San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-21
Old Prices Will Not Re:
turn Unless Sweat Shop /
Methods Do. Il
NO ADVANCES MADE
Increased Wages Cause
Disappearance Of Low
Prices.
BY j. c. ROYLE.

Copyright. by The San Antonio Light
New York., Oct. 20.-The day OF
the all wool made, well finished sd
and $50 suit or Overcoat is gone fora
ever.
Manufacturers say that only a re-
turn to sweat shop conditions of fit
teen years ago will permit re-csiaj
lishment of such prices, according t.
dispatches received by the writer to
day from clothing centcrs all over the
country. 4
Nevertheless. the expected advance
in mems clothing, which was believed1
inevitable a few months ago, has no
materializcd and it is consensus Oh
opinion of trade leaders that there vii
be no rise in prices even for spring.
lines.
Strict economy in factory manage.
ment and office administration anqS
improved methods of manufacture. dis
tribution and sale have stabilized
prices in mems clothing, the makers
state. IN
S. f. Leeman, vice president oN|
the Ed. V. Price company of Chi
cago, says that these sweeping andH
rigid economics have enabled manu-, +
facturers of that section to embodyel
the same qualities and workmanship
in their products despite higher costs~
of material and labor and that this
applied also to the factories of otheIA|
clothing centers such as Baltimorc-|
Cleveland and Rochester.
Wages Much Higher. n
ITO understand what mems cloth-|
ing manufacturers have had to Con.
tend with" he stated, lit is neces-
sary to look back fifteen years.
Then the most expert needle work D
men got less than half the wages
they now receive.
"Bushelmen received SIG a week
cutters SIS and pocket workers $50
THAT was the day of the good, wei 4
made, nicely finished $40, SO and-I
$50 suits.
But it was also the day when in7|
some shops men received 90 cents for-1
making pair of trousers, 40 cents
for vest and $1.40 for coat.
"Today bushelmen get $50 a week
cutters $40 and pocket workers 81,
and these. are minimum figures. Y
81 do not believe anyone wants tdcI
see return of such conditions OBJ.
tanned in the clothing trades a decade.I
and half ago."
Mr.. Leeman's statements met witI5d
agreement among officials of such
widely known firms as Hart. Schaff,1
ner & Marx, Rosenwald & We'll. the
house Of Kuppenheimer, and others
I'VE clothing manufacturers realf
lied, Mr.. Leeman continued, "that we
could not go on without doing larger
volume of business than we did III.
the last two or three years. n
The buyer opposition had been
such that we knew we could not deg
more business il we raised prices.
I'VE were up against it hard.
"Then we decided to cut overhead
as deep as possible without sacrificed
ing our output. n
We cut down on space, tremen1>
dove item with rents at present levels,
Manufacturers with great snowy
cflic-.i ana factories retained only the
room absolutely required.
I'VE have put in the most up-to
date labor saving devices and ma
chinery ohtainable.
This required n large initial out
lay, but it is paying for itself.
To Hold Prices Down.
al should say that the clothing>I
manufacturers of this country now
are running more efficiently thar
ever before and as efficiently as any
other business in the world.
I'VE have absorbed the inevitable
increases in materials and labor.
I'VE are getting the business.
"People are buying better than al
any time since the postwar lull.
I'VE cannot see anything on they}
clothing horizon but progress so LONG
as We watch the pennies in the over1
head"
Whatever other expenses have BEEN
reduced, advertising appropriations
have not been cut
Makers and dealers are depending
on newspaper advertising to produc9
the volume Of business they deem,
necessary to successful operation and
with most gratifying results.
Newspapers are carrying a tremeni
dous volume of mems wear ANNOUNCED
ments stressing quality, style and
workmanship as well as price.
One New York paper. for exami
pie, carried this week in one iSsudI
approximately 45 columns devoted I'd
mems wear compared with % COLI
umns taken up with feminine CARL
ments.
eA