The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-07
Hearings Before Ways and
Means Committee Begin.
Many Testify
GLUE TRUST SPECTRE
+ RAISED BY DELANEY
Graphophone Company's Head Closely
QuestiOned-Bald Head of Ollie
James of Kentucky is Source
of Amusement

Washington. January e.-A score Of
manufacturers. importers and repre-
sentatives of other. interests affected
by customs changes, aired their griev-
ances before the House committee on
ways and means today in the first of
a series of hearings preliminary to
sharp revision of the Payne-Aldrieh
tariff law at the coming extra session
of Congress-
The discussion ranged from poker
chips to sponges and from potash 10
laundry soap. The burden of the argu-
ments was the maintenance of the pres
ent tariff instead of the changes pro-
posed by the democrats along the limo
OF the terms of tho chemical tariff re-
vision bill thatewas put through both
houses to White House veto last
year.
Spectre of Glue Trust
The spectre of gigantic glue trust
whose tentacles reached out over Eu-
rope and into South America was
raised by Charles Delaney, president
of the National Association of Glue
and Gelatine Manufacturers. MIR. De-
Laney pictured "the European glue
proval of the various European gov
ernments, absolutely controlling the
glue manufacturing industry OF Ger
many and Austria, with plants in ITALY.
France, Holland and Russia, and re-
Gently extending It's operations to South
America. controlling rs per cent of the
output of glue OF the continent of Eu-
rope.
The glue trust" he said, also was
largely engaged in the manufacture Of
gelatne. The witness said the present
tarff on CLUES and gelatines We're not
prohibitive and government revenues
from these articles had Increased under
the present tariff. He said any mate-
rial change in present conditions would
weaken the industry. He suggested sep
arating the two Items. saying the labor
cost as TO gelatine was Ave times as
great as for glue There is un annual
leutput of $10000,000 worth of glue
and Mr.. Delaney suggested a tariff of
25 per cent ad "alorem on CLUES. 80
per cent on gelatine up to 35 cents 4
pound and IS per cent above that price.
The committee sharply questioned
several witnesses regarding their
profits Mr.. Delaney did not give any
|
had side business which gave him
considerable profit.
Whats your side lne?' he was
asked
Curling hair he replied.
One on Ollie James
You'll find the gentleman from Ken
lucky a pretty good customer" inter-
jected Representative Longworth of
Ohio. while Senator-elect James of
Kentucky a member of the commit
tee. who loves joke about his bald
head, smiled indulgently and promised
his patronage.
The committee interrogated NJ Do
rian, treasurer of the American Graph
ophone company Of Bridgeport, Conn,
closely abolit his business that he
told the members he did not think it
their business to ask about private
details Mr. Dorian wanted shellac and
copal kept on the free list, instead of
making them dutiable as proposed by
the democrats and he intimated that
the effect might be to shift the man
ufacture of supplies for their large ex-
port business to their London factory
Mr.. Underwood drew from the wit
ness that the graphophone company
pays per cent dividends on a S10.-
O00. 900 capitalization, that it carries
a bonded indebtdness of more than
81, 100000 and that the suggested duty
on these two articles on which the
democrats plan to raise about 100000
would mean an expense of about $25--
600 to $4,000 to his company. He did
not care to state how much of the
capital was paid in. Representative
Kitchen of North Carolina reminded
him that II was the committees priv
ilege to ask how much was paper and
how much was paid in"
Representative Rainey Of Illinois was
10 L ha r,tt nh
pany could not regulate the price to con-
sumers to suit itself. The witness said
the company sold It's products at fixed
price to the consumers.
Suppose the tariff is required and they
Continued on Page Eleven