The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1901-05-17
is PROSPERITY UNIVERSAL
President Mckinley SEES onis -
Best side az Things w me
Touring the Country.


The president Ia his speech a Ne"
Orleans congratulated the people
upon sharing lin the universal pros
perity and contcntment 80 character
istic az this time of every part OF our
common country.
There il no doubt that the comfort
and elegance OF the surroundings OF
the president. seeing nothing but the
best SIDE al The towns he j. visiting
gives him The idea that all is richness
and comfort. and YET ON The same Ma!
day there were strikes iuau%urated
in dozens of cities. The very tram
men who have the care OF the stump
tuouS free train with which the rail-
road companies are entertaining Tres
iden; Mckinley are on The verge oil
striking for reasons that they lhink
compel them to do 50. But then Pres
idrHt McKinlcy ma have his eye on The
Wall street boom and as nearly all
those ~ no accompany him are addicted
10 the ticker habit. he doubtless hears
hourly Of vast prosperity. for OF
course those travelling with pres
dent on an expansion and pros perity
tour must all Ice bulls and big winners.
From another part of The country
comes very different tale and from
one of the greatest mamfaci urins
cities At that. The textile trade which
suffers periodically from some dis
temper peculiar To itself. says the
Philadelphia Record, j. again IN =
state Of stagnatiOn. This Is favor
able time. therefore, for renewed
speculation a. 10 the cause OF those
recurring ">lnmps" in this industry.
The general Industrial situation seems
To he good. aud Yet the textile bush
ness i Al practical Stand>till in 80
far a. profit taking is concerned.
Many mills have been working only
part time: large numbers of hands are
idle. and although an Improvement is
momentariiN looked for. and has ac-
tually come in some of the factories.
trade i generally recognized to he IA
a very unsatisfactory state.
While The reaction affects the in
duStry in all parts of the country,
such troubles always strike home
with particular force in great tex
tile center like Philadelphia. inac-
Unity in the mills means a grra; deal
10 labor. and when the workIaen are
not earning wages regularly the gen
cral trade of the city i depressed.
The reasons which are given Tor the
present state of things az. as
numerous a. are the men from whom
explanations are sought. There are
hints a. 10 oVerproduction: under
consumption because of warrI win
tiers. competition tin cotton goods
from southern mills, which have lost
the Chinese trade; the high price of
cotton and wool; the instability of
prices; too little protection. and the
LACK Of foreign outlets for the prod
ucts of our looms. Some Philadelphia
carpet manufacturers still believe
that their trade is being injured by
Chinese mattingS.
The chief complaints come from
the wooden and carpet factories.
which need plentiful supply OF raw
materials at steady prices. The wool
Ell manufactures who looks forward
to time when he can secure foreign
markets for his goods, knows taa,
there is no hope for that so long IS
he must pay protective prices for Us
fiber. No American manufactured
products can be sold abroad in COM
petition with the products of other
countries when our manufacturers
have To pay higher prices for their
raw material. bonuses To western
sheep growers in a prohibtorN tariff
on clothing woods. and to the China
man who makes cheap mattingS IN
a tax on carpet woods. which woods
we cannot raise in this country. are
not making Philadelphia mauufac-
turers or their employees very happy.