New-York tribune., 1919-03-05
Household Linens
To Continue High
Say Local Dealers
Relief From Present Short
age Not Expected Until
Irish Spinncrs Are Able to
Obtain Larger Flax Supply

Increased production of household
linens and lower prices for that class
of merchandise are not expected by
dealers here for some months to come.
The only source of immediate supply
of linen now is ireland. 1t is said the
linen factories Of Continental Europe
cannot resume operations for con
siderable period of time, possibly not
until next year. The Belgian govern
ment has issued an embargo against
the expectation of flax and linen yarn
from that country and the supplies of
flax from Russia are sporadic. In the
opinion of Irish linen manufacturers
the situation in Russia is such that a
constant supply cannot be depended
upon. These conditions force the
manufacturers to depend on the Irish
crop almost exclusive, and the 1918
crop. bought by the British govern
ment before it was harvested, is said
TO be far below normal. There is no
reason for believing that the govern
ment will release its holdings to spin
ners at less than it paid for this flax.
Besides. the Associated Flax Spinners
have agreed not to sell their yarn
below fixed list price which remains
in force until June 80, 1919.
The linen bleacheries raised their
prices 1919 per cent on March l. so
that there is now an additional cost
for bleaching the brown fabrics.
Airplane Cloth Plentiful
OF made up linens there is distinct
el1 bo, ba a hnr
300 per cent above those of the pre-
war period The British government
took nearly all of the 1917 flax crop
for the making of airplane wing cover
ingS There is conside rable Of this
airplane cloth on hand, it is said, and
efforts Will be made to find use for
it in civilian channels. 1t is a light
cloth, running about IL ounces to the
yard, and therefore too thin for the
ordinary uses of household linens. 1t
has been suggested that the cloth ulti-
nsately will find its way into the hands
OK garment manufacturers in England
ard the United States.
AS an indication of what Irish goods
cost to land in this country now, as
compared with the period before the
war, the following examples are cited:
In 1914 table damask two yards
square could be landed here for S7.23.
The same cloth now costs $21.12 to
land. The prewar price of napkins
- inches square was S1341 per dozen
TO land. The price is now s30.69. In
July, 1914, q sheet 72x10S inches could
have been landed here for $500. The
same sheet now costs $3.50 to land.
Housewives Buy Sparingly
These rises have been gradual dur
ing the war period and there is a
limited supply of goods in this country
bought at prices below the present
figures. Linen merchants generally
are selling these at less than present
cost prices in Belfast. But even then
there is comparatively little business
doing. The average housewife is not
replenishing her linen closet, believing
that prices will soon drop. According
TO the conditions outlined above she
cannot hope for relief for at least six
months, and then any drops necessarily
will be gradual. With the additional
bleaching costs and high labor rates
in the Irish spinning and weaving
mills further rise in prices in the
near future is not unlikely