The countries which have been the chief competitors in the past of American manufacturers of confectionery are England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. REASONS FOR THE ABOVE RECOMMENDATION. Japan will undoubtedly be a very active competitor in the future. The large number of orders received by manufacturers of confectionery machinery in the United States from Japanese manufacturers of confectionery undoubtedly indicate that the Japanese manufacturers are contemplating entering the American market on a very large scale. The low labor cost and the ability of Japanese manufacturers to produce confectionery at a very much lower cost as to raw materials, labor, and other items that enter into the cost of manufacturing candy will undoubtedly give the Japanese manufacturers a great advantage over American manufacturers if the tariff rates are not sufficiently high to offset the difference between the cost of production in Japan and the cost of production in the United States. Unquestionably Germany and Austria will become competitors as soon as manufacturing conditions in those countries are reconstructed and brought back to a more nearly normal basis. From information which we have received relative to conditions in England and France we believe that they, too, will soon become our active competitors. Everything points to a keen rivalry for business and these foreign countries will no doubt enter the American markets with confectionery which can be sold at much lower prices than the same kind of confectionery can be sold by American manufacturers and enable them to make a legitimate margin of profit. The conditions confronting the confectionery industry in this country at the present time are very unsatisfactory. The confectionery industry, in common with all other industries, has been undergoing a process of readjustment and liquidation. Price levels are rapidly receding and the readjustment to lower levels will inevitably result in reduced volume of sales, increased percentage of gross expenses in proportion to the sales, and reduced profits. The industry faces a period of keenly competitive conditions with sales and profits on the decline. The confectionery industry, on account of its rapid development in recent years, is to a great extent undercapitalized and has been compelled to pay a very high rate of taxation on net profits. The excise tax has been a severe burden and its continuance will mean a real hardship. IMPORTANCE OF CONFECTIONERY INDUSTRY. The confectionery industry is one of the large industries of the United States. There are approximately 3,000 manufacturers with an investment of about $250,000,000. There are approximately 2,500 jobbers and 50,000 retailers. We have no means of knowing the value of the investment of the jobbers and retailers, but it is obviously very great. The total number of employees engaged in the industry, including those employed by manufacturers, jobbers, and retailers, is approximately 150,000. A conservative estimate of the total output of the industry would be approximately 1,400,000,000 pounds. The value of the total output at the manufacturer's prices would be approximately $750,000,000. The total value of the output at the retailers' prices to the consumers would be approximately $1,000,000,000. The total amount of sugar used by the industry during the year 1919 was approximately 350,000 short tons. This amount is only 8 per cent of the total amount used for all purposes. The total amount used for all purposes, including household consumption and manufacturing was approximately 4,500,000 short tons. COST OF PRODUCTION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. We are unable to give you accurate information relative to the cost of production and the wages in foreign countries. It is a very difficult matter to obtain reliable information of this character. However, from the information that we have received from various sources we feel justified in saying that the cost of production and wages paid in the foreign countries mentioned elsewhere in this brief are very much lower than they are in the United States. SUGGESTION AS TO CHANGE IN PHRASEOLOGY. 66 Since the tariff act of August 10, 1790, candy has been referred to as sugar candy." Candy and confectionery, as you know, are now made from various kinds of raw materials including sugar, nuts, fruits, chocolate, gelatin, and many other food products. We therefore contend that the description "sugar candy" is inaccurate. It was probably correct at the time it was first used in the revenue act of August 10, 1790, for at that time the principal ingredients in all kinds of candy was sugar. We therefore recommend the following change in phraseology in paragraph 180: "Candy and all confectionery, etc." CONCLUSION. Therefore, for the reasons mentioned above, we are of the opinion that it is imperatively necessary that the confectionery industry should be protected > from low-priced foreign competition by a tariff sufficiently high to equalize the difference between the costs of production in foreign countries and the costs of production in the United States, and we therefore make the recommendation as stated herein. WALTER C. HUGHES, Secretary. 1 INDEX TO PART II. NAMES. A. Page. Abbott Ball Co., Hartford, Conn., steel balls.... Aeroshade Co., The, Waukesha, Wis., porch shades... Alter Light Co., Chicago, Ill., gas mantles.. 770 1213 959 1249 1001 Aluminum Co. of America, Pittsburgh, Pa., aluminum.. 894,900 Amalgamated Sugar Co. of Utah, beet sugar.. 1520 American Brass and Copper Statistical Exchange of New York City, manu- factured copper and brass... 933, 935 American Cane Growers' Association, New Orleans, La., sugar. 1389, 1396, 1400 American Enameling Co., Providence, R. I., wood handles. 1232 American Hardware Association, screws.. 889 American Magnesium Corporation, Niagara Falls, N. Y., magnesium... 921 American Association of Manufacturers' Products from Corn, Chicago, Ill., 1533 American Mining Congress, metals in general. 705 American Piercing Saw Manufacturers' Association, San Francisco, Calif., American Steel Wool Manufacturing Co. (Inc.), New York City, steel wool.. 773, 776 1059, 1062, 1072 American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co., Boston, Mass., slab zinc. 1067 Anderson, D. O., Marion, S. C., lumber.... 1248 Antimony & Compounds Co. of America, New Brunswick, N. J., antimony.. Ash, Claudius, Sons & Co. (Inc.), New York City, dental supplies. 1096 Associated Baby Carriage Manufacturers, grass reeds............ 1189 Association of Scientific Apparatus Makers of the United States, surgical Atlantic Tubing Co., Providence, R. I., iron or steel tubing. 824 Automobile Chamber of Commerce, New York City, aluminum.. 967 Toilet pins... 1013 Bates, Frederick, Chief, Sugar Division, Bureau of Standards... 1345, 1526 1484 917 999 1213 Benjamin Air Rifle & Manufacturing Co., St. Louis, Mo., air rifles. Bennet, Wm. S., Chicago, Ill., lumber.. Bigelow, Charles A., Bay City, Mich., hardwood lumber. Brown, Dr. Homer C., Columbus, Ohio, dental instruments. Bronze Powder Manufacturers' Association, Flizabeth, N. J., bronze powders.. Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Co., Minneapolis, Minn., lumber.. Broom Handle Manufacturers' Association of the United States, broom handles.. C. California State Senate, memorial on quicksilver.. Camp, Walter, New Haven, Conn., clocks........... Campbell, J. C., wire cloth.. 1102, 1104 862 1154, 1160 903, 906 932 1318 1343 1221 862 1021 1027 786 791 1040, 1052 Carlton, Dr. A. C., San Francisco, Calif., piercing saws. 880,885 Carlton, A. E., beet sugar.. 1514 Carriage & Toy Co., Baltimore, Md., reed furniture.. 1189 Cedar Pole Dealers, telegraph and telephone poles... Catherine Plantation & Manufacturing Co., Lobdell, La., sugar. 1412 1179 Central Scientific Co., Chicago, Ill., surgical instruments. 1146 Chaffe, Joe, New Orleans, La., sugar.. 1396 Chelsea Clock Co., Boston, Mass., clocks. 1033 Chinn, E. B., Seattle, Wash., wood logs. 1239 Chrestensen, J. A., Franklinville, N. Y., table cutlery. 844. 845 Clark, A. L., Lumber Co., Dallas, Tex., lumber... Christian, Paul J., Washington, D. C., sugar schedule, drawback provision........... 1368 1298 Clark, Thomas G., Philadelphia, Pa., wall-paper print blocks. 1233 Claudius Ash Sons & Co. (Inc.), New York City, dental supplies. 1096 Climax Molybdenum Co., New York City, molybdenum... 742, 743 Clock Manufacturers, New Haven, Conn., clocks..... 1031 Colorado, General Assembly of, memorial on ores and metals. 708 Comfort, George N., Lumber Co., Cleveland, Ohio, lumber.. 1262 Compressed Air Society, New York City, pneumatic appliances. 1171 1302 Crittall Casement Window Co., Detroit, Mich., casement windows. Consolidated Fruit Jar Co., New Brunswick, N.J., collapsible tubes. 1076 1529 968 766 710, 714 T Cummer Dickens Co., Cadillac, Mich., hardwood lumber.. D. Page. 1322 1343 795 742 Dechant, H. G., New York City, calculating machines. 1083 De Laval Separator Co., Chicago, Ill., cream separators.. 1088 Demarest, Charles H., China reed and rattan.. 1186 Driver-Harris Co., Harrison, N. J., nickel and nickel alloys. 1002, 1004 871 E. Eagle Picher Lead Co., Chicago, Ill., manufactures of lead.. Electro-Metalurgical Co., New York City, ferro-alloys.... Enterprise Manufacturing Co., Philadelphia, Pa., hardware.. Esterbrook Steel Pen Manufacturing Co., Camden, N. J., steel pens. Evans, S. M., Chicago, Ill., manufactures of lead. Exeloid Co., Stroudsburgh, Pa., aluminum toys... 982 1009 1325 1520 850 1001 724, 727 1116 1006 982 771 1079, 1081 Fountain-Pen Manufacturers of New York, Association of, fountain pens. Gold Leaf Manufacturers' Association, Medford, Mass., gold leaf. Grand Rapids Veneer Works, plywood.. Great Western Manufacturing Co., Laporte, Ind., bicycles.. Greenwood, A. L., White Castle, La., sugar. Gurney Ball Bearing Co., Jamestown, N. Y., ball bearings. 767 736 1376 809 1079 1011 791 885 736 831 911, 914 1269 999 824, 826 1412 1192, 1196, 1198 828 794 943,948 1173 815, 816 1508 1200 1424 767 |