The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1867-01-30


unition Of the manufacturer tax. But the
such theory q that They do not pretend
thai il viii !" provide increased revenue from
imports" If they thought Il would, the3
would utterly and forever repudiate It. i =
for precisely the reverse reason assumed IN
the title of the bill; it il because il will not
g proyide increased revenue from imports;
Il i because thay beisya that undsr - re,
visions foreign products, coming ~ comrsss>
ton With Amaef6an products, will Be % *.
Guided from our ports that no duty It oil can
be ccalsctsl o. ahan athas theg seQn3fe ~
naaaase. The title 10 misnomsF. bef6Eu
4 passes from our hands lst il be anssndea .
a TO read An act TO prevent the collec.
ton Of duties from imports and defFay the
expenses Of the Govsrnment By direct taxa
ton"
This bill n said 10 contain > provision for
the benefit Of the wool-growcrs Of the wese-
ern States, and on that account my sid u n.
voked 70 secure its passage. No one could
be more erstified 10 be able 70 render 70 that
clad Of our people any legislative aasistance
n INV power than would be, provided
could do 80 without detriment to the common
;nterests Of the whole country, and mot
otherwise. Let Us examine this subject Of
wool a. exhibited in this bill.
The existing tariff 6xes duty Of three
cents per pound specific on woois costing
twelve cents per pound or less, and SIX cents
per pound on woods costing moro than twelve
cents and less than twenty>four cents. lhe
bill before M declares
That merino, mestisa, NETS. or mets woos, or
other woods Of nsrino blood, immediate Or re-
mote; Down clothing woods, and woods Of nke
character, with any Of the preceding ineiecins
such A. have been heretofore usually impaired into
the United States from Buenos Ayres, New zea-
land. Australia, Cape Of Good Hope, kaa.iA. treat
Britain. Canada, and elsewhere, and also lncfudtsg
ali woods mot hereinafter described, and upon Lei
c.star Cotswold, Lincolnshire. Down combtns
woods, Canada long woods, or other IKE comoing
woods, Of English blood, and usually Known ny
the terms herein used and also all hair Of the al
naea rost and other like animals the value where
oof a he last port or place whence exported 70
the United States excluding charges in such port
,hall be thirty-two cents or less per pound, tne
dntv shall be ten cents per pound, and, in addition
theteto. ten per cent. dd raiorem; upon woods Of
the same class, unwsshed, the valne WnereoI ~
the last port or place whence exportea TO the I'M,
ted States excluding charges In such port, ana,,
exceeds thirty two cent? per pound, the duty snai
be twelve cents per pound, and IN sddition 'nei'-
to, ten per cent. dd rdforen'.
This is the demand of the Wool Growers
Association.
Nov. let il be borne in mind, that coupled
With this demand and dependent upon it 10
the demand of the Wool Manufacturers As
socistions, another society in full sympathy
and accord with the Wool Growers Associa.
ton, and cooperating with them to secure
the adoption Of this bill. They demand that
for every cent of duty imposed on wool there
shall be four cents per pound imposed on i'm
ported woollens, and then thirty five per cent,
ad raiorem added to that to cover the cost OF
chemicals, dye.stnffs, transportation, &c.
Mr.. Wells, the special commissioner OF the
revenue, in his very able report TO the Score
tary Of the Treasury, seems to think that this
is in some measure . reasonable demand, for
he says:
at must be evident, now, that 10 the extent 10
which the cost of wool is increased TO the Ameri-
can manufacturer through the increased duties on
his raw materials it viii be necessary TO impose
an equivalent increase Of duties on the imports-
ton of foreign voolene, otherwise the increased
price Of wool, growing out Of the duty, would act
as bounty in favor of the foreign manufacturer,
and prove speedily disastrous both to the Ameri-
can wool grower and TO the American WOODEN man
ufacturer.
To balance the duties proposed upon wool the
executive con- mittee of the wooden manufacturers
claim and endeavor to prove it to be essential tc
the preservation Of their industry, that for avery
cent Of duty imposed on wool, four cents per
pound must be charged on all wooiens imported.
It is also clear that If the price is to be enhanced
to the extent of the duty the advance must be es-
timated alike on goods made Of domestic well
"a of foreign WOOL Consequently, for ever cent OF
duty imposed on wool, the American consumer
will be taxed four cents per pound on his manu-
fAotured woolens; which tax on the present an
hundred and fifty million pounds, would amount
to the sum of s6,ooo,Oos for each cent of duty
imposed WOOL.
Assuming the existing rate Of duty upon un-
washed wool At six cents per pound, the present
annual tax for the protection Of this interest is,
therefore ts6, o0o, 600 cents $36, 600, eco;
but At the proposed rate, assuming eleven and .
half cents as the minimum, this tax viii be fur
Their increased ($6, 500, zoo ST. e34, ~, zoe;
or, in other words, the proposed tariff on wool and
woolens will tax the community tif il should hare
the effect sought by those who propose III TO the
extent Of $TI, 900 per annum for the protec-
ton of an interest, the whole annual value OF
whose product, ~e have already shown, cannot
be considered in excess Of $36 zoe 600 gold vslus-
ton. Can any such amount Of taxation on IN ab-
soute necessary of life in this country be justfed
under the plea Of protection to American industry,
and that industry one which cannot claim high
protection on the plea that It Is not well estab-
lshed,
"tNothing less. say the committee Of the wool
manufacturers in their report, than specific du-
ty of ffiy-three cents per pound their ufsc-
lures will be sufficient to place the manufacturer in
the same position rs if he had his raw material
free of duty position which he must demand ~
an imperative necessity for the alton Of his
industry, and added to this specific duty there il
in the bill nm ad taiorem duty Of thirty-fye per
cent"
Now. il must occur to the most casual OBJ
server that with this relative increase in the
duty on wooden fabrics the manufacturer can
import wool TO compete with domestic wool
to precisely the same advantage that he can
under the present tariff. Yea, with greater
profit. for the proposed duty on the manufac
tured goods is relatively greater than on the
raw material.
What, then, will be the effect Of this meas.
ure? Granted, for the argument, that it will
Immediately increase the price Of both do.
mestic and foreign woods to the temporary
advantage Of the home producer. But al
whose cost will this increase be made? Oh
course evervman knows that the profits OF
both the wool grower and wool manufacturer
must be derived from the consumer. Let me
illustrate how this Isl The average weight
of the ordinary clothing OF the male popula-
tfou III Tue y utru otdtcs 10 uhuC tfOku CiUtu
the average weight Of ten to eleven ounces
r er yard of three fourths of yard in width.
If the average quantity of each person for =
full suit be for coat four yards, for waist
coat three fourths of q yard, for trowsers two
and one fourth yards, for an overcoat four
yards, making for the suit eleven yards
which would cost in England seventy cents
per yard, or $40 in gold. To this under
this bill must he added $3.50 duty in gold,
to which should be added the premium on
gold, for it operates as duty on the import,
at thirty FIVE cents, amounting to S2.05, max
ing total of $3.50 duty, or twenty cents
more than the material cost in England OF
which the suit was made. This is an exam
pie of the protection which the combination
Of wool growers and wool manufacturers de,
mand that the common people Of this coun-
try shall afford them. And this is fair il.
lustration of the increase of prices given BY
this bill over all imported clothing and wool,
ems.
But is it true that this increase Of duty will
permanently increase the price of wool? |
had supposed it to be Gan axiom in political
economy that no amount Of duty on any for
eign product can permanently enhance, above
the cost of production, the price of the do
nestle prodnct, 20 long - It could b pro.
duced to an unlimited EXTENT Does any
one imagine that the increased price will
not stimulate the production of WOOL in Iowa