Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-20
Not a Parallel.

| The Boston Herald assumes that the
South has facilities for manufacturing cot
ton equal to those in the North, and the
added advantages of proximity to the
cotton in the fields and cheaper labor and
yet has not injured the North by compe-
| tition in this field of industry. Hence,
the Herald argues, there is nothing TO
show that if all duties were removed the
cotton manufacturer of this country
would suffer in competition with fora
eigners, but quite the contrary. The spec
| ious frankness of the Herald, so charac-
teristic of its editorial policy, leads one
acquainted with it to examine more close
ly than the general reader is likely to do
its premises, for these granted the Herald S
conclusions, like those of other shrewd
theorists, are pretty sure to follow. The
South today has not the facilities Tor
manufacturing cotton that the cotton
centers of the North possess, not even If the
advantages of comparatively small trans
portation charges and cheap labor are
included That cheap labor now available
| in the South is cheap in quality and It's
producing capacity is somewhat limited
,by climate. On the other hand the for
eign cheap labor is cheap in price while
| in quality it is in some respects superior
to our own. Again the regulations OF the
northern manufacturers are established.
This means much. Buyers are in the
habit of looking to these mills for their
supply. Even the consumers are familiar
with the trademarks upon the goods pro-
duced there and demand them Habit is
great factor. Prejudice plays an impor-
tant part 1t has been very short time
since the prevailing idea in this country
was that anything imported was superior
| to the domestic. Indeed we think the
masses so believe today. And even of the
more intelligent it is safe to assume that
comparatively few realize that in quite
| a number of lines our products are SUI
perior to the foreign. We venture to as
sumo that the majority of the Herald's
readers would, if free trade existed, buy
imported rather than domestic cottons.
But as between the cottons of New Bed
ford and new brands that might be manu-
factured in the South they would buy
those from New Bedford. 1t will be years
before the p preference of American con-
sumers, will like the preference of English
consumers choose the home manufacture.
There cannot meantime be that kind of
reciprocity between the consumers of this
and other countries, not for years at least
for the Englishman is at once strongly
prcjudiced in favor of the English goods
and the American is prejudiced likewise
in favor of the English goods, although
as a whole the American goods are SUI
perior.
Again while the southern cotton factory
would be nearer the raw product the
northern concern is nearer the great cen
tres of distribution. Also the tendency
| for manufacturers of certain class to
locate near each other as is seen in New
Bedford Fall River and Lowell, favors
the northern manufacturer of cottons and
affords barrier to direct competition be-
| tween the North and South.
| But we believe more direct competition
| is likely to come in time also that the
increased facilities for transp portation will
lessen the magnitude of it when it does
come, as will the differences in climate
and habits of employees. Meanwhile un-
der the protective tariff the high stand
ard of American living is not only advan-
cling but is becoming equalized in differ
ent parts of the country and will leave
it's effect upon wages in the future as it
has in the past. This cannot be true in
competition with the foreign wage worker
whom centuries have Injured to low
grade of living that we trust will never
be forced upon the American, as it surely
would be if the Herald's free trade theo-
ries were put in practice.
L