Cotton

COTTON

GEORGE BIGWOOD

STAPLE TRADES
AND INDUSTRIES

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STAPLE TRADES AND INDUSTRIES

Edited by GORDON D. KNOX

Vol. II.

COTTON

GEORGE BIGWOOD

COTTON BOLLS.

[Frontispiece.

STAPLE TRADES AND INDUSTRIES

Edited by GORDON D. KNOX

Vol. II.

COTTON

BY

GEORGE BIGWOOD

LONDON

CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LTD

lo ORANGE STREET LEICESTER SQUARE WC

1918

MAIN LIBRARY-AGRICULTURE DEFT.

Printed in Great Britain.

PREFACE

In the following pages I have made a modest
attempt briefly to trace the beginnings of the cotton
industry from the earliest times down to the present
day ; to describe the remarkable inventions which
from time to time were introduced to the industry
and which led to its enormous development, and
to mention some of the more serious difficulties
which confront those engaged in cotton manufac-
ture at the present time.

My aim has been to treat the subject in a popular
way, and to avoid technicalities.

For facts and figures concerning the early history
of the plant I have consulted the classical writers.
For a much later period I have been guided by
Baines through his standard work, "The History
of Cotton Manufacture." I have also been greatly
assisted by the writings of the late Mr. John
Mortimer on the process of spinning and weaving,
and the Reports of the International Cotton Con-
gresses have proved invaluable in relation to the
multifarious difficulties and anxieties which attend
this great industry to-day.

This preface would be incomplete were I to omit
mention of the debt I owe to Mr. Charles Stewart,

V

419831

Preface

for permission to reproduce in an Appendix his
treatise on "Cotton Futures," and further I must
acknowledge my great indebtedness to the Fine
Cotton Spinners and Doublers' Association, Ltd.,
for photographs of the latest cotton spinning
machinery ; to Sir Herbert Dixon, Bart., Chairman
of the Fine Cotton Spinners' Association and
Chairman of the Cotton Control Board, for the
plate showing the boll weevil at work and for
kindly reading my proofs ; to Messrs. Henry
Bannerman & Sons, Ltd., for the photographs of
"Cotton Bolls"; to Dr. W. Lawrence Balls,
formerly Botanist to the Khedivial Agricultural
Society of Cairo, and to the Egyptian Government
Agricultural Department for the photograph of
the flower of the cotton plant ; to Professor John
A. Todd, of the University College, Nottingham,
author of " The World's Cotton Crops," for some
valuable suggestions, and to Mr. Arno Pearse for
photographs taken in the cotton fields.

GEORGE BIG WOOD.

" Greenwood,"

Wythenshawe Road,
Sale, Cheshire.

VI

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I.

PAOK

History of the Cotton Plant . . 1

II. The Development of Spinning . . 11

III. The Cotton Fields . . . • . ^^

IV. Triumph of Mechanical Invention . 33
V. Cotton Growing under the- British

Flag 60

VI. Classification of the World's Crop . 74
VII. Modern Spinning and Weaving . 85
VIII. " Where Merchants most do Con-
gregate "..... 102
IX. Gambling in Cotton . . . .119
X. Cotton Fabrics: An Art Manu-
facture . . . . .127
XI. Cotton Organisations and Strikes . 137
XII. A General Utility Plant. . . 151

Appendix I. Cotton "Futures" . . 157

„ II. Spindles and Looms . . 185

III. The Cotton Trade in War Time . 188

Index 1^^

vii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGK

Cotton Bolls . . . Frontispiece

Flower of Cotton Plant

Cashmere Woman spinning Cotton Yarn

The Boll Weevil ....

Picking Cotton in the United States

Indians doubling Cotton

Lagos Plantation : Hauling Cotton to
Ginnery .....

Cotton Growing in the British Empire

Bales of Cotton (after Sampling)

Card-room ......

Spinning-room .....

Manchester Royal Exchange

4
12

26
30

48

62
72
86
90
96
110

Persian Wheel: Irrigating Cotton Fields 120

Handloom Weaving in North- West Frontier

Province of India ..... 128

Indian Agricultural Students (Hoeing

Competition) . . . . . .152

Arrival of Cotton at a Ginnery in Burmah 166

viii

COTTON

CHAPTER I

HISTORY OF THE COTTON PLANT

Long before the dawn of history the cotton plant
was cultivated in various parts of the world and
the earliest records of the processes of spinning
its fleecy " bolls of wool " into yarn and of weaving
that yarn into clothing, are of such antiquity as to
make it difficult to obtain satisfactory evidence of
their beginnings. According to the Sacred Books
of the East cotton was in use many centuries before

the Christian era, and Virgil in his Georgics refers to

. \ ^
" The groves of the Ethiopians, hoary with soft wool." cr^

The name " cotton " is of Oriental origin, being
derived from the Arabic koton or gootn. The de-
velopment in the cultivation of this plant, mainly
for the purpose of clothing the people of the world,
is one of the romances of modern times. The
world's fields now produce cotton of an annual
value of hundreds of millions of pounds sterling,
and millions of people get their livelihood in the

• • •

• : :

Cotton

production and manufacture of a commodity
which, it is estimated, provides clothing for nine-
tenths of the world's population.

We do not know whether the need for a
thread led to its invention or whether the accidental
discovery of the possibility of its construction
created the need. Matters such as these belong to a
dim and undefinable past. In either case, hdwever,
spinning is mentioned in many mythologies, and
the forming of threads by drawing out and twisting
various fibres, is said to have been a gift to mortals
from benevolent deities, Minerva being among the
goddesses by whom this gift is understood to have
been bestowed.

Over three thousand years ago the cotton plant
was used in Egypt as an ornamental shrub.
Writing about 306 B.C., Theophrastus, the disciple
of Aristotle, describes the flower of the cotton plant
as resembling a " dog " rose, and mentions the
use made, by the Indians, of the capsules of a
downy, silvery substance which bursts open some
two months after the flowers have reached maturity.
He observes that " the trees from which they (the
Indians) make their clothes have leaves like those
of the mulberry. . . . They set them in the plains
in rows so as to look like vines at a distance." This
evidence, from a quite independent observer,
seems to point to the interesting fact that the

History of the Cotton Plant

Indians, in these early days, were cultivating the
plant on a large scale to provide cotton cloths for
their people. It suggests that weaving and dyeing
flourished, and, in all probability, coloured goods
were exported. Theophrastus also mentions the
island of Tylos as " containing many wool-bearing
trees, from the fruits of which they obtained the
wool which they worked into textiles." Aristo-
bulus, one of Alexander's generals, and Pliny
had found wool-bearing trees in an island on the
Persian Gulf " that bear fruit like gourds in
shape and as big as quinces which, when they be
full ripe, do open and show certain balls within
of down ; whereof they make fine and costly
linen cloths." Herodotus, the Greek philosopher
and the Father of History, also mentions the cotton
plant, and notes that the Indians possess a kind of
" plant which, instead of fruit, produces wool of a
finer and better quality than that of sheep ; of this
they make their clothes."

Of the customs and usages in Egypt, Herodotus
says : " Amongst them the women attend markets
and traffic, but the men stay at home and weave.
Other nations, in weaving throw the wool upwards ;
the Egyptians downwards." Again, Herodotus
describes the corselet which Amasis, King of
Egypt, sent to the Lacedaemonians as a present.
" This corselet was made of linen, with many

3 >2

Cotton

figures of animals inwrought, and adorned with
gold and cotton wool." He does not, however,
mention the existence, in Egypt, of the cotton
plant. It used to be said that Egyptian mummies
were wrapped in cotton cloth, but a microscopic
examination has decided in favour of the employ-
ment of linen which is now known to have been
used through successive dynasties. Some Egypto-
logists are of opinion that the trilingual Rosetta
stone, now in the British Museum, that eulogises
Ptolemy Epiphanes (about 196 B.C.), refers in part
to cotton.

In China, the original home of silk manufactures,
the silkworm has been specially cared for from the
23rd century B.C., and the silken threads have
been woven into materials which for their work-
manship and richness of design have never been
surpassed. The cotton-plant, though not indi-
genous, was employed as early as the 7th century,
to assist in the decoration of Chinese gardens,
and some authorities assert that its introduction
into that country as a commercial venture was
as late as the 11th century, and that it came from
Eastern Turkestan. Cotton now ranks in China
as one of the products necessary for the comfort
of their people, and it is extensively grown in the
Chiang basin, Nanking being the centre for the
cotton used for nankeen cloth.

4

History of the Cotton Plant

The so-called wool-bearing cotton plant is the
subject of a curiously interesting myth which seems
to have originated among the savage and nomadic
Scythians. The Scythians traded in cotton goods,
and the soft white wool of the cotton plant, which
resembled that of a lamb, caused them to declare
that the plant produced a small lamb, which was
called at that early period " The Scythian Lamb,"
and later, "The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary,"
or " The Tartarian Lamb." It is hardly likely
that those who were trading in cotton goods were so
easily deceived, but the close resemblance between
the cotton wool and lambs' wool may have en-
couraged the merchants to invent the " lamb-
bearing tree " story in order the better to influence
their markets to their own advantage. It is not
inconceivable that unscrupulous merchants of the
class who travelled from market to market would
contrive to place a fictitious value on the fleeces
they had to sell, by claiming that they were the
fleeces of lambs which were growing on trees in
a distant part of the world.

The utility of the cotton plant in providing
material to clothe mankind did not in some coun-
tries readily suggest itself. There can be no
question, however, that its potential value in
commerce was discovered at a very remote period.
Credit for the discovery is given to the Indians.

5

Cotton

Cotton is thought to have been in use by the
Indian artisan as early as 800 B.C., while it is con-
jectured that about three hundred years later the
Egyptians had learned something of the character
and usefulness of the plant which had previously
been growing promiscuously, but not extensively,
in their country.

As regards the New World there is substantial
evidence that cotton was growing wild in America
before the time of Columbus, and that when Cortes
conquered Mexico, in 1519, the Mexicans were
wearing cotton garments. This goes to prove that
cotton manufacture had by then been firmly
established by the Mexicans.

The starting point of textile history in this
country seems to date from the establishment of
Flemish weavers in Manchester, a.d. 1363. In the
Manchester Town Hall there is a series of mural
paintings by Ford Madox Brown, representing
some prominent phases in the early history of the
city. One of these pictures is intended to com-
memorate the foundation of Lancashire supremacy
in textile manufacture. Edward III. and his wife,
Queen Philippa of Hainault, are said to have
advised the introduction of Flemish weavers into
England, and tradition mentions yearly visits
which it was the Queen's custom to pay them.
The artist depicts the Queen riding on her palfrey

History of the Cotton Plant

and accompanied by attendants carrying branches
of May blossoms, for according to the old English
custom, they have been in the woods " maying."
To the right of the picture an old weaver is seated
beside his apprentice at his loom, which is drawn
out to the front of their small shop, under the
shutters, raised pent-house fashion. There is little
doubt that the Royal favour did encourage the
weaving industry in Manchester. Some credit,
too, is due to Lord de la Warre, a baron of
Manchester who, having raised a company of
Lancashire men to attend him in the war in
Flanders, contrived, on his return, to bring back
some weavers with him, and thereby gave an
impulse to manufacture. A considerable trade,
however, seems to have been done during the
reign of Edward II., for there is said to have
existed a mill for dyeing goods on the banks of
the Irk, once a clear stream noted for its fish,
but now hopelessly contaminated by industrial
refuse.

The product of the Flemish weavers was called
Manchester " stuffs " or Manchester " cottons,"
though from an Act passed in the reign of
Edward VI. (1552), it appears that no "vegetable
wool " was used in their production. This Act was
intended to secure " the true making of woollen
cloth " and regulated the dimensions of " Man-

7

Cotton

Chester, Lancashire and Cheshire cottons," and
Manchester rugs or friezes.

The merchants of those days had warehouses
of wood and plaster, and carried their goods to
market on pack-horses. They used to be in their
warehouses before six o'clock in the morning,
accompanied by children of their own family and
apprentices. At seven o'clock they had their
breakfast, the meal consisting of one large dish of
oatmeal porridge. At the side of the oatmeal
was a basin of milk, and into these two vessels
each one dipped with a wooden spoon, returning
to work immediately the porridge was finished.

It is not possible definitely to say at what period
cotton was first brought to the Lancashire districts
now famed for their cotton manufacture. One
historian states that in the year 1635, England began
to be an important cotton manufacturing country.
According to another view, cotton was shipped to
Liverpool in the year 1757. In any case except
for candle-wicks, cotton was not employed in
England long before the year 1641, when it was used
at Manchester for making fustians and dimities.
The earlier-mentioned " cottons " were made wholly
of wool.

The first recorded consignment of American
cotton to Liverpool was in 1784. It consisted
of eight bales, and the Custom-house officials

8

History of the Cotton Plant

promptly seized it. The reason for this action is
not clear, but the officials may have suspected the
contents of the bales. One explanation offered is
that they thought the cotton had come from a
country other than America. Ultimately, this
(in the light of to-day) insignificant quantity of
cotton was released. In the year 1785 only five
bales reached the Mersey port, and six bales in
1786.

Several countries claim the honour of having
introduced to Europe the industries of spinning and
weaving, but it is practically certain that the
followers of Mahomet were among the first to extend
those industries to the West. In the Middle Ages
the Arabs greatly stimulated cotton cultivation.
Later, in Egypt, in 1820 Mohammed Ali interested
himself in the cotton trade enterprise, but till
then there was no serious attempt to cultivate the
cotton plant, and even for three further decades
the export of cotton from that country was insigni-
ficant. Abbas Pasha (1850) gave greater freedom
to the fellaheen in the matter of cotton export,
and a few years later the Egyptians exported some
680,000 cantars. (A cantar is about 99 lbs.) This
was the largest consignment of cotton that, up to
that time, had been sent out of the country. Eng-
land's share of it was 60 per cent., France and
Austria were also buyers. It was during the reign

9

Cotton

of Mohammed Ali, that England received her
first consignment of Egyptian cotton, but both
in quaHty as well as in quantity it was of little
account when considered in the light of modern
requirements and modern inventions.

When the International Federation of Master
Cotton Spinners and Manufacturers' Associations
(formed in 1904) held its Annual Congress m
Barcelona, in 1911, Senor Calvet, who represented
Spain on the International Committee, reminded
the Congress that three hundred years before, Spain
was the centre of the European cotton industry,
but the King of Spain, at a reception he gave to
the International Committee at the Royal Palace,
Madrid, observed that he feared his country would
never again occupy the position it once held in the
cotton industry. When, in 1909, the International
Committee visited the Quirinal at Rome, and were
received by King Victor Emmanuel, the King, in
welcoming the delegates, said that cotton was
at one time extensively grown in the districts
surrounding Rome as well as in Southern Italy.

10

CHAPTER II

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPINNING

The loaded distaff in the left hand placed.
With spongy coils of snow-white wool was graced
From these the right hand lengthy fibres drew,
Which into thread 'neath nimble fingers grew.
At intervals a gentle touch was given.
By which the twirling whorl was onward driven ;
Then, when the sinking spindle reached the ground,
The recent thread around the spire was wound.
Until the clasp within the nipping cleft
Held fast the newly-finished length of weft.

Catullus.

Minerva, as I have already said, was by the
ancients regarded as the goddess of the art of spin-
ning, and Catullus is among the poets to sing its
praises. Up to the middle of the 18th century
the simplest devices were used for twisting the
fibres and there was, during this time, apparently
no demand for anything more elaborate or calcu-
lated to facilitate the work of spinning. It was not
a progressive time, or an art so widely practised
would have called for the employment of greatly
improved methods. From the middle of the 18th
century, the inventive mind set itself the task of

11

Cotton

revolutionising the spinning processes, and by con-
stant application to the work in hand, the product
of the hand-loom was slightly increased through the
agency of mechanical means. Experiments with
more ambitious mechanical devices followed, and
some of these satisfactorily met the claims advanced
in their favour by their respective inventors. But
the opposition of the workers had to be encountered.
They offered the strongest resistance to any
modernising of an art which had come down to
them through successive generations and, in their
view, it was something in the nature of sacrilege
to supplant hand-spinning by mechanical means.
But the conservatism of the humble operatives
had to give way to the advancing tide of commer-
cialism. On the horizon far-seeing men could dis-
cern great markets for cotton garments, and it was
necessary for the supply of yarn to be increased
a hundred-fold to meet the demand of those markets.
Hence we have, to-day, machinery of a wonderful
range and variety, performing the most delicate
of operations and producing cotton cloths with a
texture almost as fine as silk — machinery which is
the wonder of cotton manufacture.

The distaff and the spindle about which Catullus
sang were used exclusively by women. The distaff
was a cleft stick about three feet long on which wool
or carded cotton was wound. It was held under

12

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1

The Development of Spinning

the left arm, and the fibres of the cotton drawn
from it were twisted spirally by the forefinger and
thumb of the right hand. The thread, as it was
spun, was wound on a reel which was suspended
from, and revolved with, the thread during spin-
ning. The word " distaff," was at one time
commonly used to symbolise the work or activities
of women, a meaning comparable with that of
the word " spinster " to-day as applying to an
unmarried woman. Formerly, a woman whose
occupation was spinning was called a spinster, but
since men have largely supplanted women in
the work of spinning in consequence of the
introduction of machinery, the word " spinster "
in its relation to the cotton industry has become
obsolete.

There has been some speculation as to how and
by whom the process of spinning came to be
conceived. It has been suggested that the first
spinner was a shepherd-boy, and the material
used a few locks of wool. During the idle hours
he spent in the fields with his flock, this hypo-
thetical shepherd-boy might have amused himself
with a portion of the wool lying near at hand, and
quite unconsciously, have twisted its fibres round
his fingers, and in the course of time made a thread
much longer than the original fibre in much the
same way as children make a string of flowers.

13

Cotton

It is an interesting and fanciful picture, but it is not
unlikely that the beginning of spinning originated
in some such simple manner.

The distaff was displaced by the hand wheel and
thereby production was greatly facilitated. What
was known as the Jersey wheel was introduced
and adopted toward the close of the 15th century,
and the beginning of the next century marks the
period when Lancashire came to be known as a
spinning centre. Lancashire had already gained
a reputation for wool spinning, and the new hand
wheel was used for spinning both wool and cotton.
The hand spinning was, of necessity, of an inter-
mittent character, and the inventive mind was at
work trying to remedy this by giving a continuous
rotation to the spindle. This mechanical improve-
ment was found in the Brunswick wheel which was
worked by means of a treadle.

A further important development in this direc-
tion was found in the Saxony wheel. This wheel
could be fitted with two spindles, so that two
threads could be spun simultaneously. The chief
feature of this machine was that the bobbin lagged
behind what was technically known as the
" flyer," which had an independent movement,
the spindle giving the twist to the yarn, and
the difference of speed of the spindle and bobbin
causing the bobbin to be wound. This device

14

The Development of Spinning

was invented at Nuremberg, in 1530, and em-
bodies the vital principle of Arkwright's (1769)
invention.

The machinery was rude in structure and slow
in operation until the 18th century. The cotton
industry promised to grow enormously, but
entirely new methods, it was recognised, would have
to be brought into use if that promise was to be
fulfilled, and the most important vegetable fibre
in the world used to the fullest advantage. The
cotton spinner was not then, as now, working in a
large factory with machinery kept running during
specified hours. The cottage and the farmhouse
were the spinning mill and the weaving shed, and
wages being high in proportion to the price of
foodstuffs, each spinner suited her hours of labour
at the wheel to her own convenience. Consequently
the spinner was not able satisfactorily to supply
the requirements of the weaver, notwithstanding
that there were also supplies of yarn from abroad.
To the question of supply and demand the woman
at the wheel was serenely indifferent. Her primary
consideration in regard to the number of revolutions
of the wheel was the amount of money required to
meet the rent of the agricultural holding or cottage.

It will be interesting here to note how closely
allied in the 17th century were the two great
industries — agriculture and cotton. Farms were,

15

Cotton

for the most part, concerned with the production
of milk, butter and cheese, and in the growing of
oats which were employed in making meal suitable
for porridge and cakes for domestic consumption.
Generally speaking, the farming was of that kind
which did not call for any attention on the part of
an expert agriculturist. The work was done by
the members of the family. Whilst the husband
and the sons worked in the fields, the wife and
daughters attended to the churning and cheese-
making, and when these duties were done they
turned to "carding" and "slubbing" and the spin-
ning of cotton or wool, and prepared it for the
loom. The number of looms in a house varied with
the size of the family, and when the rent of the
farm could not be raised from the agricultural aide
of the family's employments, the profits made on
the manufacturing side were drawn upon to make
up the deficiency.

In the district of Manchester, few farmers raised
the rent of their holdings directly from the produce
of the field. As Mr. William Radcliffe, an early
inventor of textile machinery, has said, the great
sheet anchor of all cottages and small farms was
the labour attached to the hand wheel. It required
six or eight " hands " to prepare and spin yam of
any of the three materials (wool, linen or cotton)
sufficient for the consumption of one weaver, so that

16

The Development of Spinning

labour was thus provided for every person, from
the age of ten to eighty years (provided their sight
was good and the free use of their hands was
unimpaired) to keep them above the poverty hne.

A serious hindrance to the development of the
trade at this early period was the wide separation of
the allied branches. To convert the raw cotton into
the finished commodity was a long and tedious busi-
ness. The cotton wool was shipped from the East
Indies to London (Liverpool was not then the great
cotton port). It was sent from London to Manchester
where it was turned into yarn. The Manchester
merchants sent it to Paisley to be woven ; it then
went to Ayrshire to be tamboured, and returned
to Paisley to be veined. It was hand-sewed at
Dumbarton, and returning again to Paisley was later
sent to Renfrew for the process of bleaching. The
Paisley merchants handled it again and sent it on
to Glasgow for the final process, and it was then
despatched by coach to London. It was calculated
that the time occupied in bringing the article to
market in its finished state was three years. It
must have been conveyed some 5,000 miles by sea
and about 920 by land ; and contributed to sup-
port not less than 150 persons, by whom the value
had been increased 2,000 per cent.

The Jacquard machine, which is named after
its inventor and soon proved its value, made the

17 P

Cotton

transition between old and new methods, though,
as we shall see later; Jacquard was preceded by other
equally important and notable inventors. Jacquard
was at one time a straw hat manufacturer. His
attention had not been turned to mechanical inven-
tions until the Peace of Amiens again opened up
the communication of France with England. It
appears that an English newspaper fell into
Jacquard' s hands in which it was stated that an
English company was offering a premium to any
man who could weave a net by machinery. Jac-
quard turned his thoughts to the subject and did
eventually produce a net. But not altogether
satisfied with his work he threw it aside, and later
gave it to a friend as a thing of little worth. By
some means the net passed into the hands of the
authorities, and was sent to Paris. Some time
later Jacquard was sent for by the Prefect, who
said, " You have directed your attention to the
making of nets by machinery ? " Jacquard did
not immediately admit it, and the net was pro-
duced. The Prefect then said, " I require you to
make the machine which led to this result." The
inventor asked for sufficient time for the work.
He was granted three weeks, and at the end of that
time he brought the machine to the Prefect, who
pressed a lever with his foot and a knot was added
to the net. The machine was sent to Paris and

18

The Development of Spinning

Jacquard was arrested. When under arrest he was
taken before Bonaparte and Carnot. Bonaparte said
to him : " Are you the man who pretends to do
that which God Almighty cannot do — tie a knot in
a stretched string ? " Jacquard repHed by pro-
ducing the machine and showing how it was worked.
He was afterwards called to examine a loom on
which twenty or thirty thousand francs had been
expended for the production of articles for the use of
Bonaparte. A little later he made the machine
which bears his name and returned to his native
town with a pension. But he suffered great perse-
cution in consequence of his invention and his life
was in danger. His machine was broken up, and
the iron (to use his own expression) was sold for
iron, and the wood for wood, and Jacquard was
made to suffer universal ignominy. It was only
when the French manufacturers complained of
foreign competition that they turned to his machine
and, through its use, saved the situation. Jacquard,
their saviour, had trodden the hard path of many
inventors.

W P2

CHAPTER III

THE COTTON FIELDS

And lo !

To the remotest point of sight,
Although I gaze upon no waste of snow,
The endless field is white ;
And the noble landscape glows,
For many a shining league away,
With such accumulated light
As Polar lands would flash beneath a tropic
day !

Henry Timrod.

The many uses to which the cotton fibre is now
applied have enormously enhanced its commer-
cial value, and strengthened the demand for its
increased cultivation. It is computed that nine-
tenths of the clothing of the inhabitants of the world
is made of cotton, and that out of a population of
1,500,000,000, only 500,000,000 are completely
clothed, 750,000,000 are only partially clothed, and
that 250,000,000 are without clothing of any
description.

To regard cotton only as the raw material for
the clothing of mankind would be a serious mis-
conception. The bulk of the world's cotton crop is

20

The Cotton Fields

used for this purpose, but its employment does
not now end here. The introduction of mechanical
appliances has greatly extended the utility of
the fibre, and to-day we cannot overlook or ignore
its application to science and to the arts, and other
interests foreign to the cotton industry, in the
narrower sense of the manufacture of cotton cloth-
ing. Chemically treated, cotton is a powerful
explosive ; mechanically treated, it is a highly
inflammable material. It is used on the battlefield
as a destroying agent ; it is to be found there
among the healing agencies. Aircraft, for its
structure, draws upon the best qualities of cotton,
and steam has not altogether displaced it in our
sailing craft. Cotton is extensively used in medi-
cine and surgery ; the imagination of the artist is
revealed upon it ; it is indispensable to the motor
manufacturer ; it is used as a covering for our
electric and telephone wires ; our homes are largely
furnished with it. Cotton is a very adaptable
material, and therefore a commodity of the greatest
value, and the trade in it has reached gigantic
dimensions.

It will be interesting in this and subsequent
chapters briefly to trace this remarkable growth ;
to take a comprehensive view of the industry. Let
us, in imagination, go to the extensive American
cotton fields and learn something of the work of

21

\

Cotton

the planter, and of the system of intensive culture
which is pursued there both to improve the cotton
staple and to increase the yield. We will then
attempt to widen our knowledge in regard to the
care bestowed on the plant until the flower and the
" fruit " (bolls of cotton) in their season reach
maturity ; try to appreciate the care which has
to be exercised in gathering the cotton, and follow
the work of ginning and baling that is preparatory
to its shipment to the cotton-manufacturing
countries. Then we might conveniently turn to
the manufacturing side and trace the development
of mechanical inventions for spinning and weaving ;
discuss the urgent need for widening the field of
cotton culture in the British Empire, and deal with
other matters which so closely affect the future
welfare of the industry.

Not one pound of cotton is, or can be, grown in
these islands, for the plant is extremely sensitive
to weather conditions. It cannot thrive in our cold
and variable climate. It flourishes only in tropical
or semi-tropical countries. On the other hand the
manufacture of the raw cotton into the finished
article can best be done in a district where there is
an abundance of moisture. This may, in part,
explain the establishment and remarkable growth
of the spinning industry in Lancashire, for that
county has gained an unenviable reputation for an

22

The Cotton Fields

excessive rainfall. In the cotton-growing areas of
the world the climate is not constant. Seed-time
and harvest come at their appointed seasons, but
an abnormal rainfall or an extended period of
drought will seriously affect the crop alike in quality
and in quantity. Either of these contingencies
might arise after the size of the crop has been
estimated, and extensive operations have taken
place in the cotton markets of the world on the
assumption that its development would proceed
unchecked. This explains the eagerness with which
the meteorological reports are awaited at the
Exchanges where " merchants most do congregate "
in this country and on the Continent. A damaged
cotton crop brings disaster to the planter, great
anxiety to the spinner and manufacturer who are
called upon to pay higher prices for the raw
material, and distress to the millions of operatives
who depend upon a good supply of cotton reaching
the mills.

The cotton-producing region of the United States
of America stretches 500 miles from north to south
and 1,500 miles from east to west — a territory of
750,000 square miles, and includes the States of
Alabama, North and South Carolina, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida,
Georgia, Tennesse and Indian Territory. Ideal
conditions for the successful cultivation of the

23

Cotton

cotton plant are a soil of fine sandy loam, a
proportionately high and even temperature and
humidity, a careful selection of seed, a scientific
use of fertilising agents, maximum of sunshine
by day and heavy dews by night, frequent light
showers shortly after sowing, and an absence
of frost.

A Lancashire Private Cotton Investigation Com-
mission, in 1906, visited the American cotton
fields and reported that there were numerous varie-
ties of temperature, of weather, of humidity, of
soil, of labour, of land tenure, of methods of culti-
vation, and of pests. It was possible for the crop
in one district to be a record success ; in another
a record failure. Drought on the one hand, or exces-
sive rains on the other, might turn a promise of
plenty into a reality of scarcity. In the southern
portion of the belt, planting might begin in Feb-
ruary and not be completed in the northern por-
tion until June. July witnesses the first picking
in South Texas ; December does not always see
it completed in North Texas. It will be readily
understood, therefore, that the great cotton fields
of America are not likely in any one season to
possess all the essential conditions which are laid
down as being necessary for a good crop, nor is the
quality of the cotton produced in all the areas of

the same standard or value.

24

The Cotton Fields

The preparation of the field for the cultivation of
cotton follows much the same lines in all cotton-
growing countries. The seed is not now sown by
hand. A machine drill is used, and germination
takes place very quickly. Ordinarily, about a week
or ten days after sowing, the plant appears, and
provided its development is not in any way
retarded, it will be about four inches high at the
end of the first month, when the process of thinning
begins. It is now a question of the survival of the
fittest. The more progressive farmers arrange the
plants so that there shall be a space of three feet
dividing each plant and also the rows of plants.
This is done in order to secure the maximum
amount of sun to assist germination and to
enable the ploughing to be done without damage
to the crop. The cultivator breaks up the earth
between the plants once every three weeks until
the flowers appear and the " boll of wool " is
formed. Five or six weeks later the cotton is
ready for picking, provided the sun and rain
— extremely important factors — have favoured
cultivation.

We will assume that the plant has escaped the
danger arising from too little or overmuch rain ;
too great heat or excessive cold, or a heavy and
unseasonable fall of rain. But all danger to the life
of this sensitive plant has not passed. There are

25

Cotton

enemies lying in wait to attack it. An American
once said that from the time of planting up to the
time of maturity cotton was the constant object
of attack. The slightest frost kills it, and an army
of " creeping, crawling, boring and flying insects
is ever trying to destroy it." The notorious boll
weevil pest was first noticed in 1862, in Mexico,
and thirty years later it was found in Texas. In
1906 the weevil infested a third of the cotton
acreage, and was reported to be within one
hundred miles of the Mississippi. During the last
decade it has advanced westward at the rate of
fifty miles a year. It now infests the whole of
the cotton belt and is said to be responsible
for reducing the crop one half. The weevil
goes on propagating its species as long as the
cotton plant is allowed to flower. It then hiber-
nates, reappearing with the first warm days of
spring, and flies in search of " volunteer," or
wild, cotton plants. From these it migrates to
the cultivated crops as soon as they are suffi-
ciently grown to provide food and shelter. The
female deposits its eggs as soon as the bolls
are formed. As it lays three hundred eggs, and
the cycle of life is but fifteen days, its offspring
may number hundreds of millions by the end of
December.

To allay the ravages of this pest it is recommended
26

* * l-

sfc-

The perfect insect.

4^

The Weevil emerging through

the hole which it has eaten in

the side of the Pod.

■W

Section of a vacated Pod,

showing the interioi* entirely

eaten away.

Diseased Pods showing holes made by
the perfect beetle when escaping^.

Il^t*%

Diseased Pods of the Cotton Plant, after
having been attacked by the Boll Weevil.

THE BOLL WEEVIL.

The Cotton Fields

that early maturing varieties of the cotton seed be
planted so as to secure, as far as possible, a uniform
flowering crop, instead of one which continues to
flower and bring forth fruit throughout the autumn.
Further that the cotton stalks and leaves should be
burned without waiting to gather the top crop. If
these precautions are taken the boll weevil has to
stop its destructive operations in July and August,
with descendants numbering thousands instead
of millions.

Other pests include the boll worm, the cut worm,
the cotton worm, and the army worm. The boll
worm confines its ravages to the boll, the cut worm
attacks the plant in the early stages, the cotton
moth produces the caterpillar which devours the
leaves, and the army worm invades the cotton
area in large armies and devastates whole fields
in a comparatively short time.

A ripe field of cotton presents a highly attractive
picture. The regulated rows of freely-branching
shrubs with their yellow-shaded flowers (not
unlike the hollyhock) which have been blooming
for months — this is peculiar to malvaceous plants —
are now covered with tufts of cotton wool which
glisten in the sunshine. Standing a short distance
away one can imagine it to be a large field which
has been visited by a heavy snowstorm. When the
negroes are in the field gathering the pure white,

27

Cotton

woolly substance one cannot, at first, resist the
feeling that it must be soiled as their hands
approach the precious fibre to draw it from the
bursting capsule.

The " fields are white unto harvest." Now is the
time for the most tedious, the most difficult and the
most expensive of all cotton-growing operations —
the gathering or picking of the ripe cotton. This
is, in the main, the work of negroes, and in this
particular instance, machinery has not supplanted
hand labour, for although attempts are being made
to produce an efficient automatic cotton picker,
it has not yet been possible to invent a machine
to meet all requirements. The chief difficulty
in developing a successful cotton-picking machine
is the irregular ripening and opening of the boll.
It is hoped that continual cultural research may
lead to the development of a cotton plant on which
a large percentage of bolls will mature uniformly.
If success could be achieved in this direction the
urgent demand for a cotton-picking machine
would soon be met, because while one man with
proper machinery is able to cultivate about
twenty acres of cotton, the same man cannot pick
more than 200 lbs. of cotton daily. By this slow
operation the harvest is delayed, and the expense
of harvesting is disproportionately increased. It
is calculated that a good picker may gather from

28

The Cotton Fields

200 to 400 lbs. a day, and the pay ranges from
60 to 100 cents for every 100 lbs. of cotton picked.
The work must be done expertly, or serious loss
might accrue to the farmer by the breaking of the
silken filaments.

Cotton has been called " the black man's crop."
For three-quarters of a century before the War of
Secession, cotton was cultivated by slave labour.
During this period the negro had the whip hanging
over him if he neglected his work. After the
liberation of slaves, the planter found that, in order
to keep the negro at work, he had to " hold him "
financially. In the American fields to-day the
labour employed is cosmopolitan in character.
The negro predominates. Next in point of num-
bers are the European emigrants, mostly Italians ;
and Mexicans. Their employment is governed
by the system of land cultivation, and on the large
plantations uniform conditions do not always
obtain. Some of the work is done by hand labour,
and some under what is known as the " cotton
rent " system and the share system. The latter
method is the one most generally employed,
and was introduced in order to secure a hold on the
negro, whose nomadic peculiarities are not in the
interest of successful cotton cultivation. Reports
vary as to the value of the negro as a labourer.
Some planters give him a good character; many

29

Cotton

planters denounce him as an idle, worthless fellow,
who must be brought under a rigid discipline if
work is to be got out of him. The value of the
negro as a labourer will no doubt largely depend on
the kind of treatment he receives.

Women are reputed to be better pickers than
men, but one professing knowledge of male pickers
has made the curious statement " that the small,
compact young man, weighing about 140 lbs. and
not more than 5 ft. 8 ins. in height, is best adapted
for the work."

Cotton picking is a very exacting and monotonous
work. Mr. J. B. Lyman, an American, writing on
cotton culture, observes that though too much
talking and singing must interfere with labour,
every cotton grower should take care to secure
cheerfulness, if not hilarity, in the field. It should
not be forgotten that it is a very severe strain
upon the patience and spirits of any one to be urged
to rapid labour of precisely the same description
day after day, week after week, month after month.
To relieve the monotony he recommends the cotton
grower to provide in the field a dish of hot cojffee
for a cool morning or a pail of buttermilk for a
hot afternoon, and occasionally a tub of sweetened
water or a basket of apples. The harmless jest,
too, should be encouraged during the intervals of
refreshment, so that when the labour of picking is

30

i'}

■

i

1

USassnaui

fv=j*s

A

m

5 '>^'f?V#;^^^M,''^

i

!
1

M

m

mH''

The Cotton Fields

resumed the fingers may be induced to " spring
from one snowy boll to another. Hands will not
pick any the worse the next day for having danced
till ten or eleven o'clock the night before, and among
Africans, at least, the best dancer is likely to be the
best picker."

When the cotton is picked, it is " ginned " and
made up into bales and shipped to the spinning
and manufacturing centres. The " seed cotton '*
(this is the term applied to the cotton before it
has undergone the ginning process) must have
the seed and other foreign substances removed
before it is pressed into bales and sent to the
markets.

In India, as far back as the year 800 B.C., the
seeds were separated from the fibre by a handmill
made of two fluted rollers, arranged horizontally,
between which the cotton was passed. This system
of cleaning was found to be suitable for long staple
cotton, but for the short staple cotton it was not
satisfactory. The saw gin, the first commercially
successful cotton gin and the prototype of most of
the gins now in use, was invented in 1793 by
EU Whitney. This "gin" (an abbreviation of
" engine ") is made up of circular saws which, in
their revolutions, draw the cotton lint from the
seed, and a cylindrical brush removes the cotton to
a place where the action of a fan carries on the

31

Cotton

cleaning process. In some of the older ginneries
horse-power is used, but all the modern machinery-
is driven by steam or electricity. When ginned
and baled, the cotton is ready for shipment to the
world's markets.

32

CHAPTER IV

TRIUMPH OF MECHANICAL INVENTION

As he opened the door, he beheld the form of a

maiden
Seated beside her wheel, and the carded wool like a

snowdrift
Piled at her knee, her white hands feeding the

ravenous spindle,
While with her foot on the treadle she guided the

wheel in its motion.

Longfellow.

Longfellow describes a scene which was
peculiar to Lancashire and Yorkshire one hundred
and fifty years ago. At that remote period the
British cotton industry was in its infancy ; it was
struggling for its very existence against the bitter
opposition of the long-established home industries
of wool and linen, and the old prejudice against
cotton spinning and the wearing of cotton garments
which pervaded the operative weavers and the
working classes generally.

Old edicts point to the fact that the weaving of
cotton goods was at one time a crime. To bury a
dead body in anything but a woollen shroud was
(declared to be a penal offence, and ladies who wore

c. 33 »

Cotton

cotton dresses were called upon to pay a substantial
fine. Weavers of woollen fabrics continued to offer
that determined resistance to the introduction of
the cotton fibre, until the Legislature, sharing the
belief that the spinning of cotton would ruin the
then existing industries, passed a statute prohibit-
ing the use of cotton manufacture. A penalty
of £5 was imposed upon the weaver and £20 on the
seller of a piece of calico. So deep-rooted had
become the opposition to cotton fabrics that even
criminals on the scaffold pleaded with the people
who had gathered to witness the execution, to
shun the wearing of cotton.

In the year 1734 there appeared in the Gentle-
man's Monthly Intelligencer the following : —
" This day one Michael Carmody was executed for
felony ; upon which the journeyman weavers
(who labour under great difficulties by reason of
the deadness of trade, occasioned by the pernicious
practice of wearing cottons), assembled in a body,
and dressed the criminal, hangman, and gallows
in cottons, in order to discourage the wearing
thereof ; and at the place of execution the criminal
made the following remarkable speech : —

" ' Give ear, O good people, to the words of a
dying sinner. I confess I have been guilty of many
crimes that necessity compelled me to commit,
which starving condition I was in, I am well assured,

34

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

was occasioned by the scarcity of money, that has
proceeded from the great discouragement of our
woollen manufactures.

" * Therefore, good Christians, consider, that if you
go on to suppress your own goods by wearing such
cottons as I am now clothed in, you will bring
your country into misery, which will consequently
swarm with such unhappy malefactors as your
present object is ; and the blood of every miserable
felon that will hang, after this warning from the
gallows, will lie at your doors.

"'And if you have any regard for the prayers
of an expiring mortal, I beg you will not buy of
the hangman the cotton garments that now adorn
the gallows, because I can't rest quiet in my grave
if / should see the very things wore that brought
me to misery, thievery, and this untimely end ;
all which I pray of the gentry to hinder their chil-
dren and servants for their own characters' sake,
though they have no tenderness for their country,
because none will hereafter wear cottons, but
oyster-women, criminals, hucksters, and common
hangmen.' "

Despite this bitter denunciation of the practice
of wearing cottons the trade throve, and forty
years later our home manufacturers deeply resented
the competition created by the importation of
beautifully designed cotton fabrics which the

35 D2

Cotton

people of the East were sending us. There were
restrictions, too, in the form of taxes which impeded
the development of the industry. The Government
imposed a " fustian '* tax by which one penny per
yard was exacted on all bleached and dyed cotton
manufactures under three shillings per yard, and
twopence per yard if exceeding that price. This
tax was considered to be a serious hindrance to
trade, and representatives of firms employing
38,000 workpeople declared " that they were under
the sad necessity of declining their present occu-
pations " until Parliament should again meet to
reconsider the position. Eventually, the tax was
repealed on the motion of Mr. William Pitt, who was
mainly responsible for the imposition of the duty.

In 1788 a meeting was held in Manchester to
consider the depression of our cotton manufactures
arising from the " immense importation " of Indian
goods, and Government assistance was sought.
At this time it was calculated that the manufacture
of cotton goods employed at their own homes
159,000 men, 90,000 women and 101,000 children.
* » » » *

From the year 1750 men were at work trying
to produce a mechanical device which would have
the effect of greatly increasing the output. They
had their eyes open to the enormous possibilities
which the manipulation of the cotton fibre pre-

36

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

sented to the industrial world. But the domestic
class of spinners and weavers continued to regard
with the greatest suspicion any and every " new-
fangled " device. Writers of that time questioned
whether it would be good policy for a commercial
state to make use of machines to lessen the price
of labour. The disturbed operatives failed to see
that in proportion as the means of production
increased new avenues for profitable enterprise
and adventure would be opened up.

Persecution, disappointment and sometimes
banishment were the trials that accompanied our
inventors of cotton machinery and appliances.
The flying shuttle was one of the earliest and
most notable mechanical contrivances for spinning.
John Kay, the inventor, son of a woollen manu-
facturer of Bury, had spent many years trying to
devise means whereby the labour of the weaver
might be reduced and the output at the same
time increased. In the end he gave to the weaver's
shuttle a mechanical impulse entirely displacing
the shuttle which up to that time had been thrown
backwards across the loom by two operatives.
This old shuttle was practically the same as that
mentioned in the Book of Job, and used by the
Egyptians for the manufacture of linen for mummy
wrapping. The fly shuttle soon proved its value,
and Kay established a woollen factory at Colchester.

37

Cotton

Here the operative weavers declined to have any-
thing to do with his invention and he was eventually
driven from the town. Some time later Kay had
settled in Leeds where his experience was again
distressingly unfortunate. The Yorkshire manu-
facturers tested the shuttle and saw that it was good.
They approved and adopted it, but declined to
recognise the claims of the inventor and he was
forced to protect his rights in a court of law.

Some of the manufacturers met together and
formed a " Shuttle Club," and the avowed purpose
of this club was to defraud Kay of his just remunera-
tion. The workpeople too rose against him and by
their violence compelled him to close his work-
shops. Once more a wanderer he returned to his
native place at Bury. Even here, the inventor
found none to do him honour. A lawless and
ignorant mob broke into his house, destroyed
everything they found, and would have killed him
if, wrapped in a blanket, he had not been con-
veyed to a place of safety by two friends. About
the year 1756, having in vain sought the assistance
of the Society of Arts, he fled in disgust from his
native town to France. During his stay there
in exile the British Ambassador learned of his
misfortune. Encouraged by the Ambassador's
efforts to gain him some reward from the Govern-
ment in recognition of his great achievement, Kay

38

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

returned to England. But he was again dis-
appointed. Hopelessly crushed in spirit, and appa-
rently quite friendless, Kay returned to Paris,
where he died in poverty and obscurity — no stone
marking the place where he lies. His daughter,
fearing that she too might be the object of scorn,
sought refuge in a nunnery.

The increasing demand for fabrics made wholly
or partly of cotton, and the greatly increased
productive power of the loom following the applica-
tion of Kay's fly shuttle, led the Society of Arts
(1761) to appeal to the inventive minds of the
time to devote some attention to improving the
old spinning wheel. In the records of the Society
it is shown how that having been informed that our
manufacturers of woollen, linen and cotton found
it exceedingly difficult, when the spinners were out
at harvest work, to procure a sufficient number of
hands to keep their weavers and other operatives
employed, and that for want of proper despatch
in this branch of manufacture, the merchants'
orders for all sorts of piece goods were often greatly
retarded, to the prejudice of the manufacturer,
merchant and master in general, the Society
decided that an improvement of the spinning wheel
would be an object worthy of their notice. Accord-
ingly the Society offered two prizes — one of £50
and one of £25 — for the best invention of a machine

39

Cotton

that would spin six threads of wool, flax, hemp or
cotton at one time and that would require but one
person to work and attend it. Cheapness and sim-
plicity in the construction, it was explained, would
be considered part of its merit.

Some years earlier, however, an attempt was
made to substitute a roller- spinning machine for
the hand wheel. The names of Lewis Paul and
John C. Wyatt were identified with this effort. It
has been stated that the original plan of Wyatt was
to employ a pair of rollers for delivering, at any
desired speed, a sliver of cotton to the bobbin
and fly spindle as in a flax wheel. These roller-
spinning efforts were not immediately successful,
but the principle involved found practical expression
some years later and has been greatly developed
in the modern mill. It is also recorded that a Mr.
Earnshaw, in 1753, invented a machine to spin and
reel cotton at one operation, which he showed to
his neighbours, and then destroyed it. This extra-
ordinary action was taken because he feared that
he might deprive the poor of bread.

James Hargreaves, the poor weaver of Blackburn,
was another of the martyrs of scientific industry.
Hargreaves invented the carding machine — an
apparatus designed to remove all impurities from
the raw cotton — and a few years later (1767)
he introduced to the trade the spinning "jenny,"

40

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

a word which Dr. Brewer tells us is a corruption
of engine ('ginie). It was while working in the
weaving shed that Hargreaves conceived the
idea of making a machine that would spin several
threads at one and the same time. At first the jenny-
contained eight spindles, and when the spindleage
was increased to eighty, its labour-saving capabili-
ties greatly alarmed the workpeople. Hargreaves
is said to have received the original idea of his
machine from seeing a one-thread wheel overturned
upon the floor, when both the wheel and the spindle
continued to revolve. The spindle was thus thrown
from a horizontal into an upright position ; and
this suggested to him that if a number of spindles
were placed upright and side by side, several
threads might be spun at once. Hargreaves pur-
sued this idea, and the specification of his patent
said that " the machine is to be managed by one
person only, and the wheel or engine will spin,
draw and twist sixteen or more threads at one
time by a turn or motion of one hand, and a draw
of the other."

Hargreaves worked at his invention in secret,
for he feared the consequences of revolt among the
operatives. In a garret he brought his machine
to perfection and from it provided himself with
weft for his loom. But he soon fared the fate of
Kay. The operatives destroyed his machine, and

41

Cotton

he went to Nottingham, where he patented his
invention and brought an action against Lancashire
manufacturers who were alleged to be infringing his
rights. But the defence of the manufacturers was
that before leaving Lancashire the patentee sold
some of his jennies to provide himself with money
to meet his immediate needs. This defence, which
could not be rebutted, destroyed his claim to com-
pensation. At Nottingham, Hargreaves became
acquainted with a man named James, who declared
his intention to become a cotton spinner, and the
two built a small mill which was probably the first
cotton mill in the world. Hargreaves died in com-
parative poverty. But his invention lived after
him and was extensively used until other and
improved appliances displaced it.

Arkwright, whom Carlyle mercilessly describes
as " a plain, almost gross, bag-cheeked, pot-bellied
Lancashire man, with an air of painful reflection,
yet also of copious free digestion," was more suc-
cessful as an inventor of cotton machinery. " In
strapping of razors, in lathering of dusty beards, and
the contradictions and confusions attendant there-
on, the man had notions in that rough head of his :
spindles, shuttles, wheels, and contrivances plying
ideally within the same. ' ' The story of Arkwright's
elevation from a humble and obscure parentage
to a position of affluence and distinction is as

42

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

remarkable as the evolution of the cotton industry
with which in his later years he was so closely
identified. Richard Arkwright, the inventor of
the power-loom, was the youngest of a family of
thirteen children. At an early age he was appren-
ticed to a Preston barber. His adventurous spirit
(in 1760) led him to Bolton, where he established
a business of his own. He occupied a cellar (there
are many underground shops in Lancashire to-day),
and attracted customers by exhibiting on the foot-
path the following exhortation to passers-by :
*' Come to the subterranean barber : he shaves
for a penny." The Bolton barbers resented this
stranger coming among them and cutting both the
hair of their customers and the customary price of
the trade. They were filled with wrath. But
Arkwright was capturing their trade and they, too,
had to drop their charges. The subterranean
barber reflected. Then he took down his signboard,
removed the notice that had caused his rivals so
much anxiety and substituted the following : —
"Richard Arkwright, Subterranean Barber. A
clean shave for a halfpenny."

But Arkwright had other interests far removed
from hair-cutting and shaving. He was inclined
to mechanical invention — he dreamed of discover-
ing perpetual motion. When this began to take
possession of him it is not unlikely that he

43

Cotton

neglected his tonsorial connection, and this neglect,
it is conjectured, led his wife to imitate the wife
of Bernard Palissy, the potter, for one day Ark-
wright discovered, to his great dismay, that some
of his most cherished models had been destroyed.
He never forgave his wife for this sacrilegious
act and permanent estrangement followed. Ark-
wright disposed of his shop and travelled the
country with a hair dye, a concoction of his own
which was in great demand in a period when wigs
were the fashion. He was also a familiar figure at
the country fairs where he had some success as a
dealer in hair which he used for making wigs. It
was during this itinerary that the need for an
improvement on the hand-spinning wheel asserted
itself and largely controlled his thoughts. At this
time he lived among the operatives ; he learned
from them how great was the need for more yarn ;
questioned them as to their output. By a process of
sympathetic enquiry he acquired invaluable infor-
mation as to the character of the work done, and
with a practical insight into the industrial needs
of the time, with a remarkable facility for exploiting
the ideas of others, and with a secretiveness which
goes to prove that unless he proceeded with caution
he might share the fate of Kay and Hargreaves,
he began the work which was destined to revolu-
tionise cotton manufacture.

44

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

Arkwright's machine was an elaboration of the
principle introduced by Wyatt of Birmingham,
who, in 1730, had been proved to be the inventor
of elongated cotton by rollers in the spinning
operation. The fibre or short threads of cotton
were passed through two distinct sets of rollers,
the second set revolving at a more rapid rate than
the first. This caused the cotton to be attenuated
and to be slightly twisted. A repetition of the
process would make a finer thread and a further
twist would strengthen it. Arkwright applied this
machine most satisfactorily to the production of
water twist which was used for warps instead of
linen yarn. These inventions of Hargreaves and
Arkwright effected an entire change in the manu-
facture of cotton, wool and flax. The men by
whom they were really invented, Paul and Wyatt,
did not gain for them the public favour they
deserved. Arkwright, with indomitable perse-
verance and with a mind perhaps equally inventive,
won the prize of fortune and fame in which in a
large degree the original inventors should have
shared.

In order to avoid trouble with the operatives,
Arkwright went to Nottingham, where he got his
machine patented and worked it by horse-power.
Later he entered into partnership with Samuel
Need and Jedediah Strutt, and built mills at Crom-

45

Cotton

ford and Matlock, where he got his power from the
waterwheel. Dr. Darwin, in his " Botanic Garden,"
attracted by the picturesque setting of these mills
on the Derwent — it has been described as "the
picturesque period of the cotton factory" — gives
the following poetic description of the Derbyshire
cotton mills : —

" Where Derwent guides his dusky floods,
Through vaulted mountains and a night of woods,
The nymph Gossypia treads the silver sod,
And warms with rosy smiles the wat'ry God ;
His ponderous oars to slender spindles turns,
And pours o'er massy wheels his foaming urns ;
With playful charms her hoary lover wins,
And wields his tridents while the monarch spins.
First with nice eye, emerging Naiads cull
From leathery pods the vegetable wool ;
With wiry teeth revolving cards release
The tangled knots and smooth the ravelled fleece ;
Next moves the iron hand with fingers fine.
Combs the wide card, and forms th' eternal line ;
Slow with soft lips the whirling can acquires
The tender skeins, and wraps the rising spires :
With quickened pace successive rollers move,
And these retain, and those extend the rove ;
Then fly the spokes, the rapid axles grow,
While slowly circumvolves the labouring wheel
below."

Derbyshire is no longer a cotton-spinning centre.
Practically the whole industry is concentrated in
Lancashire, where everything (even the picturesque)
is subordinated to commercialism. " Manchester "

46

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

(wrote Carlyle), " with its cotton fuz, its smoke and
dust, its tumult and contentious squalor, is hideous
to thee ? Think not so : a precious substance,
beautiful as magic dreams and yet no dream but a
reality, lies hidden in that noisome wrappage. . . .
Hast thou heard, with sound ears, the awakening
of a Manchester, on Monday morning, at half-past
five by the clock ; the rushing off of its thousand
mills, like the boom of an Atlantic tide, ten thousand
times ten thousand spools and spindles all set
humming there, — it is perhaps, if thou knew it well,
sublime as a Niagara, or more so. Cotton-spinning
is the clothing of the naked in its result ; the
triumph of man over matter in its means."

Many manufacturers who used Arkwright's
water-frame took advantage of the dispute that
arose in respect of its invention to use his machine
regardless of the protection which his patent rights
afforded. It was alleged that the water frame was
not Arwright's invention at all ; that he had
appropriated the creation of a poor man named
Highs. It is not necessary to refer at length to this
quarrel beyond stating that Mr. Guest, in his history
of cotton manufacture, claims that the entire and
undivided invention of the spinning jenny and
water frame of which Arkwright and Hargreaves
have been called the originators was the work of
Highs.

47

Cotton

There is evidence to prove that Highs was an
inventive genius. At a time when weavers were
often idle because of the difficulty of obtaining
weft, he set his mind to work to devise a machine
which would supply at least enough weft to keep
the weavers fully employed. Returning to his
home at Leigh, he confided his proposal to a clock-
maker named Kay, whom he engaged to make the
wheels and other parts of the apparatus of which he
had prepared a rough design. The two worked
together in a garret at Highs' house, and the Leigh
operatives, ridiculing the idea that two of their
neighbours should presume to be so gifted, raised
derisive cries as they passed to and fro, and would
jeeringly make a request for weft. After months
of arduous work and in the face of a growing storm
of ridicule. Highs was seized with a fit of despon-
dency, and the machine, which with a little more
labour might have been brought near to perfec-
tion, was thrown out of the window and dashed to
pieces. Kay was asked how much money his
master had given him for his assistance in the
abortive attempt at mechanical construction. With
a laugh he asserted that he had done with spinning.
He was more successful in making clocks. The fit of
rage which had so suddenly and unexpectedly
attacked Highs soon passed over. He had suffered
defeat in his first attempt, he might be more

48

hX

5

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

successful if he persevered a second time. Collect-
ing the fragments of his machine he returned
to the garret and in time produced a machine
which he called a spinning jenny. , ot

But Arkwright steered for himself a ^\]f>- ssful
course in this angry sea of controversy. In 1786,
he attained to the position of High Sheriff of Derby-
shire, and was knighted in that year by King
George III. Arkwright died in 1792 in his sixtieth
year. He had presented on two occasions to each
of his ten children the sum of £10,000 and he
left at his death half a million sterling.

Up to this time the inventive mind had pro-
duced machinery that would spin the coarser kind
of yarn. It was left to Samuel Crompton (1779)
to provide the industry with the famous " mule "
(so-called because of its being a cross between
Arkwright's machine and Hargreaves' jenny), for
spinning the finer cotton fibre. The " mule " is
one of the most important inventions in connection
with cotton manufacture, thus falsifying the state-
ment of the son of a manufacturer who feared
his father's " mules " would turn out to be asses.
Crompton was born at Firwood, near Bolton, in
1753. His father was a small farmer who, according
to the custom of that period, divided his time be-
tween the field of growing crops and carding,
spinning and weaving. At the age of sixteen, Samuel

c 49 «

Cotton

Crompton learned to spin on Hargreaves' jenny,
and not satisfied with its work, he decided if possible
to improve it. After five years almost constant
labour he produced the mule- jenny. The young
inventtir was at this time living at Hall-i'-th'-Wood,
near Bolton-le-Moors. The news that a new
machine was about to be introduced to the trade
soon spread in the district, and annoyed by impor-
tunate visitors, Crompton kept it in his bedroom.
But the adoption of this precaution did not place him
and his machine out of the reach of his tormentors.
They got ladders from adjoining premises and
climbed up to the windows to satisfy their curiosity
and to cause annoyance. Ultimately some manu-
facturers paid Crompton £50 for the privilege to
inspect his work.

Crompton had set himself the task to produce
a finer yam. Of the labour it involved, he said : —
" The next five years had this addition added to
my labour as a weaver, occasioned by the imperfect
state of cotton spinning ; and though often baffled,
I as often renewed the attempt, and at length
succeeded to my utmost desire at the expense
of every shilling I had in the world.'*

Crompton's machine was called the Hall-i'-th'-
Wood Wheel, or Muslin Wheel, because its capabili-
ties rendered it available for yarn for making
muslins ; and finally it got the name of " mule."

50

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

Crompton's first suggestion was to introduce a
pair of rollers, which by pressure would elongate
the rove (attenuated thread). In this he was dis-
appointed, and later he saw the necessity of adopt-
ing a second pair of rollers. These rollers were
made of wood and covered with sheepskin and are
said to have been neither more nor less than a
modification of Mr. Arkwright's roller beam. Only
twenty spindles were introduced into the *' mule,'*
and they required all the skill and talent of its
inventor to manage them ; but with the mecha-
nical improvement and final perfection of it, the
number of spindles allotted to the care of one man
with a few children to assist, extended to 200,
then to 2,000 — and for some yarns to 4,000 spindles.
The mule has become almost an automaton, and
its self-acting principle has further economised
human labour.

The inventor of the mule did not escape the
violent attentions of the operatives, and as he could
not patent his machine, he gave it to the public
on condition that a sum of money was raised for
him from among those who intended to make use
of it. A sum of under £60 was promised, but many
of the promises were not fulfilled. Crompton was
denounced as an impostor ; as one who endeavoured
to make money out of an invention which really
belonged to another. But with a sum of £500

51 «2

Cotton

(raised principally in Manchester), Crompton
started a little spinning business at Bolton, where
he *' spun the finest and best yarn in the market."
With a good supply of muslin yarn the weavers
had an exceptionally prosperous time. In 1793,
they received four guineas for weaving a piece
24 yards long. " The trade was that of a gentleman.
They brought home their work wearing top boots and
ruffled shirts, carried a cane and in some instances
took a coach." It is also related that many
weavers at that time used to walk the streets with
a five-pound Bank of England note displayed in
their hat bands. They smoked nothing but long
churchwarden pipes, and objected to the intrusion
of any other handicraftsmen into their particular
rooms in the public- houses which they frequented.

Crompton had the mortification of seeing his
machine appropriated by men who declined to
recognise his claim to any remuneration for the
great endowment he had made to the cotton trade.
Happily there were a few interested persons who
made it their business to see that his merits were
not entirely ignored. Parliament was petitioned
to make him a grant, and £50,000 was suggested as
a reasonable sum to recompense him for his labours.
He received only £5,000. It is not unlikely that
Crompton would have got a larger sum but for a
tragic event in the House of Commons on May 11,

52

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

1812, when Mr. Perceval (Prime Minister) was shot.
A memorandum concerning a vote for £20,000 was
found in Mr. Perceval's possession when he fell.
Crompton died in 1827, and thirty years later the
inhabitants of Bolton erected a bronze statue to
perpetuate his memory.

Dr. Edmund Cartwright, the inventor of the
power-loom, was a man of many parts. He was
educated at Oxford, where he distinguished him-
self at an early age by the publication of some
poems. He studied medicine, adopted " the
Church " as a profession, and in the midst of his
ministrations applied himself to mechanics. A
country parson of the old school, he entered com-
pletely into the everyday life of his parishioners.
He was controlled with the desire to be of practical
assistance to his " flock." In the spiritual sense
he was well equipped for his work, but he soon
discovered that the demands made on a country
parson were not confined to matters pertaining to
the next world ; he must also be prepared to give
advice on affairs in this. Accordingly he made
a study of just those things which were likely to
be of service to the poor. It is related of Dr. Cart-
wright that on one occasion he was visiting a lad
who was ill with fever. Remembering a case in
which putrefaction was, as he believed, arrested
by the administration of brewer's yeast, and learn-

53

Cotton

ing that this commodity was then in use in another
part of the cottage, he got possession of some,
diluted it with water, and in small quantities,
gave it to the patient. When the clergyman
left the cottage he began to show some uneasi-
ness concerning his action ; he entertained some
doubts about the antiseptic qualities of the remedy
he had so suddenly called to his aid. The boy,
however, took a favourable turn and eventually
recovered, and the medicinal qualities of yeast
were not soon forgotten. Farming implements,
too, attracted his attention, and although he did
not claim to have studied the science of mechanics,
he was able to suggest some improvements in the
tools then in everyday use.

Dr. Cartwright had reached middle age when he
turned his thoughts to the weaving industry. In
a letter to a friend he described the incident which
prompted him to make an attempt to construct
his power-loom : — Happening to be at Matlock in
the summer of 1784, he met some gentlemen of
Manchester, when the conversation turned on
Arkwright's spinning machinery. One of the
company observed that as soon as Arkwright's
patent expired, so many mills would be erected,
and so much cotton spun, that hands could never
be found to weave it. To this observation Cart-
wright replied that Arkwright must then set his wits

54

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

to work to invent a weaving machine. This brought
on a conversation on the subject, in which the
Manchester gentlemen unanimously agreed that
the thing was impracticable ; Cartwright, however,
controverted the impracticability of the thing
by remarking that he had lately seen an auto-
maton playing chess. Was it more difficult to
construct a machine that would weave, than one
which would make all the variety of moves which
were required in that complicated game ? Some
little time afterwards, a particular circumstance
recalling this conversation, it struck the inventor
that, as in plain weaving, according to the concep-
tion he then had of the business, there could only
be three movements which were to follow each
other in succession, there would be little difficulty
in producing and repeating them.

Full of these ideas, he employed a carpenter
and smith to carry them into effect. As soon as
the machine was finished he got a weaver to put
in the warp. The machine was set in motion,
and to his great delight a piece of cloth was
the result. As he had never before turned his
thoughts to anything mechanical, either in theory
or practice, nor had ever seen a loom at work or
knew anything of its construction, it will be readily
, understood that his first loom was a rude piece of
machinery. The warp was placed perpendicularly,

55

Cotton

the reed fell with the weight of at least half
a hundredweight, and the springs which threw the
shuttle were strong enough to have thrown a
congreve rocket. In short, it required the strength
of two powerful men to work the machine at a slow
rate, and only for a short time. " Conceiving in
my great simplicity," writes Cartwright, *' that I
had accomplished all that was required, I then, on
the 4th April, 1785, secured what I thought a valu-
able property by a patent. This being done, I con-
descended to see how other people wove ; and you
will guess my astonishment when I compared their
easy modes of operation with mine. Availing my-
self, however, of what I then saw, I made a loom
in its general principles nearly as they now are
made. But it was not till the year 1787 that I
completed my invention, when I took out my last
weaving patent, August 1st of that year."

Dr. Cartwright was too neglectful of his interests
to make a financial success of his power-loom. He
entered the field of invention because his genius
forced him there, and when he reached the height
of his ambition — ^to demonstrate the practicability
of mechanical weaving — he displayed a too generous
disposition ; he disregarded entirely the financial
prospects which his genius had opened up. The
consequence was that he was exploited by unscru-
pulous manufacturers who, having learned of the

56

Triumph of Mechanical Invention '

utilitarian character of his loom, adopted it and
then attempted to deprive him of the credit that
was due to him for the eminent service he had done
the trade. The demolition of a large factory-
together with hundreds of his machines, and other
untoward events, added to the growing mistrust
with which he regarded the commercial world,
led him to lament the condition to which his unre-
quited labour had reduced him. But he was not
permitted to go unrewarded. Some merchants and
manufacturers of Manchester petitioned Parlia-
ment to recognise the value of his work and a grant
of £10,000 was made to him by the State.

Another man who greatly assisted the cotton
industry by his inventive genius was Richard
Roberts, a Welshman. When a boy Roberts made
a spinning wheel for his mother. His great achieve-
ment was in connection with the self-acting mule.
A period had been reached when Crompton's
hand mule could not produce enough yarn to keep
the steam looms running, and during a strike of all
the operatives for more pay, some of the leading
employers appealed to Roberts to help them.
Roberts was too busy to listen to their early appeals,
but, presently, he was constrained to help them.
He directed a Crompton's hand-mule to be erected
in his works, so that he might familiarise himself
with its motions and study how to produce a mule

57

Cotton

that should work automatically. The result was one
of the greatest triumphs of mechanical genius.
The new machine was at once adopted by the
Lancashire spinners, for it dispensed with much of
the manual labour hitherto employed for the
various processes.

I have said enough to show that handlooms now
belong to the historic province of antiquarian
curiosity. It only remains to be said that the
wonderful growth of the manufacture of cotton has
been made possible by the extraordinary inventive
genius of our race. Inventors of cotton machinery
exercised their brains and brought their mechanical
appliances to perfection in the face of serious
opposition, and the fact that they worked in secret
led the operatives to regard them as men who
were deep in intrigue against them. Alarmists
prophesied the end of labour ; the workpeople
were to be ousted from the mill to face starvation ;
populous districts now dependent for their very
existence on spinning and weaving were threatened
with depopulation. The operatives believed all
this, and they "rose" against these " designers of
mischief " and reduced the pioneers to destitu-
tion.

Yet, victimised by the capitalist and in fear of
their lives from the melancholy short-sightedness
of the operatives, these intelligent, untiring, clever,

58

Triumph of Mechanical Invention

ingenious men could not be subdued. Out of their
labours have come the wonderful machines that
form the equipment of the modern mill. By their
ingenuity the growing demands of the trade could
be fostered, and to the solid possession of accu-
mulated manufacturing skill and knowledge we are
indebted for the extraordinary development of the
industry as we know it to-day.

59

CHAPTER V

COTTON GROWING UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG

To provide cotton clothing for the human race
it is calculated that 42,000,000 bales of cotton, or
15 J lbs. for every human being, would be required
each year. The world's consumption of cotton
to-day is, approximately, 23,000,000 bales, and
of this, during the last decade, the American crop
has averaged about 13,000,000 bales.

The market for British goods extends through-
out the world, and the industry, so far as it concerns
this country, is unique in that it possesses about
two-fifths (60,000,000) of the world's spindles,
and has to depend entirely upon other countries
(chiefly America) for its raw material. Herein lies
a serious danger to the future well-being of Lanca-
shire's premier industry. Our American kinsmen
have always boasted that the Almighty had given
to them the only soil and climate where good cotton
could be grown in sufficient quantity to meet the
world's needs ; and that any attempt to grow
cotton where God never intended it to grow, was
doomed to failure. ]

60

Cotton Growing under the British Flag

COTTON

MILLS OF THE WORLD.

1

Consump-

Hands

Country. |

Mills.

Spindles.

Looms.

tion,

Em-

Bales.

ployed.

Great Britain

. 1915

2,009

59,904,873

808,145

3,881,230

655,000

U.S. North* .

. 1915

697

19,663,294

436,638

2,900,790

—

U.S. South .

. 1915

754

12,737,498

253,202

3,164,896

—

Canada .

. 1915

42

1,405,656

31,979

184,685

18,055

Garmany

, 1914

372

10,162,872

230,200

1,979,958

375,000

Russia .

. 1915

99

7,665,654

213,179

1,400,000

370,000

Poland .

. 1914

38

1,322,257

31,000

325,000

50,000

Finland, etc. .

. 1914

6

236,752

i,741

25,000

6,857

France .

. 1914

430

7,400,000

108,000

1,120,000

160,570

Austria-Hung

ary . 1914

160

4,941,320

170,000

842,591

175,000

Switzerland

. 1915

62

1,385,441

21,561

99,000

21,000

Italy .

. 1915

480

4,600,000

140,000

850,000

170,000

Spain .

. 1915

257

2,100,000

55,000

420,000

70,000

Portugal

. 1914

35

428,000

12,000

56,000

25,000

Belgium

. 1914

53

1,775,000

24,000

250,000

11,000

Holland.

. 1914

65

606,646

39,800

105,000

25,000

Sweden .

. 1914

49

461,764

12,442

100,000

11,810

Norway .

. 1915

13

81,814

2,626

14,255

2,878

Denmark

. 1914

5

88,700

4,850

27,500

1,150

Bulgaria

. 1914

5

19,539

350

5,000

632

Turkey ,

. 1914

9

70,000

—

40,000

2,000

Cyprus .

. 1915

1

1,574

—

500

54

Greece .

. 1914

19

73,898

1,360

23,250

3,503

Egypt .

. 1914

1

20,000

525

7,000

550

Asia Minor

. 1914

7

41,000

—

47,400

3,030

India

. 1914

271

6,778,895

104,179

2,143,126

260,276

China .

. 1913

34

1,000,000

4,755

525,000

—

Japan .

. 1915

175

2,657,000

25,443

1,553,919

111,712

Indo-China

. 1915

5

700,000

500

27,000

3,000

Philippines

. 1914

1

7,440

272

1,560

300

Brazil .

. 1913

171

1,520,000

50,000

330,000

106,200

Argentina

. 1914

6

9,000

1,200

—

1,600

Uruguay

. 1911

3

—

800

—

—

Chile .

. 1911

3

5,000

400

—

—

Peru .

. 1910

7

62,260

1,750

12,600

—

Columbia

. 1914

9

20,000

941

3,520

2,591

Ecuador

. 1911

4

§,000

200

—

—

Venezuela

. 1915

4

19,000

500

6,216

1,800

Guatemala

. 1911

1

8,000

250

2,000

550

Mexico .

. . 1913
3timated) .

139

762,149

27,019

160,000

34,500

Total (e.

6,483

150,737,290

2,819,607

22,633,996

2,680,618

* Includes Western States.
From "Annual Cotton Handbook.

It has long been the avowed intention of the
Americans, sooner or later, to consume in their
mills all the cotton grown in the States. But they

61

Cotton

regard with disfavour any attempt to extend the
cultivation of the fibre in other countries. European
and American cotton manufacturers, meeting in
conference at Atlanta, in 1907, were told by the
American cotton growers that they could rely with
confidence upon the American cotton belt furnish-
ing the world's ever-increasing demands, and that
they might cease from troubling themselves about
opening up other cotton fields. The Director of
the Bureau of Agriculture told the Cotton Manu-
facturers at Washington that he thought the visit
of the European delegates to the United States
was the acceptation of the idea that America must
continue to be the principal source whence the
industry of every country in Europe would come to
draw its supply, and that all other cotton planta-
tions which existed, or were being founded, or
existed only in imagination, were relatively of
little importance. " I look forward," the Director
added, " with confidence to a future when the United
States, instead of exporting two-thirds of their crop,
will work up the greater part of it at home, thus
realising for their own country the enormous profits
which accrue from the treatment of this textile."

What measure of success has been attained in
furtherance of this ideal ? During the five years
ending 1895, the cotton crop of the States
averaged 8,000,000 bales. In the following five

62

Cotton Growing under the British Flag

years the average production was raised (in round
numbers) to 9,000,000 bales, with a minimum of
7,000,000 and a maximum of 11,000,000 bales.
This increase of 1,000,000 bales was accompanied
by an increased consumption in America, which
rose from 2,000,000 to 2,500,000 bales, or half the
increased production. The result was a considerable
shortage in the available supply of the raw material
for the rest of the world. In the year 1900 the total
crop was only 9,500,000 bales, and many mills
in Lancashire in that year had to reduce their
consumption by working short time, with a serious
loss both to capital and to labour. Coming to more
recent times we find that the American consump-
tion in 1913-14 was 5,500,000 bales ; in 1914-15
6,000,000 bales, and in 1915-16 7,250,000 bales.
It is of supreme importance, therefore, that
England should develop the growth of the cotton
plant in her own colonies and dependencies, for
it is economically and commercially unsound to
depend almost wholly on one continent alone
for the supply of the raw material to feed the
world's spindles. The American Civil War revealed
to spinners and manufacturers in this country
how utterly helpless they are when unable to
procure their main supply of raw cotton. The
American crop in 1861 dropped from 3,826,000
bales (2,175,000 came to England), to 300,000 bales,

63

Cotton

DISPOSITION OF AMERICAN COTTON CROPS.

Year
ended

_

United States
MiUs.

Aug.
31.

Crop.

Exports.

South.

North.

Bales.

Bales.

Bales.

Bales.

1880

5,761,252

179,000

1,610,978

3,885,003

1881

6,605,750

208,000

1,730,937

4,589,346

1882

6,456,048

236,000

1,728,535

3,582,622

1883

6,949,756

340,000

1,733,096

4,766,597

1884

5,713,200

337,000

1,539,683

3,916,581

1885

5,706,165

298,000

1,455,125

3,947,972

1886

6,575,691

345,000

1,817,544

4,336,203

1887

6,505,087

401,452

1,710,080

4,463,009

1888

7,046,833

456,090

1,804,993

4,685,031

1889

6,938,290

479,781

1,785,979

4,830,463

1890

7,311,322

546,894

1,799,258

5,000,879

1891

8,652,597

604,661

2,027,362

5,856,194

1892

9,035,379

686,080

2,190,766

5,917,249

1893

6,700,365

743,848

1,687,286

4,500,047

1894

7,549,817

718,515

1,601,173

5,336,553

1895

9,901,251

862,838

2,083,839

6,889,577

1896

7,157,346

904,701

1,600,271

4,751,602

1897

8,757,964

1,042,671

1,804,680

6,092,537

1898

11,199,994

1,231,841

2,211,740

7,690,477

1899

11,274,840

1,399,399

2,190,095

7,454,161

1900

9,436,416

1,597,112

2,068,300

6,055,874

1901

10,383,422

1,620,931

1,967,570

6,649,152

1902

10,680,680

1,937,971

2,050,774

6,740,538

1903

10,727,559

2,000,729

1,967,635

6,771,398

1904

10,011,374

1,919,252

2,026,967

6,114,498

1905

13,565,885

2,163,505

2,282,145

8,773,037

1906

11,345,988

2,374,225

2,349,478

6,763,551

1907

13,510,982

2,439,108

2,526,390

8,503,270

1908

11,571,966

2,193,277

1,896,661

7,573,349

1909

13,825,457

2,559,873

2,680,118

8,574,024

1910

10,609,668

2,341,303

1,993,904

6,339,428

1911

12,120,095

2,363,616

1,993,576

7,770,842

1912

16,138,426

2,744,067

2,631,432

10,506,465

1913

14,140,000

2,772,000

2,619,000

8,780,000

1914

14,552,000

3,037,000

2,466,000

8,866,000

1915

15,136,000

3,271,000

2,817,000

8,369,000

1916

12,862,000

3,933,000

2,877,000

6,051,000

64

Cotton Growing under the British Flag

and for four years hardly any American cotton was
exported.

It is predicted that in a few years time the
world's spinning trade will require annually above
35,000,000 bales of cotton and the growers in the
States hope to maintain the monopoly. What are
we doing to meet the threatened danger to which
I have referred ?

There is no cotton-growing country in the world
outside India — not even the cotton - growing
States of America — which has such a happy com-
bination of suitable conditions for the cultivation
of cotton — fertile soil, excellent climate, a large
agricultural population, and a great network
of railways — but the population require the guiding
hand of the Government in the development of
this highly important native industry. India at
one time had a large market in Great Britain for
cotton fabrics of very fine texture. Tavernier,
in his diary (in the year 1600), notes that " if a
person puts such garments on his body it is visible
just as if he were naked. The merchants are not
allowed to buy this cloth. All of it must be de-
livered into the hands of the King who has gar-
ments made of it for the inmates of his harem and
the wives of noblemen, as the King and the noble-
men find great pleasure in seeing their women
attired in this wonderful texture." But times have

65

Cotton

changed. Indian cotton, for the most part, is too
coarse for English spinners, and India is now the
largest market for British goods made largely from
American cotton. Above thirty millions' worth of
cotton yarn and cloth are sent to India from this
country every year.

It is to India that spinners and manufacturers
are now looking for relief in the production of raw
cotton, for the opinion is firmly held that any
increase in the American crop will only follow
the stimulating influence of high prices. It is
true that England consumes a comparatively
small quantity of Indian cotton, but the tendency
is for that quantity materially to increase. Indian
cotton has been largely used in Germany. The
spinners of that country, before the European war,
used yearly about 400,000 bales of the cotton grown
in India — ^practically one quarter of Germany's
yearly consumption of cotton. Other demands on
the Indian product come from Austria, Italy,
Belgium and Japan. The Japanese use approxi-
mately 1,000,000 bales annually. English spinners,
speaking generally, produce the finer yarns, whilst
Continental, Indian and the Japanese spin the
coarser " counts," and therefore use vastly more
cotton per spindle. Whilst Lancashire owns two-
fifths of the spindles of the world, she only con-
sumes, on account of the fineness of her produc-

66

Cotton Growing under the British Flag

tions, about one-fifth of the annual cotton crop of
the world, thus showing how important it is to deal
with the question of the further development of
cotton growing from the international point of view.
The world's cotton crop, to-day, is three times
greater than it was forty years ago, and if the raw
material is to keep pace with the demand for cotton
goods the extension of the cotton fields must be
taken in hand immediately.

On four occasions since 1910, a deputation of the
International Federation of Master Cotton Spinners'
and Manufacturers' Associations has been received
by the Secretary of State for India at Whitehall,
when the vital importance of improving the quality
and extending the cultivation of cotton in India has
been urged and assistance from the Government
sought. This International Federation, of which
Sir Charles Macara, Bart., was the first President,
was inaugurated in 1904, to further the welfare of
the world's cotton industry, and includes within
the scope of its operations everything in which
interests common to all are involved. Lord Morley,
when Secretary of State for India, said that the
Government could not approve a policy which
would mean the extension of cotton cultivation at
the expense of food crops, but there does not seem
to be the remotest possibility of cotton encroaching
on the area under food crops, because, for example,

67 ^2

Cotton

in the United Provinces alone (containing 61,000,000
acres) the food crops extend over 36,000,000
acres, while only one and two-fifth million acres
are on the average under cotton, and there are
still 10,000,000 of cultivable waste. If certain
types of cotton were more extensively grown
in India there would not only be a great increase
in the consumption of Indian cotton in England,
on the European Continent, in India, and in
Japan, but Indian millowners would not be con-
fronted with the necessity of importing American
cotton.

Since the re-conquest by England of the
Sudan in 1898, cotton culture has been carried
on there with the assistance of the Government.
The Agricultural Department has been organised
specially with a view to ensuring that men
shall be at work who are experienced in the culti-
vation of cotton, and who are able to contend
with the dangers which attend the growing crop.
Knowing that cotton can be grown in the Sudan,
the Government have made experiments as to
what was the largest extent and the greatest
scale on which the growth of cotton could be en-
couraged.

This chapter must not end without some refer-
ence to the development of cotton-growing in
the tropical possessions of the British Empire.

68

Cotton Growing under the British Flag

The British Cotton Growing Association was
brought into existence in 1902, to develop and to
extend the production of cotton in new fields in
the British Empire. The predominating idea of
the late Sir Alfred Jones (who was the mainspring
of the Association's activities in its early days)
and those associated with him, was that the
industry should endeavour to free itself from its
dependence on the American crop. The proposal
was in the interest alike of the spinners and manu-
facturers and their workpeople, and the represen-
tative organisations of each gave their support
to the project. After years of pioneer and experi-
mental work, moderately large quantities of British-
grown cotton entered the market, and as the
experts say " quickly went into consumption."
The increase in the acreage under cultivation and
in the production of a good staple and the demand
it has created during recent years, are such as to
justify the claim advanced by the Association
" that it is now definitely established that cotton
of sufficient quantity and of every grade required
for Lancashire needs can be produced within the
Empire," and that by broadening the basis of
supply, the evil of manipulation, so prevalent
in the past, will be checked, and, in all probability,
in the course of time stamped out.

Every year, in Europe, the forecast of the Ameri-
69

Cotton

can crop is awaited with almost feverish anxiety.
There are 150,000,000 spindles waiting to spin
each year's cotton crop into yarn, and millions
of looms depend on the spinner for yarn to weave
into cloth. If the crop should not come up to the
average because of unfavourable climatic con-
ditions, or the operations of speculators prevent a
considerable quantity of it entering the markets of
the world, the textile industry is brought face to
face with disaster. In such a contingency millions
of operatives may have to be placed on short-
time working until the new crop arrives, or the
" cornered " cotton is released.

The work of the British Cotton Growing Associa-
tion has extended over a large area. Experimental
and pioneer work has been done in India, East,
West and South Africa, the West Indies and
Australasia. There was hardly a part of the British
Empire, where the conditions offered any prospect
of success, which did not receive attention from the
Association's agents.

Africa is by some regarded as the cotton field of
the future. Nigeria and Uganda are admirable
places for cotton cultivation. There is a fertile
soil, favourable climate, intelligent agriculturists
and good transport facilities. The building by
the British Government of a railway along the
Niger has been primarily responsible for the great

70

Cotton Growing under the British Flag

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71

Cotton

extension of the work in recent years. To-day
good and cheap cotton is being grown in that
country in largely increasing quantities. Fifty-
four bales of cotton came from Uganda in 1904.
Four years later 4,000 bales were shipped and, in
1911 there was a further increase to 20,000 bales.
In 1914 it was estimated that the crop was double
that of three years earlier, which, together with the
seed, would represent not less than £500,000. This
is the result of twelve years' working. It is confi-
dently asserted that if the efforts of the Association
are not in any way relaxed or hampered for want
of financial support, the raw material to feed
British spindles may in course of time be grown
on British soil.

The British Cotton Growing Association does not
actually grow the cotton. Its aim is rather to
encourage in that work the natives and settlers
in the different Colonies and Protectorates ; to
develop large plantations and model farms, and
to act as agents for the distribution of good seed ;
to train the natives in modern methods of agri-
culture, to educate them in the use of up-to-date
implements, and to establish ginning and baling
factories so that cotton when grown can be effi-
ciently cleaned, handled and marketed. Perhaps
the greatest difficulty attending the work arises
from the inadequacy of transport faciUties, and it

72

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Cotton Growing under the British Flag

is in this direction especially that the Government
can render valuable assistance.

It has been said that " cotton is the thread which
unites the interests of the industrial democracy
with the development of our great possessions
across the sea," and the more these interests are
developed and encouraged the greater will be
the security of this vast British industry and the
greater the prosperity of our colonies and depen-
dencies.

78

CHAPTER VI

CLASSIFICATION OF THE WORLD 's CROP

It has not yet been possible completely to estab-
lish and classify the species of cotton (Gossypium),
The varieties of cotton now grown and the confusion
of the species through hybridisation make it diffi-
cult for botanists to come to any definite con-
clusion as to their origin. Still there are certain
leading peculiarities which have enabled botanists
to reduce the cultivated kinds to four primary
groups. They are : (1) Gossypium barbadense ;
(2) Gossypium herbaceum ; (3) Gossypium peru-
vianum ; and (4) Gossypium arbor eum.

The bulk of our cotton comes from the exten-
sively cultivated fields of the United States. The
species grown there is Gossypium barbadense, and
it is divided into two clearly defined varieties.
One of these varieties, Sea Island, is the best grade
of cotton obtainable, whilst the American mainland
crop, because of its size, grade and average length
of staple practically regulates the price of cotton
throughout the world. Sea Island cotton, said to
have been introduced from the Bahamas in 1785,
is in great demand for the better class of cotton

74

Classification of the World^s Crop

A LIST OF COTTONS.

THEIR LENGTH, COLOUR, AND THE COUNTS FOR
WHICH THEY ARE SUITABLE.

Variety.

Average
Length.

Relative
Price.*

Colour.

Counts
up to.

Remarks.

Sea Islands ...

If

230

Cream

200

Very silky and
regular

Egyptian —

Joannovitch ...

n

140

Dark cream

150

Silky

Sakellarides ...

1^

145

Dark cream

150

Silky and soft

Nubari

If

130

Light brown

100

Silky, but rather
irregular

Abassi

If

132

White

100

Now little grown

Brown

If

125

Deep brown

100

Very regular

Upper

li

115

Muddy brown

60

Weak and dirty

Brazilian—

Pernams.etc....

H

105

Dull white

60

Harsh

Ceara, etc.

1

103

Dull white

60

Harsh

Peruvian—

Rough

li

117

Cream j
Cream (

For mix-

1 Harsh and wiry
1 Harsh

Mod, Rough ...

li

109

ing wool

Smooth

H

113

White

60

Soft, similar to
American

Sea Islands ...

If

132

Variable

100

Silky, but irre-
gular

American—

Orleans

14

105

White

60

Clean, soft, and

strong
Clean and strong

Texas

1

100

White

50

Uplands

1

100

White

50

Softest of Ameri-
cans

Mobile

i

95

White

50

Dirtier and
weaker than
other

Indian —

Surtee, Broach,

etc

1

80

Light brown

20

Clean and strong

Scinde

&

55

Dull white

10

Poor and dirty

Bengal

f

55

Light brown

10

Dirty and harsh

Tinnivelly ...

J

82

White

20

Best of Indians

Madras,

Western

J

71

Light brown

20

Fair class

China

i

85

Dull white

20

Clean, rather
harsh

Smyrna

1

85

Dull white

20

Rather harsh

West African...

1

90

White

50

Similar to Ameri-
can

* Approximate price on the basis of Middling American, 100.
From " The Cotton Year Book."

goods. Its qualities are a staple of from If to
2 J ins. in length, uniformity, strength, cleanness,

75

Cotton

and flexibility, and it possesses a silken appear-
ance not to be found in any other cotton. For
this reason it is in great demand for the manu-
facture of mercerised fabrics. This variety of
cotton is cultivated exclusively on the islands
off the coast of Florida and on a portion of
the mainland of Georgia, South Carolina, and
Florida. The plant grows to a height of from 6 ft.
to 12 ft.

American cotton is divided for commercial
purposes into four distinct varieties, excluding
the famous Sea Island variety, which for the pur-
poses of commerce is not " American." These
varieties are : Mobile, Orleans, Texas and Upland,
and all are included under the term " Mainland,"
because grown in the mainland cotton belt which
extends from south-east Virginia to Texas. The
Orleans or " Gulf " cotton (so named because
grown in the Gulf of Mexico) has a longer staple than
any of the other kinds of " American Mainland."
It is about 1 J in. long and of a light creamy colour
and fairly flexible. Texas cotton differs from
Orleans in that it is a little deeper in colour and is
shorter in staple. In the matter of strength it is
above the American average. It is largely used for
twist yarns. The cotton known by the name of
" Upland," because grown on the uplands of
Georgia and the district of South Carolina, is noted

76

Classification of the World's Crop

H
P?

<1

P5 --
O CO

EH ft

|g

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o

o

<

I— I
H

Ph

l>H

05
l-H

65,369
215,544
265,679
428,154
126,900
245,877
13

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77

Cotton

for its cleanness. This fibre is used principally
for weft — ^the cross threads which are woven into
the warp for which the stronger cottons are used.
" Mobile " cotton (the name is derived from the
port of shipment) is the poorest quality of
American cotton. Whilst the length of staple of
the Uplands cotton is about one inch, the Mobile
variety is J in.

Egypt supplies the staple for the superior class
of cotton goods. Excepting the Sea Island, there
is no cotton grown which has such a silky appear-
ance, and which possesses all the other charac-
teristics of a really good cotton. In the cotton
markets of the world the Egyptian crop is divided
into classes according to colour and length of staple.
Mitafifi (known also as Afifi or Brown Egyptian)
was the standard cotton of the Nile country.
The length of staple is about 1 J to 1 J in. The name
of this variety is derived from that of a village
in the Province of Galioubieh.

The cotton known as Assili is a newer variety.
It is a strong regular and clean cotton of a distinctly
brownish colour, but it is now dying out. Abassi
is Egypt's white cotton. It is grown in the Delta
of the Nile. Ashmouni, cotton grown in Upper
Egypt, and Joannovitch, in its day a superior
cotton and named after the grower who began its
cultivation, have now practically gone out of

78

Classification of the World's Crop

cultivation. Sakellarides is a fine, glossy, long
staple cotton resembling silk and approaches
more than any other cotton to the famous Sea
Island fibre. This variety is largely used in England
for mercerised fabrics. Nubari and Voltos are other
grades of Egyptian cotton fibre.

The alleged deterioration in the quality and
colour of Egyptian cotton, about which there have
been complaints during recent years, is said to
date from a time following closely upon the erection
of the dam at Assouan. In consequence of the
general absence of rain in the Nile Valley the cotton
and rice fields depend for irrigation upon the
annual overflow of the Nile. The extent of the
annual inundation was for many years the deter-
mining factor in the success or failure of the crop.
The richer the alluvial sediment brought down
from the washing of the Abyssinian Mountains,
the more cultivable was the soil, and the finer
was the quality of the cotton produced. About
twelve years ago the dam erected at Assouan to
regulate the irrigation of the valley and adequately
to provide for years when the Nile was low,
was completed. It is urged in some quarters that
this great engineering work has done one great
service at the' expense of another. To-day the
crop is larger because of a more efficient system of
irrigajtion, but the river does not, as formerly, leave

79

Cotton

a covering of rich alluvial sediment. This sediment
is said to be lost in the modern system of irrigation. /

It falls to the bottom of the river before flooding
takes place.

Some users of Egyptian cotton have declared that
since the dam was erected, the cotton has steadily
but perceptibly deteriorated ; that if the cotton of
to-day had been delivered to a cotton-spinning
mill twenty-five years ago, it could not at that time
have been spun with the machinery then in use.
" In order to build up the strength of the cotton the
spinner of Egyptian cotton adopts the expedient
of mixing with it the longer staple cottons, so that
with the improved machinery and a poorer quality
of Egyptian cotton, much the same result is reached
as when Egypt provided the industry with some
of the finest raw material. The characteristic
brown colour of the best Egyptian cotton has,
however, been lost." A few years ago the owner
of a yacht complained to a manufacturer that his
new sails were not of the same brown colour as those
he had had on a previous occasion. The yachts-
man invited a representative of the firm pro-
viding the sails to explain the reason, and the
yachtsman was told that the sails were made of the
best Egyptian cotton obtainable, and that it was
impossible now to get the old rich brown colour.
This, he thought, was due to the absence of the silt

80

Classification of the World's Crop

which the high Nile, in former years, deposited
on the cotton fields.

On the other hand, the dam has been successful
in that it has raised the annual crop over 7,000,000
cantars, and even now the demand for Egyptian
cotton largely exceeds the supply. Moreover, the
harnessing of the waters of the Nile, while improv-
ing the yield of cotton, has lessened the risks of a
shortage in other crops. But whilst the Egyptian
grower may be invited to direct his attention
to improving the quality of cotton sent to the
Lancashire mills, it must be recorded that eminent
authorities on the Egyptian product entirely
disagree with those who assert that the dam has
been in any way responsible for producing an
inferior cotton.

The time of planting in Egypt is generally in
March, and the picking season in Upper Egypt is
in August and in Lower Egypt a month later. The
picking is done mostly by children, who are closely
watched and punished if they neglect their work.
The cotton is carried away from the fields to the
ginneries on the backs of camels.

Indian cotton on the Liverpool market is divided
into three groups or classes — Surat, Bengal and
Madras. The Surat group includes the varieties
of cotton of which Surtee is the best and Scinde the
poorest. The other cottons in this group are :

81 o

Cotton

Broach, Dhollera, Bhownuggar, Dharwar, Oomra-
wuttee, Comptah, Khandeish and Bagalkote.
The Bengal cotton is very Hke that grown in Scinde.
It is coarse and dirty and short in staple. Of the
Madras cotton, Tinnevelly is the superior product.
Cambodia is used in England, but is now deteriorat-
ing. Spinners at one time regarded it as on an
equality with American Uplands. Other cottons
of the Madras group are known as Westerns,
Northerns, and Coconda, but they are too coarse
for the English market. During the American
Civil War, which caused a cotton famine in Lanca-
shire, the group of Indian cottons known as Surat
had to take the place of American, and this
coarser cotton sorely tried the operatives who had
to spin it. " O Lord, send us more cotton, but pre-
serve us from Surat," was the oft-repeated appeal
at prayer meetings, and when the war ended, and
the first consignment of bales of the American
variety reached the Lancashire operatives, they were
so overjoyed as to join with one accord in singing
" Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
A small quantity of cotton is grown in Burmah.

The cotton-growing fields in the Russian Empire
are in Turkestan and the Caucasus, and the crop
is largely used by Russian spinners. The length
and quality of the Russian fibre have been improved
since the farmers used the seed of the American

82

Classification of the World's Crop

Upland variety. The indigenous cotton is of a

coarse short staple.

The cotton grown in China is sometimes used in

England when there is a shortage of American cotton.

It is about f in. in length, and is clean and white.

THE WORLD'S COTTON CROP RETURNS.
(In Thousands of Bales.)

Season.

America.

India.

Egypt.

Brazil, etc.

Total.

1915-16

12,953

3,819

_

_

.

1914^15

15,607

4,703

812

t6,973

28,095

1913-14

14,885

6,149

970

t7,796

29,800

1912-13

14,129

4,692

969

17,716

27,506

1911-12

16,043

4,978

965

t6,374

27,560

1910-11

12,132

4,587

984

t6,324

24,027

1909-10

10,651

5,317

673

12,768

19,409

1908-09

13,829

4,779

898

t2,885

22,391

1907-08

11,582

4,445

908

t2,916

19,851

190&-07

13,550

5,197

923

t2,803

22,473

1905-06

11,320

4,797

798

t2,542

19,457

1904-05

13,557

4,061

843

t2,172

20,633

1903-04

10,124

4,471

797

t2,760

18,152

1902-03

10,758

4,183

768

t2,804

17,913

1901-02

10,701

4,122

864

*1,052

16,739

1900-01

10,425

3,377

711

900

15,513

1899-1900

9,440

3,099

855

1,000

14,394

1898-99

11,235

3,477

730

1,000

16,442

1897-98

11,181

2,844

919

1,015

15,959

1896-97

8,714

2,999

778

1,010

13,501

1895-96

7,162

3,296

695

770

11,923

1894-95

9,893

2,656

610

460

13,619

1893-94

7,527

2,995

707

542

11,771

1892-93

6,717

2,751

684

438

10,590

1891-92

9,038

2,869

625

310

12,842

1890-91

8,655

3,022

545

300

12,522

1889-90

7,314

3,361

431

270

11,376

* Including China 200 and Asiatic Russia 400.

t Including all other countries.

Note. — The American bale weighs about 500 lbs., the Indian
bale 400 lbs., and the Egyptian bale 700 lbs. Bales of other countries
vary in weight.

From the "Annual Cotton Handbook."

83

a 2

Cotton

Brazilian cotton is also used in England, and if
it were picked better, handled more efficiently,
and sent to tKe market in a cleaner state its use
by English spinners would greatly increase. The
cotton-growing land in Brazil is extensive and the
meteorological conditions are favourable, but the
methods employed in marketing the crop greatly
depreciate its value.

In Asiatic Turkey a small crop of cotton is grown.
Here, as in parts of Russia, instead of picking the
cotton in the fields the bolls are cut from the shrubs,
and the cotton removed from them in the homes
of the growers. This method of harvesting the
cotton is not recommended by spinners. They
complain that the fibre, when treated in this way,
is too leafy and dirty.

There are three varieties of Peruvian cotton —
Peruvian Sea Island and Rough and Smooth
Peruvian. The first of these has a silky appearance
and the fibre is above the average in length. But
it varies too much in colour and in length of staple
to be mistaken for the Sea Island cotton. The
plant of the rough Peruvian grows to a height of
from 9 ft. to 10 ft. Its product is a coarse and wiry
cotton and is generally used for mixing with wool.
The third variety is a much softer cotton and is
more extensively grown than the other two.

84

CHAPTER VII

MODERN SPINNING AND WEAVING

" The most striking actions of machinery,"
Professor George Wilson has said, " are those which
involve not only swift irresistible motion, but also
transformation of the materials on which the moving
force is exerted. Take, for example, a cotton mill.
On the basement story revolves an immense steam
engine, unresting and unhasting as a star in its
stately orderly movements. It stretches its strong
iron arms in every direction throughout the build-
ing ; into whatever chamber you enter, as you
climb stair after stair, you find its million hands in
motion, and its fingers, which are skilful as they are
nimble, busy at work. They pick cotton, and
cleanse it, card it, rove it, twist it, spin it, dye it,
and weave it. They will work any pattern you
select, and in as many colours as you choose ;
and do all with celerity, dexterity, and unexhausted
energy and skill. For my part I gaze with extreme
wonder on the steam Agathodaemons of a cotton
mill, the embodiments, all of them, of a very few
simple statical and dynamical laws ; and yet able,
with the speed of race-horses, to transform a raw

85

Cotton

material, originally as cheap as thistle-down,
into endless and beautiful fabrics."

Now that we have brought the raw material
to Lancashire — the greatest cotton manufacturing
centre in the world — we will trace its manufacture
(through its various stages) into yarn and from
yarn into cloth.

We begin our inspection in the engine room —
the source of the motor power which gives life
to the wonderful cotton machinery and sends
thousands of spindles rotating with their thousands
of miles of thread. In the modern mill, and in
some of the old-established mills, steam has been
supplanted by electricity. It is claimed for elec-
trically-driven over steam-driven machinery that
a larger production can be secured from the same
machines, and that owing to the smoother running
the quality of the yarn is greatly improved.

In the mixing and cleaning room we see the bales
of cotton as they are received from America or
Egypt. The American cotton is badly baled. It
is packed in coarse, dirty sacking and bound with
hoops of iron. Spinners have a long-standing
grievance with the Americans as to the way they
ship their product. For years efforts have been
made to get the growers to improve upon the old
and wasteful manner of baling and handling cotton ;
they have been urged to imitate the excellent

86

, i

Modern Spinning and Weaving

packing of the Egyptian bale. In recent years
some improvement has been made, but the careless
method of baling is to-day responsible for a con-
siderable waste. Although the seed has already
been separated from the fibre through the agency
of the ginning machine there is much extraneous
matter to be removed, including seed and leaves
of the plant, before the cotton is started upon the
initial stage of manufacture. Such curious things
as stones, logs of wood, and even cartridges have
been found buried in the bale.

When released from its wrappings the cotton is
in a very rough and matted state, and is thrown
into what is known as a Bale-Breaker. The cotton
is carried by travelling bands between rollers which
are either fluted or spiked. By this means the
fibre is separated before it passes on to the
" Opener," another mechanical device for remov-
ing all impurities from the raw material. The
" opener " has within it special appliances for
continuing the process of breaking-up the matted
cotton and removing foreign matter. Sometimes
a " beater," working like the sails of a windmill
at the rate of 1,000 revolutions a minute, is em-
ployed.

From the " opener " the cotton is delivered
loose, to be drawn forward once more, pneumati-
cally, within an iron tube, which carries it to the

87

Cotton

level of the ceiling of the adjoining blowing and
scutching room and drops it again on the floor
beneath. Scutching is a further process of cleaning
the cotton by blowing and beating. One of the
main features of cotton spinning, which applies
to all the processes, is securing regularity and
evenness. In these early stages careful regard is
had to principle, inasmuch as an error in quantity,
if not rectified, would materially affect the ultimate
result to the extent of changing what is called the
" count " of yarn. To secure this regularity, when
the cotton has been taken by women and placed
as evenly as possible on the lattice creepers which
convey it to the scutcher, there is at the point
where it enters the machine, an arrangement of
rollers, with compensating movements, so that only
a certain amount is allowed to pass in at a time.
Within the scutcher it is again beaten and sub-
jected to strong currents of air whereby more dust
and dirt are taken from it, and it is eventually
discharged between cylinders as a smooth felted web
like a sheet of wadding rolled up in the form of a
bobbin, and known as a " lap." Sometimes the
intermediate travelling of the cotton from the
" opener " to the first scutcher is dispensed with
by a machine which affects the two processes
continuously.

Further to purify the cotton and to attain the
88

Modern Spinning and Weaving

desired regularity and evenness, five of the " laps "
are taken and placed upon the creeper of the
finishing scutcher, and are finally drawn out into
one large lap, ready for the carding machine. This
finished lap is weighed to ascertain that it contains
the required quantity for the count of yam which
has to be spun. In the Card-room the cotton under-
goes its final cleansing process and receives treat-
ment of the most delicate and important kind.
Hitherto no attempt has been made to separate
and arrange the fibres of the cotton. Though
partly cleansed and delivered in a smooth-web-like
form, the original confusion of fibres still prevails.
In the carding engine the visitor sees a machine
into the back of which the web from the scutcher
is placed on a roller. He sees it gradually disappear
as it is being drawn into the interior, and then,
passing to the front, he is shown the result in the
shape of a fine ribbon-like gossamer film, technically
called a " sliver," which is seen issuing from the
machine, and coiling itself up in a can prepared to
receive it. The processes by which this is obtained
are hidden and are of a complicated kind. They
may be briefly described as consisting of a series of
large and small rollers working on a cylinder and
called rollers and clearers. They are covered with
fine wire teeth arranged in opposite directions,
working with varied speeds and presenting oppos-

89

Cotton

ing forces to the cotton which passes between them,
the effect of which is to clear away the last of the
impurities, comb out the fibres and arrange them
parallel in the film-like form shown in the sliver.
The appearance of this carded gossamer-like
cotton as it comes from the machine, and is seen
converging to a point and resolving itself into the
sliver, is very interesting and in striking contrast
with the matted web of which it originally formed
a part. In this carding process all short and useless
fibres have been thrown off with the waste, and as
the scutching machine has been made to render
a certain weight of felted web, so from this web
is procured a certain length of sliver in proportion
to the fineness of the thread which is to be spun.
This is accomplished by arranging the speed or
" draught " as it is called, so that from a given
inch of web a certain length of sliver will be pro-
duced. One of the chief objects of carding is to
free the cotton from all dirt and other impurities,
because any defect in this direction will be seen
in the last process and affect the quality of the
yarn.

Two forms of carding machine are in use — the
"roller and clearer" and that which consists of
" revolving flats." It is not necessary to enter
into minute descriptions of the differences in these
machines, except to say that in the case of one the

90

Modern Spinning and Weaving

card clothing is placed upon rollers, and in the other
upon a series of jointed flats which present an un-
broken surface to the cotton as they revolve round
the cylinder.

The element of waste enters into all the processes
of cotton spinning. It exists in the form of refuse
from the blowing, and scutching, and " fly " from
the carding machines ; in sweepings from the
floors, and in various other forms. Consequently,
from 100 lbs. of raw cotton, 10 lbs. will be thrown
off in this way. Some of the finest portions of it
disappear in the atmosphere, and form what is
called " invisible waste." A large quantity of
that which is secured is sold to waste dealers,
who dispose of it again for manufacturing purposes.

The whole process of cotton spinning resolves
itself into a series of drawings, doublings, and
twistings. We have seen the cotton after being
placed in the scutcher come out in a flat lengthened
web. Then, from the carding machine it has issued
in the form of a ribbon-like sliver. Now it is taken
to what is called a Drawing Frame, where a
number of these slivers will be united in one.
The Drawing Frame is an interesting machine.
It consists of three parts or " heads," each acting
independently of the other. To the first of these
heads six cans are taken from the carding machine
for the formation of each sliver. The slivers from

91

Cotton

these are taken hold of by rollers running at varying
and nicely-adjusted speeds which deal with them
with a finger-and-thumb movement, uniting the
whole of the slivers in one, at the same time draw-
ing this out to the required length, and by an
ingenious movement, coiling it once more into a
can. Six of these slivers are then taken to the next
head and the process is repeated. A third time a
combination of six is made and the sliver drawn
out which now contains within itself 216 of the
original slivers as they issued from the carding
machine. To such automatic perfection has this
machine been brought that if one of these light
filmy slivers should happen to break, the machine
is instantly stopped. This appearance of conscious
movement is a very curious and attractive feature
of the drawing frame.

Up to this time the cotton has had no twist
imparted to it. It has simply been drawn out
with the fibres arranged as parallel as possible.
It is now taken to the slubbing frame. Here the
slivers are treated very much as in the drawing
frame, save that after passing from the rollers they
are wound upon bobbins, arranged in connection
with spindles, at the front of the machine. These
bobbins work in conjunction with a spindle and
flyer, revolving at the rate of 600 revolutions a
minute, and in this operation the sliver is consider-

92

Modern Spinning and Weaving

ably reduced in bulk and gets its twist. The cotton
is now taken to the intermediate frames where the
contents of two bobbins are united and wound
upon one, the cotton being made finer and more
round and the result is a combination of 432 of
the original slivers. The mechanism of these fly-
frames is very similar, their object being gradually
to bring the cotton into a condition for spinning.
The difference in treatment consists in the arrange-
ment of the speed of the rollers for the delivery
of a fixed quantity and giving the needful twists
to the strands. In the working of these fly-frames
the visitor's attention is drawn to the manner in
which the roving is wound upon the bobbin, it
being necessary to adapt the motion to the increas-
ing or diminishing bulk, the bobbin, when it is full,
having tapering cone-like ends. This apparently
simple result involves some of the nicest calcula-
tions in mechanics, and is far too complex to be
understood by the casual, unscientific observer.
It is sufficient, perhaps, to say that it is accom-
plished by an ingenious arrangement of wheels
working with differential movements, in conjunc-
tion with a pair of cones which give compensating
effects as the roving assumes the cone shape on the
bobbin. As the strands get finer, the bobbins are
proportionately smaller, and the number of them
is increased, as shown in the " Jack " or roving

93

Cotton

frame, which is the last of the preparatory processes.
In this frame two bobbins are wound into one,
giving a result in the united doublings of 864 of the
original carding slivers. In all these operations
of drawing, the workpeople engaged are mainly
women and girls.

At this point the roving is tested, a given number
of yards being taken and weighed to see that
the result is in accordance with the count which
has to be spun. What is meant by " counts " of
yarns ? Cotton yarn, if wound into hanks from
the cop, contains 840 yards in each hank. The
" count " means the number of these hanks to a
pound weight of yarn. So that if " sixties " are
being spun, there will be sixty hanks, of 840 yards
each, in a pound ; and so on with the " counts," the
number increasing with the fineness of the yarn
to be spun.

When it has left the jack frame, the roving is
ready to be converted into yarn, and for this pur-
pose is taken to the spinning room. The machines
used for spinning are self-acting mules of the latest
construction. There are two other ways of spinning
yarn — by the throstle and by ring spinning, but it
is not necessary here to describe them, except to
say that they represent a continuous motion as
distinguished from an intermittent one which
characterises the mule, and that they dispense

94

Modern Spinning and Weaving

with the carriage which is necessary in the
latter.

In the Spinning room the visitor will see a number
of mules ranged opposite each other in pairs and
extending the whole length of the room. Dividing
these at certain distances are headstocks, each of
which is a wonderful combination of wheels, levers,
and other complications which work right and left,
and control the movements of the mule. At the
back of each mule the bobbins of rovings to be
spun are arranged in creels. Beneath these on the
beam or fixed portion of the mule are rollers which
act upon the rovings with differential movements,
as on the drawing frames uniting the contents of
two bobbins into one and drawing it out to the
required length. In front of this mixed portion is
a wheeled carriage which works on a tramway
and moves backward and forward in the inter-
mediate space. On the front of the carriage the
spindles are placed to the number, in some cases,
of 1,500 to each mule.

The roving having been attached to the spindles,
which revolve at the rate of about 10,000 revolu-
tions a minute, as the carriage moves away from the
rollers outwards, it draws with it the yarn, the
revolution of the spindles also giving the twist to
the strands. When the carriage stops, there is a
pause in which the spindles stop and the rollers

95

Cotton

cease to give out rovings. The spindles then per-
form a reverse movement of short duration to
unwind the thread attached to them, called " back-
ing off." Then the carriage moves back to the
frame, and in this movement the yarn is wound
round the spindles, an ingenious contrivance of
wire, called a " faller," acting like a finger in
arranging the thread. When the spindle is full,
the yarn is cone-shaped at each end, and is called
a " cop." When the cops are perfectly formed and
complete the machine is stopped. It is then neces-
sary to clear the spindles and start them again with
fresh yarn. This is called " doffing," an expression
which survives in the west country word " doff,"
which means to put off, a contraction of " do off."
The operatives employed in spinning are men
and boys, called " minders " and " piecers." Each
minder takes charge of a pair of mules which
work opposite each other. He has under him a big
piecer and a little piecer, whose duties are to piece
the ends of any broken threads, keep the mules
clear of waste and gather the cops from the
spindles. The yarns spun from these mules are of
two kinds, warp and weft. The warps have a
harder twist given to them than the weft. Looking
at the fine thread which is being spun from these
mules, it is not easy for the visitor to realise the
fact that in it is the combined result of 1728 of

96

Modern Spinning and Weaving

the filmy ribbons of cotton which he saw coming
out of the carding machine. The length that is
spun is also another source of wonder, when he is
told that if 60's are the " counts " required, the
pound of yarn representing that number would
measure 28f miles.

When the cops pass from the hands of the spinner,
they are taken to the weaving shed, and are of
two kinds — warp and weft. The warp of a cloth
consists of the threads which run the whole
length of it, while the weft goes across, and is
limited in its progress by the width. The cops which
contain this weft, which is usually a little softer
than the warp, are retained in their original form
to be placed in the shuttles, while the cops of warp
are placed in the hands of women who are called
*' winders." It is their duty to wind the contents of
the cops upon bobbins, which is done in a Winding
Frame, the threads being guided by gauges fixed
in the frame, and brushed in their progress from the
cop to the bobbin. The warps thus wound are taken
to the beam warpers who are also women, who
arrange the bobbins in a creel in numbers corre-
sponding with the threads required. These threads
are then wound on a larger roller, very much like
a huge bobbin, and called a " warper's beam," care
being required to have them laid side by side, a
process which is assisted by the threads passing

c. 97 H

Cotton

through a wire frame. When five of these rollers
are filled, they form what is called a set, and, after
being weighed, are taken in hand by men who
are called " slashers," who arrange the five in a
frame, from which they are wound on to another
roller, the accumulated threads laid side by side
forming the width of the cloth. Attached to this
frame is a trough containing size, through which
the threads are passed as a certain amount of
stiffening is necessary for warps. After being dealt
with here between rollers and brushes, they are
passed over a hollow cylinder heated by steam
and are quickly dried.

It is a curious fact in connection with this warp
dressing that when Dr. Cartwright had invented
his power-loom, and established a weaving factory
at Doncaster which failed, one cause of failure
" arose out of the circumstance that cotton requires
dressing while being woven, and that the wages paid
to the men who had to dress the warp went very far
to counterbalance all the economical advantages
belonging to the power-loom itself. At length
Mr. Radcliffe, of Stockport, invented the dressing
frame, or machine by which the yarn is dressed
before being placed in the loom." From the cylin-
der, the warps are wound forward continuously
to another large bobbin-like roller, called a "weaver's
beam," which eventually is taken to the loom.

98

Modern Spinning and Weaving

An intermediate process, however, is necessary,
and that is called " dra wing-in." In the weaving
of cloth, all the threads of the warps are passed
through the eyes or loops of what are called
" healds," which perform a very important
part in the process. These healds are strong
polished threads, suspended and arranged between
shafts of wood. The number of these threads
correspond with those of the warps. To under-
stand the work of these healds, it should be ex-
plained that there are three important movements
in weaving. First, the lifting of the threads of
warp to allow the weft to pass through by means
of the shuttle. This movement is called ' ' shedding. ' '
The second is the shuttle movement, from side to
side, by which the weft is conveyed. This is called
" picking," and the weft threads are called " picks."
The third motion is the beating up of these weft
threads to each other, when they have been passed
through the warp. The healds lift the threads,
and perform the work called " shedding." For the
accomplishment of this purpose we are shown a
frame containing healds, and a warp beam above
it. A girl seated below draws each thread
of the warp down, and passes it in its turn
through the eye or loop of the suspended
heald. On the other side of the frame is another
girl who is called a " reacher-in," who takes

99 H2

Cotton

the threads as they are passed to her, and
places them in turn between the wires of a
narrow frame called a " reed," which, when in
the loom, will perform the motion of beating up
the weft.

When the warps with the healds and reed are
placed in the loom, the three movements of shed-
ding, picking and beating up, begin. The healds are
seen lifting up the required threads of warp, the
picking stick is propelling the shuttle and carrying
the weft, and the reed is moving backward and
forward among the warp threads beating up the
weft threads and so the cloth is gradually woven.
To distinguish the various makes of cloth, a
heading is frequently introduced, which con-
sists of coloured threads of weft, put in at the
commencement of the weaving. The operatives
engaged to watch this work are men and women,
and sometimes one person has charge of four
looms. It is the business of these weavers to keep
the shuttles supplied with cops, and to see that
the cloth is evenly woven, every piece being after-
wards examined to detect the existence of any
faults. If a warp thread breaks in the process of
weaving, the weaver takes one of a tuft of short
threads called '* thrums " attached to the loom and
joins the broken ends. If a weft thread breaks, the
loom is immediately stopped by a simple mechanical

100

Modern Spinning and Weaving

arrangement similar to that of the drawing frame
in spinning.

Differences in the production of woven fabrics
are brought about in one respect by changes in
the number and working of the healds, ingenious
appHances beneath the loom called " tappets,"
governing these movements and producing the
various complications among the threads of warp
and weft, and so producing endless varieties of
cotton cloths.

101

H-.'

CHAPTER VIII

" WHERE MERCHANTS MOST DO CONGREGATE "

Manchester Royal Exchange — a building de-
signed for and dedicated to the cotton-trade — may
be said to be the centre from which the many
individual spinning mills and weaving sheds
derive their dynamic force. All the branches of
cotton manufacture — spinning, weaving, bleach-
ing, finishing, printing and dyeing, etc. — represent
a capital estimated in round figures at £250,000,000,
and it is computed that a population of at least
3,000,000 is directly dependent for their daily bread
upon the transactions which are entered into upon
" the boards " of this Exchange.

The first Exchange synchronises with the begin-
nings of the cotton industry, but it was in no way
comparable to the institution as we know it to-
day. The Exchange has grown and developed with
the trade, and culminated in the dignified building
— now being greatly extended — which stands in
the centre of the city.

The merchants who, in the latter part of the 17th
century and the beginning of the 18th century
" well and truly laid " the foundation of the cotton

102

" Where Merchants Most Do Congregate '*

industry, did not cultivate expensive tastes. They
had their club where " the expense of each person
was fixed at 4J<Z., viz. ; 4d. for ale and a half-
penny for tobacco " ; and Dr. Aitken, writing over a
century ago, gives us a description of what seems
to have been the origin of the Cotton Exchange :
" There now resides in the Market Place of Man-
chester, a man of the name of John Shawe, who
keeps a common public-house in which a large
company of the respectable Manchester tradesmen
meet every day after dinner, and the rule is to call
for sixpenny-worth of punch. Here the news of
the town is quickly known. The ' high change '
at Shawe's is about six, and at eight o'clock every
person must quit the house, as no liquor is ever
served out after that hour, and should anyone
ever be presumptuous enough to stop, Mr. Shawe
brings out a whip with a long lash, and proclaiming
aloud, ' Past eight o'clock, gentlemen,' soon clears
the house. For this excellent regulation Mr. Shawe
has frequently received the thanks of the ladies of
Manchester and is often toasted."

In the year 1729, Sir Oswald Mosley, the Lord of
the Manor, appreciating the difficulties attending
the absence of a recognised meeting-place for
traders, erected a building in the Market Place not
far from Shawe's. It was intended " for chapmen
to meet in and transact their business." The heads

103

Cotton

of three rebels who swore allegiance to the Pretender
— Captain Thomas Deacon, Adjutant Syddall and
Lieutenant Chadwick, who were executed in
London, — were displayed from the top of this
Exchange, as was the gruesome custom of those
days. For above forty years this building was
the centre of some kind of trading activity, and for
a considerable time it was regarded as little more
than a " nursery school for petty crimes ; a nest
for disease." By common consent it was known as
the " Lazaretto." The trading was not confined to
cotton merchants as was the intention of the founder
and builder. Butchers set up their stalls there,
and the place gradually degenerated into a kind of
fair ground with all the associations common to
such a spot. This alienated the cotton merchants
and they surrendered their right to meet there.
They much preferred to negotiate in the narrow
streets or on a piece of ground known as " Penniless
Hill " where (in 1794), those who had developed
a foreign trade formed a Society " to resist and
prevent as much as possible, the depredations com-
mitted on mercantile property in foreign parts,
detect swindlers, expose chicanes and persons
void of principle and honour in their dealings."
Means were also devised to promote the safety
of trade generally, and a " black " list of
names of foreign firms who had surrendered their

104

" Where Merchants Most Do Congregate "

right to be considered honourable traders was
compiled.

The trade was now rapidly developing, and mer-
chants and manufacturers set to work to provide
for themselves an Exchange which should meet
their growing business requirements. At a meeting
of merchants in 1804 it was resolved to erect a
building in Exchange Street " for the purposes of
a commercial coffee room and tavern." But the
building was more dignified in character than the
use to which it was to be put seemed to suggest.
We read that the porters' dress consisted of a
" cock'd hat, a staff with silver head, on which was
engraved the Manchester Arms, and the words
' Manchester Exchange,' a dark blue cloak-coat
with gold lace at the collar and gold twist at the
button holes." Another interesting record of this
Exchange relates to the illumination of the
general room with candles. Sometimes the large
dining-room was used for Town's meetings. In
1812 a meeting was arranged to take place there
to consider a proposal to present an address to the
Prince Regent. Serious opposition, however, was
threatened. On the appearance of the notice con-
vening the meeting the following statement was
printed and circulated among the cotton operatives
and artisans of Manchester and the neighbour-
hood : —

105

Cotton

" Now OR Never. Those inhabitants who do not
wish for an Increase of Taxes and Poor Rates — an
Advance in the Price of Provisions — a Scarcity of
Work — and a Reduction of Wages — will not fail to
go to the Meeting on Wednesday morning next,
at the Exchange, and oppose the 154 persons who
have called you together ; and you will then do
right to express your detestation of the conduct of
those men who have brought this Country to its
present distressed state and are entailing misery
on Thousands of our industrious mechanics.

" Speak your minds now before it is too late ; let
not the Prince and the People be deceived as to your
real sentiments. Speak and act boldly and firmly,
but above all be peaceable." — {London Courier,
April 10, 1812.)

The meeting was abandoned. On the appointed
night, however, an angry mob assembled and
declining to believe that the meeting was not to
take place, broke into the room and wrecked the
furniture. The military stationed in Manchester
and Salford at the time were summoned to restore
order. This was speedily done, but already damage
estimated to exceed £600 was reported. The
Committee passed a vote of thanks to the four
Commanding Officers of the garrison and to the
officers and men under them for services rendered ;
and from that time until Manchester ceased to be
a garrison town all military officers in garrison in
Manchester and Salford had the privilege of free
admission to the Exchange — a concession allowed

106

'' Where Merchants Most Do Congregate "

to no other persons except elected life members
(those who have been continuous subscribers to
Exchange for sixty years).

The Committee of the Exchange afterwards
refused to allow their building to be used for public
meetings and rules were framed embodying the
Committee's decision. In 1842 this prohibition
seems to have been ignored by Mr. John Bright,
who at this time was an unknown member. In his
report of the occurrence the then Master of the
Exchange said :

" On Tuesday, about five minutes after one o'clock,
and during the most crowded time of 'Change, my
attention was drawn to the room from which pro-
ceeded very great noise and disorder. I instantly
went into the room where I perceived a gentleman
(whose name I was after informed was Mr. John
Bright, of Rochdale) standing upon one of the seats
and addressing the subscribers. I immediately
approached Mr. Bright and intimated to him that
his mode of proceeding was an infringement of the
laws of the institution, and requested him to desist
from speaking in the room. He took no notice, but
proceeded with his address amidst cries of ' go on,'
' turn him out,' ' pull him down,' etc. Finding that
I could not be answerable for the consequences if
he were allowed to proceed, I took the liberty of
removing him from the seat on which he was stand-
ing. I had no sooner done this than I was elbowed
and pulled about by Mr. Bright's friends who advised
him to proceed. Mr. Bright still attempted to go
on with his address, and I then informed him that

107

Cotton

if he was still determined to proceed, I must give
him into the hands of the police. This latter threat
had the desired effect, and a cry of ' adjourn ' was
raised, Mr. Bright and his friends leaving the room
(in the rush to get out breaking a window) and
addressed the people in Ducie Place from a staircase
window near the Times office."

Queen Victoria paid a visit to Manchester in
October, 1851, and the Cotton Exchange was used
as the place for the reception. In the " Life of the
Prince Consort," by Sir Theodore Martin, an extract
is given from the Queen's Journal describing Her
Majesty's visit to Manchester, in which the follow-
ing passage occurs : — " We drove through the
principal streets, in which there are no very fine
buildings — the principal large houses being ware-
houses— and stopped at the Exchange, where we
got out and received the Address — again on a
Throne — to which I read an answer. The streets
were immensely full, and the cheering and en-
thusiasm most gratifying. The order and good
behaviour of the people, who were not placed
behind any barriers, were the most complete we
have seen in our many progresses through capitals
and cities." A month later, Sir George Grey
(Home Secretary) informed the Mayor of Man-
chester that it was the Queen's pleasure that the
Manchester Cotton Exchange should henceforth be
known as the " Royal " Exchange of Manchester.

108

*' Where Merchants Most Do Congregate "

The exterior of the modern Exchange is famiUar
to the many ; the interior is familiar only to the
comparatively few, for the " boards " are forbidden
ground to all non-members. The " stranger's "
gallery is the only part of the building where other
than members are admitted, and to gain access to
this gallery one must be introduced by a member.

On the " boards " King Cotton reigns supreme.
It is rank heresy to talk about anything else.
Indeed the merchants have not the time, much less
the inclination, to think of other than " counts,"
" points " and grades of cotton. Their presence on
the boards means business and nothing but busi-
ness, so that words are not wasted in any direction
except only as an introduction to negotiation.
Hence the customary formula of the merchant
of an earlier generation which has not yet fallen
into desuetude : " Mornin', Owt ? Nowt, mornin'."

Politics may occasionally be privately discussed,
but only when the Legislature threatens to turn
its attention to some branch of cotton manufac-
ture. In March, 1917, the Directors suspended the
rigorous rules of the Exchange in regard to politics
in order to give the merchants the opportunity
to pass a resolution against the new Indian import
duties on cotton goods. The resolution was read to
the merchants at " High 'Change " by Sir Arthur A.
Haworth, and on being put to the vote was by him

109

Cotton

declared "carried by about 5,000 to 10." Mr.
Joseph Chamberlain, during one of his visits to the
city, was introduced to the gallery of the Exchange.
His presence was soon made known to the multi-
tude of merchants below and there were cries
of " Speech." Mr. Chamberlain expressed the
pleasure it gave him to visit " this great and impor-
tant centre of Lancashire commercial life," and in
an unguarded moment or, perhaps, in complete
ignorance of the rule against political argument,
he turned away from cotton and had begun an
excursion into the political sphere. The great
Protectionist orator started off with some arresting
phrases which would have culminated in much
cheering had he happened to be in the right
atmosphere for political dialectics. But Mr.
Chamberlain was greatly surprised when he dis-
covered that those who had just previously
clamoured for a speech, were now shouting, " No
politics ! " Mr. Chamberlain waited for a lull in
the disturbance to offer thanks and then gracefully
to retire. Presently the shouting ceased, leaving
just a murmur of disapproval. Welcoming this
opportunity to touch, as he thought, non-con-
tentious ground, Mr. Chamberlain essayed to
express thanks " on behalf of His Majesty's Govern-
ment," and was again interrupted. The distin-
guished visitor now betrayed a feeling of uneasiness

110

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" Where Merchants Most Do Congregate "

until it was explained to him that any remarks
with just a flavouring of politics were prohibited.
Mr. Chamberlain offered a gracious apology for his
transgression and shortly afterwards withdrew.

Other distinguished visitors to the Exchange
include the late Lord Salisbury, Lord Rosebery, and
Dr. Nansen, the Arctic explorer. Lord Rosebery
did not fall into Mr. Chamberlain's mistake. His
politics were never so obtrusive. Lord Rosebery
satisfied himself by saying that the sight before
him was the greatest he had ever seen. He could
only compare it to one other and that was the
blessing of the people by the Pope of Rome.
Nansen observed that he had visited territories
where very little cotton clothing was used. Mer-
chants declare that one of the greatest sights ever
seen on the " boards " was on the occasion of the
coronation of King George when about 5,000 men
sang the National Anthem and raised cheers for the
new Sovereign.

If one would see the Exchange at the height of its
business activity a visit must be paid at what is
called " High 'Change," when the large room
with an area of 7,000 square yards (including the
new extension), the largest of its kind in the world —
is crowded with merchants. This is a remarkable
sight from the gallery. From 2 o'clock until 2.45
the room is filling up rapidly and at High 'Change-—-

111

Cotton

2.45 — practically every square yard is occupied.
We will suppose that Mr. H. wants to see Mr. T.
and there are 5,000 men on the floor. Mr. H.
knows that Mr. T.'s " stand " is immediately under
one of the huge pillars which form a colonnade
on either side of the room and that the " stand *'
of another of his customers is two or three feet to
the right or left of another pillar. Looking down
on this crowd of humanity from the gallery, and
amidst all the apparent confusion, one can see
individual merchants pushing and pressing their
way to one special part of the house or specially
marked pillar. Their course is often a sinuous one
for they have to steer round groups of men who are
earnestly striving to negotiate a bargain at the
market price of cotton as quoted for that day and
hour. Many attempts have been made adequately
to describe the peculiarly muffled sound that
reaches the gallery from the " boards." To the
writer the confused and intermingled sound of
this babel and the incessant shuffling movement
across the crowded floor, united to produce some-
thing like the roar of a London Tube train when
approaching a railway station.

But you tell me that this is the great Exchange
where cotton yarn and cloth are bought and sold ?
Where are the goods ? To the visitor there are
no material evidences of the business in hand.

112

" Where Merchants Most Do Congregate "

The bales of cotton are at Liverpool — Lanca-
shire's " spot " cotton market — (or warehoused
at the Port of Manchester) and it is on the
Liverpool market price that all the business is
done. The primary work of the Exchange is the
transference of commodities. It is here that the
products of the spinning mills and weaving sheds
are disposed of for the home trade and the
shipping houses for export. Under the central
dome of the Exchange there is the following
proverb : "A good name is rather to be chosen
than great riches, and loving favour rather than
silver and gold." The standard of trading on the
Exchange is very high.

New York and Liverpool are the great cotton
distributing centres. The bulk of the cotton for
the Lancashire and Yorkshire mills comes from
Liverpool, where, as I have already indicated, all
the dealings are in " spots " and " futures." On
this market the visitor will perhaps appreciate
more readily than on the Manchester Exchange,
the shades of difference in price. Not only are
fractional coins dealt with, but these are divided
into " points," each of which represents the
one-hundredth part of a penny. In America the
cent is divided into a hundred points, two one-
hundredths of these approximating to a point on
our market. Cotton is sold according to sample,

113

Cotton

and it is the business of the broker to act as
.intermediary between buyer and seller. No one
is more expert than he in testing and selecting
just the grade of cotton required by spinners
for certain classes of work. In the testing of
samples of cotton a northern light is admittedly
the best, and you will rarely find a broker with
an office which does not provide a room with a
northern aspect. " Through the medium of his
conversation," wrote the late Mr. John Mortimer,
" the broker leads you to fields that to you
are fresh and new, and in imagination you become
an extensive traveller. His knowledge of the fibre
he deals in is more than superficial. He handles
the cotton as one who is familiar with it. Long
use has induced a sensitiveness of sight and
touch in testing it, which enables him to arrive
quickly at an estimate of its quality. His eye has
become microscopical, and fine distinctions which
would escape the ordinary observer are clearly
revealed to him, and the way he gauges the staple
of the lint by tension between his index fingers
and thumbs has something in it of the nature of a
fine art. As you converse with him you become
aware that his office is the medium of strange
currents of business flowing in and out, and extend-
ing from ' the flags ' close by, to transatlantic
distances. Now it is the telephone that is at work,

114

" Where Merchants Most Do Congregate '*

then messengers pop in and out with verbal
quotations relating to the state of the market ;
next comes a cablegram from New York which you
are told left that city only a few minutes before.
The air seems electrical, and as an illustration of
the rapidity with which transactions are sometimes
effected you are informed of one in which a message,
involving a purchase, was sent from the office to
New York, an answer received, and the business
satisfactorily completed in fifteen minutes."

But cotton landed at Liverpool is some miles
away from the spinning mills, and the cost of transit
from that seaport to East Lancashire is not incon-
siderable. One of the primary objects in con-
structing the Manchester Ship Canal, twenty- two
years ago, was that those who had cotton to supply
to the mills of Lancashire might be able to send
their bales direct to Manchester — ^the centre of the
spinning industry — where, if necessary, it could
be warehoused and conveniently distributed by
canal or railway to the mill gates at little cost
compared with the transport charges from Liver-
pool. Another important proposal was the estab-
lishment of a " spot " cotton market. With this
end in view the Manchester Cotton Association
was formed in 1894. The Manchester Ship Canal
has greatly benefited the Lancashire Cotton and
other industries by considerably reducing the cost

115 12

Cotton

of distribution, but the original shareholders in the
undertaking have not reaped the harvest which
they anticipated. The late Mr. J. K. Bythell, who
was for many years chairman of the Ship Canal Co.,
in 1916 explained that the disastrous event that
so seriously prejudiced the position of the original
shareholders was that the calculations on which
the estimated revenue was based were completely
upset. The Parliamentary Committees were induced
to pass the Bill because it was proved that on the
basis of the then existing cost of getting goods to or
from Manchester from or to vessels in the Liverpool
docks, it would be possible to give importers and
exporters a large saving as compared with using
the Port of Liverpool, and yet give the Ship Canal
sufficient revenue to pay a dividend. But what
happened ? The Liverpool dock dues on cotton
were reduced from Ss. 6d, to 2^. per ton. The
railway rates on cotton from Liverpool to Man-
chester from 9s. to 7s, 2d. and on Manchester goods
to Liverpool from IO5. to 8s. The advent of the
Ship Canal competition also reduced the railway
rates of cotton yarn to the East coast ports and
sea to Rotterdam from 32^. 6d. to 225. lOd., and on
machinery to Hamburg from 275. 6d. to 175. 6d.
The railway rate on cotton from Liverpool to
Manchester in 1916 was 75. 5d. inclusive. The Ship
Canal toll and wharfage rate paid for passing over

116

*' Where Merchants Most Do Congregate "

the Ship Canal and the use of the Manchester docks
was 6s, per ton, and this sum did not include pay-
ment for labour in loading and unloading, so that
the railways had been forced to reduce their
charges for the transport of cotton since the Canal
entered into competition with them for traffic.

The facilities for handling cotton at the Port
of Manchester are generally admitted to be excel-
lent, and the traffic over this waterway is growing.
Normally the imports of American cotton at the
Manchester docks amount to about 450,000 bales
annually. The imports of Egyptian cotton amount
to 220,000 bales. Roughly, the Egyptian cotton
handled is one-half of the total import of Egyptian
cotton into England. But Manchester is still with-
out its " spot " market. The reason is that Liver-
pool with her great shipping facilities and her big
market for cotton is rather too near her great rival.
Merchants, too, hesitate to interfere with their
existing associations with Mersey-side although
they recognise that the warehousing accommoda-
tion and the methods of handling and distributing
the goods at Manchester are not inferior — indeed
in some respects are superior — to what Liverpool
offers. But there is a growing opinion in favour
of Manchester having her own market now that the
large overseas ships come to the city.

A " spot " market in Manchester would have its
117

Cotton

effect on the business done on the Manchester
Exchange, and much of the cotton now warehoused
in Liverpool would come to Manchester, thus
considerably increasing the traffic on the Ship
Canal.

118

CHAPTER IX

GAMBLING IN COTTON

Raw cotton of the value of between two and
three hundred milHon pounds sterHng — at an
average price of 5d. to 6d, per lb. — (it is not likely
that cotton will be so cheap again) is consumed
yearly by the world's spindles, and the manu-
factured goods which in any one year are distri-
buted over the world's markets are valued at over
£500,000,000. The most serious evil to attend this
great industry is the manipulation of the markets
by the speculator. There are fluctuations in the
crop from year to year. But the fluctuations in
the price of cotton are not wholly governed by good
or bad crops, for there exists the illegitimate as well
as the legitimate speculator, and the operations of
the former have occasionally crippled the market
to an alarming extent and brought distress to the
millions of operatives whose prosperity depends
upon a good supply of cotton at a reasonable
price. The lowest point reached for " middling "
American (the standard cotton) was 3d. per lb.,
or £6 5s, per bale of 500 lbs., in February, 1895.
The highest point reached (excepting the period
of the American war, when cotton was 2s. 7d,

119

Cotton

per lb.) was when Sully, by cornering cotton in
February, 1904, brought about an advance in
price from 5d. per lb. to ^d. per lb., or £18 155. per
bale. In the summer of 1915 the price of raw
cotton was about 7\d. per lb., or £15 25. Id. per bale,
and in 1916 the price advanced to the hitherto
unheard-of figure (again excepting the period of the
American Civil War) of Is. per lb., or £25 per bale.
In June, 1917, cotton cost Is. Srf.per lb., or £40 per
bale. Every variation in the price of only one penny
per lb. represents £2 Is. Sd. per bale, and on the
average cotton crop of the world a penny per lb. will
represent about £50,000,000. It will be seen, there-
fore, that the interference of a speculator who may
not have even one bale of cotton to sell may easily
dislocate this huge industry by gambling, for it is not
the people who grow cotton or the people who use it,
but the speculators, who largely determine the price.
The excesses indulged in in the " futures " market
are considered to be the cause of high prices and
violent fluctuations which so frequently attend
the cotton industry. What are " futures " ? It is
a method of dealing in the raw material which, to
the uninitiated, is most bewildering. The dealer
in " spot " cotton (a term which denotes cotton
which actually exists either at Liverpool or Man-
chester) is the man who buys his cotton at the
then market price and settles for it promptly.

120

Gambling in Cotton

But to operate in " futures " is a process by which
a merchant either buys or sells cotton to be delivered
at a distant date and is therefore opposed to
" spot " transactions. The more intricate side of
cotton buying is that dealing with " futures."
To-day, operations in " futures " are conducted
on a very extensive scale, but as far back as 1876
the practice of buying " futures " called into exist-
ence a cotton clearing house in order, effectively, to
deal with debits and credits. The spinner who is
asked to quote a price for yarn for delivery in (say)
six months' time would,in the absence of a "futures"
market, find himself faced with a very difficult
problem. On the day of the enquiry the price of
the raw material we will assume to be 6d, per lb.
If the spinner were to give a quotation on the
asumption that that will be the price six months
later he would incur all the risks of fluctuating
prices. But the spinner, through the operation
of " futures," obtains from the cotton broker
quotations for the delivery of cotton at specified
times, and upon these quotations he bases his
own for yarn, securing himself against loss by
compensating transactions called "hedging." All
"futures" are based on one class of cotton, viz.,
"middling" American, a fibre about | in. long;
but arrangements are made whereby the various
grades of cotton are tenderable against " futures."

121

Cotton

At the first International Cotton Congress, at
Zurich, held in the year in which Sully had operated
in cotton with such disastrous effect, it was decided
to bring before the notice of the Cotton Exchanges of
New York, New Orleans, Liverpool and Alexandria,
the great injury done to the cotton industry by the
enormous speculations and urge these Exchanges
to consider what means could be adopted to prevent
persons who had no interest in the trade, either as
growers, merchants, spinners or manufacturers,
from operating in the market to the detriment of
the whole industry. It was further decided to
bring the matter before the respective Govern-
ments of the countries represented at the
Congress.

But the only practical way to end this gambling
in cotton seems to be the extension of cotton
culture in other fields. As the supply of cotton
increases the danger arising from speculation
decreases, and the difficulty attending financiers
who attempted to " corner " it will be greater.
Spinners and manufacturers do not desire that the
price of cotton should either be too low or too high,
but they do protest against the advancing of the
market price to a prohibitive figure by the " dealer
in differences."

The cotton crop of 1903-4, in which so much
speculation took place, is computed to have cost

122

Gambling in Cotton

the spinners the enormous sum of £100,000,000
more than the planter got.

Cotton planters have been urged from time to
time to hold for extreme prices, but it is doubtful
if the adoption of such advice would in the long
run be to their advantage. It must never be lost
sight of by the grower that cotton supplies the
clothing for the poorest people of the world in
every country, and that applies more particularly
to the 700,000,000 in India and China, to whom a
great rise in price certainly means a limitation of
their purchasing power, with consequently reduced
employment for the spinners and manufacturers
of the world upon whom growers of cotton are
dependent. *' So far as we in England are con-
cerned," said a prominent Lancashire cotton spinner
to the cotton growers, at Atlanta, in 1907, " we
can tell you that it is the price that the poor Indian
can afford to pay that determines what you will
get for your cotton. If cotton gets below a certain
price, then the Indian will purchase two or three
shirts in a year, whereas when cotton is higher he
will have to content himself with one. When he
purchases two or three shirts there is such a boom
in the cotton trade that everyone benefits. There
is an old proverb in the best book of political
economy that the world knows : ' There is that
scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that

128

Cotton

withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth
to poverty.' "

It has been the aim of all engaged in the manufac-
ture of cotton goods for many years to reduce the
cost of production by taking full advantage of
science and invention, and great economies have
been effected. The three sections of the cotton
trade — ^producer, spinner and the manufacturer —
have placed their brand of disapproval on the
cotton gambler, and although there is a section of
the trade who declare that it is not possible success-
fully to eradicate all speculation, there is a con-
sensus of opinion that the destructive competition
of the manipulator of cotton " futures " — who
either buys or sells on the Exchange cotton
which he does not intend to take or deliver, and
creates an artificial price which for the time
determines the price of the cotton crop, is unfair
to the grower, who is deprived of the right to fix
the price of his product, and disastrous to the
spinner and manufacturer, and the labour em-
ployed, inasmuch as it seriously affects the whole
industry.

At the Zurich conference a distinction was drawn
by a member of the English Federation between the
legitimate and the illegitimate speculator. The
legitimate speculator in cotton he described as the
grower who sold for future delivery with a view

124

Gambling in Cotton

that prices would decline, or held stock with a view
that prices would advance : one who sold cotton
that he expected to have or already had in his
possession. Again, the legitimate speculator was
the spinner who bought for future delivery or with-
held from buying cotton which he required for his
mill. It was held to be perfectly legitimate specu-
lation on the part of the spinner who, whether he
had orders for his yarn or not, bought cotton when
the market seemed to be in his favour, or to buy
from hand to mouth if he thought that prices were
on the descending scale. The illegitimate specu-
lator, on the other hand, was the grower, the mer-
chant, or the spinner who simply dealt in " futures,"
selling that which he did not possess, or buying
that which he did not want to use. The legitimate
buyer acts on his best judgment to provide cotton
for his mill. The illegitimate buyer acts for his
own personal gain, and has proved himself, whether
grower, merchant, spinner, manufacturer or finan-
cier, to be a pure gambler, and the greatest menace
to the industry. Gigantic speculation in cotton
robs the grower, the spinner and the manufacturer
of the legitimate return on their capital and for
their labour. It robs the labourer of his work
and his wages ; it prevents men using their best
energies in the growing, the spinning, the manu-
facture and the sale of their productions.

125

Cotton

But it is not an easy matter to free the industry
of this speculating menace. Three years later, at
the International Cotton Conference at Atlanta
(1907), it was urged that spinners must sweep
away the wild and unreasoning alteration and
variation in prices forced by the Cotton Exchanges
of Europe and America. Spinners recognise the
honest, the honourable middleman and admit
that he is a necessity between the grower and the
manufacturer of cotton, but when a large percentage
of the operations on these Exchanges are nothing
but gambling deals it is considered that the time
has arrived when these Exchanges should introduce
a system of dealing which will have the effect of
eliminating the highly speculative side.

126

CHAPTER X

COTTON FABRICS : AN ART MANUFACTURE

With wonderful skill and precision the decorative
art of the calico printer has kept pace with the
ingenuity of the spinner and manufacturer. From
the hands of the designer and the printer all the
forms of flowers of the field have proceeded, charged
with the mingled colours of the rainbow, decorating
calico or muslin, and by means of the Jacquard,
manufacturers produce figures which approach the
perfect embroidery of the needle. All the branches
of the industry — the spinning, the manufacturing,
the designing, the dyeing, the printing and the
finishing — by their co-operation in the manufac-
ture of the single vegetable product of cotton, are
making fabrics of the most artistic kind, which so
closely resemble the more expensive products as to
puzzle any but the expert in this class of goods.

There is an infinite variety of cotton fabrics
— coarse and fine, plain and fancy — and in
Lancashire certain districts specialise in goods to
meet the demands of the particular market they
serve. The mills of Blackburn and the district

127

Cotton

manufacture the loin cloths (dhootees) for the
Hindoo, and other of the coarser goods for the
Indian market. Coarse goods are also manu-
factured at Oldham and in the Rossendale Valley.
Burnley supplies printing cloths, whilst goods of
a finer quality and more elaborate in character
come from Bolton and Preston. The Bolton mills
are noted for their fine cambrics as well as for
quiltings and for coloured material generally.

Cotton fabrics derive their names in many
ways — from their texture, mode of weaving,
their colour or mode of colouring, their surface
finishing or place of manufacture. *' Grey cloth "
is a general term for all unbleached cotton cloth
(it is called unbleached or brown calico in the South
of England), which forms the largest part of Lan-
cashire's export trade. " Shirtings " are exten-
sively shipped to the Eastern markets, and shirt
cloth is the material used for the manufacture of
shirts and for other plain or fancy goods. " Sheet-
ing " is the term used to describe ordinary bed
sheeting as well as a grey calico sent to China and
other markets ; a plain, heavy grey calico is known
in the trade as " Mexican." " T Cloth " is a plain
grey calico very like the " Mexican," and is thought
to derive its name from an old trade mark.
" Domestic," as its name implies, refers more
particularly to goods for home use, and " mediimi "

128

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Cotton Fabrics: An Art Manufacture

is a plain grey calico used in the home and colonial
markets. There are many kinds of " raising
cloths." These have a weft which provides plenty
of nap, but with sufficient fibre to maintain the
strength of the web. Wigan cloth, manufactured
in the town and district of Wigan, is a heavy
fabric. " Croydon " is the name given to a plain
calico with a glossy finish. Jaconet is a plain
cloth but lighter than shirting, and " Sarong,"
a Malay word for a cloth used to wrap round
the loins and used by both men and women,
is now a comprehensive term in the Lanca-
shire trade for printed cloths which are sent to
India. Jean is a twilled cloth, and "Oxford"
is a plain woven cloth specially manufactured for
shirts, blouses, and dresses. " Harvard " approxi-
mates to the "Oxford" cloth, and "Regatta" is
a stout coloured shirt cloth and is used largely in
making sports' garments. Other cotton goods are
classified as baize, brocade, bombazine, chintz, crepe,
cretonne, dimity, drill, flannelette, fustian, gauze,
gingham, nankeen, print, rep, twill and velveteen.

Cotton is extensively blended with silk in many
useful fabrics. Excellent sheeting is made from
linen and cotton yarn, and the goods so produced
are known as " union cloths."

Calico printing is the most important branch
springing from the parent stem of the cotton trade.

129 ^

Cotton

It is the art and process by which colours are placed
on the plain fabric, giving variations of form
and gradations of colour more cheaply and expe-
ditiously than in the loom. The art seems to have
come from the inherent love of man (and woman)
for decoration. The early Britons had no clothes
except the skins of animals they killed in the chase.
They could neither sew nor weave, but they liked
to decorate their bodies. They used to paint their
skins in patterns with woad, a plant that produced
a blue dye.

Calico printing is of very ancient date in India,
and derives its name from Calicut, a district where
it has been practised from time immemorial. The
Egyptians appear also, from Pliny's testimony, to
have carried on, at a remote period, some of its
refined processes. England received the art from
France about the end of the 17th century, soon after
the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, it having been
previously derived by her from Central Germany.
The trade first planted itself in London. A number
of small establishments sprang up, and in 1700 it
had so taken root as to obtain in its favour a pro-
hibition of the cheap and beautiful printed goods of
India. This Act was intended to protect woollen
and silk manufactures from the competition of
Indian goods : it had, however, the effect of stimu-
lating and increasing the then infant calico print-

130

Cotton Fabrics: An Art Manufacture

ing trade. The English had become accustomed
to the use of printed calicos and chintzes, imported
by the Dutch and English East India Companies,
and they were spoken of as highly fashionable
for ladies' and children's dresses, as well as for
drapery and furniture, while the coarser calicos
were used to line the garments.

In 1702, the print trade attracted the attention of
the then Chancellor of the Exchequer and a duty
of Sd, per square yard was imposed on calicos
printed, stained, painted or dyed. Ten years
later this duty was raised to 6d. By the same
statutes, half these duties were laid on printed
linens, the latter being a home and the calico a
foreign manufacture. Notwithstanding the pro-
hibitory law of 1700, Indian goods were largely
introduced by the smuggler and freely consumed,
in spite of a penalty of £200 imposed on the buyer
or seller of Indian prints. A law, therefore, was
passed in 1720, prohibiting the use or wear of any
printed or dyed calicos whether printed at home or
abroad, and of printed goods in which cotton
formed a part, excepting only calicos, dyed all
blue, muslins, neck cloths and fustians. The
effect of this law was to put an end to the printing
of calicos in England, and to confine the printers
to the printing of linens. In 1736, so much of this
Act was repealed as forbade the use or wear of

131 »«

Cotton

printed goods of a mixed kind containing cotton,
and these fabrics were allowed to be printed,
weighted with a duty of Qd. per square yard.

In 1764, calico printers established themselves
in Lancashire, and after a period of 140 years from
the first introduction of duty the print trade was
allowed to enter into competition with other
fabrics on an equal footing. The cloth at this time
was a calico made of linen warp, crossed with a
cotton weft, and was called Blackburn Grey.

Mr. Robert Peel, the father of the first baronet
and grandfather of the great Sir Robert, who
lived near Blackburn, was a cotton manufacturer
and calico printer. Robert Peel made his first
printing experiments secretly. There is a story
that one day, in his kitchen, he was experi-
menting on some handkerchiefs when his young
daughter came in from the garden carrying a
parsley leaf. She suggested that it might make a
pretty pattern. Her father looked at it, and com-
plimenting her on her taste, immediately set to
work to transfer its outlines to a piece of cotton
cloth. It proved a success and the design became
as popular in the cotton trade as the willow pattern
in crockery ware. Robert Peel, " Parsley Peel "
as he was afterwards called, was to calico printing
what Arkwright was to spinning — a man of great
business talent and prudence with a genius for

132

Cotton Fabrics: An Art Manufacture

invention. The son of " Parsley Peel " the first
Sir Robert, established printworks at Bury, and
in a cottage not far from his works, his eldest son,
Sir Robert Peel the distinguished statesman, was
born.

Up to the year 1785, block printing, aided by
the flat copperplate printing press, was the only
method of calico printing. The block, with the
impression cut upon its surface, was dipped on a
stretched cloth or sieve, previously brushed over
with colour and then printed on the cloth. It
required 448 separate dippings and impressions to
print one piece of calico 27 inches wide and 28 yards
in length. This process, a very slow one, especially
when more than one colour was used, was super-
seded by the cylinder printing machine, invented,
it is said, by a Scotsman of the name of Bell. The
engraving in this process was prepared on a cylin-
drical copper roller, by pressing the cloth in contact
between this roller placed on an iron centre and a
weighted iron cylinder placed above it, and as the
copper cylinder revolved the cloth was drawn
between the two and the impression made upon it.
Whilst the block process produced six pieces a day,
the machine with the same number of hands
would produce any one or more colours from 200 to
500 pieces with fewer defects and greater accuracy.

The modern calico printing machine is made up
183

Cotton

of a large central drum which is covered with a thick
blanket. Engraved copper cylinders which print
the pattern are placed against this large central
cylinder round which the calico runs, the engraved
cylinders taking their colour from revolving wooden
rollers which are immersed in the dye. When roller
printing was first introduced, over 100 years ago,
only one colour was printed at a time. To-day,
machines are made to print sixteen colours at one
working.

Since the beginning of the great European war the
industry has been greatly handicapped for want of
special dyes. Hitherto the industry had largely
depended upon Germany for these dyes. Since
the Government interested itself in the manu-
facture of dyestuffs the position has been greatly
relieved, and it is hoped to make the calico printing
trade entirely independent of Germany in the future.
To this end a staff of distinguished chemists is
experimenting with a view to securing the brilliant
and fast dyes which are so necessary to the industry.

Lord Moulton, who was chairman of the com-
mitee appointed by the Government to investigate
the position caused by the stoppage of the supply
of German dyestuffs, told a meeting of north-
country calico printers, at Manchester, that when
he began to investigate the lack of dyes he found
England consuming some two million pounds'

I34i

Cotton Fabrics : An Art Manufacture

worth of dyes per annum. They were essential to
an industry of something Hke £200,000,000 per
annum, on which at least 1,500,000 workmen were
dependent. Further, that of the two million
pounds' worth of dyes that was required year by
year barely one-tenth was produced within our own
boundaries. The reason given by Lord Moulton
for the decline of the coal-tar industry in England
was " the English dislike of study. The English-
man is excellent in making the best of the means at
his disposal, but he is almost hopeless in one thing.
He will not prepare himself by intellectual work for
the task that he has to do." By way of illustrating
German concentration, Lord Moulton related the
following story : —

"Once I found myself on the top of one of the
Dolomite Mountains, and the only other person
there besides the guides was a German. I found
out that he was a chemist, and I began to talk upon
a chemical subject. He told me he was only an
organic chemist. He had not exhausted my
resources, and I began to talk of coal-tar and phar-
maceutical products. Then he told me that he was
a coal-tar by-product chemist. That did not beat
me, because I had just been fighting a case of canary
yellow. I thought I would get some subject which
was common to us, and I slipped into the subject of

canary yellow. Still the same ominous silence for

185

Cotton

a time, and then he said : ' I am only a coal-tar
chemist dealing with blues.' But I had not finished.
With an Englishman's pertinacity, not believing
I was beaten, I racked my brains for a coal-tar
blue — and I gradually, without a too obvious change
of subject, slipped into that. Then he finally
defeated me because he said in equally solemn
tones, but equally proud of the fact : ' I only deal
with methyl blues.' "

For the improvement of the coal-tar industry
in this country. Lord Moulton suggested the for-
mation of a large company — a company with a
national control so far as to keep it in the right
path ; a company which was co-operative between
the producer and the consumer. Hence the forma-
tion of British Dyes, Limited, to supply the aniline
dyes for calico printing.

136

CHAPTER XI

COTTON ORGANISATIONS AND STRIKES

A REVIEW of the cotton industry would not be
complete if it omitted to say something about the
powerful combinations of the masters on the one
side and of the workpeople on the other. These
organisations have existed through good report and
ill, for many years, enabling the representatives of
capital and labour to assemble together to discuss
the propriety of advancing or reducing wages, and
to consider and, if possible, adjust any differences
that may be said to exist in any mill or mills.

To-day the masters welcome the opportunity
to meet the representatives of the workers, for the
spirit of conciliation is happily abroad. Strikes
and lock-outs may sometimes affect their immediate
purpose, but these arbitrary methods cause a great
deal of unnecessary suffering, and bad feeling is
engendered between the parties to the dispute which
is not easily removed. In the early days, the
masters regarded the development of the trade
union movement with deep distrust. The leaders
were *' organisers of mischief " ; emissaries to
organise and wage civil war. They were certainly

137

Cotton

not authors of peace and lovers of concord. Wars
and rumours of wars prevailed, and there were
displayed feelings of general misgiving as to the
wisdom of legalising these " tyrannical combines."
In this early period there was a constantly-recurring
state of civil war between masters and men. The
cotton trade was agitated with strikes — sometimes
occurring in one firm, sometimes in several firms
at the same time. Victory went at one time with
the masters ; at another time with the men,
and in some instances the struggle became so
violent that the masters had to apply to the police
for protection.

The repeal, in 1825, of the Laws of Combination,
gave to workpeople the right to combine to secure
adequate remuneration for their labour, and to
demand some amelioration of the conditions under
which they worked. Before 1825 it was a punish-
able offence for workmen to combine to raise their
wages, and it had repeatedly been made the subject
of trial and punishment. But under a statute
called Hume's Act, all the old statutes on the sub-
ject were repealed and simple combination, either
on the part of the masters or workmen, was legalised
subject only to certain restraints in the event of
violence, molestation, or intimidation being proved
against the members of the combination, or persons
employed by them. There was a constant struggle

138

Cotton Organisations and Strikes

going on at this time between the capitaHsts and
the operatives in the cotton trade. The former
were striving — and with a measure of success — to
make wages low and profits high ; the latter to
make wages high and profits low, and the argu-
ment of those who called for the repeal of the
old laws against combination was that the great
contest could not be conducted on terms of equality
so long as the operatives were prohibited from com-
bining. The masters were always able to meet
together and effectively to combine against their
workpeople's claims. In the debates on the subject
it was urged that while the laws against combina-
tion failed in their object, the terror they inspired
from being sometimes, though but rarely enforced,
produced in the workmen a feeling of hostility
against their masters, and a growing dissatisfac-
tion with the laws of their country. It was thought
advisable, therefore, to try whether a more lenient
and liberal system might not be productive of good
effects, and produce by the sense of mutual bene-
fits and independence a good understanding between
workmen and their employers.

The Lancashire Cotton Operative Spinners did
not permit any delay in the formation of organisa-
tions, and in the year 1836, following a period of
unprecedented prosperity, they engineered a disas-
trous strike (which lasted three months) for higher

189

Cotton

wages, and the example thus set was followed by
the operatives at Glasgow, with equally disastrous
results. The Lancashire cotton workers " struck "
the mills at Preston, in November, 1836, and
returned to work, without gaining any concession,
early in February of the following year, leaving
a net pecuniary loss to the 8,500 operatives of
£57,210 and a total loss to the town and trade of
Preston of £107,196. Of the 8,500 operatives only
660 (all the spinners), voluntarily left their work,
the greater part of the remaining 7,840 (piecers —
children employed by the spinners — cardroom
workers, reelers and power-loom weavers, and over-
lookers) being thrown out of employment through
their dependence on the spinners.

When the mills had been closed for one month,
the streets began to be crowded with beggars ;
the offices of the overseers were besieged with
applicants for relief; the inmates of the work-
houses began to increase rapidly, and scenes of
the greatest misery and wretchedness were of con-
stant occurrence. The spinners on strike received
some financial assistance from their union ; the
cardroom hands and power-loom weavers were
unassisted and helpless. Towards the end of the
year the funds of the union were exhausted, and
distress of the most acute kind was widespread.
The masters were prevailed upon to open the mills

140

Cotton Organisations and Strikes

to give those operatives who wished to return to
work an opportunity to do so. They, however,
announced their determination to abide by their
former offer of an increase of ten per cent, in the
rate of wages, and required from all those who
should enter the mills and resume work a written
declaration to the effect that they would not at
any future time, whilst in their service, become
members of any union or combination of workmen.

The strike did not end until the first week in
February, 1837. We are told that no systematic
acts of violence or violations of the law took place
during the trouble. Detachments of the military
patrolled the streets to preserve order, but their
services were not required. Some of the operatives
died of starvation, thousands suffered severely
from cold and hunger ; in almost every family
much wearing apparel and articles of furniture
were pawned, the savings of years were entirely
exhausted ; heavy debts were contracted and
shopkeepers were ruined.

The Glasgow strike continued for a period of
seventeen weeks, and on an average weekly wage
of thirty shillings, the direct loss to the operatives
in wages was £91,290, and the total loss to Glasgow,
£207,290. Three days before the operatives gave
way the Strike Committee had been arrested in
consequence of information connecting them with

141

Cotton

8L series of outrages, terminating in murder. The
following statement published by the cotton manu-
facturers of Renfrewshire about this time will give
some idea of the way in which life and property
were assailed : —

" The master cotton spinners of Renfrewshire, con-
sidering that, on the night between the 2nd and 3rd
of May last, the cotton mill of Messrs. Robert Freeland
and Company, at Bridge of Weir, was wilfully set fire
to ; that, on the night of the 9th September last, Robert
Todd, cotton spinner at Arthurlie, was barbarously
shot at when in his own house, and severely wounded ;
that, on the night of the 26th November last, William
Kerr, cotton-spinner at Bridge of Weir, was waylaid
on his return home, and also severely wounded by the
discharge of a pistol ; and that, on the morning of the
13th December last, an attempt was made to set fire
to the cotton work of Mr. William Arrol at Houston ;
and considering that anonymous letters have been sent
to various operative spinners and to several masters
threatening assassination if particular workmen remain
in employment ; and that it has been discovered that
other acts of felony are in contemplation similar to
those which have already occurred ; and whereas it
has been ascertained that these atrocious crimes have
been committed and are intended by incendiaries and
assassins, hired and paid by an Association of Operative
Spinners in this county, whose purpose is to control
the masters in the choice of their servants ; and it is
known that almost the whole operative spinners of the
district regularly contribute money towards the pay-
ment of rewards for the destruction of property and
perpetration of murder — therefore, the master cotton
spinners feel themselves bound to come forward in a

142

Cotton Organisations and Strikes

body, and in aid of the police of the county to adopt
the strongest measures for the suppression of a system
of crime so degrading to the character of the operatives,
so injurious to their true interests, and so dangerous
to the public peace. Accordingly, notice is hereby
given, that this mill has stopped work, and the whole
operative spinners who were employed at it are dis-
missed. And notice is further given, that as the mill
will remain idle until the existing conspiracy among
the operatives is completely subverted, it is in like
manner determined that hereafter, so soon and so often
as any symptom of the renewal of such a system of
conspiracy and contribution shall be discovered, the
whole mills of the county will instantly be again thrown
idle, and work shall be suspended till the complete
suppression of such renewed conspiracy and the detec-
tion of its principal instigators, the masters being re-
solved that no consideration will induce them to prose-
cute their business while their servants are concerned
in designs so criminal and alarming."

In 1853, there was another disastrous strike in
Preston. It lasted nearly six months. There were
few among the strikers who remembered the great
failure of the Preston spinners to dictate terms
to the masters in 1836. The operatives at this
time were getting about 265. weekly and as work-
men in other trades had received advances in
wages, they decided to seek better remuneration
for their labour. Attempts to come to an agree-
ment between employer and employed failed. The
masters were firm against an advance and the

148

Cotton

operatives were equally determined on their side.
There was nothing for it but an appeal to the
strike.

The masters issued a manifesto which did not
tend to conciliate ; it rather deepened the estrange-
ment between their workpeople and themselves.
The masters stated that after agreeing to give an
advance on the rate of wages, they regretted to
find that the operatives had put themselves under
the guidance of a designing and irresponsible body,
who, having no connection with the town, nor
settled position anywhere, but living upon the
earnings of the industrious operative, interfered
for their own purpose and interest in the relation
between master and servant — creating, where it
did not exist, and fostering and perpetuating
where unhappily it did, a feeling of dissatisfaction
and estrangement — and, in a spirit of assumption,
arrogating to themselves the right to determine,
and dictate to the operatives the means of enforc-
ing the conditions upon which they should be per-
mitted to labour. To this spirit of tyranny and
dictation the masters decided that they could no
longer submit, in justice either to the operatives
or themselves ; hence they were compelled reluc-
tantly to accept the only alternative left — ^to close
their mills until those operatives on strike were
prepared to resume their work, and a better under-

144)

Cotton Organisations and Strikes

standing was established between the employer and
the employed.

In adopting this course the masters were fully
sensible of the serious evils, moral and social,
which must attend it, and which the sad experience
of 1836 must have painfully recalled to the recol-
lection of many. They felt, however, that the
responsibility was not theirs ; that it rested with
those who had recklessly created the difficulty
and forced this decision upon them.

The community generally were greatly relieved
when the mill gates were again thrown open to the
operatives. The tradesmen rejoiced to hear the
familiar clatter of the clogged workpeople in the
early morning as they hurried to the mill. The
curling columns of smoke coming from the factory
chimneys, which had stood lifeless for so long,
meant a return to much-needed prosperity ;
the hum of the spinning machinery was music
to the ear. The homes of the workers gradually
assumed a brighter appearance and a note of thanks-
giving was heard in the churches. The districts
involved in the strike had passed through a severe
affliction and here was the dawn of a brighter day.
But the operatives' organisation in other districts
were soon involved in disputes with the masters'
organisations. Discontented with the amount of
wages they received or the number of hours they

145

Cotton

worked, the operatives were ever ready to " strike "
the mills if the masters refused to accede to their
requests. The operative's rights, real or imagined ;
his wrongs, questionable or unquestionable, formed
the issue of many a conflict. The Bolton strike
in the autumn of 1877, lasting nine weeks, involving
a loss of £90,000 and ending in a reduction of
5 per cent, in wages, was the beginning of a more
general strike in the following year — a strike dis-
tinguished from all others as the " great Lancashire
strike." In this fight 300,000 people were imme-
diately concerned, involving a large sum in
wages. It was a time of general trade depression.
The markets were greatly overstocked, and the
operatives maintained that this was the result of
increased machinery. The employers of North
and North-East Lancashire proposed a reduction
in wages of 10 per cent., and in Manchester a
meeting of the Masters' Association, presided over
by Colonel Raynsford Jackson, resolved that a
10 per cent, reduction should be universally
enforced. The masters refused to submit the point
in dispute to arbitration, and this deepened the
hostility between masters and men. Realising
that the strikers were partly maintained in the fight
by the operatives at work, the masters added fuel
to the flames by closing all the mills, and the opera-
tives, although they feared that they would not

146

Cotton Organisations and Strikes

be able successfully to fight the organised combina-
tion of the masters, resolved to resist this proposed
reduction of wages until starvation enforced sub-
mission. But resistance offered was not of a passive
character. Infuriated mobs thronged the cotton
weaving districts and great disorder broke out
everywhere. Factory windows were smashed,
vitriol was thrown at those regarded as oppressors,
serious rioting became general, and the house of
Colonel Jackson (whose life was in great danger)
was pillaged and burned to the ground.

The Lord Chief Justice, in sentencing the men
found guilty of this crime, pointed out that workmen
had no right of power to compel the employer to
pay for their labour the price that they chose to set
upon it. The strike ended after nine weeks' struggle,
the operatives having lost in wages during that
period £700,000. Other disturbances occurred
in the cotton districts in the period from 1878 to
1891, but they were of a sectional character. The
year 1892 will be remembered for the twenty weeks'
disastrous conflict which was ultimately settled
by compromise and the adoption of a famous agree-
ment (since abandoned by the operatives), which
regulated negotiations between employers and
operatives in the cotton spinning trade for above
twenty years. This agreement was known as the
Brooklands Agreement, because it was signed after

147 1.8

Cotton

an all-night conference at the Brooklands Hotel,
in Cheshire, where the parties to the agreement
had secretly assembled in order to avoid any
publication of the negotiations until a final settle-
ment had been reached. This agreement, in its
preamble, declared that " the representatives of
the employers and the representatives of the
employed hereby admit that disputes and differ-
ences between them are inirtiical to the interests
of both parties, and that it is expedient and desir-
able that some means should be adopted for the
future whereby such disputes and differences may
be expeditiously and amicably settled and strikes
and lock-outs avoided." This agreement did not
admit of more or less than a 5 per cent, rise or fall
at a time and this only after an interval of two
years from the last alteration of wages. The com-
parative freedom from general stoppages in the
cotton industry for twenty years was attributed
to the operation of the Brooklands Agreement.
Since the abrogation of this industrial treaty by
the Operative Spinners' Amalgamation (because
of the alleged unnecessary delay in settling " bad
spinning " disputes) and the consequent withdrawal
of the Cardroom Workers' Amalgamation, the
industry has been greatly irritated by sectional
strikes and threatened with *' lock-outs."

Of the 55,000,000 cotton spindles in England,
148

Cotton Organisations and Strikes

44,000,000 are controlled by the Master Cotton
Spinners' Federation, and 4,000,000 by the Cotton
Spinners and Manufacturers' Association, the latter
being an organisation in which the weaving section
of the industry is most largely represented. This
leaves about 7,000,000 spindles outside the Em-
ployers' Associations.

Practically all the operatives are members of
their trade unions. There is not a body of workers
in the country better organised, and their leaders
are quite as well informed about the cotton trade
and as familiar with all its technicalities as the
employers. When there is a dispute representatives
of both sides meet in conference with a view to
settling it without an appeal to the arbitrament
of the strike or lock-out. On these occasions little
time is wasted in preliminary manoeuvres. The
whole position has been well reconnoitred before-
hand. It is simply a hard fight for a position, and
when (as is frequently the case) the parties to the
dispute are equally determined not to give ground,
the conference ends in a deadlock, and if the good
sense of the combatants do not find a way out of
the impasse by way of compromise, the operatives
declare a strike and the masters counter-attack with
an order to close their mills. But there is still time
to avert a disastrous stoppage, and it is not unusual
for an eleventh-hour peace to be announced.

149

Cotton

The principal operatives' organisations are the
Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton
Spinners, the Amalgamated Association of Card-
room and Blowing-room Operatives, and the
Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of
Weavers. The United Textile Workers' Association,
representing above 400,000 cotton operatives, is
the body which deals with all legislative enactments
affecting the cotton industry.

150

CHAPTER XII

A GENERAL UTILITY PLANT

The fibrous contents of the pod was for centuries
the only commercial product of the cotton plant,
and when the silken filaments and the seed had
been collected, the plant was treated as refuse and,
as such, was either burned or used as a fertiliser.
Scientific investigation, however, has brought other
parts of the plant into commercial use, and in com-
paratively recent years other large and important
industries in connection with it have sprung up
and been greatly developed. The leaves and empty
capsules and the seed of the plant are now prepared
as fodder for cattle. The seed also furnishes an oil,
resembling olive oil, which is used in the manufac-
ture of margarine and for cookery, and soap is
manufactured from cotton-seed oil mucilage. The
bark of the cotton stalk is converted into bags and
mats, and paper is manufactured from the fibrous
waste. Our felt hats, floorcloths and upholstering
materials are made from the gossamer fibres that
cling to the seed after ginning. The roots have been
found to contain medicinal properties, the ashes
of burned husks are used by tobacco planters as

151

Cotton

a substitute for potash, whilst from the waste
cotton which is not convertible into yarn and cloth
we get the wick for candles and oil lamps, brushes,
coarse wrapping material and the powerful explosive
— ^gun-cotton.

The most important manufactures, other than
cotton, which depend upon the cotton plant for the
raw material are : — Gun-cotton, paper-making,
cotton-seed oil, and cotton-seed meal and cakes.

Gun-cotton is a substance of variable composi-
tion. It is obtained by soaking cotton in a mixture
of nitric and sulphuric acids, and is remarkable
for the low temperature at which it explodes.
Dissolved in ether gun-cotton forms collodion, now
extensively employed in photography. Collodion
is also used by surgeons for cut and flesh wounds.
The discovery of gun-cotton is attributed to
Professor Schonbein, of Basle. It is related that
when the discovery was first announced in England
(1846) Professor Schonbein exhibited the properties
of this new explosive to the Prince Consort at
Osborne House, Isle of Wight, and a quantity of it
was exploded in his hand without any untoward
result. Encouraged by this innocent experiment
a military officer offered his hand for a similar
demonstration. This officer had previously declined
the invitation of the Professor, but as the Prince
Consort assured him that he had not suffered any

152

i

f^^^

^^^^^^^^^^K^ ^

A General Utility Plant

inconvenience, the officer stretched forth his hand.
The inventor placed a portion of the gun-cotton
on his palm and ignited it. Then the officer sud-
denly jumped away with a shriek. What was to
the Prince an innocent experiment proved a most
disagreeable one to the officer. The Professor
showed a feeling of alarm and commiserated with
the victim. The injury, however, was not serious,
and the company laughed heartily since the officer
only submitted to the test after it was thought
that the Prince had proved how simple and harm-
less it was. Since this time gun-cotton has been
made into an explosive of great power and has
largely superseded gunpowder. The use of the
latter caused too much smoke for modern war and
readily fouled the firearm. Gun-cotton, on the
other hand, is practically smokeless and is largely
used on that account.

After the spinner and manufacturer have wrought
all the fibres of cotton which they can control into
yarn and cloth, there remains a portion of waste
inconvertible into those products. This waste
has long been one of the valuable materials very
extensively used by the paper-maker, to be ulti-
mately applied to literary purposes. From this
waste cotton excellent paper is made for the letter-
press printer.

The crushing of the cotton seed for the oil it
153

Cotton

contains has grown into an important commercial
undertaking. One hundred years ago the first
oil mill for cotton seed was built in Carolina, and so
slowly did this new industry develop that during
the next forty years there existed in the whole of
the States only seven oil mills. In the next decade
the number had increased to forty-five, and in the
year 1900 the number of cotton-seed mills in
America had increased to 357 and 2,500,000 tons
of seed were dealt with. To-day there are about
840 mills engaged in the business of crushing cotton
seed in the Southern States. The seed produced
in any one year may be estimated (in round
figures) at 7,000,000 tons. Of this amount about
5,000,000 tons are taken by the mills, and from this
material is manufactured not less than 200,000,000
gallons of oil and 2,000,000 tons of cake and
meal.

The oil from the cotton seed is largely used as a
substitute for olive oil. For a long time the cotton-
seed oil had to fight against the opposition of the
olive oil industry and public prejudice. It was
declared to be unfit for human consumption. The
bitter taste which the oil had in its crude state,
when first placed upon the market, did not help this
new industry in its competition with the old estab-
lished oil, but methods of refining it were soon dis-
covered, and in recent years it has been made more

154

A General Utility Plant

palatable and so like olive oil in taste and colour
as to puzzle any but the keenest expert to detect
the difference between olive oil and that extracted
from the cotton seed. The virtues of this oil has
long since been established, and the highest grade
of it is now used in the manufacture of margarine,
as a salad dressing, and for other culinary pur-
poses.

The value of cotton-seed meal for the feeding of
cattle was discovered soon after the oil mills were
established, but was not extensively used at that
time. During the last twenty years the value of
the meal has been demonstrated and the trade in it
has been greatly extended.

To sum up, this tropical shrub provides us with
clothing, with food for ourselves and fodder for
cattle, with the raw material for paper ; it furnishes
us with artistic tapestries for our furniture ; all
the peaceful arts draw largely upon it, whilst the
scientist has converted the white fibrous substance
into a destructive agent. The cotton plant is indeed
a plant of general utility, and notwithstanding
its deadly use on the battlefield, may be said to have
exerted a wonderfully civilising influence in many
parts of the world's hinterlands. We are told,
indeed, that the natives of the New Hebrides
have been converted from naked cannibals into

cotton-clad Christians.

155

APPENDIX I

The following paper on Cotton " Futures " is
regarded as the leading exposition on what is an
extremely technical and highly important subject.
It was written by Mr. Charles Stewart, proprietor
and editor of the Cotton Gazette, and was read by
him before the members of the British Associa-
tion, at the annual meeting of that body at Liver-
pool in 1896. Mr. Stewart has kindly given me
permission to reproduce it : —

What are ** futures ? " Their very name denotes
that they have nothing to do with what is past
or present — and let me state here at once that I
am dealing particularly with American Cotton
*' Futures" (the greatest field for the exercise of
this special kind of operation), although, broadly
speaking, the system is applied to other growths of
cotton and other kinds of produce. A cotton crop
or a cotton stock in a marketable centre is a thing
which exists. When such is offered for sale in bulk,
either by sample of the actual thing or by recog-
nised standard, that stock is called "spot" cotton.

157

Appendix I

It is on the spot — there to see, to handle, to be
bought, a something tangible ; and in the proper
places, instituted by respective markets and asso-
ciations, a faithful record of the quantities is kept
for statistical and general purposes. In days gone
by, such known stocks, whether in the United
States or Great Britain, or the Continent, were
the only cotton that could be bought or sold ;
and as, say, during the period of the American
War, where a consumer could not put his hands on
the actual supplies required for the engagements
of his spindles and looms, he had terrible possi-
bilities of loss and uncertainty staring him in the
face. He could not re-spin his yarn, he could not
re- weave his cloth. He could not substitute any
other produce for that hungry machinery, although
perhaps supplied with its proper food for one
month ahead ; he knew nothing, saw nothing,
but what was, even if it were not immediately
wanted for use.

Without going into unnecessary details as to
how, in the gradual expansion of commerce, a new
system grew side by side with increased produc-
tion and telegraphic developments in particular,
it is enough to say that one step followed another
in a process of evolution — until nowadays in addi-
tion to what is offered for sale in the nearest and
most convenient market, a man may buy or sell

158

Appendix I

(as the case may be) upon an acknowledged
basis of quality, an equivalent to his actual require-
ments, or possibilities of production for delivery to
him if a consumer, or from him if a producer, quite
easily for twelve months ahead, before even the
ground is prepared for the crop which the neces-
sities of the world will require in due time. In other
words, from a consumer's point of view (and I
specially rather favour here a description of his
position, as w^e in Great Britain are consumers and
not producers of the raw material), if a spinner or
manufacturer is offered a contract that will employ
his machinery and hands profitably for, say,
twelve months ahead, the, at first sight, awkward
fact that he does not possess the actual cotton for
the work, nor the hard cash to buy it, need occasion
him no special alarm. With calm quiet merchant-
ing he can protect himself at once. How does this
come about ? We are in the month of November.
Looking at a Liverpool cotton market report in
the columns of the daily or weekly press in normal
times one would find a table of abbreviations and
figures, thus : —

7.04

Nov.

6.87 Peb.-Mch.

6.89

Nov.-Dec.

6.88 Mch.-Apl.

6.87

Dec. -Jan.

6.88 Apl.-May

6.87

Jan.-Feb.

etc. etc.

Alongside these abbreviated months, which ar

159

Appendix I

called " positions," are figures. The first signifies
pence, and the following figures so many one-
hundredths of a penny per lb. Thus 6.88 means
6.88/lOOcZ. What does this mean exactly ? First
of all let it be understood that the standard pre-
viously referred to is the " Middling " grade of
American cotton, the standard of the trade. Any
cotton expert knows what " Middling " American
is, just as well as any ordinary man knows what a
shilling-piece is. Cotton is classed into various
grades, fixed authoritatively by experts, for which
grades type standards exist. The ruling standard
is always "Middling." There are higher grades,
there are lower grades, but the standard is fixed.
Therefore if a merchant sells a contract for future
delivery, say, in November or December, for
"Middling" cotton at a given price, both seller
and buyer know perfectly well what they are deal-
ing with. Nothing else is intended, and nothing
else can be substituted, except under certain
conditions, and anyhow the basis is unaltered. It
is a safe contract for both. Such contracts, however,
are subject to a clause which guarantees that the
seller shall not tender any cotton below " Good
Ordinary," which is lower than " Middling " —
he may tender as much higher as he pleases. It
may reasonably be objected, " Yes, but if he
tenders below the standard grade at his option, how

160

Appendix I

is it fair to the buyer? " The answer is, that the
buyer in this case has full recourse to an arbitration
on the samples of the tender ; and just so much
as the tender is below the standard, so is he awarded
by experts (subject to a right of appeal to a fixed
committee) exactly such monetary compensation
as the tender is below the strict contract. But
observe, it must be within the limit of " Good
Ordinary " ; anything lower than this is rejected,
or a penalty is exacted. On the other hand, if
the season be one in which high grades are com-
paratively very plentiful, the seller may possibly
tender higher than the standard ; and, subject to
arbitration and appeal as above, just so much as
the tender is better than the standard, at the ruling
prices of the day of test, does the seller receive from
the buyer so much more money than the actual
price of the contract.

The explanation of the character of the contract
carried to finality may be amplified by the remark
that a seller who contracts to deliver to the buyer
a November and/or December contract is bound
to fulfil his engagement on or before December 31
(he may do it at his convenience upon about every
alternate business day between November 1 and
December 31) or be liable to a penalty. This
remark, however, does not altogether explain all,
for this reason : — A man who buys " futures "

161

Appendix I

\

does not as a rule want the cotton itself ; a man
who sells " futures " does not want to provide
the cotton. More generally in practice each man's
turn is served (as I shall explain later) by his
having concluded a contract, in the terms of which
he gets perfect protection, for a standard quality
at a given price with a responsible firm, and has,
therefore, a guarantee which serves as a basis for
some other operation of which this is only a
part.

Having explained briefly what a contract is, let
me show how it works as a contract in suspense,
not yet fulfilled. For the working of " futures "
contracts a most elaborate and complete machinery
exists in what is known as the Clearing House of
the Liverpool Cotton Association. Starting, say,
with any day during the week, Monday to Saturday,
A. may have bought from B., and therefore vice
versd, say, 1,000 bales of cotton in the manner
cited. For simplicity's sake, let us assume that all
these contracts have been concluded on the basis
of 46?. per lb. Whatever contracts A. has bought
from B. by the Saturday (from the previous Monday)
stand good for next week's settlement, because
once in each week the difference in price between
buyer and seller must be adjusted in cash. At
eleven o'clock on each Monday morning a Com-
mittee adjusts what are called the " settlement

162

Appendix I

prices " of the different positions on the board.
This adjustment is open to no question. It is dis-
interested, and the prices fixed for the different
months or positions at eleven o'clock on Monday
morning are the exact values of all contracts at
that hour. Supposing values have gone up during
the week, since the contracts were made, say, JcZ.
per lb., then the seller is indebted to the buyer for
that difference of a farthing. But if values have
gone down in the meantime, then the buyer is
indebted to that extent to the seller, and the debit
balance must be paid by either the one or the other
into the Clearing House on the following Thursday
morning at 1 p.m., or the defaulter is posted.

Although only the difference between the price
of the contracts and the value on the day on which
the settlement price is fixed, passes between A.
and B. through the medium of the Clearing House,
it must not be assumed that a ^d, per lb. is of
little consequence. Such a difference on the con-
trary, is a very important one (there are less differ-
ences ; there are greater, for prices are constantly
fluctuating). It means roundly at least £50 every
100 bales, and as many firms may easily be "long "
or " short " 10,000 to 50,000 bales, 10s. per bale
is a decidedly important item. To be " long "
is to have bought ; to be *' short " is to have sold.
So long as a contract is " open," that is, either not

163 M 2

Appendix I

matured or not " rung out " as the saying is (a
process which comes about by the seller becoming
a buyer, and the buyer becoming a seller of the
same quantity and the position — a practice, with
greater or less detail, constantly in operation) the
differences have to change hands every week on
the basis of the last Monday's striking prices, quite
irrespective of the full value of the number of bales
interested. This full value, say £8 to £10 per bale,
never comes into consideration at all until and
unless an actual tender takes place.

The proportion of cotton actually tendered and
accepted is in the highest degree quite infinitesimal
compared with the contracts entered into. It
must not be assumed, however, that a contract
can only be reversed and closed out on a Monday
at 11 a.m. simply because the striking price is
fixed then. A contract is liable to be closed at
any time ; and if this, for example, should be done
on Tuesday, or Wednesday morning or afternoon,
and so on, the difference due on that contract is
that between the Monday's striking price and the
value at the time of closing. In plain English let
me state further — because I know that much mis-
conception obtains on the point — that if a buyer
or a seller, through his broker, buys or sells to-day
100 bales or more for Jan.-Feb. delivery, and his
purpose served, he sells or buys again in November,

164

Appendix I

or at any intervening time, the same quantity of the
same position, his responsibility in such contracts
terminates at once. All that he has to do with is
the difference between the price at which he bought
and at which he sold, and his liability in a contract
is at an end, whether it applies to a delivery one
month away or twelve months away ; and it is of
no consequence whatever to him if the purchase
is from Smith and the sale is to Jones. The responsi-
bility rests with the broker, and it is adjusted
between him and the Clearing House.

Now, having, as I think, made this tolerably
clear, let me ask you to follow me in my attempt
to explain how this " futures " machine works
in its various ramifications towards the attainment
of its great objective, viz., in its movement and
moving and use of the American cotton crop.
With this object I divide my subject into two
main divisions — the first dealing with "Futures"
as Sales, the second as Purchases. I will take the
Sales first, as the first transaction that can happen
with a marketable commodity necessitates that
the possessor must be a willing seller. We will
divide this consideration of " sales " into three
sections: — (1) The use of "futures" to enable a
planter to secure a favourable price while his crop
is growing. In times gone by the tiller of the soil
toiled away until harvest time, gathered his crop,

165

Appendix I

got it to market somehow or other, and sold his
produce for what it would fetch ; generally speak-
ing, when thousands of his neighbours were doing
the same thing. The natural result was congestion,
a universal demand for cash or exchange, and
according to circumstances a greater or less diminu-
tion in value. For the farmer must have bread and
clothing for his family, fodder for his cattle, oil
for his lamps, fuel for his fires, and stores of all
kinds for consumption. His cotton was of no use
to him itself. It was his currency to buy the
necessities of life, and must be exchanged. With
it he bought, and buys, the dollars with which to
pay his rent and other charges ; and if he could
unload only at the time of harvest his property
ran a great chance of depreciation, because every-
one else was unloading about the same time.

Well, it may be asked. Where do " futures "
come in ? They come in here. No man knows
better than the farmer what his green and after-
wards snow-white acres are likely to yield him. His
crop may be according to locality — a quarter, a
third, half, or even a bale to the acre (a standard
bale weighs 500 lbs. ). Let us assume that some great
financial or commercial depression appears to be
looming ahead in the autumn, or other violently
disturbing feature like a presidential election, with
the possibilities of a congestion at harvest time of a

166

.' i

Appendix I

great crop, and values down in the commercial
marts of the world to all but the bare cost of pro-
duction, if not below it. What a gloomy outlook
for the realisation of hours and days and weary
months of labour ! Without the " futures "
market the planter would be at the mercy of events,
or the money-lender. In the July of 1896, " Mid-
dling " American in Liverpool was as low as
S^d, per lb. ; the same standard for delivery in
November was 3|cZ. per lb., while 75 per cent, of
the cotton world confidently expected, and with
some reason, that it would go down to 3d. — a price
which would have meant dead loss on the plan-
tation. What happened in August ? From various
causes prices shot up Id, per lb. in a few weeks —
and from comparative ruin every planter was
raised into opulence if he could have sold then.
Yes, but he could not exchange for cash what did
not exist except in green stalk and undeveloped
cotton bolls ! But he could and no doubt did,
in many cases, protect himself and although
prices might go higher (and did go higher) at 3 to
5 cents per lb. above cost of production, he was well
off if he could realise his probable out-turn, whether
100 or 500 bales. How could he do it ? Easily
enough. He had only to give a responsible broker
in any recognised Cotton Exchange an order to sell
so many hundred bales of "futures" for October,

167

Appendix I

November, December, or any other month's de-
livery, at the current good prices then ruHng,
and sit on a fence whittHng sticks if he Hked, while
his crop matured, was picked, delivered and sent
to market. His price was secured ; all he had to do
was to deliver. Could he have done this without
the aid of the "futures " market ? Certainly not.

We will now consider what I have classed as
the second section under the heading of Sales of
** futures." This section is second to none in import-
ance, if, indeed, it is not the most important and
legitimate function of the system, viz., the sale of
cotton "futures " as a " hedge " by importers against
shipments. Even by many people interested in
the cotton trade this is only indifferently understood,
and I have no hesitation in affirming with emphasis
that were it not for the " futures " market, the
crop nowadays simply could not be moved, except
in the light of a sheer speculation. To bring this
home it is necessary again to revert to the time
when no " futures " market existed, bearing in
mind, too, that crops then were only one-third to
one-half the size of what they are to-day. In that
out-of-date period then, the importing of American
cotton was in comparatively few hands. The firms
who did the merchanting were generally very
wealthy, and their capital made them monopolists.
Their agents in the States bought when they thought

168

Appendix I

the article cheap, negotiated their drafts on the
home house or paid cash, shipped the produce, and
trusted to luck or good judgment as to what kind
of market the cargo would reach on arrival upon
this side.

As it is only within recent years that the supply
of the raw material has for any length of time
materially overtaken the demand in Europe, the
main purchases were only concluded in a time of
congestion at the sources of supply, and the
farmer's necessity was the merchant's opportunity.
Remember there were no telegraphic advices in
those days. Invoices and bills of lading came with
the goods ; ocean transit was much more tedious
if not more dangerous, and many causes of more
or less local interest sometimes occurred and com-
bined— so that, while it is quite true that the cotton
might arrive upon a market greatly advanced
in price between the time of shipment and arrival,
it was also equally liable to arrive on a market
depressed, thus making the venture a serious loss,
if realisation had to take place.

Fluctuations in those days were great. One
half-penny or one penny or twopence per lb.
variation in the course of a few days or weeks was
not at all an uncommon thing ; and when I remind
you that ^d. per lb. profit or loss means, on 1,000
bales no less than £1,000, the risk is apparent.

169

Appendix I

Profits were greater than to-day, and this fact no
doubt answered in compensation for losses on a
year's trading ; but it was only the large capitalist
who had a ghost of a chance to succeed and the
trading was not regular as we know it to-day, it
was opportunist. Yet wealthy as many of the great
houses were, the immense failures and losses which
the " flags " of Liverpool have seen in consequence
of the utter absence of protection against loss,
are to-day spoken of as expreiences completely out
of question, in the light and practice of the facilities
offered by " futures " for modern commerce.

To-day, an importer, through his agent buys
in America a line of cotton. It may be 100 ;
it may be 10,000 bales. The purchase is advised
home by cable instantly, a drawee is found, the
cotton is shipped, and by a sale of " futures "
either in Liverpool, New York, or New Orleans, or
any port where a " futures " market exists, to the
exact weight — or as near as possible — of the pur-
chase, the importer is absolutely protected against
loss, whether the market declines 1/lOOc?. or Id,
per lb. before its arrival. How does this operate ?
In the first place, naturally the purchase is made
upon a recognised basis of quality, which is not only
effective here but in the United States also. To the
cost of the cotton is added the freight and insurance
necessarily incurred in transport, financing, landing

170

Appendix I

and warehousing charges here, a small commission
for profit (for a rapid turnover is what is generally
aimed at), and all these charges, say, bring out the
actual value to 5d, per lb. (any price will do for
example's sake). A sale, therefore, of " futures "
of a position, say, October and/or November at
this price, during which months the actual cotton
would be due to arrive, would be a perfect " hedge "
— because if necessary the cotton on arrival could
be tendered against the sale, and would be a com-
plete fulfilment of a " futures " contract if carried
to finality.

This purchase and shipment, if properly con-
ducted, will, therefore, just work out at the market
price of " futures " delivery for the month or
months in which the cotton is due to arrive as
described ; for (putting it in another way) from the
price of the " future " have to be deducted all the
costs of the transaction before the price can be
fixed for the original purchase, minus charges.
Now all this being effected, it is of no consequence
whatever, broadly speaking, whether the cotton
markets rise or fall between the time of the purchase
and the arrival of the shipment. Why ? All
" spot " business is based upon the value of
" futures." As these latter advance or decline,
so generally does the value of spot " middling."
If general values have declined before the arrival

171

Appendix I

of the cotton, so that the actual bales of the raw
material must be sold to the consumer at a lower
rate than the original cost, therefore showing a face
loss — ^then also the " future " contracts sold as a
" hedge " against the purchase before shipment,
have declined, and can be bought back again at
the decline. For example, if the entire consign-
ment were to be sold on arrival, the " futures "
"hedge" would simultaneously be bought in the
open market. One leg of the transaction would show
a loss; the other leg would show a corresponding
profit. So far as the " hedge " was concerned, the
loss on the one leg of the transaction would be
balanced by the profit on the other. Let it be remem-
bered that the question of profit on the shipment
has already been taken into consideration before
the contracts were entered into, for if a reasonable
profit were not assured or anticipated the trade
would not have taken place. The principles laid
down here are fixed ; they regulate the business
done, and it is only upon, the basis of them that
modern importing is conducted with any degree
of safety.

Let us, however, go into everyday practice a
little further than in assuming that a cargo is
sold immediately upon arrival. It is not always
so treated by any means — witness the fact that
American cotton stocks fluctuate in Liverpool

172

Appendix I

between, say, 500,000 and 2,000,000 bales. A
shipment arrives in dock, is warehoused and sam-
pled, and on these samples it is offered for sale.
The shipment is, say, 1,000 bales, possibly divided
into ten lots of 100 bales, each slightly differing
in character and value from the others. Neverthe-
less, the basis on which they were bought is
unalterable and unaltered. It is most important
to remember this. It frequently takes some time
to dispose completely of a shipment ; once ware-
housed, it is quite the exception for a big block of
cotton to be sold at once. How are the " futures "
dealt with ? A thousand bales were bought and
1,000 " futures " sold as a " hedge." Just so. And
if to-day from the warehouse, 100 out of the 1,000
are sold to a consumer, and 100 " futures " are
bought in at the same time, the " hedge " expires
for that 100 and so on until the lot is cleared out.

It is not difficult to see now that, granted a com-
mon basis for business, such trading can go on all
the year round so long as there is 100 bales
of cotton offering from the other side. Thus
the trading is not opportunist, it is regular. It
is immaterial to the shipper whether price be high
or low. With his basis right (and the planter
cannot sell if it is not), and his " hedge " assured,
the business — that is, the moving of the crop,
can go on with regularity utterly independent of

173

Appendix I

whether values are rising or falling — down at
bottom prices, or away up out of sight ; and the
small capitalist can avail himself of this system
as well as the great. Further, not only is the trading
not opportunist, but it cannot be monopolised.
Congestion and its necessary accompaniment,
unduly low prices, are avoided.

I have not used the term before, but I think the
" hedge " of cotton by a sale of " futures " against
a shipment will have suggested already to the
reader's mind that it is a perfect form of insurance
— insurance against loss in value. And to whom ?
The merchant only? Not at all, but also to one
without whom the merchant or importer simply
could not get along. I mean the banker. I am not
referring at all to marine or fire insurance ; that
is another matter, with which we have nothing to
do here. Our insurance is against loss in value, and
it affects the banker equally with the merchant.
Why ? Simply because with very few exceptions
indeed a merchant is very rarely drawn upon direct
by the original seller of the cotton. Some well-
known financial house is drawn upon, accepts the
bills, and holds the documents and warehouse
receipts. The handling of the cotton in such a case
is only done by the importer on trust for the banking
house, although the profit or loss belongs to the
importer. The *' hedging " of the shipment by a

174

Appendix I

sale of " futures " is as important to the banker
as it is to the merchant ; it is his guarantee and
insurance that whether the cotton upon arrival be
worth the original drawing price or whether it be not,
the sale of " futures " has protected the transaction
to the extent of the decline, and that whatever
deficit on one account may occur before realisation
is complete, it is fully made up on the other.

Try to imagine what a security to a bank this
" hedge " is if you can. One bank alone may very
easily be financing 500,000 bales of cotton. A
drop of Id, per lb. between the acceptance of the
drafts and maturity for such a quantity would mean
a deficit of £250,000. Such a possible risk if there
were no protection by the " futures " sale would
stop business almost altogether. In a word, any
merchant nowadays importing cotton without
" hedging " it by a sale of " futures " would be
carrying on his business as a sheer speculation,
and whatever his reputed means, no bank would
trust him any farther than his available securities
in its hands would warrant. Indeed, it would
rather not have the account at all.

We will now consider a third manner in which
*' futures " are profitably employed as " hedge "
sales, viz., in protection to spinners, manu-
facturers, and their agents, against unsold and
possibly accumulating stocks of yarn and cloth.

175

Appendix I

Imagine a period of distressed or disturbed trade,
when producers cannot sell their goods, and yet
where they are not compelled to stop their
machinery. Under these conditions a producer
is " making to stock." Nothing is more likely than
that he is doing so in falling markets, that every
pound of yarn and piece of cloth added to stock
is losing in value every day. Not only is he pro-
ducing at a loss in an idle market, but that which
he has produced is also further losing day by day
in value.

A man may have to wait months before he can
dispose of his yarn or cloth. In the meantime
he may easily be ruined. He can sell cotton
"futures" in the twinkling of an eye. There is
always a market ; always and immediate. Cotton
" futures " are the consols of produce. They may
not be a perfect " hedge " as a sale against manu-
factured goods ; as a matter of fact they are not
so, but they at least are the most perfect " hedge "
obtainable in the world. Pound of raw cotton for
pound of yarn or cloth they are the best sale he
can make, and he " covers " himself accordingly
until the tide turns and better markets are secured.
As the value of his yarn and cloth declines, the
value of his " futures " also gets less than the price
at which he sold them ; and at least to some extent
what he loses on the one hand he reaps on the other

176

Appendix I

— for it can easily be understood that the value of
raw cotton affects all plain cotton goods. Of course,
here is a case, distinct and plain, in which a seller
has no intention in the world of tendering the
actual cotton against his sale ; still less does he
want to tender either cloth or yarn, although he
may possess it. He could not do the latter, even
if he wished, but he makes a convenience of selling
a paper contract of so many pounds of the raw
material on a given basis, at a given time, and when
the convenience is served, he buys back a paper
contract which cancels that representing the sale,
any conditions of differences in and between being
dealt with as they arose.

We have now done with the general utility of
** futures " as " hedges " against stocks of the raw
material, whether on the plantation, on shipboard,
or in the warehouse, or as " hedges " against
accumulated stocks of manufactured or manipu-
lated cotton goods, and will, therefore, proceed
to deal with " futures " in an exactly opposite
sense to that already considered. We have dealt
with them as sales ; we will now treat with them
;as purchases — the whole idea of their utility in
either capacity being one of insurance against loss
in value in other operations, having one recognised
standard of the raw material as a basis.

In the first place, then, as purchases we will
177 ^

Appendix I

treat them " as ' hedges ' by shippers against sales
of forward deUveries, when the actual cotton for
this delivery has still to be brought from the pro-
ducer or his factor." In much the same way as a
planter wants to sell " futures " against his growing
crops, and thus secure what he considers a fair
price for his work long before he is ready to market
his produce, so does a shipper, conscious or antici-
patory of a good trade ahead, want to have some-
thing in hand, while his agents are busy (say in
Europe) getting orders for that which is growing
and coming on to market for use. The practice,
therefore, comes about in the following manner:
All cotton is not bought by a customer from a
known stock, neither will a purchase of " futures "
for delivery to him in any of the months on a basis
" Middling " standard suit his exact requirements.
Yet it is not only quite possible but also quite
frequent for him to make a contract termed a
" c.i.f." contract, with a merchant, to deliver to him
at a specified time a special description of cotton,
a special length of staple, a special strength, a
special grade, a special style. The letters c.i.f.
(or, strictly speaking, c.f.i.) mean, C. cost (the
original cost of the article), F. the freight, and I. the
insurance.

Upon calculations, unnecessary to detail here,
a shipper of cotton will offer, generally during the

178

Appendix I

summer months, to deliver consignments ahead
with the above specialities, to any consumer who
wishes to buy them. Contracts pass between seller
and buyer, and are equally binding upon the one
to provide and the other to receive. The seller
to some extent naturally takes a legitimate mer-
chant's risk while the crop is growing. His emis-
saries are all over the cotton field, on the look-out
to secure the raw material to fill the contracts made
and report the progress of the growing plant.
Crop prospects, let us say, deteriorate ; the possi-
bility of being able to secure the exact thing required
becomes doubtful. Meantime prices show a ten-
dency to rise, and the price at which the sale was
made runs a chance of being passed. The planter
turns stubborn, and holds for higher prices, a
" bull " fever takes possession of the world, and by
leaps and bounds cotton gets upon a higher plane
of value.

This would be particularly embarrassing to the
shipper if he had no loophole through which to
extricate himself. He is already in a temporary
dilemma in being placed in a position in which he
cannot lay his hands upon what he actually wants
and has sold, but this is a mere detail, and secon-
dary to the importance of values getting away out
of his reach. It is value, and the difference between
loss and profit, which is all important to him. What

179 K2

Appendix I

does he? He covers his financial responsibihty
by buying " futures " in an accredited market.
The market, then, broadly speaking, may do what
it likes. If he has a thousand bales sold c.i.f.
ahead, and local or general circumstances combine
to prevent him from providing himself with the
actual thing wanted, but he has a thousand bales
of " futures " bought as a " hedge " against pos-
sible advancing value ; he is fairly safe. As much
more as he may have to pay for the actual require-
ment in order to fulfil his contract, so much more
is the difference on the " futures " contract worth
to him to fill up the deficiency ; and when he has
secured by purchase and selection that which he
has contracted to deliver he sells out his " futures "
contract, which is no longer necessary to him. As,
however, " futures " exercise one great function
as sales — that of " hedges " against the imports
already described — so do they exercise one special
great function as purchases. This undeniably
immense field covers those operations in which
they are bought as " hedges " against sales ahead
of yarn and cloth by producers of these, by their
agents, and ofttimes by the merchants who ship
goods abroad.

At the outset I alluded to the fact that if a pro-
ducer of cotton goods is offered a contract that will
keep his spindles and looms going and his work-

180

Appendix I

people employed for twelve months ahead — even
if he did not possess the raw material required,
nor the available cash with which to purchase it,
even also if it were (as it is not always) in existence
to be purchased — he need experience no special
alarm ; for with quiet, calm merchanting he can
protect himself at once.

We will now go on with the " purchase of
' futures ' as a * hedge ' against sales of yarn."
On the boards of the Manchester Royal Exchange
are to be found, practically every day in the week,
the principals or representatives of every cotton
spinning mill in the kingdom. Spinners from all
parts congregate there to sell their yarn. We will
imagine a busy time, meaning considerable demand.
Large lines are being placed. Buyers are more
needy than sellers, and they are not merely anxious
to purchase a quantity of any special firm's pro-
duction for immediate delivery, but possibly still
more anxious to enter into engagements for the full
or main part of the production of such and such
a firm for many months even up to twelve months
ahead. The spinner has capital, it is true, but if
his consumption of the raw material were only 100
bales per week, and the contract offered were only
for six months — under old conditions of only being
able to lay his hands upon what was, in the shape
of cotton, available, and pay cash for that, he would

181

Appendix I

have to expend no less than £26,000, and stow the
cotton away somewhere until it was used up ;
either this, or take his luck or chance in picking
it up in driblets as he could, or as his spare money
allowed him to do.

Thus with the aid of the " futures " market any
spinner of decent repute and very moderate capital
can quietly consider such a long contract as sug-
gested, accept it, and " cover " himself in five
minutes, insuring himself against all loss. As I
have said before, on the basis of " future " values
is the value of all cotton, therefore of cotton goods.
On that basis or about it, after much bargaining,
the contract for yarn is concluded ; therefore
without waiting to proceed to the raw material
market to select his actual and special requirements,
the spinner has simply to telephone or telegraph
down to Liverpool to his broker to buy so many
hundreds or thousands of bales of "futures" —
200 of this month, 200 of next month, and so on ;
and all risk to his profit, so far as providing his
requirements for his engagements, is past and gone.
He can go home and sleep, leaving it to more
convenient seasons to effect his actual purchases
and requirements of the raw produce. As he effects
this latter from time to time in lots of 100 to, say,
500 bales, so does he part to the same extent
with the " futures " already bought. If the market

182

Appendix I

has risen in the meantime, as much more as he
may have to pay for his actual wants, practically
so much profit has he upon his " futures " con-
tracts— ^the one balances the other. We have
already seen the reverse of the operation in other
business. If the market has fallen in the meantime,
true, he will have a loss upon his " futures," but
then he has the less to pay for his actual cotton.
The basis of the trade is not altered one whit. In
other words, granted that his first calculations
are correct, based on the value of "futures" at
the time he enters into an agreement to supply
yarn for forward delivery, and that he buys his
" futures " there and then, so far as his buying or
selling are concerned risk and loss are out of the
question.

This is no less true when applied to purchases
of "futures" as against sales of cloth by manu-
facturers. A maker of cloth, like a producer of
the yarn which makes the cloth, frequently sells
his production for many months ahead. True
he cannot weave "futures" any more than a
spinner can spin them ; but oftentimes he cannot
get the yarn he wants, any more than the spinner
can select ^^^ secure the actual cotton which
he requires. The manufacturer, therefore, cannot
afford to run the risk of making a loss by waiting
on the yarn market to accommodate him as to

183

Appendix I

price. He therefore buys cotton " futures " equiva-
lent in poundage to the weight of yarn he needs ;
and he also is protected at once. There is plenty
of yarn for him, he knows ; but he may get a better
chance of securing his possibly 1,000,000 weight of
yarn than at the moment of his sale of cloth. As
he picks up his yarn, so to the same weight does he
dispose of his " futures." He has been insured
against loss. Yarn agents and cloth agents follow
the same process ; so do the merchants who ship
and contract to ship goods abroad.

The value of a house may have nothing in the
world to do with the current prices of bricks and
mortar, iron and timber. But cotton goods are not
made out of these, nor out of wool or sugar, but
out of cotton alone ; and a rise or fall in the value
of the raw material is a sure indication of a rise or
fall in the value of the yarn or cloth made from it.
Therefore on broad lines of value a purchase or sale
of a " futures " cotton contract, which is always
possible, is the next best purchase or sale to that
of the manufactured article, which at the moment
is not always possible.

These are the broad principles regulating the
legitimate use of " futures," and Mr, Stewart
claims that these broad principles are constantly
in practice and unassailable.

184

APPENDIX II

SPINDLES AND LOOMS

The following statistical table giving the number
of spindles and looms in Lancashire and immediate
district is based on information supplied in Worrall's
" Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Directory "
for 1916. Messrs. Worrall state that the year ending
December, 1916, witnessed a considerable increase
in the total number of spindles employed in Lanca-
shire, amounting to 1,162,159 (including doubling
spindles). This is the largest increase since 1909.
The looms for the same period show a decrease
of 1,253.

Number

Number of

Number

—

of

Spinning

of

Firms.

Spindles.

Looms.

Accrington and

district

63

726,980

39,764

Ashton-under-Lyne

and district

36

1,964,996

10,782

Bacup and district.

25

344,452

8,535

Blackburn ,, ,,

133

1,240,150

97,799

Bolton

112

7,397,642

24,030

Burnley „ „

146

540,376

111,914

Carried forward

515

12,214,596

292,824

185

Appendix II

Number

Number of

Number

— .

of

Spinning

of

Firms.

Spindles.

Looms.

Brought forward

515

12,214,596

292,824

Bury and district

45

1.060,524

22,454

Chorley „ „

38

865,298

26,464

Clitheroe ,

18

150,136

9,863

Colne ,

85

147,500

27,070

Darwen ,

51

274,256

39,241

Denton

2

63,982

534

Dukinfield

15

843,912

971

Farnworth .

46

1,502,384

12,838

Garstang

2

—

318

Glossop

17

914,592

14,270

Golborne

4

112,296

2,110

Great Harwood

and district

14

64,376

17,188

Haslingden ,, ,,

26

161,726

14,002

Heywood

>j

44

1,145,300

6,890

Hyde

j>

13

863,958

11,028

Lancaster

?j

4

33,484

798

Leigh

J?

28

2,664,094

8,098

Littleborough

7

133,804

6,033

Manchester and

Salford

135

3,690,936

23,562

Middleton and dis-

trict .

20

1,252,458

2,193

Mossley and district

17

1,387,469

834

Nelson „ „

134

61,325

Oldham „

245

17,286,492

16,792

Padiham „

19

136,032

15,297

Preston „

87

2,183,130

72,059

Radcliffe „

48

259,892

12,190

Ramsbottom

27

95,592

10,038

Carried forward

1,706

49,508,219

727,283

186

Appendix II

Number

Number of

Number

—

of

Spinning

of

Finns.

Spindles.

Looms.

Brought forward

1,706

49,508,219

727,283

Rawtenstall and

district

22

310,344

9,831

Rochdale „ ,,

114

3,671,322

20,229

Stalybridge „ „

19

1,199,606

6,742

Stockport ,, „

67

2,308,160

9,787

Todmorden „ ,,

42

399,296

17,940

Uppermill „ ,,

6

109,800

—

Warrington „ „

3

70,000

2,400

Waterfoot ,, ,,

7

47,910

2,004

Wigan „ „

18

1,115,652

11,527

Total

2,004

58,740,309

807,743

The total number of doubling spindles is
2,233,072. Doubling is the process of forming a
sliver from two or more smaller slivers to produce
a uniform roving.

187

APPENDIX III

THE COTTON TRADE IN WAR TIME

The cotton trade, for the first time in its history,
was temporarily (August, 1917) controlled by a
Government department — the Board of Trade —
and in order successfully to deal with all the
technicalities and ramifications of the industry, the
Government wisely set up a Board of Control, com-
posed for the most part of representatives of cotton
employers, operatives, importers and distributors.

The industry was threatened with a famine in
American cotton in the third year of the war, in
consequence of the severe restrictions placed on
shipping and also because of the submarine menace,
and the price per bale rapidly advanced from £25
per bale to nearly double that amount. The stocks
at Liverpool in June (1917) were only sufficient to
keep the mills running a few weeks at the then rate
of consumption, and it was in order to check
speculation and to secure that the available stocks
of cotton should be more equally distributed and
not allowed to fall below a certain level that
Government assistance was sought. A deputation
from the Liverpool Exchange and another deputa-

188

Appendix III

tion representing the spinning and manufacturing
interests went to London, and in conference with
Sir Albert Stanley, the President of the Board of
Trade, they explained how near was the danger of
industrial collapse failing drastic regulations which
only the Government could impose. The position
summarised was that the stock of American cotton
at Liverpool and in the mills was, approximately,
700,000 bales. The normal weekly consumption
was 62,000 bales, the actual weekly consumption
was not less than 50,000 bales, whilst the weekly
import was at the rate of 21,000 bales.

If the cotton were all of one sort and could be
distributed in the right proportion this should
mean a supply for something like twenty weeks,
but in practice it would not work out like that. It
is understood, too, that the above figures included
cotton in process of manufacture. If the figures
did include " clothing the mills," then the figures
did not adequately represent the seriousness of the
situation.

A month later it was reported that the quantity
of cotton afloat for Great Britain totalled 97,000
bales against 206,000 in 1916, and that the Ameri-
can amounted to 57,000 against 173,000 in 1916.

The Government did intervene in the first in-
stance by stopping the speculation in cotton on the
Liverpool market, and later by controlling, through

189

Appendix III

the Cotton Control Board, the raw cotton. The
regulations for trading in the Liverpool cotton
** futures " market were as follows : —

1. Trading in " futures " to be confined to —

(a) Buying by spinners in the United Kingdom
to cover sales of yarn and buying by importers
against sales of actual cotton to spinners in the
United Kingdom.

(b) Selling of "hedges" by importers and
spinners against purchases of actual cotton, for
shipment to, or in, the United Kingdom.

(e) Liquidation of open contracts. As regards
open contracts, no transfer of these to any other
position can be made except in the case of "hedges"
by importers against actual cotton shipped to the
United Kingdom, and in the case of purchases by
spinners in the United Kingdom against sales of
yarn.

Note. — From the above it will be seen that no
* * straddles ' ' or speculative business can be transacted
by or for members, or on account of clients.

2. Prices of "futures" to be advanced or reducd
from time to time by a committee, who will use as
their basis the prices prevailing in the Southern
States of America for American "futures," and in
Alexandria for Egyptian "futures." The Com-
mittee, however, to have discretion to fix a lower
price than would be indicated by this basis.

190

Appendix III

The differences between all months to remain as
fixed. No tenders will be allowed until further notice.
Note. — Some of these restrictions have since
been removed.

The next step taken by the Government was to
give the necessary authority to the new Board of
Control by issuing an order of which the operative
clauses are as follows : —

1. A person shall not without a licence (general
or special) granted by or under the authority of the
Board of Trade, nor otherwise than in accordance
with the conditions, if any, subject to which such
a licence is granted, purchase any raw cotton, and
a person shall not sell or offer to sell raw cotton to
any person except the holder of such a licence, nor
to the holder of such a licence otherwise than in
accordance with such conditions as aforesaid.

The conditions imposed by the Board of Trade
may include conditions as to maximum price, pro-
vided that any price so fixed shall not apply to the
sale of any particular parcel of raw cotton by a
person who had previously entered into a contract
for the purchase thereof, so as to reduce the selling
price of that parcel below the cost incurred by that
person in purchasing the cotton and bringing it to
the United Kingdom, together with such margin to
cover incidental expenses and profit as the Board
of Trade may think reasonable.

191

Appendix III

2. All importers and dealers in raw cotton and
cotton spinners shall comply with any general or
special directions which may be given by or under
the authority of the Board of Trade as to the sale,
disposal, delivery, or use of raw cotton.

3. Infringements of this order are summary
offences, subject to penalties under the Defence of
the Realm Regulations.

The Cotton (Restriction of Output) Order, 1917,
is dated August 9, and was made by the Board of
Trade pursuant to regulations 2F, 2GG and 2JJ
of the Defence of the Realm Regulations. This
Order reads : —

WHEREAS the Board of Trade deem it expedient
to make further exercise of the power vested in them by
the Defence of the Realm Regulations as respects
cotton including Cotton Waste.

NOW THEREFORE the Board of Trade in exercise
of their said powers and of all other powers them enab-
ling do hereby order as follows : —

1. The Cotton Control Board may from time to time,
by notice exhibited in the Manchester Royal Exchange,
and advertised in such other manner as they think fit,
give instructions as to the number or percentage of
spindles or looms that may be worked in any cotton
mill or weaving shed as from the date or dates specified
in the notice, and may cancel or vary such instructions
as occasion may require by similar notice.

2. The Cotton Control Board may grant licences
enabling a greater number of percentage of spindles
or looms to be worked than that authorised by such

192

Appendix III

instructions upon such terms and subject to such condi-
tions as may be specified in the notice.

3. Where restrictions are placed upon the number or
percentage of spindles that may be worked such restric-
tions shall be deemed to affect any preparatory
machinery worked in connection therewith.

4. All persons shall obey any instructions that may
be issued by the Cotton Control Board under this
Order.

5. If any person acts in any manner contrary to the
instructions issued by the Cotton Control Board under
this Order he is guilty of an offence under the Defence
of the Realm Regulations.

Signed on behalf of the Board of Trade,

H. Llewellyn Smith,

Secretary,

Board of Trade,

7, Whitehall Gardens, S.W. 1.

The Cotton Control Board, over which Sir Her-
bert Dixon, Bart. (Chairman of the Fine Cotton
Spinners' Association), presides, immediately took
control of the stocks of cotton and made enquiries
as to the stocks of cotton at the mills and in the
warehouses. Upon the information thus obtained
the Board formulated a scheme intended to distri-
bute as equally and fairly as possible the inevitable
burdens upon all sections of the industry. This
scheme came into force on Monday, September 10,
1917, for a period of three months. It has since been
agreed to extend its working to June, 1918. It is

193

Appendix III

hoped that at the end of this time normal work may
be resumed since the Shipping Controller promised
to increase the tonnage available for cotton.
Appended is the full text of the scheme : —

THE COTTON CONTROL BOARD.

The Cotton (Restriction of Output) Order, 1917.
INSTRUCTIONS,

Issued by the Cotton Control Board Pursuant to the
above Order,

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 7 hereof,
on and after the 3rd September, 1917, no person shall
work or allow to be worked in any cotton or cotton
waste mill occupied by him, more than 60 per cent, of
the total number of mule and/or ring spindles, and
necessary preparatory machinery, contained therein
without a licence from the Cotton Control Board.

2. Licences may be granted by the Cotton Control
Board to spinners of Egyptian and Sea Island Cotton
and to spinners of cotton waste to work more than 60
per cent, of the total number of mule and/or ring
spindles and necessary preparatory machinery in any
mill during such time as may be prescribed by the
licence, on payment of —

l^d. per mule spindle per week, and
l^d, per ring spindle per week.

on all spindles worked above 60 per cent, of the total
number.

Example : —

A mule spinning mill containing 100,000 spindles,
194

Appendix III

60,000 spindles may be worked without any
payment.

63,000 may be worked on payment of a weekly
levy of Hd, per spindle on the extra 3,000 spindles,
and so on.

3. Licences may be granted by the Cotton Control
Board to spinners of American and all growths of
cotton, other than Egyptian and Sea Island, to work
up to 70 per cent, of their total number of mule and/or
ring spindles during such time as may be prescribed by
the licence, on payment of l^d. per mule spindle, and
l|d. per ring spindle per week on the spindles in excess
of 60 per cent, of the total spindles in the mill. Pro-
vided that where a spinner of any such cotton proves
to the satisfaction of the Board that he is engaged on a
Government contract or contracts, a licence to work
spindles in excess of 70 per cent, may be granted, on
payment of the weekly levies mentioned in the last
paragraph.

4. Where a mill contains both ring and mule spindles
the occupier shall before the 3rd day of September,
1917, apply to the Cotton Control Board for directions
as to the proportion of ring and mule spindles respec-
tively that may be worked, and the Board shall give
such directions as they think fit, provided that they
shall allow 60 per cent, of the total of such spindles to
be worked.

5. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 7 hereof,
on and after the 3rd September, 1917, no person shall
work or allow to be worked more than 60 per cent, of
the total number of looms in any weaving shed occupied
by him, without a licence from the Cotton Control
Board, provided that any beams actually in looms at

195 o2

Appendix III

the date of these instructions may be woven out within
four weeks of the date hereof.

Example : —

A manufacturer has 100 looms all working.
He may on and after September 3rd run 60 looms
without payment of levy, and is allowed four
weeks from August 22nd in which to weave out the
remaining 40 looms. Should he intend, however,
to keep running, say, 80 looms, he must declare
this number now, and pay the levy, as shown in
Clause 6, on the extra 20 looms from September 3rd,
the remaining 20 looms being allowed four weeks
from August 22nd in which to weave out.

6. Licences may be granted by the Cotton Control
Board to work during such time as may be prescribed
by the licence extra looms upon payment of 2^. 6d. per
week for each loom up to 72 inch reed space, and 5*.
or each loom over 72 inch reed space worked in excess
of 60 per cent, of the total number.

7. Where two or more mills or two or more weaving
sheds are occupied by the same person the Cotton
Control Board may direct the number of mule and/or
ring spindles or looms that may be worked in each
separate mill or weaving shed occupied by the same
person, so that the total number worked by any one
person without a licence shall not exceed 60 per cent,
of the total number contained in his mills or weaving
sheds.

8. All applications for licences shall be made upon a
form to be obtained from the Cotton Control Board, and
must reach the Board not later than the Wednesday
morning in the week preceding the week during which
the licence is to commence.

196

Appendix III

9. No person shall make any false statement or
representation for the purpose of obtaining a licence.

10. The expression " person " includes a firm or
other association of persons, and a company.

The expression " mill " includes any place where
yarn or waste is spun.

The expression " weaving shed " includes any place
where looms are worked.

For the Cotton Control Board,

H. D. Henderson,

Secretary,
August 22nd, 1917.

[Note. — The operation of the scheme was postponed
by the Cotton Control Board until September 10 in
consequence of the closing of many mills for the
holidays in the week beginning September 3.]

The intention of the Board was to reduce the
consumption of cotton to 40 per cent, below pre-
war consumption except in so far as further con-
sumption is allowed under licence.

The following suggestions applying to spinning
mills were adopted at a representative conference
of employers and operatives :

1. Where possible all machines should be fully
and efficiently staffed and preference should be
given to older men and to heads of families. As a
general rule the services of the latest comers should
be dispensed with first.

2. Where, after fully and efficiently staffing the
60 per cent, or other percentage of machinery, there

197

Appendix III

is still a surplus of labour there might then be set up
a system of rotation of workpeople. This applies
to mule spinning rooms.

3. Local committees will be set up to deal with
the questions arising out of the displacement of
labour, and where employers' or- operatives' com-
mittees already exist they will be utilised.

Note. — The scheme affects 2,000 firms with
58,740,000 spinning spindles and 807,543 looms.

198

INDEX

Africa, cotton field of the

future, a, 70
America, cotton growing

wild in, 6
American Civil War, 82

„ cotton crops, ex-
tent of, 60
,, cotton, early con-
signment of to
England, 8, 9
,, cotton fields, 23,

24
„ cotton fields, la-
bour employed
in, 29
,, cotton monopoly,
65
Arabs, cotton cultivation

by, 9
Aristobulus on wool-bearing

trees, 3
Arkwright and Highs' inven-
tion, 47
„ and the opera-

tives, 44
,, the subterranean

barber, 42, 43
Asiastic Turkey, cotton

grown in, 84
Assouan, the dam at, 79, 80,
81

Baling of American and

Egyptian cotton, 86, 87
" Black man's crop," 29
Bonaparte and Jacquard, 19

Bolton strike of, 1877, 146
Brazilian cotton, 83, 84
Bright, John, ignores Ex-
change Rules, 107, 108
British Cotton Growing

Association, 69, 70
British Dyes, Limited, 136
British goods, market for, 66
British Government experi-
ments in Sudan, 68
Brooklands' agreement, 147,

148
Brunswick spinning wheel,
the, 14

Candlewicks, use of cotton

for, 8
Calico, penalty imposed on
seller of, 34
printing, 127, 128,
129
Camels for transport, 81
Carding machine, 40
Card-room, in the, 89
Carlyle's description of Ark-
wright, 42
Cartwright at Matlock, 54,

55, 56
Cartwright's machines de-
stroyed by
fire, 57
,, power-loom, 53

Catullus, the poet of spin-
ning, 11
Chamberlain, Mr. Joseph,
on 'Change, 110

199

Index

China, cotton growing in, 4
,, original home of silk
manufactures, 4
Chinese gardens, cotton
plant used as a decoration
for, 4
Clothing for world's popula-
tion, 2
Cotton as an explosive, 152

,, American, where
grown, 23, 24

,, ** Black man's crop,"
a, 29

,, broker, the, 114

,, classification, 74, 75,
76,78

,, clothing, the demand
for, 20

,, Congress, Interna-
tional, 10

,, crops, extent of
American, 60

,, cultivation, 24

,, flower, its resem-
blance to a dog
rose, 2

,, garments, prejudice
against wearing,
33,34,35

„ ginning, 31, 32

,, machinery, trials of
inventors of, 37

,, manufacture, early
history of, in Lan-
cashire, 8

„ manufacture, serious
hindrance to the
development of,
17

,, manufactures, de-
pression of, 36

„ monotony of pick-
ing, 30, 31

,, pests, 25, 26, 27

,, picking by negroes,
27

,, picking machine, 28

Cotton plant, a decoration
for Chinese gar-
dens, 4
,, plant, as an orna-
mental shrub, 2
„ plant, early history

of, 1
,, sampling of, 114
,, seed oil, 153, 154
,, statute prohibitmg

the use ot, 34
„ a utilitarian plant,

151
„ World's consump-
tion of, 60
" Counts " of yarn, 94
Criminal on scaffold, appeal
against cotton garments
by, 34, 35
Crompton and the opera-
tives, 51
,, denounced as an

impostor, 51
,, works at his in-
vention in secret, 50
Cromp ton's " mule," 49, 50

Derbyshire cotton mills, 46
Disastrous wages dispute at

Preston, 143, 144
Distaff and spindle, 12, 13
Drawing frame, the, 91, 92

Egyptian cotton, deteriora-
tion, of, 79
,, cotton, early con-
signment of, to
England, 9
,, customs, Herodo-

tus on, 3
,, mummies, wrap-
ping, of, 4
Egyptians, use of cotton

plant by, 6
Egypt, King of, present to
Lacedaemonians, 3

200

Index

Egypt, the cotton plant in, 2
Eli Whitney's "gin," 31
Exchange of, 1804, 105

Fibre, the cotton, its utility,

21
Fibres, separating the, 89
First cotton mill in the

world, 42
Flemish weavers in Man-
chester, 6, 7
Fluctuations in cotton prices,

119, 120
Fly frames, 93
Flying shuttle, 37
Fustian tax imposed, 36
** Futures," operations in,
121

Gambling in cotton, 122,

123
Germany, use of cotton in,

66
Glasgow operatives on

strike, 141
'* Great Lancashire Strike "

of 1878, 146

Hall-i-'th'-Wood wheel, 50

Handling cotton in Man-
chester, 117

Handloom, operative spin-
ners oppose mechanical
devices, 12

Hargreaves, inventor of
carding machine, 40

Hargreaves' machine de-
stroyed, 41

Herodotus, cotton plant
mentioned by, 3

" High Change " a century
ago, 103
to-day. 111

Highs and the clockmaker
48

India as a cotton growing
country, 65
,, market for British
goods, 66
Indian cotton fabrics, fine
texture of, 65
„ cotton, groups of,

81
,, import duties, 109
Indians and the commercial
,, value of cotton

plant, 5
„ use of cotton plant
by, 2
International Cotton Spin-
ners' Federation and
Colonial office, 67
" Invisible waste," 91
Italy, King of, on cotton
growing, 10

Jackson's, Colonel, house

burned down, 147
Jacquard, arrest of, 19

„ machine, the, 17
,, Paris authorities

and, 18
,, persecution of, 19
Japan, use of Indian cotton

in, 66
Jersey wheel, the, 14

Kay, troubles and
appointments of, 38
Kay's flying shuttle, 37

dis-

Labour employed in Ameri-
can cotton fields, 29

201

Index

" Lamb, the Scythian," 5
Lancashire as a spinning
centre, 14
„ calico printing

established in,
132
,, cotton famine,

82
Lancashire's annual con-
sumption of
cotton, 66, 67
,, textile supre-

macy, 6
Laws of combination re-
pealed, 138, 139
" Lazaretto," the, 104
Legitimate and illegitimate

speculation, 124, 125
Lock - out in Lancashire,
146

Manchester Cotton Asso-
ciation, 115
„ cotton imports,

117
" Cottons," 7
„ Royal Ex-

change, 102
„ Ship Canal and

the Port of
Liverpool,
115
„ soldiers, free

admission to
Exchange
of, 106
"spot "
market, 117
Machinery, cotton, 85, 86
Mahomet's followers extend
spinning and weaving to
West, 9
Manipulation of markets,

119
Masters' and workers' or-
ganisations, 137

Mechanical inventions,
workers opposition to, 58

Mexicans, early use of cotton
garments by, 6

Military summoned to Royal
Exchange, 106

Minerva, goddess of spin-
ning, 2, 11

Mixing and cleaning cotton,
86,87

Morley, Lord, on cotton
culture in India, 67

Moulton, Lord, on aniline
dye industry, 134, 135

Mulberry, leaves of cotton
plant like those of, 2

Mule, Jenny, the, 49, 50

Mules, the, 95

Negro, '^s labourer, the, 29,

30
Negroes, cotton picking by,

27,28
New York and Liverpool :

cotton distributing

centres, 113

Operations in " futures,"

121
Operatives' organisations,

150

Packhorses, use of, in Man-
chester, 8

Parliamentary grant for
Crompton, 52

" Parsley Peel," 132, 133

Penniless hill, 104

Persian Gulf, wool-bearing
trees in, 3

Peruvian cotton, 84

" Piecers," big and little, 96

Planting and picking in
Egypt, 81

Pliny on cotton, 3

202

Index

Prince Regent and opera-
tives, 105, 106

Printing process, 133, 134

Production and consump-
tion of American cotton,
62, 63

Protection of wooUen manu-
factures, 130

Queen Victoria visits Ex-
change, 108

Raw Cotton, the supply of,
60,61

Roberts, Richard, and the
self-acting mule, 57

RoUer spinning machine, 40

Rosebery, Lord, on the
Exchange, 111

Royal Exchange, Manches-
ter, 108, 109

Russian Empire, cotton
growing in, 82

Sampling cotton, 114
Saxony spinning wheel, 14
Sohonbein's, Professor, ex-
periment with giincotton,
152, 153
" Scythian Lamb," the, 6
Sea Island cotton, 74
Self-acting mule, 50, 51
*' Shuttle Club," the, 38
Silk mamiiactures, China,

original home of, 4
" Sliver," the, how obtained,

89, 90
Slubbing frame, the, 92
Spain, centre of European
cotton industry, 10
King of, 10
Spindles controlled by Mas-
ter's Federation,
148, 149
,, in England, num-
ber of, 148

Spinner ? Who was the first

13
Spinners' Federation, Inter-
national, at Colonial Office,
67
Spinning and weaving, early
records of pro-
cesses of, 1
and weaving,

modem, 86
early methods of,

12, 13
in the cottage, 16,

16
jenny, 40, 41
the beginnings of,
13

,, wheel, need of im-
provements in the, 39
" Spinster," a, 13
Statute prohibiting the
wearing of printed calicos,
131
Strike of operative spinners,

139, 140, 141
Sudan, cotton culture in the,

68
" Sully," year, the, 122
Surat cotton, the operatives,
and, 82

** Tartart, the Vegetable
Lamb of," 5

Textile manufacture, start-
ing point of British, 6

Theophrastus on cotton
plant, 2

Thread, need for a, 2

Twisting the strands, 92,
93

Tylos, wool-bearing trees in
the island of, 3

Virgil's reference to cot-
ton, 1

203

Index

Weavers' prosperity, 52
Weaving and dyeing, anti-
quity of, 3
„ industry, Eoyal

encouragement for, in
Manchester, 7
Weaving in farmhouses, 15,

16
Whitney's **gin," 31

Women cotton pickers, 30
Workers' opposition to me-
chanical inventions, 58
Wool-bearing trees, Theo-

phrastus on, 3
World's consumption of
cotton, 60
„ cotton fields, 1

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