The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-13
PREPARING FOR SHODDY.

(E,rom the New York Evening Post" }
The talk of a high tariff man with the
world at large gives one no idea OF Wnat
goes on between him and one OF his TEL
lows. When he is addressing himself to
the general public he always pictures the
people as eager for more dearness in
everything they eat, drink and wear, pro-
yided the dearness profits some Ameri-
cans. Prosperity consists wholly in the
rising prices of meat, drink and clothing,
and kitchen utensils. "A cheap coat
makes a cheap man. Cheapness is a
disgusting British invention, unworthy of
the American freeman. The good Ameri-
can always seeks stores where things are
high but native, and when he looks in
his paper and reads that prices are go
ing up he chuckles over the probable
misery and chagrin of the foreigners.
In talking to other protectionists, the
high tariff man sings quite a different
tune He then acknowledges that things
are pretty high, and may become hlgher
than the people VIII stand, ana 10 ne sne bow Two
high prices can be kept up without
trenching too much on the public pa
tience and buying capacity. Nothing, for
to look in a trade journal for evidences
of the boom or prosperity over which
we are now rejoicing. There 1t does not
mean simply the high price of wheat. 1t
means advancing price of everything.
Lock into the American Wool and Cot
ton Reporter and we find that all the
every every article Of clothing, shirtings, knit
goods, neck-wear, collars, woollens,. al
pacas, silks, which is, of course, excellent
for the mill owner But the way ms
in adding about a third to his expenses
of living, to the cost of his own, his wife s
and children's clothing. The shorter" he
more his bosom swells with pride at be-
ing an American. The more patches his
wife puts on the boys trousers the more
he revels in the thought that the trousers
are of native material.
We find an excellent Illustration of all
this in the last number of the American
Wool and Cotton Reporter. The Dlngley
on clothing, and the dealers are busy
making their preparations for the greatly
increased prices they will have to charge
in 1898. and the Reporter, accordingly
tells US what they are saying to each
other, in an article which we reproduce in
another column. They realize that in
of the same quality of last year will have
to be offered at greatly increased prices,
and they are, therefore, doubling whether
they will not have ito make practically
an entirely new line of goods" But why
so? Simply because they fear that the
sspurchasing power of the public" will be
so OVertaXeQ tAdI Ine COHSuiueT Will HOt
be able to pay about 50 per cent. more
than last year for his clothing. For in
stance a worsted fabric made into suits.
which now costs from $3.50 to sl4 M must.
during the fall of 1898; cost from $l2 to
$3.50 The danger is that the poor man.
who has been getting his suits for s. 50 o, to {,
to pay. from $l2 to Sl6.50. What is to be
done to make him share in the Mckinley
prosperity?
Wen. the dealers are. according to the
Reporter" considering The matter. The
question is. ssWill the necessities CT the
case be sufficiently strong to overcome
against cotton-mixed worsteds, and will
ihey be willing to take fabric with cot
ton at the back, at S1.3715 to Sl.50 yard
It looks very much now as if there Will
be of necessity a great demand for this
sort of fabric The decision apparent
" will be that the poor man must, in or
der to be truly prosperous, wear cotton
lack to his '9S suitings. This. be it un-
derstood. is not exactly shoddy. Shoddy
the Century Dictionary says, is "a wool
len material felted together. composed Of
old woollen cloth torn into shreds, the re-
jected threads from the weaving of finer
cloths and the like" Now this new