The daily gazette., 1876-12-30

They announced reduction Of price
from 40 to 80 per cent. on prices already
lower than their rivals, but at the same
time they made known that this reduction
would go back as far as January /, 1876.
So that dealer in watches had simply to
indicate the stock Of his Waltham goods
on hand to secure the rebate of 40 to so
per cent. This coup de commerce has
cost the company $4,000.
sit is unnecessary, gentlemen, to tell
you how very detrimental this was to the
swiss watch. Still another and more i'm
portant reason explains the growing pros
perity of the American Company. Their
tools work so regularly that all parts of
the watch may be interchanged, by sim
pie order on a postal card, without neres-
stating the forwarding of the adjoining
piece. Tie question has often been ask
ed whether the Americans can sufficient
ly supply the demands of their markets.
\ es, they can; We are driven out of the
American market | herein exclude, how
ever, complicated watches, in which we
are now, and | hope we shall always re-
main, masters.
SIN 1860 the American Companies
produced only $1,000 watches; in 1868,
100000. To-day they produce 100000 4
and this figure can be easily doubled in
case the crisis, which so severely prevails
there as well as here, should come to an
end. For we must not forget that, if sew
eral factories have been closed during the
crisis, the tools as well as the workmen
are still there, all ready to resume work
again. Nor must we leave out of sight
the eXorbitant customs duties and freight,
4, I.,,
which take away from us every possibility
of being able to stand the fight. And
now that we know the figures of produc-
ton in the United States, we can easily,
with the aid of official reports, give an az
count of what is that countiy's consump-
ton of watches. We have sent to the
United States during the past twelve years
viz: 1864 to 1875 inclusive. 2,S42.000
watches, being on an average of 236.S33
per annuln.
''In 1876 we shall barely send there Ia
600 watches, or, since 1872, n deficit of
100000 watches. What a loss for Swift
zerland, and particularly for Neuehatel
For this deficit concerns principally our
canton, and it is very easy to convince
ones self of the fact. In 1915, ChauX-de-
Fends turned out 106,000 watches or
movements. In preceding years she turn
ed out double that amount. The deficit,
therefore, amounts for the ChauX-de-
Fonds alone to 900 francs; for Locle
Neuchatel, &c. reaches the same figure
in proportion.
1--WE have stated that the shipment of
our goods has largely decreased. Shall
we attribu its cause to tho crisis? Ger
tainly in many respects we may do so; it
cannot be denied. But the American
competition contributes still lore largely
90 il.
",rhe Americans have already com
menced to send their manufacture to Eu-
rope. In England they sell annually
from 10000 to 10000 watches. The
American watch commences to drive
from the English market the Swiss and
even the English watch. The Americans
commenced by creating n demand for
their goods in the ndies and in Australia
and then-thanlSs to some powerful cN
portng-houses- invaded England.
AT Moscow and ST. Petersburg they have
already established important branch
offices They do not keep it secret, hut
loudly advertise it, their aim is to drive
lis first out of their own country, and
then to compete with us on our own soil,
If our slugishnfSs and our blind confidence
leave the field free to them. | sincerely
confess that ] personally have doubted
that competition. But now ] have seen
i have felt it--and | am terrified by the
danger to which our industry is exposed.
Besides, I am not the only one to think
so; the "Societe lntercontonale" have
sent delegate to make inquiries, and
his report perfectly agrees with mine. Up
to this very day we have believed
America to be dependent upon Europe.
We have been mistaken. The Ameri-
cans will send us their products since we
cannot send them our own. We ask our
selves whether the Americans can main
tain their prices! i answer, yes, they
can, for if they obtain good profit on
their superior quality goods they can
afford to be satisfied with u smaller profit
on the lower grades of watches. In
America everything is made by machin-
cry; here we make everything by hand.
We count in Switzerland about forty
thousand workmen, making on an aver
age each per annum 40 watches. In the
United States the average Is 100 watches.
Therefore the machine produces three
and half to four times more than the
workman. Ii remains for us to solve the
situation But how can we get out of
the corner into which we have been
driven. To-day,even without machines,
we cannot dispose of the 600, 900 watches
which our people can m anufacture. How
will it be if we establish machines which
will thrice increase our production? We
must either diminish the number of our
hands and make machines, or else cnDS
to our system and be resigned to see our
industry decline.
Gentlemen, do not pretend to point
out the remedy. Isimply call your atten-
ton to the evil-that is all. 1t remains
for you to find the cure. However, be-
lieve that it will be good to do for our
mechanicians what we have done for our
watchmakers-that is, to create schools.
You must not despair; you must not de.
sert the field; we must, on the contrary,
organize for resistance, and to re-conquer
the lost ground. If America closes her
gates to us by customs duties and exorbi-
tant freights, we are, at least left the re-
source Of energeticaliy fighting against
her in European markets.
"Had the Philadelphia Exhibition TAX
en- place five years later, we should have
been totally annihilated without knowing
whence or how we received the terrible
blow. We have believed ourselves mas
ters of the situation, when we really bave
been on a volcano. And to-day we must
actually struggle if we do not want to
encounter mall the markets that rival
manufacture. Did we not sneer at Be-
sancon at the outset? And now Besancon
sufiices for France, and besides, she eX
norts her snrpllls of manufacture We