The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-09-27
no ESsI.AvE PROSPERITY.

Under the above heading the nzxt
issue OF The American Cotton Manu-
facturer OF Charlotte viii a y
Next to an adequate supply OF food
stuhs there Is no single crop that holds
q position OF such Importance n inter
national economy as - cctto1- We
have the leading position as growers
OF n ssapie. dominating. in fact, 4
markets OF the world.
In a more or less lazy fashion our
cotton manufacturers and the Sistribu-
tors OF their goods nave for years II
ed and twaddled about export expan-
sion. but from all this confabulatioa
little real advance a been made A
fux OF prating without real work 10
back il up will not accomplish results.
and the lack Of organized effort is one
important cause for American exports
of cotton manufacturers being nothing
much more han a m~oieculor proportion
OF the output Of the mills.
Consider England. exporting in one
month nearly double the amoun OF our
foreign sales for a year and then
search for other reasons for our paftry
volume OF exterior trade in cotton fabrcs
American ministers, consUls and conf
merciai agents abroad have hammsreH
for long years at the Importance of our
products being made 10 conform with
the requirements OF foreign users. This
hey point out with vigor and in~sistence,
is the III qua nol OF success. In the
face OF this avalanche of admonit,on
comes a plant from certain ex-
porters in New York that our trade
with Cuba is Handicapped because some
sorts of American standard goods an
not compete. in that market because
h are made in such a fashion that
they don't fall within the same tariff
schedule as the products of. their for
sign competitors. There is no hint
given that their mills are unable to
make these cloths so that they will
class with those orEuropean make,
only a rather puerile lament hat the
Cuban tariff was Tot made to conform
exactly with our own domestic tastes
and needs.
No exposition of willingness to meet
the views of their customers is heard.
Read a part of the tale of o
Handlers of bleached cottons. es.
pecially in narrow widths and low
counts, have experienced a steady adj
vance in demand from his market,
but >of late the majority have declared
the future expansion OF trade depends
largely upon an arrangement of duties
Which will be materially different from
that which now exists. There are those
who go as far as to say that under the
present ldTth duties the ldDIl(S WIG
are made from print cloth yarn, manu-
featured for the most party in Fall
River, will be practically excluded from
Cuba. The entrance of these goods and
the duties exacted thereon are Deepen
lent entirely Upon the weight question.
In a good many instances sellers have
discovered to their sorrow and pecun-
larry loss that goods which they expect
ed would enter Cuba without difficulty
ha va failed To meet the requirements OF
the law and have as a consequence been
raised to another class which makes
the duty so onerous that it forbids the
marketing of these products by the
native cha 1t is claimed these
narrow goods cannot be weighed suf-
ficiently to enter under the low rate.
made as they are under a certain con-
struction which does not admit OF fill
ing sufficient to bring the weight up
to the required standard and at the
same time produce a finish which would
be satisfactory to the buyer"
"A very small dose of u vaunted
American adaptability, administered to
the mill would quickly rene-
dy the situation But no, according 10
these men u primordial methods must
be maintained; rather than disturb
these, the legislative bodies OF a for
eign land must set in motion their
ponderous machinery for our benefit, and
a reimbursement of the tariff is put out
as the only alienation, hen as a mat
ter of fact the matter rests with the
maker and finisher, not only to capture
a goodly portion of Cuban trade, but
to become leaders in exports OF cotton
goods as we now are OF the raw ma
terial, then when the matter is tackled
in he right way, will prosperity be en-
shaved by our cotton manufacturers.