SEWING MACHINES. STATEMENT, IN WRITING, OF THE WHITE SEWING MACHINE CO., BY W. W. CHASE, SECRETARY. CLEVELAND, OHIO, May 13, 1911. To the honorable members of the Finance Committee of the United States Senate. GENTLEMEN: In voicing our protest against the passage of the bill known as H. R. 4413, pending before your honorable body, we desire, if possible, to submit information which we are confident will correct any false impressions or misapprehension now existing with relation to the American sewing-machine industry. It is, of course, obvious that in protesting against the placing of sewing machines and parts thereof in the free list that we are seeking only to protect our home trade, and in no way do we wish it to be understood that we are endeavoring to develop for ourselves a foreign trade, which in any event would prove hopeless, owing to conditions existing in Europe. Our foreign trade is of comparatively little value to us, as we do not sell more than 2 per cent of our total product on the continent of Europe. The reason for this condition is in the fact that we can not manufacture machines and sell them there in competition with German-made machines, notwithstanding that it is generally conceded that our product is equal, if not superior, to the foreign product. There seems to have gone abroad a decidedly false impression as to the price of Americanmade sewing machines in foreign countries, and if a canvass of the situation is made we are confident that results will show that no sewing-machine company in America has any trade in Europe worthy of note, but if there is any difference in the retail prices of Americanmade machines in Europe as compared with the retail prices in America the difference is insignificant and is due to the variance in selling expense between the two countries. The difference in the expense of selling the sewing-machine product in this country as compared with Europe is somewhat startling. The sewing-machine trade in Europe to-day is transacted largely upon a cash or shorttime basis, except the trade secured by the Singer Manufacturing Co., which company has an established system very different from the policies of other manufacturers in the marketing of its product. If we were able to do business in this country as it is done in Europe the cost of selling our machines would be less, and consequently the price to the buyer would be reduced proportionately. The fact remains that 90 per cent of the sewing machine sales in this country is made upon the installment plan, which necessarily involves the payment of higher prices than would be the case were the business transacted upon a cash or short-time basis. Our experience in foreign markets leads to the conclusion that American-made sewing machines are not sold at lower prices in Europe than in America, but if they are, the difference in price is covered entirely, as above stated, by the difference in selling expense. In making this statement we wish you |