The National tribune., 1909-07-15
NEW TARIFF FEATURES.
Continued from page one.)


pig does not grow hair enough to make a
good eyebrow. Accordingly the manufac-
turers OF brushes have to look elsewhere
for their bristles. They bring them from
China and Russia and such coutries, where
fancy breeds of pigs are unknown.
Even more. The aggressive japanese is
invading the American market with many
articles. Among them are brushes for the
hair and face and clothes, and also paint
brushes. Labor is very cheap over there
and men with money have discovered that
the japanese can make brushes much more
cheaply than can be done out in Ohio.
where brush making has become great
industry. The appeal for higher duties on
the better grades of brushes, however, was
made too late to the Senate to be of any
avail. The Senate and the House have
agreed upon the same rate and it Is not
now even subject for conference.
Protection to CelluIoid.
Senator Dick, of Ohio, took up the fight
Tor higher duties on brushes, but he was
less successful than Senator Lodge. of Mas
sachusetts, to whom was directed similar
Macedonian cry. Up at Leominster, Mass,
there is a thriving factory town, which is
virtually the seat in this country of the
manufacture of celluloid goods. There are
factories elsewhere to be sure, but the
bulk of celluloid manufacture, ranging
from 10 tHe HlOSI exquisite
toilet articles, is at LeOminster. The rep
resentatives of the industry came down to
Washington early in the session to ask
for few increases on coiiodion and COM
pounds of pyroXylin, which enter largely
into celluloid. They were given about
what they asked and the Senate passed
the paragraph in that form. But along
at the 11th hour of the Senate's consider
alton the people of Leominster learned
m 1ul
mills were being erected near Tokyo, that
the Japanese already had a selling agent
IN New York for their goods, and that
good brisk competition was ahead. So the
celluloid people wanted 10 per cent addi-
tional on certain grades of their product,
and they were granted it, even tho SEN
atOr Aldrich said at first it would be i'm
possible
There are instances of the competition
from Japan, which the manufacturers are
complaining about, and which was practi-
cally unheard of - years ago, when the
tariff was revised Still another of the many
instances is in the making of floor mating
To meet that the Senate has inserted n
paragraph grading the duties by the count
of ends of warp. That amounts to q con-
siderable raise over the House rates, which
were % per cent for certain grades and 80
per cent for still better grades.
Our German Competitors.
There was a good deal of talk during
the debate about the German invasion of
our markets, which was unheard of II
years ago. But the Germans have been
excelling in metallurgy and in turning out
splendid products of iron and steel. Some
of the duties have been put up to meet
that situation. AS an example there was
much to do in the Senate over the decline
of the American industry of making old
r.
forefathers scraped their chins with.
Americans are far in the lead in making
those ingenious safeties with which a man
can shave himself, but cannot cut himself.
Investigation showed that a few razor fac
tories in New York and elsewhere Were
still struggling along, but that Solingen,
Germany, was making the bulk of the
and then sell at a profit in the American
markets. So the Senate put on the stiff
duty of u cents each and 80 per cent al
valorem. when razor blades worth more
than 50 dozen are brought into our
ports. Furthermore, the Senate required
that the name of the maker should be
sunk conspicuously AMI indelibly on the
ception generally practiced. it is said, in
the sale of cutlery by small dealers thru
out the country.
Competition from a very unusual and
distant quarter has been impressed upon
the tariff makers in the case of jute bag
ging. 1t is used in enormous quantities
in this country for making bags for GER
tain kinds of grain, and also for bagging
for bales of cotton. The consumption OF
this product reaches enormous totals, cost
ing many millions of dollars annually.
The Jute Bagging Invasion.
But of recent years mills in Calcutta
have been manufacturing jute bagglng:
They have the raw material near at hand
and are also able to obtain very cheap
labor in that quarter of the world. The
result is that the Calcutta mills have in-
vaded the American market and are threat
ening to close several mills at Ludlow,
Mass, and in other parts of the country.
After the tariff bill passed the House a
tremendous appeal was made to the SEN
ate, but it fell upon deaf ears. The trou-
BILE was that the Southern Senators stood
threatening trouble if the duty was raised
and demanded that cotton bagging be ad-
mitted free And the Senate did vote to
admit it free, but that was only ruse,
for it is well understood that the House
rate of six-tenths of a cent a square yard
will be restored. The same tactics were
adopted 12 years ago to silence the Sena-
tors from the South, and when the con-
ference report was brought in with the
duty nothing remained that they could do
but to voice their protests.
The barriers have been put up against
several high-class products that are used
in steel making, the names of which even
were unknown II years ago. They are
such articles as ferrochrome. ferromolyb,
ienum, ferrophosphorous. ferr0titanium
ferrotungsten and ferrosilicOn. When any
of these metals is valued at more than
5000 ton duty of % per centum is Il,
be assessed. according to the decision ot
/ the Senate, and the rates are to be in
creased according to the value of the ores
All during the debates in the Senate
and House there has been precious little
talk about the dangers of competition from
British-made goods. In the old tariff days
the British competition was harped upon
continually. But this has been displaced by
alarmist statements about dangers from
Germany on the one side and Japan oil
the other and these statements have hat
notable influence with the makers of tbs
tariff bill in both legislative branches. Tht
statements have helped increase many
duties. Some manufacturers who migh
have obtained the increase did not learr
of the prospects till it was too late an'
came to Washington even while the sched
ules were being closed.
Tn,.u E-oct TepueSseeanS