The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-02-01
The Case of the coopers.

me case OF the CooPerSs
The coopers have issued the following
statement in regard to the decline OF the
cooperage industry and the measures neces-
sary to revive it:
The coopers, ship owners, wharf owners, ran
roads, insurance companies, both fire anu ma
rne, owners of certain grades OF lumber ho' fai0-
able otherwise than to be worked into coopeiaso'
these and others are deeply and IN solle INSTANT
es vitality interested in the revival OF the cooper
age industry, so languishing and III 1actt ALMOST
destroyed The Congress OF the ohiteu States
will be asked to assist this revival OF most I'M
portant branch of commerce. Attehlioh Is dsheu
to plain statement OF facts'
In the first place, this is not local or New Eng
land matter The States Immediately Interested
are Maine. New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia.
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New
York Michigan, Kentucky, tennessee, ana IN
fact all States growing white pine hickory,
sn,,,ca white or red oak or hemlock. And all
snch wood as enters into the manufacture OF COOP
eraqe and all States interested in the mainte-
nance of a merchant marine, in ship building and
in shin owning, or in our trade with the West
indies. IT is fact, that this impending destruc-
tion of the cooperage trade with the West Indies
concerns ship-owers somewhat less than the ac-
tual shippers and producers of the cooperage Yet
when 1t is considered that the outward and
freight earned by vessels in the West
Indies trade amounts to over 100000 a year,
it will be admitted that the shipping interest in
VOWED is a large and important one. 1t would
not pay to earn the homeward freight on sugar
and molaSses without the opportunity TO also
earn the outward freight on shocks.
THE VALUE OF THIS INDUSTRY
to the American coopers few years ago was not
less than S3,ooo,o00p per year and to the ship.
owners who transported the SHOCKS S 70 tne West
remembered that this 100000 Is 10r outward
freight and if that is lost then further sum OF
81 100000 homeward freight is also lost for the
reason above stated. In other words, the ques,
ton is this, Shall the loss of 10000 in outward
freights prevent the American ship owners from
freightS? On this point j. S. WinsloW q Co.. one OF
the largest owners ndmanagers OF West INDIA YES
sells in this country OF Portland ant says fS maee pSrt
sells Of this class cannot run out IN ballast ior
home cargoes, Shall this great and important
freightage 60 to England? III rests WIN congress
to say "Yesn or mo"
The direct cooperage industry is no small mat
ter. A few years ago there were annually ann Ia eX-
ported from this country about 900, 900 of hogs
head Shocks shook being an exact number OF
slaves packed in bundles or shocks for easy trans
900 of hoops to the island of Cuba, but, by the
gradual substitution OF English bags. the quantity
of shocks used had declined two years ago TO
about 10000. Last year the quantity declined
to 500 000 and this year will not exceed 250, 900.
This is a loss which must be made good. The
working class is to very great extent interested.
al labor for the first cost of the lumber is small.
1t is fact that thousands OF laborlng men Will be
hard pressed this winter because OF the depressed
state Of the cooperage interest This holds good
OF all the people of all the states interested r,
The railroads are Zoo interested parties s the
S150,OO0 Two thousand carloads of hoops at $50
per car, would be 100000, and to freight the
10000 900 feet of lumber for the heads would
nOef at least q like YEARLY earnings OF
$4,000, When to this sum is added the rent OF
buildings, the wharfage fees and the premiums
paid for fire and marine insurance the Importance,
of this great industry will be even more apparent.
The cause of the depression of the cooperage
industry was the gradual substitution OF English
IN PLACE OF AMERICAN SHOCKS.
Two years ago there was an unprecedented in
crease of sugar production all over the world, and
the Cuban planters being in distress financially,
called on their government for some relief One
of the first measures of relief granted was reduc-
ton of the export duty on sugar when shipped IN
bags duty on sugar in hogsheads remaining the
same as before, making saving OF about one
fourth cent per pound over what sugars could be
shipped at in hogsheads. Uuder this new condl,
tjol of things the consumption of hogsheads fell
off last year to 100000 or just about half OF Tor
mer years. and hoops in the same ratio. The only
reason why larger proportion of bags was not
used was because it was impossible to change at
once the mode of handling, transporting, storing
and shipping such vast quantity IN bags. 49,. -
terested in this revival OF great industry said:
AS there seems to be noprospect of having a COM
mercial treaty with Spain, the only redress is for
our government either to make reduction in the
the present duty on sugar gwhen imported IN
hogsheads) of about one quarter cent per pound;
the duty on sugar in bags remains as at present;
or to increase our present duty on sugar in bags.
If the tax is reduced on sugar in hogsheads it
cannot in any manner affect other sugar growing
countries. as their sugar is shipped in bags; for
the higher costs of hOgsheads over bags IS fully
equal to the reduction proposed. In other words
sugar in hogseeads or bags would then cost the
LAID DOWN IN THIS COUNTRY.
We have another remedy which could be used
in simply following the example Of SPAN ana ana
matter in favor of cOOperage, and without dis
turbDg our present tariff.
Several years ago the Spanish government IN
stlucted her consulS in all American ports to eX-
tract fee OF export duty OF ten cents per ton OF
cargoes shipped on board OF American vessels;
when shipped to the West India Islands, and
this consular fee (or more property export taxi
has since been collected against the indignant
protest of all American shipowners III 1t is right
for the Spanish government to collect an export
tax in our country, why should not our conSulS IN
the Spanish Islands be instructed to collect such
fees on bags, so that the shippers would pc oDged
to nse American hogsheads as formerly instead of
English bags, and by this means fully protect the
cooperage and shipping interests.
There is no American industry TO take the place
of the cooperage trade. The bags used are OF Eng
liSh manufacture
JAMES E. WARD IS CO.,
affirm having very extensive dealings with the
west lDQleS, III Il Tecellb ltlbcI Sdiu.
NEW YORK, Jan. 8, 1886.
DEAR SIR-In reply to your favor of yesterday
will say we have never heard of any bags of Amer
lean manufacture being sent to Cuba, but have
heard of large quantities of English make.
Signed JAMES Z. WARD g. Co.
1t cannotbe denied that the importer, shipper and
refner all prefer sugar packed in hogsheads. The
refiners would gladly take the matter in hand and
refuse to buy any sugar in bags were if not for
the fact that when they are in the market and
have need of a certain number of tons OF sugar
sr, fnc will
buy hogShead sugar" In that case. in the abb
sence from the market OF the required amount OF
hogshead sugar, their refneries might remain
idle The re1ner is not the one to settle this mat
ter-COngress can alone do that
1t is admitted by the cooperage men that the
shocks made into hogSheads ready for the use of
the planter cost higher than the same capacity In
bags. On the other hand, it is well understood by
the planters III Cuba that the hogshead Is much to
be preferred. Ut will carry more safely and be far
less likely to be damaged. Again, cargo of sugar
in bags requires much better and newer class of
vessels than the same cargo i'll hogsheads. The
danger of the sea of cargo OF sugar packed in
bags is much greater. The insurance companies
now make an extra charge bag sugar cargoes
and is thought that because of late heavy losses
on damaged bag cargoes, they will soon protest
against the general use OF bags.
This relief prayed for will not impose a tax upon
A UNIVERSAL NECESSITY OF LIFE.
Cuba is not the only market in which to buy
sugar. All the world is our market, and the price
of sugar is governed by the law Of supply and de.
mand. The planters Of Cuba will have to sell
their sugar III competition Will every otHer sugar
making country, without reference to the pack
age Which holds it, Therefore there will be no
tax on the people to protect this industry We
buy nearly all the sugar made in Cuba; but Cuba
has but little to do in regulating the price of
gar in the market. The beet sugar of Germany,
with her 900, 600 tons, and France with her 5O-
600 tons each year, is the great factor in making
the value of sugar, and not the package in which
the sugar is placed. The extremely low price of
sugar prevailing in 1854 was owing entirely to
the large crop Of beets in Germany, France and
Belgium. -
IN CONCLUSION.
The relief asked for will be of great direct bene
fit to very large classes of citizens, and indirectly
to all the people If this industry is destroyed no
American industry will take its place. If Con-
cress does not come to its aid, then English
s0cean Tramps" will take the place of American
vessels and a great homeward freightage viii
pass out OF our Of men viii be thrown
out of employment We ask the careful atten-
ton Of Congress to all the facts submitted to on It's
can rive relief and for that relief we pray.