The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-01-05
THE wOOLEN SCHEDULE.

VVVLLN
The importers of foreign-m made woolen
goods have been taking their goods out
of bond rapidly since the Wilson tariff
on them became operative, on the 1st
instant.
The cloths that have been put upon
this market in great quantities are
mostly English made, and made to COM
pete with American made woolens.
The great bulk Of 1t is designed to be
made into spring clothing for men and
women, and will be offered to American
people in the course of two or three
months.
There are some facts about these
English goods that should be clearly
understood and constantly borne in
mind. Some of the English goods are
genuine, some are not. There are
two methods of defrauding adopted.
One is to "stuff'' the fabric with cot
ton that Is, weave it 80 that
there is a thin facing OF true worsted on
each side and cotton between. This Is u
very clever, and very dangerous, coun-
terfeit, as it cannot be detected until
the goods have been worn, when
it is not slow to reveal it
self. Americans practice this
fraud also, but they learned it of the
English, and but very few mills in this
country have yet been able to operate it
as skilfully as the English do.
Another method of defrauding Ameri-
cans has lately been detected, but is not
we'll enough understood to be described,
except as TO its effect upon goods. BY
some process of filling they are making
their goods weigh more to
the yard; thus 14-ounce
worsted gets on the market as
16-ounce goods, and the 16 ounce is put
up TO 1S-ounce. This is on the authority
of Bradford newspaper, and is ene of
the new tricks invented to beat the
American market, through the wide
door opened by the Wilson law.
1t is to be admitted also that some
American woolen manufacturers have
prepared to meet the Briton in this market
by debauching the quality of the goods
they have made up for this season.
1t is significant fact that there
is a greater activity among shoddy
mills, and that the demand for
shoddy has largely increased. Shoddy
is not required for sentimental reasons.
1t is to be put into clothing, and very
much of it will be sold as strictly all
WOOL" as it will be, of course!
All this is depressing. The makers of
honest woolen goods had come to fair
control of the market before the Demo-
Gratis were inspired to sell the country
out to the Englishmen. The demand
for guaranteed goods had come to extend
all the way down the scale
of consumption from the selling agent
to the wearer of clothing, and the best
mills were all vieing with each other to
build up reputation for reliability and
honesty of product.
Just now this market is recovering
from the terrible stagnation of 1893. 1t
is bare of goods, as clothiers are bare of
goods and the people short of clothes.
There will be a very large con-
sumption of woolens during 1895,
larger per capita, without doubt,
than for several years. The usual pro-
portion of adulterated cloths will be
forced into the hands of consumers,
and they will be cheated in purse and
subjected TO disease. Many honest
retailers will endeavor to avoid being
parties to the fraud, but they are
almost helpless. They cannot detect
the fraud. They must rely upon the
manufacturers. the manufacturers must
rely upon the mills, and the mills must
reply upon-the Democrats, who mean
to ruin them, IL possible, in order that
the English originators of fraudulent
goods may play their bunco game upon
the American market.