Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-09-01
SHODDY CLOTHING.
RE AMERICAN PEOPLE FAST Be.
COMING A NATION OF "sHAkERs.u

COMING A NATION OF "sHAkERs."
sl.es the Mckinley Bill Went Into Eff
fsst the shoddy Business Has Been
unusually Prosperous-Our Tariff a
aedsend to shoddy Manufacturers.
There can be little doubt that the
American people wear more shoddy
than do the people Of any other country
On the face of the globe. Here are
hw Of the proofs of this statement:
First-According to the census statis-
lies Of 1880 the total amount of raw ma
tsral consumed in. the manufacture of
woolen goods was 404, 100000 pounds.
After reducing wool to secured basis
We find that only lis, 100000 pounds of
pure wool were consumed. This shows
that the composition Of wooden goods
made in 1880 was 1903 parts of adulter-
ants and 118 parts of pure wool. The
census Of 1890 shows that the number of
pounds of pure wool used had increased
b124, 0O0, 900, and of shoddy, cotton and
other adulterants from 100000, 900
pounds in 1880 to 154, ZOO, 900 pounds in
l0p0-thus giving ratio of As parts of
pure wool to 30 parts of adulterants.
Second Since the Mckinley bill went
into effect the shoddy business has en-
joyed an era of unusual prosperity. AS
an indication of this we quote the fol-
lowing under the heading, rags, Shod-
dies, Wastes and Extracts" from The
American Wool and Cotton Reporter Of
May 10, 1899:
New Cips-There has been steady
current of business during the past
week and results have been altogether
satisfactory.
Merchant tailors' clips, darks and
black, are picked up as fast as made.
The pronounced demand for darks and
black worsted, noted last week con-
tinues. There is more or less inquiry
for all the various grades of new wooden
rags.
Wooden Rags-Some dealers aver
that they have sold in the two weeks Of
May, 1899, within few hundred dollars
Of all last Mays Q891) sales. In the sale
during the past week of red, blue, gray
knit there has been no let up. White
hnseys have moved well, so has hood
stock generally. Dark and light merinos
are selling fast.
"Shoddies Business for the first half
OF May (Monday, 16) has favorably COM
pared with last years record in the
same period. There is Enthusiastically an
increased demand for finer stock.
Observation-Disclosures in general
are having all they can do to fill orders
"Wool Waste-There has been no
falling off this month in this trade.
During the past week good deal Of
high grade waste has been sold.
"Flocks-Business in this line for the
month thus far has been quite salts
factory"
The same indications Of the healthy
growth of this unhealthful industry are
continued in this journal of May 26,
while, as usual, there are on the same
page over twenty advertisements Of
shoddy manufacturers.
Third-No other country has duty on
woods that will average go or 10 per cent,
thus depriving us of the purer wool and
compelling us to use all kinds Of adulter-
ants-rags, hair, cotton, etc. That our
tariff is a godsend to the shoddy manu-
facturers is testified to by the fact that
in 1883, when the Mills bill proposed to
give us free wool, seventeen rag and
shoddy dealers signed a circular FUSED by
the Republican national committee) in
which they denounced the Mills bill as a
free trade measure and said that free
wool would ruin their business. Further
testimony comes from the petition Of the
Kensington Reform club, of Philadel-
phia (Which contains about $50 wool
workers), presented to congress April 9,
1899. After asking for free wool to help
the wooden business and incidentally to
provide steadier employment for more
labor and to give cheaper clothing to the
consumer, they say that the materials OF
are deteriorating, and the
"dare not put their work
ingmen on the stand to testify under
oath, for then there would be full cor
of the statement made to your
honorable committee of ways and means
by the committee of the Wool Consum-
ers' association that the Mckinley law
has largely promoted the adulteration of
wooden manufactures.