Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1885 — What’s in a Name ? [ARTICLE]

What’s in a Name ?

Thousands of yards of “Smyrna” rugs are made in Kensington, this city; thousands more in Great Britain. The name of a carpet signifies little in these days; even the “Kidderminster,” or ingrain carpet, is no longer made in Kidderminster nor the Mecca prayer rug in Mecca. Philadelphia to-day makes more goods than all England, and she calls them Brussels, Venetians, Dutch, Axminsters. What, indeed, is in a name ? Massachusetts produces the highest grade Brussels, Wiltons 1 and ingrains. The time is past when the fact that a carpet is of English origin has any influence in a sale. Twentytwo million dollars’ worth of Philadelphia goods are made and sold every year. Competition is sharp, and not only are the yarns doctored with foreign substances but the colors used are, in many cases, reduced, when dry and old, to a mere dust, which can be literally swept with a stiff broom from the floor. A practice which has crept into the retail trade is this: If a buyer discovers that he has certain goods which are unsatisfactory, he puts a premium on them of 5 or 6 cents a yard, and this induces the salesmen to pay special attention to them. They are what are commonly known as “stickers” instock, and the purchaser is very likely to have this undesirable rubbish palmed off upon him if he is at all influenced by the enthusiasm or assurances of the average salesman, .who reaps direct extra profit by the transaction.—Philapelphia Times.