The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-08-16
FABRIC BILL TO
PROTECT PUBLIC
Atwood" Meaningless
Term Under Present
Allowance

The Question of what it is they
make high priced clothes out of has
become vexing one, particularly so
because the public generally refuses
to give it thought. People who
buy clothes are satisfied with the
stamp on the cloth that says it is
ali WOOL when as a matter of fact
any we'll informed person can tell
the world that "all WOOL does not
mean what it says.
H. D. MacCosham, like all dealers
who are interested for the good of
their business, is a booster for the
Capper bill for enforcing a strict rule
of marking goods either virgin
WOOL or "shoddy." Virgin wool is
that stuff we raise in Idaho and all
parts of the west, which lies in ware
houses or out at the ranches of our
neighbors and cannot be sold be-
cause more money has been ad-
vanced as loan on it than it will
bring in the market. Shoddy is that
which is made of ground up wooden
rags, and for which we pay enough
when we buy new suit.
Mr.. MacCosham handed to a rep
resentative of this paper a pamphlet
; which quoted an article written by
man named Kaempfort Cor some
thing like that in the June Nc
Clure's magazine, and this article
made the junk dealer Of the east out
to be fairy prince for wealth. 1t
declared that there were more mil
lionaire rag dealers than movie mag
mates in this country.
The reason why cloth made from
rags will 60 into suits and sell, while
virgin wool lies moulding in the
warehouse, is that according to the
laws of this country you cannot stop
a manufacturer from marking a rag
made garment "all WOOL" Hence
the Capper bill, which was intro
duced in the house Of representatives
at Washington by our own Mr.. Ad-
Olson T. Smith.
Mr.. MacCosham's pamphlet was
entitled Sacrificing the Kernel for
the Husk." In explanation, Mr.. Mac
Cosham said: THE idea is that dur
ing the war it was necessary to save
every bit of wool, and cotton too,
that we could, and now this bit of
public sacrifice has been turned to
abuse for the profit of few mill
men who sit back in their official
sockets and steal the pure wool out
of the colth as it passes thru their
hands. They I'LL" their cloth with
this short fibred wool they get out
of junk wool. It's all wool, alright,
but "shoddy" is the proper name for
it.
II knew that somebody was get
ting away big but l never realized
they were making such enormous
gains. 1t is essential to the clothing
industry that some legislation be
passed that will make the cloth
miller mark his goods to show their
.,.. II
d The term "all WOOL can be ap-
piled to "shoddy' because "shoddy"
really is all wool. But the wool has
undergone such changes that you
would never know it for the same.
It has been made into cloth and
worn, then ground up into pulp, and
stuck in with warp and wool to
make up the bulk of the cloth. 1t
Is almost impossible for anybody to
detect it, clothing dealers say, or to
ell what percentage it makes up of
he piece. There is a big difference
n wearing quality between cloth Of
so to 80 per cent wool, and the
shorter the wisps of wool the shorter
he wear
Another advantage in the pure
'abric law, it has been pointed out,
8 that it would establish standard
~ which the goods made in America
night be known thruout the world