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6. The German Government trust or potash syndicate control the base raw material, potash.

7. The oxalic-acid syndicate or trust in Germany control the production and sales of oxalic acid, as Germany produces seven-tenths of all the oxalic acid consumed.

8. The industry is young and needs the Government's assistance for a time.

9. During the years 1903-1907, the German syndicate succeeded in driving the American Acid & Alkali Co. to the wall, and their property was sold at sheriff's sale on June 2, 1908. In 1909 the duty of 2 cents per pound was granted, and we have revived the business, and at the present time oxalic acid is not so expensive to the American manufacturer as it was for a number of years previous to this time, even with the duty upon it. (See reference for prices in 19031907 in statistical list.)

10. Germany protects her oxalic-acid manufacturers with an import duty on oxalic acid.

The manufacture of oxalic acid and its by-products is a new American industry, the first and only American factory being located at Bradford, Pa. The American Alkali & Acid Co., of Bradford, Pa., incorporated under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, was organized for the purpose of manufacturing oxalic acid, and 19 large buildings, covering 10 acres of land, were built and equipped to this end, at the cost of $500,000. That does not cover the entire money which we have spent; the total amount has been several hundred thousand more, because we have been up against the real thing.

We would call your attention to the four important differences in the cost of manufacture and sale of oxalic acid in the United States compared to those existing in Germany and other foreign countries, where are located the principal manufacturers of this article.

It is a well-known fact that common labor in the United States is paid about 100 per cent more than is paid for the same class of labor in Germany. We pay an average wage per hour in our oxalic-acid plant of 20 cents, and the German wage for the same class of work is 8 cents and 9 cents per hour. For factory superintendents, chemists, engineers, and other positions of responsibility there is an even greater difference in the scale of wages paid. In the manufacture of oxalic acid the cost of raw material used is now practically constant, but we would call your attention to the fact that the price of our raw materials has increased 40 per cent within the last four years. The labor cost in the manufacture of oxalic acid is the larger part of the total cost, and the cost of raw materials being constant, any reduction in the manufacturing cost must necessarily be borne by the labor item.

As is well known, there are no commercial deposits of potash salts in the United States. Potash is necessary for the manufacture of oxalic acid, and the Germans control, through the German Government and the potash syndicate, all the raw material for the world's supply of potash in its various forms. It is also a well-known fact that the Germán Government aids the Kali Syndicate, or German Potash Trust, in almost any manner they may desire. According

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to the Imperial German law and regulations regarding the sale of kali or potash (par. 24) the Government forbids the sale of kali cheaper abroad than for the German interior. (Imperial German law and regulation regarding the sale of kali, par. 24.) "The prices for selling and delivering kali abroad must not be lower than those given for the German interior."

This restriction guarantees to the German consumer of potash in any form from the potash syndicate at a maximum, or highest price, which can not be more than the minimum, or lowest, price abroad, and this guaranty is upheld by the German Government.

In other words, that the minimum price paid by the Americans is the maximum price paid by the Germans. It can be as much lower as they see fit to sell it at. Therefore, there is an agreement that the price in this country shall be fixed at a stipulated sum, but they can make it as much lower to the German manufacturers of oxalic acid as they see fit.

The oxalic-acid manufacturers of Germany, Russia, England, Belgium, Norway, and Austria have formed a syndicate, headed and controlled by the German manufacturers, to hold at a high level the price of oxalic acid in their respective countries, and to deliver the surplus to the United States. Prior to the control of the oxalic-acid trade by the German manufacturers, through the syndicate, all foreign producers sold their product in the United States on a competitive basis, and the consumer in the United States bought his oxalic acid at a very low figure because of the keen competition among the European manufacturers. By maintaining a high price abroad for a major part of their product, the foreign manufacturers were able to sell their surplus production in the United States at the best price they could obtain in the open market. The use of oxalic acid in the United States has increased nearly 70 per cent in the past eight years and the price has remained practically constant for the last six years. In fact, it has increased since its introduction in 1884, the first statistics we had of it, over several hundred per cent.

This, we believe, was due to our presence as manufacturers in the oxalic-acid market in the United States. We have been a check on the advancing trust price, as is shown by the following incident: In 1906 the price of acid was 74 cents per pound, New York. In the early part of 1907 our plant in Bradford was shut down to overcome some difficulties in our process. Remember that we knew nothing about this business, and we could not get the necessary expert labor from Germany or from any other country to teach us how, and our process was rather crude at first, and we were shut down for nearly a year. Simultaneously the price of oxalic acid jumped to 9 cents. f. o. b. New York, and that price was maintained until we started operations again; then the price of oxalic acid dropped again to 7

We believe that with all competition removed by reduction in the tariff the German syndicate would immediately raise the price in the United States to a figure as high, or higher, than that maintained during the time of our shutdown. The 2-cent duty on oxalic acid is no burden to the ultimate consumer. This is proven by the fact that the price of oxalic acid for the four years since the duty has been effective has not been as high as for the two years preceding the

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imposing of the tariff. We give below the table showing the prices of oxalic acid in the years shown in the table.

In addition to the foregoing reasons why the duty of 2 cents a pound be retained on oxalic acid and be placed on the salts of oxalic acid, we would respectfully call your attention to the fact that the German Government imposed a duty of approximately 1 cent per pound on any oxalic acid imported into Germany. It was on account of fear, due to that condition of things, that they immediately protected their manufacturers. Russia has also placed a tariff of 3 cents per pound on oxalic acid, and Austria and Belgium have followed on the same line. They are very jealous of their manufacturers, and each one has attempted to take care of their manufacturers in the respective countries.

This fact, together with the natural advantages of cheap raw materials, cheap transportation, cheap labor, and unlimited supply of potash, gives the German manufacturers the power with which they can completely destroy all competition unless the present duty is retained.

We trust we have made clear the necessity for duty on oxalic acid and its salts, and ask that you recommend to the Congress of the

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United States that the present tariff of 2 cents per pound on oxalic acid be retained and that a 25 per cent ad valorem duty be retained on the salts of oxalic acid.

I might say, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, that quite a number of people started out in the manufacture of this oxalic acid, but, as we say in common parlance, "they got cold feet" because of the enormous amount of money we had expended. They let it go because of this competition to which I have referred, and on June 2, 1908, the plant was sold at sheriff sale for its debts. A copy of the deed is hereto appended. On that point I would like to call your attention for a moment to the reason we were obliged to shut down.

We commenced the construction of that factory in 1903, and immediately upon our doing so the German manufacturers reduced their prices from 6 cents in 1901 to 4% in 1903; 4 cents in 1904; 4 cents in 1905, and to 5 cents in 1906. Then we came into the market. We feared that they would attempt to break our back again, as our backs were broken financially in our first attempt, and we then asked the United States Congress to protect us, and they did by levying an import duty of 2 cents a pound, which went into effect August 6, 1909.

Now, we would like to have the 2-cent duty remain. Why? Because, as you will note from the said figures indicating the Government statistics of the United States, the prices at which the goods were billed from Germany, England, and Norway to their respective representatives in the United States for resale were, from 1884 to 1903, maintained at a high price. We are also appending hereto a schedule of the average sale price to the consumer from 1904 to 1912, inclusive.

The American Alkali & Acid Co., in whose behalf I ask the maintenance of a 2-cent duty on oxalic acid, commenced the construction of their plant during the year 1903. The plant was not constructed along proper lines and was rebuilt three separate times, and did not commence the manufacture of oxalic acid until the fall of 1907. You will note that the prevailing price in 1904 and 1905 during the early construction of our plant was from 5 to 5 cents. This was due to the fact that we had produced a small quantity of goods and put them on the market during that period. However, during 1906 we shut the plant down completely, and you will note that in that year the German manufacturers combined with the English and Norwegians to form the Oxalic Syndicate, raised the price to 7 cents, and from that in 1907 to 9 cents, which price prevailed until the fall of the year, when we again started operations in our plant.

The financial strain was so heavy in the year 1907 and 1908 that on June 2, 1908, the plant was sold at sheriff sale, as above stated. I purchased same and became the sole owner of this company, which was reorganized under the name of the American Alkali & Acid Co. In 1908 we became a factor in the oxalic business in the United States, and the German Oxalic Syndicate immediately reduced the price to 6 cents, which price was maintained until August 6, 1909, at which time the tariff of 2 cents went into effect on the commodity.

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The price was then raised to 7 and 7 cents, which price has been prevalent during the following years, 1910, 1911, and 1912, and you will note by the schedule incorporated in this paper that the German syndicate raised the price as soon as we were incapacitated, but immediately upon our return to the market the prices were lowered with the evident intention of driving us out of the business.

Let us now ask how oxalic acid is made from kali. I expected to have a sample of oxalic acid and kali here, but the express companies, I suppose, have failed to deliver it. So that you may thoroughly understand it, I will say that kali is distilled from what is called "caustic potash." Caustic potash is the basis. The next product that is put into the caustic potash is sawdust. That is fed into the kettles, where it is digested, and then it is taken from there. Then we use lime; after that we use sulphuric acid. We use 15,000 pounds of lime a day, and we use about 10,000 pounds of sawdust a day, and for every pound of oxalic acid that we produce we use 1.17 pounds of sulphuric acid. If you will notice upon that picture there, we have done everything that we could to cheapen our products. We built a large sulphuric-acid plant, that we might get it down to the manufacturer's cost; and we have gone so far as to buy tracts of timber, that we might be sure of having a source of supply for our sawdust in the future. The question of lime is a serious one.

Now, the enormous amount of lime that we use, the enormous amount of sawdust that we use, and the enormous amount of sulphuric acid that we use, give employment to hundreds of men, although the number employed directly in the factory is only about 70 to 80 men.

You have only to turn to the statistics of the United States Government as to the prices of these goods to show what the situation was in 1903, 1904, and 1905. It was only done to drive the American out of business; that is all.

Who uses this product? The American print works use a million pounds a year. The shirt and collar you wear upon your person are washed partially with it, and 2,500,000 pounds of it are used by the laundry people. Then, again, the tanning industry are large users of oxalic acid. This product enters largely into the chestnut extracts of the South for clarification purposes and for other purposes too numerous to mention.

Let me say to this committee that there is no company. I am the company; and I have withstood the storm and battle for years, and I am going to withstand it longer if possible.

Since I have been at the head of the American Alkali & Acid Co. we have had in our employ continually one or two research chemists; and the reason that these goods have gained to the enormous percentage of 70 per cent in the last six or seven years is because we have found new uses for this product, and it is but in its infancy at the present time.

Why should the American Alkali & Acid Co. not have protection? In 1911 there were 7,538,000 pounds brought into this country, and we manufactured about 2,000,000 pounds additional, making 9,000,000 pounds and upward. The United States Government received from the duty on the importation of oxalic acid $141,177.98.