Small fractions have been dropped in this percentage calculation, but an examination of above figures will show the average earnings of 63 per cent per annum to be almost precisely correct.

I respectfully submit that these figures should be taken into account in considering a pottery tariff, and should any doubt exist as to their fairly representing conditions in the pottery trade, then the facts should be investigated at first sources by your own representative.

It may be proper to add that I have not included in this calculation the returns from one firm in the Ohio Valley that has gone out of business and three that have failed during the past two years.

Respectfully submitted.

SWORN STATEMENT.

W. E. WELLS.

I, W. E. Wells, of Newell, W. Va., being first duly sworn, upon my oath say that the tabulation appended below represents the correct aggregate taken from the sworn statements (with exceptions as noted) of the following 21 pottery firms: D. E. McNicol Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Knowles, Taylor & Knowles Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Standard Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Vodrey Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Hall China Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Globe Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Cartwright Bros. Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Colonial Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Potters Cooperative Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Smith-Phillips China Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Trenle China Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; West End Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; C. C. Thompson Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Harker Pottery Co., East Liverpool, Ohio; Edwin M. Knowles China Co., Chester, W. Va.; Taylor, Smith & Taylor Co., Chester, W. Va.; Homer Laughlin China Co., Newell, W. Va.; Wellsville China Co., Wellsville, Ohio; United States Potteries Co., Wellsville, Ohio; Steubenville Pottery Co., Steubenville, Ohio; Warwick China Co., Wheeling, W. Va.

Aggregate results taken from the sworn statements of the 21 firms named above covering their business for the years 1909, 1910, and 1911.

Sworn to and subscribed in my presence at Washington, D. C., this 8th day of January, A. D. 1913.

[SEAL.]

EUSTACE C. OWEN,

Notary Public.

Exceptions: Sales of the Harker Pottery Co. not sworn to. Sales and profits of the C. C. Thompson Pottery Co. not sworn to.

COPY OF CIRCULAR LETTER BY MR. WHITACRE.

It is definitely announced that the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives will take up the tariff-revision program early in January. Hearings will be granted those who desire to be heard.

Personally, I do not know whether the present rates on your products are too high or not. I would favor a proposition from you to the Ways and Means Committee to throw open your books and factories to the experts selected by the committee to ascertain the exact conditions that obtain in your industry as regards all matters which enter into your cost.

You could also furnish for the benefit of the committee such information as you undoubtedly have with respect to prices of foreign articles entering into competition with you; that is, prices at which foreign articles are actually offered for sale in the country of production. Knowing, then, your cost and foreign actual sale price, it seems to me that a rate could be fixed which would at once be fair to the consuming public, yourself, and your employees.

Generalities will no longer be accepted. Exact truths must be ascertained and stated. The cry of "ruin" has been so overworked that men no longer give credit to your statements. It is unfortunate that this is the case, but so it is. The reports of the present Tariff Board on the paper and woolen schedules demonstrate that exact conditions at home can be ascertained, and certainly these exact home conditions ought to be compared with the prices at which foreign-made goods are actually sold in the market of the country of production.

If you are coming to Washington to ask any rate as necessary to your industry you should at least now come to a showing of exact facts, free from general denunciation and claptrap statements. This is a time when sound horse sense should be applied and wild statement discarded.

You are entitled to fair treatment, and so also is the public who uses your goods. You should not be destroyed by unfair competition, and your customers should not be robbed by any unfair killing of competition on your part. To keep yourself from unfair foreign competition you should now lay yourself open to examination for exact facts in your industry. If you disclose the actual condition, you can rest assured of a fair rate.

I want to impress upon you that the time is past when tariff rates will be fixed by you alone without regard to others. I take no stock in the statement of some that your interests shall not be considered, and am equally certain that yours is not the only interest to be regarded.

You are entitled to have a rate fixed on the basis of truth as to your conditions of production and sale, but you should not be permitted to exclude foreign competition by tariff rates fixed by you to the end that your industry may have this market at your terms of sale, on the principle of the "public be damned." The public will not "be damned." The public has determined to take a hand in fixing the rates, and the danger now is that you will "be damned."

Hence the necessity of moderate statements on the part of all. Common sense should prevail and fair rates should be established. I shall be glad to aid you in this respect, but I am a Congressman for all the people, you included. I am ready to cooperate with you along the lines above indicated.

J. J. WHITAcre.

PARAGRAPHS 92-94-POTTERY.

DETAILED Statement.

POTTERY WARE.

The term pottery or pottery ware embraces all wares made of earthy materials, of which the silicate of aluminum is the chief ingredient, and embraces products differing widely in character and in value, ranging from the common brick to the most elaborate and artistic piece of chinaware, worth many times its weight in gold. Few, if any, industries have so large a percentage of labor cost in their production; the crude materials entering into the body of material ware are of nominal value as found in nature, being worth from 25 cents to 50 cents per ton in the ground. A dozen of the ordinary white china plates selling at $1.50 per dozen wholesale contains about 12 pounds or less of the combined materials. This amount of material is worth about one-tenth of a cent in the ground. The difference between one-tenth of a cent and $1.50 indicates the labor cost from start to finish.

MATERIALS.

A great variety of materials enter into the composition of a piece of decorated pottery ware, chief of which, however, are clays, quartz, and feldspar. In the glaze we have the addition of borax or boracic acid, lead, zinc, and paris white. In decorating we have the whole range of metallic colors and various oils. The production of the lithographer's art is largely in use.

The clay comes largely from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Texas. The large quantities of china clay and ball clay are imported from England.

The flint or quartz is produced in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and some of our Western States.

The feldspar of the quality required is found in limited quantities in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and Canada. The borax and boracic acid comes from California.

Coal, principally from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia.

The decorating materials are produced to an extent in this country, but are largely imported.

CLASSES OF POTTERY WARE.

There are two main general divisions of earthy products, technically known as earthenware and china, the chief difference being in the character of the body. A general definition of earthenware being "wares of opaque and nonvitreous character," the body of the ware being to a greater or less degree porous or absorbent to liquids, whereas china is of a vitreous or glassy nature, owing to a larger proportion of fusible or vitrefiable material in its construction. When broken it displays a glassy fracture, and is generally translucent.

In the manufacture of the earthenware the materials bear a larger ratio of value to labor in the total cost than is the case in the manufacture of chinaware. In consequence of this fact, the American pottery has been able to develop more rapidly in earthenware business in this country, owing to the smaller proportion of labor cost. For the same reason the manufacture of chinaware has not progressed with any rapidity. In the production of tableware little machinery can be used, and where it is applicable the human hand is indispensable in connection therewith. The same is true in relation to the building of articles for sanitary purposes. In the making of porcelain for electrical purposes, and in the manufacture of tiles, machinery in the form of presses and dies is used to a considerable extent, but when machinery is used to the limited possibility, then labor must be applied in the finishing, handling, burning, and decorating before the article is ready for market.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE.

Materials are delivered to the potters in a state ready for mixing.

When the materials are brought into a liquid combination, which is simply a mixture and not a chemical solution, the product is very carefully sifted and forced through filtered presses, after which it is cut up and forced through a compressing mill, so as to produce a density without losing elasticity. It is then ready for the potter's use. The various processes through which the material must pass and the manipulations it must go through are numerous before it is ready for the burning process. After being formed and thoroughly dried, while still in an extremely fragile condition, it

PARAGRAPHS 92-94-POTTERY.

must go through the first firing process, after which it is inspected, brushed, dipped in a liquid glass, and again put into the kiln for a second burning. The ware is then sorted, carefully inspected, and is in a marketable condition. The process through which the ware must pass is slow and the turn over of the money invested is correspondingly slow, so that if a manufacturer can turn his investment one and one-half times in the year he is doing extremely well. The average, however, would not be more than one and one-fourth times the investment; for example, a pottery investment of $100,000 would do well to produce $125,000 in the year.

COST OF PRODUCTION.

In considering the cost of production we have a number of elements to be considered, each of which when compared with conditions abroad show to the great advantage of our foreign competitors. In considering the cost of production of pottery ware the following elements must be taken into consideration:

First. The relative amount of capital investment necessary.

Second. The relative cost of materials.

Third. The relative cost of labor.

Fourth. The relative fixed charges, and overhead expenses.

Fifth. Trade conditions.

Under these heads I have subdivided the various subjects as follows:

CAPITAL.

I. Plant.-1, Land; 2, building; 3, machinery; 4, tools and implements; 5, blocks, casks, and molds; 6, saggers, or firing cases; 7, wareboards.

II. Working capital.-1, For carrying merchandise and stock in the process of manufacture; 2, for carrying book accounts and credits.

MATERIALS.

I. Materials used in the construction of the ware itself, and in decorating the same.—1, China clays; 2, ball clays; 3, quartz; 4, feldspar; 5, Cornwall stone; 6, carbonate of lead; 7, oxide of zinc; 8, soda; 9, borax; 10, boracic acid; 11, paris white; 12, decorating colors; 13, liquid bright gold; 14, coin gold; 15, decalcomania, chrome, or transfer sheets.

II. Materials used in the process of making, but not part of the ware itself.—1, Coal; 2, wood; 3, plaster of Paris; 4, sagger clay or marl; 5, wad clay.

LABOR.

I. Wages paid to the producing help-all those through whose hands the ware passes in the process of making.-1, For preparing the body and glaze; 2, potters, or those who form the ware; 3, kiln or oven workers; 4, biscuit and glost warehouse workers; 5, decorators.

II. Wages paid to the nonproducing help-all other help necessary in operating the plant.-1, Modeling and mold making; 2, sagger making, etc.; 3, engineers and firemen; 4, superintendents, foremen, etc.; 5, office help; 6, teamsters, stable help, and odd labor.

FIXED CHARGES AND OVERHEAD EXPENSES.

1, Taxes; 2, insurance; 3, interest and discount; 4, repairs, etc.

TRADE CONDITIONS.

1, Proportion of male and female labor; 2, age limit of child labor; 3, hours of labor; 4, apprenticeship regulations; 5, trades-union regulations: 6, government regulations. As in all other lines of industry, the cost of production varies according to the country in which the goods are produced. We must therefore consider the cost in the various countries, comparing the same with the cost of similar articles made in the United States.

The wages paid in England being the highest of European countries, we will first consider the various items of cost from the English standpoint. Permit me to state that such a thing as an exact comparison of cost in many respects is an absolute impossibility, and the best I expect to accomplish is to give you a clear and fair statement of facts and figures as they exist, adjusting differences in conditions and money value to bring the comparison as far as possible to a uniform basis.

PARAGRAPHS 92-94-POTTERY.

COMPARATIVE COST OF PRODUCING EARTHENWARE IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.

The methods used in producing earthenware in England and America are almost identical. Very accurate comparisons can therefore be made. The figures following are based upon information secured by me officially while occupying the position of American consul in the great pottery center of England. These figures were confirmed in some cases by examination of the books of the factories. To further verify the figures I submitted the completed report to one of the leading manufacturers of England, who pronounced it accurate and fair in all its details.

I have since verified my original figures on two separate occasions, making such alterations as had occurred during the interim.

AMOUNT OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT.

I. Plant investment.

From actual valuations of land similarly situated, and from builders' estimates on the same plans, I have found that a plant costing $60,000 in England would cost $80,000 in the United States. These figures include fixtures and machinery.

In addition to the above, it is necessary to have certain additional implements for the operating of the plant, which properly go into plant investment, viz: Saggars (or fire-clay cases), molds (plaster of paris), and ware boards.

As these items are made piecework, the exact difference can be ascertained and are shown in following table:

In making the following statement, I do so based on the factories doing business with the United States, or for such part of their business as they do with the United States.

The necessary investment is considerably greater in the United States for the following reasons:

(1) The greater cost of materials and labor necessitates a greater cash outlay.

(2) The foreign manufacturers make their goods largely on order for immediate shipment, whereas the American manufacturers have to carry large stocks of finished ware ready for immediate demand. The American manufacturer has to warehouse his merchandise for the great majority of his customers. This, of course, necessitates the locking up of a much greater amount of capital.

(3) Many of the foreign manufacturers receive prompt cash for their shipments upon presentation of invoice and bill of lading to the foreign banker, whereas the American manufacturer as a rule has to carry large book accounts.

(4) In considering the additional investment required in the American manufacture, we must also consider the greater rate of bank interest prevailing in America than in Europe, interest in England being from 4 to 5 per cent, whereas in America it is from 5 to 6 per cent-generally 6 per cent.

(5) The fire insurance rates are enormously different in the two countries. In England the usual pottery rate is 3s. 6d. per hundred pounds sterling, or about 17 cents per hundred dollars. The minimum rate for the best risks in America is 75 cents per hundred dollars, whereas the underwriters inform me that the average risk is $1.50 per hundred.

MATERIALS.

The following table indicates the relative cost of the several materials laid down at the factories in Staffordshire, and in Trenton, N. J., based on 2,000-pound tons, with the exception of coal, which is based on the long ton, 2,240 pounds.