Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-27
WOODEN OPENINGS
DUE NEXT MONDAY
Heavyweight Lines Expected
to Be LoWer-Rayon
Already Cheaper.
By j. c. ROYLE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK January 27.-The open
ings of the heavyweight wooden lines
of textiles. scheduled to take place
within the next week. will affect the
pocketbooks not only OF hundreds of
thousands of textile workers but Of
everybody in America who wears
clothes. Wooden manufacturers and
wool growers consider the prospect
favorable. But orders translate fore
casts into reality. On the orders for
the new lines prices and employment
will hinge.
1t is reported in mill and clothing
circles that when the leading New
England interest opens its heavy
weight lines for 1926. Monday prices
~ to 10 per cent below those Of last
year Will be quoted for woolens.
WorSteds are not expected to be re-
duced to 50 great an extent.
Mills Well Situated.
The exact condition of the wooden
mills, as regards raw materials. is
closely guarded secret. But the ad
justment Of raw wool costs downward
In the last year means that funda
mentally the wooden manufacturers
are we'll situated to do "A good bust
ness. At present foreign woods domi-
nate the situation. Imports of wool
through Boston in the last II days
have reached the record total of SO. 1874
bales.
The shearing season in this country
is still two months or more away. eX-
cept in the extreme Southwest. The
domestic woods held over are relative
ly more firm than the foreign offer
ings There is extreme pressure from
American mills for cheap raw mate
rial. Yet. it is noticeable that the
growers and the wool buyers are
gradually getting closer together. Con
tracing for unclipped woods is ex-
pected to begin in Texas III the near
future.
Most Popular Lines.
Dealers DO not know how much Of
the present buying is to cover i'm
mediate requirements and how much
is In anticipation of orders after the
heavyweight. openings, but the ac-
tivity is significant OF the fact that
manufacturers at least feel they have
4 good prospect for business. In the
goods trade and with the clothing
manufacturers blues and browns are
expected to feature both overcoatinCs
and suitings.
The report Of spindleage in New
England just made by Government
officials, is indicative OF the improved
and improving conditions of the cot
ton mills OF that section. Over IA
10000 Sp!ndles now are active i'll
that territory. 1t reached li.162.OO0
last April. but there are indications
it will surpass that figure this Spring.
Raw Cotton Cheaper.
Raw cotton has undergone a re-
vision downward under pressure OF
huge crop This condition is favor
able to the cotton mills, which have
been facing severe pressure from the
finishing trades for fabrics at reason
able costs. Mill managers know thai
high-grade cotton may very probably
be as high as it was last year. THOSE
mills which make goods demanding
high grade cotton may possibly suffer.
But textile engineers report that the
mills are far more flexible than az
any time in their history.
Many plants which never before
made anything but high grade goods
are buying low grade cotton freely and
adapting their machinery to handle the
shorter staple. They are being helped
out materially by the use OF rayon
Every fabric man III the world Is
aware of the extra ordinary advance in
production of rayon and in the demand
fo: rayon and rayon cotton fabrics.
The cotton mills of Maine, New fiamp-
shire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island
have made notable advances in the use
of this chemical fiber.
RayOn Also Lower.
So great has this use grown that
there are rumorS that sales of raNon
are being made slightly below the
pegged figures for the first quarter,
but there is ample evidence that the
larger rayon producers are finding
ample call for their products and are
holding strictly to quotations. Inc
rayon-using fabrics now total We'll
above % per cent of the total New
England cotton goods mill output.
The extent OF the operations OF
some producers was effectively shown
today by publication of the Board OF
Tax Appeals ruling, ordering a re-
computation of tax for the Niscose Co.
and showing that the concern piled up
S5S,3S9, $40 net profits in three years.
Copyright. 1927