Production of bags, other than paper, in 1904, 1909, 1914, and 1919. Production of jute bags in the United States, 1917, 1918. Domestic exports of bags made of vegetable fibers, 1891-1921. Actual and relative prices of burlap in India, United States, and United Wholesale prices of domestic cotton bags, April, 1920, and July, 1922. Stocks of jute bags on hand in the United States, June 1, 1918 Production of jute bags in 50 leading establishments in 1917, 1918.......... Rates of duty on bags of jute or cotton, 1883-1922. BAGS OF JUTE AND COTTON. TARIFF ACT of October 3, 1913. [Text of Schedules I and J, relating to bags of jute and cotton.] PAR. 281. Bags or sacks made from plain woven fabrics, of single jute yarns, not dyed, colored, stained, painted, printed, or bleached, 10 per centum ad valorem. PAR. 284. All woven articles, finished or unfinished, and all manufactures of flax, hemp, ramie, or other vegetable fiber, or of which these substances, or any of them, is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for in this section, 35 per centum ad valorem. PAR. 266. All articles made from cotton cloth, whether finished or unfinished, and all manufactures of cotton or of which cotton is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for in this section, 30 per centum ad valorem. SUMMARY. The American production of and trade in jute and cotton bags may be considered in the following order: (1) New jute bags, (2) new cotton bags, (3) secondhand bags of jute or cotton. 1. NEW JUTE BAGS. Imports of jute bags, under the classification of the tariff act of 1913, fell into two classes: (1) Bags or sacks, new or secondhand, made from burlap-a plain woven cloth of single jute yarn--which were not printed or otherwise processed; (2) all other jute bags, whether new or old, such as those made from burlap that has been processed, or those manufactured from a cloth not plain wovenfor example, that woven with a twill. Burlap bags are used for shipping those commodities which require a cloth of stronger texture than can be produced from cotton except at a price much higher than that commonly asked for burlap. A great variety of sizes and types of burlap bags, printed with brands or trade-marks, are manufactured in this country for sacking grain, bran, feed, fertilizer, flour, sugar, vegetables, and other bulky commodities. New bags made from jute cloth other than plain woven are not manufactured in this country and are not used in the United States, except in the island of Porto Rico. The bulk of such bags enters this country as containers for imported products. According to a special census taken by the Tariff Commission, the number of new burlap bags produced by American bag factories was 388,526,154 in the calendar year 1914 and 457,306,416 in the calendar year 1919. The domestic production of jute bags other than burlap is negligible, because domestic manufacturers hold that, with no differential between the duty on the twilled cloth used in the manufacture of such bags and on the completed bag, it is not profitable to make such bags in competition with India. With the exception of the grain bags, commonly known as centals, which are imported from India, foreign competition in new burlap bags is negligible. The importation and consumption of centals are confined to our western coast. 1 According to statistics of the Indian Government, exports from India to our western ports of "gunny bags," including bags made from burlap and from sacking, remained practically the same in the years 1908-1916. Their number averaged yearly between 32,000,000 and 33,000,000. Since 1916 India's exports of burlap bags to our Pacific ports have been: During the 12 months ended March 31, 1921, India shipped to the eastern and western ports of the United States a total of 64,300,400 bags of burlap. In addition she exported annually to the Pacific coast an average of 2,064,490 bags made of sacking during the period 1917-1921. These were probably for transshipment. The domestic production of centals averages about 15,000,000, or about one-third of the domestic consumption. Normally exports of burlap bags from the United States are negligible, but in 1919, owing to conditions growing out of the war, they amounted to nearly 3,000,000 new bags and 4,000,000 secondhand bags. The American producer of new burlap bags has, with the exception of the trade in centals, entire control of his home market. Imports of centals are equal to between 8 and 11 per cent of the total production of burlap bags. In the manufacture of jute products India possesses two marked advantages-a local supply of raw material, jute, and a plentiful supply of cheap labor. These advantages enable the Indian manufacturer to land centals on the Pacific coast, notwithstanding the 10 per cent duty, at a lower price than they can be made locally. India's competition is limited to centals, because these bags are unprinted, standardized, and used in large quantities. India's lack of printing facilities and the 1913 tariff of 35 per cent on printed bags, or bags manufactured from a cloth not plain woven, have rendered it unprofitable for India to compete in supplying a number of different sizes of burlap bags or to introduce bags made of sacking into American markets. 2. NEW COTTON BAGS. Cotton seamed bags are used for putting up (1) those products which are pulverized or fine, and so require a cloth of close-woven mesh; (2) those products which are commonly retailed in small 1 Hawaii not included. quantities in cloth bags; (3) those commodities which demand a bag with a lint that will not affect the contents of the bag. The leading products shipped in ordinary cotton bags are flour, sugar, cement, meal, feed, and salt. Seamless bags are used for sacking seeds, peas, beans, and similar produce. Cotton seamed bags are sewn by machines and are the product of companies that specialize in the manufacture of bags, whereas cotton seamless bags are usually woven by mills which produce them as a subsidiary part of their business. The number of each type produced in continental United States in 1914 and 1919 were: The decline in the production of cotton seamed bags in 1919 may be attributed to the lack of labor. The lower price of the burlap bag, which led to a partial substitution of such bags in cases where burlap and cotton bags are interchangeable was a second factor in their decline. Imports of cotton bags occur at rare intervals and only in negligible quantities. The largest shipment in recent years was in 1917, when according to Japanese statistics, this country received from Japan 23,600 flour bags, valued at $727. 68. The American manufacturer of cotton bags is free from foreign competition in his home markets. This is likely to continue while the United States holds its present rank as a grower of cotton and as an exporter of cotton cloth. 3. SECONDHAND BAGS OF JUTE AND COTTON. Except in times of shortage, the bulk of secondhand burlap bags is used to sack vegetables, produce, and feed. As there is objection to the use of secondhand bags as containers for foodstuffs, the number of secondhand cotton bags sold is decidedly less than that of secondhand burlap bags. When not used as containers, secondhand jute bags are cut up either to make smaller or converted bags for holding fittings and machine parts, or to serve as a covering, particularly for the cotton crop. An estimate made by an association of prominent dealers sets the number of secondhand burlap bags of domestic origin used yearly at about 500,000,000. To this must be added the jute bags sent to this country as containers for products exported to the United States. In contrast, the number of cotton bags used a second time is equal to only 2 or 3 per cent of the annual production of such bags. Owing to the high price of new bags, the trade in secondhand bags assumed greater importance after 1914. For instance, the secondhand burlap bags sold by 24 prominent dealers in 1914 numbered 34,219,960 and in 1919, 66,714,664. The secondhand cotton bags sold in 1914 by 11 of the above companies numbered 1,887,184; and by 15 in the year 1919, 3,225,459. 23253-23-J-9————2 Imports of secondhand bags come from the United Kingdom. The largest number exported from this source to the United States was in 1909, when they totaled 6,243,612 bags. That imports of secondhand jute bags have been so small was due to the 1913 tariff, under which secondhand bags other than plain woven and unprinted were dutiable at 35 per cent. GENERAL INFORMATION. DESCRIPTION AND USES. JUTE BAGS. Imports of jute bags, under the 1913 tariff act, fell into two classes: 1. Burlap bags which have not been dyed, painted, printed, or bleached, dutiable at 10 per cent under paragraph 281. 2. All other bags of jute which have been processed, e. g. printed, or dyed, or which have been manufactured from a cloth that is not plain woven, such as sacking, dutiable at 35 per cent under paragraph 284. This is a general paragraph relating to all woven articles manufactured from vegetable fibers other than cotton. The term "burlap," known in foreign markets as "hessian," refers to a plain woven cloth of single yarns produced from long jute; and the word "sacking" to a twilled cloth made from the heavier and coarser grades of jute fiber. Gunny bags are bags made from sacking. The word "gunny, however, in its broader and popular sense has come to be applied to all cloths and bags made from jute. For instance, statistics of the Indian Government now divide exports of jute cloth and bags into 'sacking gunny cloth," "hessian gunny cloth," "sacking gunny bags, and "hessian gunny bags. Jute bags are the most widely used means of sacking commodities. In the United States the output of jute bags is limited wholly to burlap. Practically all the burlap bags consumed in this country consist of seamed bags. The number of seamless burlap bags woven on looms is less than one-fourth of 1 per cent of the domestic production of seamed burlap bags. Jute bags are used in this country for the shipment of a great variety of products--for example, grains, fertilizers, sugar, flour, feed, produce, vegetables, binder twine, and nursery stock. According to their uses, they vary in size, weight, and grade of cloth. The chief uses are for shipping grain, bran, and feed. The number employed in putting up fertilizer probably constitute the next leading use. Fertilizer is shipped in 100 and 200 pound bags. For putting up flour and sugar, as well as salt, both cotton and burlap bags are used. Millions of burlap bags are used annually for exporting flour, which is sacked in quantities of 140 pounds. Other important uses are for shipping produce, feed, and vegetables. Leading types of imported bags.-Bags produced here are printed with various brands as ordered, whereas imported bags are unprinted. The tariff act of 1913 levied an additional duty of 25 per cent ad valorem on printed bags. Imported jute bags are confined to (1) grain bags used for sacking 100 pounds of wheat, commonly known as centals, which are imported from Calcutta to the Pacific coast; and to (2) sugar bags for |