The Washington herald., 1920-04-28
Wearing of OOeralzs Not Effective
Way to Bring Down Clothing Prices,
Head of Sheep and Wool B ueau Says
(By STAR Correspondent.)

Chicago. April 27.-There IL no
Leave the wearing of overalls to
those whose vocations demand them.
Compel Congress to pass House Bill
1854 and the worries about the
price Of clothing will be over. When
this measure Is enacted into law,
Sc per cent of all the "all-wool"
the gousing Of fabric manufactu-
rers viii cease.
That, in short, Is the remedy Of
Wobl bureau Of America for the
llapey, secretary of the bureau,
which has It's headquarters in Chi
cago, has columns of figures and
reams of arguments, to prove his
point Nest of It has been laid be-
fore the House Committee on In
terstate and Foreign Commerce, Of
which John ]. Esch. of Wisconsin,
Is chairman. Backing up the pro-
posed legislation are 100000 men,
bers of the bureau and other or
ganizations claiming a membership
Of $4,000. 900. or approximately half
Ine VI NiN ShihCN SNohSSs
Manufacturers Opposed.
Against the measure are the
wooden manufacturers and other
concerns directly allied with these.
These have had. q powerful lobby
at W Washington, according to the bu-
reau oficials.
The measure having the backing
of the National Sheep and Wool
Bureau of America is known as the
Truth in Fabric bill and is faith
cred by Representative Burton l..
French. of Idaho, by whose name
the bill Is popularity known. A cor
responding bill was introduced in
the Senate by Senator Capper, of
Kansas. Other bills have been in
troduced along similar lines by
Representatives Alben w. Barkley,
Henry T. Rainey and John J. Rod
gers, but these confine themselves
mainly to the misbranding feature
which. in the opinion of the bureau,
does not completely cover the sub
iect. -
The purpose Of the bill as set
forth Is "to prevent deceit and
profiteering that result from the
unrevealed presence Of substitutes
for virgin wool in woven fabrics
purporting to contain wool and in
garments or articles of apparel
made therefrom."
Epitomized, 1t is a battle between
the wool producers and the wooleu
manufacturers. or a difference of
opinion on the relative value of
virgin wool and shoddy.
Every Yard to He Marked.
In order to draw a line between
virgin wool and shoddy, the French
bill provides that manufacturers
of woven fabrics purporting to con-
tain wool shall cause to be stamped
upon the back of every yard of
such woven fabric. in a manner that
shall be logible, the four
following ingredients as herein de-
fined: Virgin wool, shoddy, cotton
and silk, and the relative proper
ton or percentage of each"
The woolen manufacturers insist
that stamping the goods Is imprac-
ticable and the expense is .prohibi-
tive. They claim that new machin-
cry would have to be invented and
installed and that the cost to the
government for inspection service
would be enormous.
The wool producers answer this
by stating that two clerks at $50 a
week would be sufficient to take
care of all the permits necessary,
that the inspection would, at best.
be perfunctory as no manufacturer
would dare to misbrand his product
considering the fact that violations
are to be punished with fines rang
ing from $500 to $1,000 with inn
'prisonment for year for each Of
fence.
Also. Honest. manufacturer,
would keep constant watch Of dis
honest competitors and thus the
inspection would practically be;
automatic. There would be no dam
ger of competition from abroad as
goods imported would have to be
similarly marked, also. goods ex-
ported.
Cloth SWorked Over"
The benefit to the consumers in
this country is exhaustively set
forth by the bureau officials. IT is
pointed out that approximately sc
per cent of "all wool goods manu-
factured in this country contains
shoddy. The manufacturers claim
that only III per cent Is affected.
In line with this 1t Is claimed
that worn cloth Is sometimes
.s...| s;