The sun. [volume], April 28, 1912, SIXTH SECTION BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT, Page 13, Image 81

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916

Image provided by: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation

                
e
THE SUN, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 1912.
13
THE EVOLUTION OF
OUR DRESS GOODS
ti i .tiin Wns Called On In tho
Lilly Days Against Eng
lish Imports.
T 11 ('MANGES IN THE '508
y Vivwh Sturfc n W'ldo Market Wns
I'.i.ilt l'p for Amorlcnn Malc
tlulw for Dress.
The art of wool manufacturing In Its
I rr'"nt vnrled nnd attractive aspects
i altogether a modern development In
tlw I'nited States. Up to the civil war
the industry had found only a scant and
precarious foothold. Take, for example,
such a fubrlo as bunting, used for drew
ROdili" a well as for flags, pennants' and
Mcnals: even as Into as 180S this material
had scarcely been produced at all In
America, As the Into Dr. John L. Hayes,
first secretary of tho National Asso
ciation of Wool Manufacturers, said In
a speech ln mi n' Philadelphia:
"To our shamo lm it spoken, all our
flags are grown, spun, woven and dyed
in K.ngiand, and on tho last Fourth of
July tho proud American ensigns which
Heated over every national ship post and
fort and every patriDtlo home Haunted
fnrth upon tho hreezo the industrial de
pendence of America on England."
This wns true not only of bunting but
of tln liphter woollen fabrics In general;
they woro brought from Kuropo because
tt was l-elleved that there was neither
the machinery nor the technical skill
to make them here. Dr. Hayes In this
same address spoke of nn association
of patriotic ladies formed In Washington
In the gloomiest days of the war, who
pledged themselves to wear nothing but
American fabrics, an extremely meagro
range of suitable worsted dress goods of
native production.
There has been a great, significant
change sinco then, and It may be inter
esting to review briefly rjie evolution of
the dress goods Industry In America.
Throughout the period from 1843 to 1850
two favorite fabrics imported from
1'rnnce mid enjoying a wide popularltv
in this country were mousscllno delaines
twenty-two inches wide, and cashier re i,
forty to forty-two inches wide, made
mtlrely of tine, soft wool; the delaines
were produced in both solid and pi In ted
colors. Mindful of the demand for these
l'lpnch goods, William Courtis, an Ameri
can partner in tho commission house of
Thornton, Firth Jr Co., of Hr ad ford and
Manchester, suggested to English manu
facturers that they make a fabrio to bo
known, Anglicized, as muslin delaine, in
Imitation of tho French fabrio but having
a cotton instead of worsted warp and a
somewhat coarser grade of wool for tho
tilling; in other words a stronger, cheaper
fabric, similar in general effect to the
1 tench article but capable of being sold
at a much lower rate. This fabric is
made in different seasons, tho lighter
being called barege delaines, challies,
Persian delaines or Persian cloths. Theso
I jisUih made fabrics in their turn gained
great popularity among the women of
America, and the large sales brought large
profit to the transatlantic manufac
turers. Naturally American manufacturers,
though their urt wa at that time lather
feebly developed, began to ask why they
could not gain some of this pi oil: for
themselves. The honor of being the
pioneer in this important undertaking
belong to John Marland of llallardvalo,
Mass.. in whose mill wore made the first
delaines, printed or dyed, that were pro
duced in America. Tho w ool Was combed
by liana; the cloth was first printed on
Mocks and then cn machines. Mr. Marland
had more ambition than resources and he
lound himself face to face with a stubborn
prejudice against American made fabrics,
a prejudice that it was difilcult to over
come and which woollen manufacturers
of the preset. t day still find confronting
' hem. ho the pioneer undertaking of Mr.
Marland failed. Other manufacturers
aoo could command larger amounts of
in :. repeated thu effort wfth more
s Kve s
Tho Arnoskeac Manufacturing Company
i.t Manchester, N. II,. equipped a
small trill at Hooksett with 2(W loours
iitid began the production of delaines,
vl.kh wero printed at (Ireenwich, It. 1 .
uoilier and larger establishment for tho
manufacture or delaine, tho Mnichester
Mill", was meanwhile founded by stock
nol I ts of the At taikoag Company. At
:.r.t onlv card".l wool was used, but when
the combing midlines succeeded tho hand
; ro 'ess of combing in England and France
ivy wen promptly introduced in Muti
ilt?'.er. The Hamilton Woollen Co:n
; i'.v of Soiithbridg", Mass., which had
i'en manufacturing men's wear, trans-
f .nned is factorv into a dross poods mill
.Hid in 1833 thu r.icillo .Mills at l.awrenco.
Mass , were organised for a similar pur-
i . . e.
The Ameri can mado drc?s goods soon
I'ORiinanded a wide market in this country.
'I hey were attractive nnd durable and
tor manv years proved to be tho leading
!res goods fabrio to tho great majority
.f American purchasers. Tho first Jior-
Ml tariff act, produced not by the civil
r but by the depression and distress of
.7, gavo the American manufacturers
re protection. This Morrill tariff.
i. h was signed by President Buchanan
i. 'i" li I Mil, and
i w a measure designed to lessen!
importation of foreign goods, levied
. u i v on all delaines, cashmere delatne.s,
'in delaines, barcgo delaines composed
'lv or in part of wool 'Hid on all similar
i i.s law not only increased the Federal
' nn at nn opportune time but afforded
'ei tion of woollen iiianufut'turers.
;i tun English manufacturers leal-
1 Mi.it their sales in the American
' et hud decreased they turned their
'.on to stripes and plaids made from
I yams and also to a pieced twilled
. mad'i ith a cotton warn and woollen
led 1 lies, goods competi-d with tho
meric.ui delaines, and local maimfac-
rers were forced to turn their atten
' on to newer fabrics or surrender the
I i ifrfet
I lie art of making dress goods is do
f be( as otiii of tlm most uncertain and
I i.trdous of industries, and the long
ot,tiriued success in the art Is difficult
f attainment, oxertH say Sometimes
' will be all plaided styles, then strips
nd then fancy weaves, brocades in
irge llguros whicli require jacqiiard
looms will be next, perhaps, and plain
weaves follow; sometimes fashion calls
for narrow twills and often for wider
out called series. '11m demand may
for lust rous goods one season and the
i' l f". -?r i 1 . r - . r ,'A5i- r II
I 111 . ' . . JL. 'fct. '. if. - aft II
?iiililSMisy&lC, '
II .."1HHVHE1IZ1 lin4ISHlURB71JOTl.n4T1-l.l. ar,iiaz .1. ... I I 111 I
OFFICES & MILL, ALLEGHENY AVC.& 24TP ST., M
. '
ll ll I
hi ii ii n
Wolstenhol ! 1
II III I III k.
Clarke i
SPINNERS OF i
I Worsted and H jjj t jij I
Worsted Merino i
YARNS j
For Weaving vie. S l! s i ! I I I ! !
and Knitting j M ;: : ; ; ; ; !
PKiladelpliia j j
Fine Fre'nch
Spun Worsted
and Worsted
Merino Yarns
'HOS. WOLSTENriOLME,
ONS & CO. inc.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNA.
ALSO
Bradford Spun Worsted
Tarns for the Weaving
Hosiery, Underwear ,
Sweater and Knitting
Industries,
tr
Hi il
1 'w N
j 'pj J I
i
i
i
i
!
i
j
1 1
i !
! i
i
i
!
:1
JAMES DOAK JR.
COMPANY
.
WORSTED
SPINNERS
KENSINGTON - PHILADELPHIA
ROMANCE IN THE
AUSTRALIAN WOOL
Continued from Eleventh Vage.
like n rope, but "not by laving one across
in" oiner, lor wiov win not hook on
Wool (oes this, and the process by whicli
tibrosare laid across one another so as to
hook on i called carding.
A machine has been invented which .
takes the wool, automatically weighs
It in small quantities everv minute or
t-o and then proceeds to break it up
Afterward it relay the llbre- ncro-s one '
another at every poible angle till thv I
are t-ri limited that when nutomaticall'v
stripped irom ine iai roller tliey come
combs revolve inside a large circular are also nnnuf.irtiired In Australia and
comb and tear the white band that was sold to .Japan as fast a-, they uro mado.
fed to them fibre from llbre. delivering The thread is made from comled wool
the short wcol and other cuts Into. i evlin-' by driwing it out and spinning it. That
der beneath and passing out at tho back thread in which all the P. 'ires had been
in a continuous band of gleaming white ilaid carefiillv alongside hard faced and
wool. The combed wool is gathered into Uhlny and Is called worsted. Tho soft
an even band a few Inches wide and thread made by the carding process Is
wrapped round and round Into largo balls, called woollen. Of ono of tho two or
neonle sav that they must, because of on
eiernai argument mm .iii-uin m , ,( iv,r. ..r .1.1 Vi.T. .
Austra ians. -They mus be good. 1 Hey ,'."'.-"..V'"..",';!.,""
idiw '..t,i it, !...,-;.. " I. i . ..iw , mu sue mwi mill U1IIICUU to
par- I
11 '
Merlv without
Camels are used to carry bales of wool
as well as liullociis ann norses. on
in a dry year strings or camels for tlie
centre of Autraha. from the very tur-
Ltliest civilization, may be seen coming
Into the railway, euch with two bales ot
wool slung across their hump.
lite wool is inaeji down nj ine railway
to Svdtlev to tho wool tales 'Inward
the end of the winter a number ol out
siders nrrive to buy the wool at the .syd-n-v
sales, Nearly ail Sydney wool goes
to outsiders. Last year most or It went
to Krance. France take WH.uon Dales.
Knuland m&.ixki, Oermaiiy L'25,000, ltel
glinn HI .ono, America 27,H00 and Japan
H.ooo. I'he amount of wool hiiRlanil iiuy.-
Irotu New olltil Wales hum halved in Hie
last ten ve'irs. As late as tile time ot trie
lioer war r.nithiiid boiiirht m per cent or
all the wool ir mi .syitiiey and outsiders
on lv an l
ner rent an
Th'l.iiglisharem.t pr.-at manufacturers
of Australian wool, i.liile the foreigners
are Hie I Irl 1 1-ll lo not specialize in
manufai tiinng line wools, iney use i
their own wool from tho 3o.wn.ouo!
. ... . .. .. ... i. . i iii.t' i
slio'P still in ine nriiisii isies. ii i.- hiuk rjnj(V il.n.al-
anil coiirii enu Keueraii umh ui mr itm- i
111! Ot serges l lltlll rollgll twceils llllll ( loins . AN-OHtllU WAV or IltHKAIIt.NO. I
for men's clothes. They do not specialn:e ,. I FRONT VIEW OF OPERATIVES' ATTRACTIVE HOME
ill the liner fHhriM lor women wear. V. " "'. ".?.". ' " ".'.".T ' Mnnruv nv tue maim ctdcctg AVn dcvt i
while Ciermanv and Krance do that mis """" " -si wm; u-oi.os ie
is the original ren-oit whv Mnglund al-i;; the tits;. Iiistea I or mixing up the ,
wavs sets the fashion in men s dress while i fibres mid entangling them it tnake.s a
woiuen's fashions ar t by Pans, and I thiead iiiucli usa thread of cotton is in.ide, K
. . . ... i it . l.e I.I1T1.T tin, fllin.u fuifilll !. I. cv-ilo ,.,.,
that is wnv rrencn nun iterinuns uin t v ....... ......
merino more than the l-u;i ..Ii. h is another and then drawing them out. It
noticed that line merino wool which wind I js "'it much use using short wool ami
out sixty-four shanks to tho pound i ip:u to bind them by gmng them a
bought In Australia bv the Krench and twit tor owing to itiul!li lent leiigl h thev
fiermalis. Thev seldom go below nixty- I ;" tl,m" l",,': Mr,'i"''1' , ' "r
nil i'Mmiii I'S. "'I'.l H.l. ti Hi" il-el nil
mal.itiK tins tbn'iid. The wool if Mr.
cleared of any -hort flbies that ar in it
and combed out For this purpose there
is a machine in which two small circular
l ir no Syitiiey and outsiders .
.a. yearWland boiighulll, Jj ' ( ,
" ' "th'TS 72 j of i;, pI.illl. m al ,j
llllll
naiKlle, .uolit a hundreil narrow
allel band imihb through this flini and eaci
rairics oil on its sutface a continuous
strip of it Kach delivers its strip be
tweeii a pair of leather rollers which nib
their eiirlnee continually buikwurd and
forward ns the wcol 'works through,
roll, d and without imv twist It looks
like a thread .t knitting wool, but with
no twist or si,en;th lliese slivers are
taken to the spinning Inline, perhaps
!n lniinlr.il of tiiem lit n time The end
of each is llcd onto one row of pindl"s,
The spindleM automatically retreat across
I the lloi.r. dn.wiiig out liie hundred of !
j sott threads after them and then start I
revolving .". fs) tin" s it. the minute ach,
windii,,: the 'hr"...i .in. .ii self and giwug
it a t.i'-' iii.d tb fr.itii" slowly works
i back ti tic mi .ei t. mi i at the process
Ihe iliin. t-1 it it ' v,...'in thread v.niili
nits i- calleil ' . ' ' 'i varn or card. I
ll. lilui s stick out
ir. I. n ar.il i :t
111 sol'r, Hut!) to', ei ii.i;, a r. -ult ' : ! 'I
I the niiicl..iie p.-'tallv nim A s....ri
.wool i siiflli ,..nt Inr the entangniit
process and gues a -ofter surface, and ,
that is hv si. urt wools are u-ed for
THESE ARE VERY
MODERN, ON THE MAIN STREETS. AND RENT FOR ONLY $2.50 PER
WEEK.
lour, the English seldom above.
A.MKKICASS (IKT THK Ili'.ST Of Al'STIIAI.l a'.S
WOOL.
Hut. the best Australian wool is. however,
taken by the Americans. They will
pav anv price for it, the highest in Vic
toria. "The best Australian wool is un
approachable, clean, bright wool.
Through the (ionium, French ami
American buying in Au-trnliii many or
the I'.nglish manufacturers have been
forced to follow suit, but the Kngli.-h
prefer to buy at the IajihIoii sales, whete
they can choose their time. In the old
davs all the Australian wool was sold
in 'London. Th londoii sales are still
the biggest ill the world, but every Aus
tralian State except Western Australia
has its own sales, and they aro growing
larger all the time Wool is sold in two
places in Victoria, Melbourne and (ice.
long The Sydney sales, which aie bigger
than all tho other Australian Slates put
together, aie coming near the London
sales. Thern were 1 ,(i4.-i,0o;i bales of
Australian wool sold in London last year
and -.V.'.W) in Sydney. The only other
town in I'.uiope where wool auctions take
place in Antwerp.
That the Lnglish prefer to buv in London
is not enough to account for the decrease
of the Knglih Sydney trade, because
since. K.ngiand bought r. jur rent, of the
wool leaving Sydney tho increase in the
Svdnev trade has only Ixen 11 percent .
w:hile 'the decrease 111 the wool fallen by
the English from Sydnv has been M,
K.ngiand is the largest buy r at other
Australian sales, but nearly all the Sydney
as an UVOW(,dwoolgestotlieCGi.tin.iit.
SF.i.LiMn Tin: wnoi,.
tlx it travels through what are known as
gill boxes. It combs the fibres parallel
and druws the band nut.
I lie wool in this stage is called a top.
It is possible to draw th thread out miii
spin it into thread th"ti and there,
but for th most part ihe lactone stop
there atirt sell the toil. Ihe ui.iK.iik ot
a combination of both all woollen cloths
are made. The threads aro dyed and tho
varicolored threads of tho pitteni in
tended t.i lie woven are arranged In their
I older before being taken to the loom and
there inerhmleally arranged, The nun
'who arranges the order of the warn his
in his hind a paixr with a few niimliers
tons is one of the areal industries in Uriel-1 on it At the loom, running nornondicu
lord, Kngland, as it is in America. Tops j larly from top to bottom of it, is a chain to Puma Arenas
somewhat like a bicycle chain with differ
ent projections on different links. That
scribbled paper and blcyclo chain are tho
pattern.
Kn-nntlme the warn consists of worsted
threads and tho weft of woollen thread.
Sometimes they are both woollen or
both worsted. After weaving the cloth
is sometimes milled or felted, as It is called,
by being soaked In a solution of soap and
water and then passed between heavy
rollers which cause tho scales of oacli
wool tlbro to Interlock and when the cloth
comes out there Is not a trace of the in
dividual thread loft. Tho cloth Is smooth,
solid felt. Afterward something like n
lawn mower moves over the face of it,
shears off the long fibres and leaves a
soft down.
WOOL IN THE ARGENTINE.
Story ot the Derllne and Recovery of the
Industry There.
Hardly second in Importance to Australia
as a wool growing country eom the
South American sheep lands of Argen
tina, Patagonia, Punta Arenas and the
Falkland Islands, In most years Aus
tralia ha4 produced tho greater bulli
but ooaio!iaUy South America has
come out ahead, and it is likely to do so
more In future owing to tho remarkuVle
developments taking place,
ln 1S4-' Henri Solauot, u Frenchman.
began to shear the comparatively few
sheep around llucnos Ayres. Ills example
was noon followed by Kdouard Ollveni
and Jost Planer. 'Iho idea came to theso
pioneers of importing well bred rams, and t of Uto years are remarkable and are nai tlv
as South Americ? is essentially a ljitln -uo to tho eflorts of immigrants itoin
countrv it was natur.i that the French ,"" '"-,"a"u'. "" "a,e iiaroaitceii
(locks should bo lirst drawn on. On
account of the development of the me.it
trade these breoders sought after sheep
of heavy weight.
This led to the Introduction of the
Lincoln ram and in 1885 the development
of the cross breeds. The cross was mainly
favored owing to the skill of the Bradford
spinners, who made excellent use of the (
crossbred wool produced. Flocks or
sheep were lirst introduced into the Falk
land Islands in isn; nnd from thenne
The woollen industry
In tho country w.vi or small proper! Ifi
and while a good deal of oot was ep.ictn!
It was of Inferior quality
Coincident with the progress of breed
ing In Australia tho Argentine .ranches
had been running to seed and It wi.s
seen that an Important chango would
have to como over the methods of tho
country to mako it a success hi later
years. In 1832 Argentina had over two
million sheep, which were chiefly main
tained for tho quality of tho meat, as only
six million pounds of wool wa shipped.
In the old days Spain prohibited tho
export of her valuable merino sheep to
foreign countries, but the colonies were
fortunate enough not to be included in the
prohibition, and in 13J the first merinos
appeared troni Peru.
About the beginning of tho nineteenth
century Spanish rams were bioiight to
the Aigeiitine and otherw. chiefly from
France and Saxony. Ily ism the Argen
tine wool had so grentiy improvtsl mat
it was exported to Liigland. Kortv yearn
ago Hie exports consisted only of 'merino
wool, but now seven-eighths or ihem
aro crossbred.
For this change there aro two reasons,
tl list thd rich, loamy soil does nit suit
merinos, which are likely to deteriorate
in rank pasture; and secondly, tint trade
in frozen moat has mado great strides.
The Llncoltmhlro breeders drive a
flourishing trad" with Iluenos Ayres
and as much as St,(yt in often given for
u ram. There used to bo a prejudiro In
Hradford against Argentine wool, but u
is ciisapiieariiig, although tho Australian
product still letches a bomuwhat higher
price.
itm improvements in sheep breedtna
effective cures for foot rot and otherblieep
diseases.
Up to 16IKI the majorily of the Argen
tine sheep were weak orossbrod.s tad such
good blood a.- remained had been weak
ened by owrcrosslng. The hardy Lin
coln brought health and energy to the
enteebled masses mid bree:lors'made it
a business to rear hardy sluep and obtain
u good nwiMgo without going to extreme
for any particlar s.tock.
To-I.iy the Argentine ships wool to tho
world's market and clibfly to the Conti
nent, though tin. liritish buyem tike a
Urge percentage. There ate to-day over
80,000,000 sheep that produce thi-i wool.
"U for fabrics with a dead finish. So
1 turns of fashion and the successful
I .annfactuiur of to-day must have the
I er not only to anticipate these Chang
s' demand, which bear heavily upon
the inaimfacturer''j Ingenuity and financial
resources.
The act.nl wool sold in the exchanges
is lying miles away in the cities under
low, i lark Moors, but about the third
part of tho lot is on tho top lloor under
the bright glare of tlm skylights, every
bale flit open for the buyers' inspection.
During the morning tho buyers, iil.ul in
white overalls, catalogue .u hand, sample
even- lot of tho store lint happens to Ui
1 . ..in.. I -,..! ..' ,1... ...1....I.
vjl!ll 'liiu Ilia it." ,i in ho til lie- i.i e . ne ii
they nn piei nred lo give. Th brokei.s'
price Is also printed theie. Then Ihn
huywrs go back to their chambers in thu
royal exchange and the liliu'ii auulonror
has his tut n. When a man h.-is bought
his lot tin goes back to tho top Hour of
the wool Bloio and Inspect all. the bales.
If he finds a luilo of pieces has been marked
fleece by mistake the Nile is withdrawn. If
the Htdtlou li's forgotten lo put its
brand on the bain and the wool store paints
it on instead thm is a protest at once.
Noonoiiuv tii:nlta lirilo except the grower.
These wool stores are a wonderful sight.
Scattered about tho city, somi of them
havo a floors pace oontalnmg, thirty miles
of hardwood joints, four inlles of iron
bark girders and Hio miles of Mooring.
Tho next treatment of the wool after
It has lieen bought Is carding and comb
ing. Carding and combing are two difler
ent ways of making woollen thread.
Tho two threads may 1st equally strong,
but they look different, they fool dilferent
and have different uses. 'I he reason why
wool is more valuable than hair or cotton
is that when the horny threads of wool
are laid across ono another they inter
lock. Cotton fibres rimy lio bound by
laying thwm parallel ami twisting them
It!
IICJCKANbM MID.
MINTS KWIKN Mil.,!.
SPKINCiVM.l.f. MILL
' , tittt E.NGUND MILL fYth
HOCKANUM MILLS COMPANY, Rockville, Connecticut.
HOCKANUM ASSOCIATION, New York City.