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

So
4. 10 Hours of Labor.
In the matter Of hours the Southern mill
owner also enjoys a certain advantage.
In Massachusetts, the mills are prohibited
b. Law from running more than nfty-eiglf
hours per week. In the South the regular
running time unresirtctes bY Law. is six
ty-six hours per week Since nearly all
work is paid for by the piece Il IL obvious
that the hours of la Dor do not affect this
item. The saving TO the manufacturer
from running mis- mill longer hours comes
In what Is known fixed charges" Tn
der this head are placed assessments tax
-. interest on capital the pay OF salarlcd
officials. and all such expenses as DO not
vary whether the mill IL run eight hours
or eleven BY working eleven hours In
stead OF nine ard two-thiFds the Southern
manufacturer Is able to increase his daily
output and so spread MS fixed charges
3ver a larger area of production. In other
words. the proportion which this item
forms In the cost OF each pound OF cloth
Is less ia the South This may seem
small matter, but in business where
profits are figured so closely as they are
in the manufacture Of cotton goods II may
make the difference OF causing the books
TO balance on the right instead of the
wrong side AT the end Of the year.
other Southern Advantages.
Other advantages on the side OF the
Southern manufacturers are cheaper pow
or. owing 10 their proximity to the Ten
n.ssee coal fields, cheaper land for mill
sites, and lower taxes II Is likely that
these are Offset however. by the cost of
machinery. which Is 10 per cent. higher
10 the South than in New England. the
greater cost Of marketing their goods on
account Of the higher charges of commits
sion men. and the higher rates OF inter-
est which they are compelled to pay for
such money as they need 10 carry on their
business.
II has been often affirmed that the South
has great advantage In having the raw
material right at the doors of the mills.
This contention holds good for the coarser
grades Of goods. which can be produced
from the cotton grown I'm the upland dis
tricts where the mills are situated But In
making the finer goods, which require i'm
ported cotton or the long staple product
grown on the coast. the long haul by wa
ter TO New England is scarcely more ex-
pensive than the short haul by rail TO the
mills of the South
New England Has Advantages. Too.
ON the other hand. New England enjoys
certain decided advantages which her
Southern rivals have not as yet been able
to wrest from her. One OF these IL the
greater economy with which her mills are
conducted. II is beyond question true that
there is less waste IN them than In the
Southern mills. Another is the better
means for marketing the finished product
measured by the convenience and cost Of
transportation facilities. Another is her
firmer bold on the market, on account of
the fact that she has been much longer In
the trade than has the South. This consid-
Grafton applies with more weight in the
making OF the finer grades OF cloth. where
h, NJ zSta l.tl an cd a,.9
a well-known trade mark is greater than
In the case OF the cheap prints.
Having thus summarized the main points
of advantage employed By each OF the two
sections. from which IL may be seen that
the south has a decidedly better condition
80 far "a the production of cheap prints is
concerned. IL Is interesting TO note what
measures the New England manufacturers
themselves propose in order 10 restore
their Impaired supremacy.
The Manufacturers Program.
When the Arkwright club Of Boston.
which includes nearly all the leading man
ufacturers, investigated the subject last
December the only immediate remedy
they could suggest was reduction OF
wages. In accordance with this recon-
mendatiou. general cut Of oue-ninth,
II i-e per cent. was ordered. 10 take effect
January 3. 1ss@. This was what led 10 the
present strike
The Arkwright Club investigators fur
tier suggested that to relieve the situa-
ton the Massachusetts 5s-hour law should
b. repealed. permitting the mills to run
longer hours and that some Of the other
restrictions imposed upon them by labor
legislation should be removed. Il is safe
e. say that they viii have diffeulty in car
rying out this programme. The labor
unions VIII fight any such measures with
All their power and they arc a force 20 lie
rcckoned with in Bay state politics
The labor Of New England IS thoroughly
oFEsrized into unions and is radically dir
ferent In character from that OF the South
lis leaders are shrcwd and conservative
men. They have no sympathy with the
schemes ~ anarchists and socialists. They
have no hatred for their employers hut
they are determined "a get the highest
price that the market viii yield in return
Tor their labor, and they have money and