The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-04-29

NEW YORK, April 2s--The mai anu
Express publishes the following corre-
spondence from E. C. Howard, Bos-
ton stan representative:
The secretary Of the national associn-
tlon OF wool manufacturers, Mr.. s. n.
D. North, Is certainly as well equipped
ns any man In the United States TO dis
cuss with expert knowledge the present
condition of the wool industry in TINS
country. Among his other duties, Geo
rotary North prepares the Wool BOOK,
q manual OF established value to the
trade and to Industrial science, and
publishes quarterly entitled the
BULLETIN" which has existed longer
than any other Industrial publication
In the country, and probably longer
than any other In the world. His pride
IN these publications Is warranted by
the constant and unsatistied demand
for them In university libraries,
The picture drawn by Mr.. James
Dobson, Of Philadelphia, one OF the
leading textile manufacturers OF sthe
world, Is causing discussion among oil
the journals Of the textile trades ana
among none more than among those OF
the wooden industry. The first question
/ asked Secretary North, when found
him in his commodlous oftice on kilby
street in this city, was II he could give
to the Mail and Express an official con-
hrmatIon OF Mr.. Dobson's estimate that
half the wooden looms In the country
are Idle to-day.
Are Idle Half the Time.
''That is a conservative estimate"
Mr.. North promptly replied. ut Is not
strictly correct to say that half the
looms are standing still all the timer It
would be more exact to say, though 1t
amounts to the same thing, that all the
looms are standing still half the time.
l mean that II you take all the few
looms that are yet running on full time,
all the many looms that ure running on
partial time and all the looms that are
not running at all, the result Of the cal-
culation must be that half OF the nor
NAL capacity Of the looms Of the wooden
industry Is not employed. can give
you some official figures to show what
tlls means to our wage-earners In
1880 there were in this country in WOOL
en- manufacture $1,000 broad looms, 2s,-
$50 narrow looms, 1887 carpet looms
total 66,is7 looms, In that year the
average number Of employees was 2l9,-
132, That Is to say, the number Of these
looms now running Is only 33,243, and
NAAG hAAAubEA Va lANANE EAAAkANINn - SAttd
l0s,561. In other words, nearly 10000
would be wholly out OF work were 1t not
for the qualification have made, that,
broadly speaking, nearly all OF these
looms are running and nearly all OF
these wage learners are working on
half-tlme. A comparison OF the pay
rolls for 1890 and 1896 will show more
clearly the result In 1880 the wooden
mills Of this country paid their ems
ployes $16,660,7t2. It Is, / repeat, con-
Bervatlye Btatement that this total pay
roll Is cut ID two to-day. That IL a loss
to the WaeAearners in the wooden In
dustry Of $50, 320,311 year"
incidentally, Mr.. North stated that
the total number, OF employees in the
wooden industry In 1880 was 2iS,1s so
that the earnings OF that number Of
workers, many OF them heads of fans
lilies, have been cut one-half.
It must be admitted that these figures
are appalling. They mean that about
100000 people are directly affected,
and that in the home wooden industry
alone. Their indirect effect upon all the
trades which these million people pat
ronize need only be suggested to show
that 1t is lncalculnble. And at this very
moment the cable tells us that money Is
so cheap in London city that conaols are
soaring and other securities command
enormous premiums. Truly, Great
Britain wakes fat over the Cleveland
policy Of revenue for deficit only.
Tho Tariffs Chief Victims.
The reader may draw for himself the
appalling differences which Secretary
North's statistics suggest as to the eff
feet upon wage-earners In the wooden
industry, and those dependent upon
them, Of the paralysis Of 50 per cent OF
It's normal product. Now. listen to Mr..
North's explanation Of this disaster:
1.-THE wooden Industry has suffered
more than any other from the Wilson
German tarlff law. All industries have
suffered from the uncertainty as to our
future financial policy. From that
cause, wooden manufacturers have suf-
fered alike with those who make goods
OF cotton or silk. with those who make
shoes and general supplies. But from
the present tariff the wooden industry
has suffered more than any other. This
Is largely because the reduction OF GUS
toms duties was followed by fall In
the price Of the raw material. This re-
suited in a harder blow to the wooden
industry than anybody had anticipated,
and perhaps than the trainers OF the
present tariff had intended There has
followed an enormous increase In inn
portatlons OF cheap cloths"
From the date upon which the pres
ent tariff law went into eject, tide OF
Imported woolens has surged into the
country at the average rate OF S5,0OO,000
per month. reaching the great total for
the year Of $780, 900 foreign value. and
having a duty-paid value OF $9O00O,000.
which is about one-thlrd OF the total
afn ttVa fnfn ~
lures, us reported by the census OF 1890,
and is considerably more than one
third Of the total value of our domestic
manufactures In 1885. In view Of the
extraordinary sfrinkaEelin invoice val
uatlOnH. and making allowance for un-
deT-valuRtions, this total represents an
aggregate quantity OF woolcns more
than double that which ever passed the
custom houses In twelve months.
The official reports OF the treasury
bureau OF statistics, so far as acceRsl-
BILE. sustain this statement. In cloths.
wooden and worsted. the imports were
A,573Ss7 pounds, valued at $2l, SOI 500.
for the FIRST ten months of 1895. When
data Rrc accessible for the whole calen-
dar year. this total will rise TO 100000
pounds, the lnrgegt imports OF any pre-
vious' year having been l6.3S0000
pounds. IN 1890. The increase over that
year Is i4i per cent. II iB fair cOnclu-
sion that another year OF this tariff,
with increasing foreign understanding
OF Its possibilities, viii show a still larg-
or proportlonate increase in wooden Inn
ports, Erecting n corresponding reduc-
tlon in domestic production.
1.-THE chief mischief wrought us by
the Wilson German tariff" continued
Secretary North, IFS in It's taking on
ernnInt. dIIlInl md mnhnr ihn nd Nnlnr-