Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 June 1892 — THE SHODDY INDUSTRY. [ARTICLE]

THE SHODDY INDUSTRY.

WOOL TARIFFS BRING IT GREAT PROSPERITY. Free Wool Would Be Its Certain DeathSome Tin Plate Fact* and Fancies —McKinley’s Account Continued—New England Farmers Driven Out by the Tariffs. More Shoddy than Wool. There can be little doubt that the American people wear raore shoddy than do the people of any other country on the face of the globe. Here are a few of the proofs of this statement. 1. According to the census statistics of 1880, the total amount of raw material consumed in the manufacture of woolen goods was 404,000,000 pounds. After reducing wool to a scoured basis, we find that only 118,000,000 pounds of pure wool were consumed. This shows that the composition of woolen goods made in 1880 was 108 parts of adulterants and 118 parts of pure wool. The census of 1800 show’s that the number of pounds of pure wool used had increased to 124,000,000, and of shoddy, cotton, and other adulterants from 106,000,000 pounds in 1880 to 154,000,000 pounds in 1890, thus giving a ratio of 45 parts of pure wool to 55 parts of adulterants. 2. Since the McKinley bill went into effect the shoddy business has enjoyed an era of unusual prosperity. As an indication of this, we quote the following under the heading, “Ilags, Shoddies, Wastes, and Extracts,” from the American Wool and Cotton Reporter of May 19, 1692:

“New Clips. —There has been a steady current of business during the past week, and results have been altogether satisfactory. Merchant taiiors’ clips, darks and black, ore picked up as fast as made. The pronounced demand for darks and black worsted, noted last week, continues. There is more or less Inquiry for all the various grades of new woolen rags. “Woolen Rags. —Some dealers aver that they have sold in the two wmeks of May, 1892, within a few hundred dollars of all last May’s (i86l) sales. In the sale during the past week of rod, blue, gray knit there has been no let up. White linseys have moved well, so has hood stock generally. Dark and light merinos are selling fast. Red and blue flannels are selling to some extent. Skirted seams and soft black carpets have been sold; delaines continue in good demand; some orders have been received for dark cut cloths. “Shoddies. —Business for the first half of May (Monday, 16) has favorably compared with last year’s record in the same period. There is unmistakably an increased demand for finer stock. “Extracts.— Manufacturers in general are having all they can do to fill orders. “ Wool Waste. — Thero has been no falling off this month in this trade. During the past week a good deal of high grade waste has been sold. "Blocks. —Business in this line for the month thus far has been quite satisfactory. ’’ This same page of the American Wool and Cotton Reporter contains over twenty advertisements of shoddy mauu-faelufl-rs. “ - •«---

3. No other country has a duty on wools that will average 60 or 70 per cent.—thus depriving us of the purer wool and compelling us to use all kinds of adulterants —rugs, hair, cotton, etc. That our tariff is a godsend to the shoddy manufacturers is testified to by the fact that in 1888, when tho Mills biil proposed to give us»free wool, seventeen rag and shoddy dealers signed a circular, used by the Republican National Committee, in which they denounced the Mills bill as a free-trade measure, and said that free wool would ruin their business. Further testimony comes from tho petition of the Kensington Reform Club of Philadelphia (which contains about 250 wool workexs), presented to Congress April 6, 1892. After asking for free wool to help the woolen business, and incidentally to provide steadier employment for more labor at higher wages, and to givo cheaper clothing to the consumer, they say that the materials of manufacture are deteriorating and the manufacturers “dare not put their workingmen on the stand to testify under oath, for then there w’ould be a full corroboration of the statement made to your honorable Committee of Ways aud Means by the committee of the Wool Consumers’ Association, that the McKinley law has largely promotod the adulteration of wool manufacturers."