The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-06-12
THE WOODEN TRUST AND
THE SUGAR TRUST.

What the American Sugar Refining
Company is to the sugar business of
this country, the American Wooden
Company is to the wooden manufaetur-
ing industry.
What the tariff does for the Sugar
trust through the Dutch standard joker,
it does for the Wooden trust through the
discrimination between the heavy
shrink woods used by the carded wooden
makers, and the light shrink woods
used by the worsted manufacturers.
In each case, the real protection of
the trust is hidden and difficult to get
at. It requires expert analysis and
/ information In the case of the Sugar
trust, Senator Bristow presented the
exact facts to the Senate, exposed the
Itrick-and then was defeated when he
tried to right the wrong. In the case
of the Wooden trust, Senator DOlliver
and Senator La Toilette showed just
where the Joker was and how it worked
And in turn they got defeated for their
pains.
It seems that. as this revision is
being managed, the one sure way TO
get a schedule adopted is to demon
strate that an overcapitalized trust,
making enormous profits, Is lurking
behind that tariff fertilization. Then
the reserves of the Finance Committee
hurry forward, the lines are held firm,
and the trust comes off with flying
eolors and little more protection than
1T had before.
The worsted manufacture OF the
country is dominated by the American
IWoolen Company. In making worstedss
those woods are used which shrink
least. In making carded wool, those
iwools are used which shrink most. But
the duty is the same on both So it
works out this way:
The carded wool man brings in say
100000 of grease wool, and pays
II cents per pound duty. Then he
washes and scours it to get the grease
out, and has left $4,000 pounds of real
wool. That makes his duty D cents
p per pound.
The worsted man brings in 100000
pounds of the light-shrink ,5ool suited
for his business, and pays II cents
per pound duty. He then scours it,
land finds that it has shrunk, not 70
J $4,000 pounds, but to about $4,000
mounds. The carded wool man paid
$1,000 TO get $4,000 pounds of actual
wool past the custom house. The
p worsted man paid 1000 to get $4,000
pounds Of his kind Of wool past. There
is joker No. /
Joker No. ? lies in the fact that
Glass / wool, washed on the Sleeps
, hack. is taxed p cents, while Class
wool. washed on the sheepis back, is
taxed only u cents. Result; No Class
wool can be imported at all It.
2 the sCrt of wool the carded wooden
? ma kerg use. It's also the sort of WOO
1 they raise in Utah, Wyoming, and
r. the other States whose Senators are
q SO we'll pleased with the present WOO
schedule. But Glass wool, with only
r. the l2-cent rate, can be imported: il.
e the Kind the Wooden trust uses, end
a the kind they raise in the Middle
7 West.
there Is the whole thing. The Wool
? en- trust gets cheap wool, the eardeC
p wooden people get dear wool. The rus
C makes big profits, the carded WOO
+ people are going ont of business. TIL
raisers Of Glass l wool make a hug
e profit because no foreign wool which
q will compete with them can come in
e The raisers of Glass ? wool make small
profits because their duty is low an,
IS they must meet foreign competition
Is And that explains the combination
between the New England Senator
e who have the Wooden trust factorie
J. as constituents. and the Far Western
.e Senators. who raise the No. J wool. ]
doesn't explain why Senators Xix
D. Burton of Ohio, Smith Of Michigan
D. and others from States which have nj
Re trust factories, and whose sheep in
7 dustrv has been injured by this ad
y iustment of duties. vote with the com
Pr binstion. But the explanation j
simple:
z They are victims Of the superstition
Of the tariff.
All this isn't taking into considera
. ton the consumer, that pathetic myt
= who hasn't sense even to understan
that he doesn't exist. But the Wool
EN- trust takes him in whenever j
= buys any Of its goods.
N
+ A correspondent Of the New York su
O. ----.- ,-s-of-+ oF q reezeage Fros