Evening star., 1942-01-10
u. 5. Must Do Without
Silk and Substitutes
As War Cuts Supply
Army Using Available
Fabric for Porochutes;
Jop Market Doomed
Third OF a Series.)
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

(Thrd OF SerteS.)
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
America must give up silk-and
IN large measure, the most adequate
synthetic substitutes for it-for q
long time.
Raw silk has been the CHIEF
Japanese import to the United
States
This has accounted for two-thirds
OF the total trade with that country
In the past few years. In 1910, the
last year for which full statistics
are available, the silk imports are
valued at SLOT 900, 900, and they were
running only trifle behind this in
the first five months of 1941.
Up to three years ago the COM
plete stoppage of silk imports would
have been a very serious loss.
Chemists Filling the Gap.
Now the Sons of Heaven can let
their silk rot on the mulberry trees,
for all Uncle Sam cares. 1t means
only that, probably for several years.
the worlds shapeliest feminine legs
must sacrifice patriotically a lot of
their shapeliness.
BY the end of the war it is highly
probable that Japans world mar
ket for her principal crop will be
gone forever. American chemists
already have fairly adequate sub
stitutes and are working constantly
to improve them. In a few years,
chemists predict, the synthetic fab
RIGS will be so far superior to the
real stuff that the latter will have
no market.
For the past 10 years, about 80
per cent Of all the silk imported
from Japan has been used for full
length feminine hosiery. Silk under
wear. gowns and mems hose have
accounted for relatively little of the
supply.
American women started wearing
silk stockings on a grand scale about
the time of the last World War and
these since have become a big item
Of family expense.
Substitutes Are Costly.
All silk imports from Japan ceased
last August. At that time American
factories were stocked up with ap-
proximately 100000 pairs of silk
stockings. This was enough to
last American women two months.
Another months supply probably
was in the hands of retailers and
about an equal number may have
been In process of manufacture.
Today, the United States, accord
ing to calculations OF the United
States Tariff Commission. is about
down to its last silk stocking-so far
as those available for purchase are
concerned.
There are several substitutes
None were entirely acceptable to
American women until the syn
thetic fabric nylon made its first
appearance in December, 1899. It
looked and felt like silk. It would
wear more than twice as long. It
cost about twice as much. Altogether
It represented one OF the greatest
advances ever made In synthetic
fabrics
American women wore slightly
more than 500 900, 900 pairs Of both
silk and nylon hosiery in 1910.
Has Military Uses.
The present capacity Of nylon
plants is about one-fourth OF this.
This will be approximately doubled
when new plant, now nearly COM
pleted, gets under full production
about year from now. 1t is hardly
likely, however, that the full supply
of this superior synthetic silk. which
has several military uses, will be
allocated to hosiery makers.
Various rayon yarns are fair sub
stitutes for silk. The plants, how
ever, already are operating at full
capacity making fabric for other
purposes-some essential for de-
fense. 1t is highly unlikely that
much of this capacity can be d.
verted to produce substitutes for
Japanese hosiery silk.
Productive capacity for cotton yarn
sufficiently fine to make sheer hose
Is very limited. Neither fine cotton
nor rayon production can be much
increased without new plants, which
are virtually impossible at present
because of the need of materials
for buildings and machinery in de-
tense industries.
Worst hit, the Tariff Commission
fears, will be the hosiery mill work.
ers in Pennsylvania and North Caro-
lima. where 60 per cent of the in
dustry was centered.
Needed for Parachutes.
For the past three years the Agri-
culture Department has been trying
to popularize cotton stockings and
has developed some very attractive
designs. Women forced to the un-
bearable hardship of wearing them
can reflect that, so far as the coun-
try is concerned, it might easily
have been worse.
Until very recently raw silk has
been essential for parachutes. 1t
still IS desirable. Last September
there was enough in commercial
warehouses, which could be used
only under Government license, to
make 100000 average-sized para
chutes. Besides the Army had con-
siderable stores of parachute cloth,
the amount being a military secret.
1t requires. by the way, about 100
yards of silk to make a parachute.
But several new synthetic silks,
notably nylon, are about as good
for parachute cloth. Great Britain
has used successfully high quality
of rayon.
Army Uses Silk Waste.
The other important military de-
mand has been for silk waste
cocoons unfit for reeling, partly un-
wound cocoons, and broken fila
ments. This has been believed es-
sential for cartridge bag cloth that
must be used in big guns. It burns
quickly and completely, without
leaving a smouldering residue that
would foul the gun.
Early this fall, however the Army
publicly announced that silk was no
1opror ,,oooecor1, for %l,ie xo,,r,1oeo