SCHEDULE N-SUNDRIES. BUTTONS. [Paragraph 414.] BRIEF SUBMITTED BY THE FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, OF NEW YORK CITY, ON BEHALF OF THE IMPORTERS OF FRENCH MADE BUTTONS. 32 BROADWAY, New York City, February 27, 1909. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: The importers of French agate buttons ask for a reduction of duties, as the present ones amount to the enormous rate of 157 per cent of the net value of certain articles. For instance, on the annexed samples, which are of common use, there is, first, 15 per cent ad valorem; second, one-twelfth cent per line per gross. The price of the common staple shirt button, known as "blanc lentille D. C. N°. 8," which we will take as an example, and the diameter of which is 17 lines, is 0.90 franc a great gross, with 30 per cent and 2 per cent off, so that the net price is, as per price list: The total amount of the duty is accordingly: First, 15 per cent ad valorem, viz, 0.15X0.617.. Franc. 0.09 .88 .97 which, as stated above, amounts to the enormous rate of 157 per cent of the net value. The importers of mother-of-pearl buttons ask also for a reduction of the present duties and for a return to the old ones, which do not include any additional duty per line, as the actual duties on said article are absolutely prohibitive. The importers of agate buttons also request from your honorable body the suppression of the duty per line. Believing that it is not the intention of your committee to impose prohibitive duties on any article which would deprive the Government of a much-needed revenue, we trust that you will take this matter into consideration and give proper satisfaction to the importers. We remain, gentlemen, very respectfully, THE FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF NEW YORK, BITUMINOUS COAL. [Paragraph 415.] THE WEST VIRGINIA MINING ASSOCIATION PROTESTS AGAINST ANY REDUCTION IN THE DUTY ON COAL. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 16, 1909. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: The undersigned, a committee appointed by and representing the West Virginia Mining Association, an organization embracing practically all the coal producers of West Virginia and all the coal fields of said State, respectfully shows that said association (1) respectfully protests against any decrease in the present duty upon bituminous coal imported into this country; (2) respectfully asks that the duty on culm or slack be increased from the present rate of 15 cents per ton to the same rate as upon other forms of coal; (3) suggests that if Congress shall see fit to make any reduction of the duty on coal it should only be made upon condition that Canada will similarly reduce its duty on coal. STATEMENT. This question is of the most vital importance not only to the coal producers of the State of West Virginia, but to the whole State. Coal is by far the most important industry of West Virginia. It employs in normal times at least 60,000 men, and its output of coal for the calendar year 1907 was in round numbers 48,000,000 tons of 2,000 pounds. In addition to the men actually employed in producing coal, coal is the principal freight of the railroads of the State, its wholesale mercantile houses have built up their business upon the trade of the coal companies, a large part of such manufactures as the State has are devoted to supplying the coal trade, the farmers of the State find at the coal mines a market for their crops and farm products of all kinds, and it is not too much to say that not alone the 60,000 workers and the quarter of a million women and children dependent on them, but also practically every man, woman, and child in the State is directly or indirectly interested in the prosperity of the coal industry, and derives some part of his or her sustenance therefrom. The situation of West Virginia in the coal trade is peculiar. The other principal coal-producing States, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are older States, much more populous, thickly settled, and highly developed, with large cities and great manufacturing interests, so that the mines of each have within its own borders a large and in many cases an ample market which they can protect and hold under all circumstances. And each of these States consumes within its own borders, treating as consumed coal which is shipped by water from tidewater or lake ports in any such State, 90 per cent or thereabouts of the coal produced therein. West Virginia, on the other hand, has comparatively few manufactures as compared with the other States named, or as compared with its output of coal, and actually consumes within its own borders not exceeding 10 or 12 per cent of the coal which it produces. The rest goes to market in the Middle States, the nearer Northwest, Virginia, the Carolinas, and New England. It has, of course, no trade in Pennsylvania, New York, or the farther South, practically none in Kentucky, and comparatively little in New Jersey and Delaware. The market in the West, Northwest, and Carolinas is limited by the length of haul and competition with coals more favorably situated, and all its markets have been gained and must be held in the face of the severest competition. All of West Virginia's coal going to market passes through or by directly competitive coal fields having a shorter haul to reach the common markets, except the New River and Pocahontas coal sent east to tide water. The coal is sold under competition in the West with the coals of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky; in the east inland with the coals of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Alabama; and in New England with the Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Cape Breton (Canada) coals. The New England competition deserves to be called fierce, West Virginia, Maryland, and Nova Scotia coals entering by water, and Pennsylvania coals entering both by water and by all-rail routes. Bear in mind, too, there is in the New England and all other markets the keenest competition, not only among the shippers of the different railroads and States, but between the different shippers and sales companies, representing shippers, on the same road and in the same State. The result of this competition in all markets mentioned has been that the price of coal has been driven to a point where at the present time profit is in all cases practically, and in some absolutely, a negligible quantity. As will be seen by the report of Mr. E. W. Parker, statistician of the United States Geological Survey, for the year 1907, the average returns to the mine for West Virginia coal were 99.27 cents per ton of 2,000 pounds; and the returns to the mines for the calendar year 1908 will be still less per ton. The New England trade is a most important one to West Virginia, and its importance will be better perceived when we call attention later to what we believe would be the consequences of the removal of the tariff on coal. The coal trade of West Virginia has been built up against great difficulties in the way of transportation facilities and competition in the markets, and while the operators have of course taken their chances on a revision of the tariff injuriously affecting, perhaps destroying, their investments, the fact remains that the business has been created and grown under substantially the present conditions as to tariff and on the faith that things would continue substantially as they are. The business has virtually made the State of West Virginia what it is to-day. It has directly and indirectly placed on the tax books of the State three-fourths at least of the values which appear there to-day. To it West Virginia owes three-fourths of her railway mileage and upon it these railways largely depend. The West Virginia miners receive excellent wages, and under normal conditions the annual income of an industrious miner probably exceeds the average annual income of any other skilled manual laborer. Schedule A, appended to this brief, shows the rate of wages in several districts, and some examples taken at random of miners earnings, and it is fairly representative of the State as a whole. The West Virginia railroads have been compelled, by reason of the distance of the West Virginia coals from their markets and the keen competition, to haul coal very cheaply. Schedule B, hereto appended, shows the railway freight rates to some of the principal shipping points of the various roads and the rates per ton per mile. The profits of the operator in West Virginia have been on the whole very much less than those of operators mining coals more favorably situated, even though inferior in quality. We agree with other witnesses who have been before the committee, that from 15 to 25 cents per ton is only a reasonable profit for the coal operator to compensate for his investment and risk. But we do not believe that a single mine in West Virginia has averaged as much as 20 cents per ton profit for any ten-year period, and we are sure that the average profit of all the mines of the State for the past ten years has not been as much as 10 cents per ton. ARGUMENT. We assume that no change will be made in coal duty except under reciprocal agreements and do not propose to take any time for such discussion. We have been unable to get exact information as to the rates of wages and total cost of production of Canadian coals, but from the best information obtainable we believe that the wages paid in the mines of Cape Breton, with the competition from which West Virginia is principally concerned, are substantially less than the wages in West Virginia, and that the cost of production of coal is less. Nevertheless, in frankness, we must say that we believe that the present duty on coal (other than culm) considerably exceeds the difference in wages plus a reasonable profit per ton to the operator; still we believe for the reasons hereinafter assigned that the tariff should be retained on coal other than slack or culm and the tariff on slack or culm increased to the same amount, viz, 67 cents per ton of 2,240 pounds. CULM. It is believed that when the discrimination in favor of slack or culm was inserted in the existing tariff law and previous laws, it was on the theory in the legislative mind (though not in the mind of the interests urging the action) that the article referred to was an inferior product. As a matter of fact "culm" is a misnomer as applied to bituminous coal, the word being properly used for the waste of anthracite mining composed of fine coal, slate, and other dirt, useless as culm, but from which, when it pays to do it, the coal can be partially recovered by washing. Bituminous slack," on the other hand, is, when the seam of coal from which it is produced is clean, pure coal, but finely divided. For coke and gas making, furnaces using mechanical stokers, smithing, etc., it is more desirable than run-of-mine coal, which for these purposes would in many instances have to be crushed. Most of the Cape Breton coal, if not all, which now comes into this country, comes as "culm," and is used in by-product ovens making coke and gas, or in furnaces where finely divided coal is required, and it is asserted that the mining companies intentionally produce this "culm" either by unnecessary rough handling or by mechanical crushing. At any rate the spirit of the law is evaded, and there is no reason or justice in a tariff difference between bituminous run of mine and slack coal. As we understand it, the arguments presented in favor of reciprocal free coal with Canada by the operators of western Pennsylvania, who have petitioned the committee, are: (1) That if Canada removes her tariff on coal, the coal trade in the region extending from central Ontario to the Rocky Mountains, which is now held by American coal, will be stimulated and the country developed, and industries created which will consume more coal. (2) That the market for American coal may be extended to the eastward, perhaps to include Montreal. Western extension can hardly be hoped for owing to the high quality and the energetic and increasing development of the Canadian Rocky Mountain coals at Crow's Nest Pass and elsewhere. To these reasons may be added: (3) The demand of certain New England industries for free coal in order to give New England consumers cheaper fuel. CANADIAN COALS. The committee is undoubtedly informed that the Canadian coals are found in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, in the eastern part of the country, and in the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific slope and Pacific coast in the West. That these coals supply almost exclusively and control, respectively, the eastern and western parts of Canada. That Central Canada, say from Central Ontario west to the Rocky Mountains, has always been a market for American coal owing to the transportation advantages which the American coals have, going in by comparatively short railroad hauls and with water transportation to a large extent over the Great Lakes. The American coals which supply this market are principally coals of western Pennsylvania and northern Ohio. Some coal from northern West Virginia also goes into these markets and would share the benefits which the western Pennsylvania operators expect to realize from reciprocal free coal. These West Virginia operators, however, would be injured, as we believe the operators of western Pennsylvania would almost equally be by the disturbance of their trade on this side of the line, and desire to have the tariff left as it is, believing that any advantages gained in Canada would be offset or more than offset by losses in home markets. ANSWER TO FREE COAL ARGUMENTS. It seems to us that the arguments for free coal above mentioned are sufficiently answered as follows: (1) It is not pretended that reciprocal free coal with Canada is needed in order to enable the American operators to hold any trade already gained or to hold the natural increase of business in the territory which they have always controlled. This Canadian market is one which American coals have always had, and will always have, provided the Canadian tariff on coal is not increased. Nor is it pretended that the operators enjoying this market are entitled to or would receive any greater profits than they are now receiving on their coal, or that any part of the duty if removed by Canada will be kept by them as an increase in the price of their coal. On the contrary, it is |