made into the United States, and it is fair to presume that the figures which they have compiled as to their importation would reasonably apply to the importations as a whole. Respectfully submitted. SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL & Co. (INCORPORATED), SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL, Treasurer. THE SALTS TEXTILE MANUFACTURING CO., THE AMERICAN VELVET Co., CHAS. A. WIMPFKIMER, President. SCHEDULE M--PULP, PAPERS, AND BOOKS. BOOKS. TRUSTEES OF NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, ASTOR, LENOX, AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS OPPOSE INCREASE OF BOOK DUTY. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, NEW YORK, December 21, 1908. Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C'. DEAR SIR: By direction of the trustees of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden foundations, I have the honor to transmit to you herewith an attested copy of a minute and resolutions adopted by the trustees on December 9, 1908, upon the subject of an effort which, as they are informed, is now being made to increase the duty now levied on books and other printed matter imported into the United States, and to remove from the free list all classes of books now included therein. Yours, respectfully, C. II. RUSSELL, Secretary. THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, ASTOR, LENOX, AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. At a meeting of the trustees of the New York Public Library, held in the city of New York, on Wednesday, December 9, 1908, the following minute and resolutions were adopted: The trustees of the New York Public Library have learned with deep regret that an effort is making to increase the duty now levied on books and other printed matter imported into the United States, and to remove from the free list all classes of books now included therein. The existing tariff imposes a duty of 25 per cent ad valorem on books, excepting, however, first, books printed wholly in foreign languages; second, books in English which have been printed more than twenty years; third, books imported for the use of the United States or the Library of Congress, or for the use of libraries, educational institutions, or societies of a literary or scientific character. An import duty on books differs entirely in its effect upon the manufacturer from other duties, in that the copyright laws afford protection to authors and publishers quite apart from the tariff. The protection afforded, moreover, is extremely limited, affecting only such imported modern books and periodicals as are printed in English. So far as it goes, however, the duty is a tax on knowledge and education; an unwise tax in a republic, the existence of which must always depend on the intelligence of its citizens. The removal of books for public libraries from the free list will be distinctly a backward step, as the exemption as now existing has been the law for many years, and the result will be the imposition of a serious tax upon a class of institutions which have always been favored or supported by all enlightened governments. This board, therefore, respectfully protests against any diminution of the privileges that libraries now possess; and further expresses the opinion that all import duties upon books and other printed matter should be entirely abolished. Resolved, That an attested copy of the foregoing minute be sent to each member of the Committee on Ways and Means of the present House of Representatives and to each Member of the House representing the State of New York. Resolved, That the executive committee be and it is hereby authorized to take such measures as it may think proper to have the views expressed in the foregoing minute presented to the committees of the present and the next Congress, either orally or otherwise as may be thought most expedient. A true copy from the minutes. Attest: C. H. RUSSELL, Secretary of the Trustees of the New York Public Library. (The above resolution was concurred in by the trustees of the Brooklyn Public Library, December 15, 1908. Similar resolutions were adopted by the Free Public Library of Newark, N. J., John Cotton Dana, librarian.) HON. J. VAN VECHTEN OLCOTT, M. C., FILES LETTER OF C. r. CORNING, NEW YORK CITY, ADVOCATING FREE BOOKS. Hon. J. V. V. OLCOTT, M. C., Washington, D. C. NEW YORK, December 8, 1908. MY DEAR MR. OLCOTT: I find on my desk a memorandum calling for a letter to you concerning the tariff on books which we discussed at the Union League Club a short time since. The United States is one of the very few civilized countries in which a protective tariff on books is maintained. I view this tariff as affecting principally three classes in the community--the author, the printer, and the consumer. Provided the author's copyrights are protected, to which there is no objection in the world, the other two alone remain for consideration. The printer is not dependent on the work of publishing books in this country for his livelihood. The consumers may be divided into those to whom a rise in the price of the books does not make any material difference, but there is a very large intellectual class which, as a rule, is not wealthy and which needs a great many books, which are now burdened with a heavy duty for its work. This class is composed of college professors, college students, professional men of all kinds, such as engineers, architects, lawyers, chemists, physicists, and others. While it may be said that professors and students can avail themselves of the libraries of the institutions which they are frequenting, I know from personal experience how difficult it was when I was a student to at times secure the very books I needed most, because some one else needed them at the same time and they were not in the library. Reference to books of this nature in the library of an institution is often not at all the equivalent of a private ownership, as you will readily understand. pay At the present all non-English books are free and all English books more than 21 years old are also free. All other English books 25 per cent duty, and not only is this duty payable, but the customs administration of the law in this matter is often of the most unfair. I have come across this matter personally as chairman of the library committee of the Union League Club. When I ordered Stieler's Atlas, a German publication with all its descriptive wording in German, for the use of the library, although it is printed, published, and essentially German, the New York custom-house classed it as an English book because certain geographical names were English. They were English simply because there are no German equivalents and they are, so far as all intents and purposes are served, used in German as German words. It would be an immense boon to a very large class in this country if all books and all bindings on such books, if of plain character, were made free of duty. I speak particularly of bindings because a great many books published in English are published without bindings; they are simply bound when they come from the press in plain linen or similar material instead of a paper cover, which is the method prevailing on the Continent. Hoping that something may be possible in this matter, I remain, Yours, very truly, C. R. CORRING. JEROME D. GREENE, SECRETARY OF FACULTY OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, WRITES IN ADVOCACY OF FREE BOOKS. Hon. S. E. PAYNE, WASHINGTON, D. C., December 19, 1908. Chairman Committee on Ways and Means. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I am inclosing herewith letter from Mr. Jerome D. Green, who is secretary of the faculty of Harvard University. Sincerely, yours. H. S. BOUTELL. CAMBRIDGE, December 17, 1908. Hon. H. S. BOUTELL, M. C., Washington, D. C. be DEAR SIR: I hope that the cause of education and of the diffusion of culture throughout this country will not suffer longer the handicap which purely mercantile interests are imposing by their support of the present duty on books printed in England. Whatever may said about the interests of the consumer as compared with those of the protected manufacturer or artisan in other industries, it seems perfectly clear that the interests of the consumer are paramount where culture is concerned. It would be no more unjust or inexpedient, though doubtless more difficult, to impose a tariff on the importation of ideas than to put an obstructive tax on books and works of art. When one considers the large sacrifices which the people of Illinois and Wisconsin, for example, make to support their educational system--and those States are merely leaders in a movement which characterizes the entire country--it seems inconceivable that the commercial interests of an insignificant number of men should be allowed to stand in the way of what is really one and the same cause, namely, that of popular education and enlightenment. Sincerely, yours, JEROME D. GREENE. CHILDREN'S BOOKS. CERTAIN IMPORTERS OF CHILDREN'S TOY BOOKS REQUEST A REDUCTION OF DUTIES THEREON. NEW YORK CITY, December 19, 1908. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, House of Representatives. SIRS: On behalf of importers of children's toy books (Raphael Tuck & Sons Company, Kaufmann & Strauss, E. P. Dutton & Co.) I respectfully request a reduction of the duties now provided in paragraph 400 of the tariff act for children's books containing illuminated lithographic prints. The duty provided in the present act is 8 cents a pound. This amounts, as will be shown by figures subjoined, from 45 to 623 per cent ad valorem. These books were formerly imported in large quantities. The present tariff is so high that it has driven the imported article from the market, and thus deprived the 'United States of considerable revenue which it obtained from this class of goods prior to the enactment of the Dingley tariff. It has also enabled the American manufacturer to raise his prices on this class of goods and increase the cost to the consumer. We respectfully ask for a reduction of the duty from 8 to 5 cents a pound. The reduced duty proposed would average from 28 to 40 per cent ad valorem, which would be, we submit, a sufficiently high duty upon this class of goods to produce a substantial revenue and permit the importation of foreign books, which represent a higher quality of artistic work than the corresponding domestic article. The firm of Raphael Tuck & Sons Company have, by reason of the prohibitory tariff on these goods, if imported, been having them made here by a well-known domestic manufacturer, and it has been found that the price of the article here is about equal to the price of the corresponding book in Germany, so that the domestic manufacturer needs no protection... I submit herewith Exhibit 1, which consists of six toy books marked respectively "A," "B," "C," Ca," "D," and "E." These books are all printed here with the exception of "Ca," which is printed abroad and which if compared with the others will show the superior quality of the foreign work. The following is a statement of the foreign cost and the landed cost here (exclusive of freight, etc.) of the correspond |