The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-12

form heroic deeds. walt whitman summed 1t all up: "A great city is that which has the greatest men and women; if 1t be a few ragged huts 1t is still the greatest city in the world" <
 It will be asked how can we distfn- Euish between tainted and wholesome bargains? Many women, realizing the evils that underlie the bargain sys- tenn, have satisfied their conscience by refusing to purchase goods that are sold below the market price. They delude themselves into believing that if they pay high price for their pur. chases they are supplying their wants according to a high ethical standard. The faliacy of this line of action is most apparent. Some of the most eestiy garments have been wrought out of the most tragic clements in life: some of the very cheapest have been made from start to finish under the very best possible conditions High-prleed handmade lace made al the cost of the eye-sight of some wretched. underpaid woman is a tainf- ed bargain to be spurned by all self respecting women, while cheap Not tin$Aam lace machine-made in model conditions. could, if viewed in the proper light. be worn with pride by q duchess.
 The purchaser must demand a rnsr7hty that the article offered for s--. has been made under proper conditions. We do not buy real es- tate without searching the title; we do not buy cutlery without looking for the name of the manufacurer as |sa pledge that the steel is well tna- pered. When we buy china we look for the mark to guide us in selecting the ware. Let us take the same means of ascertaining whether the garments we buy are made in bright. well-ven- tliated sanitary factories or in dark. dirty. disease-infected novels. There are considerable number of manu- lecturers of women's white underwear using the label of the National Con sumers' League, a label that is only given to those manufacturers who have all their work done on their own prem ises and given after the factories have been inspected and the executive com mittee of the league Is convinced that the conditions are perfectly satisfac- tory
 Merchants are beginning to realize that their customers are demanding in goods something more than quantity or quality. or even style. and it Is Inter esting to note the recent change in the character of advertisements. due to this gradual awakening Of the con- sumers' conscience in regard to bar gains
 A few years ago the merchants con tended that it was not the buAiness of the purchasers to inquire into the con- ditions ofa manufacture under which their garments were made and that 1t was piece of impertinence on their part to endeavor to acquaint them selves with the true nature of their purchases. They therefore advertised merely the quality of goods or the style of garments they placed on their counters. But customers. having learned to demand proper conditions in slaughter houses, bakeries and dairies. are at least beginning to be aroused to look into the conditions sHr- rounding the manufacture of clothing, Today we find such advertisements as the following;
 Made by clean. contented and we'll paid people with plenty of time. No Song of the Shirt horrors are stitch cd into our garments"
 Baby clothes safe to wear. It IS a well-known fact that many garments offered for sale at low prices and some times even the better grades are nanu- factured in tenements or other un- wholesome places under conditions that make 1t hazardous to wear them. especially for infants and small chill drAn We cannot tell where these goods are to be found. but we can tell you about the other kind--made in light. clean workrooms.s
 .s'Sensible women all over this coun- l try are combining and organizing in an effort to put an end to the sale of sweatshop. nensanitary under and outer clothing. These women are looking for q label--the one that we show above. It is a guaranty that the garment which bears It is made under clean and heaithfuI conaafions.r Do not such advertisements suggest that the public conscience is awaken ingf \
 There is never e supply of anything until there Is a demand, The eonsum- CTS. who make the demand for articles actually create the supply. Every one who purchases a garment that has been made In s sweatshop 10 helping to swell the output of such goods. The sweatshop system of work is most degrading aud :, has dragged the gar matchmaking industry down to a shock ingiy low level. When the consumer insists upon maintaining the right to know how the articles purchased are made. then the merchant will be fore ed to demand of the manufacturer guaranty of his responsibility. Even a cheap Bible may be tainted hargain" if the book is sold cheap because the workers have not been paid a fair wage for the printing and binding. There is a standard of