The New York herald., 1921-10-12
LONGER skirt EDICT
MEANS $50,OO0,OOO
TO CLOTH INDUSTRY
Fashion Decree Calls for
25,0OO,OOO More Yards
to Be Manufactured.
10000 MORE WORKERS
Million Gowns Scrapped
Ahead of Time-Increased
Sales of Low Shoes.
STYLE ECONOMIC FACTOR
Farmer, Broker, Banker, Tex
tile Employee and Railroads
to Feel Benefits.
10000 MORE WORKERS
STYLE ECONOMIC FACTOR
Special Despatch to THE NEW YORK. HERALD
New York Herald Bureau,

Special Despatch to THE NEW YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau,
Washington, d. c., Oct. H.
An unexpected $50.000,000 will
pour into the pockets of dealers in
women's garments, manufacturers Of
cloth and their employees this winter
and next spring as a result OF the
Paris. decree prescribing longer skirts.
Translated by Government econo-
mists into terms of cold commercial
fact, this is what the new vogue will
mean to the business world:
Twenty-Five million yards of
cloth to be manufactured and sold
over and above the demand Of last
season
One million gowns and suits
scrapped season ahead of time
by women anxious to keep exactly
in line with style.
Twenty thousand additional
employees in textile mills and
stores dealing in women's gar
ments.
Increased sales OF low shoes
for women, together with big
turnover in trimmings. braid and
other decorations needed In the
manufacture OF suits and gowns
under the new styles.
Government experts in departments
in Washington which aim to keep
track of developments in the produc-
tion and demand Tor wool. cotton, en-
broideries and the textile and clothing
industries have been giving attention
to the Paris fashion news for months.
vital, Econemic Factor.
The question whether women's skirts
are to be longer or shorter may be made
the subject Of jest in theatres and news
papers, but to the economic and business
experts OF the Government it becomes
q matter of vital concern. On such fac
tors may depend the demand for raw
cotton. wool, silk and the like by the
great textile industries OF the South and
New England. ~
According to one official it figures out
thus: or the population of the United
States, roughly two-thirds, or 10000. 900
persons. may be regarded as adult.
Slightly more than half of the adults are
women. At the very most conservative
estimate therefore 20,oO0,000 women
will require an additional yard and one
half of cloth this winter and spring as
a result of the vogue OF the longer skirt.
49, - Il L..x Il
a safe figure. IT is explained.
Transposed into dollars. this spells
something like an additional 5000, 900
for the textile mills. How much 1t may
mean to the farmer who grows the cot
ton or the sheep to furnish the wool
cannot be computed. but there will be
other beneficiaries also. Among them
the broker who buys the raw wool and
cotton. from the farmer, the railroad
which receives additional tonnage, the
banker who must carry a larger loan
and so on. Thousands OF persons will
benefit from the new style IL there is
included the probable number of work.
ers needed to enable the mills to handle
the increased output.
Women's styles occupy very large
part OF the time OF the Government Off
cials who delve for facts which shall
prove OF help to the nations manu-
facturers and business men. At the
Commerce Department. the Bureau OF
Foreign and Domestic Trade keeps in
touch with styles I'm Cuba, South Amer
lea and other parts of the world 70
which American clothing manufacturers
may wish to sell goods. on file at the
bureau Is pamphlet on the trade in
wo;nens gowns as seen from the view
point of the American Consul at Ha-
vana.
Feeling the Pulse of Fasbiou.
When silk becomes the yor,,e IN the
nlnds OF American women, the Conn
merce Department experts work out data
In connection with the demand on the
markets In China and Japan. Egyptian
cotton. extensivelv used '1 making a
Zine grade of cloth for women's gar
ments, Is causing sleepless nights for
officials of the United States Shipping
Board. That is because American buy
ers In Egypt have been offered very
low rates by British ship operators. The
desire OF American women to have n
very special kind of cotton dress goods
thus is reflecting itself in the business
lives Of officials and business men in
two hemispheres.
Spanish shawls and capes. prescribed
by Paris fashionables, spell work for
Government experts this winter who
must keep track of the demand for the
wool to make them Jade rings from
China. imported platinum to furnish "A
setting for the new variety OF dinner
ring. Coz feathers from France for hats
and fans. buckles for slippers. bracelets.
silk for stockings, beads, ivory and a
score of more imported fashionable