The Washington herald., 1914-10-20
NE Matter Of Amino DYE Stufs.

However peoples views may differ upon the tariff
question on the antitrust question, there be
no difference of opinion, we think on one subject
that has lately COME up for discussion and which,
in certain way involves both the tariff and anti
monopoly legislation which have been bones of con-
tention so long. That is our national predictment
concerning the supply of dye stuffs for our textile
manufacturing trade.
We profess to be and we are great manufacture
ing nation. We manufacture, especially, large
quantity of textiles, and by of the proximity
of cotton manufacturing mills to the cotton fields
themselves, ought to turn out cotton more cheapy
than any other country in the world. But the war
going on in Europe has brought to the attention
of most of our people that we really dependent
upon another nation for of the vital essentials
of textile trade that ought to be almost exclusively
our Aniline dyes form of the most i'm
portant elements in great branch of textile manu-
facture; and 90 per cent of the anne dyes used by
manufacturers are purchased by them in
Germany The stoppage of the German dye mills
by reason of the war has also stopped, or will stop,
the textile mills of the United States.
1t is pitiable condition for proud country like
to be in. We pretending to a worldwide busi-
ness in textile manufacturing are finding ourselves
ONNodSS
do not produce one of the leading materials with
which the business is carried on German producers
of dyes have substantial monopoly of the produc-
ton and they have this monopoly, first, because they
have obliterated American production of dyes by a
rigorous and merciless campaign of underseing,
and secondly because American patent laws make
it impossible for manufacturers to copy the Ger
man methods of aniline dye production. Dye pro-
duction is largely governed by patents and as the
case stands, it is possible for German dye manu-
acturer to get patents in this country covering the
manufacture of his product and then confne the
actual work of production mills located in his
country. In other words, laws provide for and
establish vast foreign monopoly of the production
of an article which is absolutely necessary to the
carrying on of great business within our own
borders. We understand that if this patent law OBJ
lection was removed dye manufacturers would
be perfectly willing to make contracts to supply
American mills with all the dyes they need, provided
they obtain long contract therefor. They hardly
be expected to put millions of dollars into dye plants
and have the output of their plants rendered useless
to them after the cessation of the war by so per
cent underselling of the material by German
firms, which are enabled to send this material into
our country free of tariff duty
All this is monstrous state of affairs and there
is man in country who will not declare it to
be such soon the facts are presented to him
The remedy is twofold: One, the imposition of such
a tariff duty upon foreign dyes will enable Amer
ican manufacturers to compete with the foreigner
and the other an amendment to the patent laws
which will compel foreigners to whom patents are
granted to produce at least certain quantity of the
article manufactured under the patent within the
borders of the United States
Until this is done we must understand that the
business of the American textile manufacturer must
always stop whenever there is war in Europe in
volving Germany.