Evening star., 1932-03-13
Brighter Prospect For
Cotton Textile Industry
BY HARDEN COLFAx,

Two developments Of the past few
days are looked upon as of particular
significance in registering the progress
Of the cotton textile industry toward
recovery from the doldrums In which
1t has languished for the past couple
Of years. These are the decision on
the part of most of the production in
| terests to continue throughout 1882 the
policy of not employing women and
minors, and the squirt taken by the
export trade in cotton goods, particu-
larly to the Far East, as shown by fig
ures just released by the Department
of Commerce.
Operators of more than IS per cent
of the cotton spindles in the United
States have decided that hereafter
they will not employ women or minors
at night and that they will limit their
operations to so hours Of day and SIS
hours of night work per week. This
action is highly gratifying to the Cot
ton Textile Institute, which has been
working In cooperation with the De-
partment of Commerce to secure the
agreement OF mill executives in carry
ing out sound economic policies in the
textile industry. Failure to continue
the policy-and there was considera-
BILE opposition-undoubte would have
endangered the new program Of meas
uring production with demand and
also would have further complicated
the depressed labor situation.
X
While cotton prices are low and
mills. generally speaking, are not max
ing a profit on their business. never
theless the industry as a whole, ac
cording to the Cotton Textile Institute
and the Departments of Commerce and
Agriculture, is in a better statistical
condition than it has been for long
time. There is better balance be-
tween production and consumption.
According to data supplied to the De-
partment Of Commerce from private
sources the cotton industry has been
operating for the past three months
at about 16 per cent under normal
capacity. During 1881 stocks of stand
ard goods decreased while untitled or
ders increased.
The production of cotton goods con-
tlnues to have very real community
significance and the responsibility of
the mill owners to the laborer and So
clai conditions in the communities in
which they operate Is reported as be-
ing shouldered courageouSly
For the six months of the season
! ending with January, American ex-
ports OF cotton were II per cent greater
than for the corresponding period last
year The textile division of the De-
partment of Commerce announces that
statistics for February indicate that
the rate OF this increase in exports is
ures.
~
According to these Commerce De-
partment figures, the outstanding fea-
lure OF the trade during the first half
OF the l93l-ls32 season was the in
crease in the volume of cotton exported
to the Far East. This occurred while
there was a considerable drop In the
shipments to Europe, particularly to
france, due to curtailed mill activity
and generally unsatisfactory condi-
tons. In the first half of the season
about million and q quarter bales
indicated the increase In exports to
the Orient. Both China and Japan
drew heavily on the United States dur
ing January and February.
Commerce representative do not be-
lleve that the chief reason for in
creased cotton shipments to the Orient
Is to be found in hostilities between
Japan and China, except in so far as
the Japanese cotton industry had been
suffering from the Chinese boycott.
The real reason seems to be that. ow-
ing to weather and other crop condi-
'tions, there are smaller crops Of Indian
ana Chinese cotton this year.