Evening journal., 1919-12-29
BLAMES PUBLIC
FOR HIGH PRICES
American Woolen President
Says Public Refuses to
Wear Coarser Grades
II. S. ACTION AIDS
TO KEEP RATES UP

WOODS Is large FACTOR IN the present
hlSh prices OF clothing, according to
William NJ. Wood, president OF the
American WOalen Co. Mr.. Wood, who
recently charged that some OF the mer-
chants In Lawrence were demanding
excessive prices FOR neccSaries and
were In the habit OF raising prices
with every increase in wages in the
c0mpany's mills In that city, gave out
4 prepared statement In response to a
request for dis views upon the high
cost OF clothing
III our people would consent" was
his conclusion, ITO wear good. sub
stantlal. durable clothes made Of the
soarser woods, clothing could be pur-
chased at considerably lower prices
han those which now prevail"
His statement In part follows:
1t Is generally thought that the
sost OF cloth Is the controlling factor
IN The cost uf clothing, but the fact
ls that the cloth cost Is less than half
she cost OF a completed suit, and other
factors contribute TO the price OF cloth
ing quite as mudh as the cost Of the
cl0th
In the last five years the price OF
cloth In the ordinary suit OF clothes has
advanced no more, indeed, has ad-
vanced a little less than the cost Of
labor and other materials that go in
10 the making OF the suit. The follow
ing figures show This, which / have
from a manufacturer and merchant Of
clothing Of the highest prominence In
Boston
"The cost in 1918 OF the cloth for a
suit OF clothes OF a particular grade
Is Si367. The corresponding cost In
1914 was S4 S. showing an Increase In
the cost OF cloth OF 500.
The 1919 cost OF making this suit
h Si447. The corresponding cost in
1914 was Si9S, showing an increase IN
he cost OF making OF s9A9.
These figures show that cloth con
tributes slightly less than labor and
other materials to the increased cost OF
clothing. Therefore, to your question
why prices OF clothing continue so high
throughout the country the reply Is be-
cause the cOats OF labor and cloth and
other materials that go into clothing |
continue so high.
why have the costs and prices OF !
everything, and especially OF clothing, |
80 generally increased2 ? Without at |
tempting any analysis as TO economic or |
remote causes, there are a few plain |
propositions which I can state with |
which ! think everybody viii agree.
IN the first place. war Is always fol- !
lowed by a period Of high 9ulces. War |
means the destVuctfon Of the necessar- ,
les Of life in enormous quantities, to- |
gether with the diversion Of the pro-
duct OF industry from It's usual chan
nels.
$50 this awful war which we have |
been through has destroyed clothing /
and the material OF clothing TO the /
value OF millions-perhaps billlOns-of /
dollars. So ever er-since the war started
our manufacturing industries have de-
voted their energies to supplying mil
itary needs, and consequently have for
years neglected the needs of the civilian
population. These needs now are In
sistent There is a shortage Of cloth
and clothing In the markets OF the
world. The demand far outruns pro-
duction. It needs no argument 10 show
that when cloth and clothing are
scarce this scarcity always means high
prices.
Another factor OF considerable ef-
feet in bringing about high prices is the
high rate o. taxation. both state and
Federal. Almost every material and
every process involved in the manu-
fsoture Of clothing has to pay a heavy
burden OF taxation on the profits Of the
merchant AMI manufacturer This to
my mind Is an efficient and important
cause OF the increased cost of living,
which includes the increased cost Of
,lothing.
But beyond these causes which re-
suit In the general scale Of high prices
are. ] believe, certain factors which
have affected the manufacture OF cloth
particularly and which are undoubted-
~ reflected in the cost Of cloth and of {
Nothing.
in the flrst place, In a measure DUR
lmg the war. and TO a greater extent I
Ilnce, there has developed a curiously !
lnsistent demand for cloth made from
the finer and more expensive wool. {
People will no longer buy cloth made Z
Of the coarser and consequently cheap-4 q
sr grades, although clothing made 2
from these woods Is both servlseable
and sound. Before the war the demand
TOR these finer grades OF cloth was
almost exclusively 7
from the more fastidious in state, but !
now everybody demands the finer 6
clothes and nobody viii take anything
else. S
I'VE recently made up a sample Of I
sloth in which coarse wool was used
In the warp only. The appearance Of
the sample was but slightly different '
from that made Of finer woods. II had C
In a marked degree the smooth. soft
texture Of fine wool. It's cost was con-
less than the fabric made Of ,
Ihe finer grades. AS a cloth it was I
good, strong and serviceable. Before the r
war it would have sold readily, but we 7
we're absolutely unable TO put 10 on the
market.
"Our selling agencies told us that
here was no demand FOR it; people
would not buy It.; that customers in
sisted on fine. smooth, soft fabrics. and !
hat. accordingly, the manufacturers of !
,lothing would not buy this cloth II /
We made 1t up in quantity, because
hey could not sell clothes made from I
c. To our suggestion that when peo-
BE were complaining so of high I
prices, this cloth, that would make a
Inference Of So or more in the cost Of !
/ suit. ought to sell readily, the reply
vas that 50 in the cost Of the cloth for !
suit OF clothes did not count at all
hese days; that the people demanded I
he best and would put up with no /
,ther.
But, besides this increase Of demand I
or the finer woods and shortage in the
,.,.,.lJ e.4DDfx, Tho aoffop 20 tas,,~ own =