New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-15
WOOD WORN BY WOMEN
British Substitute for Silk Is
lust Plain Pulp.
PURE ARTICLE IS RARE
Necessity for Substitution Arose
from Enormous and Con.
stantly Growing Demand.
T BY Cable to The Tribune

IBy Cable to The Tribunel
London. Dec. IA leading West
End costumer has been unburdenins
his mind and giving away secrets that
have saddened many. feminine hearts
1t was quite pleasant to tell his English
lady patrons that English women Of
all classes have dressed better and
more attractively this year than ever
before" and it was glad news to know
that this was due TO the fact that the
prices Of silk blouses. ribbons and the
lighter grades OF taffetas. foulards.
crepe de Chine and null, so much ia
vored for summer wear, have fallen 10
figure that tempts even the slender
est purse"
But il was a distinctly unkind cut to
tell the fair wearers that they did not
realize that these so-called silken "trip
peries with which they so gleefully
adorn themselves to gladden. masculine
eyes-and even more to rival one an
other--are really made from wood pulp
and haven't even the remotest con-
nectfon with the silkworm or the null
berry leaf"
Manufacturers in England and on
the Continent have been experimenting
with wood pulp fibre as a substitute
for the product Of the silkworm for the
last three years. but II was only last
winter that they finally succeeded In
overcoming all the drawbacks TO TT
use.
Big Firms Engaged.
There are now half dozen big firms
engaged in the manufacture OF all kinds
OF silk" goods from wood pulp fibre,
including laces, trimmings and stock
ings. One Of these firms employs 1000
hands, and turns out $4,000 pounds
of yarn a week. The output Of
this plant, however. is only a small
part of the artificial product consumed
by the manufacturers Of the different
commodities i'm which it is used
The necessity for the substitution
grew naturally out Of the enormous and
constantly growing demand for silk
materials. There was time when a
woman got black silk dress and wore
il for years, and only people Of means
possessed this one silk dress. But now.
especially IN summer time, almost
every other woman who comes along r.
wearing a silk frOck Of some sort, or
at least a silk" blouse. The sadly
oyerworked silkworm has not been able
TO keep pace with this increasing de-
mand. Moreover, the cry was not only
for more silk, but for cheaper silk os
well. Even the men entered the field
with a growing demand for silk hose
and underwear.
The natural solution, Of course. was
adulteration. As a consequence.
there is now no such thing as alb
solutely pure silk on the market while
every manufacturer knows it is
physical impossibility to dye black
silks without adding some weight 10
the fabric. II is also impossible 10 de
tect the real quality OF silk in a gar
ment. the only way to acquire this
knowledge being TO. submit IT TO
chemical ANALYSIS. Women buy from
stvle and color, without knowledge OF
the quality. There isn't one who caa
tell the difference between two diff
ferent pieces OF silk on a counter,
though one piece may be worth two
shillings yard more than the other.
This fact made It more easy for the
manufacturer 10 find a substitute for
silk-somethlng that would look Ike
silk, glisten like silk, feel like silk, Rnd
perhaps not be silk st all. The chief
trouble with the wood fibre in the be-
ginning was that when II was wet II
turned back to a pulp and parted read
lily under tension.
But comprehensive experiments were
undertaken, and this difficulty was ~
far overcome that now the artificial silk
Is introduced into. wash cottons al silk
stripes or figures. and washes very
we'll. When you meet a beautiful
woman nowadays who is beautifully
gowned with shimmering silks it viii
REQUIRE no serious stretch of the imagi-
nation to think Of her as being (as dead
persons are) incased in wood.
And now more than ever are the good
ladies convinced that man was ever an
unfeeling brute.