Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-04-27
WATCH TRUST JOK[RS
RETAIL JEWELLERS CHARGE
THERE ARE SEVERAL IN
NEW TARIFF BILL.
GOODS HELD FROM MARKET
UNTIL MEASURE IS PASSED
Impossible for Retailers to Secure Fill.
ing Of Orders for Time Piece Move.
ments-FolIows Scheme to Shut Out
Foreign MADE Watches-MonoraiI
System Perfected.
rspecial Correspondencel

Washington, April 27.-Retail jewel
ers all over the country are coming
forward with new charge against the
alleged watch trust of this country,
which they claim is getting some es-
pecially clever jokers into the tariff bill
for it's own benefit
When the bill came from the house
committee the jewelers. declared that
the real joker was in the requirement
that imported watch movements must
have engraved on their plate or else
where, in plain, legible letters, the name
OF the makes, the country, town or city
of manufacturers, and the number of
jewels and adjustments, in both Arabic
and Roman numerals. Looked simple:
but the jewelers. explained it by saying
it was simply impossible.
Most Of the watches imported nova
days, they said, are the very small
Swiss ones, from the size of ones
thumbnail upward; and in these move
ments there is absolutely no piece of
the mechanism on which the engraving
required by the bill could be placed and
made legible.
The watch people hooted at this OBJ
lection. Now come the retailers again,
with the report that they are utterly
unable to buy movements from the
trust" watch concerns in this coun-
try. Orders bring the reply that stocks
are very low, etc. AS a rule, it is stated,
insistent orders for a dozen or two
dozen movements may in time bring
two or three movements, with the ex-
PLANTATION that these are all that can be
spared.
The retailers declare that they have
positive information that in fact the
manufacturers are united in holding
these goods off the market until the
new bill shall become law, when, with
the stocks in the hands of retailers and
jobbers of jewelry depleted, and the
foreign made watches effectually shut
out they will raise the prices to levels
never before touched and make a big
profit filling the accumulated demand.
The complaints involve the Waltham
and Elgin companies, and one or two
membership in the trust. They come
from various parts of the country.
jewelers. are now pouring in letters
making these complaints and positive
charges, and effort is on foot to have
the watch schedule reorganized so as
to prevent such a project being profit
ably executed.
An American inventor has so far
perfected the monorail system of rail-
road transportation that he has sue
ceeded in convincing ordinarily cons
servative and sane government author
tiles that a revolution in transportation
methods is impending whcrwill hardly
be less significant than which was
caused when the steam railroad took
the place long held by the stage coach
and the canal.
4 British, American and German spec
ialists in science and mechanics have
for years been at work on the Mono
rail idea, and an Irishman named Bren-
nan has demonstrated, to the salts
faction of the scientists that his pro-
ject will work. 1t has until now been
merely a question Of whether it was
worth while; of whether 1t would no:
cost so much as to be of no commercial
value.
This element of commercial utility
lis believed to have been put into the
project by the American inventor. Re-
Gently he laid his plans before mem
Der Of the Interstate Commerce COM
mission, and explained what he had
done and proposed to do. Briefly, he
convinced his listener that he could
send train across this continent a,
the rate of 200 miles per hour, with
less expense than would be required
to haul train of similar weight by
present methods in five days; that his
plan was perfectly safe; that it would
operate on a railroad which would cost
about o-thirds as much per mile fo,
cost and maintenance as stand
ard road; and that his system will hau
freight quite as we'll as passengers.
The possibilities of such a system
have naturally attracted good dea
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