ENGLISH WOOL LETTER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 251, 11 July 1918, Page 8

ENGLISH WOOL LETTER

I .„ . * WOOL SUBSTITUTES THEIR IMPORTANCE TO, AND USE'IN, THE TRADE (By Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, May 23. The quest ion of substitutes for wool - i is ever present in the textile trade, and ! '■ particularly to (lie fore at this time , ''.I'll (lerinnny is largely- thrown upon ~ .ifi , own resources in providing raw B materials for maintaining her fightin:; forces nt a fair standard of efficiency. German prisoners ■.■nptured recently, who!) inked how !(»ii>- (hey had bsen wearing their suits, -lalcd that in some cases they received ;.?in as recently a* 1a.4 October, Xovi'iiitnT, and December. Cuttings hi>ve l«?en taken from both trousers and tunics which have been sent a to Bradford for analysis, and there, is ', general agreement that Cicrimin soldier.;' ', cloths aro to-day Ijeiiif; made almost c.\- : ciiijivc-ly from wool substiiules. This I shows clearly enough that she has about. . exhausted her wool stocks, although slio ' would obtain something iVoni the torri- '. twy recently captured, and by this time [ will liavo also cleared out all-the wool ' supi)litiS which her troops have been nblo to Iny htiud. l ) lipon in the captured re. j [tiuii-i of liiissin, Euinania, as well as I l''iu!tiii(l. It can be safety said Unit Germany pays no regard to the ri;;htl'iil ' claims of anyone, regarding any ami 1 every measure a.s fair iu war-time. When 1 every allowance is made for Germany ; laying kinds upon the supplies of con- ' quered territory, eho cannot havii oneI hundredth part of what she require* to I provide for her own civilian population ' and her fighting men, conscciuenliy we I have heard .a trreat deal during the last ! few months regarding what German ' manufacturers are doing in tho way uf substitutes. Tho question is well worth ]ookin» at, providing colonial pnstornlisls ! with some useful iiilbriiiation. Why Substitutes at All? One cannot but ask why sulWiiliilrs should be -Used, wl.pu one tiuppiws that there is siillicieril: iaw wool to meet the I'pciuiiunients of the world. At least Urn Mi'Khli publi'j have never known any real scarcity of the pure article, and today, after nuirlyfour years of war, the stocks in this country are sufficiunt to )neet all military and civilian .requirements. Of coarse, the greatest credit is duo to our colonies for the ]iobl<) part I they are playinjj in praducin;; (lie raw- [, nuileriai, and the best; of all is (lint they j can Ko on growing wool, becau.-o Hritisii ; I'filoiiies will 1» tho countries in lhi> I future which the inaiuil'actiiring , world, ' iiartitularly Great Hrifain mid her Alliw, will look- (o for supplies. Whether I (iermany will lja permiltcd to orxTato on I anything like the lines sho did prei viously is a problem which will need solvini; when the war draws to a finish, bill: the present temper of tin's coiinlry and our Allies ie not lo srant, Gernmny the pVivile»o which she had before Hie war. As a matter of fact, her manufacturers knew what they were doing in colonial nsarlwts long before tlio outbreak of hostilities, evidence accumulatin}; as months go bv that Germany was doli'riiiiiipd ui»ii war, as proved by the Inst German Minwier in London." It therefore seems (hat: .British Kiupirc products cannot be nllowed in the future to be put to such an ignominious use ai an indirect means lo kill the sons o'f those responsible for growing the raiv material. We fancy Hint even our colonies will have .something important to siy regarding - the ultimate destiny of t.h« wool they are producing, and unless there is a. radical change, in tho temper of all Germany must be compelled (o take a back seat when the war is over. Object of' Using Substitutes.. The real object in using wool substitutes is to cheapen the woven fabric. «V paragraph appeared in ono of the papers last week the effect that paper textiles were buinjf made on the Continent, but if the actual truth is told it would indeed be a dark day if paper were ro come to be generally used in tho placu of the Jleece of die sheep. An account appeared sumo weeks ago iu the I'ress that Ihe German civilian male population was xaing iiboufc in paper trousers, which shows to what nu extremity Germany is reduced. Whatever substitutes are use'd for wool, it is for the purposo of cheapening rlie fully manufactured product and also with a view of making wool go further. Here in England -we should say that cheapness in the alpha and ome»a, wherever substitutes are em- ! ployed, because our spinners and manufacturers liavo never been known to lio debarred from using pure wool. Tho writer has bad a lifelong experience in the handling of manufacturing raw materials in one of the first mills in tho West Riding, and whenever niungo and cotton have heen blended with wool it has never been with the purpose of trying to iniprots the finality or wearing capacity of the woven fabric, but has always been with the object of bringing the cloth in at an acceptable price to the wholesale fabric buyer. "We see that across the Atlantic great use is being made of wool substitutes, and even tho abolition of certain pockets in men's suits and the use of le?s material for ladies' dresses is being advocated with a view to saving raw wool for war purposes. AVe are confident, however, that neither here nor in the United States have we come to the end of the tether. Stork' of raw materials are s(ill adequate to meet all reasonable demands, Substitutes Used. We have already briefly hinted at the character of the substitutes used in order to cheapen woven fabrics, and io help out supplies of virgin wool. They come under the category of inungo, shoddy and cotton, the.sC being by far the most important substitutes which have been used in the pn>,t, and will continue to be need in the future. What are these substitutes? In days gone, by a stigma attached to tho term "shoddy,'' and while we hold no brief for thii. article we are certain that it is not deserving of the discredit which has been thrown upjn it. Only a fortnight ago a member of one of tho first export houses in Bradford said to the writer that ho paid old. per 11).. for pulled black stockings before tho war, and that very day he had paid 2s. lid. per lb. The reader should undelmtfiml the difference between inungo ami shoddy. When the .term "iniingo" is used in the woollen trade it means hard rngs from men's suits, and cloth clippings. Such are called inungo after having passed Iliroug'i the, rag-grinding machines. The term shoddy is applied to stockings, underwear, rerdigaii jntkpls, and comforturti, which have been "pulled' , in a similar way. The reader can see that there is a big dill'ereiice between hard milled cloths, like serges and woollen tweeds and softer article' K'»e stockings. In Bewsbury, which is tho home of the rag industry, these terms have a clear definition, and apply to Hie standard articles put upon the market, and which are bring very hugely, used by way of Biibstitul.es. Substitutes and Army Cloths. It will bo a.mistake if any reader supmhps tlmt the military fabrics which are being worn by the .British and Allied troops aro all made from virgin wool. Thai; may be eo in tlio ca.so of colonial troops, but not for British, the blends to-day being composed of . r >o per cent, of virgin wool and the. balance noils (which is pure wonl also) and tihoddy. There are many inauul'aiituriTS wlio .strongly maintain Unit by Ihe use of a certain percentage of 'iiiingu a better fabric is obtained than if all new wool is used, (he finer muiifi) filling up tlie bottom of tlie cloth uml making it more compact, sounder, and giving it more ln'iillelninirig capacity, This iippliiw particularly to the cloths of a crossbred nature, for after all a fabric, the bottom of which iu well knit together in the process of milling, is mure compact. There is talk of (he rug and shoddy trade b:'in» commandeered mid prices (ixed. the same as in Ilia wool trade. Already the render has had an illustration of the levelto which certain descriptions of shoddy linvo climbed eince tin; outbreak _ of war, The industry is one of considerable magnitude. It occupies an important position in the textile world, and I here is no doubt that as long as manufactured textile fabric , ! aro in demand, shoddy and niiingo will bo wanted.