Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-11-13
'hOREDELAYIS
PREDICTED ON
ONION TARIFF
Believes Action
By Congress Offers
Only Relief For Tex
as Growers

r"ADugn the tariff commission, and
nat any increase must come through
act OF congress. was expressed by
congressman John ". Garner in a
recent letter to The Brownsville
herald, in which he reviewed the
efforts made TO secure protection
Tor the South Texas product.
lhe tariff commission has had the
onion tariff under investigation for
more than two years. In a recent
letter to Thomas q. Marvin. head or
the commission, Representative Gar
ner called his attention to the fact.
1t would seem that so far as the
proposed increase of tariff on onions
Is concerned. the commission no
longer functions. and we might as
Well have no commission, Garner
said.
In his reply 10 the Texas congress
man. Mr.. Marvin stated that consid-
GYable data remained TO be collected,
VT added that "the final report
upon onions is actively before the
commission" Following is the text
OF his reply:
"This is one Of n number Of sub
1ects, principally I'm agricultural
products, upon which the commission
expects to complete reports to the
president at an early date. The more
important Of these subjects which
have been actively before the COM
mission during the current year are.
IN addition 10 onions. milk AM
cream, peanuts, flaxseed, potatoes
tomatoes, eggs and egg products. and
corn. A total Of about three thou
sand individual farm cost records
has been obtained in these investlga-
tons in addition to many hundred
marketing and processing cost rec
ords, such as those for grain eleva-
tors, peanut shelters, milk and cream
stations. and egg freezing plants
Public hearings have been held IN All
cases except flaxseed and potatoes,
and a flaxseed hearing IS set Tor
December 5.
Statement Prepared
"For use ut each public hearing
the commission prepares n preliml-
nary statement of information. sum-
marizing the results Of the invesLi-
CATION to date. You will recall from
your appearance ut the hearing that
the preliminary statement Of infor-
nation respecting onions was quite
comprehensive. occupying more than
one hundred typewriter pages. The
detailed cost and other data set forth
by the commission in hat statement
alone would probably justify the
time and expense expended upon
onions, from the point Of view Of in
formation for the use OF the con-
gress in future tariff legislation.
"The statement Of information, and
the public hearing, presented many
difficL { questions concerning the
proper duty upon onions under the
legal requirements of section Sio.
Not only are there many varieties Of
onions produced in the United States,
but the bulk Of the imports differ IN
|. important respects from most Of the
domestic production. Onions from
Spain, probably the principal COM
peting country within the meaning
Of the law. are carefully selected
with respect to size and shape, and
packed in expensive packages. lhey
sell for a much higher price than
most domestic onions. The commis-
sion was net able to get costs of pro-
duction directly from the producers
in Spain, and as evidence Of foreign
costs. invoice prices were used. IL
is obviously not an accurat eompar-
AhVH u use int tAH1A&1 1850 ~
carefully selected, large sized Span
ish onion. against the domestic cost
of production Of fieldrun onions, IN
bags. During 1927. for example, the
average wholesale price In New
York, duty paid, Of imported Spanish
onions known as sos in crates was
$500 per hundred pounds. Egyptian
onions in the same year, in the same
market, averaged S3.54 per hundred
pounds. Domestic New York Nellows
for the same period averaged only
ssStQS per hundred pounds in New
York. Texas Bermudas for the sea-
son of 1927 averaged $3.50, and do
nestle Spanish onions. the nearest
comparable grade TO the imported
Spanish. averaged in Chicago, dur
ing 1927, Sl.59 per hundred pounds.
Packing Cost Considered
Assuming that market prices re-
fleet to a considerable extent diff
Z ferences in quality and methods Of
packing of the various types Of
Unions sold, il is clear that the cost
~ the domestic onions cannot be
fairly compared with invoice prices
of imported onions without some adj
Ailments being made for differences
W The conditions under which they
are marketed.
"As YOU will recall from the pre-
liminary statement Of information,
entirely different results arc OBJ
taine. when imported onions are
romp4fed with domestic Bermudas
than when they are compared with
domestic Spanish. or strong winter
types of onions. A representative Of
--,~.A. - 49, 80 Leak -
= checking certain information in re-
vard TO packing and marketing Of do
nestle Spanish types, and il Is possi-
HE that the results of the inyestiga-
.;on will hinge upon the extent to
which certain types are found 70 be
comparable and competitive with inn
ported onions. both with respect %
their physical characteristics, and
their methods of packing.
.The final report upon onions is
actively before the commission, and
Il will be completed and sent to the
president as soon as the commission
Relieves il presents reliable and ac-
curate cost comparisons for the va
lions types Of onions, both domestic
snd imported, delivered in the prin-
-;ral markets Of the United States
pONFIRES STRETCH 40 MILES
To warn the people should an ice
..rrier in remote Thibet breES and
ssnd an avalanche of water down the
,slley of the Indus, a chain OK bon
t,res 40 miles long was built in
rashmir. India. last summer. The
government laid the chain Of piles
~ wood. each in sight Of the next,
md stationed a sentinel at each pile
20 touch it off when the waters
started. At the River Shyok. which
had been converted BY the sliding Of
4 glacier into a lake 1900 feet
above sea level and containing l20,-
100000 tons Of water. a camp was