The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1918-09-19
MUNSTER
HOBART

dollars could easily be saved on clothes
may, therefore, be accepted as conser-
vative.
The first thought that occurs TO us
in this connection is. that by this saw
ing IN clothes over one billion dollars
would be freed to be invested In Lib
erty loan bonds. That Is the first i'm
portant and most obvious result But
there are other economic results in
volved In this saving that are of far
greater Importance than the mere saw
Ing OF money.
Economic Results Are Vast.
Let us consider first what one billion
dollars worth OF clothes means. Sup
pose they were half-wool and half-cot-
ton and that the value Of the raw ma
terlal constituted only so per cent Of
The price paid by the ultimate consum-
er. that would, at the present price OF
60 cents per pound for wool and 30
cents per pound for cotton respectively,
represent POS, 334 tons of wool and 49,
667 tons OF cotton. Can you imagine
how much freight space would be re
CURED on water and on land, in NOV
you realize that Il these bales were
pat into freight cars. assuming q load
ing capacity OF 16 tons per car for
wool and 10 tons per car for cotton.
this would represent 1902 box cars
loaded with wool and S2,056 box cars
loaded with cotton? Assuming IS cars
per train, there would be about 600
trains; the total length OF these trains
would he approximately 314 miles. and
these trains. hauled by 900 engines,
when standing In line would approx
.nately cover the distance from Balti-
more to Pittsburgh? Can you ina CINE
the amount of coal consumed In first
transporting and then weaving this
raw material into cloth7 Can you i'm
agine thu number of hands employed in
/ these processes? And then consider
/ that more coal, more labor and more
( transportation are required in dlstrib-
/ utinS the cloth and again more labor
and more material in converting 1t into
clothes, and again more labor and
/ transportation In retailing the finished
| product TO the final consumer.
/ Let us be mindful that all the time
/ these processes are being carried on,
/ Uncle Sam Is short Of the men neces-
sary to dispatch his war work, and
( furthermore that shortage of coal and
the clogging of the wheels Of trRnspor-
tation have stopped his progress at
most critical moments and in the pres
! cnt emergency continue to remain a
constant menace to the country.
May Cost Your Sons Life.
My new suit OF clothes means, there
fore, delay for our military operations
delay in transporting and equipping
men, and in sending to them. and 20
our allies. the supplies they need
means increased losses and a longer
duration of the war. My new suit OF
clothes may cost, therefore, the life
Of my son.
The supply OF goods. OF labor and OF
transportation Is limited. 1t Is q mat
ter OF common agreement that this lin
tied supply is not sufficient freely TO
satisfy all wants and that unrestricted
attempts on the part OF each individual
to satisfy his own requirements may
lead to n Wild scramble and destruc-
tive competition with the government.
/ resulting In fatal delay and endless in
crease In prices.
The loaf of bread available for our
selves and for our allies Is not large
enough to go around" II we all want
to eat more than Ia absolutely neces-
sary for our maintenance. II Is every
body's duty. therefore. at mis- fine 10
tighten his belt" and TO make genu-
Inc effort 70 live on IS thin a slice Of
the loaf ms he can. Unless that he
done we must buy additional food in
/ neutral countries. thereby using ton
mage that should be kept available for
our military operations and increasi
our difficulties In adjusting our trade
balances with neutral countries.
Hurts Uncle Sam In Many Ways.
To return TO our story OF the suit
/ OF clothes During last year the United
1 States had TO import 42f .0OO. 900 pounds
OF wool, representing a value of about
$l72.0OO 900. About half of this came
from Argentina. Our suits OF clothes
called for n substantial. portion of this
wool and therefore TO that extent rob-
bed Uncle Sam OF the use Of his ships
Moreover, our factories being busy In
producing the things required for the
prosecution OF the war and our home
consumption still proceeding at almost
top speed. the quantity Of goods avail.
able for shipment to Argentina In pay
ment for the wool Cor for that matter
TO Chile for nitrates to Peru for cop
per. and so on. IS insufficient ASS
consequence the United States had to
pay for more goods In South America
than South America has had to pay
for goods bought In the United States.
thereby causing a decline of dollar ex-
change in these neutral countries This
shrinkage In the price Of the dollar
means that Il has lost a corresponding
part Of Its purchasing power in neutral
countries. The scarcity OF goods avail
able for our export trade has thus be-
come serious obstacle in our way in
trying TO secure at reasonable prices
or IN adequate quantities some Of the
things that we absolutely require from
foreign countries
Ny suit OF clothes has hurt Uncle
Sam. therefore. in several WAYS:
have consumed more wool than neces-
sary and thereby forced the United
States TO import q correspondingly