The Connecticut labor news., 1922-05-05
Patriotic" American Firms Helping Cripple Industry Here By Purchases Abroad.
Firms

The printing tradesmen of Amer ica, many thousands of whom have been idle for months, will soon have an opportunity of returning to their trade If the promise made by Hon. Elmer Dover, Assistant Secretary o1 the Treasury, to representatives ot the organized printing trades is full filled
 Early last fall an investigation on the part of the New York State Allied Printing Trades Council, head ed by it's president, Peter J. Brady, tary of the Allied Printing Trades ter N Reddick, president, and Felix ]. Belair, secretary of the 1nterna- tional Brotherhood of Bookbinders, disclosed the fact that during the year 1920 there was an increase of more than 400 per cent. in the imports Ot printed matter It was also learned that some "patriotic' American em- ployers were placing their printing orders with representative of foreign printing concerns because of the low quotations Quotations so low i'll fact that many of the 'rat" shops of our own country could not even compete.
 The names of many of these 'patrl- otic" American concerns who are looking to the workers of this cOun- try for their support and patronage, and consequent profits, will soon be compiled and made public and we hope that our workers and those ot our employers who believe in Amer ica First" will bear this fact in mind when placing their orders for mer- chandise by the concerns we refer to-
 The House Ways and Means Com mittee, the House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee answered the request of labor and placed small additional duty on the imports of printed matter from for eign countries. The additional duties, however, are small.
 These duties, if the recommends tions of the Senate Finance Commit tee are adopted, will be based on the foreign value of these imports. Such a law at this time will give us but little relief
 The books, booklets, post cards, ci- gar labelI circulars and other printed matter which Americans are asked to purchase with AMERICAN MONEY are sold on value in America. Why not place reasonable import tax on these goods on their value in Amer ica?
 American labor has spent thousands of dollars during the last two years preparing material for Congress and for the President showing why, ii American labor is to obtain employ ment, the imports which compete with our labor should be taxed on the value of the imports in this coun- try.
 We may succeed in getting this through but at the present time it seems as though the international bankers and other financial interests, many of them holding fortunes in the depleted currencies of Central Euro .pean countries, will be able to defeat the wishes of real AMERICANS.
 At the present time 1t looks as though months may pass before any definite action is taken on the Tariff Bill.
 It was because of this fact that rep resentatives of the Printing Trades, headed by Matthew Woll, called up on Hon. Elmer Dover, assistant sec retary of the Treasury in charge of Customs, and asked that he issue a ruling that hereafter all goods print ed in foreign countries, imported for sale in our country, have the name of the country where made printed in a conspicuous place. They also asked that the Treasury Department make an investigation of the imports of printed matter, the prices at which the imports were valued and the prices which the importers and bank CTS receive when they dispose of these goods in America.
 We have reason to believe that some of these goods are offered for sale in Europe at prices which are less than the cost of material in America. Of course this IS possible at the present time on account of the depreciated value of the currency of some of the European countries.
 We at least ought to have the priv ilege of knowing where the goods we purchase were made and then 1t is up to our own people if they prefer to patronize the goods printed in coun- tries other than America We may soon be able to list some"of those who are Americans when it is profitable to be SO and anti-Americans when they profit themselves even by SO do ing they help to impoverish the workers of America.
 The delegation which called upon Hon. Elmer Dover consisted of Mat thew Woll, president of the Interna tional Printing Trades Associations and vice-president of the A. F. of L.; l. M. Ornburn, secretary of the Con- necticut State Federation of Labor Walter N. Reddick, president of the International Brotherhood of Book binders; Daniel J. Ahearn, president of the Allied Printing Trades Coun- cil of Greater New York; and Ed ward F. McGrady, legislative repre- sentative of the American Federation of Labor