business, which line is controlled by the Isthmian Canal Commission. This line names the arbitrary rate of $5 a ton of 2,000 pounds on cement, to apply on the requisition covering delivery of cement up to December, 1906. This is at the rate of $1 per barrel.

It will be noted in these latter specifications, deliveries by schooner or other coastwise vessels sailing under the United States flag, and doing business along the coast of the United States, handling materials in small lots, are excluded, and the deliveries must be made by steamers from this country, thus limiting practically the delivery of cement on these latter contracts to shipments on a line of steamers controlled by the Isthmian Canal Commission.

FOREIGN FREIGHT RATES.

There are a number of lines of steamers running from England, Belgium, Germany, etc., touching at Colon, carrying general cargoes to South American ports, and on these steamers rates as low as 60 to 68 cents per barrel on Portland cement can be made, though the distance is about double that from New York to Panama. Further than this, tramp steamers going to South American ports from Europe for return cargoes have named rates for delivery of cement at Colon as low as 45 cents.

THE FREIGHT SITUATION.

Thus, on the question of freights from the United States for American goods, destined for American work and to be paid for by American money, an American line of steamers controlled by the Isthmian Canal Commission, created by an American Congress and operated under this American Commission, names a rate so high as to practically exclude American materials from any competition whatever, and the Commission controlling this steamship line names the specifications, so as to exclude all American coastwise sailing commerce from any competition with its own line, and permits foreign steamers to land at its docks and deliver foreign goods to the exclusion of the American product in American bottoms.

Further than this, it will be noted by the letter of the Panama Steamship Company (filed herewith) that the Isthmian Canal Commission, a branch of the United States Government, or the Panama Steamship Company, which it operates, is actually doing everything which the railroads of the country, operated by individual owners, are alleged to be doing, to the injury of the public.

The last letting of cement for the Panama Canal was March 19, 1906. Under the discriminating clauses limiting the size of cargoes to lots too small for the chartering of a steamer, and under the discriminating clauses excluding any deliveries except in steamships, it will be noted that at that time by the terms of the specifications, the Isthmian Canal Commission drove American manufacturers to make their bid based upon a freight rate of $5 a ton, which was the rate exacted by the single line running to Colon, which line was controlled by the Isthmian Canal Commission.

It will be noted further, by the same letter, that the rate made to American manufacturers, up to and including March 19, the day on which the bids were closed, was $5 a ton, and that immediately thereafter (namely, March 21) this line of steamships, controlled by the

Isthmian Canal Commission, made practically a "midnight tariff," reducing the rate to $4.50 a ton, at a time when it was too late for American manufacturers to avail themselves of it, and when it was thus directly discriminating in favor of foreign manufacturers.

As has been shown above, foreign freight rates from London to Colon, 4,742 miles, and Hamburg to Colon, 5,049 miles, average from 45 to 70 cents a barrel, as against the issued rate of $1 a barrel by the Panama Steamship Line. The distance from New York to Colon is 1,972 miles, or less than half the distance.

Assuming that the Panama Steamship Line, managed by the Isthmian Canal Commission, a part of the Government, could transport freight half the distance and make a profit at the same rate that foreign vessels could carry double the distance and make a profit, the result would have been that, assuming that the American steamers charged 57 cents a barrel instead of $1, thus meeting the average of foreign freights, there would have been a profit to the Panama Steamship Line

By its freight rate of $1 per ton, of---

Against a loss by the purchase of American cement, as per Canal Commission letter of Mr. Bishop, of-

Thus showing a profit to the Isthmian Canal Commission, through
its steamship line, of---

$8, 600

7,400

1, 200

had the purchase of American materials been made and proper rates been made to American shippers, to say nothing of the gain to the country by fostering its industries.

SUMMARY OF THE CASE.

Summing up this matter, it may be divided into two branches: Quality of American Portland cement.-The Isthmian Canal Commission is under the control of the War Department. The United States Army engineers, who are doing all the important work for the War Department, specifiy "American Portland cement for all their work. The Isthmian Canal Commission, composed of distinguished engineers, at their first letting specified "American Portland cement." This seems to settle the question of quality, American Portland cement being equal to any Portland cement in the world.

Exclusion due to high freights-Assuming the quality to be as stated, the enhanced cost of American Portland cement on the Isthmus of Panama is due to the discrimination by the Isthmian Canal Commission against American articles, by

(a) Striking the word "American" out of the specifications; and (b) By limiting the deliveries to steamers and naming over its own line an arbitrary freight rate, working directly in the interests of the foreigner.

CONCLUSION.

In conclusion, upon this state of facts, it may be said that not only has the American manufacturer, paying for American labor with American money, the right to be afforded an opportunity to supply material upon a work done by the American Government with American money, for an American canal, through an American Isthmus, but further, the American coastwise commerce is entitled to an oppor

tunity to competition, for the delivery of the shipments of American cement upon this work, on fair terms with European vessels.

It is respectfully urged that in making appropriations to the Canal Commission for future work, that the same be limited to be expended only for material of American manufacture, and shipped in American vessels (sailing or steam).

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 24, 1906.

WASHINGTON, D. C., April 16, 1906.

SIR: In the absence of Mr. Shonts, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, transmitting a communication from the Hon. William Lorimer, dated the 10th instant, inclosing a letter from the Chicago-Portland Cement Company, bearing date April 2, 1906, with reference to the last purchase of Portland cement by the Isthmian Canal Commission on October 7, last.

When the lot of cement in question was purchased a number of bids were received on American cement and a number also on foreign cement. The lowest bid received on American cement was 37 cents per barrel higher than the lowest bid on foreign cement. After full investigation and test the lowest bid was accepted and the cement furnished on the contract has proven to be very satisfactory. As the quantity of cement purchased at that time was 20,000 barrels, you will note that this lot of cement would have cost $7,400 more if the use of foreign cement had been prohibited.

The statements made in the communication from the Chicago Portland Cement Company as to the desirability of purchasing materials needed in the construction of the canal as far as possible in the United States are fully appreciated, and where prices have been anything like equal home concerns have been favored.

I think you will agree, however, that in the case of the lot of cement in question the Commission would not have been justified in paying $7,400 more for American cement than for foreign cement, particularly in view of the fact that there was no doubt as to the quality of the foreign cement being fully equal to that offered by the lowest bidder on American cement.

DEAR SIRS: In reply to your inquiry of even date regarding rate on cement from New York to Colon, we beg to say that the present figure by our line is $4.50 per ton of 2,000 pounds. This rate became effective on the 21st instant. The rate from December 31, 1905, to March 31 this year was $5 per short ton.

Yours, truly,

R. L. WALKER,
Traffic Manager.

SOME STATISTICS OF THE CEMENT INDUSTRY IN AMERICA.

[By R W. Lesley, vice-president American Society for Testing Materials.]

I have been asked to give you in very brief form a few figures on the growth of the American Portland cement industry, with which I have been connected for many years. Of course much of what I have to say is ancient history, because it is only ancient history_from which diagrams can be made; and as the principal part of what I have to say to you to-day consists of diagrams, you can understand that ancient history is the essential part of my discourse.

The American Portland cement industry is one of the remarkable developments of the past twenty years; in fact it might almost be said of the past ten years. The words "cement" and "concrete" to-day seem to the engineer almost as familiar as iron and stone, so far as construction is concerned, and the engineering papers are filled with articles of the most interesting character, describing the various forms of concrete and reinforced concrete construction, and yet it is quite within the knowledge of the writer in his early cement days that to find a single paragraph in the scientific papers of this country, or even of England, referring to this subject was the occasion of more or less rejoicing.

When we talk of the consumption of an article, the use of an article, and the growth of an industry, we may generally find that along parallel lines will be the growth of the literature of the subject. This is one of the interesting developments of the growth of the industry to those who have been for years connected with it.

In speaking of this subject I want to call your attention to a diagram showing, by the comparative height of a cement barrel, the growth of the American Portland cement industry. These figures speak for themselves, and if the table were brought up to the present period by adding the year 1903, for which values are soon to be published, the results would be even more remarkable. These barrels pictorially tell the tale of the development of the industry, and emphasize more than words could what American manufacturers have been doing.

It will be remembered that in the seventies practically all the Portland cement consumed in the United States came from abroad, and that foreign cement, especially the German and English brands, had a reputation which it was difficult to overcome and commanded the market for all large work. The difficulties of the establishment of American Portland cement have been told in other papers by the writer, and it is needless to repeat them here; but the diagram which follows shows for the past twenty years the relation of the American production to the imports of foreign cement, and how gradually American production has overtaken importation, until the latter bears but a small percentage to the enormous consumption of Portland cement in this country. This table shows the domestic production and imports of Portland cement from 1882 to 1902.

At the beginning of this period we made 17,000 tons of Portland cement and about a million tons of natural cement, and imported about 74,000 tons of Portland cement. Until 1897 the production of American Portland cements was much less than the foreign importations, but in that year it forged ahead rapidly. This growth was due to a number of causes, of which an important one was the sudden realization by engineers that there was nothing to prevent the manufacture

NOTE.-Hatched lines represent imports; solid lines represent domestic production.

COMPARATIVE DIAGRAM SHOWING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF PORTLAND CEMENT.

of any country. Under such conditions it is not surprising that the foreign imports have fallen off materially of late.

Portland cement, however, is not the only cement that this country produces, because since the early days of canals the United States has

THE GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN PORTLAND CEMENT INDUSTRY AS SHOWN BY THE COMPARATIVE

HEIGHT OF A CEMENT BARREL.

cement found how easily their requirements were met by American producers, they began to call for finer grinding than before, higher tensile strengths, and other properties. These specifications improved the quality of the American product until to-day it is the equal of that

8402 020 50% increase

10

12 711 225 50% increase

12

14

16

of good Portland cement in this country except their refusal to buy it. About that time specifications were recast so as to accept material made in this country which was of satisfactory character.

When users of