packers, and we are advised that certain changes in the tariff on imported wrapper tobacco are about to be considered by the Ways and Means Committee of Congress. The absolute use of Sumatra wrappers is necessary in our business, and as the present duty of $1.85 per pound represents an increase of 35 cents per pound over the previous rate of $1.50, and as this advance had to be borne entirely by the manufacturers, thereby reducing the profits below a fair and reasonable basis, we would appreciate your cooperation in the endeavor of most of the leading manufacturers of the country to have the duty on imported wrappers reduced 20 per cent. Thanking you in advance for such consideration as you may see fit to give the above, we are, Yours, very truly, OTTO EISENLOHR & BROS. TOBACCO TAX. HON. EDWIN DENBY, M. C., SUBMITS LETTER OF W. J. CUMMINGS, BAY CITY, MICH., RELATIVE TO TOBACCO SCHEDULE. Hon. EDWIN DENBY, M. C., BAY CITY, MICH., December 10, 1908. Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Probably the most unfair tax in the revenue bill is that on tobacco. It is placed on an arbitrary basis of, I think, 6 cents per pound. The man who buys 15-cent tobacco pays 40 per cent, while the man who can afford $1 goods pays only 6 per cent. This is hardly fair; the one should pay less and the higher-priced article more. In the revision the figures could be made so as to return a larger amount to the Government. Personally, I am not interested, as I never use tobacco. * Yours, truly, * * W. J. CUMMINGS. SCHEDULE G.-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND PROVISIONS. BREWERS' RICE. HUGO REISINGER, NEW YORK CITY, IMPORTER, OBJECTS TO SUGGESTED INCREASE OF DUTY ON BREWERS' RICE. NEW YORK CITY, December 15, 1908. THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, House of Representatives. GENTLEMEN: I am an importer of various articles. My office is at 11 Broadway, in the city of New York. Among other articles which I import is broken rice, which I sell to brewers. This is a by-product, and by reason of the fact that it is practically exclusively used by brewers, is commonly known as "brewers' rice." It is not, however, so described in the tariff, but is designated in the tariff as "broken rice which wlil pass through a sieve known commercially as No. 12 wire sieve."" In the McKinley tariff of 1890, the Wilson tariff of 1894, and the Dingley tariff of 1897 this article has always been provided for by the same designation and at the same rate of duty, viz, one-fourth cent per pound. On January 5, 1897, a committee representing the rice industry appeared before the Committee on Ways and Means of the Fifty-fourth Congress and stated (tariff hearings before the Committee on Ways and Means, second session Fifty-fourth Congress, 1896– 97, vol. 1, p. 852): * broken What we ask for is that the duty shall be as follows, namely, rice which will pass through a sieve known commercially, as a No. 12 wire sieve," one-fourth of 1 cent a pound. The position of the rice industry appears to be the same to-day that it was in 1897, for we find in the statement of S. Locke Breaux, president of the Rice Association of America, to your honorable committee on Thursday, November 19, 1908 (see tariff hearings, No. 8, p. 754), the following: The foregoing premises considered, the rice interests of these United States of America pray and ask that the present tariff conditions, in so far as they affect rice, be not disturbed. It would seem that when a duty has been unchanged for eighteen years, and the parties interested in the products in this country have twice asked that the duty be undisturbed, and no one has appeared before your honorable committee requesting a lowering of the duty, there was a very strong presumption that the public interests would be best served by making no change in the tariff. But a gentleman who appeared before your committee at the hearing on November 19, Mr. W. H. P. McFaddin, of Beaumont, Tex., suggested an increase of the duty on brewers' rice and asked to have it. doubled. The reason he gave was that he did not believe the brewer was the proper man to get the benefit of this protection, but that he believed that it should go to the farmers. He frankly stated his posi tion in the following language (p. 758): This is the first time that we have asked for anything; and my friends, while they think it is a good thing, did not have the nerve to get up and ask for it. I have found out in my life that there are a great many things we miss by not asking for them. He admitted (p. 759) that brewers' rice was from 8 to 10 per cent of the crop. He admitted (p. 761) that he did not know how much brewers' rice was imported. In behalf of the importing interests, and more especially in behalf of the brewers of the United States, I beg to submit the following sug gestions in reply to Mr. McFaddin's request, in which the rice trade did not have the nerve " to join: Brewers' rice is sold in bags of 240 pounds each. The consumption of rice by the brewers in the United States is about 600,000 bags, of which 20 per cent is supplied by the rice growers of the United States. The increase of duty demanded by Mr. McFaddin would be prohibitory, as the brewers could not afford to pay the increased price. They would use other cereals in the manufacture of beer, as is done in other countries, and the Government would lose a revenue of a quarter of a cent a pound on about 480,000 bags, equal to $288,000. As the brewers could not afford to pay the price for imported rice at the proposed increased duty, neither would they pay the increased price for domestic rice, and if they turned to other cereals for beer manufacture they would probably not buy the domestic rice at all, whereby the rice industry here would lose this market for this product and the Government would lose its revenue. The railroads also would lose the revenue from the freight charges on the rice. Mr. McFaddin is not correct in his statements as to comparative freight rates on the imported and domestic article. The through freight from the producing points in Europe to St. Lous is 25 cents. The freight from Texas producing points to St. Louis is 20 cents. The freight rates from producing points in Europe to St. Paul is 34 cents. The freight rates from Texas to St. Paul is 24 cents. The domestic rates are therefore lower than European producing points, and not higher, as represented by Mr. McFaddin. The present specific rates on cleaned rice amount to from 75 to 100 per cent ad valorem. This would seem to be adequate protection to the farmer, and he should be thankful that nobody is opposing his having it without asking the Government for more. HUGO REISINGER. CHICORY AND SPLIT PEAS. H. M'MORRAN, M. C., SUBMITS BRIEF ASKING INCREASE OF DUTY ON CHICORY AND SPLIT PEAS. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, WASHINGTON, D. C., December 14, 1908. Chairman Committee on Ways and Means. DEAR SIR: I herewith inclose to you two briefs on the question of duties on chicory and split peas. Will you kindly file the same with other matters submitted relative to changes in duty, and if you desire any further information on the subject will be pleased to furnish it. Very truly, yours, H. MCMORRAN. WASHINGTON, D. C., December 14, 1908. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: The changes in duty wanted are: First. Increase the duty on dried root to 2 cents per pound. Second. Leave the duty on manufactured chicory in bulk, barrels, or sacks as it is, at 2 cents per pound. Third. Increase the duty on manufactured chicory in packages or rolls to 4 cents per pound. Increasing the duty on dried root from the present rate of 1 cent to 2 cents per pound is for the purpose of increasing the American production of root, so that all of the chicory consumed in this country may be produced here instead of importing from 1,000 to 1,500 tons per year. Attached statistics show that, with the present duty and the present price of imported root, the price to the farmer for green root can not be increased to induce the farmer to increase acreage and production, because the cost of domestic dried root is now fully equal to the cost of imported dried root, without any profit to the domestic drier. We do not regard an increase of the duty on manufactured chicory in bulk, barrels, or sacks as necessary. When the present duties were put into effect, making a difference of 13 cents between the duty on dried root and the duty on manufactured chicory, that difference was necessary in order to establish the industry in this country. Imported dried root at that time commanded a price of 25 to 40 francs. per kilo, which was double the present value. The cost of chicory manufactured in this country from imported dried root was therefore much in excess of the present cost, and therefore the difference of one-half cent per pound originally established was relatively no more than the difference that would be maintained by making the tariff on dried root 2 cents and leaving the tariff on manufactured chicory 23 cents. Despite the heavy decline in the price of imported dried root, there has been little, if any, change in the price of the manufactured article, owing to the fact that the trade buying the imported manufactured product is prejudiced in favor of brands, and the price of these brands has been maintained. The increase in duty on manufactured chicory in rolls or packages to 4 cents per pound is not intended to and will not increase the price of the domestic package to any appreciable extent, but would make a much larger market for the domestic article, as the increase in price of the foreign article, due to the increase in duty, would be sufficient to turn the domestic consumer from the high-priced imported article to the lower-priced domestic article. As shown by the statistics attached, there is a difference in the cost of production of the foreign packages as against the domestic package of only one-half cent per pound, due to the cheaper foreign labor and foreign materials. An increase, therefore, of one-half cent per pound over the duty on manu factured chicory in bulk would be sufficient to protect the domestic manufacturer against the cheaper foreign cost, but we justify the additional increase of 1 cent by the fact that it would materially aid the domestic manufacturer in disposing of his by-product and would actually compel the consumer to buy the cheaper domestic article, which is conceded to be equally as good. There are three forms of chicory known to the trade: Chicory root, green, similar to sugar beets. the farm. This is the product of Dried chicory root, consisting of the green root, cut up into pieces about the size of a walnut and dried hard. This is the product of the drying kilns. Manufactured chicory. This product is in two forms: First, the granulated, roasted chicory sold to the trade in bulk, put up in barrels and jute bags; second, the powdered chicory sold to the trade in small packages in wood cases. These small packages consist of "rolls" or "sticks," i. e., small cylindrical paper packages filled with powdered chicory, which cakes on standing. This is the product of the chicory roasting and granulating factory. To produce manufactured chicory, the dried chicory root is placed in roasting drums and roasted until dark brown all the way through. This brown roasted chicory is then put through rolls and granulated and the various sizes or granulations separated by screens. The coarser granulations are packed in bags or barrels and are ready for market. The fine, powdered chicory, produced in the process of granulation, is a by-product and requires further handling to make it marketable. There is little, if any, market for the powdered chicory in bulk. The powdered chicory goes to the packing rooms, where it is put up by girls and boys into paper tubes. These tubes are allowed to stand for a while, until the powder cakes into a mass or round "stick." Then they are packed into wooden cases and are ready for market. Several styles and sizes of packages or "sticks" are put up, the principal sizes being 5 packages or "sticks" to the set (a set weighing about 1 pound); 24 sticks to the set and 1-pound sticks. The granulated chicory is sold to coffee dealers, who use it to blend with certain grades of coffee. There is practically no granulated chicory, as such, sold to the consumers in this country. The coffee dealers blend a small percentage (seldom over 10 per cent) of granulated chicory with certain grades of roasted and ground coffee for the purpose of improving the color and flavor of these grades of coffee. Chicory can not be considered as merely an adulterant, for the best grades of chicory cost more than the cheap, broken coffee and coffee screenings. Its use has persisted for many years, because it produces a decided improvement in the cup when used with certain grades of coffee. The package, "stick," or "roll" chicory, made from the powder is sold almost entirely to the foreigners in this country, who have been accustomed to its use in their native countries and continue the use here. These foreign-born residents are prejudiced through habit and ignorance in favor of the brands which they have used at home, and will pay a higher price for the imported brands than they will for the domestic brands, although it is conceded that there is no difference in quality. This prejudice in favor of foreign results in |