The Iron Age 1902-04-10: Vol 69 Iss 15

omineur " G0 J iiss IRON A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinery and Metal Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., 232-238 William St., New York. Vol. 69: No 15 New York, Thursday, April 10, 1902 SECON Seen, tneensing Pane Reading Matter Contents......... page 55 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers “‘ 163 Classified List of Advertisers..... o“ 156 an and Subscription Rates ‘ It needs * Only a Trial” to convince you that The New Model Remington No. 6 Take-down Single Shot Rifle is dy far the best rifle you can buy for the money. LIST PRICE, $5.00. Apply to your dealer for catalog and discount. Bristol’s Patent Steel Belt Lacing. _SAVES REMINGTON ARMS CO., toner. ILION, N. Y. ' ee ea reas eer With Least Mctal 425 Market St., San Francisco, Gal. 313-317 Broadway, New York Gity Send for Circulars and Free Samples. THE BRISTOL CO., Waterbury, Conn, a ya acs Semcamee CAHALL BOILERS =” « ' Also Massachusetts and Phenix ds of Sash Cerd. SIMSON CORDAGE WORKS. Boston, Mass.| CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. a NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, ene 11 Broadway, New York. ST. LOUIS, ———— Cleveland City and Iron ( Co. * ‘Cleveland, Oo BOSTON, , a a i DETROIT —_ ail 2 5 . a38 = BRANCHES: cinciNNATI, ff fo ue =* SAN FRANCISCO; | APR Ge 24S? PORTLAND, ORE., | e = BUFFALO, ye ante BALTIMORE, ; bt: NEW ORLEANS. Rnincmenpaenn BASIC PIG. DENVER PILLING & GRANE, {222.8u%"%0%%.| THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COMPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. so x a Jenkins ’96 Packing. Pronounced by steam users throughout the world the best joint packing manufactured. Expensive? Not at all, as it weighs 30¢ less than many other Nie aad Sinn) Skeets packings, consequently is much cheaper. Black and Galvanized JENKINS BROTHERS, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago. Phin and Punt THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING CO. Flat, Corrugated and “Vv? Crimped HOT AND COLD ROLLED Successor to 146 STRIP STEEL. The WILMOT & HOBBS MF6. CO. pak MAGNOLIA METAL. American Sheet Stee] Company Battery Park Building New York Manufacturers of all varieties of Apollo Best Bloom Galvanized Sheets W. Dewees Wood Company’s Planished Iron Best Anti-Friction Metal for all enya W. Dewees Wood Company’s Pac-Simile of Bar. Refined Iron Beware of Imitations. Wellsville Polished Steel Sheets MAGNOLIA METAL CO., 13-115 Bank St., London, Chicago, Montreal. Pittsbargh, Boston. wners and Sole Manufacturers, NEW YORK. OT anaes a Babbitt Metals is ai et te A i act sale ON. Pat ee DSi nin : x im 5 he Mea sheryl des 2 4 ae | { | : | _ Ee NT j eer cian reece leis ee THE IRON AGE. THE ANSONIA BRAss p” COPPER CO. MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. ESTABLISHED 1845. Main Office and Mills at Waterbury, Conn. Manufacturers of Brass, German Silver, Copper, ingot Copper. BRAZED and SEAMLESS TUBING, SPECIAL BRASS, BRONZE, ard GERMAN SILVER in sheet an Wire, for the HARDWARE SOLE MANUFACTURERS Tobin Bronze (TRADE-MarK REGISTERED.) Condenser Plates,Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. Seamless Tubes. 99 John Street, New York. BOO88888 ponent Gowcs Co., Main Office and Mill, WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET BRASS & COPPER. BRAZED BRASS & COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES TO 36 IN. DIAM, New York Office, 253 Broadway, Postal Tel- egraph Bldg. , Roo: Chicago Office, “sia F ‘ser B Bld Boston Office, Cor. Oliver and Rivets and Burrs, Metallic Eye- lets, Shells, Ferrules and Small Brasswares of every Description. New York Store has been removed trom 60 Centre St. to 122- wage Centre St. Deoxidized Babbitt. NEVER HAS BEEN BEATEN. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co. rchase Sts. BRIDGEPORT, CONN, Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. TLE ON reese Lk LA S8°74 West Monroe St., Chicago. Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Alaminum CASTINGS Nobsnade. ™“ | BRASS, BRONZE and ALUMINUM CASTINGS, “4 Whe a $3.00 | S Wheel, $3.25 | Founders, Finishers. BATTLE CREME MICH. IW. G. ROWELL & CO., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. HENDRICKS BROTHERS PROPRIETORS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Braziecrs’ MANUFACTURERS OF Bolt and Sheathing COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. R. A. HART, 29 MURRAY ST. TRADE, = WATERBURY BRAGS (|THE rome & Arwooo Mes, Co, Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN IN SHEET, ROLL, ROD, WIRE, SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chaiu, Kero sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. NEW YORK. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO FACTORIES : WATERBURY, CONN, ROLLING MILL ? THOMASTON, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO., Manufacturers of BRASS, CERMAN SILVER Sheets, Rolls, Wire Rods, Boits and Tubes, Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Coods. SPECIAL BRASS GOODS TO ORDER Factories, WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS: NEW YORK, CHICAGO, BOSTON. JOHN DAVOL & SONS, AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co.., DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, LEAD, ANTIMONY. 100 John Street, - New York. Arthur T: Rutter SUCCESSOR TO WILLIAM S. FEARING 256 Broadway, NEW YORK. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube. Copper and Brass Rod. “PHONO-ELECTRIC” WIRE. “ts TOUGH." TROLLEY, TELEPHONE and TELEGRAPH LINES. BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., Murray St., New Y: Phono-Electric Mills, Bridgeport, Conn. WANTEO FOR LIGHT METAL wonn 3 anh te errre ORDERS * speciat FACILITIES (OR MARING M SSM CONT a THURSDAY, The Wright Bundle Wire Papering Machine. The work of papering bundles of wire preparatory to shipping has been accomplished heretofore in a crude and expensive manner, the paper being first received in strips about 4 inches wide and 4 to 5 feet long. One edge has usually been folded over about 1 inch by hand, and the workman would take a bundle of wire and begin wrapping the strip of paper around it so that the folded edge of the paper would always remain on the outside and form a better protection than the raw edge would. The paper would thus be spirally wound around the coil of wire. A small sized wire, usually wound on a spool for convenience in handling, was also wound afterward spirally over the paper around the coil of wire and tied to prevent the paper from slipping or loosening and becoming torn. This method of wrap ‘THE IRON AGE RIL 10, 1902 one edge is folded over and wound upon a spool, the contents of one spool being sufficient to paper many coils of wire. The machine really comprises three separate ma- chines, so that the operator takes the paper as it comes from the paper mill in large rolls, places it on the ma- chine, on which it is folded and wound on steel spools ready to be used in the covering process. There is also a spool winding attachment which winds upon steel spools the skein of fine wire to be used as a binder and wound on over the paper in the papering process. The operator is relieved of the necessity of giving much attention to the wire spooler or paper folder and spool- er, as they are arranged to take care of themselves atter starting, being supplied with automatic stop mo- tion to stop when the spool is filled. This leaves to the operator nearly all of his time to operate the papering device, which is capable of doing the work of three THE WRIGHT BUNDLE WIRE PAPERING MACHINE ping coiled wire with paper is employed in all of the wire mills of the country. Of course, the purpose of a paper wrapping on wire, for which is sometimes sub stituted a much more expensive burlap wrapping, is to protect the wire during transit to its destination, and is very necessary on tinned, coppered, bright, polished, brass, Copper and insulated wire. A wrapping of paper or burlap has been universally used by all wire mills for many years on the large bundles of coarse sjzes of wire, because it is much the cheapest way of protecting wire for shipment. Barreling, boxing or crating costs four to six times as much. The purpose of the Wright bundle wire papering machine is not alone to cheapen the cost of doing this work, but also to do much better work, folding and wrapping the paper and binding the wire more thor- oughly and uniformly than can possibly be done by hand, and using but one continuous piece of paper for a coil of wire. Such a machine has been used in the factory of Wright & Colton Wire Cloth Company for nearly a year and has fully demonstrated its useful- ness. The strip of paper is practically continuous. It is run through a folding device on the machine, where men. The papering process is accomplished by placing the coil of wire up edgewise upon a traveling belt, first tucking the end of the strip of paper under one of the strands of the coil of wire and also fastening the bind- ing wire to it. The machine is then started and the average size coil of wire is completely papered and wound with binding wire during one-half minute mo- tion of the machine. The amount of power required is not over 4 horse-power, the machine being run with a 24-inch belt. The floor space taken up is 4% x 3 feet. The weight is about 1200 pounds, and it has a capacity for covering any size coil of wire from 16 to 24 inches diameter, and may be instantly adjusted to any diameter as well as any weight bundle from 50 to 150 pounds. This machine is the invention of George F. and George M. Wright, president and treasurer respectively of the Wright & Colton Wire Cloth Company, Worces- ter, Mass. a The property losses from floods in the State of Ten nessee last week, according to conservative estimates, aggregated $5,250,000, and 25 lives were lost. ih en mn es a - at ae i 4 rr | Ft 7 Peer ers ET a THE IRON AGE. The Eight-Hour Bill. The Emergency Clause Adopted. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 8, 1902.—The House Com- mittee on Labor, after a fortnight’s consideration, has reported the eight-hour bill with amendments and with a favorable recommendation. The amendments repre- sent the effort of the majority of the committee to se- cure a unanimous report upon the bill by making such concessions in the emergency clause as would enable certain members of the committee to agree to a favor- able report; but the measure in its completed form is quite as objectionable as ever to the important interests —chiefly iron and steel manufacturers and shipbuilders —having contracts with the Government. The emer- gency clause as finally adopted is as follows, the words in parentheses having been added as amendments by the committee: “Nothing in this act shall apply to contracts for transportation by land or water, nor shall the provisions and stipulations in this act provided for affect so much of any contract as is to be performed by way of trans- portation, or for such materials as may usually be bought in open market, whether made to particular specifications or not. The proper officer on behalf of the United States or any Territory or the District of Co- lumbia may waive the provisions and stipulations in this act provided for as to contracts for military or naval works or supplies during time or war or a time when war is imminent. No penalties shall be exacted for violations of such provisions due to extraordinary emergency caused by fire, (or) flood, or (due to) danger to life or (loss to) property. Nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal or modify Chapter 352 of the laws of the Fifty-second Congress, approved August 1, 1892, or as an attempt to abridge the pardoning power of the Executive.” It will be noted that the only material change from the original bill which the committee has made is the provision waiving penalties in emergencies likely to re- sult in “loss to property.” As this clause is likely ulti- mately to be brought before the courts for construction, it is highly important that its full meaning should be understood; but it must be stated that it is extremely probable that the law will be so construed as to afford absolutely wo relief to manufacturers compelled to meet the numerous mechanical emergencies which have been outlined in the testimony of leading iron and steel ex- perts before the committee. It is a curious fact that the clause “ loss to property ”’ is construed by the advocates of the bill as having two distinctly different meanings. To those who opposed any amendments of the original bill it is suggested that “loss to property ’’ means simply damage to plant, ap- paratus, &c., such as might follow the solidifying of large masses of molten iron or steel in cupola or other- wise; and in this connection it is said that the bill would permit a single shift of men to continue their labor beyond eight hours to prevent such a result. To those who have advocated a more liberal amendment of the law it is stated that the phrase “loss to property” means any possible financial loss that might accrue as the result of being compelled to operate two shifts of men, as, for example, the heating or tempering of an armor plate ingot, which it has been contended should be completed by the same shift of men who begin the work; the making of a finishing cut in gun forgings, &ec. In other words, it is an open question at this writ- ing whether the bill as amended is intended to exempt operations in which a loss to the plant might ensue from a strict observance of the statute, or a loss or diminu- tion in quality of the output of the plant. An effort will be made to induce the committee to elucidate this point clearly in its report, which it is assumed will be made to the House within the next week. Next in importance to the question as to the con- struction of the phrase referred to comes the point as to the authority to be appealed to to determine whether the terms of the statute shall be waived. The first sec- April 10, 1902 tion of the bill provided that “any officer or person designated as inspector of the work to be performed under any such contract or to aid in enforcing the ful- fillment thereof shall, upon observation or investiga- tion, report to the proper officer of the United States or any Territory or the District of Columbia all viola- tions of the provisions in this act directed to be made in each and every contract, and the amount of the pen- alties stipulated by any such contract shall be withheld by the officer or person whose duty it shall be to pay the moneys due under such contract, whether the viola- tion of the provisions of such contract is by the con- tractor, his agents or employees, or any subcontractor, his agents or employees.” It is further provided that no person on behalf of the United States shall rebate or remit any penalty imposed under any provision or stipu- lation herein provided for “ unless upon a finding which he shall make up and certify that such penalty was imposed by reason of an error in fact.” From these provisions it would appear to be the purpose of the bill to delegate to the Government inspector in charge of the work full authority to determine the conditions un- der which it is performed, and, therefore, doubtless to decide in case of any exemption claimed, whether the emergencies existing are such as to threaten “loss to property.” Inasmuch as high quality in the product turned out is quite as important to the Government as to the con- tractor, it might be assumed that the latter would be quite willing to abide by the decision of the Govern- ment inspector in all emergencies. On this account it is additionally important to have determined by the courts the exact scope of the clause “loss to property.” Under a well-known rule of law the interpretation given this clause by the committee in which the bill originated is not binding upon a court where the language used is clear and susceptible of a reasonable interpretation. It is not believed that any court would hold that “ loss to property ”’ could be strained to cover mechanical emer- gencies in which the quality of the product only was at stake, hence the amendment has removed none of the objections which the opponents of the bill have urged against this remarkable attempt at legislation. Ww. L. C. The Tin House Wage Scale. There is just a possibility that the plans of the Ameri- can Tin Plate Company for the continuous operation of their mills this summer, based upon the agreement with the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers, may be frustrated after all by a possible refusal of the tin house men to approve the proposition of the Tin Plate Company to continue the present wage agreement for another year from July 15. The Execu- tive Board of the Tin Plate Workers’ International Pro- tective Association has decided to submit the matter to a referendum vote of the lodges, the result of which will probably not be known until the annual meeting of the association at New Castle, Pa., early in May. There are some indications that the tin house workers are by no means a unit on the subject of approving the Tin Plate Company’s proposition, although it is considered likely that the majority of the members will realize the advisability of so doing. Meanwhile the American Tin Plate Company are approaching the season at which they will be closing their important contracts with the canning interests and other large users of tin plates during the summer. They are naturally desirous, there- fore, of placing the question of the possibility of a strike of any kind beyond peradventure. —— The Standard Steel Car Company, who are preparing to erect a large plant at Butler, Pa., have completed their organization with the following directors: A. B. Frazier, H. J. Gearhart, John M. Hansen, Edwin Haw- ley and L. C. Weir. The officers are: John M. Hansen, president; A. R. Fraser, vice-president and treasurer; J. H. Gearhart, general manager, and Peter F. McCoo), manager. April 10, 1902 The Wabash Gasoline Engine. The Wabash Engine Company, Wabash, Ind., are manufacturing the gasoline engine herewith illustrated, which has a number of interesting features. One of the most important of these is the construction of the cylinder, which does not require a water jacket. The surface of the cylinder is made with flat tapering rings projecting from and surrounding the outside of the cylinder and head. These give the cylinder a great ex- cess of surface, which carries off the heat created by the explosions and avoids the necessity of the use of a water jacket. This cooling surface is nearly six times as much as the surface of the average water jacketed type of the same size. The avoidance of the use of a rHE WABASH GASOLINE ENGINE. water jacket obviates all danger of freezing in cold weather and further lessens the number of parts. It is important that an engine be so constructed that the operator may readily examine the mixer, sparker, inlet valve and exhaust valve without finding it neces- sary to dismantle the engine. This engine has all these parts so arranged that by unscrewing the mixer they may be examined at will. The four-cycle principle has been adopted as securing the most efficient performance of the engine. The sparker is so set that when the pis- ton is almost up to its highest point, and has compressed the charge to as small a space in the chamber as is possible, two platinum points break, causing an elec- tric spark to flash just at the entrance of the compres- sion chamber, igniting the charge, which explodes and expands with the required power to force the piston on its second downward stroke and the fly wheel on its second revolution. On the second upward stroke of the piston, which is the second half of the second revolution THE IRON AGE. of the fly wheel, the exhaust valve is open and the ex plosion chamber is thoroughly cleaned. The engine is so designed that it uses gasoline in proportion to the work done. io Worcester Industries. The Crompton & Knowles Loom Works of Worceste: have purchased the entire loom business of the M. A. Furbush & Son Machine Company of Philadelphia, Pa., and Camden, N. J., which has been carried on for half a century. Simultaneously with these negotiations ar rangements have been made by the Crompton & Knowles corporation for the erection of new buildings in the city of Philadelphia for the manufacture of the looms hereto- fore made by the M. A. Furbush & Son Machine Com pany in Camden, which are principally for the weaving of carpets and rugs. M. A. Furbush was originally in business in Worcester, beginning the loom business here as partner of George Crompton, founder of the Crompton Loom Works, now a part of the Crompton & Knowles Loom Works. The partnership was dissolved in 1859. when Mr. Furbush established the business, which now comes back as a part of the property of a Worcester corporation. Harry G. Stoddard, assistant manager of the Wash- burn & Moen department of the American Steel & Wire Company, has been appointed assistant general sales agent of the company, to have charge of the sales of the specialties manufactured by the Washburn & Moen Works. The American Steel & Wire Company conduct their entire sales department at New York and Chicago, but an exception will be made in the Washburn & Moen specialties, which will hereafter be sold from Worcester. Mr. Stoddard is responsible to T. H. Taylor, the general sales agent at New York. He will continue the duties of assistant manager of the Washburn & Moen depart- ment. The staple products of the Worcester works, such as plain wire, barb wire and wire nails, will still be sold direct from the New York office. Mr. Stoddard is a young man, 28 years old, who has, in ten years, risen from an humble place in the cost de- partment of the Washburn & Moen Mfg. Company to a position of great responsibility. He became head of the cost department, then went into the electrical depart- ment and afterward became confidential clerk to Philip W. Moen, then general manager of the Washburn & Moen Mfg. Company, and now second vice-president of the American Steel & Wire Company. When the Wash- burn & Moen Company sold out to the American Steel & Wire Company Mr. Stoddard was made assistant to Manager Charles Ranlet. George E. Brownell, manufacturer of twisting ma- chinery, is about to add considerable space to his shop on Union street, because of the increased demand for the product of his shop. He will take space now occu- pied by Henry G. Barr & Co., manufacturers of multiple spindle drills, grinding machines and milling machines. Barr & Co. are planning to erect a new machine shop. The stove business of J. W. Jordan has been incor- porated under Massachusetts laws, with a capital stock of $7100. The officers are Frederick B. Jordan, president, and Harry T. Gray, treasurer. J. N. ee, Efforts to attain higher speeds upon railways, both steam and electric, have not yet met with much success, the latest electrical railway, that of the Berlin-Zossen line in Germany, having failed to reach the hopes of its projectors. It was planned to run trains at a velocity of 125 miles per hour, but it has been abandoned when only 100 miles per hour was reached for a short dis- tance. The facts are that there are no precedents for the task that was undertaken in the Berlin-Zossen en- terprise, and all sorts of obstacles were encountered at the start, the principal one being that, even in its brief existence, it was found impossible to maintain a safe track, and this upon a practically strainght line. Steam railways, with the most powerful locomotives of mod- ern build and only two-car trains, cannot get above seventy miles an hour for runs under 100 miles; it will be some time yet before this is exceeded, or even be averaged with commercial paying loads. fo — See ei oS wor fee ee Ais Lh IT ETN OS TE 9 a alll pleas Dp : Racha tat “ ~ 2 eae —_ ee ons " —— = - ooo eR. (TT oS An = ANE NE A CR EIR at Dirnig coves , ' i ¥ iz, 1 4 | | | ; Pa ——e* ‘2 4 — pe OT A ts ee TO vate ae ee ee a eae tm RE CR rN THE IRON AGE. The Proposed Reform of the Draw- back Laws. A Hearing on the Lovering Bill. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 8, 1902.—The bill recently introduced by Representative Lovering of Massa- chusetts, designed to reform the present drawback laws, was made the text of an extended hearing before the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Repre- sentatives on the 2d inst., at which appeared a large number of prominent manufacturers, including F. W. Wood, president of the Maryland Steel Company, Bal- timore, Md.; Walter Wood of R. D. Wood & Co., Phila- delphia, Pa., manufacturers of iron pipe, &c.; Louis C. Taylor of John A. Roebling Son’s Company, Trenton, N. J., manufacturers of wire and wire rope; Joseph K. Mc- Cammon, representing the Bethlehem Steel Works, Beth- lehem, Pa.; Edwin Tatham of Tatham & Bros., New York and Philadelphia, manufacturers of various lead products; John M. Peters of W. J. Matheson & Co., Lim- ited, New York City, manufacturers of white lead, &c.; Andrew G. Webster, Malden, Mass., president of the New England Shoe and Leather Association; Maxwell J. Lowry of Avery & Lowry, Boston, Mass., manufactur- ers of leather, and Joseph H. Allen and Whidden Gra- ham of Allen & Graham, customs experts, of New York City. A number of other prominent manufacturers were represented by letters addressed to the committee. The bill was strongly advocated by all the speakers, and Walter Wood of R. D. Wood & Co. even went so far as to introduce an amendment under which an im- porter bringing in a quantity of raw material might re- ceive a certificate to the effect that he had paid duty thereon, and sell the same to a manufacturer, who, upon the exportation of the finished products containing an equivalent amount of raw materials, whether domestic or foreign, might receive back the duty paid by the im- porter. in this connection Mr. Wood read to the com- mittee an editorial from The Iron Age, which he charac- terized as ‘ the leading trade paper in the iron business,” commenting favorably upon the pending effort to bring about a simplification of the drawback laws. Representative Lovering, tbe author of the bill, was the first speaker and briefly explained to the commit- tee the purpose of the measure, which he said was in- tended to relieve the exporter of the necessity of identi- fying as foreign the raw materials employed by him in the production of his goods, provided he could prove acceptably to the Treasury Department that he had imported or purchased foreign materials of an equivalent amount. Since the original bill was intro- duced it had been revised, and the principal section of the measure as pending before the commitee was as fol- lows: “ Be it enacted, &c., that when ores, metals, hides or leather used in the manufacture of articles exported from the United States cannot be identified as provided for in Section 30 of an act entitled, ‘An act to provide revenue for the Government and to encourage the in- dustries of the United States,’ approved July 24, 1897, drawback shall be allowed, provided there has been used in the manufacture of the exported articles like ores, or metals, or hides, or leather of a quantity and value at least equal to the quantity and value of the imported duty paid ores, or metals, or hides, or leather purchased and delivered to the manufacturer of the exported ar- ticles, which are necessary for use in the manufacture of the exported articles: Provided, That the duties paid on said ores, metals, hides or leather shall not be con- sidered as a factor in determining their value or cost: And provided further, That the quantity of ores, or metals, or hides, or leather used in the manufacture of the exported articles on which drawback is allowed shall be charged against the records of importation, as in case of complete identification required by existing regulations under said section of the act approved July 24, 1897, and that this act shall only apply to ores, met- als, hides or leather which are in the warehouse or in the possession of manufacturers when this act shall be- April 10, 1902 come law, or which may be imported after this act shall become law.” “Mir. Lovering’s Statement, Concerning the necessity of the proposed modifica- tion of the drawback laws, Mr. Lovering said in part: “The drawback system, as administered under the Dingley bill, has been of so much assistance to the man- ufacturers of this eountry and has extended our for- eign exports to such an extent that the time has come when we feel it may go very much further, and very safely, too. Home production has so far outstripped the home consumption that it is necessary to seek out every market and every possible outlet for the constantly in- creasing manufactures of the country. “The drawback bill has worked very well. You are so familiar with it that it is useless for me to enlarge upon it at this time. I will only say that England, France and Germany have systems of impost rebates which have worked to the advantage of their foreign ex- ports, and greatly to our disadvantage. The world wide war of industrial supremacy is being fought out on the sharpest possible lines; and there is no denying the fact that our manufacturers are handieapped in the strug- gle. We are often taunted that we have built a great wall of protection around our country, and that the gates open only outward. Now it is a faet that true protection to American industry means that these gates should sometimes open inward. “It is often the case that the exception proves the rule, and when through the exeeption we get more good than harm, as we do in this case, as asked for in this bill, there is no good reason why it should not be adopted. There are gentlemen present here who are in- terested in the bill very directly, men representing the largest industries in the United States, and experts, too, in the whole subject of the drawback, and they are competent to speak to you, and will address you on the subject. “There is only one thing that I would like to speak of at this moment. This has been said by somebody to be a local matter affecting Massachusetts, and it is urged that for that reason I have brought the thing for- ward. I assure you that it is not the ease. It is a mat- ter of national interest, extending from one coast to the other; and the hardships that grow out of the law as it now stands, or out of the administration of it, are such as have led us to seek relief in a bill of this kind. “In the form here presented this bill covers ores, metals, hides and leather. It covers about two-thirds of what would be the entire drawback which was paid out during the last year. The amount paid out last year was $5,215,502. On hides, leather, lead, lead ore, iron and steel] it amounted to $3,077,351. On all other articles it was $2,188,151. As to those articles on which that $2,138,151 was payable it was comparatively easy to identify the imported material on whieh duty had been paid, but it was impossible to identify the imported ma- terial in those articles on which the $3,077,351 was paid; and this bill simply provides that duties on im- ported materials which cannot be identified may, on the proper presentation of the case to the Treasury De- partment under oath—and when it is shown to the sat- isfaction of the Treasury Department that those duties have been paid—be rebated when the finished product is exported.” At this point Representative Russell asked Mr. Lov- ering what objection, if any, there would be to expand- ing the provisions of the bill so as to include all im- ported materials instead of merely ores, metals, hides or leather. Mr. Lovering promptly replied that he could see no objection whatever to extending the bill indef- initely, and that it was his expectation that its scope would be so expanded before enactment as to be of value to every trade in the country. The Testimony of F. W. Wood, F. W. Wood, president of the Maryland Steel Com- pany, spoke briefly concerning the advantages that would be derived from the proposed measure by pro- ducers of steel rails, billets, &c. He said: “Phe company whom I represent are engaged in mak- ing steel rails and billets and the building of ships. Our April 10, 1902 THE raw material is iron ore, and about two-thirds of what we use is imported. A portion comes from our own mines in Cuba, the balance from the Mediterranean. We are located on tidewater. In fact, we are the only steel rail manufacturers at tidewater. We have ex- ported during the past three years an average of about 100,000 tons of steel rails, which are seattered all over the world. On the exportation of those rails we are al lowed a drawback equal to 99 per cent. of the duty paid on the foreign ore entering into these rails, but the col- lection of it is attended with quite considerable expense and a great deal of complication, which we believe could be perfectly well avoided and the Government properly safeguarded. ‘The use of the foreign ore in our location is neces- sary for two reasons. The specifications of the foreign engineers which we are required to meet eall for cer- tain chemical compositions, and we find in our locality the only ores available are those obtained from foreign sources. Consequently it would be impossible for us to do that export business at all if we attempted to depend on such domestic ores as are within our reach. “The other reason for using the foreign ores is that they are cheaper than the domestic ore, when the duty is removed, when we receive the drawback. In compet- ing with the foreign manufacturers at distant points we are under a very heavy disadvantage in the matter of ocean freights, and it is necessary for us, in order to do the busines at all, to have every possible advan- tage in the matter of raw material. Now the question would naturally be asked, ‘If the foreign ore is cheap- er and more suitable, why do you not use it all? Why do you not use it exclusively, and get the drawback? Why is there any question raised?’ Well, there are technical and practical reasons for not using it exelu- sively. We work to-day on an order of domestic rails; to-morrow we make some foreign rails; we go back the next day onto domestic. It would be impossible for us to change mixtures in our furnaces and through our roll- ing mills, and draw a sharp line, and say: ‘ Everything in this batch is domestic, and everything in that batch is foreign.’ We have got to maintain approximately a uniform mixture. “We feel that the provisions of this bill, introduced by Mr. Lovering, are equitable; that there is no chance of the Government suffering any loss. It has an abso lute check on the manufacturer in the records of impor- tation; and in view of these practical obstacles which are thrown in the way of the manufacturer, preventing him using exclusively foreign material when he would otherwise gladly do so for this export business, if he is obliged by those practical considerations to distribute that over his domestic business, the Government can safely and fairly consider that all the material he has used ip the manufacture of the export goods is of for- eign origin up to the extent of his total importation. “There is another point in connection with the bill- the manufacture of ships for foreign account. Former- ly there was a provision that material entering ships for foreign ownership and sailed under a foreign flag was considered export material. That, under the rul- ing of the Treasury, is not the case at the present time; and we think that that change in our laws can safely and properly be made, and to the advantage of the coun- try, and will assist in increasing the volume of our manufactures for foreign account.” “You do not use foreign ores exclusively, do you?” asked Representative Dalzell. ** No,” replied Mr. Wood, “ we use about two-thirds. The rest is lake ore. We use such foreign ores as we can to advantage. The quantity of foreign ores is lim- ited. After the imports reach a certain volume, the cost of transportation, the freights from the other side, rise to such a point as to prohibit the importation. It is a self correcting matter, so far as interference with our own production is concerned.” ‘One thing you need is an American merchant ma- rine, I suppose?” suggested Chairman Payne. “That would help very much, indeed, in the distribu- tion of our goods. It costs on our steel rails to the Orient in the neighborhood of from $3 to $5 a ton more than it does the English and Belgian works.” [RON . The Testimony of Walter Wood. Walter Wood of R. D. Wood & Co. was the next speaker. He said: “It is only repeating a truism to call the attention of the committee to the fact that to get a drawback the identical articles that are imported must be exported, and that these must be identified. The great trouble the manufacturer has is the identification and the use of the full quantity of imported articles in what he ex ports. I think what Mr. Wood of the Maryland Steel Company has just said makes it evident how difficult it is to use, even if you can identify. “To refer to our own case, there is a steamer going up the Delaware River this morning with 5000 tons of English iron consigned to ourselves. We will have to set aside one of our shops and reorganize our staff in order to be able to use that iron exclusively in articles which we export. That makes an expense which we have to add to our export business. If we could let the ordinary routine of our shops go forward, as Mr. Wood says they do in Maryland, we would naturally put a cer- tain amount of domestic material into that export or- der, and to that extent would call upon the domestic manufacturers for iron, and our export trade would be facilitated by the provision in this bill, which is that we simply have to import an equal amount of the ma- terials which we undertake to export. “T do not see how the change of the present draw- back system, so as to permit that being done, will in any way operate to the disadvantage of the Govern- ment, because there will be an equal amount imported as was exported. Nor can I see how it will materially affect domestic manufacture. In fact, it will build up domestic manufactures, and to that extent will be an employer of labor. “There is one point, however, to which, as soon as I saw the bill, I called attention, and that is that the man who claims the export duty must have purchased and had delivered to himself the imported material. In other words, if I am to claim a drawback on what I ex- port I myself must have imported the foreign material. I do not see why the one man who does the export business should also do the import business. In other words, I do not see why some of our friends in Texas should not import scrap iron from Mexico, get a cer- tificate of importation, and come on the market to sell that to some exporter in the North. He would by that means secure his material from Mexico at a lower price than he does at the present moment. This way of earrying on a drawback business is not a new thing in the world. It is a common thing abroad; and if we should adopt it and add it to this bill we would only be following the more carefully thought out and developed drawback systems of Europe. “That this is not my own idea, and that there is real merit and need for it, I would ask the committee to pardon me if I read a few sentences from an editorial in The Iron Age. I am only reading it so that the com- mittee may know that this fact which I am alluding to is a well recognized need and a well recognized benefit as well. To those who are not familiar with the stand- ing of The Iron Age as a trade paper, it may not be amiss to state—and the other gentlemen who are here in the metal business can confirm what I am saying—that it is considered the leading trade paper in the iron business. The editorial is in part as follows: “*QOur attention is called to an effort that is being made to bring about a simplification of the drawback laws, a reform that is sadly needed. The old identity clause, which required that the actual raw material im- ported be used for the production of the articles ex- ported, should be brushed entirely aside. We cannot help believing, however, that the French drawback sys tem should be carefully studied before modifications are adopted. It goes a good deal further than the practice adopted in this country. It provides that upon the im portation of a given amount of raw material at any point in France the importer pays the full duty, and is given a certificate for the sum paid. This certificate is marketable, and the sum it represents is refunded by the Government upon proof of export of an equivalent AGE. 5 ee ene et ee ms meer ep a ae SSS 5 OS ee ala 6 THE quantity of products advanced in manufacture, from whatever point in the country it may be exported. “*TIn France, in the iron industry for instance, pig iron is imported in the north. The drawback certificates are purchased by rolling mills or foundries in the south of France, to be used in exportations in the Mediter- ranean markets. In this country such a system would possess particular advantages for holding the Pacific Coast trade, and would be quite a powerful aid in de- veloping the manufactures of the cruder forms in that section. It would enable manufacturers of castings or rolling mill products on the Pacific Coast, by securing the drawback certificates on the pig iron imported into the Atlantic States, to purchase pig iron made on the Pacific Coast, and market the finished goods in China, Japan and Australasia.’ “The point I am dwelling on, I think,” continued Mr. Wood, “is a very material point. If you will par- don me I will illustrate it, with Mr. Wood’s permission: He has friends who have rolling mills and furnaces in the West. If they imported ore for those men he could buy that importation certificate from them and export from Maryland. If I imported iron to be used in Phila- delphia,as I am doing to-day,and did not use it all in my export orders, I could sell the surplus to a man on the Pacific Coast, and he could thereupon buy iron made on the Pacific Coast—an encouragement to the manu- facturers of the Pacific Coast—and be in a position to export the product of that domestic iron on the Pacific Coast to China, and therefore avail himself of the op- portuniites of manufacture which the man in the Bast has, and which compel him to make his importation. Drawback Certificates. “T have a crude draft of my thoughts, drawn up in the form of, say, paragraph 6 of the bill, which I do not mean to say is exactly as it ought to be drafted. It is as follows: “* That on the written application of any importer of ores or metals on which duties have been paid, there shall be issued, under rules and regulations to be pre- scribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, a certificate stating the name of the importer, the quantity of im- ported ores or metals, the rate and amount of duties paid thereon, and all other particulars necessary to de- scribe or identify such imported ores or metals, which certificate may be sold and transferred, and when filed with a collector of customs, in whose office an entry has been filed by the owner of said certificate for draw- back on exported articles manufactured from like do- mestic ores or metals of at least the same value as the ores or metals described in said certificate, a drawback of such duties shall be paid equal to the amount which would have been allowed if the imported ores or metals described in said certificate had been used in the man- ufacture of ine exported articles; Provided, That the quantity of ores or metals used in the manufacture of the exported articles on which drawback is allowed shall be charged against said certificate, as in case complete identification required by existing regulations under section 30 of an act approved July 24, 1897, and that this provision shall only apply to imported ores or metals which are in warehouse or in the possession of manufacturers when this act shall become law, or which may be imported after this act shall become law.’ ” “Is it your idea that the bill itself in all its provi- sions should be restricted to ores and metals?” asked Mr. Dalzell. “No, sir. Of course, being in the metal business, my mind has drifted to those points. I should be only too glad to see our friends in the woolen or cotton or any other business have the same benefits as we are ask- ing for the metal trade. It is practically the adoption of the French system, just as The Jron Age states. It is the ordinary way of enabling a domestic manufacturer to more readily enter a foreign market. “It may not be amiss for me to put into figures the disadvantage which our concern labor under in un- dertaking to import foreign pig iron and export it in the shape of pipe. We estimate that it runs from $1 to $2 a ton handicap, the identification clause and the fact that we cannot match our import exactly with our ex- IRON AGE. April 10, 1902 port. In other words, if this bill should become a law, we who are the largest individual makers of castings of the character we make in this country would have an advantage of from $1 to $2 more than we have in en- tering export markets with our goods, and to that ex- tent we could widen the trade of the country. We are shipping to-day a thousand tons of cast iron water pipe to Tientsin, China. We all heard of that place 18 months ago. We have supplied a large amount to the Cape of Good Hope. We have sold to India and Japan. We have about 150 miles of our pipes lying right in the heart of London. We for three years held the city or- ders of the city of Glasgow, which is the city of Eu- rope in which cast iron pipes are especially made. Now, with the assistance of $1 or $2 a ton you can readily see that we would have a great advantage.” Drawbacks on Materials for Ships Built on Foreign Account, Judge J. K. McCammon, representing the Bethlehem Steel Company, next addressed the committee. He said: “‘T have been requested by the president of the Beth- lehem Steel Company to say to the committee that his company are very desirous that this bill should become alaw. They manufacture, as some of you know, armor, shafting, forgings and so on, many of which articles have been sold directly or indirectly to foreign gov- ernments. They have not been able to take advantage of either Section 12 or 13 of the Dingley act. I do not criticise the fact, but it is a fact, that the Treasury De- partment. I am informed. has ruled that articles that enter into the construction of a foreign war ship are not within the purview of the Dingley act—that is, not on foreign accounts—that a war ship is not exported; and therefore the provisions of the Dingley act do not apply. Our company import chrome, manganese, Span- ish ores, ores from Cuba and probably a great many other articles. I know that other clients of mine import other things, but I have not been requested to represent them here. I am only here to represent the Bethlehem Steel Company. “It seems to me, in view of the rulings of the Treas- ury Department, assuming that my information is cor- rect, that Section 2 of the pending bill should be en- larged so as to include ships built for foreign govern- ments. Section 2, providing for drawbacks on im- ported articles on which duties have been paid, says: “*Or when consumed on vessels clearing for foreign countries, or when used in the construction and equip- ping of vessels built for foreign account and ownership, or a foreign government.’ “That is very essential, because under this section, if it becomes a law, I have no doubt the Treasury De- partment would follow its former ruling, that the lan- guage was not sufficiently comprehensive to cover a war ship for a foreign government, or material con- structed for, or furnished to, a foreign government. As to armor. Mr. Mcllivaine of the Bethlehem Company says in his letter to me: “*«This is all important to us in so far as we could take advantage of material manufactured by us which is partly made from ores which we received from abroad; also in the exportation of armor plate such as we are now sending out.’ ‘He means, of course, they are not able, under the present conditions, to secure drawback.” In further explanation of the point made by Judge McCammon, Mr. Lovering said: “Section 12 of the Revenue act of 1897 permits the importation free of duty of all materials necessary in the construction and equipment of vessels built in the United States for foreign account and ownership, in- cluding ‘all such material necessary for the building of their machinery.’ Upon proof that such imported ma- terials have been so used, the bond given to secure the duties is canceled. The domestic manufacturer who is compelled to import his materials and pay duty thereon is refused a drawback of such duties when his prod- ucts are sold to the American shipbuilders for use in the constfuction of vessels built for foreign account. His foreign competitor, who either secures his materials free of duty or is paid a drawback by his Government when April 10, 1902 THE his goods are shipped to the United States, can sell his goods to the American shipbuilder absolutely free of duty under this law. As it is not believed that Con- gress intended to thus discriminate against the Ameri- can and in favor of the foreign manufacturer of the ar- ticles in question, and as the articles in the manufacture of which the imported materials are used are sent per- manently out of the country as part of the completed vessel, no valid objection can be made against the en- ac