The Penn's Grove record., 1910-09-30
An INDUSTRY THREATENED

A Typical Illustration of How the
Payne Bill Hurts Manufacturing-Ths
uneaIIed For Increases In Fur Duties
and What the Women Will Have to
Pay For Fur Articles.
A good illustration Of the unhealthy
and dangerous condition into which
tariff protection drives manufacturing
interests is afforded by the recent
plight of the American manufacturers
Of wearing apparel made from furs.
By an increase in the duty on their
necessary material, which the Payne
bill provided, this industry was seri-
ously threatened. The manufacturers
and the Furriers' union. composed of
the workers. were much agitated over
the Payne fur schedule and declared
that If it were enacted about 50.00G
men and women would be thrown out
of work throughout the couatrg. a
certain result will be IA heavy increase
in the prices of many articles made OF
furs.
OF course these manufacturers, like
the manufacturers of wOClcn goods
and all others, should be able to get
have a fair opportunity to carry on
and extend their industry. But the
Dingley tariff imposes a duty of 20 pei
cent ad valorem on "furs dressed in
the skin, but not made up into arti-
cles," and a similar duty on manufac-
lures of furs not articles of wearing
apparel when partly prepared for use
as material. 1t also fixes the duty at
35 per CEN on articles of wearing ap-
parel of every sort partly Oh wholly
manufactured of fur. Undressed furS
are free of duty, but the m~anufactur-
ers find it absolutely necessary in their
business to import a great many skins
both dressed and dyed.
A Sop to One Kills Others.
Now, the Payne tariff bill changes
the wording of the schedule SO that the
20 per cent duty on dressed skins is
raised to 35 per cent when they are
dyed, repaired, sewed or advanced In
ally AlduACl lIACl tAdh aACoSOop oAo
as the manufacturers must import or
buy here a great many skins In these
conditions to be worked up into the
finished articles of apparel and as the
duty on the finished articles was fixed
at 80 per cent by the Payne bill, the
manufacturers in this line found their
material about to cost them much more.
NH $500 Il ~ o,0 u Ne; m 6nra1n ~
an increase to 80 per cent in the duty
on the finished articles. or else a re-
duction in the rate Oh their material.
If they could not get relief in either di
rection very many of them would have
had to go out of business. Thus the
tariff kills off a number of manufac-
turers in order to add to the profits of
a few specially favored ones-in this
case certain dyeing interests. What
these dyeing interests really need, OF
course, is to get their dyestuffs and
other materials free of duty and not to
have another industry damaged to help
them.
The People Pay Much More.
The senate has relieved the terrors
of the manufacturers by raising the
rate on the finished articles made from
fur to 80 per cent.
The increased rates of the Payne
Aldrich bill will materially increase the
cost to the consumers, principally wo-
men, of many fur articles. For exam
pie, the little gray squirrel skins which
have been used by the millions during
the past few years in this market will
be increased in cost 15 per cent by the
Payne duties. AS these are used al
most entirely for low priced articles, a
very large number Of users will be af-
fected. A gray squirrel muf that has
heretofore retailed at $3.50 will have
to be sold at retail at $8.75 under the
Payne bill. Not less than S. will have
to be added to the retail price OF one
of the popular black dyed pony coats
selling for less than $50, with a pro
~portionate increase in the higher priced
coats. The seal dyed muskrat gar.
ments. known as Beasam seal, Hudson
seal and OF err trade names, will cost
the wearer under the Payne bill as 1t
stands from $25 to $50 more, depend
ing upon the quality and length Of the
coat purchased.
These higher duties will also hasten
the determination of the American fuI
bearing animals, upon which a great
industry depends. Many states Of the
Union are now adopting measures in.
tended to save these animals from ex.
tinction.
Schwab Knows American Labor.
Next to Carnegie, Charles M. Schwab,
formerly president of the United States
Steel corporation and now president of
the Bethlehem Steel company, is most
conspicuous for thoroughgoing expert
ence and ability in steelmaking. He
said publicly In an interview reported
In the Journal Of Commerce of New
York on March 20: "Cut the tariff on
steel or anything else you please. Amer.
lean labor can stand it. I believe In 9
reduction. 1 feel just as Andrew Car.
negie does on that matter. American
labor can make the best steel In the
world, and with it we can compete
with the world.
81 have been in contact with labor of
all kinds for many years." Schwab
continued, "and I. know what it can
do. / know that American workmen
can produce more steel In a given time
than any others in the world. / know
that they can put out better steel than
any others. We have nothing to fear
from a cut in duties, because we have
the best goods. 1t is true that we pay
u workmen more money than other
nations, but you always have to pay
skillful workmen the highest wages.
Therefore the highest paid labor is the
most profitable to the employer. The
skillful man makes money for the en-
ployer."