The San Francisco call., 1897-07-16

908 Broadway, July Is.
The employees of the California Cotton
mills are greatly exercised over their fu-
ture prospects. They are working indi-
vidually, seaing prominent people and
doing all in their power to undo the harm
already done them in Congress.
The following letter has been sent TO
Senator White by Supsrin tendent Ruth
erford of the California Cotton. mills Com
pany:
Hon. Stephen N. White, United States Senator,
Washington, ID. G-DEAR SIR: l am favored
win your telegram of June % duly received,
TO which have replied as follows: Congress
s1onal Record received; your statement en-
1rely inaccurate; jutemills represent never
employed Chinese nor paid dol ar in wages
for Chinese labor; enlirely white labor en-
ployed; used over 5000 bales of raw iute an
nually before the passage OF Wilson DiIl; grad
uAlly increasing. You ought in justice TO US
to correct sta tement and protect Durlaps."
Until The Congresslo nal Record reached me
did not know my name and business had
been so unfavorably reieTred to In the Senate
and of inaccurate statements presented by you
during the discussion of the tariff proposals
on jute-bags and burlaps 1T is expected OF
pubic men nigh i'll otficc that, ss they speak
with authority, their statements will be rea-
sonably accurate and reliable, particularly SO
when a person not PRESENTS assailed and re-
ierred to. as was the writer. l am free to ad-
nit you did not willfully misrepresent any
thing, but rather suppose you had been mis-
informed or misunderstood the situation here.
The California Cotfoi mills Company, with
which am connected, own both jute and cot
ton mill, located on the Oakland Bay, about
midway between East Oakland and the City OF
Alameda. Those works were erected by tEe
ritter and his associates in 18S3-S4, and nave
run continuously ever since. As relating to
the jute, We We're forced 10 suspend opcrat-
ing the jufe department after 1894, owing 10
the jute bag and burlap coming in free-goods
which the Wilson bill never intended should
come in free OF duty. We have employed con-
tinuously all those years none Dut white
Ii ", mos tly ali residents OF Oakland or Ala
media, numbering at present about 400. No
Cinnamon have ever been employed. nor
dollar paid IN wages for their Dor by this
company.
We pay the highest rate of wages paid in
the United States for the same kind OF work
and have never had strike or trade dispute
10 disturb the good relations existing. We
dis tribute monthly about $1,000 in wages in
this neighborhood. From the inclosed bUsi-
ness card you will see the kind of goods we
| manufaclure from the raw m aterial. We nave
large and widely extended trade, our mar
ket including Alaska and British Columbia 10
Mexico and from Utah and Montana and
Idaho on the east to the Sandwich Islands on
The west, so 1t panied us considerably to find
our name and business uniavorahly re-
ferred to and held up 10 public ridicule in the
Senate by a Senator from California. Those
| statements we knew would be published as
! far and wide as the Importance of the occa-
! sion and speaker warranted
| Some years ago we had the honor OF showing
mem bers of the Board of Slate Prison Direct
| ors over our works, accompanied by the
| Warden and his experts. Shortly after this
we learned u bill had been introduced in the
| State Legislature calling for All appropriation
| 10 establish mill at Folsom prison, and to
manufacture by convict labor and water
| power there the identical class OF goods We
made in our mill. This is what led US to in
terest public sentiment at that time in the
matter of prison labor with view to stop the
| building of such mill, and we feel sure when
| you understand the question you will not lind
| fault with the action we took. We have never
| seriously objected TO the State prison at San
| Quentin making grain bags but then their
| operations should be confined TO grain bags,
| as it was esta bished for this purpose, with q
| view TO assist the farmers and protect them
| from the combinations and corners in the bag
marker, VIII ich often in earlier times oppressed
| them. At the same time We cannot help be-
| Iieylng that for State 10 build anufact ur ing
institutions such as this and man them with
| convict labor is q menace to capital being in
| vested for the same purpose by private citi-
| Zens
| The writer like many others here of all
| political faiths cannot understand how you
| can consistently strike down and destroy the
bag and burlap trade-a long established one
| by refusing it a reasonable tariff to enable the
| manufacturers 90 pay 10 the wage-earners a
| living wage, while at he same time you are
voting fer u taiif to protect wool. fruit, borax
| raw cotton, hops, wine, hides, leather, sugar.
silk, linen. fax, and many other things 100
| hume rous TO mention. 1t is altogether unjust
/ and Unfair 10 single out 1Ute DaBS ana
| and strike blow to ruin them. The capital
| invested in these works here, which man ufhc-
| tured jute goods from the raw material, would
be simply ruined and many people thrown
| permanently idle to join the thousands al
| ready clamoring for bread.
| The jutemiils located Al Clinton, East Oak
land. many years ago, and with which have
! never been connected in any way, at one time
! employed good many Chinese, but Tor sew
| eral ears back. as they improved their ma
chinery they have gradually Ut away the Chi
l boa x.,h; 10 hnr oy,d t,A
| time they too were ompelled 10 shut down.
They employed fully 400 white people and
I about fifty Chinese.
In conclusion wish to say that all wage
| carners interested in the reopening of julie
mills here join me in the hope that you will
| vet modify your demand for free grain
| of protection accorded to others, and that you
! will also find means and way 10 DO justice TO
| the farming class, who nobody disputes are
entitled to like consideration.
Thanking you for the opportunity to give
you an explanation and an invitation TO visit
| the mills here the next time you are in Oak
'"'iO' : A'A' ''''S W. RUTHERFORD
| The grain-bag makers have also COM
piled some figures that refute Senator
Whites statement that 1.-The price of
grain bags this year under the influence
| OF The tariff had gone up 40 cents to 7
| cents on the Pacific Coast.
These figures show the following con-
ditlon of affairs:
| The market price for grain bags has never
| been more than 512 cents this year and no
| quotations Ill our reading commercial jour
lia of the c.fc Coast have had higher
pr,ce than this. (See San Francisco journal
| of Commerce, June 3. 1897
The export of bags from Calcutta for'Pacific
| Coast ports during protection and tree-trade
periods was as ioliows
Bags
In 1893 before passage Of Wilson bill 25 173 $50
In 1894 be ore passage OF Wilson bill IA. $50
In 1885, afei assag, OF Wilson bill. AT 291, ,o75
I These figures speak for themselves and show
| the volume of domestic manufactures u der
| o rejection; also show the domestic product
was displaced by foreign-made goods under
| the Wilson bill and tell of many hundreds of
inte- workers thrown idle and the disastrous
| infiue nee of Tree trade on the wase-earners of
our own ate and country, who are the best
consumers of the farmers products.
For Charity in Year
The San Francisco Benevolent Association,
| 1nd xvff he II of