Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-14
Pens and Pencils Imported.

Pens and Pencils Imported.
During the year 1910 more than $780,.
600 worth of pens and lead pencils were
imported into the United States from for
eign countries Notwithstanding the pre-
| vailing impression that the best in the
world are made in America. OF these
262 5S2, O32 were steel pens, valued at 3d.
14S 1856, and $226S, 1O4 represented gold
pens.
During the year 313 $50, O16 lead pen
ellis were imported, practically all Of
them from Germany. and a large part
were drawing pencils. The total value
was So $3.50 4Sl. Nearly. all these pencils
were furnished by the same manufacture
ers, and while they are considered Of a
better quality than the finest grades, they
can still Fay the duty and be sold at a
lower price than American manufacturers
can afford.
Another extraordinary fact is that f.
the United States, which is nearly four
times as many as were imported in 1906,
when the total was 1,148,O32. We pro-
duce more fountain pens than any other
| mounts up into the millions. There are
twelve establishments in the city Of New
York making fountain and stylographic
pens, nine in Ohio and four each in Wis
| consin, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
1t Is a mystery what becomes of their
products. We export more fountain pens
than we import and We send about as
many to Germany as Germany sends to
us.
Our exports of gold pens are very near
ly as large as our imports. We send
them, however. to China, Japan. the Phil
ippines Central and South America and
other parts or this hemisphere, while
our imports are entirely from Germany
steel pens annually to the same coun-
tries and a similar amount Of lead pen
ellis.
Manufacture of Pins and Needles.
By the recent census it is shown that
| thirty-siX factories in the United States
are engaged in manufacturing pins, nee
dies, hooks and eyes and hairpins. OF
these twenty-one make knitting machine
| needles, six ordinary hooks and eyes.
| four needles for sewing machines. three
common pins, one safety pins and one
| hairpins. OF the remaining ten three
produce nothing but embroidery needles
and special sizes for the use of the har-
ness and leather trade; two manufacture
| both ordinary pins and hatrpins, two
produce both common pins and safety
| pins, one hairpfns and hooks and eyes,
and one ordinary sewing needles, knit
| ting machine needles and sewing machine
needles
| And the total output Of all these es-
| Establishments was 204,505,344 needles and
| "a. lis. S4O.64O pins.
! These figures. however. do not represent
| the total needle and pin product in the
United States. because a considerable
quantity. perhaps 20 per cent more, is
manufactured in establishments engaged
more largely in other industries in which
| the making Of needles and pins is merely
| incidental. The total value of the needles
| as reported above was $4,15O,0S9, and Of
| the pins $6.SJ9,O22.
sylvania 10 per cent, New York per
cent, New Hampshire A. per cent eThir-
| teen other states produced the remainder.
The manufacture of sewing machine
Massachusetts,. and by far the largest
| number of common pins was made in
Connecticut. That state also manufac-
tured a large portion of the hooks and
of knitting machine needles was reported
by New Hampshire. The six establish
ments in that state We're engaged ex-
clusively in their manufacture. Hooks
and eyes was the chief product in Penn
sylvania. The only establishment manu-
featuring safety pins exclusively is To-
Gated in New jersey, but that kind of
pin is also made in Connecticut and New
York.
Importation Of Needles.
The yearly importations of the common
hand sewing needles and darning,
crochet. tape and knitting needles prac-
tically represent the value Of such needles
used each year in the United States, as
none Of these varieties. so far as the CEN
sus returns indicate. is made in this coun-
try. Since 1900 there has been a decided
increase in the importation Of knitting
and sewing machine needles, which in
dicates that the demand for those va
rieties Is far more in excess Of the domes-
tic output than at the census of 1900 In
that year the importation of these
varieties Of needles was valued at $13,2O1,
and the domestic output at $1.O27 ,949,
while for 1905 the value of the importa-
ton increased to f1O2.276. and that Of
the home products to 81 .14O924.
The number of imported pins has shown
a steady. but small increase each year,
while on the ether hand, the value of
hooks and eyes imported has declined
steadily.
The domestic product of needles, pins
and hooks and eyes is practically all con-