Subcommittee No. 1.-Senators Stone, Thomas, James, and Simmons (ex officio). Schedules assigned to Subcommittee No. 1: Schedule C, metals, and manufactures of; Schedule B, earths, earthenware, and glassware; Schedule K, wool, and manufactures of; Schedule L, silks and silk goods; free list not connected with any particular schedule or schedules. Subcommittee No. 2.-Senators Williams, Shively, Gore, and Simmons (ex officio). Schedules assigned to Subcommittee No. 2: Schedule E, sugar; Schedule G, agricultural products; Schedule J, flax, linens, and other vegetable fibers; section 2, incomes; sections 3 and 4, administration. Subcommittee No. 3.-Senators Johnson, Smith of Georgia, Hughes, and Simmons (ex officio). Schedules assigned to Subcommittee No. 3: Schedule A, chemicals; Schedule I, cotton manufactures; Schedule D, wood, and manufactures of; Schedule M, pulp, papers, and books; Schedule N, sundries not connected with any particular schedule or schedules. Schedule F, tobacco and cigars, and Schedule H, wines and liquors, were not assigned to any subcommittee. 2 D. OF D. Thomas E. Lannen, attorney for eastern wine makers.. O. G. Stark, representing the Missouri wine industry. Wine growers of the East, by W. E. Hildreth, Urbana, N. Y.; Paul Garrett, W. E. Hildreth, president Urbana Wine Co., Urbana, N. Y., and Sol Bear & Proposed amendment by eastern wine growers.. Wine industry of California, by Louis Wetmore. 3 WINES. FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1913. UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Simmons (chairman), Stone, Williams, Smith, James, Thomas, and Hughes, There were present also: Senator Theodore E. Burton, of Ohio; Senator Atlee Pomerene, of Ohio; Representative William Kent, of California; Representative E A. Hayes, of California; Hon James C. Needham, of California; Representative Julius Kahn, of California; Representative John E Raker, of California; Hon A Caminetti, of California; Hon Royal E Cabell, Richmond, Va; Mr. Louis S. Wetmore, Stockton, Cal; Mr Paul Garrett, Norfolk, Va; Mr. Isadore Bear, Wilmington, NC; Mr. O. G. Stark, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. Thomas E. Lannen, Chicago, Ill; Mr. W. H. Reinhart, Mr. John G. Dorn, and Mr. A. Royer, of Sandusky, Ohio; Mr. J J Schuster, Cleveland, Ohio; Mr. A C. Krudwig, Sandusky, Ohio; Mr. William Culnan, New York City; Mr. L W. Southwick, New York City; Mr. J. A. Barlotti, Los Angeles, Cal.; Mr. Louis Landsberger, San Francisco, Cal; Mr. Theodore A. Bell, San Francisco, Cal.; and Mr. M. F. Tarpey, Fresno, Cal. STATEMENT OF MR. THOMAS E. LANNEN, OF CHICAGO, ILL. Mr. LANNEN. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I represent the Ohio-Missouri wine makers and some of the wine makers of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Illinois. These winemaking industries of the East are the oldest wine-making industries in America. The oldest Missouri member in the Ohio-Missouri Association has been in business since 1847, and the oldest Ohio member has been in business since 1856. The wine business was established in the East long before these dates. The amount of money involved in the wineries and the grape yards is estimated at about $100,000,000. In order to explain the amendment, which we suggest to the committee, to the law in question, I want to say that wines to suit the American trade can not be too sour. They can not, in fact, be too sour anywhere. Furthermore, they must contain a certain amount of sugar in order to produce a certain amount of alcohol or they will not keep. They will go into vinegar. Our wines east of the Rocky Mountains are always too high in acids and usually too low in sugar. For that reason there has been a practice in this country ever since the first wine was made in America east of the Rocky Mountains of ameliorating that wine with water to cut down the acid and to bring up the sugar content so as to make a sufficient amount of alcohol 5 to keep the wine. That is a practice which exists all over the world wherever wines are made in northern climates. Our wines are made from native American grapes that were grown here from the seeds. Those grapevines are of such a nature that they can withstand the terrible frosts that we have in the North. They can stand a temperature of 22° below zero and still survive, and we have such temperatures in Illinois and sometimes in Ohio. It also gets very cold at times in Missouri. In New York the temperature is very low. These grapes, being native of America, can survive these frosts. It is the only grape that we can grow in this country. We have tried to import the vines from California and grow the grapes here, but they will not grow in the northern part of this country. In California the vines are not American vines. They are vines imported from the southern part of Europe, and they flourish in California. They are entirely different from our vine. In order to get at this thing intelligently, I want to quote some authorities to show that this is not our argument about these wines. In the first place, one of the leading authorities in America, Mr. George Husmann, in his book entitled "American Grape Growing and Wine Making," 1907 edition, published by The Orange Judd Co., says: A normal must, to suit the prevailing taste here, should contain about four thousandths parts of acids, while in Europe it varies from four and a half to seven thousandths as the taste there is generally in favor of more acid wines. And again he says: All wines, without exception, to be of good and agreeable taste, must contain from four and a half to seven thousandths part of free acids, and each must containing more than seven thousandths part of free acids may be considered as having too little water and sugar in proportion to its acids. Senator THOMAS. That is in a total of how much? Mr. LANNEN. In the grape juice, Senator, as it is pressed from the grape Senator THOMAS. But what is your unit? If you had said 40 per cent I would have understood it, but you say four thousandth parts. Mr. LANNEN. There are four parts in a thousand, Senator. Mr. Husmann says All wines, without exception, to be of good and agreeable taste, must contain from four and a half to seven thousandths part of free acids, and each must containing more than seven thousandths part of free acids must be considered as having too little water and sugar in proportion to its acids. We can not make such wine in the Eastern States, year in and year out, east of the Rocky Mountains without using something to cure that condition, and I want to cite as an authority on that point the Universal Encyclopedia of 1900, which, in an article by E. W. Hilgard on "Wine and wine making," says: The wines of the States east of the Rocky Mountains made from American grapes only, differ from those of Europe and all other countries in mostly possessing more or less of the (foxy) aroma of the berries. As in Europe, the must often fails to acquire, north of the Potomac, the desirable amount of sugar. My investigations made among southern gentlemen who are here to-day have shown that the same condition prevails south of the Potomac as north of the Potomac, and so I make the statement that this condition exists anywhere in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. |