The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-04-29
new ENGLAND FEARS SOUTH.
Let US Save Our Cotton Mills
From Southern Competition"
LIEUT.. GOV. CURTIS GUILD, JR.
Addresses The Annual Meeting of
The New England Cotton Manu-
facturers' Association.

ttEC tvOW GDSaS@ SOHsS' s'S~''ss
facturers' Association.
Boston, Mass, April 22.-In an ad-
dress of welcome today to the dele
gates to the annual meeting of the
New England Cotton Manufacturers
Association, Lieutenant Governor
Curtis Guild, Jr, reviewed the gen
eral condition of cotton manufactur-
ing in New England and made COM
prisons between the industry in that
section and in the South. He declared
that in spite of competition New Eng
land held the sceptre of cotton manu-
facture in this country, and called at
tention to the facts, which, ne sald,
indicate one grave cause of unrest in
this particular industry. He quoted
figures showing the increase 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 showing that the
South, in comparison with New Eng
land, pays fve-eighths as many opera
tives a little over a third as much
wages for operating about a third as
many spindles and said: g Not proXimi-
ty of the cotton fields, not climate,
but cheap labor, long hours, together
with utter absence of excitement,
aud extreme moderation of action ex-
plain the growth of the South.
"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 of any 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 ad-
mitting little children in the .Masa-
chusetts mills nor in lengthening the
hours in Massachusetts,, but here and
now to begin crusade that the de-
mand of humanity, enforced by law
in Massachusetts, shall be enforcd
by lay in all the States.
Let Us not drag Massachusetts,
down to the level of Alabama; let US
lift Alabama to the level of Massa-
chusetts. Let us have uniformity Of
factory laws throughout the United
States. It 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.
After an address by President Fish
number of papers dealing with the
technical and economic side of the
cotton 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 short
age in the supply of long staple cotton
for the current demands of manufac
turers, but should the demand increase
as it has within the last decade or so;
the situation may be alarmingly
changed, and the difficulty of securing
a supply keenly realized.
The consumption of cotton for fine
spinning is confined almost wholly to
that raised along the South Atlantic
coast and in the valley of the Missis-
sippi River of the United States, and
in the valley of the Nile, 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 possibly
possessing the necessary length OF
staple.
70 supply possible deficiency in
production of sea island or Egyptian
cotton the most promising region is
through the valley of the Mississippi
River; but how much this can be
depended on is mooted question, and
if there or anywhere else the cultiva-
ton has to be forced Or carried or at
an unusual expense, the cost Of the
product will prevent or discourage its
growth. 1t is we'll known that excel
lent cotton can be raised On the bot
tom islands of many of the rivers of
our Southern States, but how far
it can be extended at cost that will
induce It's cultivation and be accept
able TO the GemanGS or manufacturers
is uncertain.
It is commercial problem, he
said, whether it pays to raise cotton
exceeding rs to 1s4-inch staple,
with an average diameter of fibre ex-
ceeding l-l500 to l-lS0O of an inch.
The time may come when it will. At
the best, no doubt, the supply of these
extra and extra fine grades will be al
ways very limited, and as yet they
have not been produced anywhere
other than the islands Of South Caro-
lima. It possibly will be long time
before much of these high grades will
be wanted; the sea islands of South
Carolina will long and perhaps forever
be the nursery of the sea island or long
staple cotton cultivation. Without an
occasional renewal of seed from them,
the growth CT long staple cotton else
where declines, whether it be in the
interior of Georgia and Florida or in
V,lfou of bo N;1o