In answer to your letter, I am pleased to give you herewith the wages paid to our lithographic help. The minimum wages paid after the expiration of the apprenticeship of the lithographic artists as well as for the lithographic printers and transferrers in Germany are 19 marks, or equal to $4.75 per week. In general, the lithographic artists are paid, in accordance to ability, from 22 to 33 marks, or from $5.50 to $8.25 per week. Lithographic printers are paid directly after the time of their apprenticeship 19 marks, or $4.75 per week, and later on, in accordance with their ability, 22 to 33 marks, or $5.50 to $8.25 per week; lithographic transferrers from 25 to 30 marks, or from $6.25 to $7.50 per week. The help for sticking up transfer impressions and for finishing up the transfer from 25 to 33 marks, or $6.25 to $8.25 per week. A regular scale of wages does not exist with us, for the reason, as explained above, the rate of wages is in accordance with the ability of the help in the different departments. G. LOWENSOHN. With kindest regards, EXHIBIT B. SEPTEMBER 5, 1908. Mr. FRANK A. STECHER, Rochester, N. Y. DEAR MR. STECHER: I have just received from one of my customers, Mr. Richard Fuchs, a large lithographic establishment in Berlin, Germany, the following information as to the scale of wages paid to the German lithographic workmen: We find the average number of hours of work to be the same as in the United States, eight hours for the artists, and nine for the printers and transferrers. In comparing the wages of the lithographic work men in Germany with those that are being paid in the United States, we notice that the average for artists, printers, and transferrers is 30 marks, or equal to $7.50, while that paid in the United States is $25 per week, or 340 per cent higher than in Germany. Yours, truly, SHOP RULES OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMPLOYING LITHOGRAPHERS, AS AMENDED MAY 10, 1907. 2 A. Foremen.-The foremen employed in the shops shall at no time be in any manner affiliated with any labor union whatsoever, but shall be nonunion men in the strictest sense of the term. 1. No journeyman shall be employed, after the adoption of these rules, unless he signs the antistrike contract. [The board of directors ordered, May 10, 1907, that each workman signing an antistrike contract shall receive the protection contract.] 2. Time.-The hours of work of commercial artists, engravers, and designers shall be forty-eight hours per week, excepting in shops where forty-seven and one-half hours have been the rule, in which cases the houses shall have the privilege of continuing these hours; all other lithographic departments, fifty-three hours per week. Overtime is any time other than the regular working hours of the establishment, even though the employee may not have worked the full regular time of the week in question, except when the regular time lost was due to the voluntary action of the employee. It shall be paid for at the rate of time and one-half. Legal holidays and Sunday work shall be paid for at the rate of double time. All employees must be at their machines or benches ready to work at the starting signal and remain there until the stopping signal. 3. Pressmen.-Pressmen shall run two presses when required. In such case he shall receive extra pay, which shall be 40 per cent of the minimum scale price of the extra press which he shall run. 4. Pressmen, feeders, and tenders must do any work required to be done about the press in order to get it running. When presses are not running, feeders and tenders must do any work required of them. 5. Transferrers and provers.-Journeymen transferrers and provers shall work with such help as the employer may provide. 6. Rotation in employment.-Journeymen may be employed to do either transferring or proving or running a press from time to time as may be required, but no man is to be paid less than the scale for the kind of work that he may be doing, nor shall his regular wages be reduced on account of such rotation of employment. 7. Bonuses.-Bonuses or premiums may be paid at the discretion of the employer only to employees who have been continuously employed for one year in the establishment paying the bonus, but no bonuses shall be used to determine a man's rate of wages. 8. Piece and contract work.-Piece work shall be allowed in the designing, art, and engraving departments. Contract work may be done also; but where a contractor in the employ of the members engages men under him, he must agree to conform to all association rules, as if he were a member of this association, provided that all piecework and contract men shall have an established rate of wages. 9. Apprentices. Operation suspended until further order of the board of directors, in accordance with recommendation made at annual meeting National Association of Employing Lithographers, May 8, 1907, to the effect that the exact ratio of apprentices be fixed by the board of directors and be put in operation at such time as the board shall determine. After the annual meeting of May, 1907, apprentices shall be as follows (these ratios not to be exceeded): One apprentice transferrer to each three journeymen or major fraction thereof. One apprentice engraver or artist to each four journeymen or major fraction thereof. One apprentice pressman to each four journeymen or major fraction thereof. Provided, however, that one apprentice shall be employed in each department in each shop. In any shop on above date where the apprentice ratio exceeds the above no further apprentices shall be employed until the ratio is reduced to the above. Apprenticeship term.-For designers, artists, and engravers, five years; for provers, transferrers, and pressmen, four years. It is recommended that every apprentice, other than for designer, artist, or engraver, first serve a probationary term as feeder for six months, except the graduates of the Winona Trade School. The apprenticeship term of graduates of the Winona Trade School shall in all departments be two years. It is recommended that the following apprentice scale of wages be adopted throughout the country, but each group may determine upon a scale for itself: For apprentice designers, artists, and engravers: First six months. Third six months. Tenth six months.. For apprentice provers, transferrers, or pressmen: First six months.. Second six months.. Per week. $3 6 9 10 12 14 Per week. $4 5 (This entire section in reference to apprentices is suspended pending action of the board of directors, in accordance with the notice printed at the beginning of this section.) 10. Scale of wages.-The following minimum scale of wages is hereby established for journeymen: Per week. Feeders and stone grinders.-Groups may establish their own minimum scale of feeders' and stone-grinders' wages. Feeders shall be at the press ten minutes before starting time in order to oil up, place the rollers in the press, etc., and shall remain fifteen minutes after the stopping time in order to thoroughly "wash up.' For this extra twenty-five minutes per day they shall be paid $1 extra per week, or at overtime rate. Houses, if they prefer, may employ oilers or cleaners to do this work. Groups shall have the privilege of modifying the method of feeders' work and time to suit their local requirements, but they should be uniform in each group. THE ROSE COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA., SUGGESTS A FIFTY PER CENT DUTY ON PICTURE POST CARDS. PHILADELPHIA, PA., December 1, 1908. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: We beg to supplement our letter of the 25th ultimo, as follows: The post cards that are now being imported under a duty of 25 per cent should be included in the same classification as other post cards. Holiday cards, such as Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving, etc., whether post cards or not, should come under the same classification. We beg to refer you to the report of Vice-Consul James L. A. Burrell, of Magdeburg, Germany. According to the Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich, the value of picture post cards exported from Germany to the United States during 1907 was 13,190,000 marks ($3,139,220), as opposed to 4,080,000 marks ($971,040) in 1906. The total value of the post card export of Germany to all countries is given as 25,835,000 marks ($6,148 730) for 1907, and as 11,628,000 marks ($2,767,464) for 1906. According to this report, during the year 1907, in round figures, $2,600,000 worth of post cards were imported from Germany alone in one year at an average of $4 per thousand, which is as nearly correct as any estimate can be. The duty on these cards on a basis of 8 pounds at 5 cents per pound or 40 cents per thousand, would total $260,000, and the average cost to the importer was $4.40 per thousand, or $2,860,000. If a duty of 50 per cent were levied and only $520,000 worth of cards were imported, the United States Government would receive a revenue fully as large as it did receive during the time specified. It is certain that no matter what duty is levied some cards will be imported on account of originality of design, novelty in make-up, or some other extremely attractive feature, and we think the above estimate is a very fair one. On the above basis, over $2,000,000 worth of cards would have to be manufactured in this country to supply the deficiency in importation from Germany alone. The make-up of cost in post cards is as follows: Stock, cardboard.......... Inks, etc.... Labor for making plates, drawings, presswork, cutting, putting up, etc Total....... Per cent. 10 5 85 100 You can readily see from this what a tremendous boom a high tariff on these goods would be for the laboring men. Trusting you will take this into consideration, we are, Yours, very truly, THE ROSE COMPANY. VIRGIL LAMONT JOHNSON, GERMANTOWN, PA., STATES THAT AMERICAN POST CARDS ARE INFERIOR. 22 WESTVIEW AVENUE, GERMANTOWN, PA., Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: I notice that some postal-card publishers have appeared before your committee and asked for an increase in tariff on postal cards. I wish to say that I am a large purchaser of postal cards, but owing to the inferior quality in this country I am forced to order all my cards from Germany. If you can find any of the publishers who can furnish as good a product as the foreigners you will do me a favor by placing him in communication with me. Yours, respectfully, VIRGIL L. JOHNSON. PALM, FECHTELER & CO., NEW YORK, RECOMMEND SPECIFIC DUTIES FOR DECALCOMANIA TRANSFERS. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, NEW YORK, December 2, 1908. Chairman Ways and Means Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Palm, Fechteler & Co., of New York, manufacturers and importers of decalcomania, established here, respectfully present the following brief for consideration. Decalcomania is divided into two classes, as follows: Cold decalcomania, such as used for ornamenting, decorating, putting on trade marks, lettering, etc., on farm machinery, wagons, sewing machines, typewriters, and general merchandise. Ceramic decalcomania, such as used solely by manufacturers of porcelain, china, glass, and enameled ware. The present duty levied under the decision of the Philadelphia courts, viz, 20 per cent ad valorem and 3 cents per pound, is not a fair duty, because if goods are honestly entered the cheaper grade goods and the higher grade goods are the only two really affected; it raises the cost of the cheaper grade and the higher grade, and the medium grade-of which by far the greatest quantity is used and imported is not affected in this way, but this line is even a little cheaper to import. For that reason the duty is not fairly distributed over all grades. The duty as formerly levied, before the Philadelphia decision, viz, 20 cents per pound, is the fairest duty (providing no stripped goods are imported in ceramic transfers) as it averages 35 per cent, and this is adequate for all purposes. Stripped goods, and by this we mean goods that have been manufactured on duplex paper at the factories abroad and after the work is finished the thin paper is stripped from the heavy and the thin only imported, in such cases the duty instead of netting 35 per cent nets about 5 per cent to the Government; consequently it would be fair for all importers if it were forbidden to import decalcomania |