8 
Modern Business Geography 
of New England, has a climate that tends to make vigorous work a 
pleasure; therefore the workers are far more efficient than they 
would be in regions of monotonous cold or heat.. A weaver in Mexico 
rarely tends more than two looms, while in Massachusetts it is com- 
mon to tend six or eight. 
Why cotton factories are located near a labor supply. Its location 
in the part of the country where labor is abundant gives Fall River 
still another advantage. Under present conditions a cotton manu- 
facturing plant needs every class of labor, from the highly skilled to 
the unskilled, from the expert mechanic who cares for the machinery 
or the chemist who directs the bleaching and dyeing to the opera- 
tive who simply watches a group of looms and stops them to tie the 
broken threads. New England lies nearer to Europe than does any 
other part of the United States, and it became settled earlier than 
other regions. Hence, when factories began to spring up, there were 
more people in New England from whom to obtain high-grade workers. 
Some of the descendants of the first mill-workers are now owners, 
superintendents, managers, and foremen of the mills. 
Also because of its location, Fall River is able to draw labor from 
among the European immigrants who enter America through the 
neighboring ports of New York and Boston. Thus among the people 
of Fall River are many of English, Scotch, or Irish descent whose 
ancestors for generations have been engaged in manufacturing cotton 
either in the Old World or the New. Much of the unskilled labor is 
done by French Canadians from the province of Quebec. Recently 
machinery has become more and more automatic, and a kind of labor 
even less skilled is employed ; for example, that furnished by newly 
arrived Poles, Finns, and Greeks. The employment of labor of this 
kind carries with it a disadvantage; for the unskilled laborers of 
the factory towns often lower the whole standard of the community. 
Fall River is not alone in benefiting from the advantages of a posi- 
tion near the eastern seacoast. The large supply of labor helps the 
cotton business of neighboring towns too, and in fact the whole manu- 
facturing business of New England. 
Geographical conditions that influence manufacturing. Thus 
New England shows us how manufacturing in general, and cotton 
manufacturing in particular, may be influenced by geographical con- 
ditions, — glaciation, harbors, climate, and location. Due to gla- 
ciation, there are waterfalls and rapids that can be used for power, 
and lakes for filters and reservoirs. The harbors render trans- 
portation easy. The climate is good for manufacturing and is