Governor Herbert H. Lehman was urged last night to sign the Wald Bill prohibiting the changing of labels of origin on foreign merchandise. A memorandum pleading for his signature was sent to the Governor by the New York State Lawyers Committee of the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League.
The bill, which was introduced by State Senator Albert J. Wald of the Bronx, was passed last Saturday night by the Senate and Assembly during the last hour before adjournment. It must be signed by Governor Lehman before it becomes law.
Passage of the bill makes it a misdemeanor for a dealer to sell any article on which the label has to his knowledge been altered, defaced, obliterated or removed. The present state law only covers affirmative misbrandings. The measure just passed is aimed at halting the fraudulent practices of tampering with labels by importers and merchants, especially those dealing in German goods who seek to overcome the growing boycott on Nazi merchandise.
The memorandum of the measure was prepared by Mitchell Salem Fisher and Professor Milton Handler of Columbia University.
SUPPLEMENTS RULING
The Wald Bill supplements the recent Treasury Department ruling against the changing of labels on goods coming into this country. The federal ruling, however, applies only to goods coming into the United States, whereas the State bill applies to merchandise already in the country.
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