Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-09
CLOTHES

! I'M HE heading of this article may be
| commonplace, and so may may bt
the subject. But we do not know
any more direct way Of getting to the
very core of the tariff discussion than
| taking up n matter to which The Her
aid has already called attention more
than once, the tax on the poor mans
clothes that will be one of the most
appreciable results Of tariff revision. "
incidentally an industrial matter is
involved to which The Herald will give
more attention later. It relates to the
expediency of the establishment Of
woolen mills in Los Angeles and other
parts of Southern California, in order
to alleviate the intolerable condition
that will be produced when clothing
offered for sale in this section Of the
country is burdened with taxation and
freight rates. And it will be the poor
mans clothing that Will be thus bur-
dened
The tariff on wool and wooden goods.
says our morning Republican contem-
porary, is practically the same in the
Dingley and Payne bills. "The Re-
publican party made no promise at
Chicago or elsewhere to remove any
of the tariff on wool or wooden goods"
on the contrary, some of the most
responsible members of the Republican
party promised, over and over again,
an HONEST revision, one that would
tend to reconcile the change in earning
capacity Of the modern wage worker
with the purchasing power of his
money. In spite of stray instances,
this -s no longer a high salaried coun-
try, and to decrease the purchasing
power Of the decreased earnings of the
worker IS to subject him to a double
deprivation, and that is exactly what
has been done in the case of wool.
The Herald believes in being as plain
and explicit as possible in the discus
sion of all subjects. social and econom- !
ical. Therefore, as a rule we eschew
techincGlities, the phraseology of
which makes confusion worse con-
founded to the reader who is not es-
pecially posted, He may not appre-
ciate phrases like lad valorem," "spe- |
cifc," secured WOOL" etc.
But the average individual DOES /
know his clothing is becoming poorer
and costs more every year.
Now, what is the explanation?
Carded woolens are used to make low
priced clothing. What is called "comb-
Ing wool" makes the worsteds which
go into the clothing of men of .
wealth While all kinds Of wool are
apparently taxed the same by the
Dingley and Payne measures, as
matter Of fact the tax is much higher
n some cases four times higher, on the
1arded wool used for the clothing of
he poor than on combing wool used
'or the clothing of the rich.
This result is brought about by
luty Of II cents pound imposed on
Unsecured wool. The manufacturer of
yOrsted for clothing of the well-to-do
gets 500 pounds of secured wool from
600 pounds of unsecured wool. The
of carded, wooden cloth,
purchased by people with slim purses,
'tlS LuO pounds OF secured WOOL
rom 1000 pounds of unsecured wool
The tariff tax on the 1000 pounds Of
lnscoured wool is the same. $11O, in
ach case. The tariff on secured wool
or clothing the poor runs as high as
. cents a pound. The tariff on secured ,
WOOL for the Worsted clothes worn by ]
he well-to-do runs as low as Ia cents
pound. Result, a worsted trust. {
Mr.. Bryan says the Republican party =,
annot get over the influence of the
rotected interests. Will the American '
eople ,ntinue to assure lavish cam .
align funds for the Republican cam
aigners by asserting to the UNEQUAL
nd unjust tariff transaction which is V
laking the minor wage earners and A
9orer classes of the east look forward
18th apprehension and horror to the Il
lilly. freezing, snowy, pneumonia T
akng winter upon which they are S
DIV entering?