The sun., 1909-05-05
"FREE,HiDEs.,' I
statsmens Of tho Case ef tho shee snt
- Leather Manueactlrees.

r. 49, FREE ,AfUES. ~
| - es't". ----~
statsuent Of tho Case sf tho shse end
Leather Manufactures.
From spsseh % former Governor William
.Ls.sis Douoios Of Aassoehuseas oe.o's
| President Roosevelt, Nooember 10. lsOo
| We are not hers a. tho representatives
OF New England only, but hero to represent
tho whole Of this great body OF manu-
faoturers OF 500, ,O00, 900 worth OF shoes.
We employ something moro than 100000
workmen and Day something like s7b. .ooo ooo
to wage earners, We come hero unanimous
to ask and are united in favor Of the reduo-
ton Of the duty on hides. This great IN
dustry, producing an absolute essenuai
to civilized life. is greatly oppressed ana
buriened By what We believe TO be need
less tariff duty on hides. We are firmly
convinced that this duty not only handicape
our industry and prevents it's proper growth
and expansion, both domestic and foreign'
but that 1t 10 an evil to the country as whoie:
Without, as We believe. serving any gooo
purpose, this tariff duty heavily taxes
articles essential for the health and comfort
Of every man, woman and child In this
land and thus greatly increases ths cost Of
living. This tax bears most heavily upon
lsboring people, who spend almost as much
| for shoes, per capita, as do our professional
peoplc.
Moreover, the cost Of tho leather In the
cheap, heavy shoes worn by tho great mass
OF our people is proportionstely greater than
II is In expensive and highly finished shoes.
Thus. while we are pleading for the con.
sidoration OF the inter ests OF those engaged
In manufacturing and repairing boots and
tshoes and all others engaged In manufac-
turing harnesses. bags. belts. &c, We are also
pleading for the consideration OF the welfare
Of so. .o00. 900 people who wear shoes.
About 2l0, 900, 900 pairs OF shoes are made
annually in this country. The differences
In tho prices OF sole leather between this
country and Canada. where there Is no
ference on hides. vary from three to hve
cents q pound. which equals from about
four to seven cents pair on the average
factory cost Of our shoes. And In this con-
nection, Mr.. President. I wish to make quite
clear to you that while seven cents addi-
tional cost on pair Of shoes may seem an
unimportant matter to the ordinary person,
that amount represents more than the pront
made by the average manufacturer. 30
you can understand We arc pleading for the
very existence Of our industry.
Previous to lsl2 hides and skins were
admitted free OF duty. From is42 to 1877
they were dutisble at from to 10 per cent
From 1872 10 1897 they we're free Of duty.
In 1897. after twenty-five years OF free hides,
. duty Of Is per cent. was put on cattle hides.
other hides and skins being left on the free
list. This is per cent. duty. 10 per cent.
higher even than the war duty levied from
1881 to 1877, was put on despite the protest
Of the boot and shoe manufacturers.
, In July. 1897. hides were but nine cents a
pound. After this date they began to In
crease rapidly. and have continued to ad-
vance. until on November 1, 1905. the price
was 1871 cents pound. There IL good
reason for believing that the is per cent.
duty on hides Ii Of no particular beneft
either to large or small cattle rsisers. and
we understand that the hide duty was
levied primarily for the benefit Of the cattle
raiser. In this country cattle are rsisAd
and aughtered principally for beef. Hides
are an incidental product Of the butchering
business. 1t IL absurd to suppose that
putting q tariff on one Of the by-products
Of the beef industry will materially change
the prices paid for cattle. These fuctuate,
or would ;nuctuate II there were no combi-
nations to interfere with economic laws. In
accordance with the supply and demand
for cattle for beef purposes.
That there 10 little or no connection be-
tween the prices OF steers and Of their hides
10 shown clearly by statistics for the last
ten years. Thus. while the prices Of hides
are now l5k cents q pound and were but
nine cents In July. 1907, the prices Of steers
have averaged, except for the year 1907.
but little tperhaps Is per cent? higher than
before. The exceptionally high prices Of
1902 were due to the very small corn crop
OF 1901. During the last three years the
prices Of cattle have declined materially.
while the prices Of hides have risen. Thus.
while prices Of cattle are now lower than
October. 1904. prices Of hides are now more
than 20 per cent higher than then.
We may. then. be reasonably certain that
the duty OF is per cent. on hides does not
protect or benefit the cattle raiser. 1t does.
however. compel all farmers to pay higher
prices for boots, shoes. harnesses. saddles
and other leather goods.
1t is essential that We import large guam
titles Of foreign hides. Our imports for
the fiscal year ended June 80. 1905. we're
valued at 81, ,e%S. .82s. We do not produce
enough to make our own boots and shoes.
About ?s per cent. OF all leather made in
this country is made from imported hides
and skins. Could these come in free of
duty. and should leather decline here TO the
level Of, foreign markets. We could not
only make cheaper shoes for ourselves but
we could increase our export business many
fold. For. strange to say. We now export
more than "a. .0Oo, 900 worth OF shoes a year.
handicapped as We are by what We contend
Ii an onerous, unnecessary and unjust duty.
tGovernor Dohglss read letter to show
that leather in the Canadian market sold at
from az to 8 cents a pound less than in the
United States. This difference. the Governor
explained. was caused by the is per cent.
duty on hides. Continuing he said:)
In the boot and shoe industry We pay the
highest prices paid on earth, but we have
the cheapest labor when efficiency and
product are considered. Neither We manu-
facturers nor our employees arc protected
to any considerable extent by the duty of
rs per cent. on boots and shoes. Ne will
consent to a reasonable reduction of this
duty willingly in order 10 obtain free hides
and cheap leather.
All We ask is free field and no favor
either in our own or in foreign markets. !
Take away tho duties that prevent us from
obtaining leather at the same prices paid
by our foreign competitors and We will not
only hold our own markets with or without
\ duty on shoes but we will invade foreign
markets on an extensive scale. In SO do
ing We will provide additional work at good
wages to our boot and shoe workers.
While the duty on hides bears heavily
upon our industry In every part of the coun-
try. now that Germany, Canada and Mexico |