Evening star., 1923-10-19
ALL-WOOL SUITS
FOR S25ARE GONE
Present Prices, However,
Will Not Be Raised, Makers
of Mems Clothes Say.
BY y. {. RONiE'.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK. October 19.-The DAY
Of the wool we'll made, well nnisheo
s25 and $50 suit or overcoat Is gone
forever.
Manufacturers say that only re-
turn TO sweat shop conditions of ff-
teen years ago would permit re-es
tablishment of such prices, according
to dispatches received by the writer
today from clothing centers all over
the country. Nevertheless, the eN-
pected advance in mems clothlhs
which was believed inevitable rev
months ago, has not materialized' and
it is the concensus of opinion or TRACE
leaders that there will be no rise IN
prices even for spring lines.
Greater Economy Attained.
Strict economy in factory manage
ment and Office administrator ana
improved methods of manufactures
distribution and sale have stabilized
prices in mems clothing. the makers
state. S. f. Leeman. vice president
of the Ed V. Price Company OF Chf-
caso. said today that these sweeping
manufacturers Of that section to en-
body the Same quality and workman
shin in their products despite nlsheF
costs of material and labor ana ina
this apnlied also to the factories or
other clothing centerS SuCh as b"it
more, Cleveland and Rochester
Sweeping Wage Changes.
ITO understand what mems cloth
ing manufacturers have had to con-
4; I, q, Ct nI necessary
to look back fifteen years. Then the
most expert needle workmen got less
than half the wages they now re-
CeiVe Bushelmen received Sl6 q
week. cutters, SIS. and pocket WORK
ers $50. That was the day of good,
well made. nicely finished $50, go
and $40 suits But it was also the
day when, in some shops, men re
Ceived GO cents for making pair
of trousers, 40 cents for a vest and
40 for coat.
To-day busheimen get S35 week.
cutters, $40, and pocket workers, $40
and these are minimum hsureS.
do not believe any one wants TO see
a return of such conditions as OBJ
tained in the clothing trades decade
and a half ago"
Overhead Cut Down.
Mr.. Leeman's statements met with
agreement among officials of such
widely known firms as Hart Schaffner
Il Marx, Rosenwald & We'll, the
House of Kuppenheimer and others.
I'VE clothing manufacturers real
lied" Mr.. Leeman continued. that
we could not go on without doing q
larger volume of business than we
had done in the last two or three
years. The buyer opposition had been
such that we knew we could not DO
more business if we raised prices.
We were up against it hard. Then
we decided to cut overhead as deeply
as possible without sacrificing quality
or output.
we cut down on space. a tremen-
dous item with rents at present
levels. Manufacturers with great
snowy offices and factories retained
only the room absolutely required.
We have put in the most o-date
Iabor-saving devices and machinery
obtainabie. This required a large
initial outlay, but it is paying for it
self.
Conditions Best Ever.
ct should say that the clothing
manufacturers of this country now
are running more efficiently than ever
before and as efficiently as any other
business in the world. We have alb
sorbed the inevitable increases in ma
terials and labor. We are getting the
business People are buying better
than at any time since the postwar
lull We cannot see anything on the
clothing horizon but progress, so long
as we watch the pennies in the over
head"
Whatever other expenses have been
reduced, advertising appropriations
have not been cut Makers and deal
ers are depending on newspaper ad-
vertiSing to produce the volume Of
business they deem necessary to sue
cesSful operation, and with most graf
flying results. Newspapers are carry
ing a tremendous volume of mems
wear announcements stressing quail
ity, style and workmanship, as well
as price. One New York paper, for
example, carried this week in one is
sue approximately forty five columns
devoted to mems wear, compared with
twenty eight columns taken up with