The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1895-08-09
PRODUCT OF PRISONS
MANUFACTURES OF EUROPEAN JAlLs
SOLD HERE.

Brooms. Brushes, Buttons, Mats and Toys
Imported Into This Country-InvestiGa-
/ tios In England Discloses Continental
Trace Methods.
/ Sec. "a. That all goods. wares, articles and
merchandise manufactured wholly or in part
ir any foreign country by convict labor shall
net De entitled To entry at any Of the ports Of
the United States, and the importation thereof
Is hereby prohibited, and the secretary Of the
treasury is authorized to prescribe such regu-
lations a. may be necessary for the enforce
meht Of this provision.
The foregoing section of the German
tariff act of 1894 has been dead letter.
Ii Is only quite recently that the secre-
tary Of the treasury has taken any steps
whatever TO enforce il. We learn, how
ever, from an investigation now being
made by the British board of trade upon
the importation of prison made goods
into he United Kingdom that prison
made goods are shipped from continental
Europe through England TO this coun-
try, and for the information Of Secre-
tary Carlisle we submit portion of the
evidence taken before the committee, as
follows
minutes of evidence taken before the com
mittee on the importation Of prison made
goods into the United States. Witness, A.
T.. Baternan. ESQ. &. g., deputy comptroller
general Of commerce. labor and statistics.
Question l0}9.-But these consignments frora
Antwerp TO England Of mats made in the Bel.
Yian prison of Merxplar may have included
goods for the United States rs well as for the
United KingdomY
Yes, was told that they included goods for
the United States.
Question lO5O.-You spoke of the English
market as including the United States. Can
you give any opinion a. to what proportion OF
these goods would be for the United States?
tried to find that out, but the concession
naire did not seem 10 know. He said il was
more convenient that the goods should come
through this country to the United States.
The United States have law against the inn
portation of prison made goods.
Question lOS3.-With respect TO these goods
that go 10 Antwerp, a certain proportion Of
them are for the United States they are not
all for England?
The concessionnaire told me that those for
the United States would go that way and be
shipped through England
Question ll0S.-As to the export to the Unit.
ed States through the United Kingdom, that
is, ! suppose, in order TO defeat the law Of
gress prohibiting the importation of foreign
made prison goodsf
Question lla.-The probability surely is
that the design is to defeat the lawf
They would have difficulty in sending pris-
on made goods from Belgium. to the United
States except through this country.
Question lll0.-They are probably entered
as goods coming from England?
To get there from England they would prob
ably have to be-
Question llll.-An goods entered for the
United States require To have their country 81
origin notified upon themf
Yes, think so. go
Question lll2.-would the expectation Of
these goods TO the United States from the
United Kingdom not give rise "a the belief
that they were English made goods and were
imported direct from the United Kndeomf
Not necessarily. They might be declared be-
fore consul here non English produce.
Question lll3.-Could you make inquiry
whether they would be declared rs prison
made; If you are in communication with the
American consuls, could you make inquiries
and let the committee know TO whether
any American consuls have had the necessary
declaration made to them that these goods
foreign prison made goods
II would seem very unlikely that goods
would be declared in that way.
Secretary Carlisle should know wheth-
er this is done or not. II it be not done,
il is very evident that the goods made i'll
the prisons of continental Europe are
shipped 10 this country in packages de
claring that the goods which they con
tain are the produce of England. Then
fraud must be committed knowingly by
some persons on the continent of Europe,
by other persons i'll England, and the
fraud has remained unchecked in this
country, with no effort whatever TO root
il out.
The United States consul at Annaberg,
Germany, DR.. Theodore NJ. Stephan,
reports that dollmaking has been intro
duced into the men S prison ut the Thu
ringian principalities, one manufacturer
there employing not less than 40 con-
victs. In his reports DIR. Stephan says:
Judging from the spirit in which
recent speech in parliament on this
subject is commented upon here, the ex
port trade of German prison made goods
cannot be small, and / am inclined to
! believe that the United States receive
also more prison manufactured goods
than are detected.
Presumably DR.. Stephan believes that
our officers have been on the alert and
detected some importations of this char
acter Besides dolls the evidence above
quoted refers TO mat i&nade in Belgium.
and the discussion in parliament last
February stated distinctly that brushes
were among the prison made goods ship
ped here. 1t has also been known for a
long time that buttons made in the pris
ons Of Austria were largely imported in
TO the United States, being barely ex
cluded by the protection afforded to our
own manufacturers under the Mckinley
tariff law aud again being imported un
| der the German tariff.