The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-02-08
DEFENDS SHOODY
FOR ARMY PURPOSES
Writer in Waste Trade journal An
swers Criticisms of Senator
Cham bcrlain.
copyrlght. underwo God & Underwood.

Senator Chamhcrlain's criticisms Of
shoddy as material for uniforms are
taken up and comhated in an article
in the current issue Of the War Trade
journal which maintains that this
material is of great value and that in
point of fact It is used far more ex-
tenslvely by British, French and Ger
man supply departments than by our
own.
Senator Chi mherlain's apparent
antipatby 70 shoddy." says tha
article. '4s undoubtedly engendered
by reading of the shoddy scandals of
the civil war--a shoddy as different
from the reWoHltcd wool Of today as
Is day froIa night High-grade
virgin wool possesses certain quail
ties Of wear which shoddy does not
possess. Bat, having stated this
frankly, it IS much easier to prove
that sheddy is an IDEAL supplement
for virgin wool, and that n good
shoddy yarn Is n every way superior
20 a poor ail-wool yarn.
,'Reworke1 wool goes through 80
thorough g cleansing process that in
point Of purity it really has the edge
on the virgin article. Senator Cham
berlain complains of the insufficiency
Of the weight of cloth used in army
uniforms. Sixteen-ounce suitings
weigh sixteen ounces to the yard,
whether made Of wool. cotton. linen.
silk. shoddy. or any other yarn. More
over. we have information that leads
us to believe that no shoddv has ever
been used In the manufacture of
uniforms. but considerable shoddy
has been adyanta geousiy in the
manufacture Of blankets overcoat-
ings and other military equipment
Asked what tho purpose had been
in reducing the weight Of uniforms
and mixing the wool with shoddy,
Senator Chamberlain said: The con-
servatfon OF wool. I would rather
have the conservation Of life and the
giving OF such uniforms as are given
to the soldiers of France and Eng
land
THE senator would convey the inn
preston that our allies ere not using
shoddy in military equipment"
Ia refutation Of this the writer
quotes considerable evidence from the
waste trade in England, and letter
written by ''one of the largest WOODEN
cloth manufacturers in the United
1914. and January, 1915, our plant
made more than 100000 yards OF
cloth which went into blankets. over
coats and uniforms for the English
French and Italian armies. and the
percentage OF wastes ard shoddies
which went into these cloths would
average around rs per cent, while the
maximum percentage of shoddy used
in any cloths for the United States war
department has been so per cent.
THE joint wooden committee rep
resenting the wooden and worsted IN
dustTy of this country, would not hsss
recommended cloths containing so per
cent OF shoddy had they felt that ALL
! wool cloths were enough better 10
make II worth while for the govern
ment to pay the large difference In
cost. or had they not felt that II would
be Impossible for this country to OBJ
tain a sufficient amount Of wool to
make the cloths Of pure virgin wool
only"
The writer adds that had Ii not
been for substitute materials Germany
would never have been able 10 keep
her armies equipped for three years"
Further there is quoted a letter 70
Senator Chamberlain from Rear-Ad-
miral MCGOWAN, payuaster- general Of
the navy, correcting his testimony that
the navy did not use shoddy In any
cloths by admitting that some over
coat cloth containing So per cent
shoddy was being made for the navy.