The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-03-11
NJ. G.. ID. BORDEN.

but who had not as yet gained the title of |
king Of the print trade. Fall River had !
not begun to pay attention to Mr.. Borden's |
movements. So when he dropped in one |
day in December no one looked for any |
thing unusual. 1t was the winter after the |
panic, and everything was fiat Mr.. Bor-
den went quietly to work and bought ev-
cry piece of print in sight. Then he slip |
ped over to Providence and bought all he |
could get there. He was back in New York |
before the rest of the print men realized
that he had purchased 700, 900 pieces Of
cloth, and when he opened his commission
store the next morning he found that he
had put prop under the falling market
and boosted prices to a full time schedule.
Then 1t was realized that Mr.. NJ. G. d.
Borden of Fall River and New York was
a factor in the cloth trade who was worthy
Of serious attention.
His latest important visit to Fall River
was not long ago, and the people in the
dry goods trade all over the country are
still talking about it. This time he went
in secret. All winter long the market has
been in the slough of despond into which
it fell during the presidential campaign Of
last fall. The Fall River looms had been
running in a hcsitating manner for months
and any Of the 20 mill owners would have
been glad Of an excuse to shut down.
Ever since last November the market
had been going from bad to worse. Even
purchase of 300, 900 pieces at 2% cents
by Mr.. Borden did not stop the decline,
and finally prints reached 2H, the lowest
price in tho history Of the trade. There
was a surplus stock Of /, 500, 600 pieces still
on hand, and it was being added to every
day. Then Mr.. Borden proposed n scheme
for clearing the market The Fall River
mill men signed an agreement to stop
3, 900, 900 spindlCs for l3 weeks, which
would curtail the production by 10000
pieces week. This bruced the market up
some, but no one was prepared for what
followed Mr.. Borden quietly met the
treasurCrs of three big mills and told them
he would buy for spot cash, at ? 0-l6, ell
the prints they could find. They turned
over to him 81, 900, 900 yards, and, as he
was still unsatisflcd, made contracts to de-
liver to him 25O, 900 more pieces, making
! 200, 600 pieces in all at the same price
This bold stroke sent the market up one
eighth Of a cent IA yard, and this advance
Mr.. Borden's competitors will have TO
meet if they buy prints while the market
is in its present condition. If, as this dar-
ing speculator believes, there will be q still
further advance, instead of u slump, they
will have to pay much more, and he will
clear somewhere in the neighbOrhood of
81, 900, 900.
The deal caused the greatest sensation
which has been known in the trade for
years. 1t also cleaned out the Fall River
warehouses, put the market on its feet and
set millions of spindles to whirling once
more. 1t took great investment of capi
tai and an unlimited confidence in the pre-
diction that good times are surely coming
again. Another result Of this speculation
will be that every woman who buys shirt
waist or print wrapper this summer will
have to pay 2 or 3 cents more for it, but
the economists argue that she will be bet
ter able to do so In other words, q busi-
ness revival is always accompanied by
higher prices, and, although in one light
Mr.. Borden may be looked upon as "A self
ish speculator, in another he is public
benefactor.
The man who made this deal did not be-
| gin to be known in the business world un-
til about nine years ago. but today, at the
age of 81, he is the Napoleon of the cloth
| trade-the king of calico. 1t was by no
mere chance that he became mill owner
and commission merchant. He was bred
to the business. Way back in the forties,
| NHCh hS was ilo ibVhSh "uS
the most prominent man in Fall River.
He was big mill owner, promoter and
builder of steamboat and railroad lines and
a member of the state legislature. Matt,
as he is still popularly known, was sent to
Yale and was popular member of the
class of 62, with which he was graduated.
He took to the cloth business as duck
does to water and became a partner with
his eldest brother when his father turned
over his business to them. In 1858 he
bought out the whole plant, and since then
has built four fine cotton mills. He has al
so organized big firm, with headquarters
in New York to handle not only the out
put of his own mills, but that of others
He is a very popular man in Fall River,
and in the spring of 1895 gained the bless
ing of $4,000 operatives by refusing to
join oombin" to cut down wages,
| FRANCIs B. TALBERT.