The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-19
THE BURLAP INDUSTRY.
The New Tariff Means a Great In
crease in Its Manufacture.
PHILADELPHIA Press.

HnlldQelpnla Press.
IF the .Dingley tariff bill, that portion
of it which refers to burlap and jute, is
passed by the Senate in the shape adopted
by the House, within five years, mills in
this country will be turning out twenty
million dollars worth of burlap annually.
and not a yard will be imported" said
Christopher Bailey yesterday. LAS soon as
the tariff is definitely settled, if the pres
ent basis remains unchanged, number of
gentlemen associated with me in discussing
the establishment of a new industry will be
prepared 10 take an active interest in start.
ing a burlap mill. There will be no lack of
capital, and millions can be commanded
whenever the time is ripe.
Not yard of burlap is made in this
country, the worlds output coming from
Calcutta and Dundee, of which the United
States uses One-half. valued at from $20,-
O00,OOO to $1,000 600. With protective duty
on the manufactured article. and the raw
material, jute, admitted free. burlap can
be made in this country at profit, which will
cause mills to be built in a few wears TO
supply the demand. At first the price might
be little higher, owing to the great cost of
building the mills, but would gradually get
back to the present figures as competition
comes into the field with the growth of the
industry.
Protection for five years would yield the
government $6000,000 in revenue and es-
tablsh an industry which would imploy
many thousands of hands. Fifteen mills
costing $lOOO,OOO each, could not supply the
home demand for burlap.
by way of illustration, all the carpet
yarn used in the mills of this country was
formerly imported from Dundee. Since the
duty was removed on the raw material
Jute all of the carpet yarn has been made
in our own mills and not a pound imported
"Burlap, i'll comparison with wooden fab
RIGS, furnishes employment with far greater
advantage to the wOrkmen. Jute costs
from to 212 cents per pound and the cost
or working up the raw material is about
the same as the price of the jute. Wool
when ready to be manufactured costs some
thing like 30 cents pound and the cost Of
the labor Is very small in proportion rough
~ speaking, probably not more than a
tenth. The tariff on burlap was formerly
81 per cent sufficient protection, but this
was offset by a duty of $15 per ton on the
raw material, Jute which made it impOs-
sible for us to compete with the mills of
Dundee and Calcutta.
THE Wilson bill removed the duty both
from burlap and jute, leaving the same inn
possible situation for home manufacturers
The effect of one schedule was as disas-
trous as the other. The Dingley bill puts
duty of Is per cent. on burlap and admits
the raw material free. This makes the
manufacture of burlap in the United States
an assured and very important industry
Jute can be brought as cheaply from India
easy to secure all the operatives needed
without going out of the United States
Protection of this character will do much
toward commercial prosperity. Capital and
labor will be benefited and not at the ex-
pense Of the consumer, as soon as burlap
is made on a large scale, which will be Just
as fast as the mills can be erected, if the
Dingley bill Is allowed to stand as written
Of course, we can take no steps toward
active operation so long as there is un-
certainty. There is nothing so sensitive as
capital"