The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-03
FIBERS TAKEN Up
GROWERS OF FLAX, HEMP AND
JuTE BEFORE THE TARIFF
TIMERS.
IMPORTERS PRESENT ALSO.
CONSIDERABLE ANTAGONIST BE
TWEEN THE TWO INTEREST
APPARENT.
RUTHERFORD opENED THE BALL.
St.tn of the Industry ia the United
states Pictured in Anything
but Glowing Coiors.

WASHINGTON. Jan. 1.-The ways
ana means committee devoted the day
10 listening to those interested in the
schedules covering flax. hemp, jute,
MANILA and other vegetable fibres. The
manufacturers. growers and importers
displayed considerable antagOnism.
Those who appeared We're: William
Rutherford. Of Oakland. Cal; Crawford
Lyon. OF Baltimore; John Wilson, of
Newark. y. j.: Leslie Combs. Of Lex
inSton, Ky; Congressman Van Horn,
of Missouri; j. n Bemis. of Boston; f.
r. Biddle, Of New York; Congressman
elect Charles f. Pearce of st. Louis,
and John W. Bell. Of Andover, Mass.
William Rutherford. of Oakland, Cali
fornia. represe ming company which
has been manufacturing Irvine, yarn
and cloth for thirty years. was the
hrst speaker.
dis requests We're: That yarns made
OF jute be advanced from 80 to 80 per
Ce.t ad Val0reum: second. that bur
laps md bags Of grain made of bur
laps be transferred to the dutiabie
list, the seCjon to read "burlaps of
any width of FAX. jute or hemp. or
OF which flax. jule or hemp, or any
of them. shall be the material Of chief
value" except such as may be suitable
for bagging for cottOn), 1$4 cents per
pound. Bags Of grain made of bur
lap. cents per pound. Third, gunny
bags and gunny cloths. old or refuse,
fit only for manufacture be changed
from the free list to 1ac per pound.
Mr.. Rutherford declared that the
Wilson law had brought commercial
disaster and social discomfort to the
Pacific coast. but the farmers and
manufacturers had. in the last election,
-t,1Cr
restore prosperity to them
Mr. Rutherford also pointed out that
japanese competition was entering the
market. One big jute mill had trans
ferred its machinery TO Japan to get
the benefit Of Japanese cheap labor.
One Japanese capitalist had endeaVOr-
ed to effect a deal by which Mr.. Ruth
erford's mill would he transferred to
Japan. guaranteeing that the labor
could be secured al i cents per day OF
thirteen hours
1t had been found that foreigners
could not own mills in Japan, however,
and the deal had been abandoned.
Rates for water, insurance and taxes
were much higher in the United States
as well as labor than in other coun-
tries, so that the American manufac-
tuners were at a disadvantage. Two
hundred educated young men have left
ia pan in the last year for the Central
American states to grow coffee, be-
cause no employment could be found
at home.
In reply TO a question by Mr.. Ding
Iey Mr.. Rutherford said that the Nc
kinley bill scale Of 15s cents a pound
on burlaps was as little as the industry
could prosper under.
In answer to a question by Mr.. Ev-
ans. of Kentucky, whether jute was
cClored in manufacturing to counterfeit
hemp, the witness said it was not done
in California, but he predicted that
fax and hemp in the course of twenty
five years would be grown profitably on
the coast With a sufficient duty on
the manufactured article he would be
glad to see IS or SO a ton on the raw
jute.
PLEA FOR LOWER DUTIES.
Chairman Dingley Incidentally stat
ed that the government had received
$4,000 900 duty on burlaps and $500 00(
on bags per year under the Mckinley
bill all of which had been thrown away
by the Wilson law.
How about the pine?" asked Mr.
Steel, OF Indiana, but there was no
reply.
The next witness, Crawford Lyon, OF
Baltimore. characterized Mr. Ruther-
ford as an ''alarmiSt' and declared that
his statements regarding free entries
of goods were absolutely untrue. Mr.
Lyon is an importer and he came arm
ed with load Of samples, declaring
that only three varieties of the many
he exhibited were entered free. His
plea was for lower duties on oil cloths
and linOleums as the Wilson law, he
declared, restricts impOrtatiOns and
laVishly protects manufacturers. The
examination of Mr.. Lyon by the COM
mittee was lively one and developed
frequent differences between the wit
ness and the committee both on mat
tiers of fact and opinion. The witness
declared that American manufacturers
could make these goods cheaper than
they could be made abroad by reason
OF more efficient machinery, and that
any requests for an advance of tariff
should be looked on with suspicion 1t
would give the four close corporations
o. ntrnlling the American market he