PARAGRAPH 44-BLANC FIXE. This heavy spar contains 97 to 98 per cent BaSO.. The price in bags is charged in the gross weight; when packed in casks an allowance of 3 per cent is made for tare on the gross weight. Our conditions of payment are net cash against documents, and we will be glad to hear from you in regard to the above offer. Meantime we are, dear sir, yours, truly, PARAGRAPH 43. RUEB & GLEICHMAN. Blues, such as Berlin, Prussian, Chinese, and all others, containing ferrocyanide of iron, in pulp, dry or ground, in or mixed with oil or water, eight cents per pound. See Arthur Somers, pages 335, 344. PARAGRAPH 44. Blanc fixe, or artificial sulphate of barytes, and satin white, or artificial sulphate of lime, one-half of one cent per pound. BLANC FIXE. BRIEF OF T. S. TODD & CO., CUSTOMHOUSE BROKERS AND FORWARDERS, NEW YORK CITY. WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, NEW YORK, January 4, 1913. Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: Blanc fixe and satin white are made in this country from a foreign raw material not found here. The price of blanc fixe during the past 10 years has been reduced from $55 to $39 per ton. The imports of about 6,000,000 pounds amount to about 50 per cent of the total consumption, therefore quite removed from a monopoly. The present duty is one-half cent per pound and provided for in paragraph 44. Blanc fixe and satin white are made from a natural product known as witherite spar, found principally in England, although other sources of supply are found in Germany; this material is imported in the rough state from the mine in bulk, but not in sufficient quantity to admit of any reduction in the ocean freight, so that the raw material and the finished article, blanc fixe, pays practically the same freight. This raw material goes through an elaborate process of manufacture, and is reduced to its commercial product by grinding and successive treatment with muriatic acid and sulphuric acid, both of which acids cost considerably more in this country than they do abroad; as an illustration, in England muriatic acid is sold at 70 to 75 cents per 100 pounds, as against $1.20 to $1.25 per 100 pounds here. In Germany sulphuric acid can be purchased at 40 cents per 100 pounds, as against 80 to 85 cents per 100 pounds here. Actual production figures taken from our manufacturing records show the following: Cost of raw material, $19.50 per ton; labor, $7 per ton; acids and treatment, $7.50 per ton; packing, $2.50 per ton; total, $36.50 per ton; and the finished material sells for from $39 to $40 per ton. In House bill 20182, paragraph 56, provision is made for duty on blanc fixe and satin white at one-fourth cent per pound, equivalent PARAGRAPH 45-LAMPBLACK. to $5.60 per English ton of 2,240 pounds; the price of blanc fixe in England is £5 per ton, ocean freight 25s. per ton, total, $36 per ton, or $1.61 per 100 pounds, which is less than the American cost of production. The present duty of one-half cent per pound does not admit of any abnormal profit to the manufacturer, the above figures indicating it to be less than 7 per cent, from which it is manifest that a duty of one-fourth cent per pound under present conditions, under which we are entirely dependent on England and Germany for our raw material, would force the American manufacturer to discontinue its production. The present duty has been in force since 1897, and the American producer has voluntarily reduced his cost to the consumer 30 per cent, which should commend him to your committee as justly worthy of consideration in fixing a rate of duty which will enable him to continue a business representing a very considerable amount of labor and capital. We have the honor to be, yours, respectfully, PARAGRAPH 45. T. S. TODD, For Providence Drysalters Co., Providence, R. 1. Black, made from bone, ivory, or vegetable substance, by whatever name known, including boneblack and lampblack, dry or ground in oil or water, twenty-five per centum ad valorem. LAMPBLACK. BRIEF SUBMITTED BY WILCKES, MARTIN WILCKES CO., NEW YORK CITY. Brief appealing on the reduction of the duty on lampblack from 25 per cent to 15 per cent under report on Schedule A, chemicals, oils, and paints. (1) Labor.-Germany is the largest producer of lampblack in the world, and their wages are from 50 per cent to 75 per cent lower in that country than they are here. For instance, our common laborers get $2 a day, and our cooperers get $3 a day, and our foremen get $20 per week, as against the German wages for a common laborer of 3 marks, which equals 75 cents, 4 marks, which equals $1, for cooperers, and 38 to 40 marks a week, which equal $9.50 to $10 for foremen. (2) Raw material.-Germany is also the largest producers of coal tar and coal-tar products, which are the base of the raw materials for the manufacture of lampblacks. They therefore have cheaper coal tar and coal-tar products than the American manufacturers. (3) Marketing the product.-American manufacturers have to depend on the American market exclusively, as not a pound can be sold outside of the United States on account of the German competition. They all have the South American trade, for the reason that they are not only in a position to produce cheaper, but they transport their lampblack at ridiculously low-ocean freights right to South America PARAGRAPH 45-LAMPBLACK. in their own bottoms. The same holds true in Russia, England, and Austria. (4) No change can be made in the tariff without injuring to some extent the American industry. (5) We are perfectly familiar with the above-mentioned facts for the reason that we are well posted on manufacturing conditions on the other side. (6) The Germans can deliver lampblack here on the basis of only a 15 per cent duty at a lower price than the goods can be manufactured for in this country. We would be glad to give exact figures proving our contention if you will give us an opportunity. (7) The evidence submitted is so clear, however, when you take into consideration the selling price of lampblack in this market, which to-day is as low as 2 cents a pound for the majority of it, as against the tremendous advantage which the Germans have in their labor and raw materials that very little further argument or figures is necessary. (8) The Germans are exporting lampblack to practically every country where there is a market for it, whereas there is not a pound of lampblack exported from this country to any point. (9) The 25 per cent duty barely kept them out of this market which they have had their eyes on for years. (10) You will see from the knowledge which the Ways and Means Committee already have on the raw material and the labor condition and the price at which the majority of lampblack sells in this market that the duty should not be reduced from 25 per cent. (11) Please do not get this article confused with carbon gas blackwhich is all produced in this country and exported abroad-nor ivory, bone, or drop blacks. (12) Of course, these blacks are all made from entirely different raw materials, viz, carbon gas black from natural gas, and the other blacks from bone and vegetable matter, and they can not, any of them, be used for the same purpose as lampblack. Respectfully submitted. WILCKES, MARTIN WILCKES Co., By L. MARTIN. BRIEF OF H. B. CARPENTER, OF THE LISTERS A. C. WORKS, NEWARK, N. J. NEWARK, N. J., January 17, 1913. The Chairman, Hon. BOIES PENROSE, and MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: We respectfully urge upon you to consider carefully the question of removing the present duty from "animal charcoal" and pray you to leave it undisturbed, as serious consequences are likely to result to many thousands of persons whose labor and living are dependent upon the production of this article. 78959°--VOL 1-13- -20 PARAGRAPH 45-LAMPBLACK. "Bone black," "animal charcoal," or "ivory black" is made from bones and is used for decolorizing purposes by sugar refiners, oil refiners, blacking manufacturers, and others. The collection of raw stock is a slow and difficult matter in this country, as labor will not engage in it without being paid much higher price than in foreign countries. The collection of bones furnishes occupation for thousands of persons. Every town of any size has one or more men engaged in the collection of bones, which are shipped to the nearest manufacturers. The following statement shows the wages here and abroad: Under conditions abroad, labor is paid as follows: Common labor, $6 per week; skilled labor, $7.50 per week; while in this country the rates are, common labor, $10 per week; skilled labor, $12 per week, which is equivalent to 663 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, in favor of American workmen. Of the total expense of manufacturing bone black more than 50 per cent is labor. Bones being refuse, their value arises from the labor employed in collecting, handling, and conveying to the different factories. Removal of the duty from bone black will result in the reduction of the price of bones, which must be borne by the laborers engaged in the collection and sale of bones. For the period of eight years ending December 31, 1911, the profit to the Listers Works in the manufacture of bone black shows an average of 0.09-54/100 per cent on the gross sales. For a manufacturing business employing a large amount of capital it would appear that this is a small profit. If the duty is removed the profit will undoubtedly disappear altogether, as sugar refiners are the principal users in this country, and the duty on bone black, such as they use, as at present levied, would be from $12 to $13 per ton. The profits of 0.09-54/100 per cent represent less than $5 per ton of product, therefore, it is self-evident that the bone-black business will be destroyed if the duty is removed and foreign competition allowed without protection in this country. The business of the Listers Works in bone black has decreased about 33 per cent during the past eight years as compared with the years 1893 and 1894, and if the duty is removed will be wiped out entirely, thus depriving a large number of employees in the boneblack works of their livelihood and leaving a larger number of bone gatherers through the country with no employment. We therefore pray that your honorable committee will carefully reconsider your action and permit the duty on "bone charcoal" to remain undisturbed and as at present provided. Very respectfully, yours, (Signed) LISTERS A. C. WORKS, By J. F. KEHOE, President. PARAGRAPH 46. PARAGRAPHS 46-47-DRY COLORS. Chrome yellow, chrome green, and all other chromium colors in the manufacture of which lead and bichromate of potash or soda are used, in pulp, dry, or ground in or mixed with oil or water, four and three-eighths cents per pound. PARAGRAPH 47. Ocher and ochery earths, sienna and sienna earths, and umber and umber earths, not specially provided for in this section, when crude or not powdered, washed, or pulverized, one-eighth of one cent per pound; if powdered, washed, or pulverized, three-eighths of one cent per pound; if ground in oil or water, per cent per pound. For sienna earths, see Italian Chamber of Commerce, page 111. DRY COLORS. BRIEF OF C. K. WILLIAMS & CO., OF EASTON, PA., ON DRY COLORS AND MINERAL FILLERS. Hon. A. MITCHELL PALMER, C. K. WILLIAMS & CO., Easton, Pa., January 6, 1913. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: As manufacturers of dry colors and mineral fillers, we wish to refute articles covered by paragraphs Nos. 47 and 56 of present tariff. Venetian red, red oxides, mortar colors, ocher, umbers, and siennas are largely produced from the natural resources of our land. The labor costs commence from the time they are first moved from the earth, and constitute fully 80 per cent of the cost of the finished product. From our knowledge of frequent visits to the mines and works abroad, with which we compete, can say that the cost of labor abroad for this kind of work is less than one-half what it is in the United States. Thus the present duty of 30 per cent is not excessive and does not prevent these products being imported in large proportions; and we earnestly request that you lend your support to the maintenance of present tariff applying to them. As you know, this is an important industry in Pennsylvania, especially in your district, and needs the protection. Very truly, yours, C. K. WILLIAMS & CO., C. K. WILLIAMS, Treasurer. BRIEF OF F. A. REICHARD, NEW YORK, N. Y. Hon. OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD, NEW YORK, January 4, 1913. Chairman Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. SIR: We wish to place before you a few facts regarding the tariff on those dry colors in which we are particularly experienced through importation for the past 60 years. Ochers, umbers, and siennas (covered by par. 47, customs tariff act of Aug. 5, 1909). 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 three-eighths cent per pound duty is unjust, because the ultimate consumer is taxed with this unfair duty. So long as |