El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-27
Renrescnfn ArcrnEe.


These figures represent the purchas-
IS of average women in a small town
who do not indulge in any unneces-
sary clothing but who yet believe IN
supplying themselves with the things
essential to their comfort and neat
ness Of appearance. But the styles re-
quire less cloth and in the aggregate
this amounts to millions of dollars.
The prices OF these goods are less than
generation ago GinShams and
other colOred fabrice which in the sew
entities sold as high as Il II cents
a yard now may be purchased for
cents a yard and the quality is quite
as good. Black Sateen which used TO
sell at from IS to 80 cents a yard now
may be purchased at from u - to
Is cents and the same is true of prac-
tically all cotton fabrics, including
muslins and other white goods.
The advance of price in wooden good
IN many families is more than offset
by the improved manufacture Of cotton
fabrics which offer substitutes for
most of the purposes for which wool
We formerly used. improved machin-
cry, as well numerous chemical
processes, nave been developed which
go FAR toward making cotton a good
substitute for wool except in the cold
er climates. Warm cotton fabrics are
being used extensively in some tuber-
culoSis camps and in many of the open
air schools which are being estab-
lished in different parts Of the country. !
If light weight wooden fabric Is used
next to the body the outer garments
may be Of properly prepared cotton
without bad results and the expense
IS greatly lowered by the substitute.
The newer devices constantly being
used in the manufacture Of all kinds
of fabrics materially add to their
economic value One Of the latest i'm
prOyements is making material wa
terproOf. without adding TO its bulk
or weight The old fashioned rubber
coated cloths were unsatisfactory in
n. -rlraF
wooden fabric is without any objec-
tionable features. Its preparation is
based upon the principles that the
fleece upon the back Of the sheep
would turn water. This is because
of the natural oils with which the
wool is impregnated which are lost or
removed when the wool is cleaned.
IN Sact so much grease has been taken
out Of the wool IN its cleansing that
this grease has itself become a valua-
Die Iy-prOduct. A means has now
been devised for replacing certain
quality of this wool oil in the yarn
before i is woven, and the results
are excellent. This new wooden fabric
shfds water as perfectly as the nat
ur4l fleece and at the same time, ow7
Ing TO the perfection Of the chemi-
cal processes, there is no free oil no.
jiceable in the finished cloth The val-
ne of this new wooden fabric for per-
sons exposed to the weather easily can
be seen.
The substitution of cotton for wool
has perhaps 4 greater economic VAL
ue than the substitution Of wood pulp
for silk so far as its wearing Quah-
ties are concerned The latter SUBJ
stitution however would be less rep
Tehensible If it were done honestly as
is the case now IN the majority OF
wool and cotton productions. An IN
tcresting suit lately has been in prog
ress in which a well-knOwn firm Of
ladies' cOstumerS were sued because
they sold a coat purporting TO be SILK
which really was not silk at all but
was made of wood pulp fabric. Tho
firm claimed that the title they gave
the silk meant vegetable silk and that
the coat cost much less than a gar
ment of pure silk, and al the same time
was no fraud. The magistrate how
ever held that ii was deceptive, so
that now the manufacturers of wood
pulp silk are looking for a name IN
der which their goods may be legally
sold. In the meantime many of them
are selling their products as SILK
which accounts for the fact that so
many cheap silks are upon the market. !
If they were sold honestly for what
they were, there would be a real
ecohOmy for frequently one wishes TO
secure silken effects for temporary
use without wishing TO pay the price
Of pure silk. But when they are sold as
genuine silk, there is fraud, so no |
doubt in the near future some means /
will be devised for preventing it
One of the newer economies in the |
manufacture of silk is the increased /
width which makes it possible to cut |
out garments to greater advantage |
The demand for wide silks to suit the
prevailing fashions is a hardship to /
many Of the smaller silk factories |
which have not the wider looms and !
it has resulted in great quantities OF !
narrow fabric being thrown upon the /
market at prices far below cost /
This has given a succession Of genuine /
bargains to the clever shopper who 1
knew how to utilize them to ad
vantage
Make New SILK.
One raWback to the use Of silks I
recently has been its lack of durabil- /
ity and its tendency TO cut Manufac- 1
turers now claim that they have new 1
process that will do away with this /
trouble. The process is very simple /
and produces q more lustrous effect (
on the silks Certain percentages OF 4
olive oil soap and sulphonated castor 4
oils are used for the first boiling of !
so q thin layer of oily substance re-
mains which keeps the fibers from be- /
ing affected in operations Of dyeing, 1
bleach:ns-. etc. and makes the finished /
fabric pure fibrOine.