Arizona republican., 1905-04-10

it got into serious difficulties A re- organization on the basis of writing down it's s1O0 shares to s10 each fol- lowed, and it has succeeded in paying a dividend on it's reduced capital This mill obtains it's supplies duty free, as against an import duty at the rate 1 haikwan tael per 222 pounds on cotton from abroad The counts 1t spins are low, chiefly 10's and such of the out put as is not disposed of locally goes principally to Annoy and Fuchau. The Chinese customs statistics record the imports of Hongkong yarn into China as having been 694,OOO pounds in 1901 S16,SOO pounds in 1902, and 1,2SO 400 pounds in 1903
 Four of the mills at Shanghai repre- sent 6 e500,00O of European capital sunk in cotton mills after the Japanese war on the assumD Dtion that with the aid of cheap labor, skilled management and abundant supplies of excellent. cot ton, handsome profit thereon would be earned. They all paid small divi- dends in 1S979S, but have been strug- gling to keep their heads above water ever since. One of the Shanghai estab- lishments (the Shanghai Cotton Spin ming company) Is under Japanese man. agement and control, the present own CTS having bought it at half the cost price from a foreign bank, into whose hands it fell through inability to dis charge it's financial obligations. It was originally Chinese owned.
 In the report of the China mission of the Blackburn chamber of com merce, which visited Shanghai about the time when the mills under foreign management were in their infancy will h. .4,.s
 gard to their future and to the manner in which they are likely to affect i'm ports from abroad. One of the conelu- sions at which the members of the commission arrived was that while the new mills could not be considered as directly competing with the produc- tons of the United Kingdom, so fav- orable were the surrounding circum- stances and conditions to the expansion of trade. that Lancashire must event ually suffer serious indirect loss
 As experience has demonstrated that in the majority of cases cotton mills in China have, from financial point of view far from fulfilled expectations. there Is small likelihood of additional capital being embarked therein until some means of making them pay shall have been discovered In 1903 500 900 spindles were continually at work. and their aggregate production may be put down at 93.O0O,0OO pounds. China's inn ports of yarn in 1903 exceeded those of 1902 by 3873O.25O pounds. and amounted to 365 126. 400 pounds as against 132,242,S 800 pounds in 1893. In 1872 yarn constituted per cent of the total value (currency) of all cotton products imported; in 1882 it has risen Tapr- nd fr7 "a no less than 52 per cent. valued at GS.- S14,5O0. Spinning and weaving of cot ton are in China entirely intrusted to women; silk, on the other hand, being woven by men. and the finer and more even thread of machine-spun yarn, as compared with homespVn yarn. is doubtless Q strong recommendation in it's favor. Ample supplies of cheap and good yarn having relieved the fe- male population from the necessity of spinning, they have all the more leisure to devote to weaving
 The out-turn of foreign spindles and looms find it's market practically at the doors Of the mills, some native mills taking in raw cotton from the coun- try, people and delivering a stipulated quantity of yarn in exchange. Exports to distance pay a duty-in the nature of excise-On the basis of the import tarif of 1898. which, in the case of yarn, amounts to 70 Haikwan taeIs per picul.
 The main factor which is said to have adversely affected the forums of the Chinese mills has been their failure to obtain supplies of raw cotton at req sonable prices and in good condition The estimates made at the time when al on the new enterprise were founded on the belief that cotton would never go beyond 11.50 taels per picul, as for years it's price had remained stationary at II taels. In cherishing an expecta- tion of this kind those responsible were, however, grievously in error, as rings and combinations on the part of Chinese middlemen have gradually forced up prices until now cotton has to be bought at 90 per cent over the figure on which the original caIcula- tions were based.
 Steam -ginned cotton, the best grade of the Chinese staple, has increased from 1f.7 taels per picul 133 1-3I poundsl in 1899 to 1S.9k taels in 1902 and 21.9 in 1904, uo to June 30.
 The price of yarn has advanced in sympathy with cotton, 40O-pound bale of press packed bale of IFS yarn being. 6S.4 tacls in 1899 S3.1 taels in 1902, and 924 taels for the six months ending June 90, 1904.
 As cotton possesses a world va lue," the fall in the price of silver has, of course, materially contributed to this rise, there being a difference of 24 per cent between the prices of 1896 and 1903.
 Another very serious drawback with which the mills have to contend is the dishonest practice of adulteraing cot