The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-08
ELECTRICITY IN
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Business Has Developed In a
Century
THE HOMESPUN GARMENTS
Primitive Methods of Garment Manu-
facture Are Displaced by Modern
Invention-Water and Steam
Power First in Use.
THE HOMESPUN GARMENTS


term is now understood, in the United
States. Whatever the American people
did in the way of manufacturing their
own clothing was mostly done in the
household. the spinning wheel and the
hand-loom were utensils familiar in the
old-fashioned kitchens as tho pots and
kettles of the housewife. The homespun
garments worn by our forefathers were
fashioned out OF wool grown on the home
farm, carded by hand washed in tubs,
spun and woven by hand, fulled and fin
ished at home. cut up and sewed-all by
tic joint labor of husband, wife, sons and
daughters. The finer clothes worn in
those days were all imported. and as the
colonies grew and multiplied and their
consumption of English textiles increased,
the manufacturers Of the mother country
foresaw a wondrous new market opening
up before them. The desire to retain and
increase that market for textiles, in the
manufacture of which England already
led the world, was far more prominent
among the causes leading up to the Amer
lean Revolution than its historians have
yet discovered.
The homespun garments of colonial days
were plain. and wore like iron; their in
gradients were indicated in the name COM
monty applied to the cloth-'linsey wool
sey." 1t was a fabric of wooden welt,
woven on linen warp. Linen was
much more commonly produced in the
household han cotton fabrics. and wool
was more in use than all other fabrics
combined. Cotton was a scarce commod-
ity in colonial America until long after
the Revolution. 1t possessed a value
equal to that of wool, and sometimes very
much higher. What little of it was used
prior to the 18th century was mostly i'm
ported from Barbados. When Samuel
Slater started the first American cotton
mill at Pawtucket, in 1898. he insisted
upon using cotton from the Indies, be-
cause of the poor quality of the cotton
then raised at home. No one dreamed,
when the Shipping and Commercial List
and New York Price Current first made
its appearance that America was destined
to become the cotton producing country
of the world; nor did Slaters little mill of
$50 spindlea. which had then been in oper-
alton five years, give signs that it was the
germ of an American industry which
would consume annually within 100 years
more cotton than all the world was then
growing. Inc history OF the textile IN
dustries during the colonial period is no.
where suggestive OF the development
which confronts and amazes the student
at the opening of the Goth century, en-
ployng more capital and creating
greater value of annual product than any
other group, except IRON and steel.
Our forefathers realized how important
It was that the colonlsts should learn to
elothe themselves. fhey resofted to all
sorts OF eXpedlents, some or winch smack
strongly of state socialisms, to overcome
the difficulties in the way. They offered
bounties to increase the number OF sheep
and promote the growth of flax. In Mas
sachusetts laws were passed making 1t
compulsory that each family should spin
A given quantity of yarn every year, I'M
der penalties of heavy lines. Gradually
the household textile industries assumed
an importance which alarmed the mother
country and the lords of trade attempted
and harass development which threat
ened TO destroy the colonial market for
the chlef products OF BRUSH industry
Parliament passed an act in lf4 which
was shortly after the ArkWr1ght lnVen-
tons had inaugurated the modern fac
tory system. torbiddlng the expectation,
under heavy penalties, OF any OF the ma
chimes used in the cotton, SILK wooden,
or linen manufacture This statute, which
remained in force, with certain modifica-
tons, until 1912 WAS eVloence OF puef1e
hope that the Engnsh people could Keep
the fruits OF inventive genus oottled up
In their little Island whlle england per-
United her sons TO carry their brains
across the water.
Slater brought his spinning machinery
In his mead, IN the same way arthur
Scholheld, three years later Drought the
first wool-cardlhs machlne winch ne
built ana put IN operation at Byneld'
Mass, IN lf94, thus liking the GATE Oh the
beginning or the factory manufacture OF
wool by machinery operated py power IN
the United states. American machlnsts
and inventors ala the rest IL is not TO DC
denied, however that the Enghsh statute
old retaro, emparrass, ana make treply
din c''t the carry deNelopnent OF our
lea'Ne ldctoiies centui5 ago ele
Il" years pehlnu those OF Great britain.
me nrsl steps OF eVolutlon were tne
tuiHnS mill utizihs the power OF inc
small streams, renewing the housewife
or the oaty OF iihishing the cloth ana the
cardlng inachlhe: FARMERS Tor miles
brought thelr wool 10 De converted IN rolls
ready LOT the spliiinhS wheel AFTER
slater had successfully appled the Ark
wright invention 10 the spinning or cot
, au ere sin in ,se in al +es