Measures for Progress: A History of the National Bureau of Standards

176 THE WAR YEARS (1917-19)
industry ceased making high-buttoned shoes, at one stroke solving the
problem of civilian uppers and making a genuine contribution, however
temporary, to foot comfort and esthetics. On the other hand, at least one
of the hundreds of composition sc.les submitted to the Bureau proved almost
as durable as leather under ordinary usage, though unsuitable for shoes
destined for hard wear overseas.4' The infantry got the leather.
Bureau tests of paper substitutes and the search for new uses for
paper were more successful, resulting, in a critical area, in partial replace-
ment of tin cans by impregnated paper containers for shipping greases and
soaps, and paper barrels for shipping pitch or asphalt. A paper made in
the Bureau mill from jUte and manila rope stock appeared especially promis-
ing. An exceedingly strong paper, it was intended as a substitute for the
linen fabrics used to cover airplane wings. But it came too late. The
substitute actually used for scarce linen was a mercerized cotton fabric de-
veloped in the textile section of the Bureau. It was adopted by this country
and also by England, whose inadequate supply of flax for linen had made the
research necessary.42
Faced with the fact that 65 percent of our raw wool came from abroad,
that shipping was scarce and uncertain, and that millions of uniforms and
blankets would be needed for the American armies coming into being, the
Quartermaster Corps and Ordnance Department appealed to the Bureau
for help. To find out what characteristics a wool substitute must have, the
Bureau sent inquiries to textile manufacturers concerning the nature of the
raw stock and woolen compositions. The answers disclosed that neither
here nor abroad had manufacturers ever made clothing materials, woolen
or otherwise, with specifications that could be quantitatively measured.
Wool was wool, as cotton was cotton, whatever the quality or properties of
their ingredients. When the industry protested Bureau proposals to define
wool compositions and set up specifications, Stratton began negotiations for
a small experimental wool manufacturing plant to make the necessary tests.
Working the raw materials with available laboratory equipment, the Bureau
found that the heat-retaining properties of wool, as well as other textiles,
depends less upon the intrinsic properties of their fibers than on their ar-
rangement, and that a lightweight cotton could be made into almost as
warm a fabric as wool.43 The Bureau thus learned that, as in some areas of
the steel, glass, and other industries, the textile industry worked with little
understanding of its fundamental principles.
"War Work," pp. 143—144.
"War Work," pp. 198—202, 282; correspondence in NBS Box 15, 1ST. For other
leather, paper, and textile substitutes (wooden soles for shoes, cotton currency, transparent
silk for airplane wing coverings, etc.), see NBS Box 15, files, ISL, ISP, and 1ST.
Also letter, SWS to National War Savings Committee, June 11, 1918 (NBS Box 6, IC).
"War Work," pp. 283—284.