HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE UNITED STATES SENATE SIXTY-SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON H. R. 8078 AN ACT TO REGULATE THE IMPORTATION OF COAL-TAR PRODUCTS; DECEMBER 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 1919, AND JANUARY 12, 1920 Printed for the use of the Committee on Finance WASHINGTON 1920 COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. BOIES PENROSE, Pennsylvania, Chairman. PORTER J. MCCUMBER, North Dakota. FURNIFOLD MCL. SIMMONS, North Carolina ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE, Wisconsin. CHARLES S. THOMAS, Colorado. WILLIAM P. DILLINGHAM, Vermont. JAMES E. WATSON, Indiana. WILLIAM M. CALDER, New York. HOWARD SUTHERLAND, West Virginia. THOMAS P. GORE, Oklahoma. The subcommittee met at 10 o'clock a. m. in Room 312, Senate Office Building, on the call of the chairman, Hon. James E. Watson (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Watson (chairman), Curtis, Simmons, and Nugent. Senator WATSON. The committee will come to order. The subcommittee has been called together this morning for a hearing on H. R. 8078, which bill is as follows: [H. R. 8078, Sixty-sixth Congress, first session.] AN ACT To regulate the importation of coal-tar products, to promote the establishment of the manufacture thereof in the United States, and, as incident thereto, to amend the act of September 8, 1916, entitled "An act to increase the revenue, and for other purposes." Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Uniteȧ States of America in Congress assembled, That title 5 of an act entitled "An act to increase the revenue, and for other purposes," approved September 8, 1916, be, and hereby is, amended to read as follows: "SEC. 500. That on and after the day following the passage of this act, except as otherwise specially provided for in this title, there shall be levied, collected, and paid upon the articles named in this section when imported from any foreign country into the United States or any of its possessions, except the Philippine Islands, the islands of Guam and Tutuila, the Virgin Islands, and the Canal Zone, the rates of duties which are prescribed in this title, namely: 66 FREE LIST. "Group I. Acenaphthene, anthracene having a purity of less than 30 per cent, benzol, carbazol having a purity of less than 65 per cent cumol, cymene, fluorene, methylanthracene, methylnaphthalene, naphthalene having a solidifying point less than 79° centigrade, pyridin, quinolin, toluol, xylol, dead or creosote oil, anthracene oil, pitch of coal tar, pitch of blast-furnace tar, pitch of oil-gas tar, pitch of water-gas tar, crude coal tar, crude blastfurnace tar, crude oil-gas tar, crude water-gas tar, all other distillates of any of these tars which on being subjected to distillation yield in the portion distilling below 190° centigrade a quantity of tar acids less than 5 per cent of the original distillate, all mixtures of any of these distillates and any of the foregoing pitches, and all other products that are found naturally in coal tar, whether produced or obtained from coal tar or other source, and not otherwise specially provided for in this title, shall be exempt from duty. 44 DUTIABLE LIST. 'Group II. Acetanilid not suitable for medicinal use, alphanaphthol, amidobenzoic acid, amidonaphthol, amidophenetol, amidophenol, amidosalicylic acid, 3 aminoanthraquinone, anilin oil, anilin salt, anthraquinone, arsanilic acid, benzaldehyde not suitable for medicinal use, benzalchloride, benzanthrone, benzidin, benzidin sulphate, benzoic acid not suitable for medicinal use, benzoquinone, benzoylchloride, benzylchloride, betanaphthol not suitable for medicinal use, brombenzol, chlorbenzol, chlorophthalic acid, cinnamic acid, cumidin, dehydrothiotoluidin, diaminostilbene, dianisidin, dichlorphthalic acid, dimethylanilin, dimethylamidophenol, dimethylphenylbenzylammoniumhydroxide, dimethylphenylenediamin, dinitrobenzol, dinitrochlorbenzol, dinitronaphthalene, dinitrophenol, dinitrotoluol, dioxynaphthalene, diphenylamin, ethylbenzyl anilin, hydroxyphenylarsinic acid, metanilic acid, methylanthraquinone, naphthylamin, naphthylenediamin, nitranilin, nitroanthraquinone, nitrobenzaldehyde, nitrobenzol, nitronaphthalene, nitrophenol, nitrophenylenediamin nitrosodimethylanilin, nitrotoluol, nitrotoluylenediamin, phenol, phenylenediamin, phenylhydrazine, phenylnapthylamin, phenylglycocoll, phenylglycocoll-orthocarboxylic acid, phthalic acid, phthalic anhydride, phthalimid, resorcin not suitable for medicinal use, salicylic acid and its salts not suitable for medicinal use, sulphanilic acid, thiocarbanilid, thiosalicylic acid, tetrachlorphthalic acid, tetramethyldiaminobenzophenone, tetramethyldiaminodiphenylmethane, toluol sulphochloride, toluol sulphamid, tribromphenol, toluidin, tolidin, toluylenediamin, zylidin, or any sulphoacid of sulphoacid salt of any of the foregoing, or of any of the products provided for in Group I; all other products by whatever name known which are employed in the manufacture of any of the products provided for in Group II or III and which are obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from any of the foregoing or from any of the products provided for in Group I; anthracene having a purity of 30 per cent or more, carbazol having a purity of 65 per cent or more, metacresol having a purity of 90 per cent or more, naphthalene having a solidifying point of 79° centigrade or above, orthocresol having a purity of 90 per cent or more, paracresol having a purity of 90 per centum or more; all distillates of coal tar, blast-furnace tar, oil-gas tar, and water-gas tar, which on being subjected to distillation yield in the portion distilling below 190° centigrade a quantity of tar acids equal to or more than 5 per cent of the original distillate; all mixtures, including solutions, consisting in whole or in part of any of the foregoing except sheep dip and medicinal soaps, not otherwise specially provided for in this Act; all the foregoing not colors, dyes, or stains, color acids, color bases, color lakes, leuco-acids, leuco-bases, indoxyl, indoxyl compounds, ink powders, photographic chemicals, medicinals, flavors, synthetic resin-like products, synthetic tanning materials, or explosives, and not otherwise specially provided for in this title, 40 per cent ad valorem. "Group III. All colors, dyes, or stains whether soluble or not in water, color acids, color bases, color lakes, leuco-acids and leuco-bases whether colorless or not, indoxyl and indoxyl compound; ink powders; photographic chemicals; acetanilid suitable for medicinal use, acetphenetidin, acetylsalicylic acid, antipyrine, benzaldehyde suitable for medicinal use, benzoic acid suitable for medicinal use, betanaphthol suitable for medicinal use, phenolphthalein, resorcin suitable for medicinal use, salicylic acid and its salts suitable for medicinal use, salol, and other medicinals; sodium benzoate; saccharin, methylsalicylate, coumarin, and other flavors; synthetic phenolic resin and all resinlike products prepared from phenol, cresol, phthalic anhydride, coumarone, indene, or from any other article or material provided for in Group I or II, all of these products whether in a solid, semisolid, or liquid condition; synthetic tanning materials; picric acid, trinitrotoluol, and other explosives except smokeless powders; all of the foregoing when obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from any of the products provided for in Group I or II; natural alizarin and natural indigo, and colors, dyes, stains, color acids, color bases, color lakes, leuco-acids, leuco-bases, indoxyl, and indoxyl compounds obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from natural alizarin or natural indigo; natural methyl salicylate or oil of wintergreen or oil of sweet birch; natural coumarin; and all mixtures, including solutions, consisting in whole or in part of any of the articles or materials provided for in this group, 45 per centum ad valorem. "SEC. 501. That on and after the day following the passage of this act, in addition to the duties provided in section 500, there shall be levied, collected, and paid upon all articles contained in Group II a special duty of 6 cents per pound, and upon all articles contained in Group III a special duty of 7 cents per pound: Provided, That the special duties herein provided for on colors, dyes, or stains, whether soluble or not in water, color acids, color bases, color lakes, leuco-acids, leuco-bases, indoxyl and indoxyl compounds, shall be based on standards of strength which shall be established by the Secretary of the Treasury, and that upon all importations of such articles which exceed such standards of strength the special duty of 7 cents per pound shall be computed on the weight which the article would have if it were diluted to the standard strength, but in no case shall any such article of whatever strength pay a special duty of less than 7 cents per pound: Provided further, That beginning six months after the date of passage of this act no package containing any such color, dye, stain, color acid, color base, color lake, leuco-acid, leuco-base, indoxyl, or indoxyl compound shall be admitted to entry into the United States unless such package and the invoice shall bear a plain, conspicuous, and truly descriptive statement of the identity and percentage, exclusive of diluents, of such color, dye, stain, color acid, color base, color lake, leuco-acid, leuco-base, indoxyl, or indoxyl compound contained therein: And provided further, That beginning six months after the date of passage of this act, no packages coutaining any such article shall be admitted to entry into the United States if it or the invoice bears any statement, design, or device regarding such article or the ingredients of substances contained therein which is false, fraudulent, or misleading in any particular. In the enforcement of this section the Secretary of the Treasury shall adopt a standard of strength for each dye or other product which shall conform as nearly as practicable to the commercial strength in ordinary use in the United States prior to July 1, 1914. "The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to make regulations for the enforcement of the provisions of this title. "SEC. 502. That paragraphs 20, 21, 22, 23, 179, 394, 452, and 514; and the provision for salicylic acid in paragraph 1; and provisions for salol, phenolphthalein, acetanilid, acetphenetidin, antipyrine, acetylsalicylic acid, and aspirin in paragraph 18; and the provision for benzoate of soda in paragraph 67; and the provisions for carbolic and phthalic acids in paragraph 387 of an act entitled 'An act to reduce tariff duties and to provide revenue for the Government, and for other purposes,' approved October 3, 1913, are hereby repealed: Provided, That all articles which may come within the terms of paragraphs 1, 5, 14, 29, 37, 46, 63, 501, and 538 of said act of October 3, 1913, as well as within the terms of Group I, II, or III of section 500 of this act, shall be assessed for duty or exempted from duty, as the case may be, under this act. "SEC. 503. That on and after the day when this act shall go into effect all of the foregoing goods, wares, and merchandise previously imported, for which no entry has been made, and all of the foregoing goods, wares, and merchandise previously entered without payment of duty and under bond for warehousing, transportation, or any other purpose, for which no permit of delivery to the importer or his agent has been issued, shall be subject to the duties imposed by this act, and to no other duty, upon the entry or the withdrawal thereof: Provided, That when duties are based upon the weight of merchandise deposited in any public or private bonded warehouse said duties shall be levied and collected upon the weight of such merchandise at the time of its entry. "SEC. 503 (a). During the period of two years after the date of the approval of this act it shall be unlawful for any person or persons or corporation to im. port or bring into the United States, or any of its possessions, except under license previously obtained, as hereinafter provided, from the United States Tariff Commission, any of the products enumerated in section 500 of this act, or any product derived directly or indirectly from coal tar, including crude products and intermediate products, as well as dyestuffs, medicinals, and other finished products, and including mixtures and compounds of such products and other products. "To meet the reasonable expenses of the United States Tariff Commission in the execution of the duties imposed upon it by this act, the cost of maintenance of a suitable office at a place to be designated by the commission, the commission may charge a reasonable fee for the issue of each license. Should the moneys received from such fees in any year be less than the said expenses the deficiency shall be paid out of the appropriation for expenses of collecting the revenue from customs.' "SEC. 503 (b). The said United States Tariff Commission shall issue licenses to import for domestic consumption such of the products covered by section 503 (a) of this act, as may be unobtainable from domestic sources and also such and such only of the said products as may, though obtainable from domestic sources, be unobtainable on reasonable terms as to price, quality, and delivery. The commission shall limit the issue of licenses to import any |