Evening star., 1942-03-04
Forecasts Scarcity
Of New Clothing
Writer Tells How Demands
For Wool Indicate Need
To Rution Garment SuIes
Bp Bertrdnl Benedict.

0H 0CT TuW 0SHSuNt.
Rationing of clothing to consumers
before the end of the year is in the
cards. Meanwhile a shortage of new
apparel will have occurred-in fact, is
already with us. because Of Army and
Navy demands, exports, and priorities
restrictions
In normal years the United States
produces about three-fourths of the wool
consumed In apparel. The one-fourth
imported has been coming mostly from
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
Argentina, and Uruguay. Practically all
the carpet wool used in the United States
is imported
But in 1941. imports were well up,
amounting to more than one-half of the
domestic consumption. The domestic
production also was up-about 465 900 900
pounds, as compared with $50 900 900 in
1910 and 440,000,000 in 1889. The pro-
duction indicated for 1912 is 485 900 900
pounds. The stocks on hand at the
beginning of 1912 were about IS per
cent higher than at the beginning of
194l, excluding the wool stored up by
the Government as strategic material
OF course, the demands of the Army
and Navy will accelerate And with wool
shipments endangered, the United States
now Is required, for almost the first time,
to export wool or wool products to Great
Britain, Russia and perhaps China.
Y
The so-called Truth-in-F Fabrics bill,
enacted in 1910, requires labelling of wool
products, except carpets, rugs and up
holStery, to show the percentage of new
wool and reprocessed or reworked WOOL
One effect of this law is understood to
be a large increase in the stocks Of
reprocessed and reworked wool, accumu-
lated because many consumers had q
liking for virgin wool or a prejudice
against old wool.
Prices for the various grades and kinds
OF wool were recently fixed by the Office
of Price Administration. The levels set
were as of December IS, 1941. On Febru-
ary "a, 1912 the War Production Board
set restrictions on wool which are esti-
mated to reduce civilian production for
the second quarter of 1912 to about IS
or 20 per cent of normal.
Aside from the production of rugs and
carpets, about As per cent of the wool
utilized in the United States goes into
mems clothing, Is per cent into women's
coats and suits, 10 per cent into other
articles Of wearing apparel. Blankets
and automobile upholstery account for
most of the remaining 20 per cent.
In the First World War rationing of
wool clothing was barely avoided in the
United States. By the time of the Arm
istice, plans for rationing had been pre-
pared, and were on the point of being
promulgated. In the present war, ra-
tioning of clothing began in Germany
several days before the invasion of
Poland. A slightly more liberal system
went into effect a year later, a stricter
one in September. 1941. The German
clothing card now contains 100 points,
WAlASll lidFC w ldSt 4Ol 1O lllOlllllS, dllQ
of which 20 are indefinitely invalid" :"
No more than certain number of points
may be used in any quarter Of the year.
A mans overcoat uses 80 points.
Great Britain adopted clothing ration
ing In June, 1941. It applies to apparel,
shoes, cloth. and knitting WOOL but not
to secondhand garments, workers over
als, hats, nor certain materials Each
British adult receives 66 coupons a year,
with mans suit taking up 26, man S
overcoat 16, a womans wool dress II,
stockings 2, shirt 5. Supplementary
coupons are issued for losses in bombing
attacks. But clothing prices have risen
almost 100 per cent, and some persons
in Great Britain find themselves unable
to use their full clothing ration.