Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-05-29
SIMMONS ASKS QUESTIONS.


pounds TWenty-Nine Queries i
Manufacturers For information 0
Members.
Washington, May Ex-senator Sim
mons, chairman of the senate hnanc,
committee, made public tonight g. lis
OF 20 questions relating to the tariff
proposed by majority members of th,
committee which will be sent to manu-
facturers of the country. To avert any
clash over this action in the senate
the majority will send with their Iist
the olinginal 16 questions proposed By
Senator LaFollette, although most Of
his r incorporated in a statement
that if manufacturers or persons who
have filed briefs or have made written
or oral protests to the finance commit
tee will send answers before the bill
is reported back to the senate. they
will be printed.
But" the statement added neither
report of the bill to the senate nor
final action by the senate on the bill
be delayed for answers" All inter-
rogations must be answered under
oath.
The preliminary questions ralate to
Tue IQSAIlLyS IAG COll-
modify producted, the raw materials
used in production, whether they are
produced here or abroad and if i'm
ported, from whence; cost perunit of
raw material and cost per unit of sim
liar product in foreign countries. The
other questions are as follows:
What part of your production do
you export: to what countries and in
what quantities and values and what
rates of duty are paid at the several
foreign ports?
"Are you interested in any other
concern exporting this commodity? If
} so, give name, amount of product ex-
ported and the actual selling price of
this product here and abroad.
What were the wholesale prices
charged by you and by any concern
in which you are interested for this
commodity in the domestic market,
and what were the prices charged
when sold in foreign markets during
January, April, July, October, 1912,
and in January, 1913?
What was the cost of transporta-
ton of your product from the factory
to the principal foreign markets, Civ
ing the names of markets for the
same periods specified?
what country or countries are your
chief competitors in the foreign mar
kets to which you export?
Us there a, tariff diTerential for or
against you in any of the countries to
which you export this commodity? If
so. what is the amount of such differ
entail What rates of duty have you
paid?
"How many concerns are engaged in
commodity in this country, and who
are the principal producers?
Are any of these producers organ
lied into a trust or combination to
control the price or output or for any
other purpose, and have o any con-
nection or interest, directly or indi-
rectly, in such trust or combination?
What proportion of the production
of this commodity in this country is
producted by such trust? What pro-
portion by the Independent produce
ers?
"Is there any difference in the price
charged for this product in the domes-
tic market by the Independent produc-
ers and the trust producers?
What were your wholesale prices
f. o. b. factory of this commodity sold
in the United States during January,
April, July and October, 1912, and in
January, 1913.
what were your wholesale prices
of this commodity f. o. b. factory for
export foreign countries during the
same periods?
what was the cost of productions
in your plant per unit Of your pro-
duct for the fiscal years 1910 and 1912?
Give cost of materials, labor, overhead
charges and depreciation charges in
seperate items and in as much detail
as possible. In this connection give
capitalization, amount of common
preferred stock and amount of bonds
issued, amount of actual cash or it's
equivalent in property recieved in
consideration of stocks and bonds.
rate of dividend paid on preferred
and rate of interest borne by bonds
for the past ten years;how much of
your earnings for each of the years
1910, 1911, 1912 have been credited to
surplus and howmuch devoted to adj
ditions to the plant salaries paid dur
ing each of your principal officials;
statement of assets and liabilities
1910, 1911, nd 1912, and comparative
balance sheet for these years.
"Give value for which the property
shown in the above statement of assets
and liabilities was assessed for taxa
ton in 1912 and trnscript of your la
Dor roll for January, April, July, Oct
Der, 1912, and January, 1913.
Estate amount of wake. paid per an
mum for the years 1910, 1911 and 1912,
and total value per annum of your
product for the same years, and the
character quality and age of the ma
chinery used in manufacturing your
pr duct
"Wht is total cost of production per
unit of the same products as yours in
competing countries?
what isthe percentage of labor
cost to the total cost of a unit of pro-
ductin competing countries?
"Give cost of transportation from
your factory to the principal markets
in this country, naming the markets.
GE~WA