The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Measures Against
AdulterQted Fabric
Proposed Law Is Modelled After Pure Food One.
Confscation Fixed as the PenaHy-Peopze
of Small Means the Great Sufferers.

ufacture. every housewife had a fair
knowledge Of the composition of tex
tiles. but not so at the present time
To cite a familiar example the average
| woman supposes that the stun called
naRpelette' Is at least partly wool.
although the fact is that it is wholly
| cotton. both sides Of it being scratched
with wire claws to give 1t the charac-
teristic fuzzy nap. 1t Is exceedingly
,, infammable, and every now and then
It happens that somebody wearing
garment made Of It Is burned to death.
Wool Burns Slowly.
"All-woor' fabrics too frequently havs
background consisting of a wide
meshed net of cotton. against which, in
the process of manufacture, waste wool
fiber is blown from both sides with an
air blast. Thus felted together with a
strong cotton skeleton. the stuff has all
the appearance of woven woolen cloth
Too many blankets that are supposed to
be all WOOL are in reality not more
than 10 per cent wool In cases where
each thread of cotton has a cover of wool
twisted around 1t. detection is difficult.
And then. as the last resort Of manu-
featuring Ingenuity. there is wool twice
on the sleeps back'-which. being trans
lated. means the taking of old rags.
burning the cotton out Of them with
acids. and respinning the residum into
new fabrics. Naturally. the latter do not
wear we'll
What shall the everyday woman do for
tests in This case? Well, for one thing.
she may try the effect of fire. II she
will touch a sample with the flame of a
match 1t will burn with a flash in case
1t is cotton, and with little smell. Wool
will burn more slowly. with a marked
animal odor. But a test absolutely con-
elusive can be made with a small guam
uty of caustlc potash. purchased at the
nearby drug store-mixing the stuff with
water and boiling a scrap Of the fabric
in 1t. II all wool. II will entirely disap-
pear. dissolving. II there is any cotton
in it The latter will remain undissolved.
The principal reason why many shoes
do not wear as well as they ought is
that the leather of which they are made
is adulterated by loading" It with glu-
cose or with EPSON salts. to render il
heavier-leather being usually sold blythe
pound. These substances injure the
leather and destroy its waterproof quail
ity. The soles and counters Of cheap
shoes are too often made not of leather
at all. but Of leather scraps ground up.
mixed with paper pulp. and nodded TO
the shapes required. Such material is
treated with rubber to waterproof II, and
with oil and gIycerin to soften IT.
Bargain Hunters suffer.
The hide OF the bovine animal is COM
monty split into half a dozen thicknesses
with a view TO economizing the material.
and the leather thus obtained Is stamped
by special machinery in such n way as
to produce quite a variety of limitations.
Nearly all of the so-called alligator skin
bags carried by women are pure counter
felt being made from this kind OF ma
terial. The "'pigskin'' leggings OF tho
shops are usually OF split leather.
stamped TO initiate the grain OF the pork
er's hide. the work being so admirably
done that even the little bristle holes are
reproduced.
Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon
the statement that. generally speaking.
the high-priced fabrics sold in the shops
are of frst-class quality and free from
sophistication. Hence, It follows that
weIl-to-do purchasers. who are willing 20
paw. get what they seek. But the bargain
hunters-the women who are always look
ing out for the cheap thing that looks
better than il really is-are the principal
sufferers by adulterated textiles Poor
folks suffer most OF all, and II is espe-
Cially for their protection that a pure
clothes law Is needed
The enforcement of such a law would
be welcomed by honest manufacturers
and by honest merchants, who. il Is need
less TO say. represent a great majority.
On the other hand. the manufacturer TO-
day who mlsbrands his output for frau
dulent purposes cannot be punished. II
he stamps the words all wool or goods
that are all cotton: II his all linen" fab
RIGS have no linen In them at all: IL his
all silk dress goods. warranted as such.
are freely adulterated, he suffers no pen
atty. Those who do suffer are the buyers
in,
means. 10 whom the wearing out Of clothes
is a serious matter. Where wooden stuffs
are concerned. such cheats have an i'm
portant bearing upon health. inasmuch as
lack of wool Through substitution of cot
ton therefor means lack of warmth.
To Protect Public.
Dishonest manufacturers are evincIng
an ever-increasing skill in giving to poor
goods the false appearance Of good goods
Indeed, things have come to a point
where it might almost be said that the
most successful maker of textiles is not
he who turns out the best goods. but
rather he who can make the cheapest
goods look well.
The pure food law has fairly revolu-
tlonized the production and sale Of food
supplies. \ similar statutory enactment
covering textile abrics and ail articles
'I wearing apparel NOuiO Dt tihd4lN ti-
fective where they are Conccrned-en-
forced as il would be by the wholesale
Of fraudulent articles.
In order that this end may be accom-
plished. however, il is necessary that
definite and absolute standards shall be
standards are kept
n view by, our War Department and
Navy Department in the large purchases
hey make Of clothing. and blankets for
The military and naval stores. The re-
luirements they set up for workmanship.
weight. yarn, wool, fastness Of color.
md so forth, are mathematicalIy exact,
md, il not fully met. the goods are
thrown out. There is no reason in the
world why similar standards. should not
,e adopted and enforced with relation
@ the textiles supplied for use by the
,eople at large. Before long. doubtless.
his will be accomplished through the
.nactment into law of such a measure
Is is now before Congress.
RENE BACHE