The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-04-10
Dye Market Affected by War Already
is About to Give UP the Ghost
az Regards Easter
Offerings.
ARE SOME SUBSTITUTES
While Many Of These Contain Injurl
GUS Matter There Is Still
Onion Skin and Beet
Juice.

Unless American chemists teach
American Dummies a new trick be-
tween t:;is and Easter the colored egg
will be largely missing from this
years celebration. The dye market
lis practically exhausted. Blues, pinks
and greens are off the market except
for some stocks held by certain far
sighted druggists who laid in great
store of dyes.
The European war, accountable for
so many hardships in the many walks
of life and for the shortage Of so many
products of the several countries en-
gagged in the struggle, is directly re-
sponsible for the shortage in dye
stuffs.
Last year the shortage was quite
noticeable, but this year many Of the
big textile factories have ceased max
ing many shades OF cloth and a ma
tion-wide campaign is on for the more
extensive use of undyed cloth. One
firm with trade name worth mil
lion dollars has ceased. offering its
wares in the open market as it is I'M
possible to get dyes for certain fab
RIGS like wool and silk and mixtures
Of wool and cotton, wool and silk and
silk and cotton.
Blow to Innocents.
Now the war strikes directly at the
innocent amusement of children and
Wholesale druggists state that few
dyes are being made up into the old,
familiar Easter egg package.
German chemists are responsible
for the wonderful variety of beautiful
colors made from coal tar and the
German government fosters such spe-
cialization in these colors that it has
been impossible for any other manu-
facturer to duplicate the products. A
German chemist, who can make the
many shades of blue, never enters the
field held by chemists who work in
green's or pinks or puppies. And, in
fact, the various processes in making
the dyes are not generally known tot
any one man That Is, one chemist
who does part of the work in making
blue dyes does not become familiar
with the process that goes before or
comes after his own task. AS re-
suit. although representatives Of the
American textile trade have gone to
Europe offering great salaries, they
have been unable to get together
corps OF men skilled in dye manufac-
ture.
Very many OF the workers are now
at the front fighting.
Big Industry Needed.
The manufacture of Easter-egg
dives in America was large industry
in itself. but 1t went to pieces with
the opening of the war. The price
of dyes. like those of all other chem |
icals produced abroad, went up at the
outbreak of hostilities and with each
succeeding month has increased.
Efforts have been made to use only
harmless dyes for coloring Easter
eggs. because little hands often sent
the egg to the mouth and former
tragedies warned dye makers to es- /
chew the harmful colors. This year,
with none of the non-poisonous dyes
in the market, the mother who wants
to see the regulation Easter egg on
the table will either have to be pre- !
pared to pay on exorbtant price or
resort to the methods in use before /
coal tar dyes were discovered, VIZ,
the onion skin, beet juice and carmine /
dyes.
But baby eyes are not critical eyes
and these substitutes will fill in the
gap caused by the disappearance OF
the old-time dyes from the American
market.