SCHEDULE L-SILKS AND SILK GOODS.

SILK COCOONS.

[Paragraph 661.]

M. W. GUSTIN, SALEM, MO., RECOMMENDS THE PLACING OF A DUTY OF FIVE DOLLARS PER POUND ON COCOONS.

Hon. SERENO PAYNE,

SALEM, Mo., November 30, 1908.

Chairman Committee, Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIR: As the honorable committee over which you preside is considering the tariff question with a view to having some changes made, I ask your indulgence to call attention to what might be made by proper protection a very profitable industry over a large area of the United States.

Experiments for a number of years conducted at national expense have demonstrated that wherever in this country the Osage orange (our common hedge plant) will thrive silk cocoons can be produced, the tender leaves of that tree being as good, if not better, food for the silkworms than mulberry leaves. That much is repeatedly set forth in public official reports. Ex-Governor Colman, of this State, when in charge of the Agricultural Department during one of Cleveland's administrations, said the solution of the silk industry (raw silk and cocoons) here would be a home market; that the price in competition with China, France, Italy, and Japan is the mountain our home producers will not climb.

You know how to get over that mountain. An import duty of $5 per pound on cocoons, with corresponding increase for each stage of manufacture, would place the home producer of cocoons on top of that mountain, from whence they would have a "down-hill pull."

Furthermore, while that industry would be developing growing up to meet the home supply-the duty on the imports which would still be required would yield from $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 revenue per annum (a sum which would come in good play right now); a revenue which would be paid by the more wealthy people, in that case being a pride tax which they would be glad to pay. Nothing makes a silk dress or a silk hat so valuable to the owners thereof as the fact that some one else, or, more so, no one else, can afford to wear them. Very respectfully,

M. W. GUSTIN.

5771

CARDED AND SPUN SILK.

[Paragraphs 384 and 385.]

CHENEY BROTHERS, SOUTH MANCHESTER, CONN., THINK THE SPUN-SILK SCHEDULE SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED.

SOUTH MANCHESTER, CONN., January 6, 1909.

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS,

Washington, D. C.

GENTLEMEN: The source of all silk is the cocoon or protecting shell made by the silkworm as a shelter for itself while in the chrysalis state. Inside this cocoon the worm is transformed first into a chrysalis and then into a moth, which liberates itself by piercing the cocoon. The cocoon is formed of a continuous fine fiber secreted by the worm and deposited layer upon layer, and held in place by a gum secreted with it by the worm. The cocoon has much the shape and general appearance of a large peanut.

Raw silk is made by unwinding these fibers from the cocoon before the moth has pierced it, in much the same way that a lady unwinds a ball of yarn. A certain number of moths are always allowed to come out, that they may lay eggs for the next year's crop. The cocoons from which they have escaped can no longer be reeled into raw silk and are known as "pierced cocoons.'

In reeling raw silk a large amount of waste is made, which is in the form of a tangled mat known to the trade as "frisons." Again, in the process of winding this raw silk on bobbins, there is produced another kind of waste, known as "winders' waste." These three materials, i. e., pierced cocoons, frisons, and winders' waste, with some other relatively unimportant wastes, are classed together as waste silk and constitute the raw material from which spun silk is made. It should be understood that this waste silk is composed entirely of perfectly new, sound fiber, and has no similarity to the waste rags and other previously manufactured and worn materials from which woolen shoddy is made. There is no silk material corresponding to shoddy.

It is this yarn, called spun silk, which we now have under consideration. It is made as follows:

The natural silkworm gum adhering to the fiber is removed by immersion in boiling soapsuds or other chemical treatment, or by maceration or decay. All three processes have been or are now in practical operation, both in this country and abroad. After the fiber is ungummed it is combed and put through complicated processes of drawing, roving, and spinning, similar to those employed in the manufacture of worsted yarns. The filaments are exceedingly fine. and delicate, and have to be treated with much more care than wool. This necessitates the employment of a great deal of highly skilled labor.

On the continent of Europe spun silk is known as "schappe," and to a certain extent the term has been transplanted to this country. As much of the spun silk or schappe of Europe was formerly made from stock which had been ungummed by the old process of maceration, a false impression gained credence that there is a real distinction between the schappe from macerated stock and the spun silk from

boiled stock. They are the same thing and, as a matter of fact, the older processes are giving way, both in this and European countries, to chemical ungumming. There is absolutely no difference between the processes of manufacture of these yarns except the initial one of the ungumming. They are practically identical in character and appearance, except that the silk from boiled stock is cleaner and whiter than the other. They are used interchangeably for the same purposes. The contention that schappe is not spun silk has been thoroughly argued before the appraiser of the port of New York, and a decision has been rendered to the effect that they are the same.

It is stated that spun silk from macerated stock is not made in this country, and that for sanitary and other reasons it can not be successfully made here, and it is therefore argued that a reduction of duty upon carded and combed silk (384, Schedule L, Dingley tariff) would foster the growth of a new industry of schappe spinning in this country, which does not and under present conditions can not exist. This presentation of the case is entirely misleading, for the maceration of silk stock not only can be successfully done in this country but has actually been done on a very large scale, but has been practically abandoned in favor of better processes. If for any reason it was necessary to make spun silk from macerated stock and at the same time avoid the disadvantages attendant upon using that method of ungumming the raw material here, the way is now open to do so, as the waste can, under the present tariff law, be macerated abroad and imported in the ungummed state free of duty, which would certainly be more favorable to the building up of a supposed new industry than the suggested plan of importing macerated combings under a duty even as low as that recommended.

What does not exist in this country is the incomplete industry of silk spinning without the accompanying branch of combing, and to create it by allowing the importation of combed silk at less than a protective rate would be a great injustice to the completely organized industries already existing. The labor and capital employed in combing are equally entitled to protection with those employed in the more advanced processes.

The proposal to make a reduction of duties upon "tussah" spun silk yarns should not receive favorable consideration. Tussah is a more or less vague name applied to a wide range of silks obtained from a number of different species of wild silk cocoons found in various parts of the world. The methods and machines required for the manufacture of tussah yarns are the same as those for making other spun silks. The yarn is naturally dark in color, but when bleached it is only distinguished from other qualities by an expert. Tussah yarns have been successfully made in this country, and if they are not spun in large quantities, it is because they and other low grades of yarns have not been sufficiently protected.

On account of the complicated and expensive machinery used, the amount of skilled labor employed and the great burden of carrying large stocks of such an expensive material, both in the raw, in process, and in finished yarn, it requires a very large capital to install a plant for the manufacture of spun silk and to operate it successfully. Moreover, the article is one in which the prices of both raw and finished product fluctuate more rapidly and over a wider range than is

usual in cotton, wool, or other textiles, and the risk is consequently great.

These reasons to a certain extent explain why the industry has not made more rapid development in this country, but a more potent reason is that it has not had the same degree of protection under which the cotton, wool, and other textile industries have made such rapid advances. The fact that two-thirds of all the spun silk used in the country is imported is evidence that the present tariff rates are hardly protective. This section of the Dingley tariff is at present on a revenue rather than on a protective basis, as is illustrated by the fact that during the ten years for which we have reports of imports under the law the duty collected upon spun silk has amounted to $11,952,034.47, against only $8,098,827.48 for woolen, worsted, and cotton yarns combined. The disparity between the cost of manufacturing in this country and Europe is very great. The wages which we pay are two or three times as much as are paid for the same class of labor in England, France, or Switzerland, and three or four times as much as in Italy.

The manufacture of spun silk has been established with modern machinery in the Orient, and is being carried on so successfully that the yarns are being offered on this market in competition with American and European qualities. We have to pay from 10 to 20 times as much for skilled labor as it costs in India, China, and Japan. There is great danger ahead in this oriental competition, not only in spun silks, but in a wide range of woven goods, which are being imported and consumed in place of the silk goods manufactured here. The competition of the Orient in some lines of silk goods is already more serious than that of Europe.

It is very true that specific rates of duty have many advantages over ad valorem rates, especially because they are more easily assessed and evasions of the law are more difficult, and a very serious attempt has therefore been made to work out a plan for specific rates for the spun-silk schedule. The outcome of this study seems to be that it is not possible to formulate a strictly specific schedule which will bear evenly upon all qualities and operate with justice to all interests. The nearest approach possible is to make an ad valorem classification with graded specific rates to apply to each class.

As the value and the degree of protection required are not determined by any physical property such as size (or count), twist, or anything which can be accurately described or arbitrarily determined, value is the sole factor which can with satisfactory results be used as a basis upon which to levy duties. Yarns of the same count, twist, and number of strands are sold at the same time in different qualities at from say $1 to $3 per pound, and it is obvious that it would be grossly unjust to collect an equal tax upon the low grade as upon the high. Should the rate be fixed at a point which would give fair protection to the best grades, it would be prohibitive upon the low grade; that is, the users of first-quality yarns, as, for instance, the velvet and plush weavers, could import them very advantageously, while the consumers of low-grade yarns, such as are largely used by the weavers of silk goods, intended for piece dyeing and printing, would be at a great disadvantage.

The schedule for spun silk in the Dingley tariff law has worked well, and the records show that the duties collected upon the different qualities have, when reduced to an ad valorem equivalent, borne with a surprising degree of equality upon all. It is very doubtful if a better plan can be formulated, and it is earnestly advised that no change be made, unless it be an increase upon the lower grades.

No change should be made in the manner of levying duty upon dyed yarns, attempting to base the rate upon the weight of the yarn as it was before dyeing. In the first place the dyeing industry in this country should not be denied the protection it deserves and needs, and in the second place it would be found impossible to check declared weights, as silk is capable of being weighted to almost any extent up to, say, 300 to 400 per cent. We remain, yours, respectfully,

CHENEY BROTHERS,

By J. W. CHENEY, Treasurer.

SPUN SILK, SCHAPPE, AND PILE FABRICS.

[Paragraphs 384, 385, and 386.]

STATEMENT OF SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL, OF 453 BROOME STREET, NEW YORK CITY, RELATIVE TO SILK PRODUCTS.

TUESDAY, December 1, 1908.

The CHAIRMAN. Upon what do you desire to be heard? Mr. BLUMENTHAL. I represent some of the manufacturers of silk velvets.

Mr. UNDERWOOD. What is the paragraph that you wish to speak on? Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Paragraphs 384, 385, and 386. The manufacturers whom I represent do not desire to take up the time of the committee, but merely desire to express their wish that the committee may see it possible to adopt specific duty so far as such may be equitable, and to that effect we have prepared a brief, which we would like to hand to the committee for consideration when the time comes: The CHAIRMAN. It may be printed in the record. (Following is the brief referred to:)

WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE,

NEW YORK, November 30, 1908.

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIRS: On account of the difficulties in appraising values of schappe and spun silk yarns, which appraisement is necessary, under an ad valorem or compound duty, we strongly advise that in the proposed new tariff law a strictly specific duty be imposed on all schappe and spun silk (including tussah silk yarns). The reasons in favor of this change are many, and we believe that the change would be beneficial to the Government and importer alike.

First. Such a change would be no experiment, as under the present law the duty on cotton yarns is solely specific and it has worked very satisfactorily.