"MADE IN GERMANY."

Manawatu Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 12804, 30 May 1914, Page 2

"MADE IN GERMANY."

♦ HOW IT IS WORKED. By Electric Telegragh—Press Association—Copyright. SYDNEY. May 29. Before the Tariff Commission, a witness stated that he made pianos in Sydney, but had to sell them as German instruments. He did so at the request of*customers and in order to meet competition. 'He used the name plates of German firms who had no local agents, sometimes the name and j address of a fictitious manufacturer, and sometimes the name was spelt slightly incorrectly. If a buyer wanted an Australian made piano it was sold as such. If he wanted a German ! instrument it was called a German. The witness added that one or two other retailers did the same. Even English pianos were imported bearing German firms' name plates. A representative of a leading house said if the practice existed it was infinitesimal in extent, because the makers' agent could take immediate legal action to prevent it. Another witness- quoted a case where the name plate of a well known Australian maker was replaced by that of another, and the instrument sold at a bigger price.