The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-12
THE TYPEWRITER INDUSTRY.
American Genius Deies Competition
from Europe.
New York Commercial Advertiser.

New York Commercial Advertiser.
With the increased use of typewriters in
England the question of the competition of
English-made machines with those of Amer
lean make has of late received much con-
sideration. So far the United States has
held a monopoly in the manufacture of
typeWriterS, and rOmiSe to keep 1t under
existing conditions. Several attempts have
been made in England to manufacture type
writers and a few Engiish-made machines
are on the market now, but no machine
has been made worthy to compete with the
American, and American manufacturers
continue to supply four-fifths of the Eng
To encourage the manufacture of type
writer's at home a writer in an English
magazine recently issued proposes to levy
a duty of 70 per cent. ad valorem on for
eign-made typewriters. This duty, he thinks,
would enable home manufacturers to COM
pete with those in the United States. As
a reason for the nondevelopment of the
typewriter industry in England he advances
the opinion that a heavy duty on imported
t~ypewriters is imposed by the United States
government, practically excluding foreign
made machines, and as a majority of all
the typewriters made are used here 1T is
natural that they should be manufactured
here. England, he says, has no chance for
competition with the United States on it's
own ground. and the demand for typewrit-
ers in that country is so mail that 1t does
not pay to put in costly plants for their
manufacture locally.
The United States exports about 10000
typewriters a year to England, supplying
the bulk of the demand. There is no duty
in England on typewriters at present, and
the American manufacturers sell their ma
chimes in London for about the same price
as in New York. Representatives of sew
eral Of the leading typewriter firms in New
York, who were seen by a reporter for the
Commercial Advertiser, expressed the opin-
ion that a duty of any sort would be una
vailing. A representative of Wyckoff, Sea-
.0The effect of a duty on foreign-made
typewriters in England would simply mean
an increase in the price of American ma
nhfnaS m I'm iiCh nnSfnn0aFS ENGLISH man.
ufacturers cannot compete with American
manufacturers, because they cannot make
the machines. The attempts that have been
made in England to produce a practical
typewriter are ludicrous in the extreme,
and the machines they now have on the
market are not to be compared with the
American makes. The English idea of type
writer's, as of everything else, embodieS
strength and everlasting endurance as the
chief requisites, and as q consequence the
English machine is too heavy and cumber-
some for practical use.
The United States has the advantage in
the manufacture of typewriters of its long
experience. Improvement in their manu-
facture has kept pace with everything else
and the evolution of the machine has been
marvellous. The English machines of to-
day are no better than the American ma
chimes of twenty years. ago, If, indeed, they
fected only by years of study and the ex-
penditure of sums of money in
n1per nafans o ib bs;n Is g olng rig ent on a1ra amd
every week. 1t is doubtful If the En-
glish manufacturers could ever catch up
with us, even under the most favorable con-
ditions. There is no inducement in the
English trade to warrant the expenditure
of amounts American manufacturers have
spent in perfecting their machines. Besides,
we have gained the prestige of priority.
which goes even farther in the British mind
than in the American.
1.-The probability is that a duty would
hinder the. use of typewrtiers in England,
for Englishmen are not overenthusiastic
in taking them up anyway, and rather
than n1f I'm with the Rl1mGU FnOIfGh ma
chine or pay an exorbitant price for Amer
lean ones they would simply do without
them.
English manufacturers cannot build ma
chimes as cheaply as American manufac-
turers, for while they are able to secure
skilled labor much cheaper than we are. we
have made. wonderful progress in labor
saving machinery used in the manufacture
of our typewriters. This more than over
material, the English castings are heavier
and tougher h ours, but ours are light
and stiff and have been found to be strong
enough.
'"The modern typewriter is a marvel of
skill and ingenuity, and the product solely
of American inventiy re genius. We use 50
per cent. of all the typewriters made. 1t
is in every sense an American machine,
and in all probability will always remain
over here is nonsense. have seen only one
English machine in this country, and that
was brought over as a curiosity.
Eyes, there IS a duty on ~foreign-made
know what 1t IL. There is no likelihood of
any being imported, and no reason to look
it up. There is a Canadian duty of rs per
cent. ad valorem on typewritels, which we
have to pay to export our machines into
that country, but they are not much used
there yet"
Strange as it may seem, not one of sew
eral firms knew what the duty is in this
country or imported typewriters. This does
not look as if they were worrying about
competition. The duty is % per cent. ad
valorem. This would be practically pro-
hibitive if any other country made ma
chimes in all attempt to compete with ours.
The total export of the United States in
typewriters amounts to about 25,0O yearly.
The worlds supply of typewriters is prac-
tically made in New York. There are a
few scattering factories in other States, but
their output is limited. No less than 5000
men are employed in this State in their
manufacture, turning out between 10000
and 100, 900 machines a year. The wages
of employees range from $2 to $50 a week,
and a fair average would be about SIS. A
capital of something like 5000, 600 is in
vested in typewriter manufacturing plants
in this country.
The cost of placing q new machine on the
market is as are the sums spent
by the different firms in experimenting with
rev ideas. One firm spends Sl0O,0O 0 annu-
ally in experimenting, keeping a regular
staff of expert mechanics for that purpose.
Other firms spend from $4,000 to 100000
yearly in like manner.
Beef md Ia teria.
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