Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-08-16
WHAT WE WALK ON.
A Few Facts and Figures Regarding
Carpets.
An Interesting Talk With a Local Dealer on
aSubject in Which all are More
or Less Interested.

"There is terrible amount of deception
practiced in the carpet trade" said promi
nent Main street merchant yesterday to
reporter, as the latter was feastiDg his eyes
upon a fair vision in the shape of rich
Wilton. THE amount OF second and third
rate goods annually palmed off on an IN
suspectiDg public as the very best goods in
the market is almost beyond belief, and
the evil is increasing at an alarming rate.
THE FRAUD
is usually practiced on purchasers of brus'
sells, and the way tapestry is handed out
for body and three and four frame for
five is caution. A good many statesmen
also palm off our domestic product for i'm
ported goods, when doubt if there is a
piece Of imported brussels carpet in the
whole of Wheeling"
Where is the chief point Of production
in this countryT
philadelphia, where there lin the neigh
borhood of one hundred and fifty factories,
all Of which have sprung up in about 1T
teen years. What are known as ingram
carpet, however, has been made there Tor q
mnch longer time. think
THE FIRST ESTABLISHMENTS
opened we're in New England, about 1880,
and from there the business quickly spread
to New York and Philadelphia. But for
many years the American houses contented
themselves with turning out the commoneSt
grades of carpets and even as late as 1872
there were scarcely any brussels or Wilton
carpets of domestic manufacture. In that
year, however, q Philadelphia house, that
of Joseph Ripka, made start on brussels,
with hand looms, and since then the indus
try has grown rapidly. Steam has, oil
course, very largely superseded the slower
but more exact hand looms, but for some
of The finer and cOstlier patterns the hand
loom is still used Some kinds Of carpets,
10 fact, can only be
BROUGHT TO PERFECTION
by hand"
How do wages run in the carpet trader
The cost of labor, should say, is from
% to 40 per cent of the net value OF the
product A good brussels weaver can
make from $50 to $75 per month. Men
are almost universally employed for this
class of work, but when ingram is made q
large proportion of the work is done BY
girls, who earn S. to $40 per week Oh
team looms. But the big money is made
by the bosses and designers. The former
run from $50 to $50 week, and | know
one designer in a Philadelphia house, VIII
gets Sc, 900 year. To be a good designer
requires taste and skill of no mean order.
"How do prices now compare with those
Of former years"
The prices are now
LOWER THAN EVER BEFORE.
In 1872 a common tapestry brussels car,
pet cost. in this city, $3.50 or $l.60 per
yard. The same class of goods can be
bought to day for about so cents, while an
inferior tapestry can be had as low as Gu
cents. Twelve years ago body brussels
FIVE frame sold for about $3.50. You can
buy the very best of its class at retail to-day
for about Sl.35. The same thing is true Of
ingram l have sold ingram carpets for
81. 80 that now 90 for Is and so cents. So
you see the workipgmsn's dollar goes good
deal farther in this respect than it used to.
How much carpet can the average
weaver make in week.
We'll, on ingram a good workman, with
rand loom, ought to turn out l25 yards Of
common carpet in six days, and with
team two and half times as much. On
ine carpet, with power loom, a man ought
o run pretty close to 2OU yards week. ]
bould gay the carpet factories ofthis coun
~ give employment to 10000 hands,