The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1906-05-12
GREEDY WOODEN TRUST
Grows Fat at the Expense of
the American People.
HIGH PROTECTION Is THE CAUSE

No Competition to Protect the Con
sumers, but the Tariff Protects the
Trusts-How Cotton and shoady Are
Mixed With Wool For the Poor,
While the Rich Wear Imported
WooIens.
The American Wooden company-the
WOODEN trust-which owns twenty five
of the largest wooden mills in the
United States, has just made Its an
nual report. The net sales for the year
were 6,660, 40, an increase of $0,027,-
633 as compared with the preceding
year, and the net profits were S4.7Sl,-
157. an increase of $l,73s,s27 for the
same period.
After paying preferred dividends of
Sl,560,416 and charging to deprecia-
ton $1,367 1877 there remain undivided
profits of $1,s52.e03. The total undi-
vided profits amount to S10.o49,S2s.
This trust is so thoroughly protected
by the tariff on wooden goods that 1t
has been enabled to advance the price
of its products by the same percentage
as the protective tariff protects II from
foreign competition. When the wool
schedule of the tariff bill is examined
1t is found that. from the cheapest
wooden yarn, which Is taxed 27ls cents
a pound and 40 per cent al valorem, to
clothing, ready made and articles of
wearing apparel OF every description"
the tax ON which Is Al cents pound
e''s' '----.,os from 5Osbtalepnf 70 ~ total
cent or over. This enormous projection
prevents any goods that would compete
with the wooden trust from being Inn
ported and allows 1t to advance the
price of Its products to Just about what
it would cost to import foreign made
goods with the tariff tax added.
The result Of this protection to the
wooden trust is that nearly everything
manufactured by II is adulterated with
cotton or shoddy, and about the only
pure wooden goods worn by the Ameri-
can people are imported and upon
which the enormous tariff tax Is col
lected. There may be one satisfaction.
however. to those who can afford TO
wear imported wooden clothing. when
they know that the tariff tax collected
goes to pay for the support of the gov
eminent. The chagrln of those who
are compelled to buy the poorer quality
Of trust homemade goods, with their
admixture OF cotton and other inferior
substitutes, and who from greater ex-
posture In working for their living have
more need for the warmth that all
wool clothing affords. when they dis
cover that the trust Is charging them
over and above fair profit, nearly
what the tariff tax would be as add
tional profit, is pathetic. SO it amounts
to this-that those who buy imported
wooden goods pay the profit for their
manufacture TO the foreigner and in
addition the tariff tax to the govern
ment, while those who are compelled
to buy the homemade goods pay a
profit to the trust and an additional
profit-that Is, all but as much as the
tariff tax-to the trust also.
If these tariff taxes, both that direct
ly paid to the government and that in
directly paid to the trust by the in
creased price of goods, were collected
at the doors of the stores everywhere
by tariff tax collector there would be
revolt of the American people against
such plunderlng taxation. Many PEG
pie, even those who understand some
thing of the Republican tariff system
pay the tax without murmur. and by
voting for Republican congressman
and electlng legislatures who in turn
elect Republican United States sena-
tors they perpetuate the protective sys
TEN, which fosters trusts to bleed
them