The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-31

contents of the articles they deal in.
Nevertheless, they have been perfectly
willing at all times TO be held respons-
ible for any carelessness or negligence on
their part, and would never have excepted
to law which would fine them Tor fall-
ure to protect their customers.
Everybody knows that the reputable
department stores guarantee every article
they sell, and the majority not only Will
ingiy exchange goods, but refund the
money paid for them, even II the pur-
chaser has nc other reason for not want
ing to keep them than his arbitrary will.
II Is hardly likely, however, that they
wIlfully impose on their customers In re-
spect to silver articles.
I'm the cases of the jewelers. the
offence Is, however, very much more seri-
Gus. These jewelers. are all manufactur-
ers, and the maker of an article must
necessarily know what its contents are.
In speaking before the Senate committee
on codes Mr.. Robinson, vice president OF
the Gorham Manufacturing Company,
admitted this. He said that il would be
impossible for any silverware produced
by his firm to be below standard because
an assay was made of portions OF every
mass of silver used in the establishment.
He also said that his firm refused to sell
its immaculate products to the depart
ment stores, because the latter had not
tnc proper klud Vi tHlpiogeeo W scii Sue'i
ware; that they would misrepresent
articles and pretend that bogus silver
ware was equal to that obtained from
reputable manufacturers. Yet OF the
articles purchased from the Cor
ham Manufacturing Company In this
instance the majority assayed below
standard, and one pair of vest but
tons, which were stamped sterling silver
throughout, assayed more than 400 points
below standard. A silver pencil purchas-
ed from Black, Starr q Frost, at cost
OF q. 80, was shown by the United States
Assayer to be more than 60 per cent.
brass, and the remainder, jntrinsically
worth about rs cents, was nearly zoo
points below standard. A silver paper
knife. purchased from Theodore b. Starr.
and in regard to which the salesman said
expressly that 1t was sterling silver,
proved to be nearly half brass, and assay
ed.about:500.
1.-THE 1niquity of the jewellers appears
to be all the greater because the prices
charged by them would be enormous,
even IL the wares were as represented.
Compared with prices charged in the de-
partment stores the profits of the jewell
iers appear utterly unconscionable. 1t is
in this difference in prices that the ex-
plapation of the venom with which the
jewelers. have pursued the dry goods
men must be found. They have left no
opportunity to fiaunt before the pm blic the
fact that the dry goods men had been In
dicted. They have advertised throughout
the country that fact, and In recent hear
ings before the Legislature on bills to
amend the present law they have sought
to make it appear that the only object OF
the proposed change was to save the dry
goods men from the consequence of their
Indictments and to give them further op-
portunity to fleece an innocent public.
They. have misquoted the laws OF En-
gland, which are very much fairer than
our own, with the purpose Of wilfully
misleading the members of the Iegisla-
ture in regard to the conditions existing
elsewhere. They have flooded the State
with denunciations of the dry gooos men
and proclamations of their own virtue
They have done all this knowing that sc
long as their competitors were indicted
and they were free the former could only
reply at the risk of defending llbe
suits. The fact that their misstatenents
met with no adequate answer for long
time gave them courage to multiply and
iptensfy .these. The fall of such preten'
tious persons must naturally be as great
as was the height to which they essayec
To climb.D