| Show Wreckers of Fabrics Hunted Down in This Laboratory Investigators Pin Crimes Crimes' on an Acids Drugs Termites Holes burned through fabric may not be caused by a flame Spilled drops of medicine may lea leave v a tablecloth looking as though it it had been neen sprayed with machine gun gun bul bul- lets A fabric damage that shows up after laundering may have its origin on the the other side of the Atlantic Atlantic- or in a U. U S. S automobile battery Even insects have been known known- to chew up prized linens These and other baffling cases of fabric damage are solved in the scientific scientific scientific fabric crime detection laboratory laboratory laboratory lab lab- oratory of the American Institute of Laundering Often the solutions have much of the mystery and suspense suspense suspense sus sus- pense of scientific crime detection In a South Carolina laundry for example a naval officers officer's gray uniform uniform uniform uni uni- form coat was found to have a hole the s site se e of a half dollar burned through the left-hand left pocket Since this could not have happened in the water filled the laundry sent the coat for analysis to the Institute Institute Institute In In- textile laboratory The burn hole wasn't caused by bya a flame tests r revealed but by the corrosive action of potassium permanganate permanganate per permanganate crystals the purplish crystals used for antis antiseptic pur- pur j 4 poses The corrosive action of this r pharmaceutical eats through fabric fabricand fabricand and leaves brown stain marks that look exactly like the charred particles particles particles parti parti- cles produced by a flame The naval offic officer r was shown the laboratory report report report re re- re- re port and he recalled having carried in his pocket the permanganate crystals crystals crystals crys crys- which had been issued hi him in Africa to treat a foot infection Termites are another enemy of fabrics Their voracious appetite knows nothing of today's shortage of white goods A. A Nebraska laundry had delivered a deep box of shirts to a customer who placed it on a closet floor and methodically used the shirts from the top Ten days later he took out the fourth shirt shirt shirt- and found the three remaining ones riddled with frazzled holes Parts of the garments were completely eaten away and areas of the untouched untouched un- un touched fabric were covered with tiny mud particles The sleuths at Laundry institute had the shirts a afew afew afew few days later Tests indicated mech mechanical damage damage damage dam dam- age that pointed to insects as the likely perpetrators of the crime The case was referred f for r verification verification verification tion to the U. U S. S department of agricultures agriculture's agricultures agriculture's agricultures agriculture's agri agri- cultures culture's bureau of entomology one of the country's supreme authorities authorities authorities au au- on insects The injury is typical of termite attack upon read part of the bureaus bureau's report Termites of this species must have connection with the ground soil and they have the habit of carrying particles of soil up into the woodwork or other particles they are feeding upon This is why you notice the dirt and dried mud on the shirts An An investigation in inthe inthe inthe the customers customer's home later revealed that the basement of the building had been so completely eaten away by the pests that it had to be replaced replaced replaced re re- re- re placed with tile |
