The Portland daily press., 1898-04-02
THE UMBRELLAINDUSTRY
Yearly Sales in This Country of Value
Exceeding $25 ,0OO. 600 at Retail.

More than one-half of the umbrellas
used in this country are produced In
Philadelphia, and the distinction of the
Quaker Csty in this respect is no new
thing, for it has passed almost into
proverb throughout the United States
that "when the Quakers come to town it
is going to rain" Very few persons have
any correct idea o. the extent Of the uTu-
brella business in the United States. 1t
amountssin year, taking the retail fig
ures, to $50, 600, 600. There are in this
country 500 umbrella factories having an
invested capital of Sc, 900, 900, of which
more than $4,000, 900 is in the city of
Philadelphia alone. New York, Massachu
setts, Maryland, and Ohio are the other
states which are largely represented in
the manufacture of umbrellas, while all
the states are represented, though uneven
IL, in their sale.
For many years some of the best UNI.
brelIss were imported from abroad, espeo-
tally from England, and the rate of duty
upon them prior to 1890 was so per cent
ad valorem if covered with silk or alpaca
and 40 per cent if covered with any other
material cotton or linen included. I'm
der the tariff of 1S90-the Mckinley bill,
so oalled-American umbrella manufac-
turers were favored by an increase in the
duty of per cent the rate upon silk and
alpaca covered umbrellas being So per
cent and on those covered with other ma
terial 45 per cent. Since then the simpor-
tations of English umbrellas have de-
clined, though this change is not to be
ascribed wholly to the workings OF the
tariff. but rather to the fact that Ameri-
can made umbrellas are decidedly cheaper
and quite as serviceable as those imported
| from other countries. Moreover, they
have the additional advantage of being
| lighter and less cumbersome, and are not
constructed to meet the requirements of
| hard and continuous usage. as is the gen
| eraI custom abroad; for the number of
those who always carry umbrellas Is ma
| terially larger on the other side than 1t
| is here. The American plan is to carry
umbrellas only when 1t is raining or
seams likely to rain, and it is a matter
of common observation in American
cities that there are more men who ne
elect, omit, or are unable to get UNI
| brellas ON rainy days than there are men
who carry UNI brellas when the weather Is
| fair. This condition 1s exactly reversed
| in most European cities, where it is no
uncommon thing to see many umbrellas
carried on a bright, clear day. The aver
age rainfall in inches is 25 in London, %
| in Paris, "a in Berlin, 90 in Vienna, II
| in St. Petersburg, and A in Glasgow.
| The average in New York Is about 40
inches, but the number of days in which
there is some rain is larger abroad than
| it is here.
There are in the United States more
than s 900 persons (the larger number of
them nien) engaged in umbrella manu-
| faoture, and the total wages paid in
year in this branch of American industrT
exceeds 81 GOO, 900. What peculiar merit
the city of Philadelphia offers to umbrella
makers is not easily stated The materials
which enter into umbrella manufacture
are not procurable with any unusud ad-
vantage in Philadelphia and tht THiei
market of sale is New York.