The San Francisco call., 1897-07-15
Superintendent Rutherford of
the California Cotton Mill
in the East.
He Is Correcting the Erroneous In
formation Being Given to
the Senate.

u &
that unless the Misrepresentation made
in the Senate are speedily corrected they
will be forced TO close down for lack OF in
telllgent protection.
In January last Superintendent Ruther-
ford of the California Cotton mills at East
Oakland was in Washington and appeared
before the Ways and Means Comm ittee in
behalf of the protection OF the iute-bag
and burlap industry. To the surprise of
the cotton-mill owners of this State the
Senate, on June 10, voted adversely on the
protection of this industry, and was large
ly led to do so by incorrect, misleading
and unjust" reports. Superintendent
Rutherford has just prepared a statement
which has been forwarded TO Representa-
tIves at Washington and which is of vital
Importance to thousands of people in this
State. 1t clearly sets forth the truth of
the matters referred 10.
In answer to the charge that the Cali
fornia Uotton-mils employed Chinese la
Dor in their mills while running under
the Mckinley tariff, the answer is given:
THE jutemill l represent employs only
free white American labor and never en-
ployed a single Chinaman nor paid dol
Clinton formerly employed Chinese labor,
but for many years previous to It's shut
down had been displacing this la bor with
white free help, until, at the time OF its
stoppage in 1894 it employed 450 free
white operators and only so Chinese.
The statement was made in Congress
THAT the jutemills on the Pacific Coast
were run entirely by convict and Chinese
labor" The answer says: There are
three iutemills in California which en-
ploy free white labor. This is exclusive of
the iutem!ll owned by the State and run
| by convicts. One mill Is located at
Twenty-third avenue, East Oakland, es-
! Oakland, which was established IN 1872,
and another a Twenty-eigh h and Chan
mel streets, San Francisco, built in 1892,
| but which has never been started. "
The charge that the proportion OF bags
and burlaps made here by domestic manu-
facturers was so small as 10 be of no i'm
portance" is thus refutec: "In 1893 over
5000 bales of raw iute, weighing 40O pounds
each, were manufactured by the one mill
l represent and made into bags, burlaps
and twine. The quantity was annually in
cressin under the protective tariff OF 1890
till 1894, adequate protection being given
by the Mckinley act, when raw jute was
put on the free list" 1t was also said that
there had been little or no increase in
domestic production for many years
under n adequate protection.
Mr.. Rutherford makes this reply: 1.-THE
three white labor mills under adequate
protection such as we had from 1890 TO
1894 would give employment to over 300
wage-earners and produce over 25 per
cent of the bags required for grain on this
coast and pay in wages over $500 900 an
nually. Between 1886 and 1890 the manu-
facture Of jude bags doubled in volume,
and between 1890 and 1892 large amount
of new jute machinery was procured for
new lutemill LeTe, but was never erected
owing 10 the passage of the Wilson bill.
This machinery now lies in the original
cases in the mill built to receive it in San
Francisco. This mill would be star ed UP
under adequate protection and many
more wOuld soon follow"
1t was also stated by Mr.. White in the
United States Senate that 1.-THE Legis-
lature of the State of California favored
free gram bags and burfaps and had in
structed Senator Perkins to vote for the
same"
The facts are these: "a resolution in
troduced into the California State Legis-
lature last session lin January, 1897, in
favor of free grain bags was unfavorabiy
received and lapsed from want of sup
port. The Legislature, like the people OF
the State, want manufactures protected
and jute bags and burlaps among them,
effects arising TO city and country alike
from the operations OF the Wilson bill.
Moreover at a joint meeting OF the San
Francisco Chamber of Commerce and
Board of Trade. held last January in San
Francisco, at which representative farm
ers, large growers OF grain and shippers
oil wheat were present, resolution was
passed urging Congress to protect the
manufactures of this State as well as the
| products of the farm, bags and burlaps
being siecially mentioned, to be given an
| adequte duty in the following words:
We ask that grain bags and burlaps be
| placed on the dutiable list and bear the
| DUTY liked by act OF $780, "
The situation is simply this" said Mr..
rutherford last night, leach industry
should have Its share of the duty to bear.
1t should not be tnat the fruits and wool
nave all OF the protection and the manu-
iacturing interests have none Each
should bear their portion. Give the farmer
some on his fruit, some on his wool, some
on his other products and give the manu-
iacturer some on his products to protect
! he laborer
There are sixty fax, jute and hemp
mills partially or entirely shut down
owint to the free entry OF these
proouGts' rms represents a capi-
tsl OF $lZ,424,O 600 and II, 139 en-
ployes. Inns IS exclusive of those making
only bags where bags are made by ma
chlnery OF foreign raw material.
| Senator White has placed him self in a
most peculiar position championing pro-
lection for those things in Southern Cali
| fornia that have never had protection and
doing nothing to assist Senator Perkins to
secure protection for the northern portion
OF our State. Mr.. White objects to reduc.
ing the tariff on jute bags on the plea th at
1t is an injury to the farmers and he is not
going to do anything that will make their
| burden any heavier
"Mr. English one Of his most in ntimata
friends, said to-day that 80 per cent of the
farms IN this State belonged TO the Cant
talists and banks, and they had refused
to cut them up into small holdings for
the farmer to buy. preferring to hold it
themselves. Mr.. Foote placed the pro-
portion at rs per cent, but in either case
it is easy to see that the Opposition
| to duty on grain bags is from capital in.
stead of from labor or the farmers as Mr..
White would have the public belisye. AS
suming it to be q fact, for the sake of
| argument that the farmer was mpeIIed
to pay the duty it would be only a small
amount. Only 10 cents per acre.
II have not met farmer in California
| that would not pay that. He would get
more for his wool, for his meat, his hops
and his wheat as well as every thing else,