Evening star., 1936-12-27

IASHlNGION, universally
M acclaimed as close to the
" top, if not in the van,
among the worlds most
beautiful cities. Capital which is a
news center for all creation, also rates
as a headliner with the fur trade;
those who know furs claim that our
National Capital boasts more matrons,
misses and spinsters who possess
quality fur coats. evening wraps. jack
cts and neckpieces than any other
metropolis of similar size around the
world.
Briefly, alls we'll with the local fur
business, and promises to remain so
as long as Uncle Sam continues to
employ female scientists. specialists,
secretaries and stenographers whose
salaries rate such luxury expenditures.
Not to forget the social celebrities,
debutantes. wives of Congressman,
cabinet members, officers of the Army
and Navy, foreign diplomats and
wealthy widows who individually can
afford to pay from one TO several or
even many thousand dollars for furs
every once in so cften, without strain
ing their checking accounts.
Washington women demand good
furs. Sealskins, ermine, raccoon, mink,
sable, even chinchilla coats are the
wanted ones and those most seen at
the fashionable hotels, night clubs,
theaters, operas. receptions and cock
tail parties. When jack frost puts zip
into the atmosphere during late Oc-
tober and early November, when So
ciety turns out in force for favorite
football games, the costly fur gar
ments come out of storage and cedar
closets. The fashion parade once
again begins to strut its fur-coat stuff.
And 10 and woe If styles change with
out plenty of advance publicity. Not
only must the quality of the fur be
tops, but the cut of the coats must
match to the dot what Washington
and New York accept from Paris and
London as the latest styles.
Government girls, misses, matrons
and old maids mortgage considerable
percentage of their bi-monthly pay
checks for six months or a year, and
sometimes two years in advance in
order to occupy the interiors of SUI
perior sealskin, raccoon or moleskin
coats during the cold weather months.
From the standpoint Of pure-spun
economy the Washington Winter cli-
mate is not a fur-coat climate. Our
normal cold weather is spotty and is
not permanent enough. But when
and where dame fashion DEGREES that
fur coats are 'it," the popularity of
such garments flourishes, irrespective
Of temperatures in the middle SOS,
and the normal lapse Of cold spells
several days after they occur.
IF CLEOPATRA possessed fur coat
it probably was made of Rurrian
sable, ermine or chinchilla garments
that cost from s5o.9Oo to $4,000. or
even 100000. A chinchilla coat made
from $50 selected pelts. as of the cur
rent market. would cost as much as q
commodious yacht or q comfortable
country estate. A Government fur ex-
pert told me that it was questionable
If more than rs real chinchilla coats
are now in use throughout the world.
A furrier who wishes to make single
coat of this variety has to collect skins
for months in advance as they dribble
In from South America and Europe.
Not so long ago a prominent New
York furrier journeyed to South
America in quest of chinchilla skins.
He sought but 125 pelts, enough for
o fur garment ordered by famous
grand opera star. Despite the fact
that he contacted all the leading fur
smugglers Of Chile, Peru and Bolivia
in addition to legitimate traders, he
procured only IS skins, barely enough
for a neckpiece. The chinchillas,
which once were 50 abundant in the
Andes Mountains that they ran un-
der the feet of pack mules, while over
Land riders would frequently see more
in q day than they could count, have
been hunted and trapped to COM
rarative extinction. The Field Muse
um estimates less than 10000 chin
chillas still alive-just about enough
II all were trapped to double the
present supply of chinchilla coats.
The speculative census figure Is quite
In contrast to conditions at the turn
of the century. when Chile, Peru and
Bolivia exported as many as I 900 900
skins annually to Europe and the
United States. The remnant chin
chiIla rabbits now live above tree line
In the Andean highlands. This spe-
cies, whose fur was used for clothing
by the Incas, with the longest hair
also woven into warm and durable
cloth, Is now protected in South Amer
ica and would be gradually restored