would curtail the raising of American hemp. The amount of hemp raised last year was about 7,000 tons, and would undoubtedly have amounted to 10,000 tons, the same as the crop of the previous year, but for the reduced yield on account of the drought. Mr. Turner here submitted the following paper: [Flax and Hemp Spinners and Growers' Association-1887.] Duty-paying imports of the United States, home consumption, for the year ending June 30, 1887. Amounts of additional and discriminating duties, also the values of all merchandise withdrawn from warehouse on which the duty has been remitted, have been excluded from the computation of the average ad valorem rate. Summary of the principal duty-paying imports that amount to over $10,000,000 in invoice value. The foregoing tables show that "flax, hemp, jute, and manufactures of" rates fourth in invoice value of imports, while it rates twenty-eight in the list of protected articles. Twenty-seven classifi cations have greater protection than "flax, hemp, jute, and manufactures of." Summary of the imports, duties, and the amount of protection given to fibers and textiles. Statement of the average per cent. of ad valorem duty upon manufactured goods, with the average duty on raw material. The above covers an average of all items included in each classification; some items in each classifi cation have more, and some less, than the average protection. 11 TAR Flax, hemp, jute, and other textile grasses and vegetable substances, and manufactures of: Sisal grass. Other vegetable substances not specially enumerated or provided for. Straw... Hemp Tow of.. Manilla and other like substitutes for hemp not specially enumerated or provided for. 500, 085 12, 614, 917 62,216.00 531, 108.00 21, 810.60 35,00 183, 887.80 35.00 Hemp Jute.. Bagging for cotton, or other manufactures not specially enumerated or provided for, suitable to the uses for which cotton bagging is applied, composed in whole or in part of hemp, jute, jute but, flux, gunny bags, gunny cloth, or other materials, valued at 7 cents or less per square yard.. Bags and bagging and like manufactures, not specially enumerated or provided for (except bagging for cotton), composed wholly or in part of flax, hemp, jute, gunny cloth, gunny bags, or other material. Brown and bleached linens, ducks, canvas, padding, cot bottoms, diapers, crash, huck a-backs, bandkerchiefs, and lawns, of flax, jute, or hemp, or of which flax, jute, or hemp shall be the component material of chief value Do. Duty remitted under Sec. 3433 R. S Burlaps of flax, jute, or bemp, or of which flax, jute, or hemp, or either of them, shall be the component inaterial of chief value (except such as may be suitable for bagging for cotton): Not exceeding CO inches in width. Exceeding 60 inches in width Carpeting, hemp or jute...... Grass cloth and other manufactures of jute, ramie, China, and Sisal grass, not specially enumerated or provided for... Oil-cloth foundations or floor cloth canvas made of flax, jute, or hemp, or of which flax, jute, or hemp, or either of them, shall be the component material of chief value.. Oil-cloths for floors, stamped, painted, or printed, and all other oil-cloth (except silk oil-cloth) and waterproof cloth, not otherwise provided for. Sail duck, or canvas for sails Sheetings, Russia and other, of flax or hemp, brown or white Cables and cordage: Cables and cordage, tarred Cordage, manilla, untarred Cordage, all other, untarred. Embroideries (flax or linen), or manufactures of linen, if embroidered or tamboured in the loom or otherwise, by machinery or with the needle or other process, not specially enumerated or provided for Laces and insertings, flax or linen. ....... Seines and seine and gilling twine All other manufactures not specially enumerated and provided for: Of flax, or of which flax shall be the component material of chief value. Do. Duty remitted; for use of the United States... 20 per cent. 30 per cent. 25 per cent.. Of flax, jute, hemp, or manilla, or of which flax, hemp, jute, or manilla shall be the component 35 per cent. material of chief value. 3 c. per pound 23,826 2, 772.00 8, 897.24 833.94 32.89 30.08 BOSTON, MASS., June 14, 1888. DEAR SIR: As the tariff bill prepared by the "Ways and Means Committee” of the House reduces in an unwarranted manner the duties on flax and hemp and their prodncts, I beg to call your attention to the figures shown in the inclosed tables, demonstrating that the flax, hemp, and jute industries have had less protection than other leading industries, less than other textiles, and that the large imports are to a great degree due to this lack of protection. We are striving to make progress as American manufacturers even under the present tariff, and are paying two to three times the average wages paid throughout Europe. The least we can ask is that Congress should grant us the same protection as at present in force, which is less than the average duties proposed for any other textiles, even on the basis of the Ways and Means tariff bill. If the large reductions proposed on our class of goods are carried into effect, our industries will be seriously crippled and in part destroyed. By the request of the board of government of this association, I beg that this matter have your special consideration. Very respectfully, A. R. TURNER, JR., President Flax and Hemp Spinners and Growers' Association. The CHAIRMAN. You include, of course, raw material in your general average! Mr. TURNER. The raw material is included in the general average. The subdivision in that table, without the raw material (being flax, hemp, and jute), shows the average to be 34.52 per cent. The rate of duty on manufactured goods under the present flax, hemp, and jute schedule ranges from 25 to 54 per cent., averaging 34 per cent., the greatest protection being on jute bagging for cotton, which has a specific duty of 14 cents per pound (about 3 cents per yard). This protection, which is very much higher than the average in its schedule, has enabled American bagging manufacturers to make 50,000,000 yards, and the manufacturers claim an investment of $5,000,000 and the employment of 5,000 people. The imports of bagging for cotton were 964,452 pounds, or about 482,226 yards, and the duties paid $14,466. If the balance of the schedule had similar protection, greater progress would have been made in the flax, hemp, and jute industry in the United States. Comparison of rate of duty and amount of duty collected. Labor is a greater item of cost in the manufacturing of burlaps than in the making of cotton bagging, and is still a very much greater item of cost in the production of thread, twine, and linen piece-goods than in the manufacture of burlaps. The cotton bagging, having a higher rate of duty than other articles in the flax, hemp, and jute schedule, appears to have brought a very small revenue to the Government, and as a result of this protection the American manufacturers have prospered, while the articles having the lower rate of duty are limited in their manufacture in the United States, but the duty on imports pays a very large amount of money to the Gov ernment. |