Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1909-06-17
BROWN DECLARES
NO DUTY NEEDED
Says Americans Can Manufacture
Paper Cheaper Than Any
Other Country and In
dustry Has Nothing
to Fear.


today began consideration of the
print paper and wood pulp provisions
of the tariff bill when Senator Aid
rich proposed an amendment increas-
ing the duty on print paper from one
tenth to two-thirds of cent per
pound, which, he said, equaled 81
ton. The Dingley law placed the
duty at $6 and the House bill at 81 a
ton
Needs No Protection.
Denouncing as inexcusable ana in
defensible the proposition of the I'm
ance committee To increase the low
rate fixed by the House bill for the
protection of the print paper indus
try, senator Brown Of Nebraska de
clared that industry needs no protec-
tion. These paper mills. he insisted.
have an advantage over every foreign
print mill. whether they are in Scan
dinavia, Germany or Canada
Canada is our only competitor in
this market" said MIR. Brown. "The
seas and the inferior product of other
countries than Canada protect the
a
competition worth mentioning. This
question depends upon the cost of
production at home and abroad IL
foreigners can manufacture print
paper for less than its costs Ameri-
cans, that amendment of the finance
committee might find Justification. IL
the fact be, as | shall prove it is,
that print paper is being made at
ols
amy duty in any amount is wholly
wrong in principle and uncomfortable
and eXtortionate in practice.
"Canads had an investigation into
the subject in 1901. which showed
that the American mills had an ad-
vantage &c 81 per ton in the cost of
production Of print paper. Following
that report the manufacturers of
Canada petitioned their government
to continue the % per cent ad va
loren duty on paper importations.
The statement of the Booth mills in
Canada shows the cost of production
to be S34.11 per ton.
The testimony before the House
committee shows the cost per ton for
the print paper made by the Interna-
tional Paper company of the United
States to be $27.74. Another sgnif-
cant fact shown in the hearings be
fore the House committee is that
western publishers testified they
bought paper from the Booth mills
in Canada and paid the duty and
then got it for less than they could
have purchased it from the trust"
supply Going Fast.
Senator Brown drew the following
conclusion at the end of his argu-
ment:
"our pulp supply is nearly ex-
hausted.
"The pulp wood supply froiS Cana
da is APPARENTLY inexhaustibe.
Free pulp would tend to conserve
our pulp woods.
The production cost of print pa
per is less in the United states than
il is in Canada.
"A ton of news print papcr costs
in Canada $29.54 to manufacture, in
the United states it costs $27.7i per
ton.
THE print paper market is con
trolled in the United states 10y COM
biEatiOn and whatever duty the law
may IL will assist the combination in
that control i'm violation Of the law of
competition To- the injury and outra GO
of the public.
by reason of such influence, the
cost of print paper to the consumer
has been arbitrarily advanced TO an
unreasonable and uncouscionable
price and profit to the manufacturer.
Print paper advanced from S3S In
1907 to S42 and $50 per ton In 1908.
THE importation of print paper
for an time has been negligible. The
proposed duty on pulp and print Pc
per is Therefore not necessary for
protective purpose nor useful for rev
enue purposes II is therefore an
outlaw duty and should b stricken
from the bill"