Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-31
MANY LOOMS IDLE
BRITISH CARPET MAKING HURT
BY COMPETITION.
Cnrresnnndence of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
LONDON, December %. 1906.
One of the oldest of British industries,
carpetmaking. which has its headquarters
at kidderminster, Is threatened with ex-
tinction. Foreign competition is proving
too much for it. and especially
American competition. With one or two
exceptions none of the many carpet-manu-
featuring companies established In the an
cient city have paid a cent In dividends TO
the holders of ordinary shares In the last
six or seven years. One-fifth Of the looms
are idle; a still larger number are working
short time; many of the operatives are out
of employment: and from present indica-
tons the dwindling process is likely to con-
tinue unchecked
ut Is the development of the American
trade that is largely responsible for the
falling off in our manufactures, said John
Brinton head of one of the biggest COM
panies in the trade, when interviewed on
the subject I'VE used to send tWo-nftns
of our product to the United States, up 10
the sixties. but now we send only smaA
quantities of our best hand-woven goods 10
American millionaires who don't mind pay
ing the enormous duties.
mot content with barring us from their
home market by their high tariff. the
American manufacturers are taking advan-
tage of the free access to our market by
dumping their surplus stock on Great Brit
ain. And our French and German manu-
facturerS, whose goods are protected IN
their own lands, are playing the same game.
~
This dumping allows our foreign Compel
itors to work their machinery to its fullest
extent, and, while selling the largest pro-
portion at good prices in the land of manu-
facture, permits them to thrust the balance
at slaughtering prices on Great Britain. For
instance, Administer carpets were sold by a
large American firm in England lately at
63 cents yard. the average price In New
York being then actually % cents Ours
and similar British carpets of the same
quality were then selling at 81 cents
yard. The rebate clause in the American
tariff allows the exporter rebate equal to
the duties he has himself paid on the i'm
ported materials forming constituent part
of the goods exported. This is an important
factor. but even then these goods are sold
under our cost price. Bad trade here mas
cent on wool during the last, eighteen
months-a rise due in the main to the oper-
atoms of the Americans in the markets in
which we purchase raw materials.
Wool has been woven in kidderminSter
for the last 800 years. The first Brussels
loom was imported from Flanders in l149,
and from that date Kidderminster has been
the headquarters of the Brussels, Administer
and wilton carpet-maklnS industry. Inc
operatives are nearly all women-the pro-
portion being about ten women to one man.
In consequence Kidderminster presents the
novel spectacle of town in which the femi-
nine population outnumbers the male sew
eral times over. In no other city in the
world do girls have such a hard time get
ting married. Besides those who get hus-
bands generally have to support them.
Many of the carpet manufacturers are
clamoring for protection, but, as the last
general election showed, the vast majority
of the voters are dead against the policy.
And while the trade of the country, as a
whole, is better than ever before. those
industries in which good grounds for pro-
lection may be advanced will seek it In
vain.