The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-15
YANKEE SEWING MACHINES.
They Are Admittedly the Best i'm the World-Over a
Million Tlade Annually.

crease during the last ten years in the
factory production of clothing has been
Coincident with and largely the result
of the invention of special appliances
and attachments adapting the sewing
machine to factory operations in this
performance Of all stitching processes,
including buttunhole and cyelet maxi
ing, attaching buttons. staying seams,
etc. From 1880 to 1890 there was an in
crease of 6,l66 to is 65S in the number
of establishments in the United states
devoted to the manufacture of mems
clothing, ana during the same decade
the number of establishments devoted
to women's clothing increased from 562
to 20S11. The last mentioned figure
includes custom dressmaking establish
ments having a product of over $500
IN value, whereas the smaller figure
for 1880 does not include the custom
dressmaking establishments.
IMPORTANT ECONOMICS.
The concentration of the manufac-
ture of clothing into factory operation,
alone made possible by the sewing ma
chine, has effected some important
economics in the marketing Of the
cloths, especially the cheaper fabrics,
such as jeans, denims, shirtings, etc.
These goods are now sent directly
from the mills to the factories where
Overalls, shirts and other articles of
clothing are made, and no longer pass
through the hands of the selling agent,
the commission man, the wholesaler,
the jobber, and the retailer, each of
whom formerly enjoyed his slice of
profit in the handling. The extent to
which wearing apparel of all kinds has
been cheapened in consequence of the
use of the sewing machine could be eX-
pressed only by figures running far
into the hundreds of millions.
1t is also an interesting fact that
while the large manufacturing indus
tries dependent upon the sewing ma
chine much more than doubled their
output from 1880 to 1890, the population
of the country only increased one
quarter. 1t therefore follows that the
quantity of sewing done in the home
has been greatly reduced and the cost
to the consumer of sewing machine
products greatly lessened.
In the census reports relating to the
principal manufacturing industries that
use the sewing machine largely, the
us VI Go Sll'N lllok lIt lOldl Ndlue VI
their products i'm 1890 had increased
about 10 per cent. as compared with the
value of their products in 1880; they
had about $437 OO0, 900 invested in ma
chinery, tools and implements of all
kinds, and the total value of their prod
uct was $1,16l, 1869. The manufac-
lures in which sewing machines are es-
sential are awnings, tents, sails, bags
bookbinding, boots and shoes, clothing
for men and women, corsets, flags
banners, mems furnishing goods
gloves, mittens, hats, caps, pocket
books, rubber and elastic goods, shirts
saddlery and harness, and horse cloth
ing.
The reports of the sales of sewing
machines during 1S73-76, the period OF
the Sewing machine combination
which was entered into by the leading
manufacturers twenty-four years ago
| show a total of 2,3O3,941, the average
year being about $4,000. Since 1876
there has been no available information
| other than that indicated in the census
| reports. These figures indicate that the
| average number of machines made an.
| nually during the last twenty years ir
| the United States has been from 500,
900 to 100000, and that the average first
cost per machine has been about 500.