The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-05-07
Daily Eagle
n. N. MURDOCH, Editor.
PROTECTED HIDES OR FREE SHOES.

The memorial ''why hides should re-
rain Oh TIE free list is sig ed o.;
about thirty firms. aUn how n2uy ARE
trusts one NAV set a partial idea 10y
giving attention 10 some Of the names:
Chicago Shoe AND Leather Assoc;o-
ton" New England Shoe AMI Leather
Association" Cincinnati Tanners As
ISOLATION" "Shoe Manufacturers AS
ISOLATION" Morocco Manufacturers,
National Association" Leather Manu-
facturers' Association Milwaukee
Tanners Association" How it happens
that thirty large concerns can get to-
gether at Washington and within three
weeks after congress assemblies issue
its literature 10 be scattered broadcast
over this land at great expense may be
a surprise to some people, but il should
be born in mind that the representa-
tives of the hide. leather and shoe
trades of the United States, assembled
IN Washington, d. c. know what they
are about These concerns are not only
protected by a tariff, but doubly pro-
tected by a combination among them
ASSOCIATED" if you please, into
trusts; and what is more, they dont
propose that anybody shall have pro-
lection upon anything that interferes
with them.
They offer two reasons against tar
IF on hides. One, that it will interfere
with the export trade in leather, boots
and shoes, and two, close tanneries,
making leather for export. throwing
out of employment thousands Of work
men snow proftably and continuously
employed"
Notice tie export trade. The whole
export trade for 1896 for all kinds of
leather. boots and shoes was S2O,2f2,-
756; Of this boots and shoes amounted
to S1.4366S6. The output of the shoe
factories for 1896 was about Sl20,0U,-
600, so that the export was about IA
per cant of the output. Hence, If we
LOST The whole If CIR export Of shoes on
account of the tariff on hides the mat
ter would be slight. OF course Sucn
s,vould not be the result. Besides these
New England manufacturers have told
us that the foreigner pays the tariff,
wherefore there would be nothing add
ed TO The value Of the hides imported.
On the other hand. suppose the foreign
er does not pay the tariff and the price
of the protected article be advanced TO
the extent Of the tariff. Add 30 per
cent to the value of the shoes consumed
by the people of this country and we
have the neat little sum of 23.5000 600.
A 20 per cent duty on hides would only
weld S4,000,000, which would leave
these ''hide, leather and shoe trades"
a net balance of S19.JO0,00O, provided
the consumer pays the tariff in both
Instances. Wherefore it may he said:
If tariff on hides is bad thing for the
consumer. why is not tariff on leather
an6 shoes a bad thing? In other words
If we must have free hides in the inter-
estsof the consumer, why not free
shoes?
Again, Of the S1oO,000,O0O product of
the shoe manufacturers last year, the
wage earners got but $35,000,OO0, or so
per cent. This leaves the modest sum
of SS5,0OO000 for profits, less other ex-
penses. not including labor cost. 1t
would look as if some other people
were 'now profitably and continuously
employed besides the loboring man.
These are the facts in the matter. And
these profits" go almost wholly east
the ''sage brush states getting but
SAG, 800 value of their product
The east will continue to be hoggish
while the west continue to be fools.