96 



CARPETS. 



our markets, have again been offered and sold 

 here, but at prices not below those asked for 

 similar goods of American origin. 



Location of Factories. The late A. T. Stewart 

 lived to see the decadence of the trade in for- 

 eign carpets (first largely undertaken by him 

 in New York), and, determining on manufac- 

 ture, built, just prior to his death in 1876, 

 an extensive carpet-factory at Groversville, 

 Dutchess co., N. Y. The first roll of carpet 

 from his looms was finished about the day of 

 his death. The Glenham Carpet-Mills, such 

 being their name, now have a capacity for 

 operating 200 power-looms, and for producing 

 annually 2,000,000 yards. Body-Brussels, Wil- 

 ton, tapestry- velvet, and tapestry-Brussels car- 

 pets, also rugs and mats of the same fabrics, 

 besides ingrain carpets, are produced by the 

 Stewart Mills. 



It is noteworthy that while New York city 

 distributes through its jobbing houses the 

 greater percentage of the carpets made in the 

 United States, yet only one carpet-factory of 

 importance that of E. S. Higgins&Co. exists 

 in the city proper. This was among the first 

 important factories established in the United 

 States, and has expanded into enormous pro- 

 portions, covering now several acres of ground, 

 and giving daily employment to more than 

 two thousand persons. 



The particular locations of factories com- 

 prised in the preceding, statistics, also the sev- 

 eral carpet fabrics made at each point in the 

 several States, are substantially as follow : 



New York city has now one factory making jute carpets. 



Advance in carpet-weaving since 1870, at 

 points other than Philadelphia, has been shown 

 more by enlargement of the old factories and 

 the making of new fabrics than by the starting 



of absolutely new industries. In Philadelphia, 

 not only have these improvements been ob- 

 served to a most remarkable degree, but new 

 factories, considerably more than the last sta- 

 tistics disclose, and of a most important kind, 

 have been added to the old. The factories, 

 too, reckoned as such in the census of 1870 

 were, in reality, many of them petty ingrain 

 mills, employing rude hand-looms and pro- 

 ducing a low grade of goods. These have 

 largely been transformed into dignified indus- 

 tries, power being used instead of hand- weav- 

 ing, and better goods produced. In Philadel- 

 phia, twelve years ago, only ingrain carpets 

 were made; now there is no fabric known to 

 the art, save the one of moquette and the pro- 

 ductions of the East, which does not leave 

 Philadelphia looms. 



The annexed table shows the comparative 

 state of the industry in Philadelphia in the 

 two years, 1870 and 1882, according to the 

 United States census and the city census re- 

 spectively : 



COMPARISON OF RETURNS OF CARPET MANUFACTURES 

 IN PENNSYLVANIA (BEING PHILADELPHIA). 



Rugs. Notwithstanding the positive revival 

 apparent in the use of rugs, both as accom- 

 paniments and as substitutes for carpets, the 

 number of American manufacturers who seri- 

 ously undertake the production of fine rugs 

 has been surprisingly small. The Glenham 

 Mills (A. T. Stewart's) were, probably, the first 

 regularly to manufacture Wilton, body-Brus- 

 sels, tapestry - velvet, and tapestry - Brussels 

 rugs, and these to some extent are still con- 

 tinued by them. The Alexander Smith & Sons 

 Carpet Company make successfully moquette 

 and tapestry-Brussels rugs, and this concern 

 and the Glenham Mills are the only houses in 

 America making in variety high-grade, power- 

 loom rugs. Kitchenman & Neall and A. Cam- 

 eron, of Philadelphia, weave chenille- Axmin- 

 ster rugs of superior fineness by hand. 



Carpet-Wools. Numerous experiments have 

 proved that wools best adapted to carpets can 

 not be profitably produced, if produced at all, 

 in the United States. The grades most em- 

 ployed are from wild and sterile regions in 

 Russia, Turkey, and Asia, where carpet-sheep 

 and shepherd exist in the most primitive man- 

 ner. Colorado and Texas yield certain wools 

 which find a limited market in our carpet-mills ; 

 but as yet we are mainly dependent upon the 

 sources just named. Strong efforts have been 

 made to influence the remission by Congress of 

 the duties imposed upon foreign carpet-wools, 

 and this, if accomplished, would somewhat 

 cheapen our carpet-product, and would also en- 

 able us, it is contended, to compete more sue- 



