The Finishing Operations
Following the manufacture of the cloth, come the operations necessary to
prepare it for the market. These involve such treatments as bleaching,
printing, mercerizing, dyeing, and finishing (in the narrow sense).
The number of machines involved in these various processes rivals the
number which are used in the actual spinning and weaving operations.
Modern bleaching is a highly technical science, conceived and planned by
engineers, and carried out with elaborate machinery by skilled workers.
Gray cloth, as it comes from the loom, is of an unattractive color, a
dirty grayish yellow, and contains not only those impurities which it has
picked up on its journey through the mill but those inherent in its
natural state as well, all totalling some five per cent. more or less, of
the total weight. In addition there may be numerous bits of leaf from the
boll which have clung to the fibers through all the processing, and which
appear finally in the cloth as little brownish specks, known to the trade
as motes. Finally, there is the sizing which was put into the warp.
[Illustration: _Warping--The creel in the rear_]
Bleaching an Intricate
Chemical Process
In the bleaching of cotton, there is a series of operations which have
for their object the elimination of the waxy, fatty matters embodied in
the fiber, as well as any dirt which it may have acquired. Then, there is
the actual whitening and the bleaching of the cloth which destroys any
coloring matter which it may contain and finally there are treatments
designed to neutralize the effect of the chemicals used in the bleaching.
Thus, the sequence of treatments might be: first, boiling in plain water,
which removes certain soluble substances; next, an extended boiling in a
strong alkaline solution, which saponifies the waxy, fatty matters in the
fiber, and thus removes them from the cloth or yarn. Third, a steeping in
a bleaching solution--a solution of chloride of lime being largely
employed for this purpose, and which treatment is known as the chemic.
Next, after another thorough washing there is a treatment in diluted
sulphuric acid to neutralize the effects of the chemic, and finally this
is followed again by another thorough washing with possibly an additional
mild alkaline treatment. The nature and the method of all these
treatments varies considerably, and depends upon the character of the
goods being treated, but, at the conclusion, if all has gone well, the
cloth should be a good white and should not be impaired in strength.
Singeing Necessary
in Some Finishes
For a certain class of goods, where a clean, smooth surface is required,
it is desirable to singe the goods before the bleaching. This is
accomplished by passing the cloth, stretched out at full width, very
rapidly over heated plates, or through gas flames, so that the fine hairs
or fuzz are singed off, but the fabric itself has not had time to take
fire. Both sides may be singed and the goods may be passed more than once
through the flame. When yarns are singed, the threads are passed through
the flame very rapidly, being unwound from one set of bobbins and wound
up on another.
[Illustration: _Front view of an automatic loom_]
In the dyeing operation the cotton piece goods pass through a series of
machines, the goods being in rope form as already explained, so that a
number of pieces can be put into each machine, side by side. The wash
boxes, dye vats, etc. are equipped with overhead rollers, by means of
which the goods, which have been sewn end to end, so as to make a
continuous string of them, pass out of the dye, over the roller and down
into the bath on the other side, continuing to circulate around thus
until the desired results have been obtained. In addition to the
preparatory washing and boiling, mordanting and dyeing, there are
subsequent washings to free the goods from loose coloring matter, and
other special treatments are frequently accorded them.
Finishing in its special and restricted sense, implies a series of
treatments, such as stretching, starching, dampening, drying, pressing,
smoothing, lustreing, glazing, stiffening, softening, and whatnot, which
are given to them according to the use to which they are to be put.
The printing press is constructed with a large main cylinder (D), the
size being dictated by the number of colors which it must take care of.
As the printing operation is a continuous one, there must be a continuous
feeding of the cloth, a continuous inking of the engraved rollers (C),
and a continuous cleaning off of the unengraved surface after the
inking.
Under each roller, where it is fixed in its place in the press, is a long
copper trough or pan carrying the coloring material, and in the pan under
the roller, and extending into the coloring matter, is an intermediate
roller known as the "furnisher" roller, and, as the press revolves, this
covers the surface of the copper roller with a heavy film of coloring.
The surplus coloring is scraped off as the roller revolves, by a long,
sharp blade or knife, known as "the doctor," and after the roller passes
this it is quite clean, no coloring remaining on it except that in the
engraved portion.
Each roller has its color pan with its own color in it. Then, as the
cloth (A) passes between the main cylinder, properly covered by suitable
intervening materials and the series of rollers, each roller in turn
prints its own color, and, collectively, the finished pattern is
produced.
[Illustration: _Diagram of cloth printing machine_]
The goods then pass into a drying room and are afterwards introduced into
a steaming chamber, where they are given a good steaming at a slight
pressure. This steaming develops the colors and causes them to impregnate
the fibers more thoroughly. Subsequently, for good work, the goods should
be washed to get rid of the thickening matters that are mixed with the
coloring, and then the printing appears in all its beauty.
Printing on
Full Ground Colors
The foregoing briefly describes the processes of direct printing. In this
case, the penetration of the colors to the opposite side of the goods is
not very good. If a solid and full ground color is needed both on the
face and back of the goods, it can be had either by the "Resist" or
"Reserve" method, or by the "Extract" or "Discharge" method. In the
"Resist" method, when a white figure is wanted on a black or colored
ground, the goods are first printed with some substance which will resist
the action of the dye stuffs. Then, when the goods are dyed, the treated
part does not take the color and the substance used as a resist is washed
out, and thus a white figure is obtained on a solid colored ground.
In the "Discharge" method, the goods are first dyed in a solid color, and
are then treated with certain chemicals which destroy the dyed color
wherever they touch the fabric, these chemicals being subsequently washed
out where they have been applied, and thus again a white figure can be
had in the colored ground. By the "Discharge" method, moreover, colored
figures can also be printed on colored grounds, as certain colorings have
been developed which are not affected by the discharge materials used,
hence, a whole series of beautiful colors can be printed on goods
previously dyed with black or colored grounds, each color being mixed
with a suitable chemical for discharging the ground color, and thus the
colors of the printed pattern come out as desired.
Another important process which is applied to both cotton yarn and cotton
fabrics is that known as mercerization, called after "Mercer" an English
chemist who introduced the process. Cotton when subjected to the action
of strong, caustic alkali contracts violently, but when again stretched
and straightened it is found to have acquired a distinct silkiness of
appearance, and under the microscope the twisted ribbon-like fibers of
the material--already referred to--will be found to have become straight,
glossy and rodlike, just as a bicycle tire would appear after air was
blown into it.
Cotton may be mercerized either in the yarn, warp, skein, or in the
piece, the first being more effective. The best and most satisfactory
results are achieved when the material treated is made of fine long
staple cotton, either Sea Island or Egyptian, the shorter cottons being
relatively much less improved by the treatment. The mercerizing does not
diminish the strength of the material, and gives to it a greater affinity
for dye stuffs.
Internal Organization
of Cotton Mills
The foremen are specialists in their particular departments. The
warehouseman, at one end, is a judge of cotton stock, and the foreman of
the weaving room at the other knows how many automatic looms may safely
be trusted to each weaver on his staff.
In between these two there are, according to the individual mill, a dozen
or more other foremen, all reporting regularly to the superintendent, all
captains of their own companies of workers, and all keen, in the
interests of their own reputations, to operate their departments as
intelligently, as efficiently, and with as little friction with their
individual operators as possible. For it is generally recognized
throughout the cotton industry that profitable business depends as much
upon the whole-hearted cooperation of the wage-earners, as upon any other
single factor.
The Question of
Individual Efficiency
As for the operators themselves, they are so varied, there are so many
problems which they have to face, and such difficulties which those who
employ and direct them have to solve, that anything like adequate
consideration is impossible. From the impersonal viewpoint, leaving out
of account the human elements, the problems of wages, and the correlated
problem of trade organization, there remains the question of individual
efficiency. It is that which we have chiefly to consider.
[Illustration: _Inspecting finished cloth_]
The number of men, women, and children employed in the cotton mills of
the country has increased at a very high rate, but there has been an
interesting diminution in the proportionate percentage of women and
children under sixteen years of age employed.
The United States Census of Manufacturers gives the following figures:
AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYES IN AMERICAN COTTON MILLS
_Men_ _Women_ _Children_ _Total_
1870 42,790 69,637 22,942 135,369
1880 59,685 84,539 28,320 172,544
1890 88,837 106,607 23,432 218,876
1900 134,354 123,709 39,866 297,929
1910 190,531 141,728 38,861 371,120
In percentages these figures express themselves as follows:
_Men_ _Women_ _Children_
1870 31.5 51.4 17.1
1880 34.6 49.0 16.4
1890 40.6 48.7 10.7
1900 45.1 41.5 13.4
1910 51.3 38.2 10.5
The question of nationality has had an important bearing upon the
development of the industry in the United States. The constant influx
into the country of successive waves of immigration from the different
countries of Europe has often served in a decade to change the whole
complexion of the labor question. In the original New England mills, the
employees were of almost pure English stock. The sons and daughters of
the Yankee farmers entered the mills, not as a permanent occupation, but
merely as a means of getting a start in life.
Just before the Civil War, the Irish began to come rapidly, and the
actual advent of that struggle saw a great number of the remaining
natives leaving for the army, or thrown out of work. When the fighting
was over they did not return, but the Irish came in even greater numbers.
The next decade saw the arrival of the French Canadians in the New
England states, and there also came, in quick succession, natives of
Italy, and of the various states of eastern Europe.
[Illustration: _Baled cloth being put aboard waiting freight cars_]
This change in the national complexion had two very important results. It
brought into the country a constant stream of cheap labor, polyglot, and
lacking in homogeneity, and consequently slow at first to unionize and
strike. This characteristic brought another in its train--a lack of
stability, and a proneness to transiency. The second result was hardly
less important. It meant that though labor was relatively plentiful, much
of it was unskilled. This lack of skill put a premium upon quantity
production, and led to efforts to develop automatic machinery and
labor-saving devices of all kinds. It compelled most American
manufacturers to specialize upon the coarser kinds of yarns and cloths,
made in simple weaves and patterns, in the making of which the minimum
amount of skilled labor was required.
Native Stock
in Southern Mills
Conditions in the South were somewhat different. From the beginning, the
employes here have been almost entirely of native stock. They came from a
class which previously had little opportunity for any employment of a
regular character outside of farming. When the mills were built these
folks were given, for the first time, an opportunity for continuous
employment. Whole families entered the mills, fathers, mothers and
children serving in different or in the same departments. The South at
first specialized on ducks, twills, denims, and such coarse work. Now,
however, there is a growing tendency to diversify the product. The reason
is found in the increasing capability of the workers, many of whom have
by now spent many years of their lives in the mills, and whose fathers
before them were operatives. Unless present conditions change and the
South becomes the mecca of immigrants--a development probably less likely
now than in the years before the war--there seems to be a strong
possibility that a class of operatives, rivalling eventually in skill
those of the English mill towns, will be developed. The stock is the
same, and the latent capabilities are all there. The determining factors
will probably be the economic changes of the next few years.
A remaining factor in the organization of the mill is the size of the
individual plant, the number of spindles and looms it contains, the
number of workers employed, etc. It is in just this particular that some
of the most characteristic developments of the American industry are
found. About the time of the Civil War, the average New England mill had
less than ten thousand spindles. Today the average is probably between
fifty and one hundred thousand, and perhaps nearer the latter figure than
the former. Some of the mills have nearly, if not quite, a full million
spindles in several buildings. The average in the South is much less than
the New England average. The industry in the older section is definitely
localized, even to the extent of having whole towns devoted almost
exclusively to the manufacture of single grades of cloth. In the South
the mills are more widely scattered, advantage having been taken of labor
supply, water power, and other conditions. Local pride has sometimes
caused the establishment of mills in regions economically unfitted for
them. Such mills do not long survive. The advantage of large scale
production has thus been seized chiefly by the New England mills, but the
generally lower wages of the South have tended to equalize the
situation.
[Illustration: _Original Whitney cotton gin, preserved in Smithsonian
Institute in Washington_]