PARAGRAPH 90-CHINA CLAY. Bauxite is in Schedule B, paragraph No. 90, act of August 5, 1909. The importation this year will amount to about 30,000 tons. The consumption in the United States is estimated at 150,000 tons during 1912. We respectfully ask that it be transferred to the free list, where for many years it was incorporated. The article imported does not come in competition with the domestic article, by reason of its wide difference in composition. The foreign article contains 60 per cent of alumina and over 20 per cent of iron, whereas the domestic article contains from 50 to 55 per cent alumina and is very low in iron. On account of the iron the foreign red bauxite is not adapted for making alum direct, whereas the domestic article is particularly so; therefore the foreign does not compete, as stated. The selling price of domestic bauxite is about $6 per ton at the mines, compared with $3.60 per ton for foreign at shipping point in Europe. The importation comprises only about 20 per cent of the total bauxite consumed in the United States. As the bauxite is distinctively a raw material of the crudest character involving a minimum of labor, we submit that it should be placed on the free list. Yours, truly, PENNSYLVANIA SALT MANUFACTURING CO., RESOLUTIONS OF BENTON (ARK.) CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Whereas the largest deposit of bauxite in America is situated in Arkansas, near the city of Benton; and Whereas three corporations are engaged in the mining and shipping of this bauxite; and Whereas these companies have made very heavy investments in mining plants and building railroads and equipment for mining this bauxite; and Whereas the pay rolls of these companies amount to from $15,000 to $20,000 a month, and that this money is paid to the laborers, who spend it in this community; and Whereas one of these mining plants has built the second largest town in this county, some miles of first-class public roads, erected a $12,000 schoolhouse for the benefit of the children of the community, a hospital costing over $6,000, a free bathhouse for the use of their employees; all this, where a few years ago there was a wilderness; and Whereas the existing tariff under the Payne-Aldrich bill enables foreign bauxite and aluminum to be shipped into America in free competition with the American manufactured articles; and Whereas should the tariff on bauxite and aluminum as contemplated by the Underwood bill now before Congress be passed, in our judgment would close down this the largest industry in our county: Therefore be it Resolved, That the Benton Chamber of Commerce, of the city of Benton, Ark., in chambers assembled, pray that you use your influence to prevent the tariff being removed on bauxite, aluminum, and alumina as contemplated by the Underwood bill; And be it further Resolved, That the secretary of this organization send a copy of these resolutions to each of our representatives in Congress. The foregoing is a true copy of the resolutions adopted by the board of directors of the chamber of commerce on the 30th day of January, 1913. CHINA CLAY. M. F. SCOTT, President. STATEMENT OF JOHN RICHARDSON, ESQ., REPRESENTING THE JOHN RICHARDSON CO., OF BOSTON, MASS. The CHAIRMAN. The next witness is the John Richardson Co. The committee has assigned to you, Mr. Richardson, 10 minutes. Please give your name and address to the stenographer. Mr. RICHARDSON. John Richardson, of Boston. Mr. DIXON. What section of the bill will you speak about? PARAGRAPH 90-CHINA CLAY. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I want the duty on china clay removed. I emphasize two points: First, the damage done by the duty to the great paper industry, employing over 65,000 men. Second, the comparatively insignificant damage by removal of the duty to the southern clay industry. As to the first point, paper making is among the largest industries of the United States. Our makers of the better grades of paper must have English clay. The duty on this raw material is now over 36 per cent. From this tax the United States Government receives annually a revenue of over half a million dollars. That revenue is in the end paid by the paper makers. Canada's facilities for the manufacture of paper excel those of the United States. China clay is admitted free into Canada; her paper comes here free. Already a number of American paper makers have bought land there. Each dollar collected as duty means a gain of $1 to the paper maker who goes to Canada. Now, for the second point, the comparatively insignificant damage to the domestic clay industry. The total value of domestic paper clay produced in 1909 was less than $400,000. Under 1,500 men were employed. From 1905 to 1910, in spite of the duty, the increase of English clay imported over the increase of domestic clay produced. was 938 per cent. This duty, which is borne by the paper makers, of over half a million dollars a year protects an industry with a total annual output of less than $400,000 and employing under 1,500 men. I am ready for questions. The CHAIRMAN. Do gentlemen of the committee desire to ask Mr. Richardson any questions? That is all. PETITION TO REMOVE THE DUTY ON CHINA CLAY, OR KAolin. [Brief of John Richardson Co.] STATEMENT OF FACTS. The COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, House of Representatives, Sixty-second Congress: In 1908 the John Richardson Co. was represented at the hearings before the Ways and Means Committee on a petition similar in its purport to this brief, namely, the removal of the duty on china clay, or kaolin. Now, as then, your petitioner is acting at the suggestion of several paper makers. In 1908 the petition was dismissed after a rather brief hearing. Since 1908 the new Canadian tariff has been put into effect, thereby admitting from Canada one of the finished products of china clay, paper, free of duty. This brief deals first with the subject in the light of the new Canadian tariff, and, second, attempts to explain, more fully than was possible at the hearings before the committee, the effect of the present duty on china clay. EXPLANATION OF TERMS. China clay and kaolin are different names for the same article, and this article is a raw material used in the manufacture of paper, pottery, bleaching, and ultramarine. In this brief the term china clay will be used, except in the case of the North Carolina clay, where by force of custom the name kaolin has always been applied to the clay there. In spite of the fact that all imported clay is really of one kind, there are many different grades of cost. This is due to the facts which will be explained later. PARAGRAPH 90-CHINA CLAY. THE DIFFERENT COSTS OF ENGLISH CLAY. The cost of English clay in bulk f. o. b. Cornwall, England, varies from 15 shillings to 32 shillings per ton. Add about 9 shillings and you have the price at New York without the duty. These clays, though varying in cost, are in fact all of one kind, the reason for the difference in cost being that the more expensive clays are more thoroughly washed when taken from the mine and are of a whiter color. The expensive clays are used in the finished paper by the coating manufacturers, potters, and to a limited extent by the bleachers. The English clays costing about 20 to 25 shillings are used for slightly inferior qualities of the same products. That the importation of expensive clays is comparatively small is proved by the average value of English clays imported into the United States. This is only $6.76 per ton at port of shipment. (United States Bureau of Statistics, No. 15, imports entered for consumption years ending June 30,1909-10, p. 965.) To this must be added 9 shillings for ocean freight and $2.50 per ton duty, making the average value at United States seaboard $11.42 per ton. English clays sold in 1909, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, at prices ranging from $11 per ton to $18 per ton. Thus there can not be much expensive English clay imported, or the average would be higher. Inasmuch as the importation of the more expensive English clays is comparatively small, and, furthermore, as there are no American clays of sufficient whiteness to be in competition with these English clays, we shall say no more about them in this brief. We think they do not alter our conclusions in either direction, and therefore at once proceed to the lower grade English clays, of which so large a bulk is imported. We shall then give evidence showing a comparison of the cheaper English clays and domestic paper clays, starting with the clay in its natural state, then showing the analyses of the domestic and English, then the uses, the tariff, the size of the domestic-clay industry, and the competition existing among American paper manufacturers. IN ITS NATURAL STATE. China clay, or kaolin, may be divided into two classes, viz, residual and sedimentary. Residual clays.-Beds of china clay occurring in or very close to their place of origin are known as residual clays. All English clays are residual, and the deposit is decomposed granite. The method of mining is by sending a stream of water down the side or stope of the pit, and this stream takes up and carries with it feldspar, mica, and sand. This material is pumped, strained, and settled, then dried in kilns. (See photographs attached of English mines, showing this method.) The residual clays of the United States do not concern us, since they would not be affected by removal of the duty, as hereinafter explained. Sedimentary clays.-In the erosion of the earth's surface residual clay is washed down into the lakes and seas, where it is deposited in the form of a sediment, with the addition of many impurities. This latter is known as sedimentary clay. The clay deposits of Aiken, S. C., are sedimentary, and in this area are most of the so-called paper clays produced in the United States which could be affected by the removal of duty on English clay. The mining of these clays is simple. The overburden, or earth on top, is removed, and from the solid mass of clay lumps are separated by pick and shovel. These are roughly assorted into grades, determined by color, and stains pared off.1 The clay is then dried in an open shed, is casked, and ready for market. In some instances the clay is washed with good results. (Attached are cuts from photographs of some of the principal domestic mines.) For samples of the deposits of English and American clay see Exhibits "A" and "B." PARAGRAPH 90-CHINA CLAY. ANALYSES. We here present a table of an average test of English clay and a test of clay from two mines in South Carolina and one in North Carolina. As explained, the North Carolina clay is called kaolin: "There are, however, many physical properties which the ultimate analysis does not explain, because they are dependent largely on the mineralogical composition." Two clays might show practically the same chemical analysis and one be much whiter than the other, enough so as to make the one commercially valuable where the other could not find a market. The accompanying exhibits will relieve from all doubt that there is a difference, for practical purposes, between the English and American clay. Exhibit C shows 10 grains of ordinary English clay in a certain quantity of distilled water. Exhibit D shows 10 grains of high-grade domestic paper clay in the same condition. On shaking these bottles it is apparent that the English clay is held in suspension to a far greater degree than the domestic. This goes to show, first, that the English clay is finer in grain than the domestic; second, it has less grit or free silica. The same experiment tried with washed domestic clay as against the English still shows the English is far superior. Exhibits E and F, samples of English and domestic paper clay, respectively, further show that the domestic clay is harder, shorter, leaner, more yellow in color. The sample of English clay is better color, and is termed by the miners fat, long, or greasy,' and possesses a higher degree of plasticity than domestic. Plasticity is an important feature in clay for paper making. Thus it is apparent that no expert knowledge is necessary to distinguish the difference between the two kinds of clay. USES. By far the largest use of china clay is for paper making. Twenty-five years ago paper was made chiefly from rags and old papers. There was not then the need of the china clay, as the papers were easily finished. When ground wood and sulphite, on account of their lower cost, began to replace rags, a new need arose for china clay, to fill and finish these papers made from wood. Without china clay the surface was harsh and not printable. So that, while china clay was used to a small extent with the old rag papers, it has now become an absolute necessity for much of the paper made. Of all the china clay used in the United States in the year June 30, 1909-10, there were imported 246,381 short tons, of the value of $1,505,779.3 There was produced in the United States in the year 1909 paper clays 81,586 short tons, of the value of $386,764. From these two sources practically all the clay used in paper making was derived. Of the kaolin there was produced in North Carolina and other States 31,227 short tons, of the value of $241,060. It may be well to state here that the North Carolina 1 North Carolina Geological Survey Bulletin No. 13, by Heinrich Ries, 1897, p. 30. Rudolph Wagner, Ph. D., professor of chemical technology at the University of Wurzburg. Statistics of the Clay-working Industries of the United States, 1990, U. S. Geological Survey, p. 67. 'Statistics of the Clay-working Industries of the United States, 1909, U. S. Geological Survey, p. 65. PARAGRAPH 90-CHINA CLAY. kaolin and other kaolin, the residuary clay, of an average value of $7.72 per short ton at the mine, is used almost wholly in potting, and is far superior to the average paper clay, which sells for only $4.74 a short ton at mine. This domestic kaolin, owing to its ability to stand being fired by intense heat, has no equal for potting. English clays have to be fired much more slowly. To show that there is no competition between the kaolin and English clays in pottery, we have the added fact that it is advantageous to use the two different kinds of clay. In other words, the English clay is combined with the North Carolina kaolin to make the proper mixture. The following table is inserted with the idea of ascertaining how far the English clays are in competition with the domestic clays: In book paper an average of 20 per cent of the furnish or raw material is English clay, in cover paper 20 per cent, in plate lithograph paper 25 per cent, in cardboard Bristol, 10 per cent. In coated paper 25 per cent additional weight of English clay is placed on the surface, besides the amount in the body of the paper. As was explained before, the ordinary paper is filled with English clay. The coated paper is also covered with English clay by means of rotary brushes, thereby giving it a fine finish, peculiarly adapted to the better class of woodcuts and other processes in printing. Take, as an example, the frontispiece or illustrated pages of our weekly or monthly magazines. Bleachers use this clay for filling, in flour sacks made of a coarse cotton, table oilcloths, carriage covers, curtains, and for filling and whitening cloth. In this the quality needed in plasticity, freedom from grit and oxide of iron, and clay should be of good color. In ultramarine the requisite for a clay is that it should be highly aluminous, contain no ferric oxide, and be free from lime. The quantity of English clay imported in 1871 as compared with 1910 shows an increase from 13,081 tons in 1871 to 230,634 tons in 1910.1 TARIFF. The present duty on this article is $2.50 per ton of 2,240 pounds. This is a tax on a raw material of 36.97 per cent ad valorem. From this tax the United States Government received a revenue of $578,086 in 1909-10.2 With the present agreement with Canada, however, the Canadian finished product, paper made from wood grown on private lands, costing 4 cents a pound and under, is admitted free into the United States. Canada pays no duty on raw material. COMPETITION. In the hearing before the Ways and Means Committee in 1908 the committee made much of the point that if the duty were taken off china clay the clay importers and the paper manufacturers and not the consumer would profit. This is improbable. In the first place there is competition among the paper makers in the United States, as evidenced by the yearly bids on Government contracts for paper,3 viz: Early in 1910 thirty-six concerns, embracing practically all the leading paper makers in the United States, or their agents, tried to secure these contracts. Second, and even more conclusive, is the competition with the finished product of Canada, now admit 1 Department of Commerce and Labor, U. S. Bureau of Statistics. 2 Department of Commerce and Labor, U. S. Bureau of Statistics. Imports entered for consumption, years ended June 30, 1909 and 1910, p. 965. Taken from United States advertisement for bids on paper. |