[Newspaper]
Publication: The Globe
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
vol. 53, no. 14670, p. 2, col. 1-3
AT THE CAPITAL.
Continuation of the Tariff
Inquiry.
MANUFACTURES OF IRON.
The Heavy Duties on Raw
Materials.
COMPETITION IN GLASSWARE.
An American Manufacturer
Complained of.
Deputations Hoard in Private — Frauds on
the Postoffice — Judge Ross’ Successor
— Notes.
Ottawa, Feb. 24. — (Special.) — The tariff commission met again this fore-noon. There were present Hon. Messrs. Fielding, Paterson and Dobell, and Mr. Tarte in the afternoon. The first one heard was Mr. Stevenson .of Stevenson & Blackadder of Montreal. He asked for a private conference and it was given him. He made certain representations in regard to book-cloth, wanting it made dutiable.
Mr. F. H. Whitton of the Hamilton Tack Company was down for a hearing but he did not turn up and the commission adjourned until 12 o'clock, there being no one in attendance who desired a hearing.
Mr. E. J. Atkinson of Gananoque was heard after the commission met at 12 o'clock. He made his evidence . . . [illegible text] . . .. He is in the wire business and of course wanted more protection.
NAILS AND BARBED WIRE.
The first delegation that was heard with the press present was the wire nail delegation. Mr. F. H. Whitton of Hamilton was spokesman. There were also present representatives of the Montreal Rolling Mills, Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company, Peck, Benny & Company, Canada Saw Company, Pillow-Hersey Manufacturing Company, Canada Lead & Barbed Wire Company, Western Wire & Nail Company, Hamilton Barbed Wire & Nail Company, James Purden & Company of St. John were not represented, but they concurred in their view set forth by the others who agreed upon Mr. Whitton as their spokesman. The duty on wire nails is at present a specific duty of one cent per pound. What the delegation wanted was to be left alone with the protection given them by this duty. Mr. Whitton spoke strongly in favor of a specific duty. He advocated the abolition of all ad valorem duties and the adoption of the specific system instead. this would not only be an advantage to all honest importers but would secure a larger revenue. He complained of the freight rates in Canada, which operated against the interests of the industry and said that an eighteen cent rate from Pittsburg carried from 340 to 400 miles, while the same rate from Hamilton only carried 74 to 76 miles. After enumerating the disadvantages which the trade had to endure as compared with the United States, he showed that all the protective duty was used up by these disadvantages, so that only 13 per cent. of the nominal duty was left for protection. Mr. Whitton also read a statement in regard to tacks from the same delegation. He asked that the present duty of 1 1-2 cents per pound remain as at present, but that the word ‘sprigs” be stuck struck out of the tariff and “shoe nails” put in instead.
Mr. Cyrus Birge, vice president of the Canada Screw Company of Hamilton, made a statement of their industry and asked for a continuance of the existing duties of three, six and eight cents a pound and that the specific duties be continued.
Mr. F. Fairman of Montreal; T. R. Wood, Toronto; T. S. Hobbs, London; H. L. Ives, Montreal, and James Robertson, Montreal, representing the barbed wire interest, appeared before the committee. Mr. Fairbank read a statement The present duty is 3-4 of a cent a pound, or equal to about 30 per cent if this was reduced it would mean the closing up of the eleven barbed wire factories in Canada, together with the stoppage of galvanizing and wire-drawing machinery to the value of $150,000, employing 150 men, receiving $50,000 per annum in wages. The barbed wire men have the Canadian market almost entirely to themselves under the present prohibitive duty, because the output of the Canadian factories last year was 6,000 tons and the importation only 220 tons.
SPRINGS AND AXLES.
Mr. B. J. Coughlin of Montreal introduced a spring and axle deputation. Mr. W. T. Sampson of the Gananoque works read a general statement of the case, from which it appeared that $150,000 was invested in the business, whose capacity was sufficient to supply the demand Canada, which is 40,000 vehicles annually. They employed 120 hands and paid $40,000 in wages. They paid in duties for raw materials $10,000 a year and as high as 40 per cent. Their protection was about 65 per cent. They could only run eight months of the year. Prices were very low. Their net protection was really only 15 per cent. Specific duties were necessary. They were making small profits at present.
Mr. James Warnock of Galt, manufacturer of springs and gears, made some remarks. Mr. Matthew of Gananoque state that he used considerable Nova Scotia steel and found it to answer very well, but they certainly added the duty. They were compelled to. Mr. Coughlin’s opinion was that they could not get a good quality of steel in Canada.
In reply to Mr. Paterson, Mr. Matthew, said he knew that the carriage manufacturers were satisfied with the duty on springs and axles. Mr. Warnock said the carriage manufacturers were getting the best of it. No money was being made on springs and axles. Many manufacturers were selfish enough to want their raw material free and protection for their product. He did not ask for a reduction on their raw material. Mr. Coughlin said he had manufactured for sixteen or eighteen years. When he began the tariff was at 17 1-2 per cent, and he made money. He added "While I am a free trader heart and soul, I unhesitatingly say that we must protect ourselves against the Americans. They are making springs in Pittsburg and elsewhere and shipping them to Canada for the same price they will charge me for the steel, simply to get a market for their springs and axles. It is necessary to protect ourselves against this. If the Americans were fair and honest traders I should certainly take no exception to it." Mr. Coughlin went on to complain of the Michigan Central Railway buying their springs in Detroit and bringing them into Canada. He also complained of the rebate of duties paid on raw materials imported for use in vehicles exported abroad, because it was impossible to carry that out. Fraud on the revenue was practised. Rebate was got on more than the value of the axle springs.
Mr. G. W. Blackwell of Montreal, representing the Canada Switch & Spring Company, said that their net protection was really only one-half of the duty in the tariff. With free raw material they would be satisfied with 22 1-2 per cent. With the duties on their raw material they could not do with less than they had now. Mr. Coughlin expressed the opinion that the iron and steel trade of the world would fall entirely to the United States. He also spoke on the favored nation clause.
THE RUBBER INDUSTRY.
The next deputation represented the rubber manufacturers and was Introduced by Mr. Neil McCrimmon of Toronto. In brief they desired to be left alone. With the exception of the Canadian company in Montreal, they had not averaged 3 per cent profit. Their protection had been reduced in 1894. The prices their goods were sold for were smaller by from 30 to 70 per cent. than they were some years ago. There are three rubber factories and two in course of construction. There was invested $2,500,000 capital, with $1,250,000 in plant. They employed 2,000 people. They protested against frequent changes in the tariff. Their business was now at a standstill in consequence of the uncertainty. A bad tariff with stability was better than a better one with frequent changes. They did not want any increase in the tariff. They were going ahead whatever the Government did. These gentlemen made no threats of closing up, and did not talk about not being able to hold their own against outside factories, and consequently made a good impression.
GLASS INTERESTS.
The Dominion Glass Company. Montreal, was represented by Messrs. John Sterling, Maurice Barsalou and George H. Snyder, and the Diamond Glass Company, Montreal, by Mr. David Yuile. Mr. Yuile stated that there were nine glass factories in Canada enjoying at present a protection of 30 per cent. Their output was from $800,000 to $1,000,000 a year. They paid $500,000 annually in wages, which was 65 per cent, of their output. They complained of cheap German labor and undervaluation of imported glass; for this reason they asked for the addition of specific duties on various articles, such as tumblers, lamp chimneys and bottles. Mr. Yuile referred to a statement by Mr. Ballantyne in Hamilton as to a corner on gem jars last fall when jars could only be got for 90 cents. Mr. Yuile said that in July and August, when out of blast, they sold these same gem jars by the car load for 36 1-4 cents.
Mr. Snyder confined his remarks to lamp chimneys. There was one manufacturer in the United States who sold his ‘‘seconds” in Canada at slaughter prices, and in order to meet him Mr. Snyder's company had to sell chimneys as low as he did, although it did not pay. "Here is a man," said Mr. Snyder, "who is making all the money he wants in his own country and sells here at 40 per cent. below cost. Now, have you ever heard of such a case before?"
Mr. Fielding, thus appealed to, remarked drily: “ If he gave away his chimneys I suppose he would be arrested?"
Mr. Snyder asked that 10 cents a dozen should be added to the ad valorem duty of 30 per cent. This seemed an enormous duty to ask, but it was necessary to protect. This man in the United States who was injuring Canada by letting Canadians have good lamp chimneys for less than cost, sent them in, Mr. Snyder said, at 17 cents a dozen, so that the duty asked would be between 80 and 90 per cent.
THE ROLLING MILLS.
The rolling mills industry was represented by the Montreal rolling mills, the Ontario rolling mills, Pillow, Hersey & Co. the Portland rolling mills and Peck, Benny & Co. Mr. C. S. Wilcox of Hamilton was spokesman. He pointed out that in 1894 the duty on bar iron had been reduced from $13 to $10 a ton. and the duty on scrap-iron increased from $2 to $4. They made no special request as to pig-iron, but opposed the payment of a bounty or bonus on steel billets or puddled bars. They could not get their raw material in Canada and compete with the United States. if they were to produce bar-iron and steel at a lower price they would have to get their raw materials at a lower price. They claimed that on the iron and steel bars made by the mills from imported material there was no protection. Mr. Wilcox gave the following interesting illustrations, taking Hamilton as the point of manufacture: — The duty on sufficient scrap to make a ton of bar iron is $5; freight, $2; coal duty, $2 45, altogether. $9 45 cost of raw materials for a ton of bar-iron on which there was a protection of $10. The duty on a gross ton of steel billets necessary to make a net ton of steel would be $5 00. The freight would be $3, and the duty and freight on three-quarters of a ton of coal would be $1 84, or a total of $10 44, against which they had a protection on the bars of $10, it requires one and one-eighth tons of pig-iron to produce one ton of steel billets, and it took a gross ton of pig to make a ton of puddled bars. There is a bonus on the pig-iron of $2 40 and on the steel billets of $2, equal to $4 40. In addition there is a customs duty of $5 a ton, making a total protection of $9 40 a ton. in the United States steel billets are worth an average of $15 50; puddled bars in England were 71 shillings and sixpence, equal to $17 40 a gross ton; Canadian puddled bars were $25 per gross ton, and the United States bar was one dollar per hundred pounds or, duty paid into Canada, $33 60 per gross ton. The Canadian manufacturer using Canadian puddled burs at $25 would pay in Montreal other charges to lay them down, and would have to add 10 per cent. for waste in rolling bringing the total cost of this material up to $28 27 a ton with which to meet American iron at $33 60. leaving to the rolling mills in Canada a margin of $5 33 for 2,240 pounds to cover all their expenses, which made it impossible for them to compete with Americans if they used Canadian puddled bars. They had an invested capital of $3,816,000, employed 2,557 hands, chiefly men, paid annually in wages $997,000, used 70,000 tons of raw material and 45,000 tons of coal. If there was any reduction in the duties on bar iron or steel, then they wanted the duty taken off coal. In Hamilton they used from 18,000 to 30,000 tons of coal per annum, costing at the mine 55 cents a ton; freight was $1 85 and duty was 60 cents, so that their fuel cost them five times as much in Hamilton as it did in the coal districts of the United States.
OTHER DEPUTATIONS.
Mr. William Abbott of the Metropolitan Rolling Mills asked that no change be made in the duty of 2-4 cent a pound on cut nails, and that the duty on horseshoe nails be changed to one cent a pound, but not less than 30 per cent. The Ministers were also asked to make the duty on horseshoe nails 80 per cent., the same as at present
Messrs. Wilson, Barber, McArthur, McFarlane and Rowley, representing the Papermakers’ Association and the wall paper men, had private hearings, the press being excluded.
Messrs. H. E. Sternes and R. Henderson of Montreal had a private interview regarding cotton batting and wadding.
Messrs. Raoul Aube and T. P. Earle of St John's, Que., saw the Ministers about the earthenware industry. They asked for no change in the duties, but for a different administration of the customs act as regarding their goods.
It was 7 o'clock when the weary Ministers got away to dinner, and the inquiry was closed.
MONEY ORDER FRAUDS.
A serious fraud on the Postoffice Department, involving the important question as to the efficiency of the checking system at headquarters, has been discovered. C. N. Paquin, postmaster at St. Cuthbert, Que., has be in in the habit since last October of issuing money orders payable to himself or his brother at Montreal and then drawing the money out at the Montreal office. He commenced with $500 or $600 and finally ran up to $2,100, which is the amount he now owes. The discovery was accidental. Mr. Chillas, assistant inspector at Three Rivers, was in the Montreal money order room one day when he overheard a clerk say: "I have certified to $2,000 from the one office.” Mr. Chillas said. “What office?" The reply was "St. Cuthbert." "Where are they?" exclaimed Chillas. "Just gone," was the reply. Chillas rushed to the bank and got there as Paquin was handing the money orders to the teller. He seized them as they were reached across the counter. No arrests have yet been made, though the matter is in the hands of the Department of Justice. Paquin's system was to raise money in this way from week to week, each week remitting to the department to cover the previous week's orders, but always being a week ahead and always $2,100 behind. He keeps a general store and has property which is expected to be good for the amount of the defalcation. On one occasion he used the Louiseville office to draw on.
THE SUPREME COURT.
In the Supreme Court this morning the case of the Manufacturers' Accident Insurance Company V. Pudsey was taken up. The respondent, who was plaintiff in this case, sued on an accident policy issued to her husband, who was killed on a railway. The policy was issued in September, 1892, expiring in September, 1893. Four days after it expired the General Manager of the company for the Maritime Provinces being at Kentville, N.S., where the insured lived, saw him and asked him if he was going to renew, to which he replied that he wished to but had not the money. It was then arranged that he should give a note for $15 and $1 cash for the premium. On the trial the father of the insured swore that he was present at this transaction, and insured showed him a paper, which he described, and from the description appeared to be a renewal receipt. The General Manager swore that he only agreed to give insured the renewal receipt when the note was paid. The original paper was lost and could not be produced. The jury found that the renewal receipt was given when the note was made, and all the other findings were in favor of the plaintiff, for whom a verdict was entered which the full court affirmed. Mr. W. Nesbitt, for the appellant, argued that the policy having expired, the new contract was only with the Manager, and the company had no knowledge of it; also that what the agent did was directly in violation of his instructions. Mr. Ritchie, Q.C., appeared for the respondent The completion of the argument in this case closed the list of Maritime Provinces appeals, and the court adjourned until to-morrow morning, when the Quebec appeals will be called.
NOTES.
Dr. McEachran, the chief veterinary inspector for the Department of Agriculture, has returned from the west, where he with others were holding examinations to ascertain persons qualified to grant certificates under the new arrangement for free trade in cattle quarantine between Canada and the United States. The examinations were held because it was desired to obtain specially qualified men to administer the tuberculine test, which must precede and be the basis of the certificate. Requests from the trade for inspectors are coming in every day, and therefore the department hurried on the examinations as rapidly as possible.
Judge Ross, Senior County Judge at Ottawa, has resigned, and Mr. D. R. Tarvish, Q.C., City Solicitor, will be appointed probably to-morrow.
The preliminary trial of Mrs. Homler, who is charged with murdering her husband, Joseph Homler, of West Templeton, on Tuesday of last week, took place this morning before Recorder Champagne of Hull. The court room was packed with spectators. The prisoner did not show any surprise at the crowd, and took matters in a quiet way. The prisoner’s three sons gave evidence of how the tragedy took place, and Mrs. Homler was committed to stand her trial in June next.
