The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-06-12
Todoy's
Business
Mirror
By RICHARD FISkE
(For Sam Dawscnl

NEW YORK R-Dwindling ex-
ports to far corners of the world
mean fewer jobs in the cotton
mills Of New England and the
South.
Exports in American cotton
cloth have been holding up fairly
well. But the competition is getting
keener. international markets are
being reduced.
All around the world cotton tex
tiles are being overproduced. One
textile man says it's getting to
the point where there just aren't
enough people to buy the output
of SO many modern mills.
Some of the smaller underde-
veloped countries have established
textile industries, many of them
uneconomic.
They chose textiles, with the
help of American foreign-aid funds,
because additionally it is an in
dustry that supplies lots of jobs.
There is a scarcity of dollars in
many of the once lucrative mar
kets for American cloth. Exchange
restrictions and import quotas are
cropping up again in textile i'm
porting countries.
American cotton manufacturers,
many of whom believe the darkest
days of their domestic recession
are over. now see these interna-
tional complication as their great
est worry.
Translating exports into terms
of jobs leaves this picture.
The American cotton textile in
dustry provides about 10000 jobs
when operating at capacity.
Textile men say a normal break
down to support this capacity OPP
Grafton would be sale of 80 per
cent of fhe production in this coun-
try and 10 per cent abroad.
This 10 per cent that is exported,
they added. accounts for about So
900 of the total jobs.
Right now. the cotton textile in
dustry is employing about 391 600
workers and is exporting about 8
per cent of its output.
The world overproduction that is
worrying American manufacturers
has become critical for other ma
tons as well. II has caused cur
tailment and unemployment in
England, India, JAPAN. France and
Belgium.
Charles c. Hertwig, president of
Bibb Manufacturing Co. at Macon,
Ga, said recently this oyerproduc-
ton that extends from Osaka to
the Carolinas, threatens the home
market of American manufactur-
ers as well as the export markets.
F. Sadler Love, seeretary-treas-
urer of the American Cotton Man
ufacturers Institute, spoke recent
ly Of the danger of deluging the
American market with foreign
goods made by poorly paid labor.
But, he added, that solution of
the problem isn't as easy as just
saying protective tariff"
I'VE know" he said, that if
Communism is to be stopped in
the East both countries Japan and
India must be free. self support
ing democracies. We know that
America cannot continue to pour
tax money into the Orient.
But we feel that japanese and
Indian textile mills can and should
sell TO Orient markets which are
historically theirs"
The textile induStry's Committee
on Foreign Trade decided recently
to join delegates from Great Brit
ain, Japan, india and some West
European countries at the Interna-
tional Textile Conference at Bux.
ton, England, in September.
The Americans go into the con
ference knowing that they cannot
engage in any sort OF International
agreement concerning production.
imports. division of markets or
pricing policy.
Ba they believe their chances