The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-19
All Clothing for Fall Deiiy-
cry Manufactured at a
Loss, He Says g.
4sTf*t9 - y
WAGES INCREASED
AFTER CONTRACTS LET
Clothing for Next Year Will Be High
er as Result Government Has Inter
fered With Wool Supply - Unusual
Demand for Clothes.

NEW YORK, Aug 19-Clothing
manufacturers not only are producing
goods for FAN and winter, for which or
ders were saReh in April and May, at
slich an increased cost that it will make
it impossib1essfor them to get any profit,
but in most eases they viii deliver the
goods lat an absolute loss, according to
Ludwig Stein, president>of the Nation
al association ofgelothisrss -
Since July the heaviest advance in
labors9costs has come t~~the manufac-
tdrers, Mr. steins poitsyapnt. These adj
vances could in.a no way be foreseen and
were made retroactive to June /, prac-
tically covering the entire fall product
since its inception.
''As a matter of fact says Mr..
Stein, . the prices of ready made cloth
ing for this fall are bound to be very
much lower than they will be for the
year 1920, because the full influence of
| increased prices for raw materials and
conversion costs viii not be felt until
the spring season OF. 1920. -
At the instance of the National Asso
citation of Retail Clothiers Mr.. Stein
has issued a statement in respect to ths
clothing situation as follows:
During the period of the war TIL,
mills were largely engaged in the pro
duetion of fabrics for the government
In consequence of this the production
of ready made clothing was greatly cur
/ tailed With the coming of the arristict
end the return OF the troops. an unpre
cedented demand developed for ready
made clothing and stocks were rapid,
depleted in the hands of retailers and al
insistent demand came to the manufac
turers for merchandise.
4 1.-THE mills onthe other hand. coult
not begin to supply fabrics until sup
I ply of raw wool was available, and tn
government had all of the wool of fh,
4 country and had determined upon TIL
the policy of very gradual releas
! through 4 series jof auction sales which
eohhnnsfn mp tRutBe slmpp 9tlh8ipfj SInne, sIM
situation resulted i'm the mills turnin
|. out only small fraction of the norma
output for the six months of this yeal
The government temporarily with
4 drew its wool from the market June
tin order TO permit the marketing of tn
i present American clip. which is noy
reaching the mills. The production
therefore, of fabrics in the early month
of this year was so small as TO be negl
: gible in comparison with the require
| mentss sxt, .tGa.4
''The foreign demand too for woollen
and clothing has been very great, q
many of the European countries al
absolutely bare of supplies.
.'This situation has very NATURAL
: created = steadily advancing markt
! and woolens have advanced approx
? mately from 80 TO 60 per cent since ii
early months of this year.
On top of this has come an abno
: NAL advance in the cost of labor a
along the line. both in the making
0 the cloth, Innings, and other materia
e that go into the garments and in I'll
o manufacture of the clothing. This h;
been accomplished by a shortening
hours and a curtailment of produetio
These labor advances in the tailori1
branch have been as much in percen
!, age as the advance in the cost Of Il
fmaterals-now fotalling approximate
$50 per cent over pre-war wages
: The clothing manufacturers of t
= country began about April Is to 5,
e their production for the coming fall al
: by the first of June the bulk of t
clothing that will be sold at retail ne
=. fall was under order bv the retailers.
!, $50 far as the National Associate
= of Clothiers is concerned, it has volu
+ tarily invited Acknowledgement Palm
: to investigate the conditions underl
a ing the production, distribution and pl
= vailing prices of ready made clothi
= for men and boys, and it wants nothi
more than an opportunity to acquai
the public generally with the facts
outlined to you above.