Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-06-11
OUR GIANT TARIFF PET
1t Controls Congress and Fools
the People. .
TRICKY REPORTS MISLEAD.
From Puck. Copyright 1908. BY permit

Tariff Legislation Blocked by the Steel
Trust-conceaIs Profits and Export
Prices by Juggling Fisures-Greed
Overreaches Itself.
That our $1,OOO,O0O,O0O infant steel
trust has for years held the keys to
the tariff situation at Washington is a
fact known to all who are at all famil-
far with subsurface conditions at our
national capital.
Not only has this government pet
gained and held control of the impor
tant committees of congress and smoth-
cred all tariff bills and suppressed dis
cussion of the tariff. but it has very
foolishly, as it now finds blocked the
passage of bills to liberaliZe our tariff
drawback laws.
In 1903, when Congressman Lover
ing's very sensible bill to simplify and
liberalize our drawback laws was in
the ways and means committee. it was
by order of the steel trust quietly put
to sleep. The order was given by
James Gayley, first vice president of
the steel trust. The Boston Herald of
July IS, 1907, contained ten columns
of letters and facts on this subject
1t was known in 1908 that the steel
trust after close figuring estimated
that the drawback bill if passed would
curtail the trusts profits by 100000,
or one-third of l per cent. This loss
the steel trust would not permit, al
tbou,rI ~ did hut hill
would mean millions of dollars to our
exporting manufacturers and would
especially enable them to keep busy
making goods for foreigners when, as
at present the home demand for goods
was slack.
The steel trust then, as since, had
full control over congress and tariff
legislation. 1t used its power meici-
lessly and to the limit. That is one
reason why the manufacturers of i'm
plements, tools, wagons, carriages, au-
tomobileS, etc, are now demanding
tariff reduction and are carrying drlis
for this tariff dictator That is one
reason why the tariff situation at
Washington is getting beyond the con-
troll of the steel trust. That is one
reason why the tariff will almost sure
~ be revised in 1909 if not before.
When too late this greedy corporation
realizes that by grasping for too much
1t may lose all.
Our giant tariff pet has other iniqui-
ties to answer for. Two Of these re-
late to false and misleading state
ments in it's reports, made to conceal
the real rate Of tariff profits and to
deceive the people as to the difference
between its prices for goods sold abroad
and at home.
The recently issued report Of the
steel trust tells US that the gross sales
and earnings for the year ending Dec.
81, 1907, were $757.014 767 and that
the net earnings, after deducting $780,
100000 for maintenance and repairs,
were $16O964.673. Apparently. then,
this trust sold its products at profit
Of only q per cent on their cost
price. This rate Of profit does not look
large to us when we consider how
heavily we tax ourselves to support
this prince Of paupers.
But in reality the rate of profit was
about twice q per cent In another
part Of the report we are informed
that "gross sales and earnings In
clude "sales made between the sub
sidiary companies" as we'll as those to
the outside world. This is ridiculous,
Of course, and is done for the purpose
of Disgusting tariff profits.
Just what were the actual gross
sales" to the public the report no
where tells us. 1t does, however, tell
us that the total tons of rolled ana
other finished products for sale were
1O,376,742 We know the quoted prices
for nearly all of these products, ana
we know that the average price was
not. as the figures indicate. over $40
per ton. We know that it was not
$50 or even $50 per ton. 1t probably