Show DIAMOND GUTTING S It iff a New Industry VHicu is Bringing Bring-ing Skilled Labor Here It WSJ well known that America Is the grea t absorption market for diamonds The to1 annual output is about 20000 000 afldV > ut of this we have been taking U4oooooo worth almost entirely accord I log to the outlook in cut stones Tho diamond dia-mond cutting Industry however has never nev-er flourished in this country to any remarkable re-markable extent while in Antwerp there are 155000 persons engaged in cutting stones and 5000 others directly connected with the trade In America up to the last year only fortyfive diamond cutters were known to be at work and they were chiefly employed in recutting old stones At the present time there are probably 300 or more cutters in the United States and they are for the most part employed in cutting rough stones It Is expected that by next summer this number will beat be-at least doubled The increase is due to the fact that in the last tariff bill the import I im-port duty on cut diamonds was increased from 10 to 5 per cent and a duty was also put on rough diamonds which were formerly on the free list Diamonds will now have to be cut in this country thus creating practically anew a-new industry for the number ot cutters has heretofore been insignificantly small Their work is almost entirely of the nature na-ture of recutting Cutters have arrived from abroad in great numbers and many more are on their way Som have been permitted to land and some have been debarred under the law forbidding the immigration im-migration of contract laborers It is per haps unnecessary to say that the former I declare that they had not come here un der contract a statement naturally received re-ceived with suspicion It is reported that 55000000 worth of capital has already I sbi been subscribed to establish diamond l ting works in this country Large shops have already been leased in Brooklyn I and also in Cincinnati in which have been installed hundreds of machines The I immediate possibilities of this enterprise depend on the immigration of a large I number of diamond cutters who will hardly come on a mere chance of finding employment here To forbid the immigration immigra-tion of those coming under labor contracts con-tracts appears to be a necessary part of the protective system unless the system is to protect only capital Now as it is a law it should be rigorously enforced The notion that diamond cutting is a new In dustry and that therefore the law does not apply is justly repudiated by the II treasury department |