The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-03-22
CAST-OFF CLOTHING
Where 1t Goes and What 1t Becomes,


There are perhaps few of us fully aware
of the prodigious Importance, enormous
proportions and wonderful popularity of
that gigantic branch OF commerce which in
cludes the rag-picker Oh the dump, and the
extensive paper-miils for which the Ohio
Valley is noted; yet, from the few statis.
tics which can be obtained, it is safe to esti-
mate that five hundred thousand pounds of
paper are manufactured by the mills alone
within circuit of sixty miles of Cincin-
natl each day in the week. and that one
third of the material thus consumed are
the od rags and paper gathered by the ped
dler and rag-picker. The rag business is
not reported by the Chamber of Commerce,
and any figures respecting the amount of
rags gathered in the city it will be impossi-
bic TO give, but no one city, or ten cities of
the first class, could furnish from home
waste alone sufficient rags to meet the de-
mands of the Cincinnati market
Rags are imported here not only from all
parts OF this country but from almost every
civilized and semi-barbarous country in the
world. From London and Liverpool, from
Hamburg and Bremen, from Leghorn and
Genoa, from Cadiz and Barcelona, from
Alexandria and Trieste, from CONSTANT
nople and Smyrna, from China and Japan,
balls Of rags are shipped to Cincinnati,
where they are mingled together IN one
common lot. The principle of universal
equality governs the rag world; here there
is no aristocracy and democracy, no I'M
perialism and communism, when once the
rags have come into the hands of the rag
dealers. All garments end alike in the
rag mill, whether it be the robes of the
priests or the uniform of the soldier, the
blue jeans of the roustabout or the broad
cloth of the banker, the habit of the nun
or the dresses of the queen.
Here can be found the fashy attire of
some Oriental dancing girl and the gar
ments worn by the favorltes of the Sultan,
the rags cast off by the captive and the YES
ture of the Arab Sheik the rainbow-colored
costumes which may be seen in the streets
of Algiers, and the turban which has made
pilgrimage to Mecca. The picturesque
head dresses of the Italian peasant women
and the mantillas of the Madrid bellies, i'll
short everything worn by mankind; the
romantic, fantastic and picturesque, the
kingly purple and fine linen, the wedding |
dress and the prelatc's robes, endeth alike |
in the paper mill. The page upon which
this article is printed may containa portion
of the once elegant suits of the royal houses
of England, Russia or China, or of the worn |
out garments from the wilds of Siberia |
Africa or America,
Although collected from all parts of the |
world, the manner in which they are orig
inally gathered is essentially the same |
everywhere. The most familiar mode is |
the, one adopted by the rag buyer who goes |
about the streets with his sack or one-horse |
wagon, singing his monotonous song of
rags iron, stoves" He generally deals |
with some of the servants, and was never
known to get the bad end Of the bargain,
since he always does the sorting and weigh |
ing himself, and pays whatever price he
sees tit.
Another class Of rag gathercrs obtain the
scraps from the tailor shops and pick up
such bits of paper and cloth about the Off
ces and stores as will be salable, but by far
the least unenviabIe people who are connect |
ed with the rag business are the "ragpickers''
who pick up from the cutters and alleys
whatever they can find of the least value.
or else they spend their time on the dumps
where the garbage and dirt Of the city is
thrown. From morning until night these
men, women and children will hoe and
rake amid these offensive aecumulations,
and at night receive from 10 to 25 cents for
the rags, bones and iron which they have
succeeded in finding. These rags are first
sold 10 the small dealers, who i'll turn sell
them to the large dealers, where they are
sorted into different grades and qualities,
ready to be pressed into bales and shipped
to the factory.
To describe the varieties of rags, the
processes of sorting over the wire screens in
the warehouses, and the vet more thorough
sorting of the paper-mills, would occupy
too much time for the variety of rags are
in multitude almost equal to the varieties
of wooden, linen, cotton and paper fabrics.
The Cincinnati market alone furnishes
thirty-six varieties known to dealers by
technical names. 1t may be interesting,
however, to state that our old shirts hand
kerchiefs, summer stockings, table-cloths,
napkins, sheets, &C., go to the manufacture
of white writing paper, that all blue checks,
such as overalls, aprons, dresses, bed-tick-
ing and pillowticks are worked into GER
tain qualities of news and wrapping paper;
and that old WOODEN socks, scarfs, plaids,
undershirts, drawers &C., are converted
into shoddy. The seams of rags are care
fully clipped out and together with tailors'
clippings and the finer grades of wool go to
make wrapping paper. Gunny -bagging,
Manila ropes, &c, are used for the manu-
facture OF Manila paper, flour bags, grocery
bags, &c.
although none of the mills which trans
form this immense amount of rags into pa
per are in Cincinnati proper, still there are
enough within short radius Of the city,
to make it the greatest rag market in
the West. Two OF these mills are at Brook
Vile, : at Lockland, 4 at Hamilton, 2 be-
tween Hamilton and Middletown 7 at Mid
dletown, at Franklin, 3 between Middle
town and Dayt at Dayton, and several
in other directions.
But short time ago the manufacturers
of wrapping and roofing paper at Rockdale
claimed TO use about $1,000 pounds of rags
daily, and the Harding Paper Company at
Franklin and Amanda consumed far
greater supply, hut during the last few
years wood and straw have been taking the
place of rags to great extent in the manu-
iacture of paper, and consequently the de-
mand? for rags is not SO great as formerly.
This fact, together with the general depres-
sion in business, made large difference in
the price and sale of rags, but it is the
opinion of the dealers at present that the
business is again reviving.
The merchants of this city, however, still
continue to govern the market of the great
er portion of the West and together with
the mills to control prices for the whole
Western rag market. 1t is not twentieth
part Of the rags which are handled in this