The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-01-22
YOUR DOLLAR
SHEETS
BY CONSUMERS UNION

| January is the month OF Wn1te sales
:. especially sales of sheets. There
fore Consumers Union tested So
brands for its members. One fact C.
u discovered is that while heavy mus
lar, percales may make up for their
higher price in lower laundry costs
and greater comfort.
Whether your choice is muslin or
percale, you need information about
how brands compare-informat you
seldom get in the store. Gus tech
nician's got such information by a
series of tests which simulated actual
wear. Sheets were rubbed and pulled
and tested for shrinkage. Weight and
thread count were also considered.
Best Buys among the percale sheets
were Pequot at $1.75, Wards Deluxe
at $129 plus postage, and Macy's at
$1,26 Best Buys of the muslins were
Fruit of the Loom Extra Weight at
s1.49 and Penney at SIC. Several
types of Pepperell and Fieldcrest were
among the Acceptable sheets.
UNlON-MADE SHEETS
For many of the sheet sold under
store brand names, Gu. was unable
to get labor facts. The following
sheets are union made, according to
the Textile Workers Union (CIO):
Fieldcrest marshall Field; Pepperell
union contract in plant manufactur-
ing muslin sheets; Pequot-has union
contract establishing the most adj
vanced employment conditions in the
industry.
C. U. STARTS NEWSLETTER
Beginning early in February, Con-
sumers Union will publish weekly
newsletter reporting to consumers ex-
actly what is happening to the price
and quality of goods they buy. Prices
have already risen, Gu. points out,
and in time of war preparation and
defense spending, there's tendency
to overlook consumer interests. Yet,
with huge stocks of surplus goods
in many lines and with millions of
men unemployed, Gu. can see no
honest reason why American living
standards should be lowered. The
newsletter's purpose will be to pro-
tect living standards in two ways.
First, it will help each reader spread
his dollar further by providing advice
on what, how and when to buy. Sec
ond, the newsletter will keep consum-
ers informed of attacks, whether con-
scious or unconscious, upon American
living standards, and will indicate a
line of action against such attacks.
The newsletter will be easy to read
and will contain simple brand name
ratings of selected staple items. The
subscription rate is 81 for 81 weekly
issues.
PART-WOOL BLANKETS
Three part-wool blankets pass over
u. S. store counters for every all-wool
blanket sold. This 3 to 1 ratio does
not mean that the average American
is a poor judge of quality, nor yet
that he is trying to use up the cotton
surplus. 1t means mainly that three
buyers out of four cannot afford all
wool.
Mores the pity, then, that part-wool
blankets give less wear per dollar
than Atwood Gu tested IA part
wool blankets, ranging in price from
So to So, and found that the best of
them had only about half as much
resistance to abrasion (rubbing) as
did the poorest Atwood blanket tested |
the preceding month. Part wool
blankets quickly lose their nap, and |
with it most of their warmth retain
ing qualities. 1t pays to buy wool, il |
you can.
Gu. tested part-wool blankets for
resistance to rubbing and pulling,
and weight. Best Buy
found was the Cannon-Leaksville Lu-
zorn of 50 90