The evening times., 1897-01-20
Still WOOL GATHERING
The Ways and Means Committee
Shaping a New Tariff.
MAKING THE ROUGH DRAFT
Rates on Wool Exercising the In
genuity of Mr.. Dingley-It Will
BE Made Dutiable-Problem Pre-
sented by Manufacturers and
Growers of the staple.

Chairman Dingley and his associates OF
the House Ways and Means Committee are
now struggling with the first draft of the
new Dingley tariff bill. Tie conclusion
OF the hearings has enabled the members to
lay out the skeleton schedules and to
make some progress in framing tentative
tables. The testimony heretofore taken,
together with many communications re-
ceived by the committee, is now being
printed in convenient form for considera-
ton by those members to whom the various
schedules are assigned.
Chairman Dingley is devoting his time
almost exclusively 10 the woolen schedule,
and finds that il is much more diffloult
problem to reach a satisfactory conclusion
on all points than has been the case in the
drafting OF any tariff bill OF recent years.
Tire attitude Of the woolen manufacturers
before the committee was peculiar. They
united i'm stating that the industry was at
a low ebb, which, however, they attributed
more to general trade dep ression than tothe
effect of the Wilson bill. They argued that
a tariff bill should be as stable as possible,
and deprecated the disturbance which would
inevitably follow the enactment OF new
wooden schedule. Mr.. S. n. ID. North, sec
retary ofthe National Associ alton OF Woolen
Manufacturers, used the utmost diplomacy
in referring to the question of raw wool, but
he made it quite clear to the committee that
the manufacturers would be well pleased
if wool could remain on the free list. The
sympathetic utterances OF several OF the
wooden manufacturers in referring to the
condition of tie wool growers appear TO
have been purely sentimental and to have
had no reference to the real convictions
OF the manufacturers regarding tariff duties
in the interest of the industry which uses
wool for its raw material
Wool win be ia ken from the free list and
made dutiabe that fact the committee has
resolved. The rates asked for by Judge
Lawrence and his associates Will not be
granted. Furtherthan this Chairman Ding
lev has been unable to go up to the
present time. His chief embarrassment lies
in the problem presented by the question
Of compensatory duties. The ma jority OF
Republican members favor a duty on raw
Wool, ranging from 4 TO cents per pound
about one-half what the wool growers de-
mand. Bat while the manufacturers pre-
fer free wool, they want the highest limit
OF protection for the manufactured aTti-
Gle if wool is to be taxed, and they assert
that compensatory duty should be given
OF at least four and a half times the tax
on wool in order to allow for shrinkage
in manufacture. This demand, If acceded
10, W ould mean heavy advance all along
the line in the price Of woolen clothes, es-
peciaIly in the cheaper grades, where the
specific duties, TO which the committee is
pledged. would amount to a considerable
percentage of the cost TO the consumer.
Mr.. Dingley does not want to be>cnanged
with taking money out of the pocket of
the laboring man, even to put it into the
hand Of the wool grower, but he and his
colleagues are in a quaudary from which
there is no immediate prospect of their
being eXtTicated.