to the New York City product. So there are some who prefer a binding by Zaehnsdorf of London, or Riviere, to any work, however meritorious in design, done in New York City. They prefer these bindings because they believe that they are more artistic, or simply because they like them better. If we consider these bindings simply from the artistic standpoint, they would or should be entered free as works of art. If we consider them no more works of art than a Paris gown, they might well be dutiable, not only for revenue, but for the protection of the American workman who is attempting to develop artistic binding in this country. But the duty should be a reasonable one. Class 2, called in the trade edition "extra bindings," are almost entirely made for publishers or booksellers. The cost of the extra binding is often doubled or trebled in the additional cost of the book in an extra binding. Such binding can well afford a moderate duty for purposes of protection or revenue. Libraries often have consecutive volumes of sets of a periodical published in a foreign country bound in that country, for the sake of uniformity, and to insure parts not being lost. Very few libraries send books once their property in this country to any other to be bound, except as a few may desire especially durable work. Class 3 represents this special work. I can say from my own experience that a durable binding for a book in constant circulation is one of the most difficult things to insure. The paper now being used in books is of such a flimsy character that especial precautions must be taken to adapt the work to this special use. Such work requires especial study and constant experiments, both with material and methods. Some of the libraries of the country have become convinced that a certain firm having branches in Brooklyn, N. Y., and in Bath, England, has given the preparation of these bindings more careful study than any other firm. These libraries have therefore given some of their binding to this firm. In my own library I have tried many binders. I have told them to put on the most durable binding they could make. I have given them explicit directions. The result has been a great disappointment. The binders have had in mind cheapness rather than goodness. Up to the present time I have, after all these trials, employed the binder in Brooklyn and in Bath. Some books go to England; some do not. The books cost a high price compared with the work offered by the ordinary American binder. But they are bound forever, and in the long run they are cheaper. The binder in his Brooklyn shop has a nonunion shop. There have been attempts made to induce him to go into the union. He has refused. He pays union wages and his people work union hours. These are the facts. I have no quarrel with the American binders, nor am I under any obligation to any binder either here or elsewhere. When I find an American binder that will do the work, not promise to do it, but really do it, I will employ him. I take the liberty of appending two documents. The first is a communication from Mr. Cedric Chivers, of Brooklyn and Bath, England, addressed to the Library Journal; the second is the comment of the editor of that publication. The former statement, which I have no reason to doubt in the slightest particular, shows that the size of Mr. Chivers's business in Brooklyn, employing American labor, is of sufficient importance to justify his being heard as an American manufacturer. I append also the original of a letter from Mr. A. L. Bailey, chairman of the American Library Association Committee on Bookbinding, stating, in response to a letter of mine, his official opinion of this binding. Mr. Bailey has made the most searching investigations into library bindings, and his opinion is worth much more than mine. Very respectfully, W. P. CUTTER. EXHIBIT A. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOOKBINDING CONTROVERSY. [The Library Journal, November, 1908.] The other side of the bookbinding controversy is represented in the following statement by Mr. Chivers: My attention has been called to the publication in the Library Journal of the resolutions recently passed by the board of aldermen of the city of New York and to the affidavits from members of the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders regarding sending public library books to England for binding. As some of the statements made appear to be rather misleading, I beg to present the full facts in the case. From the wording of the affidavits it would seem that I merely have an office at 911-913 Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn, for the sole purpose of receiving and dispatching bookbinding abroad, and that all work sent to me is done by aliens. The truth is I have here a large bookbinding business employing 80 hands, among whom there are only two women and two men who are not American citizens. My workshop is an "open one," but some of the men in my employ are union. I make no difference when putting on a workman as to whether he is union or not. The conditions under which my workshops are conducted with regard to hours and wages are second to none in advantages to the workers. It has been complained by the representatives of the trades union that New York suffers from the fact that while unemployment is rife, work is being sent away from this city. I wish to submit that this is not a complete or fair statement of the case. Per contra, I am the cause of more bookbinding being done in New York than was done before I established my business, for I am drawing work from other places. My improved methods of work and better materials are the basis of practically a new business in this city, and I repeat, there is to-day more bookbinding being done here because of my establishment, and not less, as is alleged. Regarding the sending to England of a portion of the work I receive, the facts are these: I was invited by a number of the chief librarians of the United States to establish myself in this country for the purpose of binding public library books according to methods and patents which had effected great economies in England and its colonies. About four years ago I started a bookbinding business in New York, and immediately employed a considerable staff of Brooklyn work people. My success has enabled me to steadily increase this staff, and they find constant employment with me up to the present time without a day's loss of time or wages. But my business has grown so rapidly that I have had more work than it has been possible for me thus far to educate a staff to accomplish here. In spite of one removal I am now negotiating to enlarge my present premises. All this has rendered it desirable in order to give prompt service to the libraries to temporarily avail myself of my English workshops. This temporary help during the costly period of training and establishment here has enabled me to do work at a less cost than would otherwise be possible. I explained to the trades union delegation when they called at my bindery that having a part of the work done abroad was only a temporary expedient, and that I am rapidly training workers into my special methods and enlarging my premises, in order to do the work in this country. I may add that the ability to send a share of the binding abroad has greatly benefited the public institutions for which I work, because it would have been impossible to establish such methods as I have introduced into bookbinding without such aid. As to the moral and legal rights of the case, I have always understood that since the Congress left it open for libraries to buy and have their work done abroad it was with the special intention that the kind of business I have been doing should be done so that educational institutions should be advantaged. I was the first bookbinder to recognize the necessity for readapting bookbinding; first, to the severe usage to which books are subjected in public libraries. Before my time, and now beyond the influence of my work, books are bound for hard library service as they are bound for the limited service of the private house. Second. I have and am adapting the binding of books to the various needs of modern papers, which during the last twenty-five years have varied more in quality than during the previous four hundred years. On both accounts I have made several improvements and introduced new methods in order to meet the necessities of both cases. The value of these methods and patents have been publicly recognized by the awards of the gold medal at St. Louis, 1904; diplôme d'honneur, at Liege, 1905; grand prix, at Milan, 1906; and the grand prix at the Franco-British Exposition, London, 1908. My examples, also, were considered worthy of public exhibition in the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C., during 1905, when a show case containing samples of my improvements was on exhibition during several months. I set up a standard of work for public libraries in this country, enabling books to serve for very many more issues, and advantaging the lending-library system of the United States by giving library books much longer life. In other words, my methods have enabled two books to serve the library where formerly three were used. As a result, thousands of dollars are being annually saved in the libraries, books are enabled to live and serve much longer, more books are bought with the money saved, and the cost of administration is considerably lessened. CEDRIC CHIVERS. EXHIBIT B. [Editorial from the Library Journal, November, 1908.] The bookbinding question raised in New York by the onslaught of the unions upon Mr. Chivers has rather far-reaching relations. The facts are that Mr. Chivers, by the use of his "duro-flexible" binding and the use of stout washable cloth sides with pigskin back has built up a library business in Brooklyn already employing 80 work people and attracting patronage from nearly 500 libraries in different parts of the country. The American business was beyond the possibilities of his present American organization, and perhaps a quarter of the work was sent to his establishment in Bath, England, and reimported under the "free importation for libraries" clause in the tariff. To this the unions naturally took exception, and after various endeavors elsewhere they finally obtained from the New York aldermen the resolution printed in the last issue. The statement of Mr. Chivers in the present number tells the other side of the story and corrects a number of misstatements. Mr. Chivers has done a great service to libraries directly and in bettering the standard of library workmanship in other binderies, and it would be a pity should a narrow and restrictive spirit interfere with his good work. There have been cases where members of a trade union have refused to avail themselves of the privileges of a local library because its work or the books it contained did not bear the union imprint. This is of course a logical result of the extreme union spirit, and it shows to what that may lead. As there is no doubt that Mr. Chivers is within the law in these reimportations, the attack is not likely to be of serious result, especially as it is understood that it is his intention to do more and ultimately all of the work in his American establishment. EXHIBIT C. THE WILMINGTON INSTITUTE FREE LIBRARY, Mr. W. P. CUTTER, Librarian, Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass. DEAR MR. CUTTER: In answer to your question as to my opinion of the Chivers's binding, I wish to say that I believe Mr. Chivers gives the best binding for public library use of any one either in this country or abroad. Several binders in this country have adopted many of Chivers's methods, and in some cases they have endeavored to make the books look like those bound by Mr. Chivers. I have not seen many volumes of such imitations, but such as I have seen are not comparable to the books bound by Mr. Chivers either in appearance or workmanship. Very truly, yours, A. L. BAILEY, THE FACULTY OF BRYN MAWR (PA.) COLLEGE URGES THE FREE IMPORTATION OF BOOKS AND CHARTS. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, House of Representatives. DECEMBER 3, 1908. GENTLEMEN: The faculty of Bryn Mawr College, informed that certain interests are urging upon your honorable body changes in the tariff which it believes to be seriously detrimental to the cause of public education, has directed the undersigned to act as a committee to bring to your notice its protest against these changes. The present law contains certain regulations permitting the free importation of books, charts, maps, scientific apparatus, chemicals, etc., for colleges, universities, and libraries, and it is very desirable that these regulations be retained in the revised bill. We are informed that proposals are before you looking to the abrogation of this privilege, a step which would be harmful to all the institutions which benefit by the existing conditions; and in their behalf, as well as in the interests of this college, we urgently beg that no such step be taken by your honorable body. Every year hundreds of students leave this country to visit European universities, and many do this because of the greater library and laboratory facilities to be found on the Continent and because of the liberal manner in which these libraries and laboratories are equipped and research is fostered by the various governments. If the laboratories of research and other educational facilities of our own colleges and universities are to be made in any sense comparable with those of Europe they must have every burden removed which can possibly limit their usefulness. There can be no truer protection to American industries than this kind of protection of American colleges and of American scholars. We desire to call your attention to another proposed change in the tariff which will injuriously affect American scholars. We are informed that you are asked to include in your revision the removal of the provision of the tariff which permits the free importation of books in foreign languages, and also those in English, published more than twenty years ago. The provision has proved most helpful to those teachers and scholars who are obliged to make use of foreign books in their work. The greater number of these books are never translated into English at all, because being of interest only to specialists they do not warrant an American publisher in undertaking the expense of reproduction, while such as are translated appear in that form only after so long an interval that their usefulness to teachers is materially lessened. American scholars in many subjects are obliged to get these books as soon as published, in order to keep informed as to the progress of investigation in their own depart ments. The great bulk of such scholars are poor men, and a tariff on foreign books is for them a grievous burden, which is at the same time quite unnecessary, inasmuch as these books do not come into competition with those published in this country, and consequently no American interest is prejudiced. Indeed, foreign books of the class described not merely do not come into competition with American publications, but assist them in two ways; first, the scholar who needs foreign books to keep abreast of the times needs domestic |