The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1883-10-12
5, 3. DEER LODGE, MONTANA, OCTOBER 12 1885,
Ready-Made Clothing .
Nelr York Tribfine,

OF the 60,O00,0O0 annual product of the
clothing business In this city, $50, 100000 !.
: Tor ready-made clothing, in the opinion of 9
partner in one of the leading firms. "Of the
800 to 400 ready-made clothing houses in
this city," said this gentleman, "the bulk Of
all the business, wholesale and retail, is
done by 25 firms. The largest. establish.
merts in this city, in alphabetical order, are
Brokaw Bros, retail only; Brooks Bros,
retail only; Carhart, Whitford & Co, whole.
sale and retail; Devlln & Co., retail only
Hammerslough Bros wholesale only; Naum.
berg, Kraus, Lauer & Co., wholesale and
retail. There Is an increased demand for
cheap clothing for shipment to the West for
emigrant and other laboring classes. In this
city there IS a tendency 10 spend less money
on high-priced tailors and more for first-class
ready made clothes, which are refitted to
suit the purchaser. No clothing is shipped
out of the country unless occasionally In the
shape of uniforms for some Central or South
American army. The making of clothes for
the New York dealers Is scattered all through
this State, New jersey and New England.
As to the question of wages, 1t is always
difficult to get skilled labor for the best class
Of custom work. Such men command their
own figures, and we are powerless In their
hands. During the dull season in summer
the best hands are put on first class ready
made work for the home trade, but In the
| fall they return TO their custom work at
about such prices as they choose to ask.
They have scale Of printed prices, and all
we have TO do Is to sign it and pay whatever
1t calls for-or have a strike. The way they
put on the charges for 'extras'-.which are
mostly regular parts of garment that nearly
everyone wants-is simply outrageous. Ev-
cry time you call at your talor's and try on
coat we have to pay 81 to the workman.
Now here is my own business summer suit,
for example; it cost S19.75 exactly for the
making" and the speaker showed the repor,
ter the price list of charges to prove it.
GLANDS for ready made clothing" he contin-
ued, "are more easily obtained, but of these
there Is always a demand for good work
men, and we all steal from each other with
out any compunctions. No labor Is more
independent than the man who makes
clothes. You can't talk any poor tailor to
me-"
Naumberg, Kraus, Lauer & Co., on Broad
way, above Bleecker street, are the largest
manufacturers and wholesale dealers in
ready made clothing in New York. A gen.
tleman connected with that house thought |
that Is per cent of the S60,0OO,OO0 annual |
product was for ready made clothing. He |
thought the estimate of $4,000 hands |
employed, including men, women and chill.
dren, was low. He was of the opinion, |
judging by their own business, that the large
houses are doing as much as when the census
Of 1880 was taken, probably more, and that
there Is an increasing demand for better
class Of goods. Fully s20,000,O00 Of capi.
tai is invested In this city in the making of
mems clothing" he said, "but great deal of
capital is used which Is not owned by the
houses using it. Some of them use the banks
and Wall street freely"
When asked for a rough estimate of the
number of garments mace annually by this
firm, the answer was: THAT Is almost im-
possible to say, but If were going to baz-
ard guess would not put it at less than
10000.
."And how many yards of cloth would that
require?"
"About 1850, ,0O0."
Another interesting feature of the ready
made clothing business is the shipping of the
garments, cut and tied up in bundles, 10
long distances-Maine, for example-where
the thrifty housewife of the no less frugal
farmer spends the short winter days, between
work, and the long winter nights, after other
work is over, in making up garments that
may be worn IN Water street or Santa Fe,
as the case may be. The prices paid, so 1t Is
stated, are about the same in Maine as In
New York or Newark.
"But how about the freight?" was asked.
"Oh, we deliver the unmade goods here
and they have to deliver them to us made up
before VIZ pay for them. We send in cases
of about one hundred garments, one or two
cases at a time. The freight Is cheap,
though, less than IS cents on each suit of
clothes, both ways, should say, as they ship
by boat"
ain reality, then, the women of Maine
make clothes for the New York msnufactu-
rers cheaper than the women In the East side
tenement houses"
"Fhsy do, by just the amount they pay for
freight"