246 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April i, 1909. 



five years this company manufactured, at a loss, guttapercha 

 fuse similar to the fuse now being imported, owing to the differ- 

 ence in cost of labor and material, and finally was compelled to 

 discontinue the manufacture of gutta-percha fuse and discard 

 all of the machinery which had been imported from Germany. 

 The plant was then equipped with new machinery for the man- 

 ufacture of taped fuses, which command a lower price on the 

 market." 



S. M. Frank & Co. (New York), manufacturers of briar 

 pipes, asked for a reduction of the duty on celluloid mouth- 

 pieces from the present rate of 60 per cent, ad valorem to say 

 25 or 30 per cent. 



On the first day of the hearing was taken up the chemical 

 schedule, when representatives of the Paint Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation of the United States appeared to protest against lower 

 duties on lead, oxide of zinc, barytes, linseed oil, and various other 

 articles which enter into the rubber manufacture as well as the 

 paint trade. A representative of the New Jersey Zinc Co. and 

 other concerns manufacturing white oxide of zinc and litho- 

 phone argued against lower duties on these products, and asked 

 that lithophone be specified in the new schedules. On the fol- 

 lowing day the subject of barytes was considered at length, in- 

 cluding the relative production and use of barjrtes and barytes 

 products in the United States and elsewhere, and the relative 

 cost of production, the producers asking for a higher rate on 

 imports for the purpose of development of the domestic mines. 

 The Nevada Sulphur Co. insisted that "there is ample 

 crude sulphur in the United States to more than supply 

 our domestic consumption, and the only reason that the mines 

 have not been developed into large producers is that the ele- 

 ment of labor figures so largely into the cost of production ; 

 that the main sources of competition to he met are located where 

 about the lowest rates of wages in the world prevail, Sicily and 

 Japan; that these competitors are so located that they can obtain 

 cheap water transportation to our markets, while the occur- 

 rence of most of the sulphur deposits in our country is at 

 such distance from the markets as to require the most expensive 

 land carriage ; that the tariff, which we believe was designed to 

 equalize these differences, has been so interpreted as to re- 

 move any measure of protection to the home producer." The 

 point is made that, through a wrong use of terms, sulphur is 

 entering the country free which, under the intention of the 

 existing law, should pay $8 a ton. 



A brief was submitted in behalf of ten firms of card clothing 

 manufacturers who desired a higher rate on imports of card 

 clothing or else a reduction in the present tariff on the card 

 cloth and card wire used by the domestic manufacturers. Fig- 

 ures were presented to show the increase in the importation of 

 card clothing since the present tariff act has been in effect and 

 the decline in the domestic industry. 



The organized automobile manufacturers appeared to ask that 

 no reduction be made on imports of automobiles, and similarly 

 representatives of the importers appeared to ask for lower rates. 

 In the bill subsequently reported to congress the old rate of 

 45 per cent, on automobiles and parts is continued. It might be 

 more proper to say that such goods are specified in the new 

 bill, whereas automobiles hitherto have been dutiable at 45 per 

 cent, ad valorem under a general provision as "manufactures 

 of iron and steel." 



The chicle interest was represented at the tariff hearing bv 

 statements presented by the American Association of Chewing 

 Gum Manufacturers. No fewer than seventeen independent 

 firms were mentioned by name. The American Chicle Co. was 

 not mentioned in the printed report of the hearings. The 

 chewing gum manufacturers object to the import duty of 10 

 cents per pound, since it was tlieir understanding at the 

 beginning that the duty was for revenue purposes only, at a time 

 when the government was in more pressing need of money 

 than now. The tariff committee w-as asked at least to favor 



a reduction of the chicle duty to s cents a pound. It was as- 

 serted that, considering the average price of chicle and the 

 percentage of impurities which must be got rid of before using 

 the raw material, the present import duty was equal to 45 

 per cent, ad valorem. Besides, an equal amount by weight 

 of sugar is used, and this also is a dutiable commodity. 



WORKING FOR A TARIFF COMMISSION. 



One result of the recent National Tariff Commission Conven- 

 tion at Indianapolis [see The India Rubber World^ February i, 

 igp9 — page 166] has been the appointment of a "general com- 

 mittee" of 100 members, including one or more members from 

 each state, to keep alive the work begun at the convention. Mr. 

 Henry R. Towne, president of the Yale & Towne Manufacturing 

 Co. and of the Merchants' Association of New York, read at 

 Indianapolis a plea for scientific regulation of the tariff, his 

 paper being entitled "The Neutral Line." His idea was that 

 tariff schedules should not be framed' as now, (i) by uninformed 

 legislators, (2) at the request of parties in interest. He would 

 have a permanent commission, non-partisan and non-official, for 



The Consumer, the people, to appeal to. 

 The Producer, who seeks relief. 



The Congress, to obtain facts, advice, and assistance. 

 The Administration, to obtain facts and information pertinent to com- 

 mercial treaties. 



The committee recently appointed will work along the lines 

 of Mr. Towne's paper, with a view to the ultimate creation of 

 such a permanent commission as it described. President Taft is 

 reported to favor some such commission, but without power to 

 fix rates — something, by the way, not embraced in the Indian- 

 apolis plan. The chairman of the committee of 100 is Mr. J. W. 

 Van Cleave, of St. Louis. 



NOTES FROM THE AMAZON REGION. 



PROGRESS continues to be reported on the construction of 

 the Madeira-Mamore railway, around the Madeira river 

 falls. The Brazilian Review heard that 17 kilometers [=10^/3 

 miles] had been laid to the end of 1908. Another report was that 

 50 kilometers more were in readiness for receiving the rails. 



Joao Antonio Luiz Coelho, ph.d., has been proclaimed governor 

 of the state of Para for the next four years, succeeding Dr. 

 Augusto Montenegro, who ably filled the post for eight years. 

 Dr. Coelho is 58 years of age and was educated in Brussels, Paris 

 and Philadelphia. He was secretary to the late Baron de 

 Marajo while the latter was governor of Para. 



The Electrical World (New York) contains some interesting 

 photographic views of the electric lighting and railway system 

 of Para. The company operates 35 miles of railway and 1^% 

 miles of lighting cables. The lighting circuits are being placed 

 underground, the cables used being supplied by Callender's Cable 

 and Construction Co., Limited, of London. 



Mr. Roger Casement, C.M.G., for some time past British consul 

 at Para, where he recently prepared an official report on the 

 rubber trade of notable interest and value, has been promoted to 

 the position of consul general at Rio de Janeiro. Before going to 

 Para he represented his government in the Congo Free State, 

 and was thanked by the House of Lords for his work at that 

 post. 



The net profit of the Amazon Telegraph Co., Limited — operat- 

 ing a cable line between Para and Manaos — for the fiscal year 

 ended June 30, 1909, was £14,800, or £6,000 more than in the 

 previous year. The amount was applied to the reduction of the 

 outstanding debit balance, which has now been reduced to £51,000. 

 No dividend has been paid on the £250,000 of share capital since 

 the opening of the company's cable, in 1896. 



The Continental Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co.'s danske Filial 

 ved William Gunn is the name of the firm representing Dunlop 

 interests in Copenhagen. 



