New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-09
6perial Notices.
"Dry-GO0ds Silverware"
SUDDENLY BECOMES
UNSALABLE,
Gperial Notices.
And Is No Longer Advertised - .
Leader in the Big Depart
ment Stores.

To the Editor Of The New-York Tribune:
SIR: AM HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THE M
pICTMENT by THE GRAND JURY OF THE HEADS
OF NO LESS THAN ELEVEN OF THE LARGE DRY
GOODS AND DEPARTMENT STORES IN THIS CITY.
ON THE CHARGE OF ILLEGALLY SELLING WARES
STAMPED "sTERLINo" THAT WERE BELOW THE
STANDARD OF PURITY REQUIRED By LAW. HAS
ALREADY HAD EFFECT.
STERLING SILVER" IS NO LONGER LEADER
IN THESE GREAT ESTABLISHMENTS; IN SOME
CASES. IT IS SAID, THE MISLEADING MARKS HAVE
BEEN ERASED AND IN OTHERS THE GOODS
THEMSELVES HAVE BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM
STOCK. FOR UNDER THE WHITE LIGHT OF PUB
LICITY NOW BEATING FULL UPON THEM THEY,
HAVE PRACTICALLY BECOME UNSTABLE.
INTERESTING EVIDENCE THAT THIS Is TRUE II
INCIDENTALLY AFFORDED BY MIR. BERNARD
EcKsTEIN OF 400 BROADWAY. WHO FAILED THE
OTHER DAY. AND IN AN AFFIDAVIT EXPI.ANA-
TORY OF THE SINGULAR DECREASE IN THE
VALUE OF HIS MERCHANDISE ASSETS FROM
NOMINAL sso14l.1e TO AN ACTUAL $1,000. MAKES
| OATH AS FOLLOWS:
| THIRD THAT SUCH OF THE GOODS AS MAY Be
CALLED MARKETABLE GOODS SUCH AS BELT
| BUCKLES. COMBS AND SILVER NOVELTIES. ARE
NOT IN FACT SOLID SILVER UP TO STANDARD.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FACT THAT THEY AXE
| IN MANY INSTANCES STAMPED STERLING"
| FOURTH. THAT OVER co PER CENT OF THE
| WHOLE STOCK IS BASE METAL, IN MANY IN
STANCES SIMPLE BRASS, AND IN OTHERS coMPo-
| sITION
FIFTH. THAT THE JEwELRY MARKED SOLID
ylauy n I,
! HARDLY ANY INSTANCE OVER KARAT.
| SIXTH. THAT AT THE PRESENT TIME THE ONLY
PORTION OF THE STOCK WHICH WOULD BE Al
| ALI. sAr.ABIE Is THE 'sHIRr-wAIST SETS" MOST
| OF WHICH ARE STAMPED STERLING SILVER
| But WHICH ARE NOT OF STANDARD QUALITY.
| AND WHICH UNDER PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES 1T
WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO DISPOSE OF AT ALL ON
| ACCOUNT OF THE INDICTMENTS FOUND BY THE
| GRAND JURY OF THIS COUNTY AGAINST MER-
| CHANTS DEALING IN SUCH GOODS.
THE JEWELERS. WEEKLY" FROM WHICH
CLIPPED THE FOREGOING ADDS THAT 'MR. Eek
! STEIN BOUGHT ALMOST ENTIRELY FROM EAST
ERN MANUFACTURERS. AND DEALT EXTENSIVE
LY'-Nor WITH JEWELLERS. MIND YoU-BUr
WITH THE DRY GOODS AND FANCY GOODS
TRADE"
POSSIBLY WITH SOME OF THE SAME DEALERS
WHO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN AvowrNo THE BE-
LIEF THAT NO ONE IN THEIR EMPLOY WOULD
KNOWINGLY EITHER BUY OR SELL SPURIOUS
srLvERwARE FOR GENUINE-AND LAYING TH1
WHOLE BLAME UPON THE HEADS OF THE WICKED
MANUFACTURERS WHO HAD DARED TO PLAc"
TIE TIME-HoNoRED STERLING MARK UPON
GOODS OF AN INFERIOR METAL.
THE ANSWER TO THIS ATTEMPT AT EVASION or
RESPONSIBILITY COMES IN DISPATCH FROM
PROVIDENCE. r. I. wHERE THESE GOODS ARE
| LARGELY MANUFACTURED. TO THE JEWELERS.
WEEKLY" AND WHICH SAYS:
THE GOODS ARE MANUFACTURED IN SOME IL
STANCES TO ORDER; THE MARKS ON THE GOODS
BEING ONE OF THE SPECIFIC ORDERS. IN FACT.
THERE Is ONE FIRM WHICH MAKES PURE LEAD
GOODS WHICH ARE STAMPED 'sTERLING.' OF
COURSE. THIS Is IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN
ORDER FROM THE JoBBERs AND OTHERS HAN
DING THE GOODS"
THE JEWELERS. CIRCULAR REPORTS ONE OF
THE INDICTED HOUSES AS STATING THROUGH
ITS REPRESENTATIVE: THE sILvERwARH
HANDLED BY THIS HOUSE Is GOOD sILvERwARE
BOUGHT BY US IN GOOD FAITH" AND COMMENTS
AS FOLLOWS:
such general ~ the expressions OF The
proprietos department Now let US anayzs
the good which the silverware is bought The
buyers the departments OF these stores are OF
the shrewdest cabre OF business men, Ihey are wei
versed in the cost OF material OF manufacturing
percentage Of profit that satisfies the manu-
acturer goods he buys and all other conditions
place him in position to mako the closest deals
The buyer knows the word sterling means
Piled to silverwar- he knows that Sterling Silver u
removed from silver he knows approximate
~ prices OF bullion silver and he also knows
that It costs greater lesser sum to manufacture silver
goods Is Il 20 be credited when buys
Belt Buckles stamped Sterling $500 per dozenS IL
cents apieceihat believes he getting genuine s,er-
ling silver goods
The fact the spurious goods have been produced
because there demand FOR them from
competitors OF the jewellers The collision between
maker plain enough AMI neither should
be allowed escape: the law applies TO the
other providing both residents OF the state The
making selling OF such trash described in the in
dictments with the making and utterins OF
counterfeit and there is specific law In New
the Of the makers and sellers OF false
slyerware II applied the last letter. Tho
slver-stampng law is good necessary as 1t
just"
notice that The jewelers. Weekly says "If people
want cheap goods they have them price, but
It Is not be believed that Sterling goods be pur
chased at prices which the goods sold by the
houses whose members have been indicted" And again:
.At price Sold expected believe that the
goods Sterling
From the point OF occupied by trade Journal
this may possibly be BY mo one. dealer no
expert is and Of buyer. no ex-
pert supposes that these goods genuine
But how about the publc7 II these marks not in
tended deceive the buying public. why the goods
stamped at all?
out OF 30 samples Of slverware stamped sterling o.
Coin" and collected by at random. from eleven