as they can from the American pottery centers. These foreign deliveries can be and are being made at a cheaper freight rate than the American manufacturer can secure. I want to add something which I have not beside me at the moment, the through freight rates from Germany into the interior ports of our own country as compared with the same rates that we have to pay. In addition to these especially low trans-Atlantic rates the German manufacturers have special concessions which the government railways give them, the domestic rate being 25 to 30 per cent higher than the special export rate. Before granting this concession the railroad authorities require the most positive proof of the actual exportation, and the shipment of these goods by bills of lading and certificates that the goods have actually gone. They require this before they will make the concession. There is one thing here that I want to call special attention to. The great discrepancy between the United States official figures on imports from Germany for the year 1907, and the German official figures of the same merchandise to the United States is significant, and may indicate another reason for the immense increase in the importations from Germany. The United States import figures on earthenware and china ware for 1907-our import figures from Germany-are $5,153,943, whereas the German export figures for the same goods at the same time were $8,114,848. Where did the shrinkage take place? Mr. COCKRAN. You mean export goods to this country? Mr. BURGESS. The identical goods, the export goods in the same time. Mr. COCKRAN. To this country? Mr. BURGESS. To this country. Their export figures to this country at the same time were $8,114,848. That is from their official records. Our import figures for the same goods in the same time were valued at $5,153,943, almost $3,000,000 difference. Mr. CLARK. Five million dollars? Mr. BURGESS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. And the 60 per cent duty was paid on the $5.000,000 figure? Mr. BURGESS. Yes. Mr. UNDERWOOD. Did that happen since this new rate was made with Germany, or before that time? Mr. BURGESS. It happened last year-1907. Mr. UNDERWOOD. That was since the new arangement has been made with Germany? Mr. BURGESS. Yes, sir; that was in July. It commenced July 1, 1907. Mr. UNDERWOOD. Did that same discrepancy of figures occur before that time? Mr. BURGESS. No, sir; that was for the year 1907. Mr. DALZELL. That does not apply to any other year? Mr. BURGESS. These are the only figures I have. I happened to run across them in England. The Englishmen, you know, are very much stirred up about the tariff question, and this was in the report of the Tariff Commission. The amount attracted my attention at once, because I had our own figures in mind. They were showing how the English exportation to the United States had remained practically at the same, and how the German had so enormously increased. I hunted up the gentleman who made this statement and asked him where he got these figures, and he said he did not remember, but from some official source, and when I went to Berlin I went to the publisher of the government statistics and dug it out. Mr. DALZELL. What I want to get at is: Is this peculiar to the year 1907, or does such a discrepancy exist for any other year? Mr. BURGESS. I do not know; but from my observation I should say it was not an uncommon thing. The CHAIRMAN. I understand that is the only year for which you have the figures? Mr. BURGESS. That is the only year for which I have figures. I did not hear it. Mr. BURGESS. My answer was that I had no other figures than those for the last year, but that from my own experience for the last five years on matters pertaining to importation I should judge that it was not an uncommon thing. Mr. CLARK. That is what I wanted to get at. Mr. UNDERWOOD. Another question. Does that discrepancy in the figures, as shown by the exports from Germany on their books and the imports from this country on our books, pertain to other countries that are exporting china to this country, including the English exports? Mr. BURGESS. The English exports are almost identical with ours. Mr. CLARK. How about the French exports? Mr. BURGESS. I do not know. The English and the German are the only exports that I have. (The table referred to is as follows:) Now I want to turn to the matter of French china. The competition from France is becoming more and more direct and acute. The prices formerly secured by the French importer have been greatly reduced on account of the increasing excellency of the competing German china product. We, as American manufacturers, have, therefore, to reckon with the cheap labor of France. The French pottery operative does not work as hard as does his German cousin. The rate of wages is somewhat higher, but the amount of actual earnings is no greater. Table No. 16 will give the making prices of the French china ware in comparison with similar articles made in America. (The table referred to is as follows:) TABLE XVI. Dishes, 6-inch, per dozen. Covered dishes. Description. Soup tureens. Sauce tureens.. Sugars. Creams The prices of materials I also give in the following table: The method of manufacture and the conditions under which the manufacturing is done differ greatly from similar work done in the United States. Much of the ware made by hand by men in the United States is made by the process of casting, and done almost exclusively by women, at a reduction of about 45 per cent below the French hand-work process. Considering the figures given, a conservative estimate of the difference in labor cost of production is that it is 175 per cent higher in the United States than in France. I come now to Japanese china ware. In discussing the problem of Japanese competition in china wares we are at a loss to find words sufficiently strong to describe the conditions that confront us. By referring to the above table of imports from 1884 to 1908, you will observe the rapid increase of importation from Japan in recent years. In 1885 the importations from Japan were about $76.906. In 1907 they were $1,976,153, the rapid increase being during the past six years almost 100 per cent per annum. There are reasons for this great increase. The Japanese are alive to the development of their own resources. They sent to this country as well as to the European pottery centers a commission of potters and commercial men, men who not only discovered the western methods of manufacture and purchased machinery of the most modern and effective sort for their own development, but discovered the American market required something more than the articles of purely Japanese design. One of those who preceded me said that Japan was very much asleep in this way. I know to-day, at first hand, that they came to Trenton and got an entire pottery outfit of the most modern type of machinery and sent it to Japan, and are using it at the present time. They immediately commenced the manufacture of goods specially adapted for the American demand, and through their American agents very rapidly secured a large share of the American market. Many of the articles now coming from Japan are almost undistinguishable from those produced in Germany, and in some cases compare favorably with the French. It must be borne in mind that the figures indicating importations in this chart of importations do not, except to a very small degree, represent the amount of competition. These figures of imports from Japan are only from the extremely low foreign invoice price of goods in Japan. They must be multiplied at least four times before we arrive at a conception of the competing value of the Japanese goods in this country. As to the cost of production, from the best sources of information obtainable the Japanese potter earns about $1.50 a week and the skilled decorators $5 a week, whereas the great mass of decoration for the American market is performed by girls earning from 60 cents to 90 cents per week. The Japanese potter has not as yet discovered material suitable for the production of the cheaper grades of earthenware. The Japanese Government has established a technical school for the development of the ceramic industry and has offered special prizes for the production of earthenware similar to that made in Great Britain and the United States. The manufacture of Japanese ware has been, and is, largely confined to the production of tea sets and odd pieces of useful and ornamental wares. How soon the production of dinner ware will be developed is problematical. I hope that the following will be especially noted, because it has been said that we have no direct competition with Japan. A very large demand formerly supplied entirely by the American pottery for articles used by the cereal manufacturers, tea and coffee establishments, and by the 5 and 10 cent stores, has been in the last three years very largely supplied by the Japanese goods. In that connection I would like to call attention to the tremendous increase in business. The increase in twenty-five years from England was about 5 per cent. To start with, our own increase from 1884 or 1888 to the present time has been about 75 per cent. The CHAIRMAN. What is the total of this country now? 61318-TARIFF-No. 13-08- -6 Mr. BURGESS. This year, as near as it can be estimated, it is $14,000,000. It was something over $15,000,000 last year. The CHAIRMAN. It was greater last year? Mr. BURGESS. Yes, sir; it was between $15,000,000 and $16,000,000. The import goods, as they compete with us, with the duty and everything added. run up between $28,000,000 and $29,000,000; so that we are actually only supplying, at a very conservative figure, not onethird of the consumption of this country to-day. But the increase, as I was saying, from England was about 5 per cent. My recollection is that from Germany it was over 700 per cent, from Austria it was at least the same, and from Japan it was something over 1,100 per cent increase. I beg the privilege of submitting a brief to the committee, with a few supplements, before the 4th of December. The CHAIRMAN. Do you desire to say anything about your proposition to correct the ad valoreni on the wholesale crockery? Mr. BURGESS. I believe that that is the only way that we will ever arrive at a satisfactory collection of the duties that Congress intends us to have. The CHAIRMAN. You have a brief on that subject? Mr. BURGESS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You had better submit that to the reporter. Mr. BURGESS. Yes, sir; I have no question about it whatever, because anything that is sold in this country is bound to have a market value. Mr. CLARK. Certainly. The CHAIRMAN. I want to ask you something about the use of machinery in making crockery now in this country. To what exent is it used? Mr. BURGESS. To a very large extent. The potters have been trying ever since I have been in business, for thirty years, to use machinery at every point that they could. They have improved somewhat, and we are making certain articles in a little cheaper way; but not a piece of our ware can be made without the use of the human hand. You must bear in mind that when the article is molded it is not a finished article. It is formed and prepared for the processes that come after, in the way of firing, and then afterwards glazed. So that after we pay for an article it is a long while before it is completed and ready for the market, and during all that process from the time it actually leaves the potter's hands there is no possible way in which we can use a machine in the progress. The CHAIRMAN. What per cent of labor has been saved by any improvement in machinery in the last twelve years? Mr. BURGESS. I do not remember that there has been any saving machinery introduced in the twelve years. The CHAIRMAN. In the last twelve years? labor Mr. BURGESS. I do not recall anything at the present time. The CHAIRMAN. You are making pottery, then, about as they did one hundred years ago? But it is on the Mr. BURGESS. We are not using the kick wheel as they used to use it, using it with the foot. That is run by steam. same general principle. |
