The Washington times., 1921-01-22
PER|[S
U.S.OL|VEM MEN
American Industry Must Die
Unless Protective Tariff Is
Given, Is Claim.

-.
Eight thousand men and women
face loss of employment, and an in
dustry offering potential work for
$4,000 people faces foreign throt-
tling unless Congress fixes a protec-
tive tariff on olive oil, according tc
the California Olive Growers AS
sociation.
They have sent a delegation to
Washington, headed by ]. J. Hoey.
Secretary of the association, to
plead for the tariff before the House
Ways and Means Committee.
AN INFANT INDUSTRY.
According to Hoey the American
olive industry cannot compete with
the foreign growers because of low
European wages, low freight rates.
and a rate of exchange which en-
ables the foreigner to sell below
cost in this country. and still make
money.
Although a baby industry, Hoey
and his associates will point out to
Congress that the American growers
will have attained an annual pro-
auction of 10000 tons of fruit, in
volving a planted acreage of more
than, 10000. and an investment of
$40, 100000. The industry now en-
pioys 5000 people in the groves and
factories.
This, they say is just the begin
ming. They point out that there
are available. in California and Ari-
zona, 100000 of potential olive
orchard lands. These. developed,
they say. would produce an annual
income of s250.000,00O and give emf
ployment to $4,000 people.
All this must die. they claim. .un-
less they are granted protective
tariff.
COMPARISONS DROWN.
A Statewide investigation in Cali
fornia disclosed the fact that the total
average cost of a bearing olive or
chard (six years old) in the West is
S6l1.06. Consular reports from Spain
place the average value of bearing
olive lands at $113.33, discrepancy
of nearly $500 at the outset.
The total average cost OF manufac-
turing a gallon of bulk olive oil in
California during 1919 was $2.76S. In
1919 the Spanish food ministry set a
maximum price of 81 cents per gal
lon on oil sold for domestic use.
American Government statistics show
olive oil have been imported at an
invoice value of $1.26 gallon.
The difference between 5S cents and
S3 day for labor account for this
difference in cost, not only as il ap-
plies to the actual labor used, but
as it affects the prices of Implements
fertilizers, and supplies that are the
product of labor.
The ocean freight rates on a gallon
of oil from Tarragona, Spain, is
about 5.04 cents, from Nice, France,
about 8 cents, and before the war II
came from Messina, Italy. for only
2.33 cents. The cost of shipping olive
oil from California to Chicago or
New York in carload lots is $1.66h
a hundred, or 1916 cents per gallon.
CURRENCY HAS DEPRECATED.
The currency in the foreign
countries where olive oil is produced
has deprecated so greatly in refer
ence to the American dollar that Italy
which is normally the greatest oil
producer could sell her oil on the
American market for S1.61 per cent
below cost and still break even.
Records following the former re-
due tion in tariff show 1t had abso-
lutely no effect upon the retail price
of olive oil. Benefits derived by the
reduction were all gained by the i'm
porters themselves, while the Gov
ernment lost in revenue from 1914 to
1919, S7,492. 1890.