The Irish standard., 1914-04-11
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Glasgow. yet it pays a sufficient
amount to compel even the oppo
nents Of municipal ownership to ad-
NIT that 1t is a profitable undertak-
ing.
The rates for electric current
charged by the city are about the
same as charged by other cities, al
ready described, and the schedules
published in former articles. Need
less to say Belfast, like the others. is
still discriminating against the small
consumer in order to get the business
Of the larger against the small bust
ness man using electric current to
the extent Of 200 per cent in favor
Of the large consumer.
The advantages of Belfast for the
manufacture Of linen goods is the
very damp climate which softens the
thread so that it does not snap in the
spindles or the looms and enables the
fabric to be woven closer and softer,
and the purity of the water for
bleaching. were recognized long ago.
The business grew rapidly for the
first century and a half. and as early
as 1888 Belfast had eighty mills and
was producing $25. 100000 worth of
linen fabrics annually. In 1910 there
were 100000 spindles buzzing about
this town, but the trade reached its
maximum in the '7O's and has not
increased much since.
The wages Of the workers in these
factories range from 81 to 81 per
week. 1t is remarkable how people
live and support families upon such
limited incomes. The wages are
paid on Saturday noon, when a half
holiday is allowed, and the money is
given to the hands in tin boxes. Each
operative has his own number. AS
they pass the paymaster's window
they call out their number, receive
their box, take out the change and
throw the empty can into bin that
is placed near the door for that pur-
pose.
The work of the operatives in
linen factories is very trying on the
health. because the atmosphere of
the rooms is kept as damp as possible
in order to soften the threads and
make them more pliable. Few of the
operatives live past middle life un-
less they have had unusually strong
constitutions. "
The linen manufacturers, however,
are practically dependent upon the
United States. We take more than
half the products Of Irish linen. The
average for the last forty years has
been SO per cent sold to the Uni
ted States. 20 per cent to the British
possessions. and % per cent to other
foreign countries.
In 1907 the value Of the linen
shipped to the United States was
.$14,970,051 out of a total export Of
$26.s95.O14. In 1906 our purchases
were about $1.00O,00O less. but the
proportion remains the same, and
American buyers may be- always
found at the Belfast hotels. although
most of the big manufacturers have
have their agencies in New York.
Belfast has two celebrated ship
yards-the firm of Harland G.
Wolff. and Workman, Clark & Co.
The latter firm built the first ocean
turbine steamers. and Harland &
Wolff the first ocean greyhound, the
Oceanic. in 1870, which was the pi-
oneer of fast sailing on the Atlantic
and a notable advance in the science
of navigation. She was an epoch
making vessel from the point of
view Of naval architects. because of
her general design and construction,
being of much greater length in pro-
portion to her beam than any that
had ever been built up to that time,
and she represented the first at
tempt to insure the maximum of
comfort and luxury in ocean travel
by sacrificing freight space to pas
senger accommodations and locating
the saloons and cabins amidship.
Since then all of the steamship COM
panies have adopted the same plan,
and the comfort and conveniences
that are now found upon vessels have
no doubt enormously increased the
passenger traffic.
During my visit to the Harland &
Wolff shipyard I had the privilege
of seeing in course of construction
the hull of the greatest ship ever con-
structed in Great Britain. This giant
ship I was informed, was to be
named Britannica" of the White
Star Line. Several of the men on
this work with whom I talked in
formed me this ship was 900 feet
long and of greater beam than any
other ship built in this yard in the
past, and was limited to this size
because the stocks in which it was
erected would not accommodate a
ship of greater dimensions. They
informed me also that as soon as
the Britannica" is launched, work
would commence on enlarginp the