Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-05-31
Is PROSPERITY UNIVERSAL
President Mckinley Sees Only tho
Best Side OF Things While
Touring the Country.


The president In his speech at New
Orleans congratulated the people
upon sharing Sin the universal pros
perity and contentment so character
istic at this time of every part of our
common country"
There is no doubt that the comfort
and elegance of the surroundings of
the president, seeing nothing but the
best side of the towns he is visiting,
gives him the idea that all is richness
and comfort, and yet on the same May
day there were strikes inaugurated
in dozens of cities. The very train
men who have the care of the sunp-
tuOus free train with which the rail-
road companies are entertaining Pres
ident Mckinley are on the verge of
striking for reasons that they think
compel them to do so. But then Pres
ident Mckinley mayhave his eye on the
Wall street boom and as nearly all
those who accompany him are addicted
to the ticker habit, he doubtless hears
hourly of vast prosperity, for of
course those travelling with a pres
ident on an expansion and prosperity
tour must all be bulls and big winners.
From another part of the country
comes a very different tale and from
! one of the greatest manufacturing
cities at that. The textile trade which
suffers periodically from some dis
temper peculiar to itself, says the
Philadelphia Record, is again in a
state of stagnation. This is favor
able time, therefore, for renewed
speculation as to the cause of those
recurring "slumps" in this industry.
The general Industrial situation seems
to be good, and yet the textile bust
ness is at practical standstill in so
| far as profit taking is concerned.
Many mills have been working only
part time; large numbers of hands are
| idle, and although an improvement is
| momentarily looked for, and has ac-
| tually come in some of the factories.
| trade is generally recognized to be in
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 a great tex
| tile center like Philadelphia. Inac-
| tivity in the mills means great deal
| to labor, and when the workmen are
not earning wages regularly the gen
era1 trade of the city is depressed
| The reasons which are given for the
present state of things are as
numerous as are the men from whom
explanations are sought. There are
hints as to overproduction; under
consumption because of warm 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 a plentiful supply of raw
materials at steady prices. The wool
en- manufacturer who looks forward
to a time when he can secure foreign
markets for his goods, knows tina
there is no hope for that so long a.
he must pay protective prices for hi:
fiber. No American manufactured
products cam be sold abroad in com
petition with the products of Other
countries when our manufacturer:
have to pay higher prices for thei1
raw material. Bonuses to western
sheep growers in a prohibitory tariff
on clothing woods, and to the China
man who makes cheap mattings II
a tax on carpet woods, which wool.
we cannot raise in this country, arr
not making Philadelphia manufac
turers or their employees very happy