How millions of American dollars heretofore going to Germany will now be diverted to the United States is the subject of a story that was told by Julius Bruno, president of the United States Blind Stitch Corporation, with plant and offices at 350 Seventh avenue.
Bruno, an Italian who became an American citizen when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1917, in the 77th Artillery, known as “the Cloak and Suiters”, has perfected machinery which produces enough machines to take care of the huge demand for blind stitches throughout the United States. Until Hitler came into power in Germany, and for some time after it, it was necessary to import these blind stitch machines from Germany, principally Munich, the birthplace of the Nazi Party and the center of the Third Reich’s sewing machine industry.
The blind stitch, Bruno explained, is one of the most common kinds of commercial sewing, although few persons recognize it by its rightful name. It is a stitch which can be seen on only one side (the inner side) of a garment. It is used on all kinds of clothing.
While the value of American imports of these German machines can not be determined accurately, it is understood that yearly many millions of dollars went to Munich in order to supply the huge American clothing trade with Bavarianmade blind stitch apparatus.
HITLER AND THE JEWS
“Day and night, my brother Mario and I worked on dyes and casts. The labor was heartbreaking. We worked for months before we were able to find a proper grade of steel, and when we did perfect one, we were gratified to find that it was perhaps a little better than the German brand. Our discovery meant that the American steel industry would benefit hereafter rather than the German.
“We cast and re-cast parts hundreds or thousands of times, and each time it seemed that we should never be able to attain the fineness and hardness of the German parts. But part by part we succeeded in putting together my machine.”
“You see this?” he queried as be passed it over. “There are one hundred sixty parts in it, and upon the strength and quality of every part the worth of the machine depends. Every part of the machine, every atom of material in it, and every bit of the labor that went into its manufacture is American. It is an American blind stitch machine. It is a victory,” he exclaimed.
Bruno said that it was not until two months ago that he was able to perfect the machine, but now, he says, his customers prefer it to those of German make. His profit, he added, is slight because he must meet competition from the German market.
Bruno charged that German parts and machines are still being imported into the United States. He produced a box of parts recently purchased from a rival concern, and pointed out that the label, “Made in Germany” had been impressed on the inside of most parts where it could not readily be seen. “The Germans are duping the American trade,” he said, “and to some extent the trade is duping the people.” He added, however, “But my machine is now recognized as a success. We’ll show this fellow, Hitler!”
“I feel certain,” he said, “that German exports of these machines will cease almost entirely, when the trade learns that these machines have been duplicated in this country.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.