seen the same =Egrade of workingmen, producing exactl. as good cloth as they, in. Bradford, Eng. for 15s. to 1Ss. per week. With -reasona ble care of their wages, they should moi be in condition to-day to ask for assist ance."