either of which gives an approximation to the truth the amount of cotton consumed, and the number of spinning spindles. The first statement to be presented shows the average consumption of cotton in the United States, in the United Kingdom, and on the continent of Europe, in the five years ending with each census period of the United States from 1830 to 1880, and the total consumption for the years 1890, 1900, and each succeeding year to 1905: COTTON CONSUMPTION IN UNITED STATES AND EUROPE: 1830 TO 19051 But a far more accurate test for comparison is afforded by the number of spindles in the mills of the several countries. Table 11 [the following table on page 748] shows the number of cotton spindles in the world in the autumn of 1906. . . . Taking the textile industry as a whole, it may be concluded that the United States, while standing at some distance from the United Kingdom, is nevertheless second only to it. Considering the several branches of the textile industry, we find that the United States stands first among silk manufacturing countries and second in the manufacture of cotton. In the manufacture of wool it is probably inferior 1 The authority for this statement is Mr. Thomas R. Ellison, of Liverpool. 2 Census figures. to Germany and France, although not greatly behind either country. WORLD'S COTTON SPINDLES, BY COUNTRIES: 1905-61 The flax and jute industries are carried on in this country on a small scale. No figures can be presented to indicate even approximately the rank of the different countries, but there is no doubt. that the United States occupies a rank relatively low. On the other hand, the manufacture of cordage and twine from hemp is very extensive, and in this the United States probably takes the first or the second rank. 1 The statistics for the United States were collected by this Bureau. Those for other countries have been compiled from a number of authorities, among them being the International Federation of Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Associations, Manchester, Eng.; the Financial and Commercial Chronicle, New York; Cotton Facts: Lyon & Co., Bombay; and Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, Osaka. E. Cotton Manufactures, 1860-18801 The steadily growing population of the United States with its high standard of living has furnished American manufacturers a market for large quantities of staple goods, in the production of which improved machinery and large-scale methods have been characteristic. In cotton manufactures there was the additional advantage of cheap raw material close at hand. The cotton manufacture of the United States may now be considered more firmly established than ever before. The method on which the business is conducted in the United States varies greatly from that of any other country; and this difference arises mainly from a difference not only in the habits and customs of the people, but also in their condition and intelligence. The home market is the most important one, and may long continue to be so, although the export demand for our fabrics now takes from 7 to 8 per cent. of our annual product, and is likely to increase. In contrast with the cotton manufacturer of Great Britain, our principal rival, we are therefore called upon to meet the demands of an intelligent class of customers living under substantially uniform conditions and varying but little in their requirements. Hence we are not called upon for the great variety of fabrics that must be supplied by Great Britain. In consequence of this demand for a great variety of fabrics, the work of the cotton manufacture of England is much more divided than with us. . . The principal market for our own fabrics is found among the thrifty working people, who constitute the great mass of our population. It has therefore happened that, although we have not until recently undertaken the manufacture of very fine fabrics, the average quality of fabrics that we do make is better than that of any other nation, with the possible exception of France. It is for the wants of the million that our cotton factories are mainly worked, and we have ceased to import staple goods, and shall never be likely to resume their import. . . In 1860 the whole number of spindles in the United States was 5,235,000. .. In 1880 the number of spindles operated in the specific manufacture of cotton fabrics was 10,653,435; but the spindle has changed in its productive power, and each spindle of 1880 was much more effective than that of 1860. . . . In 1860 the average product of one operative, working one year, was 5,317 pounds; in 1880, 7,928 pounds of drill, such as is exported 1 Report on the Manufactures of the United States at the Tenth Census. (Washington, 1883), II, 946–8. to China. Assuming 5 pounds, or about 16 yards, as the annual requirement of a Chinaman for dress, in 1860 one Lowell operative, working one year, clothed 1,063 Chinese; in 1880 one could supply 1,586. . . . ... F. Growth of Cotton Manufactures, 1860-19101 The further growth of the manufacture of cotton goods is here shown, bringing the statistics down to the date of the last census. The following table gives comparative statistics for the cottongoods industry, as a whole, from 1859 to 1909, inclusive: 378,880 $132,859,145 $371,009,470 $628,391,813 $257,382,343 96,205,796 286,255,303 450,467,704 164,212,401 86,689,752 176,551,527 339,200,320 162,648,793 66,024,538 154,912,979 267,981,724 113,068,745 172,544 42,040,510 102,206,347 192,090,110 89,883,763 135,369 39,044,132 111,736,936 177,489,739 65,752,803 122,028 23,940,108 57,285,534 115,681,774 58,396,240 315,874 302,861 218,876 G. Cotton Manufactures in the South, 1890-1900 3 One of the most important economic developments of recent years has been the growth of cotton manufacturing in the south. It has meant the industrial awakening of that section of the country, and severe competition for New England mills. The following tabular statement will bring to light the most interesting and the most important fact relating to the growth of the cotton-manufacturing industry during the decade 1890-1900: 1 The Thirteenth Census of the United States, Taken in the Year 1910. Volume VIII: Manufactures (Washington, 1913), 391. 2 Does not include 249 mills classed as “special mills” making hosiery, braiding, tapes, and fancy fabrics, and mixed goods or other fabrics not sold as specific manufactures of wool or cotton. In these establishments there were 12,928 employees, receiving $3,573,909 in wages. The cotton consumed cost $2,338,385, and the value of the products was $18,860,273. 3 Twelfth Census of the United States. Census Bulletin 215 (Washington. 1902), 12-3. The growth of the industry in the South is the one great fact in its history during the past ten years. It will be seen that in 1880 there were, in that part of the country, 161 establishments only which made reports to the census; in 1890 there were only 239, an increase of 78, or 48.4 per cent; and in 1900 there were 400 separate establishments, an increase from 1890 of 161, or 67.4 per cent. A scrutiny of the returns by states shows that substantially the whole increase in the South has been in the 4 states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.. The earliest Southern enterprises were not in all cases begun as first-class establishments. Some of them were equipped with discarded machinery from Northern mills. But the manufacturers quickly learned the lesson that there is no industry in which profits are more directly proportioned to the perfection and speed of the machinery than in the spinning and weaving of cotton; and the old spindles and looms were speedily replaced with others of the newest pattern. A great proportion of the mills built and started within the past decade have been thoroughly up to date in all respects. . . . The growth of the manufacturing industry in the South has been fairly continuous during the past ten years. How large it has been the figures show. For the most part the product of the region has been coarse or medium goods, as is usually the case in the early stages of the industry. . . . A considerable part of the product of the region is exported. The industry is now important enough in the 4 states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama to consume nearly one-third of the crop of cotton grown in those states; and both North Carolina and South Carolina spin more than half the cotton grown within their limits. |