The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-12
MASSACHUSETTS COTTON MILL
PROBLEM.

There was presented TO the Massa-
! chusetts house of representatives the
other day a memorial on the condition
and prospects of the cotton industry
in Massachusetts,. The memorial was
signed by leading citizens, among them
Mr.. T. Jefferson Coolidge.
They set forth that the condition and
prospects OF the Gotten industry in
Massachusetts are so grave as TO call
for an exhaustive study of the subject.
They say that whether the industry,
which, for two generations, has added
largely to the wealth and population
of the state, has reached the highest
point of its expansion, and is here
after to decline, is an open question
but that its value to the state is now
shrinking is beyond doubt. They also
say that whether the shrinkage can be
arrested and the process of expansion
can be resumed is also in doubt
These unsatisfactory conditions" they
say, do not result from causes" they
the control of the parties Immediately
engaged in the business. Manufacturers
and operatives resist them TO their ut
condition of the machinery been better,
or the operatives more skillful, or the
quality of the products superior or
the commercial or financial manage
ment ADLER. than they are today. I'm
der the Dingley tariff, labor in cotton
mills is fairly we'll protected against
undue foreign competition. The COM
where machinery produces more by
being run more hours. where wages
are lower, and where the taxes and
other burdens upon the industry are
less. Unless this competition can be
successfully met. the outlook for the
industry in Massachusetts, is not en-
couraging."
And what is the remedy suggested?
Here it is:
If cotton manufacturing in the state
becomes Improbable. one of two things
must happen-wages will be reduced
or the business will be abandoned, as
has been the case in the iron and glass
industries. Either of these conse-
quences would be a great misfortune,
which the legislature should, if possible,
prevent in the only way in its power:
First, by raising the hours of labor at
least to the point where they are in
every other New England state; and,
secondly, by reducing the taxation on
manufacturing plants, which is now
much in excess OF that in high taxed
England and in the southern states
The effective way. in our judgment,
would be to take off all taxes on
machinery, without increasing those
on the real estate used for manufactur-
ing purposes"
There are one or two very important
admissions III this memorial. The first
is The ineffectiveness of the Dingley
tariff to afford relief; foreign COMPETE
ton cuts no figure, nor is additional
protection asked as a means OF relief.
The second matter of importance is
that relief must come through allowing
mill hands to work longer hours and
to relieve the mill machinery of all
taxation. To relieve it of taxation
would be to throw an additional bur-
den upon all other forms of property
ticular industry. It is but an extern
sion Of the theory of protection. al
though it takes a new form.
If this We're granted, the people of
Massachusetts would have specific
proof of the truth that protection is
a taxation of all the people for the
benefit of some OF the people.
The legislature will gcarepIv heed
this part of the memorial.
What wisdom and foresight the
trainers of the constitution displayed
when they provided that trade between
the states should be absolutely free.
Had they not. all the states would
now have high tariff walls around
them.
Massachusetts is confronted with a
very serious problem in the decline of
her great cotton manufacturing in
dustry, but this memorial offers no So
luton for the problem.