Bisbee daily review., 1913-10-01
TARIFF EFFECT ON COTTON IS AWAITED
 WITH FOREBOD|RGS

ATLANTIC CITY. N. j.. Sept. SO.-- Edwin Farnham Greene, president of the National association of Cotton addressing the conven- tion which assembled here today. sad tariff changes alone were not respon- sible for the present curtailment of business and expressed the hope that, if the new I0ill proves an undue bur den upon the cotton interests, reason able changes in it may be made by the government President Greene said in part:
 Tt is perhaps hardly fair to say hat all of the business hesitation in the past few months has been due to the prospect of change in the tariff for the tight money market, wars and prospective wars abroad and at home. and the proposed monetary legislation n this country has contributed muc" to the curtailment in business in the way of restricted credits and general aution However, it is fair to assume that in the textile business, where very radical cut is to be made in du- te es on imports, the hesitation is due argely to such changes.
 Frankly, the best informed manu- -,cturers do not feel that they know ust what the effect will be. Natural V. they lock with alarm on any such sdical change as is being made, but
 oss bly, the high efficiency of our nils and the comparative proximity the markets may enable us to com ete successfully with the foreigner.
 fgs rfal
 ompetition from abroad will be much
 eener and very serious factor with which to reckon.
 If in spite of this competition we
 re atIe to operate successfully, ana that l mean continue to pay talr ages and earn a reasonable return the capital invested and do so over period of years. we cannot com ,lain What | fear most is that the worst will not come at once. The niHs of Europe are as Q whole tairly ;el employed, particularly in Eng and on cotton goods, and it may ue rue that the American mills can con ,intte 10 do business at moderate 1rcft in spite of. increased lmpoft ta- .nns but vixen the business IS de ressed arroad the ad yalorem tazln . vi1l fail to give the same protection ,e in high prices at the very time yhen the American mills need pro
 ectiou most. we are. however, an optim'stl' -,eople and we should enter on tue ,ew era as cheerfully as can be, nay | ng full confidence that if in spite ol I 1Ir hest efforts the new tarln proves m updue burden, the government III Washington will see it's mistake anu ' nake reasonable changes.
 q think It is, sufficieHtly clear thai ! me of the most seriolls handicap: -ith the American mills is the frs | .ost of a cotton or wCrsted mill, as I nearly twice what it is abroad. m
 ,ecessitates twice as much capital oubIes the cost Of repairs, insurance
 enreciation. etc. This is due alnos ntirely to the high wages paid in tai'
 oUntry. particularly to skilled labor
 rs such as carpenters, masOns an'
 mechanics. As can be clearly seen
 is not only a question Of actla
 wages paid in the mills. but also tn ! ligh wages, received by every Amer l an laborer, which enter into GU | problem.
 4 -Tbe overhead expense of Americal
 hills is necessarily high This is du | mart to the fact that this is { 9ree country and that mills are lc | ,ated at some distance from the maj ! et where the goods are sold or T which the raw material is bought.
 "The higher cost cf living in thi l ountrv means higher salaries C
 Jerks and officers and yet the re i've expense is very moderate.
 aI had occasion not long ago oana-a the expense of the eXecuuv 1 niee. or treasuIcr's Cffce. cf severi
 -ew England mills, including the sa
 ries of the officers, and ! founa the 51ck. expense averaged about one-ha
 fl one per cent of the net sale
 foTeover. those of US who are ran ' far with the conditions of the coul
 ry know that the selling expense
 -erv moderate as compared with th , ost of selling otEer articles. The e , | ,euse to a mill of selling it's produ
 on is very moderate. Many gre .oods mills sell their production at ,taI cost of less than two per cent [ )n the sales.
 Any observant outsider can .a 2 ! asual visit to our mills see ways
 sconomiz'ng- as they think, but thcs
 f us who have been in the businei { ealze tat there are complex conc E ions to contend with see h
 reascn why the efficiency ehsihe
 5ss not just as much of place In II
 ndustrisi world as a lawyer or a m
 eban;eaI engineer. We cannot alio z either enc to run. our business. ri Much as we may feel discouras'
 at the present moment we fa' y passed through hard times before al
 rossibly the efect may not be as d'
 .strous as some believe. In any eve
 we are going forward with courss ,r believing in the energy, a0lilty q. rTc ciency of the American manIls " turer snd laboTer and in the talrne y of the American people in tse iol