New-York tribune., 1919-12-29
Refusal of People to Accept
Any but Finer Grades
of Wool Main Factor.
Asserts Manufacturer
Tax Also Boosts Price
Shortage in Supply and Fact
Government Holds Own
Cloth Also Are Cited

BOSTON, Dec. 2S.-The insistence
Of the public upon cloth made from
ane woods is 2 large factor in the pres
ent high prices of clothing. according
TO William NJ. Wood. president of tie
American Woolen Company. Mr.. w ood
who recently charged that some of the
merchants in Lawrence were demand
ing excessive prices for necessaries
and were in the habit of raising prices
with every increase of wages in the
mills, gave out q prepared statement
tonight in response to a request for
lis views upon the high cost of cloth
ng.
IF our people would consent" was
lis conclusion, "to wear good, sub
stantial, durable clothes made of the
'oarser woods clothing could be pur-
'hased a. considerably lower prices
nan those which now prevail
Mr.. Woods Statement
His statement in part follows:
at is generally thought that the COS.
he cost Of clothing, but the fact is
hat the cloth cost is less than halt
he cost Of completed suit. and
other factors contribute TO the price
Of clothing quite as much as the COS.
Of the cloth.
IN the last five years the price O.
cloth IN the ordinary suit of clothes
has advanced no more-indeed, has ad F.
vanced little less than the cost
labor and other materials that go into
tke making of the suit.
The cost in 1919 Of the cloth TO-. o.
suit Of clothes of a particular grade
Sl3.S1. The CORES sponding cost in 19ll
was S4.5S, showing an increase IN the
COS. of cloth of 5000.
The 1919 cost OF making this suit is
Sl4A7 The corresponding cost in 1919
was S}.9s, showing an increase in the
cost OF making OF S9.49.
These figures show that cloth con-
tributes slightly less than labor and
other materials to the increased cost
Of clothing. Therefore. to your oues-
-ion why prices of clothing continue
SO high throughout the country. the re-
ply IS because the costs of labor and
cloth and other materials that go INTO
clothing continue SO high.
In the first place, war is always fol-
lowed ~ a period Of high prices. War
saries e. life in enormous quantities,
logether with the diversion of the
product Of industry from its usual
chal e 5. There is shortage of cloth
and clothing in the markets of the
world. The demand far exceeds pro-
duction. 1t needs no argument to show
hs1 when cloth and clothing are scarce
this scarcity always means high prices.
"Aaother factor Of cons derable eff
tect IN bringing about high prices is
the nigh rate OF taxation. both state
and Federal. Almost every material
and every process involved in the
manufacture Of clothing has to pay q
heavy burden Of taxation OF the prohts
Of he merchant and manufacturer.
But beyond these causes, which re-
suit IN the genera scale of high prices,
are, believe, certain factors which
Aave affected the manufacture of cloth
particularly, and which are undoubted-
~ -eiected in the cost of cloth and Of
cloth NJ
"la the first place, in measure dur
ing the war and TO d greater extent
since there has developed d curious Y
insstent demand for cloth made from
the ener and more expensive wools.
I'VE recently made uu a sample of
cloah in which coarse wool was used in
The warp only. The appearance Of the
samne was but slightly different from
thai made of liner wools. Its cost was
considerably less than The fabric made
Of the liner grades AS cloth it was
good strong and serviceable.
People Demand Best.
"Our selling agencies told US that
there was no demand for it; people
would not buy it; customers insisted
on fine, smooth, soft fabrics, and that,
accordingly the manufacturers of
clothing would not buy this cloth if
we made it up in quantity, because they
could not sell clothes made from it.
TO our suggestion that when people
were complaining SO of high prices this
cloth that would make q difference Of
IS or more in the cost of a suit ought
20 sell readily, the reply was that IS
in the cost Of the cloth for suit Of
clothes did not count at all; that the
people demanded the best and would
put up with no other.
Now note the effect OF this demand
on the price of wool. The fine wool
comes In part from our own country.
but chiefly from Australia The
csarser woods are largely South Ameri-
car and domestic.
In March, 1917, just before we en-
'ored the war. the different grades of
wool were selling at prices something
Ike this: The coarser grades Is cents
pound, the finer grades (domestic)
Sl25 pound, the finest Australian
Yools $lo5 a pound. Now these same
grades Of wool are selling: The
coarser grades at 50 cents a pound,
me finer domestic at 81 a pound. the
hnest Australian at $50 a pound.
While the domestic finer grades
have increased from $l25 to 81, an
Increase of 10 cents. and the finest
Australian from $1.65 to $2.75, an in