yard and containing not more than 100 threads to the square inch were still not shown separately, although the quantity of imports of fabrics on which the ordinary duty did not amount to 50 per cent was shown. During the period October 3, 1913, to June 30, 1916, fabrics other than plain woven were not shown separately in import statistics, although such imports have been separately recorded since June 30, 1916.

The following chart shows the quantity and value of imports as well as the ad valorem equivalent rates of duty during the years 1898-1922, inclusive. It should be kept in mind that, as noted above, during the periods 1898-1909, inclusive, and 1914-1916, inclusive, certain fabrics are not included.

Woven fabrics of flax, hemp, or ramie-Imports for consumption, 1898 to 1921, showing quantity, value, and average ad valorem rate of duty.

Linen goods imported into the United States originate chiefly in the United Kingdom, less than 1 per cent in 1919, about 8 per cent in 1920, and 12 per cent in 1921 having come from all other countries combined. Ireland sends the finer, highly bleached fabrics, while the coarser goods come largely from Scotland.

According to British statistics, approximately 90 per cent of the linen piece goods exported from the United Kingdom to the United States during the period 1906 to 1921, inclusive, was plain goods

about one-half of which was bleached and one-half unbleached. The remaining 10 per cent was made up of "checked, printed, and dyed" goods, and "damask and diaper" cloth. Plain goods consist of certain household linens, such as sheeting, pillow linen, crash toweling, and similar goods, while "checked, printed, and dyed" refers to such goods as dress linens and glass cloths, and "damask and diaper" consists chiefly of table damask.

Imports for consumption during the fiscal years 1910-1913 averaged 129,944,365 square yards in quantity and $20,227,723 in value; duties averaged $9,279,379. Imports in the fiscal year 1910 amounted to 141,489,520 square yards, valued at $20,828,848, yielding a revenue of $9,587,324, or 46.03 per cent of the value. Although imports held up well until 1913, they were below those of 1910, and after 1913 they steadily declined through the war period, and amounted to only 20,882,537 square yards, valued at $10,591,592 in 1919. In 1920 imports were 35,694,760 square yards, valued at $21,365,194. They increased to 36,594,557 square yards, valued at $17,005,531 in 1921, and during the period January 1 to September 21, 1922, they amounted to 49,262,126 square yards, valued at $17,932,861. Owing to the great increase in prices, imports in 1920, while constituting only 27 per cent of the quantity, actually exceeded by 5.6 per cent the average value of imports during the fiscal years 1910-1913. As indicating the extent to which prices have held to the high level, imports during the period January 1 to September 21, 1922, were 38 per cent in quantity and 89 per cent in value of the average during the fiscal years 1910-1913.

Imports under paragraph 1109 in the act of 1922 will represent very closely the range of fabrics made in domestic mills, and will, therefore provide, for the first time, a basis for a comparison of imports with domestic production.

Paddings are imported in a great variety of qualities, but as no separate record of such imports has been kept, they have been included with other fabrics. Inasmuch as they are specially provided for in the act of 1922, imports have been separately recorded since September, 1922. The bulk of imports consists of all-linen paddings, although all-jute, jute and cotton, and flax and jute paddings are also imported. Imports originate chiefly in Ireland and Scotland, Ireland specializing in all-linen paddings and Scotland in those of jute and cotton. Belgium is also an important source of imports. The domestic consumption of paddings is estimated at about 50,000,000 linear yards per year.

EXPORTS.

FROM THE UNITED STATES.

Exports of woven fabrics of flax, hemp, or ramie from the United States are not separately stated in export statistics, but are known to be negligible.

FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM.

Prior to 1914 all manufactures of linen exported from the United Kingdom were grouped in British statistics under the classification "linen manufactures, unenumerated." In 1914 separate classifi

cations were established for "table linen, not in the piece," and "handkerchiefs, not in the piece." Since 1914 tablecloths and napkins have constituted on an average approximately one-half of the value of total exports of all manufactures of linen, with the exception of yarn and thread for sewing, from the United Kingdom to the United States; handkerchiefs have constituted about onethird, and the remainder, or one-sixth, has been made up of miscellaneous manufactures, such as lace and embroidery, rick covers, tarpaulin, tents and awnings, buckets, etc.

The United States is the United Kingdom's best customer for linen piece goods. Thus in only three of the calendar years from 1906 to 1921, inclusive, did the United States fail to take as much as one-half of the United Kingdom's total exports of such goods (38 per cent in 1918, 29.9 per cent in 1919, and 48.3 per cent in 1920). South America is the United Kingdom's next best customer for this class of merchandise.

The United Kingdom has also found its best market for manufactures of linen, such as handkerchiefs, tablecloths, napkins, etc., in the United States. In only four of the calendar years, from 1909 to 1921, inclusive, did the value of such exports destined for the United States fall below 50 per cent of the total (46.7 per cent in 1911, 44.1 per cent in 1912, 42.7 per cent in 1913, and 37.2 per cent in 1919), while in 1921 the value of such exports shipped to the United States was over three-fourths of the total.

In addition to exports from the United Kingdom to foreign countries, considerable quantities of both linen piece goods and manufactures of linen are sent into British possessions. This trade with the colonies in piece goods amounts on an average to approximately one-quarter of the trade with foreign countries, except for sailcloth, in which it slightly exceeds that with foreign countries. The trade in manufactures of linen (handkerchiefs, tablecloths, napkins, etc.) is divided fairly evenly between British possessions and foreign countries.

DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION.

Considered from the standpoint of total domestic consumption (domestic production plus imports) of all kinds of linen fabrics, about 90 per cent of the domestic demand was met by imports in the census years 1899, 1909, and 1914. In 1919 domestic production was one and one-third times in quantity and almost two and one-fourth times in value the production in 1914. In the meantime imports had dropped by almost 75 per cent. Thus imports supplied but 46.6 per cent of domestic consumption in 1919 as compared with 90 per cent during the pre-war period. Comparing 1921 with 1919, however, domestic production decreased by about one-third, or to about 50 per cent of the maximum capacity of domestic mills, while imports more than doubled. This means that about 75 per cent of the domestic consumption in 1921 was supplied by imports. The products of the linen industry are not numbered among the necessities of life, therefore economic factors, such as the price relationship to products which are available as substitutes, determine the consumption by the users thereof.

PRICES.

The net wholesale selling price, on the American market, of eight different grades of Scotch linen crash averaged 17.4 cents per linear yard in September, 1921, as compared with 17.8 cents per linear yard for 12 different grades of domestic crash in May of the same year. The Scotch crash averaged 17.7 inches in width, 51 threads per square inch, and 7.7 ounces per square yard, while the domestic crash averaged 17.9 inches in width, 49 threads per square inch, and 4.7 ounces per square yard. The net invoice price of the Scotch crash increased from 5.7 cents to 18.1 cents per linear yard between March, 1914, and May, 1920. The net wholesale selling price of the domestic crash increased to about the same extent, or somewhat more than 200 per cent. In the latter months of 1922 prices of both the Scotch and the domestic crash were about 100 per cent above the 1914 prices.

The difference between the invoice price and the wholesale selling price of the Scotch crash averaged approximately 6.3 cents per linear yard in the latter part of 1921; this is a spread of somewhat more than 50 per cent. After paying the duty (30 per cent ad valorem) about 20 per cent remained to cover landing charges, overhead, and profit.

Prices of other woven fabrics of flax, hemp, or ramie included in this section increased between 1914 and the peak price of 1920, from 200 to 400 per cent, while in 1922 they decreased to a point from about 100 to 200 per cent above 1914 prices.

WAGES.

Data concerning wages in the foreign linen industry are meager, but the wage scale in the domestic industry, although the product does not include the higher grade goods, is decidedly higher. This condition is not peculiar to the linen industry. The difference is greater in the linen industry, however, because lower wages are paid in that industry than in any other textile industry of the United Kingdom. The American linen mills do not differ materially with respect to their wage scales from other domestic textile industries.

It should be noted also that as the products of the linen industry increase in fineness of weave and completeness of bleach the ratio of labor cost to total cost tends to increase proportionately. Thus, should the domestic industry attempt the production of light-weight, highly bleached linens the element of labor cost would be a deterring factor.

It is possible, of course, for the difference in efficiency of operation to offset, in a measure, the differences in costs of production between domestic and foreign mills.

METHODS OF PRODUCTION.

Yarn spinning.-With the exception of 15 per cent, the yarn requirements of the domestic linen industry are supplied by domestic producers. The yarn is spun from imported fiber, there being but small quantities of fiber produced in the United States, and such as

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is produced is not popular with spinners. Some domestic mills spin their yarn while a few weave only, buying the yarn largely in foreign markets. There are no domestic mills which confine their operations to spinning for sale; the mills use most of the yarn spun in further manufacture, either in weaving or in making thread, twine, and cord; consequently very little yarn of domestic manufacture is available for the weaving mills which do not have their own spinning department. One domestic mill has 1,000 spindles but has never spun yarn; the spindles merely guard against conditions under which yarn from regular sources of supply might not be available.

Weaving. The operations involved in weaving linen goods do not differ widely from those employed in weaving cotton goods, and the looms used are practically all made in this country. Both plain and automatic looms are used, the former predominating.

Bleaching and finishing. The bleaching and finishing of linen fabrics are processes exceedingly difficult, as compared with similar operations for cotton fabrics, owing to the greater amount of extraneous matter in the linen fiber. Domestic bleaching of linen goods is not carried through to the same degree of perfection as that practiced abroad for fine linens. Domestic crashes are generally boiled and bleached in the piece. They are first boiled in a strong alkaline solution and then, after washing, are steeped in a weak solution of hydrochloric acid, which neutralizes the alkali. They are then washed and dried by passing over heated cylinders. Bleaching of fine linens, as carried on in Ireland, requires from six to eight weeks of washing, boiling, and spreading the fabric on the grass. Grass bleaching accounts for the whiteness and softness of Irish linens. In addition to skilled workers, who are unexcelled, Ireland enjoys_certain climatic conditions which are decidedly advantageous to the production of fine linen. For instance, grass bleaching could not be accomplished in the United States, because long periods of uniformly temperate and moist atmospheric conditions must prevail. Linens from the Continent are sent to Ulster for bleaching, dyeing, and finishing. Only a small part of the world's consumption of linen is grassbleached; the bulk is bleached entirely by chemicals.

A large proportion of flax yarn is boiled or bleached before going to the loom. Boiling removes dirt and impurities and makes a tighter and firmer cloth. Yarns intended for use in the manufacture of fine, white linens, pillow linen, sheeting, and damask are usually boiled. As a rule yarns that are bleached are those intended for glass cloth, damask, huckaback, and towels, which are not bleached after weaving. Some fabrics, however, are bleached both in the yarn and in the piece.

Mill construction.-Since most of the machinery used in the manufacture of linen goods is very heavy, linen mills must be strongly built. This, together with the high price of machinery used in a linen mill as compared with that used in a cotton mill, means that a linen mill costs several times as much per spindle as a cotton mill

COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS.

The domestic linen industry has not developed beyond the production of a few medium-grade fabrics, but is fairly well established. There are certain natural obstacles as well as inherent difficulties operating against its development.