REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN. Tuesday, November 10, 1908, the chairman of the committee, Hon. S. E. Payne, opened the public hearings with the following remarks: Gentlemen, the hearings will commence at half past 9 in the morning and continue until 1 o'clock, when a recess will be taken until 2 o'clock. The hearings will then be resumed in the afternoon at 2 o'clock, and if it becomes necessary to take a recess at 6 o'clock the committee can do so and continue the . hearings at 8 o'clock. The opening hearing this morning, as you are aware, is upon the chemical schedule of the tariff, and it is the desire of the committee to hear the parties interested and others who may desire to speak on the subject embraced in the schedule, and also concerning the chemicals on the free list, and so with each paragraph of the bill as we proceed, so that the discussion may continue intelligently, involving every item connected with the subject. The committee has no apologies to make for the bad acoustics of the hall, as we have nothing to do with that feature. We hope the people in attendance will be able to hear, and I would caution those in attendance that they speak in a sufficiently loud tone of voice that the committee can hear. December 22, 1908, at the close of the formal hearings, the chairman said: Gentlemen, in accordance with the resolution of the committee passed two weeks ago this closes the hearings and there will be no further hearings by the committee unless they desire information on some subject and invite gentlemen to be present to give them that information-that is, there will be no hearings for volunteers as distinguished from those who may be sent for by the committee. Of course, any persons desiring to present briefs and file them can do so, and they will be printed with the hearings. The only difficulty in regard to that is that if they are not brought in promptly they will be printed in a subsequent volume. I think we have material now for five or six volumes, and belated briefs and papers will be printed in a subsequent volume with the index. Before we adjourn I want to thank the members of the committee for their uniform courtesy, and especially their indefatigable inquiries tending to bring out the facts in reference to the tariff and in order to aid in perfecting the bill. I think the minority members of the committee especially are entitled to thanks for their perseverance and patience in getting at the facts. Mr. COCKRAN. As the senior member of the minority, Mr. Chairman, I want to say that nothing could be fairer than the manner in which this investigation has been conducted, and no inquiry could be fuller in its scope or more fruitful in its results. The CHAIRMAN. The chairman is very much gratified at the gentleman's state ment. The committee will now stand adjourned. SCHEDULE A-CHEMICALS, OILS, AND PAINTS. ACETIC ACID ANHYDRIDE. [Paragraph 1.] STATEMENT OF 0. T. ZINKEISEN, 135 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK CITY, IN FAVOR OF MAINTAINING PRESENT DUTY ON ACETIC ACID ANHYDRIDE. (The witness was sworn.) WEDNESDAY, December 16, 1908. Mr. ZINKEISEN. My appearance before you is to ask that the duty on acetic acid anhydride be allowed to remain at the rate now in force, as in accord with the decision of the federal courts, at 2 cents per pound. Mr. CLARK. That is a by-product of wood alcohol. Mr. ZINKEISEN. Yes, sir; that is a by-product with wood alcohol in charcoal making. If there should appear to your honorable committee any good and just reason for adding to paragraph 1, Schedule A, that no duty less than 25 per cent ad valorem shall be levied under that paragraph, that in that case the committee consider inserting into their draft a paragraph specifically imposing 2 cents per pound duty on this product. The Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter, under date of November 23, 1908, on page 41, beginning with the words " Phraseology of Dingley Act tentatively revised," shown in the copy here submitted, declares that "the text of the chemical schedule has been finished," and also that "the amendments are indicated by italics." [Special to Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter.] PHRASEOLOGY OF DINGLEY ACT TENTATIVELY REVISED-WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE PREPARING CHANGES IN THE WORDING OF PARAGRAPHS, SO AS TO ELIMINATE AMBIGUITIES AND MAKE THE READING PLAIN AS TO THE INTENTION OF CONGRESSPROPOSED ALTERATIONS IN SCHEDULES COVERING CHEMICALS, OILS, AND PAINTS. WASHINGTON, November 20, 1908. As a preliminary step to the enactment of a new tariff law, the Ways and Means Committee is preparing a comprehensive tentative revision of the phraseology of the Dingley Act, for the purposes of eliminating all ambiguities, providing specially for a large number of articles not mentioned in the present law, and which have become of commercial importance since 1897, and forestalling further developments in the leading manufacturing industries of the world. No attempt is made in drafting this revised classification to fix rates, that task being deferred until after the close of the hearings now in progress. The work of amending the phraseology of the law is not yet completed, but the text of the chemical schedule has been finished and the Reporter's correspondent is enabled to present below such paragraphs thereof as have been revised, together with a brief statement of the reasons for the proposed changes where such reasons are not perfectly obvious. The amendments are indicated by capitals. The paragraphs not cited have not been changed from their present form. |