PARAGRAPH 203-VENEERS, CABINET WOODS, ETC.

to the intent of the framers of this paragraph and tried to use it in place of the imported briar root. We regret that we are unable to use it, as it will in no way take the place of the imported wood. It is much lighter in weight, is much softer in texture, and hasn't the beauty or compactness of grain which makes the French briar so desirable. We are therefore forced to continue to use this imported raw material, which places us at a disadvantage against the foreign manufacturer who sells his product in this country, because his raw materials are not taxed.

We hope to appeal to your good judgment in supporting our contention that it is wrong to tax our raw materials if you expect an American manufacturer to develop a world-wide commerce against competitors whose raw materials are not taxed. Yours, very truly,

PARAGRAPH 203.

MANHATTAN BRIAR PIPE Co.,
JOHN GLOSSINGER, President.

Sawed boards, planks, deals, and all forms of sawed cedar, lignum-vitæ, lancewood, ebony, box, granadilla, mahogany, rosewood, satinwood, and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed, fifteen per centum ad valorem; veneers of wood, and wood unmanufactured, not specially provided for in this section, twenty per centum ad valorem.

VENEERS, CABINET WOODS, ETC.

TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM E. UPTEGROVE, BROOKLYN, N. Y. Mr. Uptegrove was duly sworn by the chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Uptegrove, will you give your name and address to the stenographer?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. William E. Uptegrove, president Uptegrove Cigar Box Lumber Co., Brooklyn, N. Y., located at corner of Norman and Morgan Avenues.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the paragraph you wish to speak on? Mr. UPTEGROVE. Paragraph 203, tariff act of 1909.

I appear in behalf of the cabinet wood and veneer trades in relation to Schedule D, wood and manufactures of, paragraph 203 of which in tariff act of 1909 reads:

Sawed boards, planks, deals, and all forms of sawed cedar, lignum-vitæ, lancewood, ebony, box, granadilla, mahogany, rosewood, satinwood, and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed, 15 per cent ad valorem.

Veneers of wood, 20 per cent ad valorem.

Wood unmanufactured, not specially provided for, 20 per cent ad valorem.

In other words, the lumber from these tropical woods pay a duty of 15 per cent, and when reduced to veneers 20 per cent.

We ask that the present duties be retained.

Mr. KITCHIN. You want to have the duty remain as it now is? Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes. The logs, either in the round or square hewn, are admitted free of duty, and this has always been the policy of the Government. Under this arrangement these tropical woods are converted here into lumber and veneers.

This industry is a very important one, supporting many mills in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, Louisville, Mobile, Chicago, Tampa, Cincinnati, and on the Pacific coast, giving employment to a great number of skilled mechanics, and representing large capital investments.

One important branch of our industry is that of Spanish cedar, which we convert into boards largely for the manufacture of cigar boxes. During the past few years the importations of thin cedar

PARAGRAPH 203-VENEERS, CABINET WOODS, ETC.

boards from the mills of Mexico and Cuba have become very heavy. The imports of 1912 increased more than 63 per cent over those of 1911, thus evidencing the fact that the foreign mills can pay the duty and still compete successfully with our own manufacturers. The foreign mills have an advantage in freights, as the steamship lines charge a less rate per cubic foot on the manufactured product than on logs. The owners and operators of the American cedar mills fear their business will be entirely destroyed if the 15 per cent protection is removed.

Our industry has no combinations or associations. Competition is unrestricted, and our margins are small. I think I may safely say that they do not exceed in any event 7 per cent, and it may readily be seen that if we were to lose the protection we now have in the 15 per cent duty there would be not much left.

The CHAIRMAN. Let me ask you right there, is your duty at present not 20 per cent instead of 15 per cent.

Mr. UPTEGROVE. No; it is 15 per cent on sawed boards such as I am speaking of, and as they come very largely from the island of Cuba, as to which there is a differential of 20 per cent, that duty is really reduced to 12 per cent.

The CHAIRMAN. That is paragraph 203 of the present tariff act? Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes; paragraph 203 of Schedule D.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, paragraph 203 of Schedule D, if I have it correctly here before me, reads:

Sawed boards, planks, deals, and other forms of sawed cedar, lignum-vitæ, lancewood, ebony, box, granadilla, mahogany, rosewood, satinwood, and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed

Oh, I see, that is 15 per cent ad valorum, and then the paragraph also includes:

Veneers of wood, 20 per cent ad valorem.

Wood unmanufactured, not specially provided for, 20 per cent ad valorem.

That is the section you speak of?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. I was looking at the duty shown at the concluding line of the paragraph, 20 per cent, instead of at the particular paragraph about which you were speaking.

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes, sir. So that, as I stated, imports from the island of Cuba, where they originate largely at the present time, having a differential of 20 per cent, where, in reality, we have only a 12 per cent duty to protect us, taking into account the difference in freight rates between the manufactured product which the foreign mills send into the United States and the logs which we import, their duty and freight just about equals our freight alone. Under these conditions the foreign mills have made much progress within the last few years and our mills are not increasing either in numbers or in size and capacity; we are held to pretty close competition with the foreign article in this line.

We would like to suggest that in writing the new tariff in case this duty be retained that there be a slight change in the wording. You will observe that it reads "and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed," and our suggestion is that the word

PARAGRAPH 203-VENEERS, CABINET WOODS, ETC.

"other" be dropped, so that importers of sawn cedar or sawn lancewood or sawn lignum-vitæ may have no grounds for asking free entry on the plea that these woods are not used exclusively for furniture. In other words, that they are not exclusively furniture woods or cabinet woods.

The agents of the West Indian mills have recently endeavored by appeals to the Board of Appraisers to have cedar admitted free of duty on the plea that it is not a cabinet wood, and that it is used chiefly for cigar boxes; and this notwithstanding the fact that Congress has specifically enacted that sawn cedar, mahogany, etc., shall pay a duty. The omission of the word "other," as I have mentioned, would avoid all controversy, so that it would then

Mr. HAMMOND (interposing). The word "other" in the sentence "and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed"? Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes, the word "other" between "all" and "cabinet woods," and have it read, "and all cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed." As a matter of fact Spanish cedar has always been considered cabinet wood, both by the trade here and in the fine woods trade in Europe. It is, botanically, one of the mahogany family, and the cost of both woods is the same.

In conclusion I wish to say on behalf of the trade I represent that I hope this committee

Mr. HAMMOND (interposing). Where are the manufacturers from whom you have the most competition?

Mr. ÜPTEGROVE. In the island of Cuba.

Mr. HAMMOND. They have better access to the seaboard ports? Mr. UPTEGROVE. They have better access to the raw material, and they have a lower labor cost than we have, and I presume owing to climate, etc., their rental expense on the class of their buildings does not begin to be the same as ours. They have quite an advantage in being present where the raw material grows.

The CHAIRMAN. The raw material is on the free list now?
Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes; and it always has been on the free list.

Mr. KITCHIN. All your finished product is made out of imported raw material?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. I beg pardon.

Mr. KITCHIN. I asked if all your finished product is made out of imported raw material?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes.

Mr. KITCHIN. So that you find none of the woods out of which you manufacture the finished product in this country?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. No; they are all imported. These are all tropical woods. Our line of business is based on tropical woods, which we receive free of duty.

Mr. KITCHIN. How much is the American product in your line of manufacture?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Probably the total output in our line of business in these woods is a matter of $10,000,000 or $12,000,000 per annum. Mr. KITCHIN. And less than $200,000 of this product is imported? Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes, at the present time. What we fear especially is the increase we have seen in the last year or more; and we know that they have improved their mills and increased their product, and they have the advantage of us at the present time.

PARAGRAPH 203-VENEERS, CABINET WOODS, ETC.

Mr. HAMMOND. What is your finished product?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Our finished product is still, you might say, raw material. For instance, in the case of the Spanish cedar we saw the boards the right thickness for making cigar boxes, and those sawed boards are distributed all over the country in bundles, shipped out as lumber.

Mr. HAMMOND. Your finished product is sawed tropical hardwoods?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes, sir. In the case of the veneers it may be sawn or shaved, or both ways. We shave some and saw others. Mr. HAMMOND. And you import it in logs?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes, sir; import the logs.

Mr. HAMMOND. And those logs come into this country free of duty?

Mr. UPTEGROVE. Yes, sir.

I have here a letter, addressed to the chairman of your committee, and signed by some nineteen firms or companies in this line of business, which I would like to file.

The CHAIRMAN. That may be done. Just hand it to the stenographer.

The letter filed by Mr. Uptegrove is as follows:

Hon. OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD,

BROOKLYN, N. Y., January 10, 1913.

Chairman Ways and Means Committee, House of Representatives,

Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIR: Re Schedule D, wood and manufactures of, section 203, sawed boards, planks, deals, and all forms of sawed cedar, lignum-vitæ, lancewood, ebony, box, granadillo, mahogany, rosewood, satinwood, and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed, 15 per cent ad valorem; veneers of wood, and wood unmanufactured, not specially provided for in this section, 20 per cent ad valorem.

We respectfully ask that the present duty of 15 per cent on sawn woods, and 20 per cent on veneers, as above provided, be retained in the new tariff bill now under consideration.

The logs, either in the round or square hewn, are admitted free of duty, and this has always been the policy of the Government. Under this arrangement these tropical woods are converted here into lumber and veneers.

This industry is very important, supporting many mills in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, Louisville, Mobile, Chicago, Cincinnati, and the Pacific coast, giving employment to a great number of skilled mechanics and representing heavy capital investments.

During the past few years the importation of thin cedar boards from the mills of Mexico and Cuba have become very heavy, the imports of 1912 having increased more than 63 per cent over those of 1911, thus evidencing the fact that the foreign mills can pay the duty and still compete successfully with our own manufacturers.

The foreign mills have an advantage in freights, as the steamship lines charge a less rate per cubic foot on the manufactured product than on logs.

The owners and operators of the American cedar mills fear their business will be entirely destroyed if the 15 per cent protection is removed.

We would furthermore suggest that in writing the new tariff, in section 203, "and all other cabinet woods not further manufactured than sawed," the word "other" be dropped, so that importers of sawn cedar or sawn lancewood or sawn lignum-vitæ may have no grounds for asking free entry on the plea that these woods are not used exclusively for furniture.

The agents of the West Indian mills have recently endeavored by appeals to the Board of Appraisers to have cedar admitted free of duty on the plea that it is not a cabinet wood and that it is used chiefly for cigar boxes, and this notwithstanding the fact that Congress has specifically enacted that sawn cedar, mahogany, etc., shall pay a duty. The omission of the word "other," as we have mentioned, would avoid all controversy.

PARAGRAPH 203-VENEERS, CABINET WOODS, ETC.

As a matter of fact Spanish cedar has always been considered a cabinet wood, both by the trade here and in the fine woods trade in Europe. It is botanically one of the mahogany family, and the cost of both woods is the same.

Very truly, yours,

Wm. E. Uptegrove, representing the following firms: Astoria Veneer Mills & Dock Co., Alex S. Williams, president; Geo. D. Emery Co., by Sam D. Spellman, president; Samuel T. Williams & Son., New York, N. Y.; Edgewater Saw Mills Co., by Thomas Williams, president, Tompkinsville, N. Y.; The Laguna Co., per Chris. Straub; E. L. Sinsabaugh; Lewis Thompson & Co. (Inc.), per Chas. J. Kammer; Willard Hawes & Co.; Uptegrove Cigar Box Lumber Co., Wm. E. Uptegrove, president; J. and F. Eifert, New York City; F. A. Mulgrew & Sons, foot East Eighth Street, New York; Nesmith & Constantine Co., inspectors, by L. Constantine, secretary; Julius Rayner; H. Van Brunt & Sons, New York; Wm. Booth & Bro, 432-438 Washington Street, New York City; Uptegrove & Beckwith, Jerome P. Uptegrove, president; Henry H. Sheip Manufacturing Co., Henry H. Sheip, president, Philadelphia, Pa.; Rogers Saw Mill, by Charles E. Rogers, jr., president, Brooklyn, N. Y.

BRIEF OF ROMULO M. DE MORA, NEW YORK, N. Y.

Hon. OSCAR Underwood,

NEW YORK, January 11, 1913.

Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C.

SIR: I have just arrived from Cuba, and finding myself unable to be present at the hearing of the revision of the tariff, Schedule D, wood-Cuban sawed cedar-I respectfully beg to offer you some facts regarding the actual classification of that kind of lumber.

A protest, T. D. 32149, No. 27554, was filed against the assessment of duty on Cuban sawed cedar, under paragraph 203, as cabinet wood by the Hughes Manufacturing & Lumber Co., of Los Angeles, who claimed that said cedar boards were dutiable under paragraph 201 of the custom tariff act of August 5, 1909, under which said lumber, or sawed cedar, has to pay $1.25 per 1,000 feet. The protest was sustained by General Appraiser McClellan in March, 1912. In accordance therewith the cedar boards were paying at that rate until May 3, 1912 (T. D. 32482), when the Assistant Secretary, the Hon. James F. Curtis, in a letter addressed to the collector of customs, directed that notwithstanding the decision cedar boards should pay according to paragraph 203 of said customs tariff act.

The protests of all the importers of cedar boards were filed immediately, and up to the present time a decision has not been given in the matter. As long as it was the opinion of Mr. McClellan, general appraiser, that the cedar boards should pay, according to paragraph 201, as "sawed lumber not specially provided for in this section," $1.25 per 1,000 feet, it would naturally appear that he will again decide as he did in the case of the Hughes Manufacturing & Lumber Co., of Los Angeles, mentioned above. If at the revision of the tariff it were agreed that the cedar boards referred to, used exclusively for the manufacturing of cigar boxes, were classified under a paragraph by itself, the dispute will exist no longer, as I am authorized to speak for the importers of this kind of lumber, including myself, that the arrangement will be perfectly satisfactory.

There is no doubt that Cuban cedar wood is almost exclusively used for the manufacturing of cigar boxes (the witnesses of the Government as well as the witnesses of the importers agreed, at the hearings held in the trial room of the Board of the United States General Appraisers in New York City, October 8, 11, 25, 1912, that from 80 to 90 per cent of the cedar is used in the making of cigar boxes. Protests Nos. 631168 and 639977 of T. J. Owen & Co., and 639879 and 640610 of Rómulo M. De Mora). And further, as the cedar boards in the dimensions imported into this country, namely, within strips, are exclusively used for cigar boxes there does not seem to be any reason why it should be classified as cabinet wood paying at the rate of 15 per cent ad valorem according to paragraph 203, when, in fact, it should pay simply as Sawed lumber not specially provided for in this section," appearing in paragraph 201 of said customs tariff act, and paying at the rate of $1.25 per 1,000 feet. It is evidently the policy and purpose of the tariff to assess higher duties on the more valuable hard cabinet woods rather than on the soft and cheaper woods such as the cigar-box cedar of Cuba.