Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-07-10
PRosPERTY's COLLAPSE.
Merchants OverstOcked. Buying stop
ped and Outlook EinE.

Merchants Overlooked. Buying Stop
ped and Outlook DLscOurn ging.
The hOllownesS and fickleness of our
present so called prosperity are becom-
ing apparent. It's delicacy and I'M
soundness are nowtbeing admitted by
the many textile manufacturers in
Philadelphia. Nearly 100000 of their
employees are on, strike for shorter
hours, and some of them also for
higher wages. The textile workers
think 1t only fair thatlthey should get
a small share of the great prosperity
which they have been hearing and
reading about for so many years.
They are nowl being told that 1t is too
late and thattnot only are the manu-
facturers not imalIing the profits they
made a few years ago, but that the
outlook for the future is bad. The
following is from an editorial on the
Philadelphia stake IN the Wool and
Cotton Reporter tot June 4:
The margin of profit per unit is smaller
in about every lin OF industry than 1t
was a couple of years ago It is not
adequate return on capital devoted to
productive purposes The manufacturers
are also confronted by the fact that the
is at present far FROM reassurSng. There
is increasing evidence that retailers
throughout the country are oVerstocked,
and the fear naturally exists that this
means lessened opportunities for. dlspos-
ing OF the products of the mills. For in
stance, II was reported this week that
Marshall Field had Instructed his pur-
chasing agents to bUeylno more dry goods
OF any sort until his present stock was
considerably reduced and he is said to
have told business associate thatlhe did
not care to stock ahcad until thetfuture
was clearer. The philadelphia textile
operatives are probably not conVerSant
enough with the general financial and In
dustriai situation of the country to appre-
ciate the manufacturers point of view.
The manufacturers cannot be governed
entirely by the factors of the immediate
present II the signs OF the times point
to a probable lessening of their profits in
the not very remote future through fall
ing prices for their products and lessened
demand. they could hardly be expected
TO advance wages at this time even IL
their momentary profits were as large as
the operatives seem to believe
We have had six years of fine crops,
which have been sol,1 at high prices.
Our tariff has not been touched for
years, and will not sbe touched for
years to come If the LRepublicans re-
main in control. Thel crop prospects
this year are good andSthe outlook for
high prices Is excellent. Why, then,
are there clouds In the industrial sky?
II our prosperity were sreal prosperity
for all, and not simply prosperity for
the trusts and monopolSes and high
cost of living to the masses, 1t would
not go all to pieces, as It now appears
to be doing, at the slightest suspicion
of anything but excellent crops. We
should be able to weather one year of
poor crops after five or six excellent
ones. We are not, because the pro-
tected trusts have Slapped the earnings
Of the masses and exhausted their buy
ing powers.
Thus it is evident that there are
more reasons than one why we should
take Hanna's advice, Let well enough
alone and keep on letting it alone;
hands off" Our thin shelled, unsub-
stantiaI and unsound prosperity will
not stand handling, not even with
care" "Workingmen beware; touch
it at your peril" is the advice both of
the Republican politicians and pro-
tected manufacturers. stand pat,
don't bulge or look sideways or the
whole protection prosperity structure
will collapse"
BYRON w. HOLT.