El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-17

TASHINGTON, D. c, Aug. IL
M A pure clothes bill has just
been introduced into the house
Of representatives by Victor Murdoch.
Of Kansas. It is patterned after the
pure food law, and if placed on the
statute books will put a stop to the
adulteration Of fabrics. It makes con-
fiscation the penalty for misbranding.
This is a new movement, which, as
was the case with the pure 1000 cru
SADIE mas had its origin in the women 5
clubs all over the country or the SSOO.-
coo. 600 worth of textiles sold annually
in the United States the women buy
IS per cent Fifteen per cent OF the
total expenditure Of the average fam
sIy is for fabrics Of one kind or an
other. Hence 1t is not surprising that
the women should demand protection
against the frauds TO which they are
constantly exposed
Frauds in Goods
That such frauds are pracuced IS
their own fault primarily: Ihey are
always looking for something cheap
that has the appearance OF being pct
ter than it really is Bargains IS
their everlasting cry To the demand
the dishonest manufa cturers, who are
a minority. cater; and the honest ones
are often obliged, however unwilling,
10 resort to methods of which they
disapprOve in order to compete
-
buy a silk skirt. She gets II at
sacrifice sale" and cOngratulates her
self upon a bargain But When she
has worn it TWO or three times she IS
Mortified to find in It dozens Of little
pinhoIes- The reason why IS simply
that the stuff is heavily LOADED. with
salts of tin particles Of which are
scattered all through it, and, having
sharp edges. cut the threads. Cracks
actually appear where the garment IS
folded.
The manufacturer does not guaran-
tee such d skirt to the wholesaler; the
latter does not guarantee it to the re-
taller Nor, indeed. does the retail
dealer guarantee 1t to the purchaser
But she gets what she is supposed TO
want, that is TO say bargain IN
reality the garment is q very expensive
one. inasmuch as 1t cannot stand wear
While nominally silk, it is at least one
half tin.
ment The same may be said of tin
ribbons masquerading as silk Much
OF the silk ribbon that now comes to
market is so loaded with acetate OF TN
that rolls of it on shelf viii rot IN
eIde-of SIX months It IS purely 4
matter of supply and demand The
women must have cheap ribbons, and
have lOw-priced stockings, some Of
which being made of woodpulp, dis
solve on slight prOVocauOn, while
others OF artificial silk, have isle
does not wear if exposed to moisture
Tin Salts in silk.
Raw silk costs $3.50 a pound. Ac-
cordingly. the manufacturer feels
Obliged to make ii go as far as pos
sibIe With this end in view, the
thread is soaked in solution OF the
tin salts, bein thereby swelled and
made heavier Thus given quantity
of it goes further in the weaving, and
the fabric produced is prOportionately
more heavy 1t is no unusual thing
for d yard of silk ribbon TO be two
thirds tin. estimating by weight If
held 10 the light. its threads win be
seen to be as far apart as those of
CheeseclOth. Were the metal dissolved
out of it, only a net of silk would re-
main.
Does this mean that there are no
more silk fabrics on the markct2 BY
no means Silks that are beyond criti-
cism can be obtained at any first
class dry goods store. hut the pur-
chaser must be willing to pay a proper
price So long as the women insist
on getting the woven product of the