Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1920-06-24
WOOL

American clothing market in 1919,
while billion pounds of unmanufac-
tured, virgin wool were accommodating
in the storehouses. Shoddy is made
of wooden rags, re-spun perhaps as Of
ten as eight times. 1t is usually wo-
ven with small percentage of vir-
gin wool to stick the broken fibres to-
gether. OF the 620,000,000 yards of
"All wool" cloth produced by the ma
tons mills, the amount of shoddy
used would have produced 380,000,-
900 yards if straight shoddy cloth
had been turned out. Mixed with
little new wool, it entered into the
composition of vastly greater yard
age In the same period, the amount
of new wool used would have pro-
duced 24O,0O0,0O0 yards of virgin
wool cloth, if it had not been adulter-
ated with shoddy.
These statistics were made public
today by the National Sheep and
Wool Bureau of America, No. 20
South La Sale street, which is or
ganizing the sheep, farm and bust
ness interests of the country behind
the French-Capper Truth in Fabric
bill. This bill was left in the hands
of the Interstate Commerce Commit
tees of both houses of Congress at
adjournment. It is designed to COM
pei manufacturers to stamp their
cloth with the percentages of virgin
wool and of shoddy it contains. How
ard E. Greene Secretary of the Bur-
eau, said:
"Last year, as never before, the
shoddy interests succeeded in foisting
their goods on the public. Only 600,-
100000 lbs. of wool in its natural
state, or. 300,00O,00O lbs. of cleaned
wool were converted into cloth Most
of this amount was mixed with shod-
dy to make it stick together. If the
entire 300,000,000 lbs. had been made
into pure virgin wool cloth, it would
have provided only 240,000,00O yards
as against the 380,OO0,O0O yards of
shoddy goods.
at would have taken 1,5500, 900 900
Tbs. of virgin wool to have made the
entire 620,000,O00 yards of all wool
cloth turned out by our mills. But
the entire amount need not have been
made of virgin wool There should
have been virgin wool cloth for those
who could afford it and shoddy for
thinner purses. That would have pro-
vided for fair competition between
virgin wool cloth and shoddy and for
fair range of prices. Instead, thru
the lack of stamping, shoddies were
sold as all wool and the public, &C
cepting all wool to mean virgin wool,
was denied the right of choice and
the benefit of a range of prices
To-day, the stores are filled with
shoddy clothing and billion Tbs. of
virgin wool fill the storehouses. The
shoddy interests have become so thor
oughly intrenched through the right
of their product to masquerade as
new wool under the popular term
all wool, that they have been able to
create in their own interest an ar
tifcial over-supply of virgin wool.
''In spite of this billion lbs. in the
storehouses, the world produces a
third less wool annually than it needs
and the demand for new wool is as
great as ever. The shoddy manufac-
turers have simply thrown them
selves between the public with it's de-
mand for virgin wool and the sheep
men with their supply
GAS result, the wool-growers are
being forced into insolvency. To save
those of the West from ruin, the Fed
eral Reserve Board has authorized
the San Francisco Federal Reserve
Bank to advance money to help them
carry their unsold clips. But this
aid affords only temporary relief The
farmers and sheep men must have
permanent relief from the unfair
competition of the rag pickers.
"That billion pounds of unmanufac-
tured, virgin wool in the storehouses,
kept from the public that wants and
needs it by the legal right of manu-
facturers to use unidentified shoddy
in their all wool cloth, threatens the
annihilation of the sheep and wool
industry. 1t is to the interest of ev-
cry voter to get behind the French
Capper Truth in Fabric bill and see
that it is enacted into law at the next
session of Congress. Between en-
lightened public opinion and the Truth
in Fabric law, the wool-growers may
be able to recover some of this
springs losses at next springs clip
While loaning the sheep men money