The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-08-24
ENORMOUS PROFIT
FOR TEXTILE men
THROUGH A TARIFF
Welliver Gives Insight Into R.
suits of Protection of Mill.
ing Industry.

remarkably illuminative inslpb, :.
to the enormous profits of the b,,.'
protected cotton milling industrv '.
New England is given in an artice a.
titled Our Mercerized Aristocr.o'
by Judson c. Welliver. in the Aus'
Hampton's Magazine.
THE dividend rate is not the o.,
evidence of large profits" saws ~
Welliver. "rhe big SURPRISES renro.'u
undistributed profits which are coa
monty put into new mills. After naa
Ing the generous dividends, the r ~m
corporations distribute their slrn nla
In stock dividends p'S
ITO contemplate the financial recon-,
for example, of the Dartmouth COW
pany. Massachusetts concern ~n'
enough to make an investors mon.
water. In 1901 the Dartmouth mia "a
per cent dividends. Then for tb,..
years II paid s per cent annually Th,s
In 1905 the dividend jumped to 20 10y
cent. This was not nearly big enoa p
to distribute profits, so the 1906 div,
dens were 26 per cent. This m, "s
have seemed satisfactory to an inys.
tor accustomed to snap up a fas,
mortgage drawing per cent bnt
was only suggestion Of the possba
tiles OF well conducted cotton min
So In 1907 the Dartmouth paid Ga ~.
cent in dividends, and in 1908. the ~, pl
OF depression following the panic y
1907, 1t struggled along so well W..
IT. repeated this Sc per cent perfor~
ance.
THAT would seem enough TO do,,
mate even most able bodied can
plus, but the finest thing Of II all w..
yet In store for Dartmouth s,oos
holders. In 1903 the company dstrH
uted stock dividend of 100 per cent
That Is, every stakeholder received !.
a gift a certificate for additional shar.'
or the same number he had held b.
fore. Besides this. there was a "a M,
cent cash dividend, In 1910 II nsn
per cent per quarter on the stock Il,
and new; that Is, at the rate of m
per annum on the increased capitaliz,
ton!
The Figures.
In addition to paying large csa
dividends for years, the Butler min
OF New Bedford, paid a stock dividen
OF 20 per cent in 1910: the Manoms
mill, of New Bedford, paid a stock c,
idend OF 33 1-3 per cent in 1910: I'M
Soule mill, Of New Bedford, distrlh
uted a stock dividend Of 20 per cent
in 1909; the. Whitman mill, anohr
New Bedford concern. declared stOG
dividend of SO Ia per cent in 1907
the Bourne mill, of Fall river, declarN
a stock dividend OF 40 per cent in lsOS
the Chace mill, of Fall River, declapd
a 20 per cent stock dividend IN I&
and 33 Ia per cent in 1907; the Davis
mill. OF Fall River, in 1907 distribute
stock dividend Of Is per cent and
the Davol mill, of Fall River, did The
same.
The Laurel Lake mill paid II ps
cent in 1906, IA per cent in 1907, u
per cent in 1908. per cent In 100.
and in 1907, as amlable recognition d
the goodness of providence and The
tariff makers, doubled it's capitala
ton and distributed stock dividend
of 100 per cent. You will observe thai
a stock dividend Of 100 per cent makes
1t possible to distribute just twice
much money to stockholders without
changing the percentage rate of The
dividend. / hope the stakeholder was
widow and orphan. He ought
have been, for the widows and or
phans constitute the final justfcat@
for passing these good things along
to our thrifty New England friends
In Massachusetts, New Hampshr
Maine and Connecticut, just as ii
lions are generally closely controla
by limited groups o: capitalists who
are able to derive these fat benefits
from your and my amiable but a
travagant innocence about their al
fairs; In short, from our willingness 70
grant them protection which they
mot need. and which they coin into i'm
;mense returns based on monopOlsth
privilege.
"The high-water mark of nomins
dividends was reached by the cOttOn
mills in 1907. That was the year q
generous stock dividends, as well
special cash distributions. Now. when
n mill makes a 100 per cent stock div
dend 1t means that to maintain 10
former dividend rate 1t must double
the amount Of earnings devoted to div
idends.
1.-THE year 1908 was a year Of bus-
ness depression. Dividends were gen
orally cut, earnings in many fields o.
industry disappeared. 1t would have
been an especially trying year for thu
cotton mills, because OF their recGi
immense increase of capitalization
the cotton milling industry had been
like others. But 1t is not When TIE
depression year Of 1908 came. the mlb
calmly paid their usual rates Of div
dends.
TRUE, their already undergrad laDG
had to suffer sharp reductions
wages; true. also, you and l and IN
other wearers Of protected cotton gooS
were compelled to pay prices that wen
excessive when compared with pro
tendencies In other lines of business
That was unimportant to the cottei
mill millionaires, the textile arsle
cracy. 1t would have It's dividend
and It got them. Part was sQueelN
out of us consumers. part out OF ~
operatives. Yet. 1t got them, becaus
it had the power to extort them. Is
grotesQue exaggerations Of the ponc!
of protection gave 1t power to tS,
them. 1t could pay as low wages al
charge as high prices as II chose: u'
tariff wall held it secure in Its DOM
nation"
Toad as Police Mascot.