The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-31
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HAEK1N, Director.
Washington. D. C
EXIr .MADE-IN-GERNIANY.n
Washington. D. c.


Washington, D. c., Jan. 27.-For the
first time in over fifty years, Ameri-
can stores are practically emptied of
German toys. Only few bisque dolls
remain. and in most cases these have
been carefully packed away until some
distant day when American toy-buy-
erS shall have become reconciled to
the trademark, "Made-in-G
Today, this trademark is not only
unpopular-it is offensive. Americans
will still buy Turkish rugs. Austrian
musical comedies, and Bulgarian col
denominations, but from Germany
they want nothing but SOUVENIRS of
victory. According to one department
store buyer, a woman came into his
store not long ago, in search of a GER
tain kind of gloves which, she said,
she had been unable to obtain in two
other cities. She was delighted when
he finally brought out a pair from
some old stock that met with her re-
quirements. He was very much sur
prised, therefore, to find her in an
argument with one of the salesgirls
this next day over the return of her
purchase. Il won't have them she
was saying vehemently, you can see
as plainly as I can that they are
marked, Made in Germany"
Especially, do Americans feel this
way about German toys. Many of
them refuse to have their children
playing with bloody toys" as one
editorial writer named them. And,
even if the parents don't obpect, the
children do.
One mother recently espied her
young SON standing in a Napoleonic
attitude before blazing bonfire, in
the midst of which could be seen the
fast disappearing head of a white
rocking-h0rse.
WHY Natban', exoIoip,a5 hit
mother in grieved voice. you used
to be 50 fon1 of that rocking-horse.'
Yes'm, but I'm not any more" de-
clared her son emphatically. ut
got Made in Germany on it,
While a few radicals have pointed
out that hatred for any cause is small
and petty and should not be encour-
aged in children; that such an atti-
tude is not conducive to the success of
the new world democracy for which
We fought, and that we are pledged
ito be just TO those to whom We do
not wish to be just" they have failed
to make any great impression. Ger
man toys and other German goods
seem doomed in this country.
So far as toys are concerned, this
attitude has been an Industrial boon.
For the American toy industry has
grown tremendously since the German
market was shut off, and it cannot af-
ford to be injured now by the dump
ing of German goods a great deal
has been said about the necessity of
protecting the new American dye in
dustry from German competition now
tl-at the war is over, but~few people
know that before the war our impor-
tation of German toys was greater
than that of dyes. The figures show
that $9,0S4,000 worth of toys were
imported where only S8,40O,0OO worth
of dyes were imported. In 1914, the
imports of both these lines of goods
from Germany showed such startling
increase that it is now believed that
German dye and toy agents in this
country were aware tt; war was ap-
proa ching.
The only difference in the histories
of these two industries is that toys
had always been made to a limited
extent in the United States, whereas
dyes-at least, coal-tar dyeS-had not
been made here at all. In 1913 there
were already seventy-one toy estab-
ishmentS. designing and manufactur-
ing American toys, and doing an an
nual business of $7,521.485. When
the German toys stopped coming this
industry underwent an enormous eX-
pansion. Today. there are les Ameri-
can toy firms, doing an annual bust
ness of 500, 100000.
A consistent campaign has been
waged by these new manufa cturerS to
educate Americans to the proper ap-
probation of American toys, and
things are going smoothly in the toy
industry. There is no doubt that
the American toy product is every bit
as good, if not better. than that made
in Germany, altho it is usually more
expensive, because the price of labor
is higher in this country. American
toy-makers have not yet learned to
make bisque dolls or Christmas tree
balls, but most people consider that
the American dolls are much more
natural" and abundant Christmas
tree balls may be had from Japan.
Thus everybody was prepared for a
peaceful American-toy Christmas this
year, when suddenly a cargo of Ger
man toys arrived in the port of New
York.
An earthquake could not have
caused greater CONSERVATION in the
American toy industry. Immediately
the press took up the matter with the
free use of bitter invective. and the
vice president of one of the firms to
which the toys were consigned issued
the following statement: I'VE have
refused to accept the shipment of
German toys which came to us from
Holland without notice. Tho these
goods were bought and paid for before
the war and are our property, we will
have no German made goods in our
stock"
The boycott committee of the Amer
lean Defense society then sent a tele-
gram to other houses having ship
ments of these goods requesting them
to show their patriotism. and intimate
to Germany that toys made by her
bloody handed baby-killers' would
not be welcomed in America by refus-
ing to accept them. But other firms
were not quite so anxious to do that
as the first one. They declared that
the toys had been purchased before
the war: that German manufa cturers
had had nothing to do with the ship
ment of the goods; that the toys had
been stored in Holland and that stor-
age and other charges had accumu-
lated for several years; that they had
been shipped with the license and APP
prevail of the British government and
the war trade board. and that under
the circumstances they did not feel
to crir-