Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-10-08
PROSPERITYS COLLAPSE.
Merchants OverstocIsed, Buying Stop
ped and Outlook Discournging.


The hollowness and fickleness Of ouI
present so called prosperity are becom.
ing apparent. Its delicacy and TN.
soundness are now being 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 that they should get
small share OF the great prosperity
which they have been hearing and
reading about for so many years.
They are now being told that II is too
late and that not only are the manu-
lecturers not making the profits they
made few years ago, but that the
outlook for the future Is bad. The
following is from an editorial on the
Philadelphia strike In the Wool and
Cotton Reporter OF June 4:
The margin OF profit per unit Is smaller
In about every line OF industry than It
was n couple OF years ago. 1t IN not
nearly AS easy MS II was to secure an
adequate return on capital devoted to
productive purposes. The manufacturers
are also confronted by the fact that the
general financial and Industrial outlook
Is ut present far from rcassuring. There
Is Increasing evidence that retailers
throughout the country are overstocked.
md tho fear naturally exists that this
means lessencd 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 10 buy no more dry goods
NJ
considerably reduced, and he Is said TO
have told business associate that he did
not care to stock ahead until the future
was clenrcr The Philadelphia textile
operatives are probably not conversant
enough with the general financial and in
dustrial situation OF the country to appre-
ciate tho 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 probable lcsseninR of thAr profits in
the not very remote future through fall
ing prices for their products and lcssened
demand, they could hardly be expected
to advance wages at this time even II
their momcntnry profits were as large as
the operatives seem to believe.
We have had six years Of fine crops
which have been sold Mt high prices.
Our tariff has not been touched for
years, and will not he touched for
ycars to come If the Republicans re.
main I'm control The crop prospects
this yenr are good and the outlook for
high prices IS excellent. Why, then,
are there clouds in the industrial SKYE
IF our prosperity were real prosperity
for NIL and not simply prosperity for
tho trusts and monopolleS and high
cost of living to the masses, 1t would
not 20 all to pieces, ns II now appears
to be doing, Mt 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-
tectcd trusts have Slapped the earnings
OF the masses and exhausted their buy
ing powers.
Thus 1t Is evident that there arc
more reasons than one why we should
take 1Innna's advice, LET well enough
alone and keep on letting 1t alone;
hands Off" our thin shclled, unsub-
stantal and unsouud prosperity viii
not stand handling, not oven with
care" "Workingmcn beware; touch
II at your peril" Is the advice both of
the Republican politicians aud pro.
tcctcd manufacturers. "Stnnd pat,
don't bulge or look sideways or the
whole protection prosperity structure
will collapse"
BYRON w. HOLT.