Osage Valley banner. (Tuscumbia, Miller County, Mo.) 1879-1881, 1881-07-07

ers standing side by side were filed
respectively with white. gray and blue
stockings-three ghastly and redolent
collections OF discarded wooden foot
gear, which it was anything but appe-
! tiSing TO gaze upon. Piled on toD Of
the b n was bundle OF hundreds of
"atmy-bues,' military overcoats which
had done their country good service,
.apd finally pulled mp in the rag house.
THAT. lot OF blue black RAGS which
you sec there,n said the dealer poiut-
ing 10 bin half-hllcd with strips of
clofhis worth $500 as u stands. Ii is
the color which makes 1t 80 valuable"
The reporter then learned that upon
this lloor, as soop as the goods arrive,
they are taken in hand by operators
who ''seam them. that is TO say, re-
move from the cloth proper Of the va
rious garments the pockets, Innings
and seams, after which the cloth is torn
into strips. In which shape it is accept
able to the clolh-manufacturer to
whom IL Is to be shipped. In sorting
the cloth attention is paid TO color as
well as 10 quality. In discriminating
between various kinds of cloth the ops
orators are very expert. They are ali
! young ladies who have become so ex-
! perienced in their business that piece
OF cotton-mixed goods is detected in
an instant. Their value TO the bust
ness can be estimated when it is known
that the difference in price between the
two qualities OF rags, which. To the in
experienced observer. look and feel ex-
actly alike, will often be as much As
twenty cents per pound.
II can understand what become of
/ the pockets aud linings,n the reporter
said, but suppose the seams are Of
! no value"
"Ihey are utilized, too. The manu-
\ facturers apply chemicals TO them. and
thus destroy tho part for which they
have no use. The wOolen-manufact.
urers use chemicals which destroy the
cotton and leave the wool intact: the
paper makers use chemicals which de-
stroy the wool and save the cotton.
There's no waste in our business at
ALL"
After the rags have been thus sorted
aud torn into strips they are placed in n
revolving wire cylinder in which they
are shaken about until the dust is re-
moved from them, when they are ready
TO be made up into bales for shipment.
/ The bales. which are generally about
J four feet in length and three feet in
I height and width, are subjected TO
/ heavy pressure. after which they are
hooped, and are then ready for the
road.
The third floor OF the store was occu-
/ pied with paper stock, consisting of
mixed cotton and linen rags. The best
/ quality of these. known as No. white,
consisted of shirt-cuttings, tolerably
clean. No. consisted of the same,
not quite so clean, and No. 3 white of
| the same, decidedly dirty. Prints con-
/ stitute the lowest quality of cotton rags,
and then come bagging--from which
what is known as hard paper Is made
old rope, and, finally, paper which has
I already done service, and which mod
ern machinery can very easily turn to
I good account again.
"phere's q prejudice against this
| business" the dealer said " People
I suppose that every man who handles
I rags goes about town collecting them
with sack in one hand and stick in
I the other, or else that he goes from
house to house swapping tin-pans for
I old clothes and papers. This peddling
cuts very small figure in our business.
| We don't have anything TO do with it,
/ These people 20 10 the junk-stores, and
we do not often have transactions with
the people who keep them. Our best
supply comes from the country store
keepers, almost all of whom the
/ ihriltiest amongst them certainly coll
lect rags. They give produce in ex-
change for them, generally, and some
times cash, and, when they have an ac-
cumulation on hand they send it along
to us. or sell it to some itinerant rag
dealer A large quantity Of our rags
comes from the manufacturers. The
paper-makers purchase mixed goods,
and, having sorted the cottons from the
bulk, ship the woolens to u.s. The pro-
duce and commission dealers often re-
ceive consignments OF rags, which they
turn over to us. Only few days ago
| got twenty-three bales OF mixed goods
from hide house in this city, and
quite often IL happens that a hardware
! firm will find itself with an elephant ON
its hands IN the shape Of bale or two
Of rags forwarded by one Of their eoun-
try customers
What do the cloth manufacturers
do with the rags You sell themP'
"They enter into the manufacture Of
new goods.
"ShoddyP
"Yes, shoddy. Would you like to see
someP'
The reporter assented, and the rag
merchant produced half dozen little
bundles Of what seemed 10 be a very
fine quality OF wool Comment upon
its excellent appearance evoked tho
statement:
II can sell rags from which such
shoddy as this is made at twenty-five
cents a pound, and that at time when