New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-29
THE BRADFORD TRADE.
,nrp1Ty IN ENGLAND CAUSED BY
rur, WILSON wOOLLEN SCHEDULE
CONGRATULATIONS AND THE
CONSULAR SERVICE.
IL

Bradford April 16
,r series Of lean wears the Bradford
NV. hos been blessed with a fat year. Twen-
-. Gears ago, when what are now popuiouS ou'-
" y." .,rs swarming with industrial workers
80 80 obscure villages the main manufacturing
Wei. NJ the district was, bright. lustrous
.isLcs for women's gowns. The FIRST do" py
80, the industries of Bradford were crlppieo
w. dealt by the most capricious ana powerful
Wa uaaon,sts-Fashion The lustrous fabrics
10 from long staped wool went out OF s'yie'
mA' ,h.ir Mace were bstituted softer tissues
...r, French and German looms The trace OF
nVA IN rs own specialties shrank year after
-, Unable TO rival French manufacturers IN
49,. nun lines of fashionable fabrics for women
s".a,ord began to make mems coatinss on
-. .cale. taking away trade from NUGGETS
80 snd Leeds especially in coarse grades OF
s'... II became the chief emporium from when
~. rsady-made clothing trade IN England the
r.,.,,es and America drew its supplies
-. Mon was the first enemy After her came
AMERICAN named Mckinley. When Bradford
80 .,tered It's looms and machinery ana al
$3.50 ,ts business to new conditions. the Amer-
-, ,sr,t was changed in 1890. and the brao1oro
80. Nth the United States in mems coatings
-, had amounted to s6.5oo.0oo In 1889. dropped
'. .. soo uo IN 1891 and after temporary revival
.,r,r, the next two years fell again to sl,3oo,oOo
..s, IN Ike manner the exports OF stuff
:" -,,ch had averaged S.. 900 900 for ten years
-,,,ch rose to SO, 800 900 In $780, sank to the
49,. ,eve, OF 100000 in 1894. The old and the
49,, Industries of Bradford suffered alike from
49, y,v,n,sv tariff. which largely increased the
sut.. on stuff goods and coatings 1t was
,siod Of profound gloom for the entire district
~. r.sction came when the duties on goods for
Tho American market were reduced about one
half IN the Wilson tariff, and when also bright
roohair and similar lustrous fabrics were again
fashionable for women's wear. Last year marked
the coincidence OF these two relief measures Tor
The industries of Bradford the repeal OF the NC
Kinley tariff and the abrogatien OF FASHIONS ar
h,trary DEGREES agasast the characteristic Fab
RIGS Of the district
well-informed specialist. whose figures take
from an exhaustive Industrial review OF the Brad
ford trake published In The Times" states that
the exports Of coatings to the United States rose
from s. 275 62S for the year ending September 80,
1894 TO y7575052 in 1895 at a corresponding date.
This increase OF nearly 600 per cent reveals the
full effect OF the Wilson tariff during the first
year when 1t was in operation. The export OF
stuff goods during the same period ran up from
S22O0000 to S. 000 1t was virtually quadru-
pied, but portion Of this increase in the export
Of bright fabrics may fairly be accounted for by
the change Of fashion So far I have been fol-
lowing the expert writer for THE Times" On
the basis of the consular statistics for the year
ending December 81 1895, the results OF the re-
peal Of the Mckinley tariff may be enlarged con-
edesbly. The export Of worsted coatings to the
United States was 1851 22S; that Of stuff goods
NiUM The entire Bradford trade with the
United States during 1895 ran up from SS.2l5.2a4
kEz7Etse. Business improved with every por-
don ef the world. but the largest gain was In the
trsde with the United States; and this was main
" due to the reduction Of duties on woollen and
worsted goods.
AMERICAN LEGISLATION FOR BRADFORD.
With the economic aspects Of this question
have dealt in previous letter The point
which / am now seeking to emphasize is the
fact that whatever may have beer the effect
Of the new wool schedule upon competing Ameri-
can manufacturers, or the price Of wool. or the
cost OF clothing, the reduction Of duties has
promoted the fortunes Of the Brad
ford district. There has been a year Of unex-
ampled prosperity. In tbe worsted trade alone
10000 operatives are employed in the West
Riding OF Yorkshire, and they have had I'M
interrupted work on full time. During the
busiest portion Of the last year there was
scarcity Of labor and hundreds Of young women
who had gone into domestic service returned to
the mills. Every worsted and woolen mill In
West Yorkshire has been running on full time.
Some Of the old properties, which had been
standing Idle for many years. started up again
under the impetus of the revival Of the popu-
hsty Of lustrous fabrics. The entire woollen
tbtrict with Leeds and Huddersfield. brought
within a radius CT a dozen miles from Brad
Sud, contains population exceeding 100000,
and its prosperity during the last year has been
shown by unmstakable signs. There has been
no lack. Of employment: the savings Of the
working class have largely increased, as Is
proved by the returns of the savings banks;
manufacturers and merchants have had the
best trade known for many years. and. In the
main, there has been a rising market In prices
with fortunes to be rapidly made In certain
lines Of goods.
Bradford itself is city with population OF
over $4,000. and 1t is surrounded with manu-
.sctur'ns towns which identified with 1t
IN the worsted trade. Halifax has $4,000 inhabi-
.a"''' Aeighley is hourishng town equally
Ia'se' ana another $4,000 Is distributed among
O"'p~y' Saltaire and Haworth. Then there are
many prosperous milling villages such as Bng-
icy, thornton. Brighouse Silsden and Burley-
'n." narfedae, which are closely connected
win bradford DewSbury comes within the
s@n'e circle OF business interests. and Hudders-
~'"' great woollen city is only twelve miles
way while Leeds. which is a more populous
~Mn tnan Bradford. is only nine miles distant.
~"a precipitous hills. deep valleys and abun-
warehouses;. this was once one of the
picturesque sections Of England; but II IL
~. ~. ~nsely populated with a swarm OF indus
- workers, and Is almost continuously built
!. one suburb overlapping another. Through
~ nis great district. with its highly organized
= s.sues and trained labor. prosperity reigns
s.oons may change and American tariff
.xsrs may revise the woollen schedule In the
'efest OF workers at home: but In the mean
ssano every ono xrho vapfa uork In the Irad-