The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-09-22
PLEA FOR PROTECTION.


hearing before the Way and Means Com
mittee of Congress, in its relation to the
knit goods industry, in which Benning-
ton is intensely interested. The Com
mittee representing the Knit Goods
Manufacturers of the United States is
composed of the following gentlemen:
Hon. Titus Sheard, Little Falls; Mr.
Kennedy, Amsterdam; Mr.. James
O'Neil, Cohoes; Maj. A. B. Valentine,
Bennington; Mr.. Shanahan, Tribes Hill;
Mr.. J. w. Hines, Waterford; Mr.. W. S.
G. Wiley, Catskill.
From the Cohoes, N. Y, Daily News
of the goth, we take the full text of the
address of the National Knit Goods Man
ufacturers Association presented to the
Ways and Means Committee of the
House of Representatives at its hearing
on the tariff at Washington last week:
To the Ways and Means Committee of
the House of Representatives-Mr.
Chairman and Gentlemen: 1t is not the
intention of the knit goods industry by
its committee representing the United
States to take up too much of your time.
We take it for granted an Intelligent
body of gentlemen of your character and
reputation are sufficiently posted upon
the general principles of the tariff, as
you have been generally chosen from our
Representatives as to your special fitness
upon that subject. Our committee may,
however, be able to enhghten you upon
some details of the business in which
those whom we represent are immedi-
ately eDgaged-knit underwear, COM
monty called shirts and drawers. Hon.
Titus Sheard, who will address you, has
worked in the mills as boy in England,
and also in this country, and for the past
twenty-five years has been engaged as a
manufacturer at Little Falls. He at this
time has at work in his mills about $50
men, women and children, engaged in
the manufacture of of knit shirts and
drawers. There is employed in the
country to-day, irrespective of the mills
which do not make their yarn, commonly
called cOp-yarn mills. about 300 sets of
knitting machines with carding and spin
ming facilities and other appurtenances.
There is invested in these plants not
less than $25, 900, 900, and there is con-
stantly invested in the manufacture of
shirts and drawers fully S50,000,000.
This industry employs directly and in
directly about $1,000 persons, and pays in
wages not less than $40, 100000 annually,
and the output of these mills have been
estimated as high as 100000, 900; this IT.
respective of cop-yarn mills, which have
been varlously estimated at from 25 to so
per cent. of the whole.
That portion of our committee from
the Empire State wish to impress upon
you in relation to this particular manu-
featuring interest, this fact that fully 10
per cent. of this knit goods industry is
located and carried ON in the State of
New York, and that much larger per-
centage of the production of this indus
try in the country at large is marketed
through its agents located in that State,
thereby giving an additional employ
ment to labor and energy and capital,
than the measure of which we speak.
This industry has grown under the
present system of protective duties, and
we do not see how we can continue in
the manufacture of those goods profita-
bly, to the employer and emplOye unless
the present rate of duties is maintained.
Under the present cost of manufactur-
ing, and under the present circumstances
surrounding our industry, we most
earnestly appeal to you TO retain in our
tariff laws the full measure of protection
which we receive to-day as against the
foreign product.
one II bu6 ldCUS COuucCIOu Will JuG
cost of our production to which we wish
to call your particular attention, is that
of wages. From personal investigation
by some of our committee in England,
and from statistics from reliable sources,
we find the average wages per capita in
hosiery in manufacturing districts aver
age from $165 to Sl75 per annum, while
entirely from practical point of view
L Oh fn or fa tn un, an
fact that the average wages per capita in
our knit goods industry is from S400 to
$3.50 per annum. This speaks volumes
in ITSELF yet it is only one of the condi-
tions which go to make up the differ
ence of the cost of manufacture between
our county and the European; as it can
be fully demonstrated in fact, conceded,
that in Germany and on the continent
generally, wages are much less per capi-
ia than in England.
1t is also we'll known that the cost of
our plants exceed the cost of European
plants, as we'll as the cost of interest on
the capital invested.
We are instructed to present to this
committee the fact that we not only en-
dorse the present tariff as a whole, but
that under whatever changes may be
proposed to make in the same, we most
emphatically endorse that form and sys'
TEN of tariff which practises the ad val
orem and specific combined.
1t should be understood by this COM
mittee thatit is perfectly feasible, simple
and easy to frame tariff on knitted un-
derwear which is wholly specific and
partly ad valorem, which will be practi-
cable and equitable in operation, and
will avoid all the evils of under valua-
ton. This may not be true of other va
rieties of woolen goods, but it is GER
tainly true of knitted fabrics.
This committee is also specially di-
rected to call your attention to the fact
that under the present administration of
the tariff laws, shirts and drawers are
properly appraised under schedule "K''
paragraph 1906, as articles of wearing ap-
parel.
Knitted cloth is made by the same
process of preparation, carding and
spinning into yarn, as woolen cloths.
Cloth for knit goods is then made by
knitting instead of weaving as in woolen
cloth mills. Up to that point of the
manufacture of our product, we are en-
titled to the same protection as our
brother cloth manufacturer. In addi-
tion however, to that measure of protec-
ton we are entitled to the additional one
which may be accorded the clothing man.
ufacturer, because we take our cloth and
manufacture the same into shirts and
drawers for men, women and children,
and are, therefore, entitled to a protec-
ton in double measure as manufactur-
ers OF cloth and manufacturers of wear
ing apparel. II the process of making
our underwear was the same as in Eu-