da trade custom with respect to "set prices," are being eliminated from the United States markets entirely. The question arises, therefore, whether your committee will permit the imposition of an excessive rate of duty, and in addition thereto a surtax to protect an alleged mercerization process, which, in fact, is not a mercerization at all, and which process merely serves to foist upon the public a poor or depreciated article of merchandise. Your attention is respectfully called to the fact that paragraph 257 of H. R. 3321 provides, with respect to cotton cloth, as follows: Exceeding No. 19 and not exceeding No. 39, 12 per cent ad valorem. This rate of duty, with the cumulative duty of 2 per cent ad valorem when such cotton cloth is bleached, dyed, colored, stained, etc., makes a total of 15 per cent ad valorem on all cotton cloth not exceeding the yarn rating indicated. Your attention is drawn to the fact that all of these cotton table damasks have a yarn rating of less than 39, and therefore the rate of duty applicable to the same, if included in the cotton-cloth paragraph, would be 15 per cent. In view of this fact we have to recommend that the figure "25," appearing in line 20, page 70, paragraph 268, be stricken out and the figure "15" inserted in lieu thereof, and that on page 66, lines 20 and 21, paragraph 257, the words "or mercerized," be stricken out. EXHIBIT NO. 1. Messrs. BROWN & GERRY, 12 Broadway, City. NEW YORK, March 27, 1909. DEAR SIRS: In furtherance of my letter of yesterday I wish to say that I can not make the complete statistics as promised, certain books having been packed away; but for your guidance I would mention that my importations in 1903 (shipped from Bremen between December 17, 1902, and December 17, 1903), amounted to 1,580,053.10 marks, while last year's importations (December 27, 1907, to December 23, 1908, from Bremen) amounted to only 572,697.65 marks. For your further guidance I would mention that out of 8,098 pieces of mercerized table damask sold by me, but not yet delivered, 5,650 pieces are of my low grade, while in the better qualities only 2,448 pieces have been sold. Very truly, yours, HERMANN BAUER. EXHIBIT No. 3. Selling prices of Bacon & Co.'s mercerized table damask and napkins, January, 1913. NIAGARA TEXTILE CO., LOCKPORT, N. Y., BY H. L. RANSOM. Hon. CHARLES F. JOHNSON, LOCKPORT, N. Y., June 2, 1913. Chairman Senate Subcommittee on Finance, Washington, D. C. SIR: We wish to call your attention to paragraph 269, Schedule I, as it affects the manufacturer of union towels. By union towels we mean towels composed of cotton warp and linen filling. This paragraph 269 states that towels of which cotton is the component material of chief value take a duty of 25 per cent ad valorem. Under this clause good union towels can be brought into this country at a duty of 25 per cent. Under the present law they take a duty of 45 per cent. This gives the foreigner a direct reduction of 20 per cent, and makes it possible for him to ship into this country immense quantities of cheap union towels, and would close up the greater portion of the union-towel business which the American has for years been working hard to establish. It simply turns back to foreign mills an immense amount of business which should be made in this country by American workmen. Furthermore, we have large investments in mills and machinery which should have consideration, as this machinery is adapted only for making goods part linen or all linen. We also find that a great many of the largest buyers throughout the United States are familiar with this clause, and under it are ready to import large quantities of cheap union towels; and if this clause is left as it is, as soon as the bill becomes a law many orders will be confirmed, and the American market would soon be flooded with cheap foreign towels. Furthermore, if a towel were 52 per cent cotton and 48 per cent linen, and values of cotton and linen fluctuating as they constantly do, it would lead to continued strife between the importer and the appraiser. If these goods are brought in at the higher rate of duty, it will net the Government an increased revenue on all goods that are brought in; and, furthermore, we will continue to import increased quantities of linen yarns, which pay the Government large revenues. In view of the above facts, we ask that towels any part of which are linen take the 40 per cent duty, same as do all-linen towels and other all-linen goods. We trust your committee will give this matter thorough consid eration. Par. 269.-COTTON BEDSPREADS. MONADNOCK MILLS, CLAREMONT, N. H., BY GEORGE A. TENNEY TREASURER. JUNE 2, 1913. Hon. CHARLES F. JOHNSON, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR: You will remember the interview you granted the bedspread manufacturers in Senator Hoke Smith's office some three weeks ago and my appearance on the same subject last week before the committee of which you are chairman. This letter is simply to reiterate briefly what I said there and to submit to you a sheet giving the comparative cost figures between such a bedspread as I showed at the time of the interview in Senator Smith's office and a spread of like quality made in England. I obtained the actual weaving cost of the English spread and using this as a basis made up the balance of the figures. From these, if you will examine them, you will find that even with a 45 per cent duty the English manufacturer can undersell us on this grade of spread in the New York market. There are two or three grades above this one in quality. As the quality advances the ratio of labor cost to the total also advances; consequently, the higher the grade of the spread the higher the rate should be in order to put the American manufactures on a competitive basis with the foreignmade goods in our market. This is the point I tried to illustrate before you last week; namely, that 35 per cent is the very lowest rate that we could consider and have any possible chance for us to successfully compete with the foreign-made goods in a like grade and quality such as we are now making. I requested that we be given the same rate as Jacquard upholstery goods, and that the language of paragraph 263 be made to read so that Jacquard figured bedspreads would appear after the words "Jacquard upholstery goods" carry 35 per cent rate. and Now, Senator, I feel that if we can only get the facts before you we will get the remedy we are seeking. It is not necessary for us to attempt any deception or to blind the issue in our case. It is merely a matter of getting the actual facts before you. We have nothing to hide or to cover up, and I feel positive that if you can give our matter the necessary attention to establish by your own investigation the truth of the assertions I have made, you will find that our case warrants all that we are asking for. Senator Hollis, I think, believes in our cause and is convinced of its justice, and I expect he is going to advocate that we get a 35 per cent rate. The bedspread industry is not a large one, but it is very large to those interested in it and o very vital consequence. It can be seriously crippled if not given sufficient protection to allow us to compete in the home market We are perfectly willing to meet the English manufacturer on ever grounds and to take our chances of getting our share of the market but it goes without saying that we can not sell a spread in competi tion with a foreign-made one if the English manufacturer can land it here for less than ours costs us. This will certainly be the case on certain grades if the rate is made as low as 30 per cent. I hope that you will investigate this matter sufficiently to thor oughly understand the situation in regard to our industry and that i you find upon such investigation my statements are warranted and true, you will lend your aid and support to our cause to the end that we may get the help that we so sorely need. [Inclosure.] Comparison of cost of Monadnock Mills quilt 222, 90 by 100, with English quilt, sam grade. Par. 270.-NOTTINGHAM LACE CURTAINS. NORTH AMERICAN LACE CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA., BY WM. L. TURNER, PRESIDENT. Hon. F. M. SIMMONS, PHILADELPHIA, June 5, 1913. United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Paragraph 270 of the tariff bill as passed by the House will cripple the industry of Nottingham lace curtains, unless it is changed to provide a duty of 50 per cent for those grades of curtains finer than 10 point, which would be an advance on the highest grade of 5 per cent over the House rate. All tariffs since the industry was established in this country, in providing for curtains made on the Nottingham lace curtain machine, have been based upon the fact that the machines are not interchangeable and can only make curtains of that point for which they were constructed, and that consequently, the finer machines can not be diverted to lower grades of goods. By point is meant the number of warp threads to an inch. The value of the curtain is approximately as to the number of points. The machines of the 12 existing domestic plants are divided as to points as follows: Machines. 8 128 42 134 8 94 2 42 21 8 487 These 487 machines are producing approximately under present conditions of competition $8,000,000 worth of goods, and would classify to show the following percentages: A classification of imports by points for the year ending June 30, 1912, is as follows: |