The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-06-13
STIRRED TO ANGER
PRoTEcTIoNIsTs DENoUNcE TAR
IFF AGREEMENT.
Action Shows What Little Idea the
Trusts and Protected interests
Have of Allowing Any Re-
vision After Election.

The protectionists who manufacture
knitted goods, such as hosiery ant
underwear, and who benefit SO large
ly by the tariff preventing foreign
competition, have severely denounced
President Roosevelt for the tariff
agreement with Germany. This tarif
agreement with Germany allows the
German manufacturers to reduce the
valuation Of the goods they export tC
the United States to the actual cos
in Germany, which is below what the
United States government appraisers
would assess the goods for, and thus
the official value being decreased the
ad valorem rate Of duty Is also de
creased. Before this agreement was
made with Germany the protection
lists, who controlled the appraisal de
partment of the custom house in New
York, increased the value of import
ed goods beyond their real value in
the country from which they were
exported, and thus actually increased
the duties paid. The effect of the
new agreement is to allow the values
shown in the consular invoices which
have been certified by the German
chambers of commerce, and other
commercial bodies, to stand as the ap-
praised value on which ad valorem
duty is paid.
Resolutions were adopted by the
National Association of Hosiery
Manufacturers at their late meeting
at Philadelphia, which declared:
Whereas, The United States gov.
ernmeut has entered into a tariff trade
agreement with the German empire
which embodies important customs
administrative concessions and i'm
portant amendments to the customs
administrative act.
Resolved, That the National AS
sOciation of Hosiery Manufacturers, in
annual convention assembled, earn
estly protests against the provisions
of the German tariff agreement nov
extended to other countries of Europe
as contrary to law, contrary to the
policy Of protection, injurious to
American labor, unfair to the honest
importer, d~emOraliZing to the Gus
toms service and in effect a material
and indiscriminate reduction in the
tariff, which should be made only
after hearings have been granted and
then only by the legislative branch of
the government; and
Resolved, That the National AssO-
citation of Hosiery Manufacturers
thank the congress Of the United
States for not adopting the recon-
mendations Of the administration as
to the amendments in our customs
laws"
This denunciation Of President
Roosevelt for making this agreement
with Germany contrary to law" and
contrary to the policy of protection,
indicates what strenuous opposition
all the trusts and protected interests
will put forth to prevent tariff re-
vision after election"
The thanks to congress "for not
adopting the recommendations Of the
administration as to the amendments
in our customs laws" shows how the
standpat Republican leaders in con
gress saved the day for the trusts.
The cotton schedule is only one of
the many In the tariff law that forces
up prices, but every other schedule is
equally protective to the trusts, and
monOpolists that have found shelter
under the s~o-called protective system.
The whole power of the organized
trusts and the tariff protected monop-
olists will be found aiding the re-elec-
ton of Republican congressman, who
will promise to again standpat after
election. Perpetuating the tariff pro-
lection allows these manufacturers to
collect their share of the tariff, which
is a much higher tax on what the peo-
pie buy than is paid in the aggregate
for tariff taxes to the government.
For whereas but comparatively few
goods are imported upon which the
tariff taxes are collected, all the prod
ucts of the trusts are likewise in
creased in price in OnSequenc OF
the tariff preventing competition, SO
that it comes to this, if you are rich
and can buy the finer and more cost
ly imported goods, you pay the tariff
tax to the government, while If you
are poor and obliged to buy the
products of our protected trusts, you
pay the tariff tax indirectly to the
protected manufacturers in larger
profits.
If the next congress is Republican
the same old standpat crowd will
control, and although there may be a
shifty promise in the Republican plat
form for tariff revision latter cleo
ton" how far, or how deep, the re-
vision will go will never be actually
stated. In fact, the Republican lead
ers from Secretary Root down to the
standpat congressman have decided
and announced that the plan is to
revise the tariff higher by adding
maximum rates on the goods imported
from Germany, France and other
countries that impose a high tariff
on imports from the United States.
The present rates to be the minimum