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Rags.
Rags are derived from the following sources : private houses, tailors', shirtmakers' and
dressmakers' workshops, dustbins, refuse dumps and refuse disposal works, the factories of clothing
manufacturers, government departments (Military, Naval and Air Force redundant and obsolete
stocks and badly worn and used materials), hospitals and institutions, public companies (railway,
omnibus and tram depots).
The purveyors of rags are: the itinerant rag and bone dealer, the retail rag dealer or marine
store keeper and the wholesale rag merchant.
The trade avenues through which household rags pass are briefly: (i) the householder,
who disposes of household rags either to an itinerant rag and bone dealer or to a rag shop (retail
rag merchant) or marine store; (ii) the itinerant rag and bone dealer, who either sells them to a
retail rag merchant or marine store or to a wholesale rag merchant; (iii) the retail rag dealer or
marine store keeper, who sells them to a wholesale rag merchant.
Tailors, shirtmakers and dressmakers cuttings are either sold to the retail rag dealer or the
wholesale rag merchant, the quantity for disposal being generally the deciding factor.
Rags are reclaimed from dustbins and refuse dumps by individuals known as ' totters.'
They sort the refuse for rags and dispose of them to retail rag dealers. This form of activity is
the most unsavoury in the trade. The rags thus salvaged are usually dirty and wet, and most
reputable wholesale rag merchants do not care to handle them. In some districts, where there arc
several streets given over to a kerb collection of refuse, the ' totter ' constitutes a nuisance,
and one local authority has successfully prosecuted certain of them, on the grounds that such
salvaging was a form of theft since the refuse so deposited was the property of the local authority.
It would appear that ' totting ' is not officially recognised by the sanitary authorities in London,
but that it is done extensively is obvious. For instance, in one borough some 55 streets are subject
to kerb collection, and the activities of the ' totter' in certain busy streets constitute a real
nuisance.
In two boroughs adjacent to London in which inquiries were made, salvaging is effected by
the dustman, who removes the rags at the time of emptying the dustbin into the refuse collecting
vehicle and places them in a basket suspended from the rear of the vehicle. Only one Metropolitan
Borough Council carries out salvage operations at its refuse destructor works. The rags salvaged
in these boroughs are usually sold to a wholesale rag merchant. All other forms of rag are sold
direct to the wholesale rag merchant either by contract or by public auction.
The itinerant rag and bone dealer does not usually sort his rags. The retail rag dealer
sorts rags into from 12 to 15 grades. The wholesale rag merchant sorts into about 60 to 70 trade
grades, but these may be further sorted into as many as 600 to 700 grades, depending on demand,
colour, fineness of weave, etc. The wholesale rag merchant disposes of them as follows:—
Woollens (knitts, serges, etc.) Yorkshire and foreign shoddy mills.
Cottons and linens:—
(а) fines Good quality note and bank note paper and artists' paper
mills.
(б) seconds Ordinary paper and blotting paper mills.
(c) large pieces and mutton Garages, printing works and other establishments using
cloths, etc machinery.
Garments, waterflock, carpet
and gunny Flock manufacturers.
Low rags Roofing felt manufacturers.
The only form of rag that is cleansed in any way is the wiper. This is the large piece of
cotton or linen material sold for use in garages and machine shops for wiping the machines,
etc. A large proportion of the rags used for this purpose is the knitted material used for protecting
carcases of imported meat during transit. The finest cotton rags are sold to French
polishers and kindred trades.
One laundry is engaged solely in washing and cleansing rags. Approximately 100
tons a week are dealt with. The rags are subjected to the following process: (i) soaking
in clean main water, (ii) washing and boiling in soft water and disinfecting chemicals including
chloride of lime at 212° F. several times, (iii) drying with hot air at 260° F. by rotary machines
which are fitted for dust extraction.
It is stated that meat cloths lose 33.3 per cent., and ordinary rags 12.5 per cent., of their
weight in washing.
If required, a certificate of cleanliness and sterility is obtainable from the borough medical
officer of health.
After cleansing, the rags are returned to the wholesale rag merchants who pack them
in paper and sell them by the pound. All other rags are baled under pressure, without cleansing,
to facilitate ease of transport.
Apart from the wiper, the trade generally is opposed to the idea of cleansing rags, maintaining
that, broadly speaking, they are in a clean state (the amount of rags reclaimed from dustbins
and refuse dumps and disposal works being relatively small), and that to whatever end they
may be employed, the particular process to which they are then subjected invariably effectively
sterilises them. Furthermore, it is considered that the subjecting of woollens to the strong
chemical cleansing which would have to be applied, would be such as to denature them and would
make them useless for the manufacture of shoddy. The cost of washing would also inflate
the price to such an extent as to make it unprofitable to trade in them at current prices, and