New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-12
AMERICAN SILK INDUSTRY.
LARGE INCREASE SHOWN IN EXPORTS
OF THE MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.



GROWTH OF THE TRADE
fnr TELEGRAPH tn THE rnrBryEl
washington. Oct 1.-THE announcement that the
SILK manufacturers Of the United States are rapidly
increasing the expectation OF their products adds
Interest TO some recently compiled statements by
the Treasury Bureau Of Statistics regarding the
SILK manufactures and impor;ations and exporta-
IONS OF this country In the last few years. These
ngures show that the manufacture Of silk in this
country has increased enormously: that the i'm
ports Of manufactured silks have meantime been
greatly reduced and the expectations Of silk manu-
ractures are now Increasing rapidly the total ex-
ports for the present calendar year being than
" per cent In excess Of the corresponding months
OF last year and for the full year will be six times
as much as In 1890.
The manufacture of silk in the United States.
which In 1850 amounted to $780,. III In value doubled
In the following decade being, according to the fig
ures Of the census of 1870 t221o6s2. more than
ueoed In the next decade being In 1850 Sal oS3 oi5.
and again doubled from 1880 20 1890, being In the
latter year S.. eeS45. while recent compilation by
the secretary OF the American SILK Association
shows that in the five years since 1880 the rate Of
Increase has even accelerated. making It probable
that the silk production NJ the United States
to-day amounts TO nearly siO.0O,ro a year in value
Meantime the importation of manufactured silks
has fallen rapidly that OF 1890 being s3s eSs.3'i ana
that OF 1898 only s23.5231l0
mat the manufacture or SILK goods IN tne L nltei
States Ia. increased rapidly in the last year is
apparent Importations OF raw silk which In the
fiscal year 1897 65l36l2 pounds. were In 1875
l0,3l5ld pounds. and the total value OF raw 81 X
imported In 1898 ssI 1850 against sls9s2s3 m
the preceding year. This enormous increase In the
importation Of raw silk is doubtless accounted for.
not only by the activity in the great SILK manu-
featuring centres OF this country but also by the
recent announcement that numerous cotton fac
tories in ew-Engand and the Middle States have
substituted silk manufacturing machinery for that
formerly used in ne manufacture OF cotton goods.
now largely supplied by the mills ted nearer TO
the cotton fields OF the South.
MANUFACTURED SILK IMPORTS.
The growth in the impor;ations Of unmanufact-
ured silk which. OF course. measure the manufact-
ure OF SIX. has been steady and rapid in the last
thirty years. In 1885 they amounted 10 SEQ 4ot in
value IN 1878 So s9 ST. in 1855 1881 ss2 and in 1853
s5l.ffs.s00 In the single item OF silk raw. as
reeled from the cocoons." the mportatons of 1855
were 52.+9 pounds; In 1873. 80 pounds in
1855 5l73 $40 pounds and in 1895. 10 lsi pounds
In the earlier part OF this period importers held
their own in the contest for the field, but In the
last decade have fallen practically out Of the
In 1865 the mportations OF manufactured silk were
H1.7s27 IN 1875 tlss57s2 in 1855 500 500 In 1890
Ss. SIS 374. and In 1905 s23523Il0
Meantime our manufacturers have apparently
begun giving their attention 70 the foreign market
their exports. which In 1875 $40 033 having
increased 70 s5GG ESQ In 1883 SlGl ca In 1907. and
s2o7 0Ti In 1898 In the month Of August. 1905 the
exports were SCI 251 against SCI. 100 in August.
1897. an increase Of ~ per cent in a single year
The success Of American manufacturers in sup
plying the home demand and obtaining a foothold
In the markets Of thu WORLD is the strongly
markell since other nations have failed in their
efforts 10 compete with the great silk manufact-
uring nation Of the world. France. The statistical
abstract of Great Britain just issued shows thar
the expectation OF silk manufactures from the
decade being in 1897 fl.3ss lei In value against
f2.t6424i In ISIS while tho official reports OF the
lions Of that conntry have decreased in Ike pro
portion. being S+J000.gD in 1889 and s26o~.ooo In
line her exports ~ silk manufactures in 1890 be-
Ing S2.s6 700 and in 1897 S522s3.IOO.
RAPID GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY.
SILK manufacturing in the United States, while
begun nearly a half-century ago seems TO have de-
veloped almost exclusively In the last half of that
period Prior to 1870 the importatioas OF raw six
for use In the manufactures In this country had
never reached 100 900 pounds. while. already
stated they were in 1885 than 1000 900 pounds
During the Civil War and in the years Immediately
following The manufacture Of plain dress silks was
begun while al the present time brocaded silks
and satins are manufactured On large scale. and
the manufacture Of silk pushes and all varieties
Of upho stored goods has recently been
developed in 1860 our manufacturers Of silk sup
piled only about Is per cent OF the consumption IN
The United States; by 1870 they, were supplying 30
70 ner cent in 1890 70 per cent. and to-day it IS
estimated that per cent Of the elk goods used In
factories
The following table presents the number Of silk
and value OF th..r products shown by each census
since $50:
y 1scH -''S' iss s T'Sai II