Textile Industry In N.E. Not Dead, Harris Declares

Textile industries in New England are not doomed. Seymour E. Harris, professor of economics and chairman of the New England Governor's Textile Committee stated yesterday. He was speaking at the annual meeting of the Rhode island Textile Association.

Harris pointed out that the decline in New England textile employment is slowing up, citing national figures on the decline of employment in the field from 1939 to 1947.

The South should be given some time to catch up on social progress, he continued, and federal minimum wage legislation should contribute toward a narrowing of the gap between the rates of textile workers' pay in the north and south.

He declared that perhaps the greatest hope for this program lies in a rise of productivity in the South to offset the Eigher wage rates in New England.

Cites Reasons

Among the principal reasons the textile industry has been the problem industry of New England, Harris listed heavy concentration of mills, loss of consumer demand, technological revolution, competition of newer areas, and effects of federal government activities.