New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-12
THE BRADFORD TRADE.
TrCISSITUDES OF THE YORKSHIRE
WORSTED DISTRICT-FAsHION AND
AMERICAN TARIFF-MAKING-NO
ILI-WII.L To AMERICA
Bradford. November %.

and In adjacent towns and villages. such as
Saltaire. Keighley. Haworth. Blngley. Sllsden,
Thornton. Brighouse and Halifax a working
force Of hundred and thirty thousand.
with large percentage OF women young
and old There Is population of over four
hundred thousand IN this worsted or Bradford
district. which was once picturesque from water
courses. deep valleys and precpitous hills, but
IS now almost continuously built up one suburb
overlapping another. 1t is a warm hearted,
weil-educated and energetic swarm OF Industrial
eaborers. endowed with tie best and most robust
qualities OF English character. All these
sources are needed IN full measure, for Bradford
mas practically a single industry and Its recent
fortunes have been clouded with vicissitude and
adversely.
Fashion and foreign tariffs have been the dis
turbing forces which have caused depression at
various times in the Bradford district. Twenty
five years ago its chief products were bright.
1ustrous fabrics for wOmen's costumes. Sud
denly there change OF fashion in favor of
the soft smooth fabrics which came from
French looms. Ruin wrought In Bradford
by this displacement OF lustrous tissues
and the rapid development OF the competing
French industry. Many manufacturers went
out Of business, and those who remained in
trade were forced 10 initiate French designs and
processes and TO ada IT their machinery to other
branches Of manufacture, like worsted coatings,
which had previously been made in Leeds and
Huddersfeld The results of this struggle were.
first. development Of artistic taste in the in
dustry due To technical instruction and i'm
provement in Designing and second
pansion in the production Of worsted Coatings
al the expense of other Yorkshire districts.
which were forced 10 take up other branches Of
trade BrS'tcTd never ceased 10 yearr for a
vival Of the popularity Of those bright dress
tissues. for which its looms had been famous
throughout the world. The Princess OF Wales
at one time attempted to set the style for lusres.
and at one period or another there was a ftful
improvement in that branch Of manufactures.
II not until 1890 that fashions DEGREES were
issued and lustres came in with a rush
Foreign tariffs and Is oecaly American egis-
lation. were a second source Of disturbance al
most as serious and destructive as fashion.
When lustres went out worsted coatings came
IN. and the best foreign market for them
the United States. Exports o. this single class
OF goods 10 America ran up from >g34 .0pD in
1850 10 S6.5OOOOO in 1889 The Mckinley tariff
was enacted in 1890, and during the first yea
Of its enforcement the export Of worsted coat
tags fell to s. 100000 And although there was
a revival during the next two years so that the
figures ran up to Sl70OOoO there was another
decline in 1884, to Sl3O0o0O Fashion had
knocked out iustres and American tariff makers
had shut out wors,ed coatings.
THE FAT AND THE LEAN YEARS
In 1895 came a sudden outburst Of prosperity
from a combination Of two caus,s-fashion and
the Wilson tarin. Lustres again were in vogue
for women's gowns. and there was a brisk de-
mand from London. Paris. New-York and Chi
for new mohairs. alpacas and other bright
dress fabrics. simultaneously there was d great
trade both in stun goods and coatnss with
America where stocks had been heavily de-
pleted in anticipation OF the passage Of the VIII
son tariff The Bradford district never before
had known such period Of industrial activity
and prosperity Every loom was in motion
factories which had been closed for many years
were reopened; swarms of women who had been
driven into domestic service by slack employ
ment In wOrsted mills went back to their former
cccupatiOn and the resources Of every manu-
facturer were overtaxed in the effort to keep
abreast with foreign orders. The great feature
Of this unparalleled activity was the expansion
of the trade with the United States. In the
course Of a single year the exports OF stuff
goods 10 America ran up from S2,2pO,tD0 TO
Ss315 600 and those Of worsted cOatnes from
81 275626 TO S7,575O52 These figures I quote
from an article by specialist in The London
Times" published in 1896 The total exports for
1895 reported from the United States Consulate
S21.745, G96, or about three times the aggre-
gate Of either of the two preceding years
The lean years have followed the fat years
with fatal facility. The demand for lustrous
fabrics has abated and the Dinglcy tariff has
taken the place Of the Wilson tariff. The Brad
ford district after its brief period Of prosperity.
OF depression. Fashion and American tariff
makers are again arrayed agans, it. and trade
IS dull and stagnant and barely one half Of the
working force in the district is employed The
greatest shrinkage is In American trade The
following aggregates for years ending Septom-
Der 80 are supplied from the United States
Consulate at Bradford which is one OF the best
managed offices in the American Consular SER
vice: 1880 90 Wilson tariff Sl75s7.239, 1896
'97 CWilson tariff. closing year.. S25.569 ,422;
1897 '9S CDngey tariff. SG9G> 295 The com
parison is misleading in one respect since it
does not reveal the extent 10 which the Ameri-
can market overstocked in 1861 with
wool. worsted coatings. stuff goods and other ex-
ports from the district; but when adequate al
lowance is made for a trade artihcially swollen
in anticipation Of the passage Of the Dngley
act the decline is very heavy and is to be
tributed In large measure to the repeal Of the
Wilson tariff The diminished demand for
lustres is also important element
II Bradford could dictate the fashions Of the
world and also arrange the wooilen schedule Of
the United States tariff the industrial prosperity
Of the district would be secure and all the years
would be fat. Since il cannot overawe the chief
dressmakers OF Paris nor Overturn the Pro
tectionists in America ii adapts Itself, not only
with cheerful optimism, but also with genuine
Yorkshire shrewdness, TO new conditions
glance at the Consular statistics reveals the
uractical spirit with which American tarlhs