In the United States most of the lithographic printing works are located in cities bordering upon the ocean or the Great Lakes, at all of which places the variations in the humidity of the atmosphere are almost disastrous to the production of the very fine work that must be executed in a large number of tints, for the very easily understood reason that papers contract and expand to quite a considerable degree with the changes in the humidity of the atmosphere, which changes in such cities as New York, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, and Milwaukee (where most of the great American lithographic plants are located) are often quite sudden and prevent the possibility of such fine duplication of the colors, especially in small pictures like scenic post cards, as is possible in such interior cities of Europe as Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Frankfort, etc., where they have not only a more even climate, but also secret devices for the keeping of the atmosphere in the works upon an even state of humidity. The methods in which the American lithographers are behind insome of them-are among the following: In America workmen are not considered as "expert" unless they can be put to work at almost any place in the shop and at any part of the intricate details of manufacture. In Europe no workman is expected to be expert except in only one of the very many details of manufacture, and thus it is that in Europe the workman becomes especially expert in his particularly small part of the great and intricate mass of variety of the labor that is necessary to produce pretty pictures. For instance, one man will be devoted only to the preparation of the inks, another only to the making of the drawings for certain tints, others for other tints; others do only the transferring, others only the feeding of the presses, others only the adjusting of the printing stones in the presses; others never do anything but the cutting of the sheets, etc. The inevitable result of the European method is that improvements and discoveries and labor-saving appliances for the various and numerous details of the work are far more frequent among workmen who have only to devote their whole lives to perfecting one feature of the work than in America where every man is foolishly expected to be expert in too many departments. Gentlemen, if you could give the American lithographer a better climate and could impress upon him the need for the adoption of European methods of apportioning of the labor among employees you would not need to provide any protective tariff at all. Respectfully submitted. V. C. WARD. THE ULLMAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, NEW YORK CITY, WRITES RELATIVE TO LITHOGRAPHIC AND PHOTO GELATIN PRINTS AND PICTURES. 338, 340, 342 EAST FIFTY-NINTH STREET, New York, January 4, 1909. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, House of Representatives United States, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: We take the liberty of addressing you in reference to the tariff revision as related to pictures, post cards, and other publications. We are American publishers, which means that we print on our premises or have printed by contract elsewhere pictures and post cards, which we sell at wholesale. The original sketches, which are oil paintings or water-color drawings, are made by American artists, and, as above stated, the work of reproduction is all done entirely in this country. Some of our competitors have their sketches made in this country, but have the lithographic work and other printing done abroad, owing to the fact that they can be produced cheaper than in this country. We have been in this line of business for more than twenty years and have never sent any of our work to be done outside of the country, but we have now come to a point that it seems impossible to meet the prices of our competitors, owing to the fact that they can have their original sketches made in this country, so as to get the American style for the post cards or pictures, but can have the mechanical work, which means lithographing and printing, done abroad at a price very much cheaper than we can have the same done here. All of this could be obviated if a reasonable duty were levied on the imported article. At the present time the duty on lithographed pictures ranges from 5 to 20 cents per pound, and the majority of these goods passes through the customs-house at the rate of 5 cents per pound. The duty should certainly be ad valorem, because at the present rate a picture or post card of the finest quality pays no more duty than a cheaper article. Pictures which are not made lithographic, but which are printed in the photo-gelatin process, now pay a duty of 25 per cent, which is entirely inadequate and is absolutely no protection to the American publishers and printers in this line. The rate of wages in Germany and other foreign countries on lithographic work and other process is about one-third of the rate of wages in this country. Statistics in regard to this matter have been furnished to the Committee on Ways and Means, but briefly stated, they are about as above. Some years ago our Congress passed an international copyright law, and in its wisdom inserted a clause making it obligatory on the part of an owner of a copyright to print his pictures within the limits of the United States, or from plates or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States. This was an excellent provision for the protection of American mechanics in this line, but, unfortunately, the law has been evaded by certain publishers who se ure a copyright on their original oil paintings or photographs and then send the same to Europe to be reproduced. The pictures are then marked, "From copyrighted painting," with the name of the publisher and the date, so as to protect the copyright, and thousands of these pictures have passed through the custom-house each year in this manner, so that the very aim of the law has been defeated. We do not know whether this matter comes within the scope for the Ways and Means Committee, but if it does, something should be done to prevent the continuance of this subterfuge. We do not desire to take up any more of your time in this connection, and in closing simply state that conditions are such that the American publishers and printers will eventually be forced out of their own market by the competition of European publishers and printers, unless a reasonable duty shall be imposed upon these goods. We think that a duty of not less than 60 per cent on all pictures printed by the lithographic, photo-gelatin, and other process, and the same duty on post cards would be a fair and reasonable levy, taking into consideration the cost of labor and raw material. Thanking you very much for your attention to this matter, and hoping that you will use your influence in our behalf, we remain, Very truly, yours, THE ULLMAN MFG. CO., HON. A. F. DAWSON, M. C., FILES LETTER OF THE ECONOMY ADVERTISING CO., OF IOWA CITY, IOWA, RELATIVE TO DUTIES ON LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTS. Hon. A. F. DAWSON, Washington, D. C. IOWA CITY, Iowa, January 5, 1909. DEAR MR. DAWSON: We understand that a movement has been started to increase the duty on manufactured paper goods from 35 to 75 per cent, and I need not say to you that this would be very injurious to the small manufacturing business that I try to manage in Iowa, as well as several other institutions of like character throughout the country. You will remember that when the present duty of 35 per cent was levied on this class of goods the lithographing industry in this country was comparatively weak, and from my own experience will say that if our American lithographers were able to produce the same class of goods in this country that we buy in Europe that they would have the trade, but they are unable to do so, and it now seems to be their purpose to bar the importation of the class of goods that they can not manufacture, and for which there is a very heavy demand in this country, by exorbitant tariff. I feel at perfect liberty to write you on this subject in the belief that your entire efforts will be directed toward any injustice in the matter of tariff revision, as this action surely would be. Very respectfully, yours, THE ECONOMY ADVERTISING Co., S. W. MERCER, President, Advertising Novelties and Bank Supplies. SUPPLEMENTAL STATEMENTS OF LOUIS C. WAGNER & CO., NEW YORK CITY, RELATIVE TO CIGAR LABELS AND BANDS. Hon. S. E. PAYNE, NEW YORK, January 7, 1909. Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Many statements submitted to your committee since November 21 bearing on cigar labels and bands are so misleading and untruthful that we beg to be permitted to reply to them and place said matters properly before you. The Forbes Company makes an issue of small size labels and what the duty thereon would be, etc., which matter has absolutely no bearing on cigar labels; the sizes of them, without exception, are altogether much greater, the design itself covering about one-half of the label while the other half is simply blank paper. We are quite sure that the Forbes Company have at no time during their long existence ever produced cigar labels, much less bands, and if this is so, how can they be capable of suggesting any proper rates of duty on them? Their other statements are unworthy of reply. The statement of imports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, as reaching the sum of $337,016, may be correct and simply proves that it is not a large amount anyway when compared with the output of these goods in domestic work, and while it is not possible for anyone to give exact figures, it is safe to say that it is at least 90 per cent greater, and this divided by not more than one dozen firms in New York City. The assertion is made as showing statistics of the custom-house at New York, that for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, the highest ad valorem equivalent on any imports of cigar labels and bands was only 46.67 per cent, and that exactly $12 worth of goods was imported at this high percentage. In answer, we assert positively that the statistics (while we do not have them) can absolutely not show this to be so, and that the statement is made with the prime object of deceiving your committee. For this very period we have carefully gone over our imports alone and here are the amounts with their ad valorem equivalents, which can be substantiated by our invoices and books: As we purchase our goods outright and pay cash for them, the insulting accusation that our invoice values are erroneous is a malignant falsehood on the part of the National Association of Employing Lithographers. To all other statements, beginning "A set of labels costs about 41 cents a box, and sometimes more,' we assert again that this is absolutely correct for imported goods, and that it is only 2 cents per box, applies only to domestic goods. Even the cheapest imported labels with trimmings costs over 3 cents per box, and the finer grades up to 7 cents. As we handle only cigar labels and bands, and have done so since 1887, and bands always having been one essential part of our business, the statement that there were practically none imported prior to 1894, or even 1897, is conclusively false. The domestic lithographers then follow with the assertion that the average cost of bands to the cigar manufacturer is 3 cents for each box of 100 cigars, which is true for domestic work, but not so for the foreign. The lowest selling price for large quantities for German work is from 3 to 4 cents for bronze printing and double for metalleaf work. Under their proposed rates for bronze bands only, now at 20 cents per pound, they jump this rate to 70 cents, which means a duty alone of 22 cents per 1,000. Add to this the foreign cost, which, at lowest price, including import expenses, is 24 cents, makes the total cost 46 cents, and yet they say in their own statement, that they sell them, including their profit, to the cigar manufacturers at an average price of 30 cents per 1,000. That our brief was drawn up by two firms of attorneys who have absolutely no knowledge, etc., is too silly for further comment; of course it was submitted by them as compiled by us. We find nothing misleading in our statement that the American cigar labels are invading the foreign markets, nor did we say to what extent. That was merely a reply to their original assertion that they sold absolutely none abroad. Now, they say the amounts are very small. We still seriously question the accuracy of their figures of exports, as we are in possession of a letter from our factory in Germany saying that agencies are established in Hamburg, Bremen, and Westfalen, besides Holland and England, for the sale of American labels and that the exports to Germany alone reach an enormous amount because of the very small duty, almost too insignificant to name, and also because they are sold in that market at prices at least 25 per cent less than the German goods. We have written our factory to procure statistics of imports into Germany and if they can be obtained will take liberty in submitting them later. After having submitted our first brief November 21, 1908, to the manufacturers abroad they have corrected us in one particular, and are ready to swear to the accuracy of the correction, that a day's run in Germany averages 3,000 sheets, only one or two firms being capable of running 3,500, which is the highest run in any event. As the Forbes Company, in their later brief December 16, do not deny, nor has it been denied by others since then, that a day's run in America is at least 6,000 sheets, the American lithographers have the advantage over the foreigners in printing alone by fully 100 per cent. Without going into further detail, we submit a summary of our contention on separate sheets herewith. Respectfully, LOUIS C. WAGNER & Co. NEW YORK, January 7, 1909. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: As a summary to our previous briefs and additional statements on separate sheets herewith, we, on behalf of the few importing firms of cigar labels and bands, respectfully submit the following: Although the National Association of Employing Lithographers claims to represent 350 factories, there are not more than one dozen |