FOREIGN PRODUCTION.

The principal foreign countries producing fans are Japan, China, France, Austria, Germany, and Spain. With the exception of Japan, no data showing value of production are available.

JAPAN.

The industry in Japan is centered at Kyoto and Nagoya. Fans are made by hand and usually in private houses. There are two kinds of Japanese fans, the folding and flat. Folding fans have handles made of bamboo, wood, or bone, and are mounted with paper, parchment, cotton, or silk. Flat fans are made of wire or bamboo frames covered with silk or paper. The decorations are put on the paper or silk by hand or machine. The Statistical Report of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Japan, for the year 1918 shows that there were in that year 1,129 factories and workshops engaged in the manufacture of fans. The total number employed was 7,301, about evenly divided between males and females. The average number employed per factory was less than seven. The value of the product amounted to $1,614,000. A comparison of the returns for the year 1912 with those for 1918 shows the following increases: Number of factories, 16; employees, 358; and value of product, $474,000. (See p. 10.)

OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

The industry in France is centered at Paris and in Austria at Vienna. The handles or sticks of French fans are made of wood, bone, horn, mother-of-pearl, celluloid, galalith, tortoise shell, mounted with tops consisting of paper, parchment, leather, cotton, silk-tissue, lace, and feathers. Austrian, German, and Spanish fans are made on lines similar to the French. Vienna, however, has been an important. center for the manufacture of feather fans, and was considered, before the war, the principal market for this class of fans.

China produces the common palm-leaf fan with natural handle and leaf; palm-leaf fans with artificial handles and with edges finished with cotton binding; fans made of strips of bamboo woven by hand; and others of a more expensive type. Fans coming under the first classification are admitted free of duty into the United States; the others are dutiable.

IMPORTS.

Fans, other than common palm leaf. The value of fans, other than common palm leaf, imported into the United States for the five-year prewar period, 1910-1914, averaged $233,914. The average for the five-year period, 1915-1919, was $91,041. The imports for 1920 amounted to $199,950, being more than five-sixths of the prewar average. Imports before the war came from Japan, Austria, France, Germany, China, Hongkong, and Spain. Of the total imports, $320,102, in 1912, 36.5 per cent came from Japan, 26.9 per cent from Austria, 24.9 per cent from France, 5.9 per cent from Germany, and 2.7 per cent from China.. In the year 1918 the percentages were: Japan, 70.7; France, 15; and China, 2.3. The increase in percentage of imports from Japan was not due to greater quantities imported

from that country but to the decrease in the total value of fans imported, there being no importations from Austria and Germany and only about one-fourth of the normal amount in value from France. Palm-leaf fans.---The average importation of palm-leaf fans for the five-year period 1910-1914 was 763,084 dozens, valued at $61,251, or $0.08 per dozen. For the years 1915-1919, the average was 281,250 dozens, valued at $35,119, or $0.12 per dozen. In 1920 there were imported into the United States 373,668 dozens, valued at $99,828, or $0.267 per dozen.

Practically all of the palm-leaf fans imported into this country come from China. Some come from Hongkong and a few from Japan. In the year 1912, when imports amounted to 1,091,931 dozens, valued at $78,143, 84.1 per cent of the total quantity came from China, 15.6 per cent from Hongkong, and less than one-half of 1 per cent from Japan. In some of the other years, however, the imports from China both as to quantity and value have been well over 90 per cent.

TARIFF HISTORY.

Fans, other than common palm leaf. The phrase "of whatever material composed" in the tariff act of 1883 was omitted in all subsequent tariff acts. With this exception and changes in the rate, the language has been identical. The tariff act of 1890 did not enumerate fans; 35 per cent ad valorem was imposed by the act of 1883; 40 per cent, act of 1894; and 50 per cent, acts of 1897, 1909, and 1913.

Palm-leaf fans.-Common palm-leaf fans in all tariff acts 18831913 have been placed in the free list. The acts of 1897, 1909, and 1913 restricted the free importation of common palm-leaf fans to "plain and not ornamented or decorated in any manner, and palm leaf in its natural state, not colored, dyed, or otherwise advanced or manufactured."

COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS.

Domestic manufacturers have been compelled to import practically all of the fabrics, laces, feathers, spangles, and fan sticks used in the production of fans, as there are no affiliated industries in this country producing such materials in sufficient quantities at reasonable prices.

The art of dressing and dyeing feathers in Europe is generally considered superior to that done in the United States. During the war, however, advancement was made in the art of dressing and dyeing feathers, which together with the availability of domestic celluloid fan sticks has enabled the domestic manufacturers to turn out a product in competition with the imported article, unless the latter is something exceptional as to dyeing and shading.

The better grades of fans are subject to change of fashion. Paris is acknowledged as the originator of designs and there has always been a strong demand in this country for French fans.

Fans of the type made in Japan and China, due largely to their decorations, can not be successfully produce here. Decorations are put on by hand in both Japan and China. The decorations on the Japanese fan reflect the work of an individual artist, while those on the Chinese fan are generally an exact copy of a design.

Imported palm-leaf fans with natural handle and leaf or with artificial handle and edges finished with cotton binding do not compete with domestic manufacture.

The export trade of domestic made fans is very limited, as the foreign producers have long had control of the market.

1 Statistical Report of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Japan, 1918. • Yen converted to United States money at $0.498 per yen.

Imports by countries (fiscal years).

FANS OF ALL KINDS, EXCEPT COMMON PALM-LEAF FANS.

1 Calendar year.

Imports for consumption-Revenue.

FANS OF ALL KINDS, EXCEPT COMMON PALM-LEAF FANS.

1

Imports for consumption-Revenue Continued.

FANS, COMMON PALM-LEAF, PLAIN AND NOT ORNAMENTED OR DECORATED.

Per cent.

342, 010

1908..

$22, 130

$0.065

.do....

459, 892

39, 063

1909...

.085

.do....

420, 937

27, 729

1910..

.066

..do...

795, 709

1911.

58, 117

.073

.do....

691, 496

1912.

58, 192

.084

.do....

1,091, 205

1913.

78, 139

.072

.do....

703, 188

53, 925

.077

617, 135

57,992

1915.

.094

.do...

1916..

474, 170

44, 249

.093

..do....

325, 507

1917..

31, 277

.096

..do....

341, 605

55, 153

1918.

.160

1919..

1920.

20, 736

.151

19201

110, 003

.248

99,835

1921 2

.267

.do..

268,612

49, 215

1 Calendar year.

2 6 months ended June 30, 1921.

Rates of duty.

FANS OF ALL KINDS, EXCEPT COMMON PALM-LEAF FANS.

428 Fans of all kinds, except common palm-leaf fans, of whatever material | 35 per cent ad vacomposed.

lorem.

40 per cent ad valorem.

50 per cent ad va

lorem.

Do.

Do.

COURT AND TREASURY DECISIONS.

The proviso to paragraph 410 of the act of 1909 was construed to cover all articles composed of tissue paper and by providing that such articles shall pay no less rate of duty than that imposed upon the component material of chief value of which any such article is made, the classification of tissue-paper fans was fixed as proper under that paragraph. (United States v. Mason, 2 Ct. Cust. Appls., 236, of 1911.)

Common palm-leaf fans alone being excepted, the natural and legal inference is that paragraph 384 is intended to embrace all other fans (United States v. Harper, 2 Ct. Cust. Appls., 101, of 1911), among them embroidered fans in chief value of silk. Paragraph 384 is more specific than the provision in paragraph 358 for "articles * * * embroidered * * * by whatever name known." (United States v. Field, 7 Ct. Cust. Appls., 430, of 1917.)

Folding fans are dutiable under this provision. (Abstract 38896, of 1915, following Abstract 33232, T. D. 33668, of 1913.)