The New York herald., 1876-07-06
SEWING MACHINES.
Hints Concerning the Secret Workings
of the Trade.
The Difference Between the Cost
and Retail Prices.
AN EXP ERT'S VIEW S.

The publication in these columns OF the abuses and
extortons to which poor women subjected at the
hands OF sewing machine agents has elected many
letters from victims OF the monopoliss detailing their
wrongs. II would appear from Investigations made by
= HERALD reporter that apart from these specific
cases OF oppression the whole public has been imposed
upon for the past twenty years by manufacturers Of
sewing machines inasmuch the prices charged for
their goods have been and are out OF all proportion
with the cost of production; and the whole system in
its workings is one OF the most oppressive monopoles
the world ever At the present time, when prices
are lower, perhaps, than before s6j is charged
tor piece OF mechanism which costs less than SIS
The profit seems enormous but that 1t IS actually made
Will appear moments consideration The
erage machine weighs, complete, some seventy five
pounds Subtract from this abou; fifteen pounds
for the wooden table and there remains
sixty pounds OF Pig iron bought in large guam
tiues costs the companies about three and one-half
per pound, so that the material in entire
machine but 81 10. The cost OF working tho
metal probably does exceed cents per pound
This would nix the price of the framework of the ma
chine at 50 5s Add TO this about SO for the cost Of
the table, and 81 so for vanishing and ornamentng
&c, and the entire OF tho finished machine ap.
pears be so For this article the monstrous Of
SOS is charged-more Than seven times its cost
ACTUAL MACHINES.
Ihcre Is IN broadway II urn Which deals IN sewing
machine needles, attachments, parts and findings
generally They publish price list OF the different
pieces that into machine and from that paper
it is shown that complete oil castings for the
popular machine in the market, and which
sells for Sos, be bought perfectly
finished ready TO put together for the
OF sll SO Another proof OF the extoron is found the
fact that the sewing machine companies make
chimes in this country, pay the expenses of shipping
md ircghlage upon them 10 England, and there sell
them for less than onehalf the price charged in the
United states. so-cahei combination" machine,
which costs here $50, sold in England for &C l0s
Or about $32 The Howe lock stitch, which here sells
Tor 500 can there be obtained Tor So Singers fam
lily machine. which here 500, sold the other
tide for So
Now the agents who dispose OF machines in Britain
ire shrewd class aud demand as high commission
thirty three and onc-third per cent-about the av
,ase remuneration in this country-although some
companies pay as high as fifty per cent Take away
this amount from the s32, Tor which our $50 machine
is sold and there remains about S21 IN the hands OF
the manufacturer out of which he must pay freight
the sea, breakage and all other expenses
Yet there must at that price be proht in the traffic.
or II would not exist.
RESULTS OF ENroRrIoSArE PRICES
careful examination OF the whole business makes
II clear that the present system OF manufacturing and
selling Is essentially ruinous 10 the companies well
oppressive tie purchasers; and that IL w II
inued end the bankruptcy OF every sewing machine
manufacturer IN the land and the rc-estabiishnent OF
the entire traffic upon and natural basis. Fifteen
or eighteen years ago the held new. the whole
civilized world was the market and machines could not
be made fast enough 10 supply the demand The COM
pancs realized immense sums, palaces were built for
sacsrocms and the stockholders rolled in wealth. As
simc went on the original demand was qunc supplied
nut there is no market tor the commodity cN-
rept such as is produced by the wearing out OF ma
chimes the increase OF population and the extension OF
the market by enabling poorer class than has yet
bought machines to obtain thein Numocr!ess com.
panes have sprung up, ten tunes the capital warranted
by The demand was employed in the business and the
result Is that IL Is completely ovcrdone. The various
companies are running within one half OF the r
capacity, the goods Inc IN the warehouses and profits
have vanished into thin arr The stock OF one leading
company which years ago brought 500 per ccLi
premium is now sold at par, that OF another. which
Sold at 30 cent prem um ~ now To be had at nifty
the dollar and the stock of third goes leg
gipg at ten the dollar. Two companies were
forced consolidate, and tho condition OF all is tar
from envablc. This state OF artirs Is the natural
result conducting business upon such stlted basis
as 10 tempt spectators into 1t by the sight OF ts ex-
orbitant profits
WHERE TIs sHos riSCuEs.
Under the present system 1t costs more to sell the
machine than to make n. Fully nity per cent OF the
retail price OF the article spent IN hnding market
Tor It, IL may no asked why the companies do not get
down hard pan by nsttutng cash trade nj greatly
reduced prccs To this question the manufacturers
reply that no market exists for cash trade. The
mass OF upper aud middle class ianiles, tScy say,
row possess machines, and the only people TO whom
sell the very poor Who are uoahle to pay
than 80 or $40 per month"; and we are obliged TO
charge high prices to pay the expense of collecting
well cover losses through thct aud other
part oi purchasers
There would seem To be something IN this, for cer
tain company years ago took new departure aud
announced that about to do cash business only,
the time making reduction oi about thirty
per cent In prices. Whether because there was no
market for the reasons given above or from whatever
cause the company's business decncd ti to-day its
stock is lot worth fifteen per cent OF lis face value