Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1918-06-20
GERMAN CONTROL Of
FUR INDUSTRY ENDS
Last Tentacle of Teuton Power
In That Line Is
Rooted Out.

Washington. d. C.-Another tentacle
of German control in American ndus-
try has been severed by A. Mitchell
Palmer, the alien property custodian.
Under arrangements now being CON-
pleted the custodian n the Fur Mer-
chants Credit association of New York
1 city, the interests Of the German fur
barons of Leipzig will be purchased by
! American merchants and the money
paid turned into the United States
treasury to be held until the n of
the war for the Germans involved.
In announcing today the forced re-
tirement Of German interests in the in
dustry, Mr.. Palmer saiu even rough
estimates of the enemy holdings can
not be made until all the fur dealers
have reported balances luz the Ger
mans.
1T may be stated, however," said the
custodian, that the negotiations just
completed will root out forever the last
German dollar invested. in the fur bust
ness in this country, turn loose the
American furrier from the control Of
the Leipzig cabal and establish a great
new industry here in America.
Some of the larger firms which have
already readjuSted their holdings I'M
der the agreement of the government
are the Theoder, Thorer company, Tau
dig & Blum and M. S. Elias, jr., Inc,
among the best known fur houses on
this side of the Atlantic. Many Others
are in process Of readjustment. includ-
ing Otto Erler company, Fuchs & Co,
Inc, and Eisenbach Brothers..
Before the war the trade of Ameri-
can furriers was practically nothing but
a collecting and shipping agency for the
Germans. Almost every pelt taken by
American trappers had to go to Leipzig
before it could be sold. Leipzig dress
erS and 6SarS ware tha hest in the
world. None could compete with them.
Although London vas the worlds mar
ket, by reaso of the pioneer work of
the old Hudson Bay company and far
sighted English commission houses.
three-quarters of the fur shipped to
China went, after their auctions. direct
to Leipzig for dressing and dyeing.
"At Leipzig each year after the fur
was prepared and the German mer-
chants had fixed the price for that
year, Americans were allowed to pur-
chase as much as three-ifths of the
entire fur produced for manufacture
into garments, although in so doing
they were forced to pay the original
cost, plus thee expense Of dressing and
dyeing, plus a handsome profit for the
Germans, plus a 30 per cent duty before
they got them back home. They were
constantly either indebted to the Ger
mans or completely under their DOM
nation"
Mr.. Palmer said American fur dye
ing houses now are operating in New
York and that in st. Louis the attempt
has been made successfully to due seal
skins, which previously had never been
done outside of Leipzig and London.
Fur auctions also have been undertaken
successfully both in st. Louis and New
York.
When the war is over" Mr.. Palmer
concluded, Germany will again buy
American furs, but these goods will be
bought in the American market this
time, from American firms. and they
will be American dressed and dyed, and
prepared for European consumption.
The unnatural trade conditions which
forced Americans to ship certain furs
abroad, to buy them back and to re-
ship them to America will have dis
appeared, and Germany will be the
locorv EfEH RVS aa -H-