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Show I SANTA CLAUS' HOME I IS HERE THIS YEAR M Foreign Toys Being Quickiy Replaced By H Better Ones of American Make; Many B Labor Difficulties Overcome. K Good old Snntn Clnus this yenr is making his hendqunrters B right here in the United States. Not that he hns forgotten the m children of other nntions, but his mnnufneturing operations, hcrc- K toforc conducted chiefly in Germany, France, England and Swltz- K erland, have been greatly disturbed by the activities of the dis- H ciplcs of Mnrs. B Not so very long ago this country was almost wholly dependent B for its supply of Christmas toys upon foreign manufacturers. But B this is not the case today. Our own toymakcrs nrc now furnishing HH fully one-third of the toys sold in the United States. The toy R counters arc more nearly filled with American made toys thnn HBV ever before. And there is n very noticeable difference between the HBK American made toys nnd those of forign manufacture. There also HBB is n very noticeable difference in price. The foreign made toys HBV nrc much cheaper, and they show it. Also, they arc of an entirely B different character, as a rule. B American Toys Arc Made More Durable. B The toys of European manufacture, outside of the dolls, arc HBB largely of a mechanical nature, nnd of tin nnd very frail, also low HBB in price. Where tho American mnnufactuters have invaded the HBK field of mechanical toys, the toys are much heavier, more durable HBM and higher in price. The American manufacturers have not yet HHK' been nble to meet the prices of Europeans on account of the vast HHB differences in scales of wages, but they morn than make up for the HBH difference in price with quality. Another very noticeable thing is HBK that American toys are more on the educational ns well as amusing B character. HHH Americans have made extensive invasions in tho doll market. HBB Here also they are handicapped in the matter of price, but thnt is HBH n1' They cannot make dolls like the German and French at all HHB events not so cheaply. Hut our toymakers nrc trying, nnd not HHH without considerable measure of success, to make n market for HBH sham babies that are different. They are making what arc termed HBH "character dolls," which represent distinct types. HBB The imported doll may be beautiful, but it is insipid nnd char- HHH nctcrlcss. Recent experiences seem to show thnt American little jflrls appreciate a doll thnt stands for something definite. If it is nn Indian doll, it looks liku nn Indian; if n Chinaman doll, it bears the proper aspect of a Chinaman. The Yankee made doll means something. B Company Specialising On Indestructible Doll. B In Philadelphia there is n big factory thnt is specializing in the BBt production of a new kind of doll that is rapidly gaining popularity. BBJ It is made of bnsawood, so artistically carved nnd enameled in HH co'or hut n casunl observer would hardly guess its material. The BB arms and legs nrc jointed nnd joined to tho body with stool bands BBt in such a way as to give the utmost flexibility and freedom of BBE movement, nnd in addition this doll is guaranteed to be as nearly HHf indestructible ns any doll can be. BJ Few persons realize what the toy industry means. To bring BBE tho matter down to exact figures, wo imported from Germany in BBf tho year before the war began $8,8G0,000 worth of toys. From BBJ Franco and England the imports, especially dolls, wero much BBt smaller, yet of n considerable quantity. We ourselves in thnt year BBJ manufactured about $'1,000,000 worth of playthings. Rut since BBt ulnce the war began our toymnking hns gone ahead by leaps nnd B bounds. BBJ If tho embargo on German toys continues, in other words, if BBJ tho war goes on for another year or two, the indications are thnt BBJ tho American market demand for playthings will bo met mainly BBJ by our own output. And it Ih doubtful whether tho German toy- BBJ mnkers ever get much of tho business back again. Even before BBJ the outbreak of tho war the tin toys of German manufacture had BBJ been driven, to a great extent, out of our market by better ones of BBJ American manufacture. BBB American Inventive Genius Overcoming Competition. H It was believed formerly that we could never compcto with the BJ Germans in the toymnking industry, because of the extremely low BBJ cost of labor in their country. Rut this is being overcome. Ma-BJ Ma-BJ chincry of American invention hns reduced tho cost of production BBB to such nn extent thnt today, in somo instances, we nre actually BBJ nble to undersell the Gcrmnns in the market for metal toys, nnd we BBJ arc beginning to rivnl them in playthings of wood. BBJ Our two principal factories for tin toys nrc located in New BBJ York. These establishments turn out everything imaginable in BBJ thnt line, from tin trumpets to tin dolls' bnth rooms, dolls' kit-BBS kit-BBS chens, dolls' tableware nnd even tin animals. They make sets of BJ tin dishes, five or six pieces packed in n pasteboard box, which sell BBJ. at retail for about five cent. The manufacturer gets about two BBJ cents for them. BBJ In another part of New York is a factory devoted to the pro- BBJ: duction of pewter toys. It employs sixty-five persons the yenr BBJ round, with extra hands for tho rush season before Christmas, BBJ Pewter dolls' furnituro, toy baby carriages, doll swings, toy table BBJ service and many other articles, nil of the same material, are BB turned out in large quantities. BBJ Somo day it is possiblo that we will have in this country toy- BBJ mnkers' towns like thoso of Germany. Already there is tho be- BBJ; ginning of one at Winchendon, Mass., where n gigantic rocking BJ horse erected close by tho railroad station tells the railroad trav- BBJ eler thnt the manufacture of playthings is the principal industry BBJ: of tho place. Winchendon is credited with having the lnrgest toy BBS factory in tho United States an establishment devoted chiefly to BJ the production of wooden toys, including Noah's arks. jBBft Severn! Toymnking Plants Arc Enlarged. jB On tho very day thnt Germany declared wnr nguinst Russin BBS tho owners of the Winchendon factory ordered tho enlargement of BBI their plant. Other American toymakers have sinco followed their BBS lead. Winchendon sends to mnrket enormous quantities of toy BBS drums, dolls' trunks nnd furniture, toy pinnos nnd rocking horses. BBB Blocks, dolls' furniture nnd toy vehicles arc usually made of white BBB pine. Rocking horses nre usually made of white nsh. According BBB to a statement issued by tho United States forest service eighteen BBJ months ago tho total quantity of wood consumed in the United BBJ States in the manufacture of toys is nearly thirty million board BB feet annually. BBJ In tho factories thnt make wooden toys nearly all of the work BBJ is done by machinery. Tho toy withstands, beds nnd bureaus, for BBJ example, nre cut out by machinery from slices of wood scarcely BBJ thicker thnn veneer, and put together by hand. There is a factory BBJ in Connecticut that, incidental to other toymnking business, turns BBJ out in a year 1,600,000 toy drums of all sizes. They arc made nl- BBJ most entirely by machinery operated by women, only the stringing of the drums being done by male labor. A considerable fraction of tho output, by the way, is sold in South America, where little boys like n drum ns much as nny Yankee youngster docs. Iron Toys Are Hotter Thnn Foreign Product. Our tin toys, nnd in particular our toys made of iron, have begun be-gun to invnclo the European market. They nre more durable nnd better finished thnn the German product in this line, which, in former days, practically .monopolized the trade. Our toy locomotives loco-motives nnd trnins of cars have a recognized superiority. In the manufacture of iron toys guaranteed indestructible, na compared with tho flimsy imported toys of like character, Connecticut nnd Rhode Islnnd nre foremost. Amcricnns have tried to introduce tho manufacture of wooly animals, but without success up to dntc. The raw materials arc ns cheap as in Europe, but lnbor costs too much. Also our toymakcrs, after many experiments, have abandoned tho idea of trying to rivnl tho Gcrmnns in the production of glass nnd tinsel Christmas trco ornaments for the same reason. Until quite recently it was the custom of American manufacturers of toys to shut down immediately im-mediately nfter Christmns, nnd there was "nothing doing" until the next Christmas season approached. Nowadays it is different. Tho up-to-dato American manufacturer, as soon na the holiday . rush is over, starts to get ready for the following Christmns. He puts his expert designers to work to contrive new toys, always an anxious business, innsmuch ns there is no telling how nny novelty will please the small boys and girls, who, nfter nil, compose the . court of Inst resort in such matters, and from whose critical judge- ' ment there is no appeal. Army of American Toynnkers Hns Grown Fust. Tho bulk of the toy factory's output must be ready before mld-' mld-' summer. Drummers take the road nbout tho middle of April, ' enrrying samples with them. The goods nre expected to bo de-. de-. llvered during July nnd August. In September, however, n great i rush of emergency orders begin to roll in nnd by the end of Octo-i Octo-i er the fnctorles are running night nnd day to fill them. From n mere hnndful of workers twenty-fivo years ago tho American nrmy of toymakers has grown to four hundred thousand. thous-and. But in the menntimo the toy store, so dear to the hearts of Yankee childhood, hns well nigh vnnished from the scene. The de- Enrtment stores hnve driven tho toy dealers almost entirely out of usiness. They hnve practically obtained a monopoly on tho business busi-ness of selling toys, nnd todny the local headquarters of Santa i Claus in nny city or good sized town is to bo found in the establishment estab-lishment where nil the wants of tho community in the wny of genernl merchandise nro met. , power and rolling Mock, thero nre plent) of etiglnes, hut quite u number of new freight cars havu bten ordered As to tho conferences being held between be-tween the general officers und engine-men engine-men relative to adjustment of the Chicago agreement ns to wages, hours nnd general working conditions, he preferred to a nothing ut present. Tho entire matter Is now being considered con-sidered by both parties When asked If any changes In tho official personnel person-nel of the company wero being entertained, enter-tained, he said, "Not thnt I know of" |