Bill of Particulars

Many a consumer, stung with high-priced, shoddy goods, has fervently wished he could tell off the manufacturer. Last week, mild-mannered Ephraim Freedman, who runs the testing laboratory for R. H. Macy & Co., got the job done. "Shortsightedness and selfish interests are hampering the production and delivery of the kinds of goods consumers require at prices they can afford to pay," said he at a textile symposium in Manhattan.

There were exceptions, of course, but he charged the textile industry with profiteering on poor quality goods. His bill of particulars: polo shirts and quilts with "nonwashable sewing threads"; printed dress fabrics that "not only cannot withstand perspiration . . . but cannot even withstand water without staining"; women's woolens that fade in sunlight; taffeta and moire finishes "that disappear when wet"; "socalled washable fabrics [that] shrink 6, 7 and 8%"; raincoats that shrink in the rain.

"The textile industry," said Freedman, "has continued to up prices and has kept quality down . . . When consumers refuse to buy, because of price, the tendency appears to be to take something out of quality to produce a lower-priced item . . . This is not going to help the textile business . . . business in general, or, for that matter, free enterprise."

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