The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-02-27
C0rION MILL HKMOV1LS.
Mnssachusetts Legislature Investigating
the Causes.

BOSTON, MASS, Feb. 26.-At the State
House this morning the legislative Com
mittee on Mercantile Affairs continued its
investigation into the causes Of removal
TO other States of textile corporations.
The committee heard a different story to-
day OF the condition OF manufacturers
and employees in Massachusetts from that
given at the previous sessions of the in
quiry. 4 he competition Of the South was
stamped as bugbear by ex-senator Rob
ert Howard, of Fail River. who appeared
as the representative of the Fan River
Cotton Mill Spinners' Association. Mr..
Howard said In brief:
81 have noticed during the past few
months that the comparatively few manu-
iacturers who are contemplating the
building Of mills In the South have spared
no pains 10 obtain the widest publicity
for their views on the so-called Southern
movement The bugbear Of southern
competition has been running In the ears
of the people throughout the length and
breadth of the New England States, ana
Massachusetts particularly. il seems TO
me mat those who are doing the most
talking possess more of a theoretical than
a practical knowledge of cotton manu-
featuring. The majority OF the manutac-
turcrS of Massachusetts, depend more for
success upon skilled operatives and eli
matte conditions in the line OF goods they
are engaged In than proximity TO the
cotton reids
short hours are not driving the cot
ton trade away from Massachusetts, for
no State in the country has made such
wonderful progress in cotton manufac-
ture as this State since 1874, when the
hours of labor were reduced to ten daily.
Carroll u, Wright says that Massachu-
sets made "a gain In spindles between
1870 and 1880 of 1917 80 and 307il looms.
INCREAsr ~ sPINDLEs.
IF the cotton trade is leaving Massa-
chusetts, as some persons want TO i'm
press on the comm!tte, how can You ac-
he in nj las
and looms? In 1880 there were 4,236, tSi
spindles IN the State. The latest returns
show 7.160, 49, or an Increase of 2.S3i, 506
in the past fourteen years Fall River at
the passage of the ten-hour law IN 1874,
had In its factories 1.23S,50S spindles, and
il has now about 100000. New England
has 20 per cent. OF the spindles or the
country. go
The South to-day has thirty-three mills
stripped for sale in receivers hands. IT
would be hard to find three idle mills in
Massachusetts.
as fast az skilled laborers get to the
South you win hear the petitions for just
such labor legislation as the people of
Massachusetts have sought during the
past few years.
FREIGHT RATES.
There are but few using that bug
bear Of Southern competition Ii has
been stated that raw cotton Is taken by
southern railroads as fifth-class freight,
While northern railroads take II as only
Sc ,ond or th,rd-class frei,ht. This state
ment is erroneous, since cotton is not
only shipped from the South % Massa-
chusetts and presumably to all New
England as fifth-class. but II can be
shipped from one point 10 another in
New England in carload lots as fifth
class freight.
Something has also been said about
coal The two States which recog-
nizeI as the most progressive in the
South are the Carolinas Investigation
has shown me that the Carolinas are
as far from the coal fields as the manu-
facturers of Massachusetts,. and what is
more, the facilities for Its Transports
ton are greater here. since we are
not dependent merely on the steam rail-
roads, but have the seaboard.
NOW, the mills in the so-called PIED,
mont district In the South are situated
In cotton belt in which Is raised cot.
ton suitable only for coarse goods ana
yarns and UNIT for the product or the
average Massachusetts mills.
Il think that statistics show that
Massachusetts, has In reality little 70