12/1 with 31,319 pounds, and then by 14/1, 10/1, 14/2, and 8/1. Of the 1918 imports, 51,500 pounds were of 20/2 and 4,000 pounds of 6/1, leaving very little to be distributed among other counts.

Imports of Turkey-red yarns are partly in the skein and partly on 1-pound cheeses or tubes; each bale usually contains 40 or 50 papercovered bundles. Normally, a bundle of yarn is supposed to weigh 10 pounds, but the Turkey-red yarns from Germany were noted on invoices as weighing between 10 pounds 4 ounces and 11 pounds 4 ounces. The extra weight above the 10 pounds represents the weight added in dyeing.

Imports of Turkey-red yarns for towels, by counts and sources.

Statements by the trade.—The following statements are given as indicative of the opinion prevalent in the trade as to the necessity for the import of Turkey-red yarns. The largest towel manufacturer

states:

We have never been able to find a domestic Turkey-red yarn that will stand the caustic bleach which we have to give our towels, and this is the only reason we purchase the imported yarns; and for this reason we do not consider the domestic yarns at all. We understand that an American dye firm is now working on this, and we hope that they are successful in producing a color that will stand the caustic bleach. The second largest American towel manufacturer added his corroboration:

We have never been able to obtain any satisfactory Turkey-red yarn dyed in this country.

A large finishing plant which specializes in dyeing and bleaching cotton yarns reported in September 1918:

To the best of our knowledge there is no Turkey red being dyed in this country at the present time, and even before the war there were only one or two concerns dyeing a shade which was comparable in fastness to the imported article. The term "Turkey red" should be applied only to the shade produced by the dyeing of alizarine on an aluminum mordant and processed in such a way that the resultant color is fast to a caustic kier boil. The term has, however, been applied rather loosely to an "alizarine red" which is chemically the same but due to differences in the mordanting and dyeing operations is not as fast and will not stand a caustic boil. As far as we know, there is no alizarine red of any description being dyed in this country, owing to the fact that alizarine disappeared from the market soon after the war broke out and none has been imported or manufactured in this country since that time.

MISCELLANEOUS COTTON-WEAVING YARNS.

The imports of voile yarns, crêpe yarns, and Turkey-red yarns for towels have been analyzed in preceding pages. In addition to these specialties the American cotton weaving industry uses a certain amount of imported yarns of a more general character; the proportion of these used in the manufacture of any specific cloth is, necessarily, not capable of being defined so precisely. The total, however, amounted to 388,789 pounds in 1914 and declined to 92,487 pounds in 1918.

In 1914 the leading count imported was 39/2 with 130,671 pounds; this was followed by 78/2 with 101,917 pounds, 38/2 with 56,494 pounds, and 120/2 with 24,838 pounds. In 1918 the main count was 78/2 with 25,567 pounds, followed by 64/1 with 16,252 pounds, 98/2 with 14,302 pounds, and 66/1 with 10,813 pounds.

Of the 1918 imports it is possible to state that the 64/1 and the 66/1 were for balloon cloths, that there were small amounts of 78/3 and 76/3 for airplane and balloon cloths, and that some of the 78/2 were for weaving venetians.

These English weaving yarns were usually classed as carded or supercarded up to 78s; above 78s they were mainly combed, though some of them were invoiced as supercarded. Most of these yarns imported in 1914 were carded whereas in 1918 combed yarns predominated, because the excessive prices prevailing in 1918 permitted the import of only the finer yarns for which it was more difficult to find satisfactory substitutes. Imports are normally almost entirely in the gray and the amount of dyed yarn is inconsiderable. No particular finish was required for most of these yarns. A portion, amounting to about a third in 1914 and less in 1918, was ordered gassed; the amount mercerized before import was very small.

Imported yarns are preferred to the domestic in the making of certain kinds of cotton cloths because of the quality of the material, method of manufacture, or finish, rather than because of their lower price, though the price may in normal times account for a minor portion of the total. Imported yarns are used also to some extent in weaving fabrics to compete with special goods, such as venetians and marquisettes, imported from England. Yarn imports in this line are normally almost entirely 2-ply, and it is said that the British doubler turns out ply yarns that are more evenly twisted and therefore rounder and more lustrous than can be purchased locally. Weaving yarns of Egyptian cotton are not made for sale in this country to any extent, and this fact alone accounts for part of the imports. Some of these yarns are gassed for use in that condition, but a small portion of the gassed yarns are mercerized after import.

The fact that gassing is cheaper abroad and mercerization cheaper in the United States accounts for the smallness of the imports of mercerized yarns; fine weaving mills which may require some foreign yarns have either their own mercerization plants or established arrangements for mercerization to be done on commission.

Imports of miscellaneous cotton weaving yarns, by counts and sources.

WEAVING YARNS FOR MIXED SILKS.

Of the total imports of weaving yarns the largest item is that of yarns for use in making mixed-silk goods. In most such goods the warp is of silk and the filling of cotton. There is a steadily increasing manufacture in the United States of mixed-silk goods; in 1914 the census showed that the silk industry as a whole used about 1 pound of cotton yarn to every 2 pounds of silk, and that in addition the cotton mills were becoming large competitors in the manufacture of cotton-back satins and dominated the trade in many lines of silkand-cotton fancies.

In 1914 the total import, so far as ascertainable from invoices, amounted to 653,679 pounds, of which 207,195 pounds consisted of 78/2, 123,919 pounds of 16/1, 50,894 pounds of 50/1, 40,806 pounds of 120/2, and 28,487 pounds of 98/2. In 1918 the total amounted to 304,647 pounds, of which 103,093 pounds consisted of 120/2, 42,404 pounds of 98/2, and 32,100 pounds of 115/2. In 1914 these yarns were chiefly under 78s whereas in 1918 they were mostly above 78s. Yarns for making broad silks of silk and cotton were chiefly 2-ply yarns for use in women's dress goods, men's necktie goods, slipper satin, and the like, including some fancy cloths. In most instances the warp was of silk and the filling was of cotton, though the tie silks were mostly silk filled, the warp being of cotton and the filling of silk or of artificial silk. These yarns were for the most part rather soft twist; for instance 78/2 combed gassed mercerized skeins were usually made with 22/24 turns twist, which is between mercerizing twist and

medium twist and which compares with 30 turns usual twist for ordinary cotton weaving.

In 1914 there was included in the total an import of 245,763 pounds of single yarns, but in 1918 this had declined to only 8,872 pounds of single yarns. The almost complete cessation of imports of single yarns accounts for most of the decline noted in the import of cotton yarns for making broad silks. The majority of the imports of single counts were listed as "gray combed Egyptian pincops." Some were made of American cotton; most of the small import from France, for instance, was invoiced as "fils de coton d'Amerique peignée. The fact that these imports were on pincops shows that they were imported for use in shuttles, as filling. As stated above, the main count in 1914 was 16/1; others, in the order named, were 36/1, 39/1, 20/1, 30/1, 24/1, 40/1, 49/1, and 50/1. In 1918 the import of such yarns was confined to 40/1, 36/1, and 50/1. The coarse counts imported in 1914 were used in making various kinds of silk mixtures, largely in the manufacture of cotton-back satins. In normal times yarns finer than 30/1 were in the main used for making union taffeta umbrella cloth, and all of those imported in 1918 were so used.

One of the largest manufacturers of umbrella cloths states that previous to the war he imported from 50,000 to 75,000 pounds a year of the three counts, 36/1, 40/1, and 50/1; part of the 36/1, the leading count, being carded and part combed while the 40/1 and 50/1 were always combed. The war dislocated his purchasing arrangements so that in 1915 he imported only 19,855 pounds; in 1916 he obtained 97,419 pounds, which dropped to 27,120 pounds in 1917, whereas in 1918 he found foreign prices relatively so high that he ceased buying abroad. He states:

For your guidance we may say that for the past 10 years we have never ceased trying to induce domestic spinners to duplicate foregin spinning, but for some reason or other they were not able to make a yarn equal to the foreign yarn. However, we are glad to say that we are able to obtain now domestic yarns which under present conditions, at least, can be used as a substitute; and we hope that some day the yarns turned out will prove to be equal to the foreign-spun yarn. Of course, if this hope will not be realized, we will have to import this yarn again, in order to be able to compete against imported merchandise; and, as you know, this merchandise was always imported at extremely low figures.

Single and 2-ply imported for weaving mixed-silk goods were generally combed, and the proportion of carded yarns was much less in 1918 than in 1914. Almost all of the 1918 imports were in the gray but in 1914 there was a small import of dyed yarns. Most of the cotton yarns imported for silk weaving were gassed or mercerized, or were subjected to both finishing processes.

Imports of weaving yarns for mixed silks, by counts and sources.

Silk velvets are generally made with a spun-silk pile and a cotton ground or back. The cotton yarns used for this purpose in largest amounts are 60/2, 80/2, and 100/2. Formerly these were almost entirely imported, but about 1914 American spinning mills, especially southern mills, began to improve and to increase their output of 60/2. It is stated by velvet manufacturers that the cessation of imports of this count was only hastened by the war as the southern yarns would in any event have supplanted the imported. Some manufacturers state that 60/2 southern Peeler yarns are better quality than imported 60/2 Egyptian. The 78/2, the main count imported for velvet backs, also encounters strong competition from domestic yarns. The small amount of finer yarns used are mainly imported from abroad. The small production of light-weight velvets, requiring 100/2 and 120/2 cotton yarns, occasionally running as fine as 140/2, is now being increased, and domestic spinners are beginning to compete on the 100/2 as the quantity required makes its production more worth while. In addition to the regular 2-ply there are to be noted small imports of "velvet filling" in such counts as 60/1 and 70/1.

In 1914 the import of cotton yarns for the velvet industry amounted to 233,992 pounds and in 1918 to 134,549 pounds. In 1914 the main import was 78/2, with 67,366 pounds and 79/2 with 50,725 pounds, followed by 60/2, 99/2, and 59/2; in 1918 the main import was again 78/2, with 80,500 pounds (79/2 having dropped to 8,600 pounds), but was followed by 120/2, 98/2, 59/2, and 79/2, in the order stated.