The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-23
ELEVATE The SOUTH
prT DO NOT DRAG MAssACHU-
SETTS DOWN.
50 CURTIS GUILD, JR., ADVISES
IN DISCUSSING THE SOUTHERN
TREND OF MILLS.


tion of Cotton Manufacturing.
wants a Crusade Started to Have
Demands of Humanity Enforced
in All Statcs-Thinks Massachu-
setts Is Handicapped by Lax La
bor Laws Elsewhere.
Boston. April 22.-In an address of
,,.olcorne to-day to the delegates to the
annual meeting of the New England
Manufactures Association, Lieut.. Gov.
Curtis Guild, Jr., reviewed the general
condition of cotton manufacturing In
New England and made comparisons
between the industry in this section
and in the South.
He declared that in spite of competi-
t,on. New England held the scepter of
cotton manufacture in this country,
and called attention to the facts which
he said Indicate one grave cause OF
unrest in this particular industry. He
quoted figures to show that the in
crease in the number of active cotton
spindles in the country from 1890 to
1902 and said it was idle to deny the
fact that the rate of increase in the
South was much swifter than in New
England. He gave further figures to
show that the South, in comparison
with New England, pays f1ve-eghths
as many operatives, little over third
as much wages for operating about
third as many spindles, and said:
mot proximity to the cotton fields,
not climate, but cheap labor, long
hours, together with utter absence of
excitement, and extreme moderation of
taxation, explain the growth Of the
South.
Names the Solution.
"By the substitution of fine goods
for coarse goods in our factories, Mas
sachusetts has managed to put off the
day of settlement, even to show an in
crease, but ultimately the day of set
tlement must come, and we must face
and deal with conditions that have re-
duced the spindles in some of our
Northern States. Massachusetts,
with the shortest time limit and the
oldest age limit or amy state in the
Union, has to face the competition OF
states that limit neither age nor time.
The solution of the problem is not in
admitting little children in the Massa-
chusetts mills nor in lengthening the
hours in Massachusetts, but here and
now to begin a crusade that the de-
mands of humanity, enforced by law
in Massachusetts,, shall be enforced by
law in all the states.
Let US not drag Massachusetts down
to the level of Alabama; let us lift
Alabama to the level of Massachu-
SETS Let US have uniformity of fac
tory laws throughout the United
States. 1t is idle for Massachusetts
to stand alone with wise restrictions
when Alabama and South Carolina |
compete with the toll of infant fingers
against the labor of men and women"
Need for Sea Island Cotton.
After President Fish's address.
number of papers dealing with the
technical and economic side of the cot
ton manufacturing business were read.
The first of these was by Henry G
Kittredge of Boston, on THE Supply
of Cotton for Fine Spinning" He said
there is no immediate cause for alarm
that there will be a shortage in the
supply of long staple cotton for the cur
rent demands of manufacturers, put
should the demand increase, as 1t has
within the last decade or so, the SIT
uation may be a1armingly changed,and
the difficulty of securing supply
keenly realized.
The consumption of cotton for fine
spinning is confined almost wholly TO
that raised along the South Atlantic
seacoast, and in the valley of the Mis-
sissippi river of the United States, and
in the valley of the Nile, in Egypt.
What is grown elsewhere, as on the
islands of the Pacific ocean and In
South America, is either too small IN
amount to be taken account of, or not
suitable for fine spinning, though pos
sibly possessing the necessary length
of staple.
To meet possible deficiency in pro-
duction of sea island or Egyptian cot
ton, the most promising region is
through the valley of the mississippi
river; but how much this can be de-
pended on is a mooted question, and
II there or anywhere else the cultiva-
tlon has to be forced or carried on at
an unusual expense, the cost OF the
product will prevent or discourage its
growth. 1t is well known that excel
lent long staple cotton can be raised
on the bottom islands of many of the
rivers of the Southern States, but how
lar it can be extended at a cost that
VIII induce it's cultivation and be ac-
ceptable to the demands of manutac-
ture is uncertain.
Islands Ever the Nursery.
1t is a commercial problem, he said,
whether it pays to raise cotton exceed
ing rs to 1A-inch staple with an aver
age diameter of fiber exceeding one
en-hundredth to one eighteen
hundredth of an inch. The time may
come when it will. At the best no
doubht the supply of these extra fine
grades will be always very limited,
and as yet they have not been pro-
duoed anywhere other than the islands
OF South Carolina 1t possibly will be
a long time before much of these high
grades will be wanted; the sea islands
OF South Carolina will long and per-
haps forever be the nursery of the sea
island, or long staple, cotton cultiVa-
ton. Without an occasional renewal
or seed from them, the growth of long
staple cotton elsewhere declines,
whether it be in the interior of Geor-
gia and Florida or in the valley of the
Nile.
Other papers were on Current The
ories Of Dyeing," by John w. Fries of
Winston-Salem, N. c.; on Gray
Goods for White Lawn Work." by
Daniel M. Bates, Wilmington, Del. !;
ana on the Continued Development of