Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-15
WHY WOODEN MEN
NEED PROTECTION
Passaic MiII-Owner Sends Lett
ter to President and
the Congress.
MR.. FORSTMANN'S PLEA
FOR THE MANUFACTURERS
He Explains the Limitations of
Export Under Free Trade
Conditions.
IspeciaI % the Newark star.l

Especial TO the Newark Star.I
PASSAIC, n. j., April 15.-Julius
Forstmann, president of the Forst
mann, Huffman Co., of Passaic. has
prepared a draft of a statement re-
garding the new Underwood bill,
which he has forwarded to President
Wilson and each member of the cabi-
net, Senate and House of Representa-
toives.
Mr.. Forstmann sets forth his rea-
sons why the American manufacturer
of wooden goods should be protected.
Among other things, he says:
First Of all, without wishing il
any way to put my own personality
into the foreground, but simply in or
der to show why l consider myself
qualified to speak with authority on
the question of the wool tariff, would
state the following facts:
II have all my life been engaged in
wool manufacturing, both here and
abroad. | have been and am still in
terested in large mills in Europe, as
well as in the United States. For the
last ten years managing partner of
one of the leading German wooden
mills, founded by my great-grand-
father in 1903, and one which did bust
ness with the United States since 1925.
Since | have been permanently in
America, have personally established
and had the sole management of a
mill which is considered the leader in
its branch.
THE successful establishment and
development of our mill has shown
that it is possible to produce in this
country goods as fine as any produced
anywhere in the world and our fab
RIGS are recognized as SUCH The very
people who said at the outset that
such goods could not be produced in
this country have been among the
first to recognize that the seemingly
impossible had been accomplished.
But 1t has all had to be done subject
to the higher standard of American
values, which has increased through
out the productive cost.
In connection with the wooden
business | have visited every posi-
BILE market that exists for wooden
goods in the entire world. There is
not a branch of the business, from
wool growing to the marketing of the
finished product, that ! have not
studied at first hand. When in Eu-
rope, before establishing our plant in
Passaic, ! made a special study of
the export business. For our Euro
pean concern l visited all the mar
kets of the world, where there was
any possibility of selling wooden goods
and succeeded in opening new out
lets wherever it was possible to do
SO.
II not only had direct letters of
Introduction from the German foreign
office to German diplomatic officials
nil over the world, but ! also had
letters from the Krupps in Essen to
the representatives of their vast or
ganization in all parts of the world,
which enabled me to obtain direct
and reliable knowledge of the real
commercial and other conditions in
the places visited. which would have
been impossible for anyone travelling
without such most influential recon-
mendations.
LAS a proof of my experience | may
state that ! was appointed by the
German government to serve as an
expert for the mountaineering in
dustry on the German tariff commits
sion which framed the last German
tariff.
From my experience / therefore
know to a nicely the ability of the
wooden manufacturer to compete in
foreign markets | also know what
rates are necessary to enable the
American manufacturer to hold his
own against Eurs-.san wooden manu-
facturers entering the open markets
of the world. The theory of the de-
velopment of foreign commerce is
very fine. but it has its limitations.
II must not be applied to industries
which are not susceptible of develop
ment in thatsdirection. The POSSIBLE.
ties of exporting wooden goods ara
very limited. The only export market
for American wooden goods worth
cultivating would be in Europe, where
the industry is very much older and
more developed than in the United
States, and with the mills of which
American mills can not even COM
pete at home under free-trade condi-
tons"