Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-01-25
nIacILLANroue REcoAn
The Profit IN the TarIff.

The Profit in the Tariff
In the course of discussion Of the |
tariff on hides. in the House Of Represen-
tati YES at Washington, Mr. Perkins of
New York. a Republican and a protec-
Zionist, argued that the removal Of this
tariff tax would simply increase the profits
OF the shoe manufacturers.
"Ihe tax upon hides, Mr. Perkins con-
tended, falls chiefly upon the cheaper |
CLASSES Of shoes; the only tax that is im-
posed is the tax on cattle hides, princi-
pally, Of course, tax upon the hides of
steers. That leather Is chiefly used in the
manufacture Of the cheaper classes Of shoes
There have been many estimates of the
difference resulting from the iax ON hides
Persons have testified have heard great
shoe manufacturers say that has amounted
TO a-diflereuco of . cents pair ! think,
Mr.. Chairman, that statement is over
stated, and for my argument ! would
much rather put IL lower than higher. Ii
makes a difference Of a cent and half, we
will say on each pound of hides Il Is
an underestimate to say that it makes
difference on the average in q pair Of shoes
OF 2 cents. i will concede, for this argu-
ment, that the only extra expense in the
cost of the manufacture OF pair Of shoes
by reason Of tho tax ON hides Is 2 cents
and no more. Some gentlemen say, What
IS cents q pair viii show to you, Mr.
Chairman, what cents pair means The
average price Of pair Of shoes for the
manufacturer, taking all sorts, is, we may
say roughly, s.; il is not over that. Two
cents on 81 is ! per cent. Tho average
profit Of the shoe manufacturers Of the
United States docs not exceed o per cent
Of the business. The shoe manufacturers,
it must be remembered, do not keep up
the price by any great combination. =
They sell their boots and shoes in open
competition, every man with another
and so instead Of the great margin OF profit
that Is obtained by some industries which
certainly are more favored by the Ameri-
can Congress than the boot and shoe in
dustry, they sell on an average profit of 5
cent. The result OF the protective legis-
lation of Congress IS 70 absorb 20 per cent
of the entire profit Of the boot and shoe
industry
Therefore Mr. Perkins, as a good pro
tectionist. would remove the tax on hides
solely for the purpose Of increasing the
profits OF the manufacturers Of shoes. lie
went even further than this, when, IN no
sponse TO pertinent questions as towhethol
this was really his attitude, he repliedi
Il was taught that the principle OF the
protective tariff was 20 build up and assist
American industries, and as / understand
Il, to assist an industry is to enable it "a
make money
Heretofore we have had tariff taxation
IN order to make more money for tn,
manufacturers. Now, according to Mr.
Perkins, we are 20 have tariff reduction
for the purpose Of increasing the pro6tl
OF the manufacturers.
Well, tariff reduction may increase the
profits Of the manufacturers, but there i
a greater reason for believing that il woul,
lessen the burdens of consumers by lower.
ing prices. On this point we have thl
testimony Of such eminent authority "a
ex-Gov Douglas of Massachusetts. who
as a large manufacturer of shoes, may b.
presumed 20 know more about the rcla
ton of the tax on hides 20 the selling pric
Of shoes than Mr.. Perkins does. Gov
Douglas, in the course of his public al
dresses, has stated that with FREQ hides HI
would be able 10 reduce the selling pric
OF one Of his most popular makes of shoe
from $3.50 20 So per pair. Now, il th
buyers Of these shoes find themselves abl
osave so cents on each pair, viii they b.
likely TO complain if Gov. Douglas annua
profits from his business prove 20 be large
than before
So much for Mr.. Perkins argument 70
the abolition of the duty on hides. Tn
people viii stand il, if il benefits them
and Gov. Douglas has shown how It woul,
do So Notwithstanding the manuiac
turers profit also. But the real fact q
the situation is that the tariff tax on hide
is demanded by the Beef Trust, IN ordo
that foreign hides may be excluded fror
the market and the Beef Trust enabled &
charge excessive prices for its hide pro
ducts. This is what Gov. Douglas hal
in view when he declared that with frc
hides he would be enabled to make such
material reduction in the selling price O
hs sshoes, IL was not the mere amount O
the iaN that be was looking TO ASA saving
bot the much lower prices at which I'D
would be ablo 20 obtain his raw matorial
oi shoe manufacture with free and un
taxed competition.