The Washington herald., 1912-08-18

| A pure clothes bill has Just been In
troduced Into the House Of Representa-
tives by Victor Murdock. of Kansas. i
is patterned after the pure food law
and IL placed on the statute books will
put stop to the adulteration Of fabrics
1t makes confiscation the penalty fol
misbrand1ng.
This Is a new movement, which. al
| was the case with the pure food cru
sade. has had its origin in the women's
clubs all over the country. OF the $780,
100000 worth of textiles sold annually in
the United States the women buy IS per
cent. Fifteen per cent of the total eX-
penditure Of the average family Is for
| fabrics of one kind or another. Hence
| It is not surprising that the women
| should demand protection against the
frauds to which they are constantly ex-
posed.
That such frauds are practiced is their
own fault primarily. They are always
looking for something cheap that has
the appearance of being better than II
really Is. Bargains" is their everlast-
ing cry. To this demand the dishonest
manufacturers, who are a minority. ca
ter; and the honest ones are often
obliged, however unwillingly. to resort
to methods of which they disapprove In
order to compete.
A woman, for example, starts out 10
buy a silk skirt. She gets it at a
sacrifice sale and congratulates her
self upon a bargain. But when she mas
worn It two or three times she Is horri-
fed to find in it dozens OF little PIN
holes. The reason why is simply that
the stun is heavily loaded with salts
Of tin. particles of which are scattered
all through II and. having sharp edges,
cut the threads. Cracks actually appear
where the garment is folded
Tin Used in silk.
The manufacturer does not guarantee
such a skirt TO the wholesaler; the latter
does not guarantee II to the retailer.
Nor, indeed. does the retail dealer guar
antee it to the purchaser. But she gets
what she is supposed to want; that IS TO
say, a bargain. In reality the garment
is a very expensive one. inasmuch as II
cannot stand wear. While nominaiIy
silk, II Is at least one-half tin
Tin dresses are not a good investment.
The same may be said OF tin ribbons
masouerading as silk. Much OF the silk
ribbon that now comes to market Is SO
loaded with acetate OF tin that rolls
OF II on a shelf will rot inside OF six
months 1t is purely matter OF supply
and demand. The women must nave
cheap ribbons, and silk is expensive. They
must also have low-priced silk stockings,
some of which. being made of woodpulp'
dissolve on slight provOcation. while
others. of artificial silk, have nsle-threao
feet, because silk of this kind does not
wear II exposed TO moisture.
Raw silk costs 81 80 pound. Accord
ingly. the manufacturer feels obliged 10
make it go as far as possible. with this
end in view, the thread is soaked in So
luton of tin salts, being thereby sWellVd
and made heavier. Thus given quantity
OF IL goes further in the weaving, and the
fabric produced is prOportionately more
heavy. 1t is no unusual thing for yard
Of silk ribbon to be two-thirds tin, esti-
mating by weight. II held TO the light.
its threads will be seen to be as far apart
as those Of cheesecIoth. Were the metal
dissolved out Of it. only net OF SILK
would remain.
Does this mean that there are no pure
silk fabrics on the market? BY no means
silks that are beyond criticism can De
obtained at any first class dry sooos
store. but the purchaser must be Wiling
to pay a proper price. So long as the
women insist on getting the woven prod
uct OF the silkworm at % cents yard
the stun is sure to be adulterated- Some
times there is an admiNture of merceriZed
cotton (Which is ordinary cotton threaded
with caustic potash), and often ranie
is used-a strong and lustrous fiber from
a plant Of the nettle family, native TO