The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-03-06
NEW ENGLAND srony.

AK any New England mill owner the
ysason why he Is not making money ard
ne will answer. Southern competition"
Ask him further why Southern coHpeti
fion II 50 destructive and he will tell you
that the Sonsherner's advantage lies in
tho employment OF cheaper labor. In the
fact that ne Ii Permitted 10 run his mill
longer hours. and that he l. not hampered
by any OF the labor legislation with which
his Northern competitor. especially In the
state OF Massachusetts. Is 50 restricted.
That II his side OF the case.
The operative INSISTS that the difference
between the price OF labor north and south
b not so great as The manufacturer rep
resents II. that the New England oper-
alive IL more skilled than the workman
in the Southern mills and can turn out
- per cent. mere work in the same length
of time. and that the present depression
IN the cotton trade is due to general over
production. for which reduction Of wages
IL no remedy at all. That IL his end CT
the story. Between the two lies the
truth.
Elementary Fact. i'm the Contest.
A few figures will show more plainly
than words the present extent and dis
tribution Of tho cotton manufacturing in
dustry. There are IN the United States.
In round numbers e00o0ooo cotton spin
dies. or these 3s0o.0oo are In the city OK
Fail River. Mass. which Is the largest
single manufacturing center. There are
about l.. 600 in all New England and in
the neighborhood OF 5.e1.ooe IN the South.
This 5.oe,ooo represents almost entirely the
growth of the past decade. They are
chiefly devoted to the manufacture of the
coarser and cheaper grades OF cloth.
Eighty OF the elghty-one mills In Fall
River are also devoted wholly or I'm part
20 this class of goods. In other New Eng
lar 50
in tho making OF odds" or "fancies." the
finer grades of cloth. Therefore. while
all New England has felt the effect Of
Southern competition. the lines are drawn
mort sharply between Fail River and the
South
In order 10 form an Intelligent, conclu-
zion as To which party 20 the contest will
win I'm the end II Is necessary to exam
sne briefly the advantages claimed for
each
Northern and Southern Wages.
TO begin with. the southerner uudoubt-
ediy has an advantage in the matter Of
wages. which are always n large factor
fn determining the cost price or the fin-
ished product. In computing the manufae-
turing cost of cotton cloth the best basis
IL found I'm the expense of A pound If fn-
tshed cloth. which includes about seven
yards In the standard grade. Figuring IN
every thing tina, enters into she price ~
making. pound OF standard print cloth
casts the New England min ewner is.s
cents. Al 81 cents per yard he receives
for II 1875 cents. In other words under
the scale Of wages in force up 10 January
]. he was losing money on every yard of
cheap print turned ont hy his ioons Ia
this is.ss cents about ssi represents tho
cost CT labor In the Southern mills the
labor Is from "a go cents per pound for
the sarns class 81 goods
The importance ~ This single factor NJ
this time can readily lie seen from these
figures. IL means that tsle Southerner can
MAKE cloth At q. cents per yard with
proft. or al feas, without losing money.