Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-26
PURE FABRICS LAW
MUST WAIT AWHILE
LEGISLATION AT PRESENT sEs-
SESSION OF CONGRESS NOT
PROBABLE.
QUESTION VERY MUCH ALIVE
DESPITE NECESSARY DELAY
Extent Of Frauds Practiced on Public
in Goods Sold OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Has Law Covering Question Which
Is in Successful operation-consress
Giving Question Thought.
1snecial Correspondence

Washington. Dec. 26.-A,tho there IS
crying need for the legislation 'he
present congress will expire without
having passed pure fabrics legislation.
Early in the life Of this congress.
great deal was said about passing pure
fabrics legislation. At one time, II
was on the program of the administra-
ton. Talk was early in the last ses-
sion that q measure would be put
thru. But nothing came OF 1t ana
there is no prospect that anything VIII
be passed before March when the
present session ends.
However. the movement for pure
fabrics legislation is by no means dead.
number of bills have been intro
duced and more or less discussed. va
rious members of congress are giving
thought to pure fabric laws. among
Them Senator Cummins. Without doubt
the Sixty-fourth congress will be COM
PEELED to give serious consideration to
it.
Complaints Growing.
The complai nts with respect to the
present trade practices as to many
fabrics are numerous and growing.
They cover wide field of products.
The mes. cernn:o: complaints relate &c
cloths, clothing, leather. boots ana
shoes and articles for wearing. How
extensively goods are palmed Off on
the public as wool which are not wool,
or but partly wool and how heavily the
public is defrauded by purchasing mer-
chandise of one sort and another which
is not what 1t purports to De, is. IN a
vague sort of way. realized tho the
ms and outs Of the subject are but
litt!. known but TO those who have
gone deeply into 1t.
Some time ago. the department OF
agriculture got out a bulletin on the
loading or weighing OF sole leather
This bulletin disclosed an almost un-
believab BILE amount Of fraud on the pub
/ lie thru the loading OF sole leather
with substances which detracted great
ly from its usefulness and made 1t
easily penetra BILE by water. This Is one
importance phase of trade practices
which the pure fabrics legislation
proposes to reach The improper
weighing Of cloths. something prac-
iticed to a great extent. is another
species. OF CcceptlOH ol sAAC PoOiAS
which pure fabrics legislation proposes
/ to put a stop to.
England Has Good Law.
l England has law for this purpose,
| tho ii IS general in its terms. 1t is
| known as the merchandise marks ac.
| and under 1t there have been many
cases in the English courts brought on
account of wrong and fraudulent label
ling of merchandise.
The English act can not be applied
| in this country because OF the conflict
i between federal and state jurisdictions.
But there are phases of it that can be
applied. The difficulties of working
out a practicable measure to deal with
purity in fabrics are great. 1t will take
careful consideration on the part Of the
committees having jurisdiction to per-
feet a workable measure but there is
little doubt 1t will be done, not TINS
session, but in the next congress Most