THE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL SILK 
for a firm that would give them a chance to 
make the new yarns. 
They chose Courtaulds. At that time, 
Courtaulds were making black crape, mostly. 
But it was going out of fashion. The sales 
had fallen off. It was Queen Alexandra, I 
believe, who put mourning out of fashion. 
Little did she think, when she made this 
decision, that she was starting a vast new 
industry. 
Latham and Tetley were given a free hand 
by Courtaulds. At first, they had failure 
after failure. They had to work with unskilled 
men and makeshift machines. And there was 
no demand for the new yarns. No manu- 
facturer would have them at any price. 
They offered free yarn to any manufacturer 
ih would try it. Very few accepted the 
offer. 
There was one critical moment when even 
the Courtaulds’ Board of Directors lost hope. 
Tetley needed a few thousands more for new 
machinery. They were inclined to refuse. 
Tetley sprang to his feet and made a 
speech—one of the most effective speeches 
that has ever been made in the British Isles. 
bird