per cent. on glucose as it now is; but the Randall bill makes the duty 1 cent per pound specific. I believe that the duty should be as Mr. Randall has fixed it. The duty of 20 per cent ad valorem on glucose is less than one-half the rate of duty imposed on the lowest grade of cane-sugar, and only about one-fourth as much as is imposed on the highest grades.

As bearing upon this subject, I beg to submit a statement as to customs duties levied by foreign countries upon glucose produced in the United States:

Customs duties, per pound, levied and collected in foreign countries upon glucose produced in the United States.

[Compiled from consular reports, as contained in Ex. Doc. No. 58, Forty-ninth Congress, second session, January 5, 1887.]

The average rate per pound of the twenty-eight countries above named, which levy a duty upon glucose, is 2.86 cents. Estimating the average price of glucose in the United States at 3 cents per pouud, the duty of 20 per cent. is equivalent to a specific rate of sixty one-hundredths of a cent per pound. The average rate of duty imposed in foreign countries is therefore nearly five times as great as that levied in the United States. We can not export to these countries now and shall not be able to export to them until they change and lower their tariffs upon glucose.

If I can furnish you any other information upon the subject I shall be pleased to do so. I am,

Very respectfully, yours,

S. D. PHELPS.

MOHAIR PLUSH GOODS.

WEDNESDAY, July 11, 1888.

Notes of a hearing of D. Goff & Sons, represented by D. L. GOFF, treasurer, of Pawtucket, R. I., and the Sandford Mills, of Sandford, Me., represented by E. M. GOODALL, president, and JOHN HOPEWELL, Jr., treasurer.

Mr. HOPEWELL. I submit these samples for furniture goods, and also some other samples which are used for car seats.

Senator ALDRICH. How long have you been engaged in the manu facture of these goods?

Mr. HOPEWELL. Seven years since we first started, but we have only been in the market four years.

Senator ALDRICH. Prior to seven years ago none of these goods were manufactured in this country?

Mr. HOPEWELL. Not of this class.

Senator ALDRICH. How large a portion of the consumption do you now supply?

Mr. HOPEWELL. I.do not suppose we could say.

Senator ALDRICH. Can you give a guess?

Mr. HOPEWELL. Perhaps three-fourth of the furniture plush. We make in the neighborhood of 8,000 pieces.

Senator ALDRICH. How large a portion of the car seating?

Mr. HOPEWELL. A very small portion.

Senator ALDRICH. Those goods are largely imported now?
Mr. HOPEWELL. Almost wholly.

Mr. GOFF. We make about 2,000 cases.

Senator ALDRICH. Do you make all these embossed goods?

Mr. GOFF. Not many. Those are out of style now.

Mr. HOPEWELL. The point we wish to make is that the American consumers have been benefited at least 50 cents a yard by the American manufacture of these goods.

Senator ALDRICH. And that that does not arise from a reduction in the price of the material?

Mr. HOPEWELL. Not at all.

Mr. GOFF. It arises either from competition, or undervaluation, or both.

Senator ALDRICH. Either legitimate or illegitimate competition?
Mr. GOFF. Yes; and we are the sufferers.

Senator ALDRICH. You believe the goods come in largely underval ued, do you?

Mr. HOPEWELL. I have no doubt of it; the present tariff ought to protect us, but does not.

Senator ALDRICH. Your goods now come in as manufactures valued above 80 cents a pound.

Mr. HOPEWELL. That is pretty close. There is a line, but they drop under it sometimes.

Senator ALDRICH. Suppose you should get 34 cents and 25 per cent. ad valorem?

Mr. GOFF. That is pretty close work.

Mr. HOPEWELL. I will show you the latest importations. Here is a sample of the very last thing. They have been dropping and dropping, until here is the last piece of goods I can get hold of [showing sample]. Mr. GOFF. That is just imported. That comes in for $1 a yard. Mr. HOPEWELL. They sell that for $1 a yard, five off.

Senator ALDRICH. That looks like it was mostly cotton.
Mr. HOPEWELL. No.

Mr. GOFF. When we went into the business we got samples from the importers and dated the samples of purchase; and the plushes we are selling to-day for $60 were selling for $100 a piece, 40 yards in a piece. Senator ALDRICH. That is a reduction of 40 per cent.

Mr. GOFF. It seems to work against us on the better grade of goods. Senator HISCOCK. What do you want?

Mr. HOPEWELL. I think we are pretty well agreed-are we not Mr. Goff and Mr. Goodall?-with the old tariff.

Mr. GOFF. What we are working under now?

Mr. HOPEWELL. Yes.

Senator ALDRICH. What do you say about a specific rate?

Mr. GOFF. I think we ought to have as much specific as we can. I think we ought to have as much duty as Wilton carpets, and they have 40 cents a square yard and 30 per cent. ad valorem.

Senator ALDRICH. You would rather have that than 35 cents a yard and 40 per cent. ad valorem?

Mr. GOFF. No; a yard weighs three-quarters of a pound.

Senator HISCOCK. How are you affected by our package clause? Senator ALDRICH. We restored the duty on packages.

Mr. GOFF. That is all new to me. I do not know anything about that. Mr. HOPEWELL. The cases cost about $4 a case, and there are ten pieces to the case. That would not leave much.

Senator HISCOCK. How much would the ten pieces be worth?
Mr. HOPEWELL. At $40 a piece they would be worth $400.

Senator HISCOCK. That would be 1 per cent.?

Mr. HOPEWELL. One per cent.; yes.

Senator ALDRICH. We have a suggestion for a provision in regard to silk plushes, which reads like this:

Velvets, plushes, or other pile fabrics in the piece (including ribbons), not otherwise specially provided for in this act, weighing not less than 1 ounce nor more than 8 ounces per square yard, containing less than 25 per cent. and not less than 10 per cent. in weight of silk, $1 per pound and 15 per cent. ad valorem; the same containing less than 50 per cent. and not less than 25 per cent. in weight of silk, $1.50 per pound and 15 per cent. ad valorem.

Of course we could construct a similar clause to that which would apply to wools and worsted plushes.

Mr. GOFF. To make pile fabrics that would include silks?
Senator ALDRICH. That would include these goods.

Mr. GOFF. Yes; that would give us the benefit of a specific duty better than the present rate.

Senator ALDRICH. We could make it all of one rate, or we could classify it as to value.

Mr. HOPEWELL. I am afraid of that value business; that is what troubles us all the time. I have a letter from New York, from Mr. Hines, in which he says that he had obtained information of a case

where woolen goods, a lot of 400 pieces, had been undervalued to the extent of 50 per cent.

Senator ALDRICH. What is the range of prices on these goods? Mr. GOFF. You are talking about mohair?

Senator ALDRICH. Yes; the pure mohair plushes; how much would they be?

Mr. HOPEWELL. Here is a sample that sold at $1, and that is another sample that sold for $2.

Mr. GOFF. We can make them for $2.

Senator ALDRICH. From $1 to $2?

Mr. GOFF. Yes; according to the length of pile. That sample is long pile.

Senator ALDRICH. Is that for car seats?

Mr. HOPEWELL. That has been used by a few parties for car seats, but is used mostly for furniture.

Mr. GOFF. I now show you a specimen of long-pile plush and another specimen of short-pile plush.

Mr. HOPEWELL. We have made a good deal of that class of goods for Pullman for his drawing-room cars.

Mr. GOFF. This is a sample that is the standard for the ordinary passenger cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad, for instance. Mohair is quite expensive.

Senator ALDRICH. It costs twice as much as wool?

Mr. GOFF. That is 45 cents a pound, and the wool that we make these grades of goods from is 23 and 24 cents. I am informed that the general experience is, that if you go to Hamburg to buy these goods they will refer you to their New York agents.

Senator HISCOCK. Let us take the present low standard of plushes. Senator ALDRICH. They come in under this clause:

Flannels, blankets, hats of wool, knit goods, and all goods made on knitting-frames, balmorals, woolen and worsted yarns, and all manufactures of every description, composed wholly or in part of worsted, the hair of the alpaca, goat, or other animals (except such as are composed in part of wool), not specially enumerated or provided for in this act, valued at not exceeding 30 cents per pound, 10 cents per pound; valued at above 30 cents per pound, and not exceeding 40 cents per pound, 12 cents per pound; valued at above 40 cents per pound, and not exceeding 60 cents per pound, 18 cents per pound; valued at above 60 cents per pound, and not exceeding 80 cents per pound, 24 cents per pound; and in addition thereto, upon all the above-named articles, 35 per centum ad valorem; valued at above 80 cents per pound, 35 cents per pound, and in addition thereto 40 per centum ad valorem.

Mr. HOPEWELL. The point is that they will not sell the goods over there, but will refer you to their agents in this country, and they invoice their goods at any price they see fit. That is the gist of it.

While I was in Germany I saw an American consul siguing a lot of invoices several inches high. There was a big lot of shipments, and all the consul did was to sign his name to each certificate. I asked him how much he knew about what he was certifying to. He said, "Almost nothing." I said, "What good does it do us?" He said, "Oh, it would take fifteen or twenty clerks to verify and certify all these, and there is only one man to do it."

Senator ALDRICH. What rates can you suggest? You would rather have a square-yard rate than a pound rate?

Mr. HOPEWELL. I think so.

Senator HISCOCK. Why?

Mr. HOPEWELL. As far as I am concerned I should not be very par ticular.

Senator HISCOCK. What is the difference?

Mr. HOPEWELL. On consideration, I think that, after all, I should rather have a pound rate and weigh it right at once.

Senator ALDRICH. How much per pound do you want?

Mr. GOFF. When you come up to goods of large value they put it on the square yard.

Mr. HOPEWELL. Yes, but they are of higher value than these.

Senator HISCOCK. Suppose you do this: Take out of that clause the description of the plushes, so that it is a separate clause, and then take out the present prices, and on the basis of the present prices deduct from the ad valorem and add to the specific.

Senator ALDRICH. That will all be changed in our bill anyhow. Senator HISCOCK. But suppose they make a computation so as to take a certain proportion of the ad valorem and turn it into specific. Mr. HOPEWELL. I should be in favor of that.

Senator HISCOCK. Of course; I have not any doubt about that. That will not be increasing duties, will it?

Mr. HOPEWELL. No, sir.

Mr. GOFF. I should think this mohair ought to entitle us to the highest specific duty. If goods weigh under 25 pounds, a specific duty of 10 cents a pound would not amount to much on a piece. That would only be $2 a piece. You might take off the ad valorem faster than you put on the specific.

Senator ALDRICH. The highest rate we get on anything, so far as I know, is 25 cents a pound and 40 per cent. ad valorem. That would give you 40 cents a pound.

Mr. GOFF. Forty cents a pound and 30 per cent. ad valorem would not be so good as 35 cents a pound and 40 per cent. ad valorem.

Senator HISCOCK. What is the importation of plushes, both fine and good, as compared with the amount manufactured in this country?

Mr. HOPEWELL. I should suppose that two-thirds were manufactured here, including the cheap class of goods.

Mr. GOFF. I should think the largest proportion was imported.

Senator ALDRICH. Suppose we leave this in this way-that we give you the same rates on those goods that we give the highest grade of woolen manufactures?

Mr. HOPEWELL. That would be satisfactory to me.

Mr. GOFF. Only make a separate classification.

Senator HISCOCK. I would be willing to change the ad valorem to specific duties on the present valuation, readjusting between the two. Mr. HOPEWELL. That would be satisfactory to us.

Senator ALDRICH. In order to be consistent, I should not be surprised if we should have to make a rate the same as we fix on the highest grades of woolen goods, and then give you a classification if you want it.

Mr. GOFF. If you make it 50 or 60 by the pound and take it off the ad valorem rate, we should like it, but I have not gone on that principle. Senator ALDRICH. Neither have we, but we may.

Mr. HOPEWELL. The prices of goods have declined about 10 cents a month every six months for the last three years, from one cause or another. It may be that some of the goods have been made poorer and cheaper to account for part of that decline.

Mr. GOODALL. They have got us up against the wall, and if they push us any farther we have got to stop. The final rates upon this class of goods will depend, of course, upon the rates we fix upon wool. I suppose there is no use of our fixing finally about these rates, but we had better wait until we determine what we will do with wool. After that,