The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-09
FALL RIVERS PROBLEM
Is the Great Cotton Manufac-
turing Centre Doomed?
MANY MILLIONS AT STAKE.
Competition, Wages, and Law
the Disturbing Elements.

mo 1nvesteFs OF Her Eerty-TIve millions OF
Capital Coprropted by . SERIOUS Situation,
Ovorproauetion Has Brought the Price or
Cotton Goods to Lees Than the Ceat OF Pre-.
fl, auctisp, and Fan River Must 90 On at q
Loss to Force Outside Cnrtaiime.t or shut
Up AneEether-Her Advantages as Com-
pared with the south-Laws That Hamper
ana Labor Unions That Arc Vet wise-A
Thorough study Of All Fhnscs or the Problem
study. unsurpassed rs an example Of the effect
OF paternal legislation applied to business. The
situation has reached that point where some
OF her own business men declare that she is
doomed as a great centre of the cotton manufac.
turing industries. To realize the Importance Of
. condition that allows even a prediction OF such
q pessimistic character 1t is necessary only
to consider the vast sum of money she
has actually invested in cotton manufac-
turing. With the wheels Of industry turn.
ing more rapidly in every town in the country;
with labor more fully employed than at
any time since the beginning Of the Clevo-
land hard times; with prosperity lodged In every
e industrial centre and spreading the length and
breath Of the land; with good times not only in
sight but actually here. Fall River alone cries
poverty and pleads the necessity Of reducing her
~ oCetNs AAOh iloNo We
that the wages Of her employees must be cut IL
and 1.9 per cont. or that the eighty odd great
mills that make the city what It is must shut
down. They showed that they mean exactly what
they said by announcing tho cut to como in the
face OF bitter denunciations from the operators
and threats to strike in case the cut was insisted
upon. The cut was insisted upon because it is
cheaper to shut up shop entirely for awhile than
IL 10 to manufacture goods and sci them for less
than they cost. Usually manufacturers prefer
to keep their mills going. even at q loss, because
fixed charges that have to be paid, whether
mills are open or shut, amount to 90 much. and
because machinery depreciates moro rapidly
from idlencss than 1t does from use. In Fall
River ut tn present time tho ixed charges and
the extra depreciation will amount to less than
the loss on the manufactured product at the
present selling price. and II the workers want to
strike they damage only themselves-at least
that 10 the way the manufactures look at II.
Tied up as Fall River is by legislation regulat-
ing everything and in the hands OF labor unions
rs we'll. she Is q double study. The reporter for
THE Sun has devoted some time to the investi-
cation OF tho situation. He had no interest
whatever in tho cotton business, and was sent
to make . thorough study of the situation and
report the facts as he found them. The best In
formed and the most interested persons on both
sidos Of the controversy, as we'll as the bankers
who advance the money to carry on the bust
ness and the brokers who make their living by
. close study of the market, were talked with.
and everything was done that could be done to
learn the facts and tho reasons for Fall
Rivers present condition. There were two
points. and only two. on which all these
men agreed; one was that there is an over
production Of manufactured goods. and the
other that there has been an overproduction of
paternal legislation. "Overproduction of cot
ton goods" means that there are moro cotton
goods manufactured than there are consumed;
that more are made than there is a market for
more made than the people will buy. "Overpro.
duction Of legislation" means that manufacture
ers arc SO hampered by laws that when they find
themselves face to face with q situation like
this of an overproduction Of goods they cannot
extricate themselves from the difficulty without
Q tremendous and permanent loss, because
those laws make possible an outside competition
that cannot be met.
A situation In which manufacturers are con.
fronted by an overproduction of goods is not
novel. 1t has occurred many times in the cot
ton goods business. and up to a few years ago 1t
was easily handled by the Fall River manufac-
turers whenever 1t arose. When there was an
overstock in the market, the mills at Fall River
simply shut down and stopped producing until
che demand caught up with them. Then they
went on again. Up to a few years ago the Fall
River mills controlled the grade Of cotton goods
buUt tncy manufactured. WIN bucn control, OF
course. 1t was easy to handle such overproduc-
r"tion. But for the last few years the market has
been slipping away. New mills have been built.
Year by year Fall River has seen her rivals in
the manufacture of cotton goods or W stronger.
Year by year she has seen her rivals increase
in number. until now the exclusive control
OF the market which she enjoyed has been
wrested from her, and, hampered by legislation,
she Is almost helpless. and the $45, 900. 900 she
kaa fnyAafa1 In in Hanuar The p,ilIa n ua -
hand now q surplus stock of nearly two million
pieces which 1t costs 1854 cents a pound to
manufacture, tho present market price of
which is 1878 cents a p~ound-afout seven
yards. The laws referred to forbid the employ
ment OF women and minors for more than fifty
eight hours a week. forbid the running of mills
after 10 o'clock at night under any circum.
stances, and impose other burdensome ~restric-
uons that are not imposed upon competing mills
in other States. This is the Situation in q nut
she'll Now, as TO the reasons for 1t.
SOUTHERN COMPETITION.
The manufacturers all asserted emphatically
that tho principal cause of all the trouble was
Southern competition. and In this they were
supported unanimously by the bankers and
brokers. whose interests. Of course. are almost
Identical with the interests Of the manufac-
turers. So the subject of Southern competition
may be taken up first. Southern competition
has been q factor in Fall Rivers market for
only a few years. In 1892 the South had 1884,
1872 spindles and 35.s47 looms. Fall River
alone at that time had nearly 1905 900 more
apindles than the whole OF the South.
She had 2. l92, go spindles. The statistics for
the present year are not available. but on the
LIST OF January last the South had increased her
spindles to very nearly 1000. 600. while Fall
River had increased hers less than 700. 900.
There arc now more than 1000. 900 spindlos in
che Rnnfh and In Fall Rivar tLnro aro about
1900. 600. These figures show the growth OF
the competition in the South. This growth
II Of tho utmost importance 10 Fail River, be-
cause the South comes moro directly into com.
petition with the mills OF tha5 city than 1t does
with tho mills OF any other cotton manufactur-
ing centre. The South started in making the
same grade OF goods That Fall River makes, and