The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-14
WEDNESDAY, JULY IA, 1909.
THE DUTY ON HIDES

THE DUTY ON HIDES.
With democratic members Of con.
gress making strenuous efforts to BE.
cure the adoption of tariff rates that
will give incidental protection to the
products of their constituencies, 1t 10
somewhat disappointing to find Mon
tana democratic newspapers denounc-
inR,a proposed duty on hides. which
would benefit an important industry
of their own state. They appear to
be blindly following the lead of east.
ern newspaper organs Of the tanners
and manufacturers of leather goods,
Who desire free raw material but de.
mand import duties upon foreign
goods that compete with their own
products.
The general line of argument adopt.
ed by these Montana free trade advo.
cates appears in this quotation from
q recent article in the Great Falls
Tribune:
Montana is one of the cattle produc.
ing states, and even were it q fact
that q tax on hides which materially
increases the cost of shoes to the
whole population Of the United States
would add q few cents to the profits
OF the cattle raised, we would be op.
posed to such Q tax in violation OF
the principle of the greatest good to
the greatest number. The cattle rails
ers could far better get along with q
eighty lower price for their cattle
than the poor people OF the country
can afford to pay an artifacially In.
creased price for their shoes to in.
crease profits to the cattle men. But
as q matter of fact the cattle raiser
gets no benefit at all from this tax on
hides. The beef trust is the sole ben.
eficiary of the increased price Of hides.
It owns and controls the leather trust.
It is q fact we'll known to the cattle
man of northern Montana that when
he sold his cattle on the Chicago mar.
ket at the lowest price known In recent
years, the price OF hides was being
boosted to new record prices, and the
leather trust was increasing the price
to manufacturers of shoes almost daily.
In making the statement that the
price of hides was boosted to a lev
record price at the time when north
ern Montana cattle were selling at the
lowest figure in recent years, the Tri.
bune destroys the force of its own
argument. The lowest price received
by northern Montana cattle men in
recent years IA during the period OF
1894 to 1897, the monthly average
price for western range steers during
that time being s $50 to 1915. If the
price of hides was materially increased
during those years, the higher cost
was not due to the tariff as they were
on the free list of the Wilson bill.
Some important Information upon
the hide business-with which the gen
eral public Ia not familiar-was given
BY members of congress who discussed
the proposed duty upon that product.
Hides were placed upon the free lis,
by the house of representatives, bu,
In the senate 1t was proposed to re-
tain the present duty Of Is per cent,
I'd valorem. 1t Is against the reten'
ton of the present duty that the agi'
tstion organized by the tanners and
leather goods manufacturers is d.
rected.
1t appears from reliable data gath
cred by public authorities that abou,
20, 000, 900 cattle and calves are slaugh'
tered annuallyOinllthel United States
about one'fourthiof that number being
credited to the packing'6rms that con
stitute the "beef trust" The contro
of one.fourth of thelproduct evidentl,
does not give the'Oalleged combine
monopoly of theIhidelmarket.
In recent years the average price o
American green hideslihas ~huctuatet
between 81 and IA cents per pound
and at the presenti time ranges from
10 to ID cents according to quality
The foreign hide market has also ha(
its ups and downs, and frequently ha'
averaged higher than the American
market.
The average ~value:of imported hide
during 1907 was 154 cents per pound
the duty of Is per cent ad valoren
averaging about 24 cents per pound
AS it takes from II to 2 pounds of dr..
hides to furnish the sole leather of al
average pair of shoes, the tariff upol
hides figures in the cost of these shoe
to the extentlof AT cents or less pc
pair.
That being the conclusion indicated
BY data relating to the subject, Is tn
Great Falls Tribune prepared to dem
onstrate that the removal OF the dut,
upon hideslwilllchespen shoes to th
extent Of n cents perlpair? Two ant