Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1881-07-07

The conglOmerate mass of material
has to be sorted by the wholesale dealer
before he can ship it to his customers.
ment which the reporter yesterday Wis
tied were to be seen long rows of bins,
each of which was kept for the stow
ing away of one particular kind Of WOOL
en- goods. One was devoted to dark-blue,
another to red fIannels, another to plaid
Linseys, aud others to blue cloth, light
cloths (gray and checked), mixed col
ors. and clear blacks, while three 9th
ers standing side by side were filled
respectively with white. gray and blue
stockings-three CHASTITY and redolent
collections of discarded wooden foot
gear, which it was anything but appe-
tizing to gaze upon. Piled on top Of
the was bundle of hundreds of
'.army-blues," military overcoats which
had done their country good service.
and finally pulled up in the rag-house.
THAT lot of blue black rags which
you see there" said the dealer. point
ing to bin half-flled with strips Of
cloth is worth $500. as it stands. 1t is
the color which makes it so valuable"
The reporter then learned that upon
this floor, as soon 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 clo,h-manufacturers to
whom it is to be shipped. In sorting
the cloth attention is paid to color as
well as to quality. In discriminating
between various kinds Of cloth the OPP
orators are very expert. They are all
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.
IL can understand what become of
the pockets and Innings" the reporter
said. "but l suppose the seams are of
no value"
"They are utilized. too. The manu-
facturers apply chemicals to them, and
thus destroy the part Tor 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
and torn into strips they are placed in a
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
/ four feet in length and three feet in
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. 2 consisted of the same,
not quite so clean, and No. 5 white of
the same, decidedly dirty. Prints con-
stitute the lowest quality of cotton rags.
and then come bagging-from winch
what is known as hard paper is made
old rope, and. finally, paper which has
already done service, and which mod
ern machinery can very easily turn to
good account again.
There's prejudice against this
business" the dealer said. People
suppose tina, every man who handles
rags goes about town collecting them
with sack in one hand and stick in
the other, or else that he goes from
house to house swapping tin-pans for
old clothes and papers. This peddling
cuts very small figure in our business.