_Deficiencies in comparative overhead data._--More striking in some respects than the failure to secure importers' selling expenses is the contrast exhibited in the commission's report between overhead expenses in the United States and abroad. The foreign overhead expenses are mere estimates, since the commission's representatives were refused access to the original books and records by practically every foreign firm. It accordingly became necessary to resort to estimates based on flat percentages of prime costs or sales price. These were in fact submitted by Italian manufacturers and used by the commission's representatives. It now develops that these percentages have never been analyzed or justified. Indeed, there is no definite record of what expense items were included or neglected in such percentages. The overhead expenses in the United States include very considerable salaries paid to officers of the domestic manufacturing concerns, and the question is presented whether, as some accountants maintain, such salaries should not be charged exclusively to selling rather than manufacturing expenses, since such officers usually pay more attention to the selling end of the business. In the commission's records it appears that about 85 per cent of the total officers' salaries was charged to manufacturing and about 15 per cent to selling. The importance in cost investigations of scrutinizing high salaries should be evident, as they might easily be, although, in this instance it is not suggested that they have been, used to conceal profits. It is worthy of note that the average salaries allowed by the commission's representatives in the domestic costs of all the hats manufactured amounted to 69 cents per dozen--nearly as much as the entire average Italian overhead charge. It is to be remembered, as already stated, that this average amount does not include the additional item allowed in the selling expense for officers' salaries. It is of interest to note, further, that the American firms which complain most of Italian competition showed the largest salary accounts. One firm, in fact, had a salary expense, included in manufacturing cost, of more than $1 per dozen hats. Nevertheless, even after the payment of such salaries, it has been shown that the industry as a whole earned approximately 10 per cent on the invested capital during the period covered by the commission's investigation.