The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-31
THE COTTON YARN TRADE.
Southern Committee Ends Its Quaker
City Conference.

City Conference
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 31.-The COM
mittee on the Southern Cotton Yarn Spin
Hers' Association held its second and final
conference with a committee OF the Yarn
Merchants Association, at the Bourse,
yesterday morning. The meeting was held
behind closed doors. and at its conclusion
very little could be learned as to the re-
suits reached.
The object of the meeting" said Fl.
(. Sewing. secretary and treasurer of
the Yarn Merchants Association, after
the meeting, was to confer in relation
TO the present condition OF the cotton
yarn market. Each committee will sub
nit copy of the joint report to its as
ISOLATION at the earliest possible date,
after which the deliberations of the as
soeiations will be given to the press
None Of the members of either COM
mittee would add anything to this vague
statement. man who is connected with
both the selling and the manufacturing
| sides of the Southern cotton yarn bust
ness. gave, however, a summary OF tie
! causes that have brought the two COM
| DIitteesS together and of the effects that
| will probably follow from their confer
] ence
| The market = he said. sis in a bad way.
| Cotton sold last September at 61a cents
pound. The Southern spiuneTs came up
here then and fixed price for yarn that
allowed tnsm a margin of pToft-not q
satisfactory margin, but just one which
they could run along under. That ice,
] for single tairtiss' yarn was 49,. Wei.
! cotton is selling today at 91a cents, while
! the price of the yarn remains the same
! spinners lose naonesN every pound Ct
! yarn they manufacture.
| THE trouble with the market is i'm
puted to overproduction. What has caused
! this overproduction Is naturally q de-
! Clining demand. The causes Of the de-
| clining demand are the uncertainty ovel
the coming Presidential election and tht
closing Of TIE Chinese market on account
OF the war in China.
The Yarn Merchants Association rep
resents about $50 G00, Geo OF capital. and in
clude5 all but one OF The commission
houses in New York, Philadelphia, and
| Boston through which the Gotten yarn Is
marketed. The Yarn Spinners' Associa-
ton represents S. per cert OF the Southern
| mills, representing an annual business o.
$50. o0e. 0G0 and the control OF the marke1
! in the low numbers, or c0arser grades O
yarn This conference has been. therefore
an important one.
I think the conference viii result in III
shutting down, in the aext month or two
of from 30 to so per cent OF the cottoI
spinning mills of the south. These mill
will keep shut down for about sixty days
That will be hard On the Southern people
but there are hopeful prospects ahead Il
comfort them. The uncertainty of tn
Presidential election will be over whel
they start NJ again. and the Chinese mar
ket will then. no doubt. be open.
1t was to discuss the oyerproduc ion o
cotton yarn and the way to meet this over
associations net. Their present meetini
had nothing TO do with TIE mooted forma
ton OF 4 trust of the Southern mills tha
viii abandon the commission men and sci
their product direct. There vas no nee,
10 discuss that question, for it IS practi
| cally Z settled one
The Seutheruers came here in Jul,
pretty angry because some of The commits
sion men had not dealt fairly with them
but had put them to work on supposed or
deTs. when they were not orders at all. bu
! simply lodges OF the commission men. VIII,
wished 10 speculate in cotton yarn wfthou
| putting up any money 20 bug IT, Tn
Southerrers know now that The Northern
commission men as a class regard sucl
misrepresentation and speculation as dis
honest business. They know that only
| few commission houses operate in tina
! way No action has been taken against III
houses that thus injured the South. bu
! when they come TO do business again il
the fall they will find Tie Southern mill
! all closed 10 them