The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-11-25
A CLOTHING TRUST NEEDED.
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IUpIOtpEs ~ UIII


MANY ~ tho ara" clrrk w,rpinrtutius
firms iu ,H. ,t, huV" h',u ,'lHrIuruE for
snnr twc trni in"lr hu.iur.s vn- Hnrrnr trrm
tho ,umtcirIuu Of q ho-t 90 .u"l mann.
tnriurcr- who have -rruus ~, "u 'h" Vast sid
Ihrso -wnll n1nufActufors. ~ - alleged, haN"
their i%1ciotio4 ~ the l"n"W"ui-, Vh"r" ih"
work q. don" under Sw"Itshnr conditions, -
that their expenses Htc much smaller than
thn.o of tho prnaduav arns Thol nrc not
only driving 'hc larv" firms out ~ business.
but also ato competing with on" another -
r.rc.ty iha' 80" wage. 81 IN" cInsknak"t..
y, i declared. vii soon no - low and 'h"'r
condition NJ bad a. thcv wore whom all ~ this
class ~ clothing was made In swen'shops w"
fore tho Factory law and ~ subsequent amend
ments were pa -srd
This competition has resulted =" far Ia tho
announcement of ~" retirement of three or
he largest c%loakmaking firms IN IA" city. N"
threatened retirement RI several more and
the curtailmcn' of production to only a f"w
special lines of goods nv other firms For
y time the small manufacturer did business
only with tho cheaper stores. but la'ierly they
have been cutting into the fashionable trade
and selling their products 10 hirh-cInss
!, iHilers
ThOs. Of tho large manufacturers who M"
wiling 10 talk on the subject admit that III"
r'ntll Ulill'llt " ~ '''
and more every season and can always under
sell them in ia" general market TO keep any
kind ~ paving trade many ~ the large firms
have 10 conhne their business principally TO
orders and To wealthy people, with whom cash
Is no objection provided quality is assured.
and 10 whom Il high prlCe il n guarantee" OF
quality The fu-t Side employers, while
they ara invading even This branch of the trade,
pay only ahnu, onc-half the wages paid by
the Broadway firms, and their shops being IN
The tenement districts, can he run NJ a mini
mum 81 "opens" BY taking advantage Of
periods when trade is dun 20 lower wages they
have been able To keep wages down when work
i, bri-h. and have therefore every advantage
on their Sid" in competing with m" lnrge firms.
This condition OF affairs did not exist when
The clothing industry was more centralized
and the manufacturers Were organized into
m association. which, while il did not prevent
business competition. was n check on the null
tiplication Of small factories The a-socln-
ton Il, now out of existence. and at present
in the clothing industry. which represents an
annual output Of $500, 100000 and l. not pro-
tected by a trust. the conditions of the workers
ara infinitely worse than ia Industries which
are controlled by trusts
Meyer Shoenfeld. who - ono of the best
known leaders Of the last side tailor, asked
IN n recent lt1l'I 10 I'M " NV NlItNNh'it
Would the existence Of the notorious sweating
system and tenement house work be- a possi-
hility if there were a better control Of The trade"
He also asked how. II the Democratic party's
argument that trusts are detrimental To wage
earners is true, II comes that the workinsmen
are better Of n the trades controlled by trusts
than in the clothing trade. which has Hotfust.
The present leaders Of the tlOaAnak-fs' | mon
now admit that the conditions OF tie workers
would be- infinitely better If q clothing trust
were established. -upposing such n trust were
practicable The labor union i a trust, they
LAY. but the clothing trade has hO trust to make
terms with.
some OF the large manufacturers admit
that a trust would be desirable and would
double ia" Wages OF tine tailors, while adding
nothing to the price the corsIinei would nav"
To pay. Abraham Popkin of Abraham Pupkin
4 co. East Fourteenth street, one OF the
frs' cloak manufacturers TO start business
ia this city, -lld ia taking OF the present con-
dltiou Of the trad"
The situation tu>r now j. very perpleNing.
There j. not ~ d"ub' that the small manu-
f~aCIurrrs a.. croNdins the large, firm, I" the
wall. except such a. confu. them>clv". To
special lines ~ guod~. The greatest sufferers
are the workers themselves. The small manu-
i%aotpr"re los" nothing and the consuIl er, cum
not bGv any cnsIter lu spite az the fact thar
C~loakmaher~ who work FOR lie ~luali firms
are earning only starvation wages. III" -inall
EMPLOYERS hHN" agHlu Introduced the task work
: stem under which the cloak makers work
twelve, fourteen. sixteen or eighteen hours
a day to MAKE a uNliig. instead o. tlIe ar tell
hour. Il. they do IA TIM and other large factor
les Resides. they only earn about On"-half OF
what IA" cl"akluak-r~ III the factories earn.
1t i u mistake TO ~ay that IA" small manu-
faotur-r- AT" poor. On account of heir small
expenses fh"v can uud"r-rI IL and SIN haN"
an enormous profit The business of Ia" large
firms ha- changed from mtIlia,t turing Tor
stock 10 MANUFACTURING Tor orders only. We
could not AFFORD 10 keep goods IN stock as the
small manufacturers can do with their low
expenses. d. strIr- Change with every season
and the garments Tint are IA demand now viii
hav" To he sold 1T y discount a little later. The
small mon can AFFORD I" sell at this discount
and -tlll have a profit.
How. th"n can W. compete IN ~, open mar
kpt against these p"Opl.' Most of the wealthy
customers Of tho hlgt-Cla-S retail stores would
not BUY q loH-uricrd cloak or garment of any
kind They consider d cheap garment IA poor
one. ni.d that holds good a. a rule The small
manufactured. who ~"l To the hish-class stores
can therefor" sct good prices and still under
sell Us The customer gains nothing from
IA. low wages the workers receive and the
ONLY gamer l. the small manufacturer Some
OF tho small manufacturers own blocks of tcue-
ments and ar" richer than the members Of the
large firm
A. To clothing trust. Mr.. Popkin said.
a trust in our business. while il would be
highly desirable. would he a complicated thing
rs the st>le,- Of garments and their. prices are
changing all the time. In the case of the Sugar
Trust, for instance there Is no change at any
time III The product itself The Sugar Trust
iEa, ei !, !. no '' longer psg'a y I IE nave ' re ls ." c pric,.
has created such an enormous demand that
the shareholders IN the corporation make monev
~ Nv l'A'F NNiilh " hilu tIf tldllNNl
TO give employment to n much greater number
~ people and NJ higher WAGES than If each
shareholderwas running a plant Of his own.
But our product is ALWAYS changing
III. however, the West side firms and tho
other big firms could make a combination
bv which the commission agents could he
brought into an agreement binding them not
TO sell cloth 10 any manufacturer outside Of
The combination the trade would improve
~ once. Atrust Of soma kind would eventually
follow bv which, while the consumers would
not pay more, the workers would earn twice
n much and the manufacturers would all have
living profits THIS is a ease indeed where the
principal hcnencLIics OF the trust would be
the c~loaknakers
Representatives Of n number Of other cloak
nHuuiac'u rlrs fins said that. while n trust
would benefit both employers and employees
a great number ~ the manufacturers were too
much engaged In competition with enc
another 20 take kindly To il None OF
the small manufacturers would have con-
ndencn enough IN his brethren in the trade
to go into n combination with them 4 mem
Der IL IN" c~loakmahing firm 81 : Ro,hschild
4 Brother said:
1T l. true that a labor union il n trust. which,
when II Is strong enough, can carry its demands
~ 10 wages and hours 0f work, but the spiri,
Of competition keeps the cloak manufacturers
80 far apart that a trust, while much to he de-
sired would he impraCticahle under present
conditions Even tho Manufacturers A.sucia-