PARAGRAPH 6-ARGOLS. employed. To prepare these goods for transportation necessitates special preparation, and the handling, packing, and freight charges are the same on crude material testing 25 per cent as on the argols averaging 70 per cent, which latter we must employ here for the reasons just mentioned. The crude material employed by the foreign manufacturers costs them 2 cents per pound, based on 100 per cent purity, less than it would cost us here. 2. Labor cost is unquestionably higher here than with the foreign manufacturer situated in the argol-producing countries generally in southern Europe. We employ skilled labor steadily in our works, as well as a large number of ordinary workmen, who, as you know, are paid more than double here than in France, Italy, or Spain. This difference amounts to 1.2 cents per pound. 3. Italy has an export duty, which amounts to about 3 per cent ad valorem on argols, while on the lower grades, which they mostly employ, it amounts to 6 per cent or more. This differential duty amounts to an average of 0.6 cent per pound. Besides this, all foreign manufacturing countries have a protective duty on the manufactured products. 4. The manufacturer in the United States is further handicapped by the much higher cost in this country of the various chemicals and other materials employed in the process of manufacture compared with those in Europe. REVENUE ACCRUING TO THE COUNTRY ON PROPOSED TARIFF CHANGES. Estimated revenue from duties on argols, cream of tartar, and tartaric acid under the proposed bill is figured as $312,250, of which $300,000 is on crude material, but for the reasons stated above this latter sum will fall away if our domestic factories are forced to reduce their output. The Government will not be the gainer in the revenue from the importation of the manufactured product. Even under existing tariff the importations of tartaric acid have increased from 36,389 pounds in 1907 to over 300,000 pounds in 1911, and on cream of tartar from 6,000 pounds in 1907 to over 100,000 pounds in 1912. Combinations of large European manufacturers have been going on; are legal and encouraged by their governments; and we allege on best information and belief, from facts in our possession, that the people of this country would not receive benefit of any reduction in the tariff of the United States, but on the contrary a combination of large European manufacturers of cream of tartar and tartaric acid would result, and prices be increased after makers in this country cease to exist. Tentative statements to this effect are in our possession, and should you desire any substantiation of the above-cited facts we will gladly submit it. We have been in business over 30 years Capital employed is over $2,000,000, and our annual disbursements for pay roll and other expenses are about $500,000. For the above-explained reasons we pray that you allow the duties to remain as they are, but if it seems necessary for you to increase the revenue as estimated, it will be 78959°-VOL 1-13- -8 PARAGRAPH 8-BLEACHING POWDER. obtained by advancing the duty on crude material from 5 per cent ad valorem to 10 per cent ad valorem, as proposed, and continuing the present duty of 5 cents per pound on manufactured cream of tartar and fixing the duty on tartaric acid at 6 cents per pound to make the equivalent. Respectfully submitted. The COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, TARTAR CHEMICAL CO., TARTAR CHEMICAL CO., Brooklyn, N. Y., January 25, 1913. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: On page 101 is printed the memorial of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in New York. The seventh paragraph begins with our raw material, argols, and wine lees and goes on to the products manufactured therefrom. This memorial favors leaving the duty on the raw material, where it now is, and reducing the tariff on cream of tartar and tartaric acid from 5 cents per pound to 3 cents per pound on tartaric acid and 24 cents per pound on cream of tartar. This would leave the European manufacturers, who almost wholly work in agreement, as open a market here for their manufactured products as would H. R. bill 20182, and this is of course the desire of the Italian Chamber of Commerce. This chamber is subsidized by the Italian Government and is designed to promote the industries of Italy rather than of this country. On pages 282 and 284 of Tariff Schedule A, No. 2 Hearings, you will find admissions from Mr. Mariani to Mr. Palmer that the Italian Government subsidizes the Italian Chamber of Commerce in New York. Naturally, therefore, this institution favors throwing down the bars here for the benefit of the Italian industries without regard to the consequences to the same industries of this country. Very respectfully, PARAGRAPH 7. TARTAR CHEMICAL CO., Blacking of all kinds, twenty-five per centum ad valorem; all creams and preparations for cleaning or polishing boots and shoes, twenty-five per centum ad valorem. For blacking of all kinds, etc., see also Park & Tilford et al., page 66. PARAGRAPH 8. Bleaching powder, or chloride of lime, one-fifth of one cent per pound. BLEACHING POWDER. THE DOW CHEMICAL CO., MIDLAND, MICH., SUBMITS BRIEF REGARDING BLEACHING POWDER. By the tariff act of 1897 bleaching powder was taken off the free list and a duty of two-tenths of 1 cent per pound was placed upon it. Prior to this change the price of bleaching powder, in the United States, was about 2 cents per pound. Either simultaneously with the placing on this two-tenths of 1 cent per pound duty, or shortly afterwards, the United Alkali Co. of Great Britain, who controlled more than 90 per cent of the bleach sold within the United States, lowered the price in the United States to about $1.87 per 100 pounds and also paid the import duty. The placing of this small import duty that was only about 10 per cent of the ruling price proved to be sufficient to inspire enough confidence among capitalists so that two bleaching-powder plants were PARAGRAPH 10 CHARCOAL. erected in the United States, one at Niagara Falls and the other at Midland, Mich.; both plants increased their capacity from time to time until competition became very keen and prices were reduced to $1.25 per 100 pounds, which is the ruling price to-day on yearly contracts, the price being substantially the same in the United States and Great Britain. The United Alkali Co. of Great Britain, and not the consumer, is paying the two-tenths of 1 cent per pound now assessed on imported bleach, and if the duty is reduced we do not think that any more bleaching powder would be imported or the price to the consumer reduced, for the following reason: A bleaching-powder plant costs several times the annual output of this plant and if the selling price changes 10 per cent, it would only affect the return on the investment in the bleaching-powder plant by a small part of the 10 per cent. It is not likely that the proposed reduction in the import duty will cause any plants now built to discontinue their operations, and thereby permit any increased amounts of bleaching powder to be brought into this country from abroad, neither would the prices be likely to change for the reason that the selling price at the present time does not return a normal profit on the investment and new competitors are not likely to enter this market and thereby cause a still further reduction in the selling price. To summarize: We believe the present import duty will furnish a larger revenue to the Government than a lower import duty, and at the same time the risk of an American industry being blotted out by a foreign monopoly is less than it would be if the import duty were lower. Respectfully submitted. THE DOW CHEMICAL CO., General Manager. MIDLAND, MICH. PARAGRAPH 9. Blue vitriol or sulphate of copper, one-fourth of one cent per pound. See W. H. Bowker, page 416. PARAGRAPH 10. Charcoal in any form, not specially provided for in this act; bone char, suitable for use in decolorizing sugars, and blood char, twenty per centum ad valorem. CHARCOAL. PROTEST OF MICHIGAN CARBON WORKS AGAINST DUTY ON CHARCOAL, ETC. Hon. OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD, Chairman Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. SIR: As manufacturers of charcoal (animal), bone char, or bone black, we beg to submit our most earnest protest against a possible reduction in the duties on these materials. At the present time this company has invested in the portion of its plant devoted to the manufacture of charcoal (animal), bone char, or bone black, approximately $100,000. During the five-year period PARAGRAPH 10-CHARCOAL. ended December 31, 1912, the net profits to the Michigan Carbon Works, in the production of charcoal (animal), bone char, or bone black, have averaged 8.27 per cent on the actual cash capital invested, with no deduction whatever for depreciation of plant. Charcoal (animal), bone char, or bone black, is employed principally for decolorizing purposes in the refining of cane sugar, glucose, and special lubricating oils. It is not used in the beet-sugar industry. Modern methods of users in reburning or revivifying the material have largely reduced the consumption, so that the expense for bone black per barrel of sugar, glucose, or lubricating oil produced is so small as to be practically negligible. In the lubricating-oil refining industry bone black has in a very large measure been replaced by fuller's earth. The collection of bones used in the production of charcoal (animal), bone char, or bone black, gives occupation to a large number of men throughout the United States, and in order to gather and secure the material, much higher prices must be paid than in Europe. Furthermore, the labor expense in the production of bone black is a very large item; and as our labor is now being paid approximately 65 per cent more than is received by labor abroad doing the same kind of work, it is not difficult to see the effect of a reduction in the present rate of duty. In the manufacture of charcoal (animal), bone char or bone black, there is produced a large amount of by-products now available and used for fertilizing purposes. In recent years a considerable quantity of bones has been brought to this country from South America to be used in the manufacture of bone black. In the event of any reduction in the present duty, these bones will go to Canada or Europe to be made into bone black for export to the United States, and not only will the domestic industry be injured, many men deprived of their present means of livelihood, but the farmers of the United States will suffer the loss of a large quantity of very desirable and much-needed fertilizer for the improvement of their land, now obtainable at a low cost. As the industry in the United States is already seriously handicapped and in anything but a flourishing condition, we therefore petition that the present rate of duty-20 per cent ad valorem-be retained on charcoal (animal), bone char or bone black, not suitable for use as a pigment. Respectfully submitted. MICHIGAN CARBON WORKS, By GEO. B. BURTON, Manager. DETROIT, MICH., January 27, 1913. PARAGRAPH 10-CHARCOAL. BRIEF OF HOLLINS N. RANDOLPH, COUNSEL FOR THE NATIONAL WOOD CHEMICAL ASSOCIATION. In Re Hearings Before the Committee on Ways and Means, United States Congress. ATLANTA, GA., February 3, 1913. I shall be very brief in submitting the considerations which I wish to advance in this matter. The National Wood Chemical Association and its members are interested in the chemical schedule of the proposed new tariff measure, and more particularly in the tariffs on charcoal and its related products, acetate of lime and wood alcohol. The present duties on these articles are as follows: Acetate of lime, 25 per cent; charcoal, 20 per cent: wood alcohol, 20 per cent. These articles are manufactured at about 100 works in the United States, the factories being located principally in Pennsylvania and parts of New York State, Michigan, and Wisconsin; with an investment of approximately $25,000,000 and giving employment and support to about 75,000 people. The articles are made from wood, and the wood which is used to a large extent consists of tops, butts, and breaks of trees which have been cut into sawlogs, thereby creating from what would otherwise be a waste material valuable commercial commodities and a corresponding field for the employment of American labor. It is believed that the employment of these waste tree products has a tendency to greatly reduce the danger of destructive forest fires, and to that extent brings about a conservation of our forests rather than a waste of wood. If these articles were placed on the free list or the prevailing rates of duty greatly reduced, it would result in the building of a large number of new works in Canada, where wood and labor are about 20 per cent cheaper than in the United States. The inevitable result would be to exterminate this industry in the United States and force our manufacturers to sustain large losses, and deprive their employees of the means of livelihood. Canada, with its vast areas of cheap raw material, is offering every encouragement to the building up of this industry in its own borders by paying a large bounty on the manufacture of charcoal iron, and an enormous price for the wood alcohol used for denaturing purposes. The Canadian market charcoal is cheaper than the markets in the States, returning to the manufacturer, it is estimated, about 50 per cent more than is realized by our home industry. From this it can readily be seen that with new markets open to them the Canadian production will increase very rapidly and their surplus dumped into the United States, which could only result in ruinous competition. The Canadian duty on charcoal at the present time is 17 per cent, and if these chemicals were manufactured in Canada and the present rates of duty in the United States removed or greatly reduced, we have no law that would prevent her from dumping all her surplus product into this country. For the information of the committee, I will state that in the manufacture of these chemicals about 60 to 75 per cent of the total amount received from the sales thereof is expended in labor. |