Valuable work was done in substituting cotton thread for linen. Linen thread became so scarce that the Ordnance Department commandeered the whole supply. This worked havoc in the shoe industry, and as a result the Council of National Defense secured from the Ordnance Department enough linen thread to take care of the Army shoe contracts. Nevertheless it was discovered that cotton thread might be substituted for linen in many industries. In fact, it often proved to be better than linen.
Valuable standard tests for waterproof cloth were also worked out. These tests were developed at the Bureau of Chemistry, a branch of the Department of Agriculture in Washington. In these tests cloth was required to withstand a deluge of water equivalent in intensity to a tropical rain, and also to undergo a dry temperature of 120° Fahrenheit. There were also tests to determine under what conditions the cloth would mildew. These tests are expected to have a use in the waterproof-goods industry in normal times.
Another important contribution of the Army to peace-time industry was the design of the over-suit for the use of truck drivers. This was a waterproof garment, air-tight and cold-proof. It is expected that this new garment will continue in commercial use.
The principal items of rubber goods bought by the Army were rubber boots and overshoes, raincoats, and slickers. The production of rubber boots for the Army took practically the entire capacity of all mills in the United States, the rubber boot manufacturers having pledged themselves to discontinue their civilian business until the needs of the Government were taken care of. Of different types of rubber boots, the purchases were considerably over 4,000,000 pairs, at the cost of $20,500,000.
Incidentally there was worked out an improvement in rubber boots to prevent them from blistering the heels of wearers. It was discovered that a rubber boot blisters the heel because it rubs slightly as the wearer walks, no matter how well fitted to the foot the boot may be. To the specifications for the Army's rubber boots was added the requirement that straps be incorporated in the article to be buckled both around the ankle and around the instep, thus holding the boot so that it can not slip.
Raincoats caused a good deal of trouble, as there was not a sufficient manufacturing capacity in this country to meet the requirements. Practically all stocks of commercial raincoats were purchased, on the theory that even a poor cover was better than none. As these garments were made for civilian use, they were not built according to Army specifications, and considerable criticism was made as to their quality.
When the manufacture of raincoats commenced on a large scale, many new concerns went into the business, and some of them, either through lack of experience or through carelessness or intent, made garments that were not properly cemented. This led to investigations and indictments. The total purchases of ponchos, raincoats, and slickers amounted to about 10,000,000 garments, costing over $46,000,000.
In all 7,000,000 service hats of felt were manufactured on orders placed by the War Department. The felt for these hats was made of rabbit fur imported from Australia, New Zealand, and Russia and produced in the United States. Hats were made principally at Danbury, Conn., and Fall River, Mass., with smaller sources of supply at Yonkers and Peekskill, N. Y., and Reading, Pa.
The numerous requirements of the Army for pillows created a shortage in feathers. In all there were manufactured on Government order 500,000 pillows weighing 2½ pounds each. It had been the original intention to fill these pillows with duck feathers; but when the American duck-feather supply was exhausted and thousands of the ducks of China had given up their plumage for the comfort of the American soldiers, and still there were not enough feathers for the pillows, adulterations with goose feathers and other light plumage were permitted.
The procurement of leather for the Army, both the raw material and the finished products of leather, was one of the most important undertakings, the principal war uses for leather being in shoes for the soldiers and in harness for the horses and mules.