The Western news., 1904-11-02
SALES ABROAD At FIGURES Be,
Low HOME PRICES.


cant proportion of manufactured goods
sold abroad are sold at redudld prices.
They quote the speech Of Secretary
Shaw In Chicago during the session Of
the Republican National Convention,
In which he said:
Our opponents lay much stress upon
the fact that some American manufac.
lures are sold abroad cheaper than at
home. Our friends sometimes deny
this. and they sometimes apologize for
it, and few, in times past, have joined
our opponents in recommending q re-
moval of the tariff from all such ar
ticles. 1t is useless to deny, and, in
my judgment. unwise to apologize and
little short of foolishness to attempt to
remedy the assumed evil in the man.
ner proposed by the opposition.
"A non-partisan commission ap-
pointed by Congress to investigate the
subject with authority to compel the
attendance of witnesses, made a care
full and detailed report. Basing his
computations upon the facts set forth
in the report, Senator Gallinger, Of
New Hampshire, in a speech made in
the United States Senate on April %,
last, placed the value of exports sold
at lower price abroad than at home
at $4,0OO,000. l cannot find that the
substantial correctness of this estimate.
was ever questioned by the opposition.
But in any event the amount is so
small as compared with the aggregate
output Of our factories as to be un-
worthy of consideration"
Secretary Shaw is either a novice
with figures or he is entirely willing
to fool the voters with big statistics
which he knows are not true. 1t is
hardly possible that our Secretary of
the Treasury does not know that we
do not produce $13,OOO,O0O,0 worth
of manufactured goods in year ready
for final consumers, or anything like
this amount. Our Census statistics OF
manufactures contain many duplica,
tions. Thus we have manufactures of
cloth goods and of clothing; Of iron
and steel, and Of foundry products.
machinery, etc.; of lumber and Of
furniture; of leather and Of boots and
shoes. In these few industries the
Implications amount to $4,000, 100000
or $3,0O0,O00,0O0. Were it possible to
take out the duplications-that is. the
products of one mill that are sold a.
raw materials to another mill-it 10
probable that the total value of finished
manufactured products would not bs
more than half of $4,000, ,00O, 900.
Whether or not our census figures have
been stuffed in order to make a great
showing for protection can only bs
surmised.
The statement that only $4,000,O0
worth Of our manufactured goods are
sold abroad cheaper than they are sold
at home is ridiculous. Secretary Shaw
says that he got his statistics from the
report of the Industrial Commission,
but he neglected to cite the page or
volume. AS matter OF fact no such
statistics appear in any Of the nineteen
volumes. Neither are there any state
ments from which he could reasonably
draw such a conclusion.
Secretary Shaw well knows, as does
every one of the Commission, that the
pretended investigation which that
partisan body made of export prices
was a farce and that 1t is absurd to
attempt to draw conclusions as does
Secretary Shaw, from data obtained in
answer to the scattering letter of in
quiry sent out by the Commission.
In the first place schedules of in.
quiry were sent out to only 1000 OF
the 100000 manufacturing establish
ments Of this country-that is, only one
of every 800. In the next place only
416 replies were received. OF course,
the answers were mainly from those
| who were not guilty. The guilty ones
did not volunteer information which
| would incriminate them before the
American public. Moreover, they
! doubtless understood the makeup Of
the commission and knew that it did
not want evidence of the great extent
of this business. Hence, nearly all Of
the guilty manufacturers either re-
Trained from answering at all or put
in ridiculous and absurd answers. such
as they supposed would please a ma
jority of the members of the commits.
sion. Under the circumstances it 10
remarkable that even Is manufacturers
admitted that they we're discriminate
Ing in favor of foreign customers. At
this rate more than 100000 of our
manufacturers are favoring foreigners.
It could with far better logic and
reason, be concluded from these In.
dustrial Commission figures that, al
rs out Of 416 manufacturers sold s.,
100000 worth of products cheaper
abroad than at home that. out of the