Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-04-29
PROMISES NOT KEPT
In the Workings Of the New Demo-
cratic Tariff Laws,
As Shown BY the Reports Of Our Textile
Manufacturers.


of the textile manufacturers of New Eng
land, New York, New Jersey and Penn
sylvania, as to the conditions of their bust
ness, which proves to be highly interest
ing. Answers were received from 4S1
establishments, about equally divided
among the states named and fairly repre-
senting city and country and large and
small establishments. These answers
compare April 1893. with April, 1895,
and are summarized as accurately as pos
sible in q table.
As to reductions and RESERVATIONS of
wages, 1856 of the 4Sl establishments did
not reduce at all Sixteen reduced and
have partially restored and 252 reduced
and have not restored. The Fall River
and New Bedford mills, which have re-
Gently made partial restorat ons, do not
enter into either OF the aggregates above.
Nearly all concerns which did not re-
Iucc at all are either small mills in the
country, or are producers Of specialties in
which there is little competition, or for
which fashion has made good demand
In many cases. too, where the WACO rates
have been maintained, there have been re-
ductions Of running time, or of hands, or
both.
OF course it is impossible to put into a
table or summary all that was written in
The n turns. But the table fairly shows
that the volume of production and EN-
ploymcnt and the wages paid are still b
per cent. on the average below the condl-
ton of two years ago, while the orders
for goods are not quite one-half so en-
c,uraging as they were then, the cancel
lations arc far greater, and the profits are
almost out of sight.
IL is the condition of orders and profit
which best indicates the true state of bust
ness and affords n means of judging
whether or not the present rates of pro
duction and wages can be maintained or
decreased. Several pages of brief re-
marks from the manufacturers are printed,
which show that most of them are run
ming simply to hold their customers and
keep their help, so as to be ready for the
better business indicated for the future by
the elections of last autumn and this
spring.
They claim to be suffering far moro
than formerly from foreign and cut throat
competition. Orders are cancelled upon
frivolous pretexts, the real meaning of
which is that sales are disappointing or
similar goods are offered at lower prices.
Some of them speak of the under valua-
tions of foreign goods, which, of course,
says the bulletin, were expected under the
ad vaorem feature of the new tariff.
This enormous evil has only just begun
to be felt, because until business revived
the irnportations were small. They have
recently been rapidly increasing, and not
only is the treasury department distressed
over the unexpected smallness of the
revenue and the undoubted frauds in the
invoices, but it is now an every day ex-
perience in all commercial cities that
foreign fabrics are offered at prices which
could not be met here even with all profits
sacrificed ana wages cut 25 per cent. below
the present average.
The Bulletin says further that there is
no craftsmanship in the canvass, although II
little crops out of the returns. Some of the
best-known advocates of free trade, who
are textile manufacturers, neglected to
answer. Others of that faith gave such
glowing accounts of their business as sug-
gest that they are exceptionally fortunate
i'll their lines of production while naturally
may earnest protectionists did not hesitate
to state the reasons for their suffering
But there is every reason to believe that,
irrespective of political bias, the returns,
as {, whole, exhibit the true condition OF
the textile industries, and upon such in
dications any candid weather prophet
must raise cautionary signals.
An examination of the remarks by
manufacturers shows that not one in 90
reported favorable condition of business.
Some of the remarks arc racy reading.
Reviewing the whole, the Bulletin
SAYS; - Workingmens are striking
for complete,rcstoration of wages to the
scale of 1892 and the fore part of 1898, be
cause they think that business is again
good, evidently do not understand how
different the conditions are now from
what they were then. Tire Mckinley law
was then in force, with rates that were
fairly protective and with specific duties
which keptfraudulont importations down
to Il minimum. Yhe people had prospcred
for IA long time, and their purchasing
power was. great. Confidence prevailed
and industry had courage to go ahead
"But now the tariff which our foreign
competitors call an improvement over the
Mckinley law is in force Its duties are
lower, and most of them are ad valorem
Foreign competition is greater and is in
creasing. The people are, suffering from
nearly two years Of partial unemployment
reduced wages, stagnant trade, diminished
dividends lower prices of products and
impaired or destroyed profits Events
have happened which promise a brighter
future, but it is a long way off, and mean
while we must work under a had law and
with crippled resources.
"Wage-earncrs and people in other oc-
equations do not BALI realize the tremen-
dous struggle which such conditions bring
TO manufacturers. 1t requires great
courage first class management, unusually
hard work, and ample resources of capital
and credit to weather the prolonged
storm. Many are obliged to succumb
and large numbers of others feel, when
subjected to new trials. that the game is
hardly worth the candle
Therefore, every true friend of labor
ought to set forth the full and exact truth
about industrial conditions and caution
men not to turn themselves out of doors
by making their continued employment
impossible"