New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-25
WHALING CITY DEAD.
Il NEW NEW-BEDFORD.
Great Ships Lie Rotting, Wh'te Cot
ton Mills Bring Wealth.

New-Bedford. Mass, Feb. "a (SpeciaD-When the
report from the Arctic this winter that the
ships of the whaling fleet, with a large NUMBER
of New Bedford officers and men on board, were
nipped in the ice. epidemic of sympathy for
their relatives and friends here Immediately started
in the papers Of neighboring cities For two
reasons the objects of this compassion strongly Cd
jected to it. The first is that few people mere
thought that the crews in any extraordinary
danger and the second and greatest is that nearly
all the papers persisted in referring to this as the
Whaling City name New-Bedford mas peeh
trying for years to live down.
II is not any lack of regard for the hardy sailors
who made her name known on every sea that
causes the city take this attitude 1t Is rather
that she is prouder of her leadlng place III the
manufacture of cotton goods Second only 10 an
River in the number of spindles operdleo' anu
maintaining steady growth of at least one new
mill a year her people claim recognition lui'
than that accruing from bygone INDUSTRY.
Few cities in this country the people say nave
seen their great occupation grauuaiiy ~ 80
almost to a standstill. remain In that s'aI'
for a while and then forge to the front In an al
together different sort of activity, in the score VI
years that it has taken this town 10 acoIp 80
the feat In these two decades her population mas
jumped from $1,000 to 5000. record equ'i'eu ~
no other city In Massachusetts
Or the great fleet of four hundred whalers thet
sought the valuable oil and bone only ABOUT '"en,S
remain to-day. TWO or three or these win 'He
massive planks and their trying out frames ana
,.si+ IN the waterfront But thousands OF the IN
habitants of the city have never seen one anu
would not know what 1t was II they olo- NloSl u
them however do know how to weave OF SPIN
work which may not be so poeticai as Whaiins' Ou'
upon which the city now depends for her pros
perity.
In many ways the industrial romance OF New
Bedford is unusual So gradual was the chaase
from barrel 10 bale. that it has been for cqpara
lively short time that the people OF ~ We Trans
formation Almost before they We're aware of IT. the
n was ned a T' trough the bare rigging
of the few old hulks of whalers rotuhs DIT 'n0
For twenty years and more the youth Of America
hays GAINED t6 6aSm e9slF the
whaling port in the world. is now interested IN
whaling interests to a large extent That, however
failed 10 give the impression OF as tbs
nan apd h e% expe29ce of
whaIs s6Ips sailing from his city People were
Somewhat a Surprised that the smell of oil did not
fbe Sng sG s should declare that
had never been board whaling vessel I'm. IN MS
voyage. laden with oil and bone. he was set down
In i'i ISL the Whaling industry of New Bedford had
reached its highest P0nt t and T ts s 6S
Then came the Civil War and the dSf iTt
have been overcome had petroleum and its products
amained in the background. but there coulo pc no
natipg purposes and the whale fishery received its
death blow The consequences of the war gave tIIe
falling industry another push on Its dowhWdLu
path. In the SOS thirty whaling vessels were
CAPTURED by the rebel cruisers. The ships and
cargoes were burned, causing loss TO Ne"-beuioro
men OF Sl.500.O0O A., ,+,,,s
From that time on the activities or the citys
capitalists took different direction. Dwight Perry
a Fairhaven man. perhaps fOreseeing something OF
the stupendous future Of the cotton INDUSTRY o.
America appealed TO the late Joseph GriTslell, OF
this CITY for his aid and influence IN starting mill
Mr. Grinnell who represented this district IN CoI-
gress at the time at first favored establishing the
factory in the South. But as he considered the
subject he became satisfied that this was not the
better plan. RI. .+o,.
Meeting the pioneer manufacturer soon after thelr
conversation Mr. Grinnell asked: why not locate
this mill in New BedfordY and then answered the
question by insisting that 1t must be In New Eed.
ford If he was TO aid it. Thus 1t happened LnaC
the Wamsutta mill built in the city whose
chief thought had been of fitting whale ships But
with the decision TO build cotton mill mere tne
work was only begun. 1t was not easy 10 OBTAIN
subscriptions to capital stock, though the total
amount only $4,000. =. =, -
was regarded. Most of the subscriptions We're ZOE
small amounts, evidently Ito help the thing along
out of friendship for the projectors:
But scheme went through, and the capltal WAS
increa sed from time to time until now 1t is SVuVOV
1t was the success of this enterprise that INSPIRED
the building of the other mills that followed II TO
day there are forty-two cotton mills employing
"a Don operatiyes and capitalized at nearly $5OOVp
besides a number of other manufacturing concerns
All are prosperous at the present time, having peen
undisturbed by labor other serious disturbances
for several years, and NewBedford feels that tney
give her right TO later title than that OF the
Whaling City