Bisbee daily review., 1915-04-03
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
 HERE IS DYING FOR
 LACK OF GERMAN DYE
Commission Appeals to the Eng fish Government to Permit the Sending of Big Shipments Held In German Ports

LONDON. April Representative of the American textile industry arc now in London for the purpose of bringing to the attention of the Brit ish government what is said to be a critical condition growing out of the threatened failure of the dye sup. ply from Germany Pressure is be- ing brought to bear to keep the trade routes open for dye shipments from German ports.
 It is estimated roughly that an an. nual output of five hundred million dollars worth of silk woOlen and cot ton goods manufactured in the United States can reach its finished state only through the use of dyes made in Germany Of these essential dyes there are now on haal only thirty days supply, according tc informa. ton furnished by tho tevtile repre- sentatives Three ships are at this writing in German ports loaded with dyoh consigned to America valued at S6.000.0OO sufficient to supply the Am erican mills until August
 The war has disclosed a condition with respect to the American textile interests and its dependence upcn Germany for dye which. while well known to the experts, win cause SUI prise in lay circles At ante-belun prices the actual value of dyes inn ported annually from Germany was about ten million dollars. or only about two per cent of the total value of the product to the finishing and market ing of which these dyes afe absolute ly indispensable That such con. dition was permitted to continue arose from the fact that the processes of dye manufacture. while not pre- cisely secret. are highly skilled ana may be acquired and applied commsI cially only by long and painstaking ex- perimentation.
 There are said to be no fewer than 1900 chemists holding diplomas from Che great German universities employ cd in the industry of dye-making in Germany It is this highly trained organization controlled by a few big concerns which gives to Germany such power over the worlds textile inter ests. At the outbreak oI the war it is said that German-oWuel and man. aged dye factory located iu England was taken over by the British govern ment but the new management has not yet been able to turn out a single pound Of proper German dye
 While progress in the United Statea has been slow in establishing the manufacture of colored oyes. in the one item of black dye America may be said to be independent and if the German supply should be shut on eu-l tirely, America will literally be thrown into mourning Variants Of natural white, and black in stripes an0 checks. will tend to break the funeral monotony
 Whatever may come of the effort now making to maintain the flow Of German dye to America, the present threatening situation Is sure to give
 
 duCtiou in the United States Amer ican spirit and energy will hardly brook such helplessuess as the war has shown to exist Indeed for years past manufacturers in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania with hundreds of millions invest ed and employing hundreds of thou sands Of hands, have been restive un- der conditions which lodge in a two per cent item the control of the whole manufacture. To make matters worse there have, it is claimed been abuses growing out of secrecy and monopoly. l Adulteration and bribery have, 1t is alleged. been practiced oo a large scale
 { The materials entering into the manufacture of dye in Germany arc mainly by-products of coke. The flames leaping up from the ovens which give such brilliancy to the pros. pemt as one travels through the coke l regions in America, dispose of this ] by-product spectacularly if not profit ably. The statement i- made, hOw- l ever. that it is from oil, rather than | by the too expensive rebuilding of coke ovens, that it is hoped to develop l dye manufacture in America. The oil interests are understood Go be pi- oneering very actively for dye mater ials and the temporary misfortune of a shortage in colors for silks, wool ems and cottons may lead to Ameri- can industrial independcnCe in very l important field.