West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1903-01-08
STEEL BILLET CASES
Duties Assessed Not on Actual
Prices Paid.
CUSTOMS OFFICIALS DECISION.

htet ihcrcby = revelations I'm Our
Customs House as 20 Home aud
Export Prices In Germany Lead 90
fnvesugRtins Committee There.
Our tariff laws are made in fulfill
ment OF two ScrIptural texts. "The
Lord helps those who help themselves"
aud ITO him that hath Il shall be given
and from him that hath not II shall be
taken away. even thet which he hath"
These laws take from the poor and
give TO the rich. They tax millions OF
poor consumers and turn the proceeds
over to thousands OF cormorant trusts.
These trusts go 10 Washington and
make tariff laws. IL they do not own
enough congressman or senator's.
through contributions TO campaign
funds, they buy few more In the
open market at Washington. Prices
are not unrcasonably high
That the trusts have made the tariff
laws abont rlght-for themselves--is
clear from the action OF the United
States general appraisers on Nov. z
affirming the action OF General Ap.
praiser Jewell In the steel billet pro-,
test case 81 A. Milne & Co. Naylor &
Co. and GRTee Il. Douglas. The
merchandise was entered at about 40
marks as, per 1000 kilos (2.20i
poundsl. advanced TO 07 marks by the
customs authorities Mt Philadelphia
and appraised at sc marks by Colonel
Jewell.
The Iron Age says that the board
was unanimously OF the opinion that
the steel billets In question were hon
estly lnvolced at the prices actually
paid therefor, but Inasmuch as the Ger
man makers fixed the value for export
less than for home consumption Il
was compelled to appraise II at the
higher price paid by the purchasers in
Germany"
Thus the Republican officials have
found that the protected manufacturers
% Germany are selling goods for ex-
port far below the prices charged at
home, bUt they are stiil denying that
our own protected manufacturers are
engaged IN the same mean and under
handed business. Our manufacturers,
who own the Republican party, are
Interested In keeping our foreign bill
lets, ana hence In having imported bill
lets assessed at the home prices so that
the duty on them would be increased
by the penalty for undervaluatlon q
per cent for each ! per cent increase I'm
appraised over inyoiced yalue) IL not
because OF increased rates
Such being the facts the Republican
officials easily discovered that there
were two prices for German billets.
They cannot make the same discovery
about our protected manufacturers be-
cause they are interested In keeping the
facts dark. II makes all the difference
in the world whose OK is being gored.
Some interesting results viii follow In
ihc wake OF our Investigations of Ger
nian export and home prices. A two
column article from Berlin appears In
the New York Journal OF Commerce
and Commercial Bulletin OF Nov. IA.
entitled German Steel Exports and
American Tariff" The writer tells us
that the revelations made by our GUS
toms officials have profoundly inter
estcd the Germans. and that an inyesti-
cation OF the German kartels or trusts
and that II began on Nov. IA Minister
POsadowsky has summoned the man
ayers OF the powerful iron and steel,
cOnl and coke. sugar. cement and other
kartcls and sale syndicates to appear
before him and TO explain the dlscrimi-
nations practiced by the kartels against
German buyers.
The writer tells us that within the
last six months there have been ma
terial reductions in prices authorized
by the syndicates for home markets. al
though the difference is stIIl very
large" As an example OF this differ
cnce he says that export steel Is sold
for G5 marks CSi6J per ton. while the
domestic price Is 95 marks ($23)."
All OF this reads very much like our
own home news. or rather It reads like
the statements in the Democratic cam.
paign book, which were stoutly denied
by the Republicans during the last cam.
paign. The Berlin correspondent also
says
''Ihc export price lists for steel and
iron products are not published. The
methods OF the Westphalian Pig Iron
syndicate. the Siegen, Lorraine, Lux
embourg and Silesian steel and iron
syndicates tie IIalbzeug verband, the
drawn wire kartel aud auxiliary bodies
are kept secret 50 far as export trade IL
DJncerned"
This also sounds familiar to Us. We
remember that the Democrats found Il
so difficult 60 obtain export prices on
our goods that they offered reward OF
500 for an export discount sheet OF a
single firm.
Putting all OF these facts together
any fair minded man must conclude
that the results Of high protection are
yery much the same Ia one country as
( 10 another. One Of the results is GER
I tainly a multiplicity Of trusts. and an
7 other IS lower prices for export than
+ Tor domestic trade
The Germans are investigating these
tarin trust evils. Why cannot our CON
gross Investigate these same evils,
which are greuter IN this than IN any
other country. because we have the
highest and worst tnrin law ever put
on statute books1 There Is no reason
except that the trusts. which own the
party 10 power. don't want these
things investigated unless by n par
tisan Industrial commission warranted
not 70 end anything to harm the party
IN power. BYRON w HOLT.
The crowned heads Of every nation