The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-12


states that the Inter. Continental Rub.
ber company absolutely control the
crude rubber supply. The world s pro
duction of crude rubber in 1909 was
about one hundred and seventy-iv
millions of pounds, Of which the United
States took about nlnety-tbree millions
of pounds. The product of the Inter
Continental Rubber company and it's
subordinate companles was about ten
million pounds. or less than 6 per cent
of the whole.
AS | have already stated, the Inter
Continental Rubber company has never
had any relation with the other pro
ducers, and has never controlled or at
tempted to control, or to influence
either the production or the price OF
crude rubber. Anyone who has ordinary
intelligence must understand how futile
such an attempt would have been If
| made.
"To say that the advance which took
place from month to month in the price
| of crude rubber throughout the world
from 20 cents in 1902 to S3 in 1910
was owing to an unlmportant increase
of from 80 to 35 per cent in August
| 1908, on importations affecting less
than l per cent in value of the
total product of rubber, displays a
depth of ignorance which has rarely
been reached. The claim that this
same change Of from 30 to 30 pei
cent enabled party who never had
any interest whatever. or any connec
tion with anyone engaged in the manu-
facture of rubber. to advance the price
of all rubber products, and TO make
enormous profits out of all such ad
vances, discloses a marvellous aptitude
for fiction in narrative.
Defense of Dividends.
GAS to the dividends paid by the
Inter Continental Rubber company or
its preferred stock in the early months
of the present year, | will say that
these were deferred payments of cumu
lative dividends; deferred, as the earn
ings of the company had thereto
fore been used in the Development OF
its business. Not one mill of the earn
ings from which dividends were paid
could be attributed, as | have already
stated, to the tariff of the United
States, OF of any change in tariff rates
"The change in the tariff on manu-
| factures of rubber, not otherwise pro
vided for, from 80 to 80 per cent IN
paragraph 463. was not made or recon-
mended for protective purposes, or al
the instance of, or for the benefit OF
any domestic manufacture. 1t was
made upon the recommendation of the
treasury experts, solely for administra
tive purposes The fact is that at the
time the tariff act was passed the
American manufacturer for most
classes of goods had undisputed con
troll of the American market, and IN
number of cases the domestic producer
was able to export some portion OF hls
product to other countries.
"The statistics submitted by the
finance committee to the senate in
April 1909, showed a value of manu-
factured products in the country in
| 1904 of $14S.000,000, annd exports in
1907 to the value of over $6,000,000
while the imports OF the classes re
] ferred to have never reached IN value
mestic production,
"There has been in recent years
considerable falling OFF in the value
of the imports of rubber manufactures
owing largely to the fact that the
American manufacturers were grad
ually taking possession of the Ameri.
can market for automobile tires, and
! to the fact that two of the most i'm
porrant makers of tires-Mlchehn and
the Continental company-trapsferred
their plants for the supply of their
| American market to the United States
"'When the tariff bill reached the
| finance committee, it was stated to us
| by the treasury experts who had been
assigned by the president to assist the
| cOmmlLtee In tnP preparation OIL dTUeUQ-
ments, that it was extremely desirable
that the rates of duty imposed by par.
| agraphs l40. 4T6. 455 and 400 of the
house bill on the miscellaneous manu-.
| features of various materials should be
uniform with the dates imposed on SIM
liar manufactures in other parts Of the
| bill,
| Reason for Increases.
"The statements Of facts that led to
| the unanimous conclusion of the finance
committee and the conference commit
tee to recommend an increase in duty
on the articles named in paragraph 463
are clearly set forth in the following
letter Of Judge Sharretts to me:
H' United States Customs Service
Board Of United States General Ap.
praisers, 641 Washington street, New
York, July 81, 1910.
:" Ny Dear Senator; Under instruc-
| tions from President Taft I was in
Washington and gave such aid as I was
able to the finance committee of the
senate in the preparation Of the tariff
act of 1909.
| Regarding paragraph 463 I urged
| that the rates of duty specified therein
should be made 35 per cent instead Of
80 as in paragraph 449 Of the Dingley
act. In support of that recommenda.
tion I gave the following reasons to