The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1918-06-05
DISCUSSION Of
AFTER-THE-WAR
MERCHANDISING

! trademark for protection of American
goods abroad and to insure a high stan
dard of quality will be available for the
use of manufacturers in the United
States when Congress agrees on bills
now pending to authorize the Depart
ment of Commerce to design such an
emblem and regulate its use.
Made in Germany" goods and the
insidious propaganda accompanying
that notorious trade mark will b
combatted after the war by the
American sign, standing for an honest
product and square dealing to all.
The rtade mark will be pictorial or
| symbolic, recognizable in all coun-
tries regardless of the language that
is spoken. The printed mark MADE
in U. S. A" should be written on
the goods also in the language of the
country where the goods are to be
sold.
Another objection to the printed
mark has been that it was subject
to misinterpretation in British coun-
tries, where it might be taken to
mean made in Union of South At
RIGA, or Made in the United States
of Australia"
While the first necessity for such a
trademark is to protect American
goods in foreign countries, a very
important eject of its use will be to
insure that manufactures sold in in
terstate commerce are kept up to the
standard and in fact that they are
what they are represented to be BY
statesmen or by advertising 1t is the
present intention of the Department
of Commerce to restrict the use of the
proposed national trademark to such
manufactures and in connection With
such cOmodities as will meet certain
standards of trade practice, as we'll
as of quality.
The proposal for a national trade |
mark has the endorsement of Prpsi- /
dent Wilson, to whom Secretary Red |
field submitted the first bill for sug-
gestions before it was introduced in |
Congress. Secretary Lane and Secre-
tary Houston also have been act
invely interested in the bill. Num-
erous commercial organizations, pm-
waite citizens and trade papers nave
approved the idea.
Many small manufacturers are I'M
able to enter the export market be-
cause they cannot afford to go to-
the expense of protecting their trade I
marks in foreign countries. To these
manufacturers, permission to use
national trademark at a nominal fee |
would be a great boon, if such mark |
were protected by the Government |
throughout the world. 1t will also be
a boon to many larger manufacture
ers who have had their own trade
marks pirated in one or more for
eign countries. In such countries
these larger manufacturers need only
place the national emblem upon their
products. The foreign consumer
therefore will soon recognize that
even goods bearing an American pri- |
vate brands are not necessarily !
American, unless such brand is ac-I
companied by the national tradeI
mark.
Small manufacturers are now at
quite a disadvantage as compared
with large manufacturers because of
the inability of the latter to cxpend
large sums in nationally advertising
their products. The quasi-monopOly
secured in this way by large manu-
f@cturers will be to a very large ex-
tent vitiated by permitting the small
manufacturer of integrity to use up
on his goods of recognized quality
the national symbol which will be
freely advertised throughout the
world to a far greater extent than
any private trademark ever could be.
American goods, rather than
Americans and threir persons, are to
be the correct means of winning
friends for this country, in the opin-
ion of officials. The national trade
symbol if properly exploited and used
should enabl us to reach markets
and people as we have never done be-
fore