, 1922-01-12
TRUTHFUL TEXTILE
LEGISLATION
An Address Delivered by W. w.
Reynolds Before the Ohio
Federation OF Women's
Clubs

Madam Chairman and ladies OF the
Federation OF Women's Clubs:
Your 10000 and more members
were with us all. by letters, petit
lions and representatives in our eff
forts to get a truthful textile law.
For personal II public welfare rea-
sons this was fitting. In self defense,
the wool growers began this move
ment and 1t has been Endorsed by
every class. except about one per cent
who are engaged in making and SELL
ing substitutes for the genuine raw
materials OF clothing.
Sheep men had no success until
by education they enlisted the ulti-
mate consumers. With their help
they had the French-Capper bill in
Produced in both Houses of Congress.
n had hearings on each. About
5000. 900 advocates were represented
at the first and full 5000, 900 at the
Senate hearing. Neither of these
committees have yet reported these
bills to their bodies, but we feel salts
fed hat when they do. we will get
a law that will truthfully label all
textiles.
Everyone concerned is pleased to
have the m Of the land at one
with us in this work. The place to
begin to remedy domestic and eco
nomic evils is with the home workers,
tire housewives. the mothers in the
homes. They are the purchasing
agents, the educators of the children,
and the directors Of the economic
movements of the men. AS they
should. they have the elective fran
chise. and there can be no doubt but
the tens of thousands of this fedora
ton. living in all the principal towns
and cities of Ohio. can influence a
power for good that will reach far
beyond its boundaries.
Speaking first for our sheep indus
try. 1t Is a disgrace to America.
Every production, except wool, is
spilling over our borders into foreign
countries, while We are wool paupers.
Sheep have decreased in the United
States from $4,000. 900 in 1928 to
100000 in, 1920, while this year
h slaughter and loss are deplorable,
There are not above 80, 900, 900 now,
/. whereas there should be five times
that number.
1t Is a national, economic crime
that these good animals should be
annihilated. a natural result from
counterfeiting their wool. No grower
with his investment in land, sheep
and labor can compete with a junk
mans Investment. and the public
have been patronizing him to the ex-
tent of three-fourths of their invest
ments In woolens. Our good fibers.
the best in the world for warmth,
beauty and comfort to humanity, are
used with the strictast economy while
all the people wear reworked rags.
You know these facts. You have
paid billions to learn them. You
have repeatedly paid to replace short
lived. depraved clothing, while the
small stocks of wool grown over the
earth were piling up. unusued. and
you know that textiles are from un-
reliable to worthless. The worlds
floeks are decreasing similar to ours.
On one hand the sheep are dying,
and now from little wool grown,
they tell is there is a surplus of
1000. 900 900 pounds. 1t Is begging
for q good market and denominated
distressed wool"
All these good fibers should have
been given to the people, and the
sheep men hustling to grow more
sheep and wool, instead of reducing,
going out Of business, or into bank
ruptcy. In self defense we were
forced to do something. 1t is but
a matter Of time until there will be
none and rags from back doors, from
garbage cans and city dumps will
make all the woolens. Every work.
er for Truthful Textiles is a public
welfare worker. There is no economic
subject more needed than this.
II you have any doubts about this,
don't take my say so. Read the May
report of the Federal Trade Com
mission. I quote part of it: Let us
accompany the purchaser Of knit
goods or fabrics. What does he
know OF the actual wool or silk CON
tent in a material described as all
WOOL all silk or all Merino?' Mis-
branding has reached a point where
very few have any conception Of
what they are buying"
It asks, "How many realize that
much OF the silk has a metallic con-
tent3 From 1000 to 1900 tons Of
tin are consumed each year in the
manufacture of silk. One pound of
raw silk can be SO treated to yield
eight pounds of silk for sale. In
every walk OF life there may be
found a few who cling to the pirates
business morals"
The above was not written by a
disgrunted sheep mar that shoddy
ruined, but by a commission appoint
ed to survey and report such matters
for the protection of the public and
It looks as IL the wool and silk
counterfeiters were lineal descend
ants Of Captain Kidd. These substi-
tutes are not used so, much for their
cheapness. but to sell textiles that
will to be replaced shortly, yielding
more sales and repeated profits at
the fierce prices they have beer SELL
ing.
We have seen ladies' silk garments
ruined by cleaners and dyers who
were not able to detect the decep-
ton. and hundreds of "all WOOL
suits that went bad at once. The
papers told Of a Boston woman who
complained to the school board that