COURT AND TREASURY DECISIONS. Venitian red is a dry paint and not ochery earth. (G. A. 629, T. D. 11346, of 1891.) A calcareous earth, colored by ferric oxides of a red color and similar in appearance to red hemitites, was held dutiable as ochery earth and not as clay. (G. A. 1880, T. D. 13608, of 1892.) Burnt ocher was held dutiable as ochery earth and not as a color. (G. A. 2478, T. D. 14756, of 1894.) Those decisions were under the act of 1890. It was declared not necessary that an importation should have been subjected to all three of the operations, "powdered, washed, or pulverized," in order to come within the provision, and it is immaterial whether the process of washing be natural or artificial. (G. A. 5631, T. D. 25170, of 1904.) Crude burnt sienna was held dutiable at one-eighth of a cent per pound. Crude sienna and powdered sienna were distinguished as follows: "Powdered or pulverized sienna has a tendency to cake or form lumps, but the lumps are easily crushed with the fingers, and the resulting mass is soft and smooth to the touch and of a uniform color. Lumps of crude sienna are less friable, contain more or less grit, and the inside of a lump is of a deeper color than the outside." (G. A. 4489, T. D. 21403, of 1899.) Freedom from grit was declared to indicate that the earth is not crude and ocher pulverized and washed was held dutiable at threeeighths of a cent per pound. (G. A. 4455, T. D. 21263, of 1899.) These decisions were under the act of 1897. A red pigment imported to be used as a color and filler, found not to be an ochery earth and not commercially known as an ocher, was held dutiable as a color under the act of 1894. (Vandegrift v. United States, 107 Fed., 265, of 1900.) MISCELLANEOUS. TARIFF HEARINGS. The following data are taken from a brief presented by Geo. S. Mepham Co. (Tariff Schedules. United States Senate. 63d Cong., 1913, p. 149): The "In the United States in 1911, the wages per day in this industry were $1.75 for the commonest labor and $3 for skilled labor. Similar figures for France were 2 francs ($0.40) and 2.50 francs ($0.50). "The cost of the cheaper grades of French ocher at the factory in Apt, Vaucleuse was $6 per ton in that year. Freight to seaboard was $2 a ton, and from Marseilles to New York $3 a ton more. cost f. o. b. New York was thus $11 a ton. But this price was slightly greater than that determined by the active competition of the American producers among themselves. However, only the cheapest domestic grades could be produced at that price, and mines in the Eastern States, where the freight to market was low, were practically the only ones that could operate at even a small profit. "These figures indicate that the domestic producers were practically independent of the tariff on the cheapest grades, but the difference in cost of producing the more expensive grades, where selection of material, with consequently larger labor cost, as well as deposits that can supply the better material, is requisite, is much greater. American producers were unable to produce these grades until better prices prevailed because of the cutting off of ocean shipment during the war period." Data pertaining directly to the ocher industry are not at present available, but costs of producing manganese ore, whose occurrence is roughly comparable to that of ocher and which is partly produced in the same localities, indicate that the cost in the winter of 1918-19 must be at least $20 per ton for mining and freight. Increases in the cost of pulverizing are also possible, so it is quite probable that the cost of production in the United States has fully doubled since 1914. Brief of J. Lee Smith & Co., New York City. (Tariff hearings, House of Representatives, 60th Cong., p. 454). Protest against the proposed incorporation of paragraph 49 with paragraph 58. In round figures the result would be a reduction on ocher of about 51 per cent, an increase in duty on umber of about 40 per cent, and an increase in the duty on sienna of about 81 per cent. The result would be a great advantage to sellers of American sienna but a serious injustice to American ocher miners. The bulk of the ocher imported is in powdered form and the American miners are dependent upon the duty of three-eighths cent per pound to market their product. With regard to umber, the quality of American product is very poor and most of the umber used is imported and originates in the island of Cyprus. Few mines in the United States produce a good sienna, and the finer grades, which are used principally for staining wood in imitation of oak, mahogany, etc., must be imported and powdered here ready for use (We have a mill in Brooklyn for powdering crude earths and object to having the duties increased on umber and sienna for the benefit of one manufacturer in Philadelphia.) J. W. Coulston & Co., of New York City (Ibid., p. 454), petitioned that the word "washed" be omitted from the first part of the paragraph (which refers to crude earths). They import sienna earths from Italy. The goods are in lumps which have been naturally washed or are in such condition that they do not need to be washed. In some instances, however, it has been classified (graded by water settling), and they are obliged to pay a duty of three-eighths cent per pound (instead of the one-eighth cent intended for crude) in spite of the fact that the material must be pulverized. The material in question can not be used by paint manufacturers in the same manner as the goods classified at three-eighths cent per pound, so that the present wording results in the classification of these few sienna earths that are sufficiently washed by nature at three-eighths cent, with no benefit to consumers. F. A. Reichard, after a canvass of the paint manufacturers of the country, submitted the following recommendation: "We ask that these earth paints be entered free of duty, as nothing of the kind suitable for paint making has ever been found in this country. American mines produce much lower grades, suitable only for jobbing, so it is quite evident that the tariff in this instance is a tax, pure and simple, and not in any sense a protection. "For instance the average declaration value of foreign ochers (1902-1906, inclusive) was $19.275 per 2,000 pounds, and the average value of the American ochers (1902-1906, inclusive) was $8.59 per 2,000 pounds. "Thus at a glance it is seen that the tariff plays no part in fixing the price of American ochers. In this contention we are supported by 49 out of 54 grinders who replied, and of the 5 desiring a duty 3 suggest lowering the present rate." * Again in 1913, Mr. Reichard expressed the same views (Tariff Hearings, House of Rep., 62d Cong., p. 307): "There are no qualities suitable for paint manufacturers, which branch of the country's industries is the largest user of these colors produced in this country. It is readily apparent, therefore, that the three-eighths cent per pound duty is unjust, * *. So long as suitable quantities are not produced here, we think the manufacturer and the ultimate consumer should receive the benefit of free entry. The few American mines produce vastly inferior grades and really do not enter into competition with the imported products to any appreciable degree." J. W. Coulston & Co., of New York, protested against the proposed reduction of duties on powdered sienna, ocher, and umber resulting from the adoption of the ad valorem rate as compared with the old specific rates. In their judgment there should be a difference of $5 per ton between the powdered and the unground product, whereas the flat ad valorem rate of 5 per cent results in a difference of only about $1. J. Lee Smith & Co., of New York, stated that: "It costs abroad an average of 52 cents to powder 100 pounds of these materials, and in this country $1.06. This results in that it costs 54 cents more to do the work here, on account of the high cost of labor, etc., than it does to do the work in Europe, whereas the new tariff allows less than 3 cents per 100 pounds. To equalize the higher cost of manufacturing in this country there should be at least an ad valorem duty of 25 per cent on the powdered goods if the crude goods are to pay an ad valorem duty of 5 per cent." UMBER AND SIENNA. [Par. 55, act of 1913, 5 per cent ad valorem.] SUMMARY. Umber and sienna are forms of rust-stained clay, very similar to ocher in composition, but containing more or less manganese and having, therefore, a darker yellow or brown color. Siennas are translucent and have more the nature of a stain than a pigment; the color is lighter than that of umber. Both umber and sienna are used raw, but the burnt pigments, which are darker, are more important colors. Burnt sienna is reddish brown while burnt umber is a rich warm brown. Deposits of umber and sienna are widely distributed in the United States, but the demands of the trade are for special shades and qualities which can be produced more cheaply in foreign countries. Italian sienna and Turkish (Cyprus) umber are standard colors throughout the civilized world. It is practically impossible to duplicate these shades as cheaply by selection of domestic material as by importation. Most of the paint factories that consume these articles are located in the Eastern States where supplies from Mediterranean ports can, in normal times, be transported almost wholly by water. Statistics of domestic production have not been gathered since 1914, but it is doubtful if there has been any considerable increase. The average output of domestic umber and sienna before the war was less than 1,000 tons annually. The bulk of the consumption is imported. The imports of umber of all classes in 1914 amounted to 2,303 short tons, valued at $35,570; the imports of sienna in the same year were 3,245 tons with a value of $55,925. Three forms of these pigments are imported: (1) Crude or unpulverized, (2) powdered or washed, and (3) paste (ground in water or oil). Imports of paste have been relatively unimportant. Most of the importation has been in crude form. The specific duties under the tariff act of 1909 allowed a protection of $5 per ton more on the powdered or washed material than on untreated material. The adoption of the ad valorem duty in 1913 resulted in the reduction of this differential to only a trifle more than $1 per ton. GENERAL INFORMATION. PARAGRAPH 55, TARIFF ACT OF 1913. 'Ocher and ochery earths, sienna and sienna earths, and umber and umber earths, 5 per centum ad valorem; * * DESCRIPTION. Both umber and sienna are natural pigments consisting essentially of clay colored by hydrated oxides of iron and manganese. Minor constituents, such as excess silica, lime, and other matter, may also be present. The composition is very similar to that of ocher although they invariably contain manganese and frequently more iron. The presence of manganese accounts for their browner color. Sienna most nearly approaches ocher in chemical composition and the chief distinction is its physical character. It is translucent rather than opaque and is more of a stain than a pigment, whereas ocher is a true pigment. Similarly burnt sienna, a reddish-brown product obtained by calcining raw sienna, differs from certain iron oxide pigments because of its relative transparency. Umber contains more manganese than sienna. The brown color is much deeper and even the burnt product does not approach red. Umber is much coarser than sienna, but the coarse particles are broken up in calcining. Umber and sienna are marketed both raw and burnt. The burnt pigments are more important. They are marketed in the form of cubes, corrugated tablets, and as powder. One of the commonest forms is a soft pulp from which most of the water has been expelled, but which is still moist. Raw sienna (Terra di Siena, Italian earth) is a brown tinted pigment used for 'oil, water color, tempera, and fresco painting. American burnt sienna is a reddish-brown pigment containing rom 25 to 60 per cent iron oxide (Fe,O,). One grade, found in Pennsylvania, assays as high as 80 per cent ferric oxide and is known as double strength sienna. This is richer and deeper than the Italian sienna, and when reduced with ordinary clay and ground in oil makes a staining pigment equal to the Italian.i Italian burnt sienna. This pigment generally contains more iron than the American product, averaging from 60 to 75 per cent iron oxide (Fe2O3). American pigments of the same iron content differ materially in shade, having a Havana brown color whereas the Italian is more of a maroon. Italian siennas, when tinted with 20 per cent of white, show a bluish tint while American siennas yield a brownish or yellowish hue. For paint making, the best grades of either pigment are those that contain a small amount of lime. Many grinders add from 5 to 10 per cent of whiting (lime carbonate) to umbers and siennas to prevent them from running or disintegrating when used as staining colors. Raw umber (Turkey umber, Levant umber, Terra ombra, etc.). This pigment is similar in many respects to raw sienna except that it is much coarser and contains a considerable proportion of the higher oxides of manganese. The color is greenish to yellowish brown. Burnt umber.-All umbers contain over 5 per cent of manganese dioxide. The color is much richer and warmer than that of the raw umber. Turkey umbers usually contain more manganese and iron than the American. Products rich in manganese when caicined yield brighter shades in proportion to the fineness to which they have been powdered or to the care bestowed on their levigation. The specially bright burnt umbers are put on the market as "velvet brown, chestnut brown, manganese velvet brown," etc. Occasionally brands very similar to colcothar (iron oxide) are marked as such. USES. Umbers and siennas have much the same physical properties as ocher, except their color, which is darker. Both products are used principally in paints. They are very permanent, have good covering power, mix well with all other pigments without alteration, are not affected by acids or alkalies, and are cheap.2 Ground sienna is largely used for lithographic and typographic printing and as an artists' color-either alone or as a base for lake 1 Toch. Paint Technology and Tests. Van Nostrand Co., 1916. |