VISIT TO A KHAKI MILL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 30 March 1915, Page 8

VISIT TO A KHAKI MILL

NEW ZEALAND WOOL THE BEST. The extraordinary change that his come over the colour scheme of every English town is not due to tho weather but to the war. East year at this time navy blue ■was the predominant note in the street. The navy is still predominant but on the seas rather than the street. It is a colour that won't run, except "in the direction of the enemy. •On the streets there is only one colour _n aw—khaki. To walk down the principal street pf any town clad in any other colour is to feel as though you had strayed into a in flannels and a ' straw hat. There are comparatively few men occupied in the making of soldiers -clothes. All the -weaves were women at this mill in West Riding, and, indeed, the majoiTly oj the - workers seemed to be 'of the female .sex. "There is an infallible test for khaki." wa were told.'"lf you take a piece of cloth and squeeze it up as tightly as •possible in your hand, and when you loosen it it springs back yotr may be sure it is made of new wool —if there is any foreign substance in it it will crease up." . ... . ,j "Will it spring back if it contains Old wool remade?" "No, only with new wool," we were to'.d. . 'Commencing with the department where the wool was in sheep's back state, we watched it as we passed from room to room and loom to loom, being made!into long strands and wound on ' to various machines. ' and threaded and twisted until it is taken to the weaving rooms, where it is woven into cloth, and then.sent down to be -'•pounded' and "milled" a'nd steamed and" dried, until ' the perfectly finished article is ready to . turn out the soldier ready for the front. The officer asked if it was not true that a great- deal of shoddy had been «ent out. and the manufacturer said that it. was the fault of the Territorial Association, who had the ordering of own khaki, and," thinking to go one better than the War Office, they cut down their price, with the Tesult that- the\ cot inferior stuff. But he trusted in the

War Office. They knew what they were about, and they would not inferior stuff- Anything that was ordered by the "War Office one might be certain was good and. reliable stuff. , The clatter of innnumerab.e looms m the : weaving -rooms was simply deafening, and to be heard one had to shout into the ear of one's neighbour. - Use must really be second nature, for none of the weavers appeared to be in the slkrhtest way affected. a " lce "occupation if you have got a bit of a "next morning" head TJP°ii y°ii. Ot coarse, von'd have to take the day off. - \nd taking the day off means something to the khaki manufacturer just now, for the work starts at- six in the ororninf and- does not finish until eig . ?SS*A »i»M- This is by spec,a permission of the Government, who, at an> other time, would certainly not allow such hours, but with the stress it is ne cessarv to work at high pressure. We'were inspecting the different kinds of'regulation cloth supplied to the W" Office. There were three kinds—the ,material for riding breeches, the serge- for SS and what, *as called the regulation tartan for trousers. This is not •the kind of tartan that the Scotch would - recognise as.a tartan, but- a delicate mixedVolonr which, on the face of: it ..seems aietelv. khiki, as we know it, though with the bloom of spring upon it> . por the clothing of a million men a reasonable, estimate is that five to six million yards, of cloth is required, but with the rough weai-that is given at the front, especially in the trenches the lif* of'a suit is' short, and it will be seeD that the output of army cloth must continue for some time at the present r<ut> Most of "the army cloths "e maniifar taxed! from Crossbred wool. a . land crossbreds being largely used, and are described technically as being of good colour, sound and strong and onen 4ti staple, working ireely, and produc-ing-good and strong yarns. A"^ crLbreds. are also being utilised and tome of the Down wools and Shropt"he early days of the war rpany manufacturers accepted large ordcrs at ?ow prices, but with the increased demand crossbred woo.s rose "P""? azainst them-, and m many cases the returns did not cover working expenses. Quotations therefore had to be mi c I?? later The Government- stipulate the strength, elasticity, etc., this man--11 designation, cloth drab mixture greatcoat. waterproofed. Dye,-fast dyes to be equal to .those m the sample. ■ Woven,. prunella. j Width, 56 inches within the lists. Weight -per yard, of 36 inches, 330z to 3340z.'-. _ . Finish, back as pattern. Supp.ies mu,t be thoroughlv shrunk and waterproofed. The pattern tests are as follow: Warp 19*-threads per half-inch. Weft 23 threads per half-inch. Test per Goodbrand and Holland s machine '6g inches, bv 9 inch gauge (7 inches .between the clamps). Streneth. Elasticity. Warp --- 280'.b Warp ... 3 inches Weft - - 3401b Weft ... 4 inches TTiis gives you some idea that the manufacturer cannot palm any inferior goods off if he wished to do so. It is Ikid, however, that the methods of testing need revision The weight at breaking point and the * elasticit\ satisfies the "experts if the necessary fineness is retained, bit the qualities of the cloth are rot .ndicated The stretching, releasing, bendme and rubbing actions to which all c.oths are subjected to ■ in ' wear rf .-ti consideration jt i* also said that the precise statement of "ends and picks" per half-inch is absurd.